All the Trappings of a Good Time

If you'd rather not have the fate of the Great Lakes on your conscience, here are four other ways you can potentially let down your friends, co-conspirators, or countrymen:

Abducted

SCENARIO: A lot of good that mace did you sitting in your glove compartment. On your way back to your vehicle after a dinner with your friends, you are kidnapped, blindfolded, and shackled to a wall in a dark room. Will you escape in time to find out if homeboy or homegirl will ever pick up the bill?

DIFFICULTY: Medium (42 percent success rate)

LOCATION: Downtown (23 W. 10th St.)

Forgotten Laboratory

SCENARIO: You're touring the historic Meiser building downtown, wander off, and stumble upon a secret government laboratory dating back to World War II. What's the deal with this? Aren't you glad you stuck your nose where it didn't belong? Because it's about to fill up with poison gas (gasp!)

DIFFICULTY: Easily medium (45 percent success rate)

LOCATION: Downtown (23 W. 10th St.)

DaVinci's Secret

SCENARIO: Your BFF is the world's foremost DaVinci expert (actually she probably sells insurance, but make believe) and discovers a plot to blow up the Louvre. Since she's more proactive than you ever were, she rushes there to defuse it, only to be detained as a suspect. She can't talk right now so you're going to have to go to her apartment and piece together her clues to decipher the bomb code. Sigh, this is what she gets for being an overachiever.

DIFFICULTY: Medium (40 percent success rate)

LOCATION: Nicholson House (4838 W. Ridge Rd.)

Federal Treasure

SCENARIO: Have you ever wanted to be Nic Cage? Who hasn't? Drawing inspiration from the 2004 motion picture National Treasure, this game has you and your team attempting to burgle the Declaration of Independence from an exhibit before the FBI arrives. Mutually pledge your Lives, your Fortunes, and your Sacred Honor to the cause; anything less and you will be outed as not Nic Cage.

DIFFICULTY: Stubbornly medium (38 percent success rate)

LOCATION: Nicholson House (4838 W. Ridge Rd.)