Don’t let the threat of Polonium poisoning crush your dreams of becoming a spy or the inevitable prison sentence keep you from robbing a bank. We understand your desire to solve ancient religious conspiracies shrouded in mystery and international intrigue, but perhaps you don’t want to get your hands dirty. Joshua Czarda, the brains behind Ravenchase Adventures, has a solution. He and his crack team of writers and actors want you to step inside a world once thought to only exist in Dan Brown novels or James Bond films. The Richmond-based business designs both public and private treasure hunts all over the world to satisfy all of your cryptological cravings.

Over the past year, Czarda has hosted public events in D.C. themed around secret societies such as the Illuminati or the Freemasons, that have teams racing across the city with only a bag of gadgets (including a black light) and a map. We participated in a Da Vinci Code race a few months ago, and were pleasantly surprised by the difficulty of the clues and riddles, some of which involved answering pay phones on the street, decoding the Navy Memorial, and speaking with actors disguised as tourists in the Sculpture Garden. To make things even tricker, Ravenchase doesn’t tell you where the races begin but provides you with a clue a few days in advance that will lead you to the starting line. Interested? Well your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to check out our interview with Czarda, who gave us the inside scoop on the adventure making process. The next scheduled event is The Great D.C. Hunt which will be held next Saturday, December 9th at 1:30 p.m.