The impetus to run some kind of street game came from two significant dates for me that both occur in the summer -- one being my birthday, and the other being my zeroday (which corresponds roughly to 5 Years Running, the event that led me to SF0). My original plan was to try to organize a Journey somewhere around the 6-year anniversary, but when I realized that I would not be able to muster the manpower, the somewhat leaner profile of The Architect and the Urchin began to appeal to me.

Exploring the area and looking for places to put my Secrets was far and away the most fun part of the process. The night that I started was the night of the Lyrid meteor shower, which I didn't know at the time that I set out for my dérive on a warm, clear April night under a new moon. Imagine my delight as I hiked up Twin Peaks, looked out over the twinkling city lights, and saw shooting stars above them. On the same night I scrambled up the side of Mount Sutro in sweltering heat and absolute darkness, using my phone's screen to light my way. I walked as close to Sutro Tower as I'd ever been, exploring the boundaries of the fences around it, and trying, as so many of us have, to imagine what it would take to get that flag up there. On other nights and other days I explored more of the surrounding neighborhoods. Kite Hill, which I hadn't been to since my childhood. Mt Olympus, which I hadn't even known of until I looked at my map for interesting areas to explore and had the name jump off the page at me. Everywhere I went as I tromped up and down those hills, I found shortcuts, some obvious, and some that were never intended. At one point I went through a gap in some shrubbery at the foot of Twin Peaks, on a hunch, and found that there was an incredibly steep hidden trail that led to the next street up the hill, making what would have been a nearly one-mile hike into a very short scramble.

After a few test runs and careful deliberation, I settled on this collection of Secrets, centered around Tank Hill, which seemed like a safe out-of-the-way place to run an event from:



In my last trial run, it took me two and a half hours to "collect" all 12, starting and ending at Tank Hill. This was walking, but making full use of every shortcut I could find. When I was using my car for the setup, it took me about one and a half hours to cover the same ground, which gives you some idea of how much time the shortcuts save.

It took me a while to figure out how to affix the stamps and inkpads to each other and the scenery, because I am thick, so I'll share my technique with anyone else who might have the same problem: drill holes in the stamps and inkpads, use stout zipties to attach them to short lengths of chain, which are then easily secured to things by more zipties, bike locks, or whatever you have handy.

I spent way too much time agonizing over what to give as prizes, since I am not that artistic, expressionist caricature skills notwithstanding. These are what I finally came up with:



Publicizing the event was the other big challenge, and it's one I don't feel I did a very good job of -- I spammed all my friends, asked them to tell their friends, put fliers up in key areas of the city, notified every mailing list and group I could think of that might be interested, and only got 14 players, which turned out to not be enough to provide the high level of tension and drama that this sort of game thrives on.

Despite that mild disappointment, and despite almost freezing to death while I waited on Tank Hill for players to begin returning (next time I need to wait on a hilltop for long periods I'm bringing a big box of chemical hand-warmers), it was extremely gratifying to see players come back with full stamp collections and excitement in their eyes.

I definitely have new respect for the folks that make a habit out of running these games; this one wiped me out, and I'm honestly not sure yet if I'd have it in me to do another. We'll see next year...