"The Game" got its start at the end of 1985 in Clearwater, Florida; inspired by the movie Midnight Madness. (Buy the video on Amazon!)  17-year-old Clearwater Central Catholic High School students Don Myhill, Marie Martin, Tegwyn Stockdale and Joe Belfiore created what they thought would be a 4-hour race on a Sunday night, December 30, 1985. 

The Game was slated to begin at 9:13pm -- and it did-- but lasted FAR longer than anticipated. At 150 miles in length, the sun had risen before the victorious "Black Team", led by Bob Moriarty, completed the game course.  Hours later the other three teams finished... Blue Team, Mike Martin;  Brown Team, Mike Browne; Red Team, Jim Tobin... and the format of "The Game" was born.

Midnight Madness - Five Games in Florida

After Midnight Madness 1985, the precedent had been set, and four more games happened before BARF was born in Northern California:

• Black Knights Invitational
  Creators:  Black team, winners of Midnight Madness 1985
  Winners:   Brown Team -- Mike Browne, Mike Stipanov, Pat Siracusa,
                               Todd Havlock, Chris McKnight
  Features:  inflatable raft across an alligator infested lake

• Blue/Brown Game
  Creators: Brown Team folks + Mike Martin
  Winners:  White Team (original Midnight Madness Game Control)
  Features: established the "winner makes next game" convention

• Midnight Madness 1986
  Creators: Original Game Control
  Winners:  Black Team
  Features: players choose the order of 5 game legs on their own,
        first FM radio broadcast, first computer-based clue,
        canoeing across the intracoastal waterway.

• Farewell Game
  Creators: Mike Martin, Marc Mondell, Andy Laperrier
  Winners:  ??
  Features:  game started with a game control member arriving at
      Tampa airport on a flight from Orlando.  First clue on the roof
      of a skyscraper.

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