Hello, everyone. The day has finally arrived and it is time to begin The Great Oppo Hunt. For anyone who hasn’t signed up yet, you can still sign up any time before the game ends. For full rules and info on how to register click here.
The unnecessary boring bit:
First, a brief forward. I’ve gotta say, creating this hunt was harder than I expected it to be. I’ve organized a couple scavenger hunts before, but because they were in a specific, small area I was able to focus on unique one-off landmarks that were fascinating in their weirdness. A giant functioning jack-in-the-box made out of a grain silo, a field of toy horses, the grave of a man jailed for his full luxurious beard, Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg. Creating a big list of cool, bizarre, unique stuff in a small area is easy. Creating a list of things that can be found nationwide but still have that element of odd fascination is much harder. Hopefully I still managed to capture that element of fascination and fun with the list I’ve compiled here. More than anything though, I hope you have fun.
Gameplay rules:
First, a quick reminder of how this works. By now you should have an Instagram and a mascot. You will need to take a photo of your mascot at the scavenger locations and post the photo to your Instagram. All posts must include the following (order of the items doesn’t matter):
*Place name (if applicable). I.E. “Bash Bish Falls” or “Hoosac Tunnel.”
*Location (town and state)
#oppohunt
#opporally
#teamname
Here’s an example post. You may have to click on the photo to bring it up in Instagram to see the caption, because Kinja.
All submissions must be posted by 3 AM Eastern on Monday, August 24 to be counted. Scoring will be maintained (more or less) in this spreadsheet.
Bonus points:
More points are always more better. Throughout the event 24/48 hour challenges will be posted on the Oppo Rally Instagram. All these challenges will be doable from any location, and often from within your own home if you so choose, but you’ll have to complete them within 1 or 2 days of the challenge being posted. These challenges will not be posted in Oppositelock, they will only be on Instagram, so be sure to keep an eye on the Oppo Rally account.
The Scavenger List:
Alright, alright. Here’s what you’ve really been looking for, the list of scavenger hunt items. Some will be easy to find, some will be hard, some will require a day trip for certain players. While I’ve attempted to fill the scavenger list with things that can be found across the country I realize that there’s no way to ensure distribution of the items on the list is even for everyone. The point of the game is to just give y’all an excuse to get out of the house and do a little exploring.
The list is broken into categories, simply for organizational purposes. Unlike a traditional Oppo Rally, completing a category will not yield bonus points.
Note: You are not allowed to submit the same location for multiple scavenger checkpoints, even if the location meets the description for multiple checkpoints.
FOR CANADIAN PLAYERS: We’ve had a number of Canadian entrants into the Great Oppo Hunt. Unfortunately some of the items on the scavenger list are strictly American (they’ll be pretty obvious when you see them). At the bottom of the scavenger list there is a “Canadian Substitution List.” You may substitute any of the strictly American items with any item from this list.
Oppo Hunt Checkpoints:
1. #JustWearIt – 250 pts – Your facemask
Items from yesteryear:
2. #WhoHasAQuarter – 50 pts – Public pay phone or phone booth
3. #TimeExpired – 30 pts – Coin operated parking meter
4. #WatchThoseLateFees – 40 pts – Video rental store. 40 points if it’s permanently closed but still identifiable, 60 if it’s still open. No, a Redbox kiosk doesn’t count (I know one of you would try it).
5. #TrappedInTheBallpit – 50 pts – McDonald’s Playplace
6. #CameBackHaunted – 40 pts – Abandoned “ghost” town
7. #PumpJockey – 35 pts – An out of use or replica vintage gas/service station
8. #ShutteredIsland – 30 pts – Shutdown or abandoned hospital/mental facility/prison/school, or other similar building
9. #TrafficLightsTurnBlue – 30 pts – Retired traffic/road equipment turned into a display (traffic light/toll booth/etc)
10. #SilverScreenQuotations – 45 pts – Antique theater marquee (think neon lights and letterboards)
11. #OnThisSite – 25 pts – State/national historical marker
Statues, Sculptures, Murals, and Mounments:
12. #AStorytellersGame – 40 pts – Statue of a literary character
13. #LifeImitatingArt – 25 pts – Take a photo of someone next to and imitating a statue’s pose
14. #MufflerManInvasion – 35 pts – A Muffler Man (check Wiki or Roadside America for more info)
15. #ScrapReborn – 30 pts – Scrap metal art sculpture
16. #Rocketmaaaaan – 35 pts – A rocket/shuttle/space related display (note: there are 5 a’s in the hashtag)
17. #Monumentous – 25 pts – A military ground vehicle or piece of artillery turned into a permanent monument
18. #DrunkSculptor – 35 pts – A very strange statue, either in subject matter or execution
19. #RattlecanRaphael – 40 pts – Well executed street/spray art
20. #ThatsAPallet – 30 pts – a wooden shipping pallet repurposed as décor
21. #TerribleThunderLizards – 35 pts – “life size” dinosaur sculpture
22. #StationaryAnimals – 30 pts – Large animal statue/sculpture
23. #WhoKilledGrimace – 35 pts – Statue of an interstate chain’s mascot (think Ronald McDonald, Big Boy, Sinclair dinosaur, etc)
24. #RockyAnimals – 40 pts – A roadside rock painted to resemble an animal
25. #50Landmarks - 40 pts - A landmark from loveexploring.com’s “50 Most Important Landmarks”
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (and Boats):
26. #BackcountryLanding – 45 pts – Active unpaved airfield/airstrip
27. #ClippedWingClub – 50 pts – Abandoned/retired airplane. Bonus points if in a strange location. Planes that are on some type of display do not count for this item, you’re looking for a plane that was just sorta forgotten.
28. #LandlockedBoats – 40 pts – Boat/ship on permanent (or at least very long term) out-of-water display
29. #AllFlightsCancelled – 60 pts – Decommissioned airport. Must still have some identifying feature
30. #RacingAgainstTime – 50 pts – An abandoned/closed down racetrack
31. #ProperlyRollingCoal – 40 pts – A steam locomotive. Bonus points if it’s in action
32. #ThatPlaneIsStacked – 50 pts – a biplane/triplane not in a museum
33. #TrackDayBroooo – 25 pts – A currently operational racetrack (note: four o’s in the hashtag)
34. #OnWingsOfEagles – 35 pts – An aircraft on permanent static display not as part of a museum
35. #RRXing – 45 pts – Level railroad crossing with a train going through
36. #ChooChooComingThrough – 70 pts – A street-running train (trolleys/commuter rail counts for half points)
Stately:
Note: I realize proximity is a particular issue for some of these. If the item is closer in another state than in yours then you can go for the one in the other state. If no site is within a reasonable distance of you then I might fall for a convincingly entertaining imitation.
37. #ABridgedVersion – 45 pts – A bridge over 130 feet high or from the loveexploring.com “Most Impressive Bridge” list
38. #ImGoingDeeperUnderground – 45 pts – Tunnel from Wikipedia’s list of tunnels
39. #ItWasHereFirst – 50 pts – Oldest building in the state
40. #ReachForTheSkyyy – 50 pts – Tallest building in the state
41. #RunItLikeARiver – 50 pts – The longest (or second longest) river in the state
42. #TopOfTheWorldMa – 60 pts – travel to the highest road in the state/higest point reachable by car. Bonus points for altitude/remoteness
Nature is Awesome:
43. #GoneChasingWaterfalls – 35 pts – Naturally formed waterfall
44. #SpelunkingIsAFunnyWord – 45 pts – A naturally formed cave or cavern
45. #SplitTheEarth – 40 pts – A canyon, gorge, or chasm
46. #OpposLoveExploring - 45 pts - An item either from “America’s Most Unspoiled Places” or “99 Beautiful Things We Love About America”
Tinfoil hats:
47. #IllGetYouBigfoot – 45 pts – Some representation of a cryptid or mythological monster. Examples here.
48. #TheyreOutThereMan – 35 pts – a UFO or alien-related statue/display
49. #TheMuseumOfWhat – 40 pts – Museums dedicated to uncommon things (Spam Museum, Pencil Sharpener Museum, Museum of Bad Art, RV Museum, etc)
A Perfect Union of Contrary Things:
50. #TheyveGonePostal – 30 pts – Homemade/custom mailbox
51. #GraveCircumstances – 35 pts – A famous grave or strange tombstone
52. #OutbidAgain – 25 pts – A real estate sold sign on a property
53. #CacheMeIfYouCan – 35 pts – Find a geocache
54. #GiveYouTheStars – 45 pts – An observatory (If you can’t find one you might be able to coax some points out of me with a nice telescope)
55. #NowImTheBurgerKing – 30 pts – Acquire a Burger King crown
56. #BigBottomGaveMeBlueBalls – 35 pts – Towns with strange names (such as Big Bottom, WA and Blue Ball, PA.)
57. #YakkoWakkoAndDot – 25 pts – A water tower
58. #RoadsideRecord – 35 pts – A roadside attraction touted as “world’s largest/oldest/tallest/smallest/etc”
59. #SaladToTheMoon - 40 pts - An item from either “Road Trip to the Moon” or “Salad of the Gods”
Car Spotting:
Note: Cars can’t be yours or your family’s. Cars also can’t be museum pieces. No, you can’t cheat by taking a car out of a museum and photographing it. And no, you can’t use the car that used to be yours but you sold to your neighbor across the street.
60. #JunkyardGold70s – 15 pts – Abandoned/junked car from the 70s
61. #JunkyardGold60s – 20 pts – Abandoned/junked car from the 60s
62. #JunkyardGold50s – 30 pts – Abandoned/junked car from the 50s
63. #JunkyardGoldPrewar – 40 pts – Abandoned/junked car from the 40s or prewar
64. #WhitewallsAndWagonWheels – 50 pts – A still functioning prewar car
65. #AGlitchInTheMatrix – 20 pts – two identical-looking cars parked adjacent to each other (same make/model/color/approximate year)
66. #NotFromRoundHere – 35 pts – A car that was never sold in the U.S./Canada
67. #OrphanCar - 25 pts - A car from a brand that has been dead at least 20 years.
68. #ThisCarDriveYou – 50 pts – A car from the Soviet Union/Soviet Bloc
69. #DrivingABaguette – 30 pts – A French branded car
70. #LoosePartsAndSmoke – 20 pts – A British branded car, must be pre-2000
71. #EnemyOfTheDriveThru - 35 pts - A right hand drive car
72. #GarageHero – 40 pts – A homebuilt/kit car
73. #CreativeFuels – 35 pts – A car that doesn’t run on a standard commercial fuel source (gas/diesel/plug-in electric/ethanol)
74. #HorseInTheCart – 15 pts – Mid-engine car
75. #HorseBehindTheCart – 15 pts – Rear engine car (double points if it isn’t a VW or Porsche)
76. #CoolantSucks – 20 pts – Air cooled car (double points if it isn’t a VW or Porsche)
77. #AngryDoritos – 20 pts – Rotary engine car
78. #ArtGalleryOnWheels – 35 pts – A car (or multiple cars) turned into an art piece
79. #TheStarCar – 25 pts – A replica/tribute of a famous movie/TV car
80. #MartiniStripesForAll – 25 pts – A replica/tribute of a race car
81. #SpeedIAmSpeed – 20 pts – A fully caged race car
82. #ICantGetIn – 25 pts – A car with non-traditional opening doors (suicide doors, gullwing doors, Lambo doors, etc)
83. #ShootingToThrill – 30 pts – A shooting brake (2 door wagon)
84. #BackyardConvertible – 30 pts – A hardtop car turned into a convertible by the owner
Stackables:
Each Item can be submitted up to 5 times. Will add bonus points if I’m impressed
85. #ObscuraGrabBag – 35 pts – A location from the Atlas Obscura website
86. #RoadsideGrabBag – 30 pts – A location from the Roadside America website
87. #OppoHuntDoubleDip – Any item from any other category in the scavenger list (aside from activities and face mask). Each submission will be worth 75% original item’s points.
88. #OppoHuntWildCard – Something cool that doesn’t fit any of the categories but is interesting or unique enough to be worth some points.
89. #GottaSupportYourParks – 40 pts – A park or monument that’s part of the national park system
90. #HuntingAlice – 40 pts – Alice Isn’t Dead is a suspense thriller podcast about road trips and the strange and bizarre things that can be found across the open highways. It was also part of the inspiration for this game. Over the years the creators of Alice Isn’t Dead have posted offbeat roadside attractions on their Twitter account. A complete list of these is compiled here. Also, the podcast is excellent listening for while you’re out on the road hunting the strange and bizarre. Just saying.
Canadian Substitution List
For all you moose-huggers, here’s a list of substitutes for the items you can’t reach because they’re down in Canada’s Pants. Use the hashtag of the scavenger item you’re replacing along with #CanadianSubstitute to score it. I’ll give points as I see fit.
-Giant Timmies cup
-Beaver statue
-Moose statue
-Giant canoe
-Canada goose (the closer you get the more points I’ll give)
-Hockey statue
-Stuffed moose dressed as a Mountie
-An actual Mountie
-Someone wearing a parka and shorts simultaneously
-Bob or Doug McKenzie
-Hosers
-A craft beer with a plaid label
-A Trans-Canada Highway sign
-A poutine shop
Best of luck to everyone!