Scavenger Hunt Play-By-Play

Howard, Sela's husband and hunt mastermind, announces eight teams.

• Read More: Thrill of the Scavenger Hunt

Dressed in team T-shirts, guests watch a video of last year's highlights.

Official walkie-talkie distribution...

Participants race to grab their first clue. Smack talk ensues.

Cars whip up dust, despite the 25 mph speed limit.

Sela takes a stab at one of her husband's mind-baffling clues.

The brown team (in war paint!) is close behind the lead.

The pink team optimistically claims victory.

Not so fast! Teams must piece together clues.

Still piecing it together...

Could it be...a tie? Howard controls the chaos via his megaphone.

It's a tie! Decorated members of the blue and purple teams strike a pose.

Winning teams hop on the pontoon for a victory lap set to "We Are the Champions."

The losing teams jump in to playfully dampen their spirits.

Sela's daughter, Anabella (right); cousin Anne Tyler (left); and friend Anne Morgan

After much-needed showers, guests enjoy bragging rights and a BBQ feast by Randy Chapman and Ed Davis.

After dinner, a hayride takes guests back to the pond's beach for live music.

Howard puts down his megaphone to share his tips for pulling off a (smaller scale) hunt.

• Establish a location. It can take place in your backyard or span an entire city. "Ideally, at least one person on each team should be familiar with the setting," he says.
• Select teams. Nothing brings people together like a common enemy, so "feel free to form teams of semi-strangers and assorted ages," he says. Order T-shirts at customink.com.
• Pinpoint destinations. Choose 10 or so places (fewer if you're gallivanting around a city) that will be relatively easy to identify via clues. If you're looking beyond the back-yard, assign each team a vehicle (bike, car, golf cart, you name it).
• Create clues. Pose simple questions or get creative. "Take a photo of a location, print it out, and cut it into small pieces," says Howard. "Place the pieces in an envelope so that each team has to complete the puzzle to know where to go." Or create a playlist of songs and ask participants to identify the common thread, which will lead them to the next location.