TMOU

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TMOU (in Czech 'tmou' = through the darkness) is a logic, strategic, team, interactive, outdoor and night puzzlehunt game held in Brno, Czech Republic. It is held annually at the end of October or at the beginning of November. It is a game for teams of up to five players, the traditional number of playing teams is around 200. The duration of the game is around 16 hours (it usually begins at 6 p.m on Friday and the teams must finish by the noon next day).

The game has simple scheme - it is a linear sequence of secret sites (usually around 15). The place and time of the beginning of the game is announced in advance. Here can the teams solve the first puzzle. The solution of the puzzle found at the site reveals the position of next site. At the final site, the team usually has to solve a task that tests the cooperation within the team. First team that solves all puzzles and the final task is the winner. There is usually less than 5 teams that finish the game.

The puzzles are very diverse, the only common feature is that ther require logical thinkink to be solved. The players meet simple substitution and transposition ciphers, graphic and multimedia ciphers, object with the clue hidden inside that must be destroyed and more.

The players are allowed to (and supposed to) cooperate within the team, the cooperation of teams is forbidden. The players can move by walk and by the means of public transportation, but usage of bicycle, in-lines, taxi or own cars is not allowed. Teams can use any available map and compass (but not GPS) for navigation and cell phones (but not radio stations) for communications.

TMOU is organized by “Instruktoři Brno” - an informal group focusing on outdoor and experiental education. Since 2000 TMOU has inspired many other similar games in Czech Republic and beyond (e.g., 'Bedna' in Prague, 'Osud' in Zlin, 'Haluz' in Bratislava (Slovakia), 'Nachtschicht' in Dortmund (Germany)). At the moment, there are already several thousands players of outdoor cipher-solving games in the Czech republic (population of 10,000,000).