As the request was made in the MA Zone thread re: MA tips, I figured I'd start a new thread for those teams out there that have reservations about switching from Basic to Advanced, jumping headfirst into the Advanced game (guilty, thanks to Nala), or just want to be a little more competitive. I'm not trying to tell anyone they're doing it wrong, as everyone has their own reasons for playing MouseAdventure.
Here are some of the things that we have learned over the years. Let's get some suggestions going for those who want help:
1) Time management is key. Work the big puzzles where you gather a bunch of information first so your puzzle solver can be solving those big ones while you're moving to another location or working other puzzles. Caveat: You may have to go back to get the answer. Be prepared and ensure you read the entire puzzle (Read everything, assume nothing) to have a good idea if you will get the final answer with the solution or if it will point you to find the answer nearby. Know how much time you have left and budget your time to work the big-ticket puzzles (classic format) and get to the low-density puzzles when you rack up a good base of points. Also, know what the payoff is: if you have to search for 20 minutes to find an eye-spy worth 5 points, it probably isn't worth it. Have your eye-spy expert or the team collaborate on where you "think" the eye-spies are before you get started so you can pick them up as you go. You're not going to lose the game by 5 minutes. Have a quick team meeting and organize your quests in a safe place (i.e. not a place you'll get run over by other teams or chased away by MA staff for blocking the PP exit) before you really get going. Hand out quests/eye spies to the appropriate team members before you go.
2) Team composition is also key. If you do the game for fun and like the entire team to collaborate on every quest, there's nothing wrong with that. For those who want to be extra competitive (psychotic is what I call Jen (*Nala*)), we have found that splitting up the quests to play to each player's strengths is a good thing to do. Have someone who is good at the logic/math puzzles, someone who is good at the word puzzles, someone who is good at eye-spies, and someone who is good at trivia. These can be the same person (Nala is our primary puzzle person, Danie (Rafiki) is our eye-spy person, and I'm the trivia person with Rafiki's help; Rafiki and I work on puzzles that we feel comfortable with while Nala is engaged on the tough ones). Those not working on a puzzle right now should be feeding the information necessary to the person who is. Example: You need to find 30 words for a word-search. Non-working members should be in charge of finding the words and getting them to the working player so that player can tick off words as he/she goes. Have a team leader who makes the hard calls like, "We don't have time for that now. We have to get to Tomorrowland to work the 50point quest."
3) Check your ego at the door. This was the hardest part for us, and it took a lot of games to get over this one. If roles are defined, then everyone has to be working on their role. No, "but I want to work on that puzzle," if that's not your role. Trust me, I love to be involved and know what Nala is doing. But, that just distracts her and I can't be working on other stuff if I'm constantly bothering her. Don't ask once a quest is solved, "How did you do that?" Deal with that after the game if you're interested. Also, if a team member says, "I need _____ right now," or "You have to get me the rest of this information or I can't complete this puzzle," you have to be willing to support that. Arguments about who's in charge just suck up the time you could be using to solve more puzzles.
4) Check your work. A lot. Another hard-learned lesson. We spent a lot of games with the "Doh!" factor, of little math errors, little logic errors, or little spelling errors (don't think, "I know how that's spelled;" find the word there in the park). Mouseadventure is becoming more competitive, and little errors of a few points can knock your from a potential 1st place finish to 5th in a hurry (yep, also learned from experience). Have another team member look at it. If you did it yourself, you don't have perspective.
5) Eat and drink on the move. Have protein bars, Clif shots, Power Gels, sandwiches from home, whatever you like, can eat, etc. to pull out as you're moving. Have a team member who's in charge of the "It's time to eat," or "Are you drinking enough water?" Nothing hurts worse than getting irritable and fighting over something stupid only to figure out that you're just hungry and everythings better after an hour of time-wasting and a Clif Bar. A Camelbak or similiar device is your friend. Don't count on being able to sit down for a leisurely lunch somewhere in the park, although there are times when a big puzzle is in the works and sitting down for a snack while you're working may be appropriate.
6) Definitely have a clipboard, preferably one with a storage compartment. Each team member should have a clipboard or something they can write on so everyone can be working on separate quests. Have a team member in charge of organizing and not losing game materials. Highlighters help a lot with word searches.
7) Know where the ride exit is. Drop off any non-riding team members there before the rest of the team rides WITH THE GAME PACKET. Penalties are not fun. We are partially responsible for clarifying one of the variations of the "Star Tours" rule in figuring this one out.
8) Ask for help if you need it. The MA staff is great when it comes to this. If they can clarify something for you (usually a quick, "did you read the ENTIRE quest?"), they will do so before hitting you up with a time or point penalty for help. If you're worried, caveat your question with a quick, "We don't want to take the penalty here, but we think something's missing/can't quite get this. Can you clarify _____ for us?" You may just find an error that will help out every other team in the game.
OK, that's what I can come up with now. Anyone else with tips you think should be shared, please add here.
Kevin
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