Consumer Experience: Street Wars

It used to be that the only strategy you needed as a New Yorker was for navigating through tourists in Times Square by foot and when playing chess in Washington Square Park - but that is changing. Two games are hitting the Big Apple. The first is The Amazing New York Race, where contestants (in teams up to 6) compete in a scavenger hunt around Manhattan based on photo-clues. No cars and no cabs – just a subway pass and your New York street smarts. Secondly, beginning in early September, StreetWars will conduct a three-week long water-gun assassination tournament; which already touts success in cities like Vienna, Paris, Los Angeles, and London. Once a contestant enters the game, they are given a photograph and other information of their target - they can hunt their target down any way they see fit; pose as a delivery person and jack them when they open the door, etc. The grand prize is approximately USD $500, "a handle of Jack Daniels, and a framed, gold-plated water gun" - making the winner slightly more dangerous than Angelina Jolie in Wanted.