Silver Bugle Hunt Information for Teams
Team Rules and Guidelines for Silver Bugle Hunt
To enter a team(s) in the Hunt, fill out an entry form. Pay by check to
Tarleton Ambassadors or PayPal to [email protected]
Teams of 4 people report to the registration
table at Trogdon House by 6:00 pm on the
specified day of the hunt, traditionally the
Monday before Homecoming Weekend.
1. All four teammates must be together through
the entire event.
2. Teams may not switch members during the hunt.
3. Communication between teams during the hunt will not be
allowed.
4. Purple Books and additional aids are strictly prohibited during the hunt; this includes the use
of cell phones, PDA’s & Internet devices.
5. No vehicles may be used for any part of the hunt.
6. Poor sportsmanship will not be tolerated and any teams caught
breaking rules will be disqualified.
7. Participants are accountable to be respectful to each other and the space around them. No smoking on Trogdon House grounds. No walking or standing in flowerbeds. Participants need to be mindful of safety when running through parking lots and driveways. Most of the questions will be created from the information in the Tarleton Purple Book. A
few questions will be common knowledge. The sources used for compiling questions are
available in the library and include:
a. The Tarleton Purple Book
(http://www.tarleton.edu/studentactivities/documents/TarletonTraditions.pdf
b. John Tarleton and His Legacy: The History of Tarleton State University, by Chris
Guthrie, 1999.
c. The John Tarleton College Story: The Golden Days of Purple and White, by Richard C.
King, 1998.
d. The Traditions Remain. (coffee table book)
Round One
•6:00 to 6:30 pm
Teams check in at registration table in the driveway of the Trogdon House to
receive a packet. Entry fees not previously paid can be paid at the table.
Refreshments available.
•6:30 pm Round One begins with the sound of the official horn. Teams proceed
to their assigned question station where they will be asked questions based upon information
found in the source books listed above. More than one team may be assigned to the same
starting point. The first team to arrive will be asked the
question first. Teams must visit questions stations in
numerical order and may not skip a station. If a team
starts at question 18 they will continue to 19, 20, 1, 2, 3
and so on until they have visited all the question
stations. If a team arrives at a question location where
another team is engaged in answering the question, the
arriving team must keep a distance away until the team
at that location is finished. 15 feet is an acceptable
distance. In the event that multiple teams arrive at a
station the question will be asked to each team in the
order of their arrival. Question askers will ask if your
answer is final before accepting the answer. It is to the advantage of each team to answer quietly
enough so that other teams do not hear your answer. If the answer is correct, the question asker
will sign your packet with their unique signature in the designated numbered square. If the
answer is incorrect, your team will receive an "X" in the designated square, and the correct
answer will not be given to you.
•7:30 pm
Round One ends with the sound of the official horn. Teams that have not returned to Trogdon
House by 7:40 are disqualified. Present the team packet to the registration table for Ambassadors
to count answers and determine the top one third of the teams.
Round Two Round Two begins as soon as the Master of Ceremonies
announces the top teams. Top teams are determined by the
highest number of correct answers according to the team
packets. The top one third of the teams will proceed to Round
Two.
In case of a tie, the master of ceremonies will instruct those teams to participate in the tie-­‐breaker competition. Tie-­‐breaking question #1 will be asked to each of the teams quietly. Teams with the correct answer proceed to tie-­‐breaking question #2. If every team gives an incorrect answer to #1, they will all proceed to tie-­‐breaking question #2. Teams answering #2 correctly will proceed to #3. The process continues until one team is left. All participants are encouraged to remain
until the end of Silver Bugle Hunt. It is usually completed by 9:00 pm. To give out the letters for teams to solve the puzzle that gives a clue to the location of the bugle,
20 Ambassadors and volunteers stand in a line, each with one envelope that has multiple copies
of the letter designated for the corresponding question’s answer. For example, the 2013 clue to
find the hidden bugle in the raised flowerbed near the south entrance of Wisdom Gym was
W
1
I
2
S D O M ’S
3 4 5 6
7
S O U T H
8 9 10 11 12
L E A F Y
13 14 15 16 17
B O X
18 19 20
Ambassador
number one
holding envelope
#1 gave out a
“W”. Ambassador
number two
holding envelope
#2 gave out an “I”,
and so on. Other volunteers carried one of the envelopes belonging to Round Two teams and
passed along in front of the line of letters to collect a team’s earned letters for correct answers.
If a team answered all the questions correctly except #18, they received all the letters except the
“B” for question 18.
After letters are distributed into the envelopes, the Master of
Ceremonies calls out the name of a team and hands their packet to
an Ambassador. The assigned Ambassador holds a flashlight and
accompanies the team to a private space on the lawn. Packets can
be opened at the sound of the horn. When a team solves the clue,
the Ambassador goes with the team to the location where they think
the bugle is hidden. The team that brings the bugle back to the
Trogdon House is the winning team.
Plaques are presented to the winning team and
photographs taken on the front steps of the Trogdon
House.
The winning team members are recognized the following evening at the Purple Out Picnic. At
that time Ambassador officers will present each winner with an engraved plaque and an official
Homecoming T-shirt in the size requested by each member of the winning team.