Posts Tagged‘the amazing race’

Episode 10 Search Episode 10 took place in Switzerland, in the shadow of the Matterhorn.  Teams were given the choice to Search or Rescue, and were flown by helicopter to the location of their challenge.  In Search, teams had to locate a mannequin buried under the snow using some type of beacon detector.  The device beeped and displayed numbers as the teams got closer to the correct location.  Then, they had to use shovels to free the mannequin from underneath about 4 feet of snow. I really like the idea of a puzzle that makes you find something that is buried.  I…

Episode 9 There weren’t really any puzzle challenges this week, just a simple math problem that Gary and Mallory faced for their Speed Bump. Interestingly, the Detour options this episode were basically the same as last episode:  carry stuff, or eat stuff.  This time, however, two teams did manage to complete the food challenge.

Episode 6 Tea Tasting Episode 6 gave us one of the most grueling puzzle challenges so far in Season 18. Before leaving for India from China, teams had to visit a traditional tea shop and sample some tea. Though the task seemed pointless at the time, its purpose was revealed once the teams arrived in India. Teams were lead to a large room at city hall where a ridiculously long table had been set up, with hundreds and hundreds of bowls of tea resting on top. One member from each team had to find the tea they had tasted back…

Episode 4 Episode 4 took the racers back to China. Chinese Zodiac Mobile One member of each team had to search through thousands of wooden charms, searching for the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac.  Once they found all 12, the had to hang the charms on a mobile in the correct order.  This challenge reminded me a lot of the paper plane challenge from Episode 1, and a few teams really got frustrated in their search.  

No real puzzles this week on Amazing Race.  Just lots of being lost and cold in Japan! My take on this week’s challenges…  if you have the choice between: A)  A challenge where you have to search for something, and it is unclear how long it will take you to find that thing or B)  A challenge requiring you to do something physically exhausting/difficult, but you will likely be able to complete the challenge in a fixed amount of time …pick B!  Don’t pick the one that leaves you searching in cold mud for hours and hours until the sun…

Last week’s episode was finishing up the first leg of the race in Australia, so there weren’t as many puzzle-like challenges as in episode 1.  The Detour of this leg had teams making Aboriginal art pieces (a rock mosaic or a traditional spray-painting), but those were more exhausting than puzzling. Periodic Table Map This was the one challenge that included any puzzling.  Teams had to dress up in kangaroo costumes (complete with bouncy shoes) and hop to the location of their next clue.  In order to find the next clue, they had to decipher a map:  a copy of the…

Hello puzzle-lovers!  I’m going try my hand at blogging this season of  The Amazing Race (U.S.)!  I’ve actually never watched an entire season of the show, but the few episodes I’ve seen have always seemed fun and exciting, with a couple of cool puzzles thrown in each week.  I won’t re-cap the entire episode, just the puzzle-like challenges.  Even if you don’t watch the show, maybe these posts can inspire you for your own puzzle adventures.  WARNING: These posts will obviously contain some spoilers for the show, so read at your own risk!  I will probably stick more to puzzle…