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We watched as the crowd at Mosswood park swelled to 250 people. I answered questions people asked based on my experience with Journey to the End of the Night games, but always added the disclaimer that this was a new game and things can always change with sf0.

The whistle was blown and we all took off, running across the street, quickly learning what items on our person were not secured down enough and would impede our running. Ian was leading our group and indicated we needed to be on the other side of the block. He ducked into a Honda dealership, while a salesman held the door for our entire team. We walked straight through the dealership amidst cries from desperate salesmen asking if we wanted to buy a car. Alas the rules said no cars, so we exited out the back of the dealership onto the other side of the block. We then tried to find the footpath we thought would be a safe route.


The path was found and it ran along the creek. I alternated between joining Ian in the creek and the others on the foot path, wondering constantly what the balance of safety vs wet shoes should be. When continuing further along the creek meant going into the storm sewers, I bid the others goodbye and joined Ian in the wet darkness.

For about a quarter of a mile we stopped low and ran through a pitch black tunnel. The only sounds were the trickling stream of water, heavy breathing, and our footsteps echoing. (VIDEO) Occasionally we'd pass under a manhole cover or grate in the street and my eyes would cringe at the bright light and exposure of just how dusty and dingy this tunnel was. Dirt, dust, and who knows what else fell off the ceiling as our packs, strapped to our hunched over backs, scraped against the ceiling. Every time the tunnel shrank in diameter, I hoped that it would be the last reduction in space. The sudden fear of earthquake or other disaster flickered into my mind only to be quickly pushed out so I could continue deeper into the tunnel. But it was difficult to get the story of Tom Sawyer and McDougal's cave out of my head. Finally we saw a light at the end and emerged as silently as possible into the remaining daylight. We brushed the dirt and cobwebs from our hair and clothes and continued on via the footpath.

After some climbing through yards, bushes, and trees we finally made it to Checkpoint 1 in the Rose Garden were Ian had his fortune read, we gathered signatures, and met up again with our now caught friends Nicole and Kai. Our group also doubled in size as Jason and Audrey joined us. After a stand-off at the edge of the safe zone with Nicole and Kai, we hoofed it up the hill, again parting bushes and trees, to take an unusual exit from the park via a backyard of a house under construction.

On our way to Checkpoint 2 we ended up taking the long route, passing by a slightly confused Dax at what was Checkpoint 7 and walked the length of the park to Checkpoint 2. A quick signature by the fishermen and then we started making our way to Checkpoint 3. We wove through streets, and eventually climbing up onto a porch and then over a wall to cross blocks without exposing ourselves to an intersection since statistics indicate that most chaser/chasee collisions happen at intersections. While climbing onto this porch/balcony a woman came out into the parking lot we were exiting inquiring about our behavior. Jason stated that we were playing a game and then realized that he knew the woman. Instantly assured we were not up to anything too mischievous, she went back to her apartment. A bit of parkour, some hills and then it happened...

We were walking down the street, it was dark, we saw two people chatting on a sidewalk under some trees and bushes. I think we all knew they were chasers, but we thought we could cross the street and quietly pass them by in the dark. Or at least get past them enough to get a head start for running. Jason and Ian got enough of a head start and took a sharp left when they gave chase. I was not as lucky and was tagged as I tried to sprint past a chaser who hadn't spotted me yet. Audrey was caught as well. We relinquished our green ribbons, tied on the orange, and headed to Checkpoint 3.


We met up with quite a few friends at Checkpoint 3, including the infamous Piratey Monkey. Many of them had been caught, but a decent number still had their green armbands and "were in it to win". Audrey and I wished them luck and then started wandering around Oakland trying to find players to catch.

Just outside Checkpoint 3 I saw Cubes, and sprinted to tag him, only to find out disappointingly that the BART exit was hidden behind trees and that meant he was still in a safe zone. We followed him to Checkpoint 3 where we met up with Eden who had been turned to the Orange Side as well. We then set off to try a few strategic locations where we might find people. A lot of walking, a lot of conversation, and we had very little luck finding greens. We did run into Craig who would have been first to the last checkpoint (by almost an hour) had he not been ambushed and tagged literally feet away from the safe zone. He mentioned something about a resurrection phone and pointed us in the direction it might be if it still existed.

No resurrection phone was found, and a friendly security guard in the dark shopping plaza asked if he could help us find something. We started to explain the situation, but saw a green runner at the end of the plaza. Instantly the three of us took off as I shouted back to the guard as I disappeared into the night again.

We thought we'd try to head down near Jack London and try to intercept people coming form Checkpoint 5 to 6 but saw no players and just the clubbers around Broadway. After some communication with friends that were still green, we discovered they were actually already headed to the last checkpoint. We hopped in a cab and raced back to the final checkpoint and arrived to a colonnade filled with familiar faces and friends. But unfortunately it was time to go according to the police so a handful of us retired to a friend's house where we spent the wee hours of the morning talking about the game and our experiences while resting our weary legs.