The Game Escape
27.04. - 28.04.2024 again in the Oberharz
THE GAME, the dog scene's most extreme event, returns in 2024 with the premiere of the EDITION ESCAPE and challenges you, your dog and your team partner to play with us once again. THE GAME ESCAPE will take place in the Upper Harz Mountains around Clausthal-Zellerfeld. In the heart of Germany's northernmost low mountain range, THE GAME participants will cross the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Oberharz Water Management" with over 100 historic ponds, approx. 300 km of ditches and watercourses amidst idyllic mountain meadows and the Oberharz forests.
The ponds bear witness to the mining history of the Harz Mountains and are ideal for swimming and fishing in summer. Sports fans also get their money's worth in the Oberharz nature in summer with kayak white water rafting, climbing or cycling tours. For the participants of THE GAME, however, there is not much time to enjoy the marvellous landscape. For them, the Oberharz becomes an adventure playground, whereby they only move on designated and laid out paths:
Unreal things happen in a real environment and under real conditions ...
As with last year's THE GAME, you will be travelling light. As always, you will be given a map, a compass, food for the day and permission to pack a few things for the night. So off you go onto your playing field, into the terrain, in search of the route points behind which your challenges are hidden. And, as always, that can be anything. But in THE GAME ESCAPE, the clock is ticking much louder than usual. Time isn't just breathing down your neck, it's clawing at you for the entire game. This time, it's not enough to be at camp on time. This time, it's not enough to find the tasks in any order. This time it's even less enough to take your chances. It's not enough at all.
In THE GAME ESCAPE , the tasks, the puzzles, the obstacles are interrelated, interlock precisely like clockwork, are wired and interlocked. There is no two without one, no after without before, no ying without yang and no task without the right key. THE GAME ESCAPE is a story that needs to be discovered by you, a story that needs to be told, a plot that collapses without the right structure and an adventure that creates a whole new story in your life.
You'll have to answer that question for yourself.
But maybe you're taking part because there's no greater challenge to team play in the dog world than this. Agility is fun. Dog dancing is fun. Canicross is cool. But THE GAME is the ultimate thrill. Here, impulse control and frustration tolerance keep you in a headlock. We're no longer talking about any kind of frippery to strengthen your bond. Here you are lost without a bond.
What are you prepared to give? What can you take? Where does your dog go with you? Where does he go first? Where do you need him? Where does he need you? And how stable is your bond with your team partner? In good times and bad? Find out! Here is your opportunity. Use it. Or keep throwing balls into the forest.
On Saturday morning we start with the check-in. We check that you have really only packed what is allowed. The check-in is quick because the list of permitted items is short. And if you intend to cheat or smuggle, your game is over before it has even started.
We'll give you the day's provisions, the map, the compass and goodbye. Your dogs will want for nothing. Neither water nor food. You can take as much as you need for them. But only for them. And Snickers is not dog food.
In the evening at camp, you can exchange your points for food, drink, a sleeping bag, a tent, a toothbrush, a beer or even just soup and water. Those who go to win live frugally. Here you can share your experiences with other teams, get tips, pass them on and realise that you are not alone. Or are you?
Then day II. The story continues. Where did you have to stop the day before, where do you start again? How do you deal with hunger and tiredness? Or the fact that you only have half the time left.
You will be informed in good time before departure what you can and cannot take with you. Of course, your luggage will be checked, because we don't trust anyone either. We'll give you what you need to get by out there, if you can afford it. And then you're off. Then it's just you, your partner and your dogs.
Oh yes. Preparation. That makes sense. We've seen at every THE GAME what happens to teams that take an overly naïve approach. We've seen a lot of despair. We've seen tears. We've encountered anger. And we've seen the tail lights of many a participant's vehicle before the sun has even set on the first day.
There is a THE GAME playlist on the Camp Canis You Tube channel. Have a look at it at your leisure. Add to that a short study of our homepage and you'll have a really good idea of what to expect.
❗ Disclaimer will be sent by email in good time before the event and will be available for signing at the event
❗ For children aged 16 and over without discount.
❗ Canicross equipment recommended, but not mandatory
❗ Dogs that go forwards in case of perceived danger wear a muzzle and are at best double-secured. All dogs remain on a lead during the entire event.
❗ Even if the pressure rises in the cauldron, the game only takes place on existing paths. Anyone running cross-country will experience a whole new definition of ESCAPE. And get kicked out.
