How to Organize Your Own Amazing Race

Turn your ordinary party or gathering into a fun and exciting one for everyone by creating your own version of the Amazing Race! It is a new twist from the popular reality show by following these simple steps.

1. Know the Theme

   Your Amazing Race should go with the occasion. For example, is it a department acquaintance party, a reunion or a birthday party? You should be able to incorporate the theme into different elements of the race. Include the company or group logo in the Amazing Race Banner. The last race that I organized was for our Psychology Organization so we named it "THE PSYCH AMAZING RACE” complete with organization logos and the color of our organization.

2. Find the Right Location

   The venue should suit what kind of race you want to organize. A huge place will mean more destinations, more challenges and more participants. A small one means less number of participants, a short race with only few destinations and ultimately fewer challenges. Also, consider popular landmarks within the vicinity of the place (or for more challenges, plot some outside the place) such as a statue, or a common room, etc. The location should fit well with the challenge or task (for example, for water challenges the location should at least be near a water source. The number of landmarks you choose may represent the number of tasks.

3. Set the Mechanics

   Since this game is based on the reality show, the rules are basically the same; however you can spice these up to your taste. You can decide how many groups and members will be competing depending on the budget and location. The bigger the groups, the more props you will need.

   You can control the elimination as well. If you start with 8 groups of 5 members and you want the game to end quickly, all you need to do is to eliminate a group for every station (but that wouldn"t be fun right? Try an interval of 2-3 stations before every elimination round.)

   Clue Cards are important because these are given to the players and contain instructions about the task and clues for the next destination. You can create riddles for them to guess on the next location or be poetic in giving the instructions (such like the real thing).

   
   Familiarize yourself with the different tasks used in the Amazinf Race such as Road Block,(only the assigned number of members can participate in the challenge) Detour, (Choosing between two tasks) and Fast Forward (Advance to the next destination). These can give the game more difficulty.

4. The Tasks

   Be creative in thinking of tasks or challenges for the players. Here is how I categorize my tasks. A combination of all of these will ensure excitement.
   • Mind tasks- these require mental skill and the ability to solve different problems including puzzle solving, riddles, trivia quizzes and brain teasers
   • Physical tasks- require running, jumping, etc. Examples are relay, treasure hunting, etc.
   • Mystery Food- an Amazing Race will not be complete without having these around. Some ideas include raw vegetable shake, raw eggs, etc. Be as playful and gross as you can be.

5. Prepare the Game

   Create an outline on how the race would go from start to end. Include the things needed for each station and assign at least two facilitators for each station to ensure that the players accomplish their task.

   Here is an example outline you can copy:

   START:

   Destination 1: Open Field (Starting groups: 10)

   Facilitators: Ben and Lisa

   Task: Each group gets a Word Hunt Puzzle. Their task is to Find 20 hidden words. The last team to finish will be eliminated.

   Things needed: 10 printed Word Hunt Puzzles

   Destination 2: Library entrance (9 groups remaining)

Facilitators: Kathy and Mitch

Task: Eat the mystery food

Things Needed: raw eggs, plastic cups

Prepare the materials ahead of time and pile them in plastic bags for each station so there's no hustle in giving these to each destination. Meet the facilitators before hand to talk about the race and answer their questions.

Have a clinic or first aid kit station near the venue to ensure that any injured player will be attended. To personalize the groups, have them wear the same color shirt per group to show uniformity. Also, instruct them to wear sports clothes. Believe me, once they get into the game, they will be asking for it the next time!