This is really more of an explanation of the list format than a list of hard and fast rules. However, there are a few overall rules to note:

- No posting to an opposing team's weblog. No exceptions.

- No emailing the judges to complain about something you saw on another team's blog. We'll get to everything eventually.

- No posting of pictures other than those attached directly from the Camera app. If you happen to have a picture of an item on the list you took before Halloween, you got lucky. If you had taken a pic of list item a few weeks ago and then deleted it, you can't pull it off your old blog entry, hard drive, etc. and submit it.

- Breaking of the above rules can result in loss of points, individual disqualification, team disqualification and/or hurt feelings.

- Even though it is Halloween, if an item is a person, a pic of someone dressed as that person does not count. Along the same lines, a pic of a picture, drawing, model, etc. of an item does not count (unless otherwise specified)

- Don't get arrested (we won't bail you out)

- For the highest individual score, the individual only earns points for items that increase the team's score. (So, if an individual submits an item already submitted by someone else on their team, that item does not count towards the individual's total score.)

- In case of a tie in points, winners will be determined by who finished earliest. Ok, here is a sample list:

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Sample List
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hat [1]
top hat [1]
Baron playing guitar [1] (+1 if 12-string acoustic guitar)
Ficus waving "hi" [1]
You wearing a tie [1]
Team member eating a sandwich [1]
Someone named Bob [1]
Someone dressed as Ficus [1]
hot pepper [? - score determined by Scoville rating of pepper]

("Baron" and "Ficus" are (obviously) fictitous names of specific people used for discussion purposes only.)

the basic format is:
item [points] (modifier)

Points are only awarded for the first item submitted by any team member. Multiple points are not given for multiple submissions.

a typical entry would read:
hat [1]
since the type of hat is not specified, a pic of a baseball cap, derby, fedora, etc. would be worth one point. once a pic of a hat is submitted by any team member, that item is considered collected for the team, and further points will not be awarded to that team for pictures of other hats, etc.

top hat [1]
Unless, of course, another type of hat is listed specifically on the list. So, using our sample list, if someone goes to Manny's House of Hats, they should take a pic of a top hat (one point) and any other kind of hat (one point) for a total of two points. Any other pictures of hats submitted by anyone else on the team would be worth zero points.

Ficus waving "hi" [1]
Find Ficus, and take a picture of him waving "hi". That's all that is needed.

Someone named Bob [1]
Take a picture of anyone named Bob. Again, only one picture of any Bob per team is worth a point, so don't bother tracking down every Bob in your office. Add any info you think would help validate the pic (for example, "this is Bob Smith from accounting" (although no clues are as vague as "Bob", there are a few where some validating text will be helpful)).

Someone dressed as Ficus [1]
Since this is a Halloween hunt, there are bound to be at least a few "dressed as" clues. Remember, unless specified as "dressed as", pics must be of the actual person listed.

Team member eating a sandwich [1]
In this case, you can take a pic of yourself eating a sandwhich. Any type of sandwich will do. Again, only one pic of a team member eating a sandwich is worth a point for your team, so be sure to coordinate on these.

You wearing a tie [1]
The only case where multiple submissions per item all get a point - since "you" refers to you uniquely. In theory, a team could earn 11 points if each member put on a tie, took a picture, and submitted it to the team blog.

hot pepper [? - score determined by Scoville rating of pepper]
An interesting scoring variation. Again, only one pic submitted on a team blog would get points. However, the amount of points awarded is based on the highest-rated pic. In this example, if a pic of a bell pepper is followed later by a pic of a habanero, points are awarded on the habanero pepper only.

Baron playing guitar [1] (+1 if 12-string acoustic guitar)
An example of an item with an optional modifer. This is still treated as one item - only one picture received of Baron playing guitar, acousitic or otherwise, is the one that will determine the point value of the item for your team.

A note on interpretations: Overall, we have tried to be very specific in listing items. However, if you feel an item is open to creative interpretation (keeping in mind rules mentioned earlier) and want to give it a shot, go ahead. The point value of all submissions are decided solely by the judges, however.