We Turned Montreal into an Elaborate Game
What is the easiest way to make your friends get into the lake in your local park fully clothed?
Like me, you have probably asked yourself this question many times.
Lucky for you, I have found the answer: Completely arbitrary points.
My friends and I ran around Montreal completing ridiculous challenges, including a baguette duel, a fake tourist information program, and the worst poutine I have ever seen.
I’m going to tell you how the game works, how it went when we played it, share some exceptionally funny highlights, and give you some Hot Tips for how you can make a similar game in your own city.
Designing the Game
I was heavily inspired by shows like Jet Lag and Taskmaster. However, those are shows with budgets and professional staff, and I am a random guy with some friends.
So, I kept it real simple. I didn’t do any elaborate connect 4 games or capture the flags, just challenge cards that involved running around the city doing ridiculous stuff for points.
We played with four teams. Each team has a deck of challenge cards. They hold 6 at a time, and draw a new card when they complete a card. Each team shared their location, and told the other teams when they completed a challenge by uploading a video.
You can find a complete ruleset at the end of this post.
I landed on four types of cards:
Geography cards
I designed these cards to get people moving around the city. They give some big picture rewards to guide overall strategy.
You keep these cards until the end of the game, and they can be completed at any time. They are scored at the end of the game.
They’re also competitive - you have to do better than any other team.
There were two cards in this category:
- Visit the most islands
- High-five at the highest place
Montreal is on an island, and there are a bunch of smaller islands on either side.
There is a clear highest in Montreal point at the top of Mt Royal, but it’s a 30 minute hike. You could also try to get up a tall building or climb a tree.
In the end, one team did get up the mountain!
Challenge cards
These are standard challenges done by a single team.
Here are some personal favourites:
- Confess your sins at 3 different cathedrals.
- Tell a riddle under a bridge.
- Give maple syrup to a tourist.
There’s a full list at the end of the post and a link to the card files.
Curses
Curses are played on another team. They are, unsurprisingly, bad.
Some fun examples include Touch Grass and Visit Tim Hortons. The latter was played extremely successfully on a team in the middle of visiting multiple islands!
Duels
These challenges are designed to get teams together and interacting.
One team would draw the card, and choose another team to duel.
The duel cards were:
- Play hide and seek
- Hunt another team
- Have a baguette duel
Challenges I “borrowed”
I used a bunch of challenges from the youtube channel Jet Lag, including
- Stalk a bird
- Forge art
- Transport water between fountains
- Can’t say E
- Recreate a statue
These all worked great!
How it went
The game was a big success!
My team didn’t win, which made it feel like the game was fair.
There was barely any confusion and the challenges were super fun and slightly embarrassing, as intended.
Everyone was completely exhausted by the end. You could almost say we were… really tired.
What’s Next
I’m currently planning a Connect 4 game using Montreal’s neighbourhoods and a new set of challenges! Stay tuned.
Controversies
Only one major drama occurred: One team failed to complete their curse card, because they went to a closed Tim Hortons, but the sign specified going in. Fortunately, this was near the end of the game, so we disqualified their subsequent challenges.
The Leonard Cohen art extravaganza
My personal favourite challenge was “Create public art of Leonard Cohen”.
If you don’t know, Montreal has multiple massive murals depicting Cohen (he lived here). One team did a great job at this challenge, but also left their chalk with a note saying “Please Use!”
When we walked by that street later, it was absolutely covered in chalk art! A great victory for silly games, and for pedestrianised streets.
Improvements and design flaws
Everyone had a great time, but of course the game was not perfect.
Here are some things that I’d change if I ran it again.
Not enough travel
The team that won stayed mainly in one neighbourhood, and smashed through a lot of challenges that didn’t require travelling far.
This happened because of two design flaws:
- Most challenges could be completed within a similar location
- Travelling was not sufficiently rewarded with points
I would increase the number of location-specific challenges, and increase the points for location-specific challenges.
I would also double the points for the geography cards as these were clearly underscored. The time dedication and inconvenience is really high, and the winning team smartly realised this and ignored them completely.
Duel cards could be cheesed
A couple of teams figured out they could hack the duel cards, specifically the hide and seek cards. Both teams had the card, so they made a deal to “find” each other immediately, and each claim the maximum points. This was very cheeky, but technically within the rules!
Playing any game with more than two teams means that two teams can collaborate to earn points. This can create new ways to break the game.
To fix this, you could probably add some language specifying that both teams have to make genuine attempts.
Lots of points needed tweaking.
Predictably, I got the difficulty wrong on a bunch of challenges. At the end I’ve included the original scores and an updates list of scores.
How to play this game yourself
I think this game format works really well as an intro to a city-wide competition game for total beginners.
In Montreal
If you want to play this in Montreal, you’re good to go! Feel free to print and use the cards. I recommend Copie Nova downtown, they did 5 decks of 30 cards each on glossy card stock for around $50.
In another, less cool city
Some of the cards are specific to Montreal or Canada and might not work in your city. Replace them with ones based on fun regional or local jokes!
Here are some broad guidelines:
- The challenge shouldn’t cost much money, if any.
- The **outcome **should be specific. “Make an impressive artwork” is not a good challenge for a competitive game.
- The **method **should be open to interpretation. For example, the “Build a sandcastle” challenge specified the castle had to be mostly sand, but features like towers and a moat could have been accomplished with any material.
- Use lots of location based challenges. The best kind are ones with multiple possible locations. For example, “Get in the ocean” would work great in some cities. Visiting a statue of a notable person who has multiple statues around the city would also work great.
Good luck! If you run a version of this game yourself, feel free to email me with the results!
Rules list
- Here’s the full list of rules we used:
- The game lasts for 6 hours.
- All teams must be at the starting location at the end of the time. For each 2 minutes a team is late, they lose 1 point.
- Teams must remain together at all times.
- Only one challenge can be completed at any time, with the exception of purple cards.
- Teams may use any method of transportation.
- Teams must share their location at all times (we used Google Maps)
- Teams may discard and redraw their hand by taking a 10 minute time penalty. This does not discard purple cards.
- Each team starts with one purple card, drawn at random.
Card files
I uploaded the files for the cards to a google drive. These are with the old points.
They are free for anyone to use. If you do use them, and want to say thanks, you can buy me a coffee.
Updated challenges
Challenge | Type | Points |
High five at the highest place.
Keep this card until the end of the game. The team with the highest high five wins. You must provide evidence of the altitude. Draw another card. |
Geography | 50 |
Visit the most islands.
Keep this card until the end of the game. Islands must have a name (e.g. not a rock in a river). You must be physically on the island. Most islands wins. Draw another card. |
Geography | 50 |
Stalk a bird.
You must film the bird for 3 minutes. The bird must be on camera for the entire 3 minutes with no interruption. You must not bother the bird. |
Individual | 10 |
Eat an incredibly fresh bagel.
The bagel must have been made less than 5 minutes ago. |
Individual | 5 |
Make your own Poutine.
Your Poutine must have potato, cheese curds, and sauce. All team members must try the Poutine. |
Individual | 10 |
Wait in line for food.
You must wait in line for at least 5 minutes. You may not restart or interrupt your place in the line. |
Individual | 6 |
Give maple syrup to a tourist.
You must confirm that the person is a tourist. |
Individual | 14 |
Create public art of Leonard Cohen.
The art must be recognisably Leonard Cohen. The art must still be there after you leave the location (e.g. no interpretive dance). |
Individual | 12 |
Perform a dive at Olympic Park.
You must jump into water. The water must be there intentionally (e.g. not a puddle). There must be a visible splash. |
Individual | 15 |
Give a 200% tip.
Give a tip of 200% of the sale price at a real business. |
Individual | 5 |
Create a team uniform.
All materials used in the uniform must cost less than $10 collectively. The uniform must be recognisable at a distance. The uniform must be the same for all team members. All team members must wear the uniform until the end of the game. |
Individual | 12 |
Confess your sins at 3 different cathedrals.
The cathedrals must be visible and less than 100 metres away. A team member must confess a different sin at each cathedral. |
Individual | 10 |
Recreate a statue.
You must be in front of the statue. You must hold the statue position for 30 seconds. |
Individual | 5 |
Build a sand castle.
The sandcastle must be at least 30 cm tall. The sandcastle must have a moat, towers, and a flag. The castle must be made mostly of sand. |
Individual | 8 |
Clear ice from a road.
Place or find some ice on a road or path. There must be enough ice that it could be slipped on. The ice must be fully cleared from the road. |
Individual | 8 |
Answer a riddle under a bridge.
One team member must pose the riddle and another must answer. The bridge must be over water. |
Individual | 5 |
Clean up a park.
You must pick up at least 20 pieces of garbage from the park and put them in a bin. The garbage must be in the park when you arrive. |
Individual | 8 |
Win a prize from a claw machine.
You must win a prize from a real claw machine. |
Individual | 15 |
Forge art.
Create a recognisable forgery of an artwork. You must be looking at the real artwork while you forge it. The artwork must be on display, and cannot be outdoors or in a metro station. |
Individual | 8 |
Transport water between fountains.
Transport water from one fountain to another fountain. You must transfer at least a cup of water. The fountains must be at least 50 metres apart. |
Individual | 5 |
Remember a licence plate.
Without looking at the licence plate, a team member must say the alphabet,, then say the entire licence plate from memory and say “je me souviens”. |
Individual | 5 |
Bring an egg.
Acquire an egg. Keep the egg with you for the rest of the game. You must bring the egg intact to the end of the game. For each full hour you carry the egg, you get 2 points. |
Individual | X |
Play hide and seek.
Choose another team. Until this challenge is complete, neither team may complete challenges. Send that team a location. Each member of your team must hide within 50 metres of that location. When the other team arrives, they have 5 minutes to find you. For each team member found, they get 5 points. For each team not found, you get 5 points. |
Duel | 0-20 |
Have a baguette sword fight.
Choose another team. Until this challenge is over, neither team may complete any other challenges. Each team must acquire a baguette and travel to a location chosen by you. One person from each team must duel with the baguette. The first to touch the other fighter 3 times with the baguette wins. If your baguette breaks, you lose. The winner gets 15 points. The loser gets 5 points. |
Duel | 5-15 |
Hunt another team.
Immediately choose another team and send them this card. Capture at least one member of that team on camera. If you do, you get 20 points. If they reach the end of the game without being captured, they get 20 points. You cannot capture the other team within 500 metres of the end zone or within 10 minutes of the end of the game. |
Duel | 20 |
Have a “picnic”.
Go to a public park. Your team must consume a number of alcoholic beverages equal to the number of team members. You must bring food. |
Individual | 6 |
Rate ice cream.
Visit two different ice cream stores. Acquire ice cream, and rate the ice cream.. The stores must primarily sell ice cream. |
Individual | 6 |
Join the circus.
Do a circus trick at the Cirque du Soleil. You must be within 100 metres of a Cirque du Soleil venue. The trick must be impressive. |
Individual | 12 |
Find something worth $26.
The item must be priced at $26 rounded to the nearest dollar before tax. |
Individual | 6 |
Teach the history of a park.
Explain three facts about the park’s history or the person for whom it is named.. You must explain the facts from memory. The facts must be interesting. You must be in the park while teaching the lesson. |
Individual | 8 |
Can’t Say E
Send this curse to another team: Nobody on your team can say a word with the letter E. If you say a word with E your team must pause for 30 seconds and not move. This curse lasts until you complete your next challenge. |
Curse | Nil |
Can’t turn right
Send this curse to another team: You cannot turn right. You must reach your next destination by only making left turns. This curse lasts until you complete your next challenge. |
Curse | Nil |
Touch grass
Send this curse to another team. All team members must touch grass. Until you touch grass, you cannot complete your next challenge. |
Curse | Nil |
Steal a card
Steal a card from another team. Choose another team. That team must send you their current hand of cards. Choose one card from their hand. They must remove that card from their hand and draw another. Discard one of your cards and draw the card you stole. The card you steal must be blue. |
Curse | Nil |
Visit Tim Hortons
Send this curse to another team. Go into a Tim Hortons. Until you complete this curse, you cannot complete any challenges. |
Curse | Nil. |
Original challenges
Challenge | Type | Points |
High five at the highest place.
Keep this card until the end of the game. The team with the highest high five wins. You must provide evidence of the altitude. Draw another card. |
Geography | 25 |
Visit the most islands.
Keep this card until the end of the game. Islands must have a name (e.g. not a rock in a river). You must be physically on the island. Most islands wins. Draw another card. |
Geography | 25 |
Stalk a bird.
You must film the bird for 3 minutes. The bird must be on camera for the entire 3 minutes with no interruption. You must not bother the bird. |
Individual | 10 |
Eat an incredibly fresh bagel.
The bagel must have been made less than 5 minutes ago. |
Individual | 8 |
Make your own Poutine.
Your Poutine must have potato, cheese curds, and sauce. All team members must try the Poutine. |
Individual | 10 |
Wait in line for food.
You must wait in line for at least 5 minutes. You may not restart or interrupt your place in the line. |
Individual | 8 |
Give maple syrup to a tourist.
You must confirm that the person is a tourist. |
Individual | 12 |
Create public art of Leonard Cohen.
The art must be recognisably Leonard Cohen. The art must still be there after you leave the location (e.g. no interpretive dance). |
Individual | 15 |
Perform a dive at Olympic Park.
You must jump into water. The water must be there intentionally (e.g. not a puddle). There must be a visible splash. |
Individual | 8 |
Give a 200% tip.
Give a tip of 200% of the sale price at a real business. |
Individual | 6 |
Create a team uniform.
All materials used in the uniform must cost less than $10 collectively. The uniform must be recognisable at a distance. The uniform must be the same for all team members. All team members must wear the uniform until the end of the game. |
Individual | 15 |
Confess your sins at 3 different cathedrals.
The cathedrals must be visible and less than 100 metres away. A team member must confess a different sin at each cathedral. |
Individual | 15 |
Recreate a statue.
You must be in front of the statue. You must hold the statue position for 30 seconds. |
Individual | 5 |
Build a sand castle.
The sandcastle must be at least 30 cm tall. The sandcastle must have a moat, towers, and a flag. The castle must be made mostly of sand. |
Individual | 10 |
Clear ice from a road.
Place or find some ice on a road or path. There must be enough ice that it could be slipped on. The ice must be fully cleared from the road. |
Individual | 8 |
Answer a riddle under a bridge.
One team member must pose the riddle and another must answer. The bridge must be over water. |
Individual | 5 |
Clean up a park.
You must pick up at least 20 pieces of garbage from the park and put them in a bin. The garbage must be in the park when you arrive. |
Individual | 8 |
Win a prize from a claw machine.
You must win a prize from a real claw machine. |
Individual | 12 |
Forge art.
Create a recognisable forgery of an artwork. You must be looking at the real artwork while you forge it. The artwork must be on display, and cannot be outdoors or in a metro station. |
Individual | 15 |
Transport water between fountains.
Transport water from one fountain to another fountain. You must transfer at least a cup of water. The fountains must be at least 50 metres apart. |
Individual | 5 |
Remember a licence plate.
Without looking at the licence plate, a team member must say the alphabet,, then say the entire licence plate from memory and say “je me souviens”. |
Individual | 5 |
Bring an egg.
Acquire an egg. Keep the egg with you for the rest of the game. You must bring the egg intact to the end of the game. For each full hour you carry the egg, you get 2 points. |
Individual | X |
Play hide and seek.
Choose another team. Until this challenge is complete, neither team may complete challenges. Send that team a location. Each member of your team must hide within 50 metres of that location. When the other team arrives, they have 5 minutes to find you. For each team member found, they get 3 points. For each team not found, you get 3 points. |
Duel | 0-12 |
Have a baguette sword fight.
Choose another team. Until this challenge is over, neither team may complete any other challenges. Each team must acquire a baguette and travel to a location chosen by you. One person from each team must duel with the baguette. The first to touch the other fighter 3 times with the baguette wins. If your baguette breaks, you lose. The winner gets 10 points. The loser gets 5 points. |
Duel | 5-10 |
Hunt another team.
Immediately choose another team and send them this card. Capture at least one member of that team on camera. If you do, you get 15 points. If they reach the end of the game without being captured, they get 15 points. You cannot capture the other team within 500 metres of the end zone or within 10 minutes of the end of the game. |
Duel | 15 |
Have a “picnic”.
Go to a public park. Your team must consume a number of alcoholic beverages equal to the number of team members. You must bring food. |
Individual | 5 |
Rate ice cream.
Visit two different ice cream stores. Acquire ice cream, and rate the ice cream.. The stores must primarily sell ice cream. |
Individual | 5 |
Make a haiku from business signs.
You must use at least 3 different signs. Your haiku must follow a 5-7-5 pattern. |
Individual | 6 |
Join the circus.
Do a circus trick at the Cirque du Soleil. You must be within 100 metres of a Cirque du Soleil venue. The trick must be impressive. |
Individual | 12 |
Find something worth $26.
The item must be priced at $26 rounded to the nearest dollar before tax. |
Individual | 12 |
Teach the history of a park.
Explain three facts about the park’s history or the person for whom it is named.. You must explain the facts from memory. The facts must be interesting. You must be in the park while teaching the lesson. |
Individual | 12 |
Can’t Say E
Send this curse to another team: Nobody on your team can say a word with the letter E. If you say a word with E your team must pause for 30 seconds and not move. This curse lasts until you complete your next challenge. |
Curse | Nil |
Can’t turn right
Send this curse to another team: You cannot turn right. You must reach your next destination by only making left turns. This curse lasts until you complete your next challenge. |
Curse | Nil |
Touch grass
Send this curse to another team. All team members must touch grass. Until you touch grass, you cannot complete your next challenge. |
Curse | Nil |
Steal a card
Steal a card from another team. Choose another team. That team must send you their current hand of cards. Choose one card from their hand. They must remove that card from their hand and draw another. Discard one of your cards and draw the card you stole. The card you steal must be blue. |
Curse | Nil |
Visit Tim Hortons
Send this curse to another team. Go into a Tim Hortons. Until you complete this curse, you cannot complete any challenges. |
Curse | Nil. |