Crosslake Crossover

June 13, 2026

Throughout the ages, the disconnected lands of Seattle and the Eastside have been long separated, divided by impossible travel conditions and arduous journeys. Untold eons were spent by the unsuspecting travellers making the trip, and countless Transit Treks were played with only one side of the board.
But then, one day, a new technology shook the universe as we knew it. For the first time, a futuristic transport, consistent in speed, frequent in time, and grade separated from traffic, linked the two disparate worlds. Finally, people could travel easily in these smooth new vehicles that the engineers called "trains."
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to travel these new lands and complete challenges as you go to bridge these new frontiers. For the very first time, the Crosslake Crossover is a Transit Trek that spans both Seattle and the Eastside! Aided by the newly opened Link connections, ride transit and complete challenges across both sides of Lake Washington as you compete with other teams to see who can earn the most points, no longer burdeoned by the limits of geography.

Ready to Trek?

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Transit Treks are part scavenger hunt, part games of skill, strategy, and pure dumb luck played across the Puget Sound. Learn More

Read on for detailed game rules, instructions, and important notices.

Requirements

  • ORCA card with either a pass or at least $20 loaded on it
    Microsoft- and Amazon-issued ORCA cards suffice for this requirement
  • A smartphone
    One team member must have an iPhone with Find My enabled
  • Joined the Signal group
  • Either:
    • A bandana from a prior Seattle Transit Trek and a $5 participation fee, or
    • A $5.50 participation fee. In return, you will be given a bandana to be used throughout the game (and to keep as a souvenir and for future Transit Treks!)
    • Roughly 24-48 hours before the event begins, the participation fee may be raised to be higher than $5.50 because of the increased work we have to do to arrange teams last-minute. Please try your best to register early; we appreciate it!

Optional but recommended:

  • Sunscreen
  • Water
  • Battery pack (for your phone)
  • Snacks, if you might get hungry during the event

Basics

  • Each task is worth a certain number of points
  • Most tasks are relatively close to public transit stations
  • 3 to 4 people per team
  • 4 hours long competition period

For more general information about all Transit Treks, please see: the about/FAQ page.

Rules

Basic Gameplay Logistics

  • The objective of the game is to earn as many points as possible in the allotted time.
  • Every player (that’s you!; also known as a Transit Trekker) must have a fully charged mobile phone with Signal installed.
    • Signal will be used to communicate between participants and the organizers.
  • At least one player in the team must have an iPhone with Find My Friends.
  • Every player must be wearing a bandana provided by the organizers.
  • For tracking purposes, one team member needs to share their location with the organizers on Find My (formerly known as Find My Friends).
  • Players must travel by foot or public transit operated by the City of Seattle, the Seattle Monorail, King County Metro, or branded as Sound Transit.
    • Absolutely no traveling on cars, trucks, boats, planes, bikes, scooters, or Segways. Doing so could result in penalties up to / including disqualification.
    • King County Metro Flex on-demand rides are not regularly scheduled transit and thus are considered cars, which are not permitted.
  • Players must stay within the bounds of the game.
  • Each team is required to take a 10 minute food/bio break sometime between the beginning of the 2nd hour and end of the 3rd hour. Failure to do so will result in disqualification.
  • In case a bio break takes longer than 10 minutes, please inform the organizers so they can keep track of your team’s situation. Health and safety always come first, but it’s important for the organizers to keep track of exceptional circumstances affecting gameplay.

Completing Challenge Tasks

  • The list of tasks will be provided once the game starts.
  • There are two types of challenges that will earn you points:
    • Tasks. Follow the instructions provided. May require being at a specific location, potentially at a specific time.
    • Find This. Within the game area, try to find where a given picture was taken.
  • Team members must stay together (within 10 feet of each other) at all times.
  • To officially complete a task, they must be reported to the organizers via Signal as soon as they are completed (for verification and tabulation purposes).
    • If a task requires you to complete multiple stages/steps, you may report each stage/step to the organizers separately.
    • However, if you complete a task in its entirety, you must report it immediately. If you don’t report it within 5 minutes of completing it, you won’t be eligible for earning points on that task.
    • If the organizers inform the team that their task was not successfully completed, the organizers will not inform the team of what they did incorrectly, and the team may try to repeat the task at most two more times. After that, they cannot continue attempting to complete the task and must try another task.
  • Tasks may be completed simultaneously with other tasks.
  • If a task requires a certain item, it must be purchased after the game starts. Items you have with you won’t count unless explicitly permitted by the task.
  • If a task requires pictures as proof (which almost all of them do), all team members must be in the picture (as a selfie) unless explicitly not required. When in doubt, ask the organizers.
  • If a task says you can’t look something up, it means you also can’t ask a non-participating person to look it up for you or tell you the answer.
  • If you are not sure about what counts for a task, ask the organizers. Failure to ask may result in you not earning the points if your actions don’t qualify as properly completing the task.
  • If a task requires each team member to procure something, then teams which have more members than other teams only need to get the number of items equivalent to the smallest team’s size. For instance, if the smallest team size is 4, then teams of 5 will only need to get 4 items.
  • When completing tasks, please do not do anything that might lead to danger. Safety first. If you are concerned that you or other teams completing a task may result in harm, please contact the organizers immediately. They may issue a notice to everyone that a certain task is removed from the game due to safety concerns.
  • Be sure, when communicating with organizers, that you tell them what you are sending evidence for.

Interacting With Other Teams

  • Teams may not have any intentional contact with each other during the game, unless they see each other in person, or as otherwise specified in the rules.

Concluding the Game

  • Teams must arrive at the pit stop by the designated end time of the game, as determined by the organizers. If they do not arrive at the pit stop on time, a points penalty will be assessed based on the following rules:
    • Being late will result in a deduction of 5 points
    • For every minute a team is late, an additional 1 point will be deducted from their overall score
  • At the end of the game, teams will be ranked by how many points they earned.
  • All times are reported in U.S. Pacific Daylight Time.
  • Clarifications are issued by the organizers and are final. When appropriate, the clarifications will be announced to all teams, not just yours.
  • Tiebreaking rules
    • The amount of rules broken will be the first to break ties, with fewer rule violations giving higher priority
    • Next, a team who successfully completed more challenges will be given higher priority
    • All else failing, then it’s a fight to the death with rock paper scissors, best out of 3.

Miscellaneous

  • You must obey all applicable laws, regulations, and rules during the game. (To be fair, it's probably also smart to obey laws outside the game.). This includes jaywalking.
  • You must correctly pay the fare when taking transit. Note you no longer need to tap off of the Link.
  • You may not obstruct any transit from operating along its normal schedule (by, for example, holding the doors open as they're closing).
  • You may be filmed during the game for future promotional purposes unless you explicitly ask us not to film you.
  • Rules can be changed by the organizers at any time before, during, and after the competition period. Whatever the organizers say can override any of the written rules. Rule changes will be clearly broadcasted on the Signal group.

Game Zone + Boundaries

Official game boundaries will be released closer to the start of the game.

Starting Point

Show up to Mercer Island Station by 1:00pm. Free parking is available at the station's parking lot. Alternatively, you can park for free at the South Bellevue Park & Ride (or any park and ride, really) and take the Link to Mercer Island. The rules will be explained and participants will have the opportunity to ask clarifying questions to the organizers before the game starts. You will also have the chance to meet your team and discuss basic strategy. The game will begin when everyone is present and the organizers announce the start. Take your time or hurry up. The choice is yours; don’t be late!

One member of your team should be designated as the primary representative, who will be responsible for communicating with the organizers. In addition, one member of the team (who may also be the primary representative) must share their location with the organizers.

Ending Point

The ending point will be Asean Streats in downtown Seattle.

Starting Procedures

  1. Sign in with the organizers
  2. Listen to the logistics overview
  3. Pick a name for your team
  4. Pick a representative for the team, who will share their location with the organizers
  5. Get your bandana! (and pay for it if you haven’t already)
  6. Read the rules and ask questions to the organizers for clarification
  7. Take a group picture!
  8. Decide as a team what the strategy is and how to start

Live Scoreboard

You can keep track of the score on your team dashboard.

Safety Disclaimer

You (a Participant) and your safety are of paramount importance during your participation in the Seattle Transit Trek (the “Game”). You are strongly advised to avoid areas that may present imminent danger to you or your fellow Participants. In case a diversion needs to be made, you should report it to the Organizers and appropriate compensation in terms of points and/or time will be made for you, including but not limited to, bonus points, the waiver of a late return penalty, etc.

You may also not engage in any illegal activity to gain an unfair advantage in the Game. Doing so will result in penalties including/up to disqualification.

By participating in the Game, you agree that you are playing the Game at your own risk. You furthermore agree to hold the Organizers harmless and hold your fellow Participants harmless, even by the negligence of the Organizers or fellow Participants.

IN NO EVENT WILL THE ORGANIZERS BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THIS GAME, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. BY PARTICIPATING IN THIS GAME, YOU HEREBY WAIVE, RELEASE, AND DISCHARGE THE ORGANIZERS AND THEIR AGENTS OF ANY AND ALL LIABILITY OR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND RELATED TO, ARISING FROM, OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH, YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THIS GAME, INCLUDING THOSE ALLEGEDLY ATTRIBUTED TO THE NEGLIGENT ACTS OR OMISSIONS OF THE AFOREMENTIONED PARTIES.

Acknowledgements

Thank you to all of the people who worked to make the Seattle Transit Trek possible!

  • Michael Xing: Game coordinator, author of the Transit Trek web app, Transit Trek 6 editor, Transit Trek co-organizer
  • Arjun Pherwani: Doubter of Michael Xing, co-creator of the Transit Trek, team logistics coordinator, Transit Trek co-organizer
  • Steven Schulte: Original inspiration for the Transit Trek, world record holder for ‘getting caught the most in a Transit Trek game’
  • Jet Lag: The Game: Inspiration for Transit Trek games
  • You, the Transit Trekker! Thank you for participating and making this Transit Trek a success.

Sincerely,
Jeffrey Wang
Transit Trek 6 author, co-creator of the Transit Trek, Transit Trek co-organizer