Unauthorized | OSA Premiere Event 10.22.2021
On a brisk Friday evening, students congregated in the Dining听Complex (DC)听as OSA听finished their preparations听for the Premiere Event of the semester 鈥 an action-packed spy game titled Unauthorized, developed in the style of well-known games such as Cops and Robbers and Underground Church.听The students were divided by dorm and the dorms were sorted into five teams, each consisting of one guys鈥 dorm and one girls鈥 dorm.听Many of the visitors on campus for the Experience MBU Weekend participated as well.听
The Game Play
Each team was given a color and each member a title: Smuggler.听Each smuggler was given a piece of paper of their color with a book of the Bible printed on it: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, or Romans. These were their听Bibles,听and their mission听was听to deliver their Bible to its designated location somewhere on campus.听When a Bible was deposited, the smuggler would return to the DC for another, and this would continue until each Bible was gone听or until time ran out.听The team with the most Bibles delivered in an hour would win.听
But听danger lurked in the shadows, and few things are more dangerous than an upperclassman wearing a hockey mask given the opportunity to hide in the bushes outside Old Main听and scare people out of their wits.听Several听students were assigned the task of capturing smugglers and delivering them to听the听prison, where their Bible would be听confiscated,听and they would be stuck for two minutes.听However, the prison had snacks, so it wasn鈥檛 a total loss.听
These 鈥渃ops鈥 stationed themselves around campus and arrayed themselves in various costumes; one smuggler testified that, at one point in the game, he found himself cornered by a sumo wrestler and the Phantom of the Opera!听
The Playing Field
At the beginning of the game, the Matthew听drop-off station听was located by the Modular Classrooms next to Century House. Although this station was quickly discovered, it proved to be a danger zone as many cops hid under the shadowy eaves of the little buildings.听This would become the familiar haunt of a cop dressed as Spiderman; he听took听pleasure听in jumping out at unsuspecting smugglers who had made the incorrect assumption that all potential threats were behind them.听
Mark听and John听were听a little farther, situated on the second floor听and basement听of Old Main听respectively. Smugglers who braved the circle between the DC,听Old Main,听and the foyer, where听various听cops lingered,听found themselves confronted with the prospect of moving as silently as possible up or down the stairs. However, many smugglers found a secret entrance and snuck through a service door at the side of Old Main, bypassing many cops and saving themselves a trip to prison.听
Luke,听on the other hand, proved elusive for much of the night. Located across the Upper and Lower Quads at the fire pit near听the Costume听Cottage,听few teams thought to search so far from the circle until late in the game. Upon its discovery, many lone smugglers made the听silent, harrowing听trek across the dark Upper Quad听and听slid down the incline to the nearly pitch-black Lower Quad, hoping with all their might to avoid detection by the pair of hockey-masked cops terrorizing the听fields.听
A common question heard across campus that night was 鈥淒o you know where Luke is?鈥 This caused no little confusion, especially if someone was looking for Luke DeWald, Director of OSA, and was directed听all the way out听to the fire pit instead!听
The most terrifying prospect of the night was the journey from the DC to the location of听Romans.听Stationed听on the balcony of the听Fitness Center Gym (FCG), it was one of the first sites discovered听at the very beginning of the game,听and听it听quickly turned into a bottleneck zone.听Smugglers听had two听routes to get from the DC to the FCG:听through the front doors of the DC or out the backdoors on the lower level.听
The front doors of the DC put the smuggler directly into the circle, where many cops awaited. Should they make it past them and down the stairs to the听sidewalk alongside听the gym, more cops听hid听in the shadows. Alternately, the side door of the DC avoided the circle, but rounding the front of the gym to the FCG door remained a road fraught with peril, and a cop usually loitered directly outside this substitute DC exit.听
But听smugglers could also sneak down the DC stairs into the basement, usually bustling with students听during the day听and eerily silent that night. Should a smuggler be听trapped, escape was nearly impossible as both ends culminated in stairs, each classroom was locked, and each hallway led outside.听The outdoor exits were a possibility听if you were听willing to face the cop who dwelt behind them: he who wore the mask of the Silver Clown. Any smuggler attempting to dart through the exit and skirt around the gym from behind听would find听themselves听pursued听by a silent, silver hunter.听
Partway through the evening,听OSA called an audible and switched some things up. Matthew鈥檚 station听moved to the front of Old Main, where the Phantom patrolled听a good portion of the night, and the new locale of Romans went undiscovered by many smugglers even after the completion of the game.听
A Night of Fun
As the night听came to a conclusion, the smugglers reconvened in the DC as OSA counted the Bibles that had reached their destinations;听all of听the Bibles confiscated by cops were out of play听entirely.听Although the score was very close, the dorms of Carey and Hilsen听came out on top, winning听them听two days of free room checks during the听week to follow.听
OSA鈥檚 hard work shone through听that night, and they truly outdid themselves听with this Premiere Event.听Unauthorized was a night to remember, packed full of action, laughs, and crazy chases throughout the main campus, and neither the cops nor the smugglers would have had it any other way.听听