Picnic, games, prizes, and most importantly... geo-friends!
Returning for the eighth year to Shawnee State Park, Pavilion 7 - The Geo-Family Feud returns! Along with the 'Feud', some summer favorites are returning: The Wheel of Geocaching moves back from Fall to Summer, and we will allow early "will-attends" to provide feedback on what third game should be played this year. We may incorporate some of our past coordinate guessing games during or after the third game format or as bonus games if time allows afterward, and there may be additional trivia and prize giveaways, time-dependent, as the evening comes to a close.
Probable schedule:
Before 3:00 pm: The pavilion is rented all day (and has been since February); setup will be ongoing at GZ as soon as the hosts are able to arrive, sometime between 11:00 am and 3:00 pm; enjoy the offerings of the state park if you arrive before the official start time. You might even want to track down some area geocaches if desired.
3:15 PM: Event kick off; meet and greet
3:45 PM: Food, friends, and geo-conversation; food should be available to begin enjoying between 3:30 pm and 4:00 pm and throughout the following game times (grilled food will become available as it is cooked, starting around 3:30 pm for getting the grills going).
4:30 PM: The Geo Family Feud - "Survey says!" Two teams compete to see who can think most like a geocacher based on surveys conducted of 100 geocacher responses to various questions.
Who will be the champion team this time around? We anticipate a new survey to be conducted before the event, and maybe some of our favorite past survey questions might re-surface... Who knows? Depending on interest, there will be either one game with five surveys or two separate four-survey-question games (plus a single Fast Money for the team with the highest score). We'll use the available sign-up sheet to make that decision at game time, and you may sign up as soon as 2:30 pm at the pavilion during setup.
5:15 PM: Intermission I (Game reset)
5:30 PM: Wheel of Geocaching "America's favorite game" has become a favorite for the geo-version at our Game Night events. After its most-recent appearance in the fall in 2025, "Wheel" is returning for the 2026 Summer Picnic Event. We anticipate between 3-4 contestants for this game, based on sign-ups. If demand requires, we could play two games or narrow down contestants using some toss-up style "Wheel" puzzles to work as a play-in round.
6:15 PM (or end of Wheel of Geocaching): Intermission II (Game reset)
6:30PM or 6:45 PM (when ready): "Come on down!" for the third game!
Our third game could be selected by a poll of early will-attend respondees. We will try to reach out to all will-attends through July 17 to provide feedback about which third game should be played (selecting from a potential list of past games (see below). Will-Attends logging before July 17 may also provide a note in the will-attend log itself with the suggestion of a game. We will generally accept one suggestion per geocaching user account will-attend for this event (on or prior to July 17). The Game Night hosts will use this feedback as guidance for which game to prepare once all feedback has been received on July 17. Game Night hosts reserve the right of the final game selection based on feedback, but also based on resource availability and possible other factors as the end of July approaches.
7:15 PM or 7:30 PM: When the games conclude, any final prize giveaways and drawings, potentially with trivia, could happen depending on the number still in attendance...
7:30 PM: Event conclusion and final event geo-conversation... Thanks to everyone for joining us! (The event officially ends at 7:45 pm, but we'll start tear-down at the conclusion of the games, usually before 8:00 pm, to try to beat sundown. Feel free to enjoy geo-conversations until the sun is dipping below the horizon.)
8:00 PM (or so) until 10:00 PM: Let the event organizers know of any potential "around the campfire" type events or similar gatherings that you would like mentioned in this space.
There is lots of lawn space to spread out at the pavilion site. Please bring your own lawn or camp chairs if you wish to make use of this large, relaxing space around the event coordinates.
Hot dogs and hamburgers will be provided. Soft drinks, bottled water, and individually-wrapped snack foods should also be present. If you do wish to bring food to share (not necessary to attend), there will be a table to place those items. Feel free to include that information in a "Will attend" or "Write note".
A donation "ammo can" will also be present for those that wish (certainly not a requirement) to chip in to help defray the cost of pavilion rental.
Helpful Items
Please indicate in your log the number that attend with your geo-user name, and if you are interested in partaking in hot dogs and/or hamburgers (which will help us plan).
Game-Night Information Page (at game-night.org)
As the geocache owner, I ensure that the above link is to a local geocaching group site that is active in the community and contributing to geocaching in positive ways. This link has not been checked by Geocaching HQ or by the reviewer.
Stay tuned! Announcements on this page will be used to communicate any updates or changes to the schedule. If you are "will attended" on this event, these announcements and updates should come to your email via geocaching.com
Previous Games for Potential Third Game Choice
- Who Wants to be a Geocacher Extraordinaire?
- Win, Lose, or Draw (Geocaching Style)
- Geo-Password or 25,000 Geo-Pyramid (term guessing games)
- The Geo-Floor (Previewed in Summer 2025)
- The Chase (Try to outwit one of our past trivia champions, such as m3a9)
- The Coordinates Are Right / Let's Make a Geo-Deal
- Minute To Win It (Geocaching challenges in 60 seconds or less)
We are looking forward to sharing more Game Night fun with our geo friends and neighbors this summer!
If you can't stay for the entire event, feel free to drop in as you are able, considering the schedule posted above. If updates to the schedule are made as the event draws near, announcements will be made on this geocaching event listing to serve as alerts to these changes.
Driving to the event: Please see the waypoints on this event cache listing (if needed) for helpful navigation points to enter the roads of the state park where the event will be held. Please note the posted speed limits on roads within the park, none of which are likely above 25 mph. The hint will provide the specific location within the park by name. See this page for maps of the park.
For more information about the park, such as camping, hiking, or fishing opportunities, please see the main park page.
