Halloween Blade Hunt™: Nightmare Guide

Update Center: Real time help for lost Trick or Treaters

People who find the clue are wondering where to go for the code. We’d suggest looking around the yard. That might be really helpful.

Do we think using an AI resource like ChatGPT to help with clues is cheating? Hey, do whatever it takes to get those treats!

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Welcome to the Halloween Blade Hunt™, where shadows whisper and steel gleams from dark corners. This year’s hunt is deadlier, darker, and more thrilling than ever. It’s Packed with sinister quests, twisted clues, and prizes so good they’re almost scary. Huge thanks to our fearless sponsors for helping summon the biggest, most bone-chilling Blade Hunt yet!

First things first- a massive shoutout to our incredible sponsors: Microtech, Chaves Knives, WE Knife, Benchmade, Spyderco, Kizer Knives, Cold Steel, Buck Knives, Flytanium, and Kershaw Knives!
Their community-driven spirit powers every twist and turn of this year’s Halloween Blade Hunt™, where fearless Trick-or-Treaters will chase over $20,000 in treats (yes, for real), and maybe something a little more… supernatural.

Ready to go Trick or Treating in Our Neighborhood?

Welcome, brave souls, to our "How to Hunt" guide- a handy, haunted manual for all you fresh-faced Trick-or-Treaters wandering into the dark for the first time as well as our seasoned hunt veterans. Simply by reading this resource you have the upper hunt hand. Sure, anyone could find this guide, but you did. And that’s why your chances of winning today are better than ever.

If you get lost in the fog, don’t panic- friendly ghosts are moderating over at The Bloody Forge Inn on our Reddit subforum.

Question: I don’t want to miss the Blade Hunt™. Where do I go?

As always, our Blade Hunt™ begins on the Blade HQ website, the only place brave enough to host it.
You’ll find the Halloween Blade Hunt™ link in your inbox (if you’re subscribed to our email list watch for your hunt-day email) or right on the homepage banner. Yes, it’s there, even if it’s hiding in the shadows.

Clicking that link will transport you to our Hunt HQ, where year’s frightening theme unfolds. Last time we sailed the high seas for a pirate-themed treasure hunt in honor of Talk Like a Pirate Day. But this time we’re trading treasure maps for Trick-or-Treat bags filled with over $20,000 of prizes just in time for All Hallows’ Eve.

Before you can join the hunt, you’ll need a Blade HQ account, your official pass into the madness.
It’s free, it’s fast, and it’s the only way to see the Blade Hunt™ rules, follow clue reveals, and track your progress as the chaos unfolds.
Before the ghosts come out to play, log in or create your account.

The full Halloween Hunt will be revealed October 29th at 3pm MST. At this point you will be able to see all the hunt specifics, although if you’re logged into your account you can read the hunt rules right now. At 3pm MST the first clue, the round sponsor and the the treat will be revealed in all its glory! Subsequent rounds start ever 30 minutes. If prizes remained unclaimed for more than thirty minutes then it’s possible for multiple rounds to be running at the same time.

Summary: Make sure you have an account and are logged in to www.bladehq.com. Go to the Halloween Hunt page. At 3pm MST today the Halloween Blade Hunt™ will commence.

Question: What is "the hunt" and what’s the point of it?

Time for some Blade HQ Lore! A few of the peeps here at Blade HQ are obsessed with treasure hunts. As a kid, one of the owners spent hours creating elaborate treasure hunts for friends and took them on wild journeys of clue-solving intrigue ("It was great until we got to the end and they found the treasure, which was just my stuff that I’d hidden, and took it."). The Blade Hunt™ is our effort to bring community focused events to our customers with the sole purpose of entertainment and fun.

This Blade Hunt™ is our most exciting yet! We have ten generous sponsors for our event and we hope their commitment to the knife community is evident. These sponsorships have allowed us to amass a staggering $20,000 in potential prizes! If that doesn’t get your heart pumping then you might already be dead.

So How Will This Work?

Get ready to go trick or treating in our neighborhood. But this isn’t just any neighborhood- it’s filled with houses of terror, frightening prizes and mysteries so challenging you might just scream in terror. Each house you visit will showcase one of our sponsors and offer you a clue. This clue will lead you to a secret location (sometimes more than one) where you’ll find a code.

Sometimes the code will be easily visible, sometimes you’ll have to work to find them. Do you think you know what the code is? Quickly type (or copy and paste) the code into the "Promo Code" box on the cart screen of Blade HQ (shown below- make sure you’re logged in!). If the code is correct you’ll win a knife! The ultimate treat. It’s that simple. We even cover tax and shipping (USA only).

I have code questions that I’m scared to ask!

We know. We’ve done this dance before. Let’s address some of the common code-related questions here (this section may be updated periodically):

1) You must have a Blade HQ account and be logged in to use the code. Making an an account with Blade HQ is simple and free. Do it.

2) Do NOT use the code with any other promotions or items in your cart. Use the code by itself for best results. In rare cases customers have been mistakenly charged a fee (i.e. sales tax): If this happens simply contact us and we’ll get it sorted out for you.

3) The code will be hidden in the location indicated by the clue. The code could be a word, letters, numbers, anything you can type on a keyboard.

4) If you’re confused about where to go look for the code, after reading the clue we’ll say this: There might be other clues around the house that will help you know where you should go to look for the code.

5) The code is not case sensitive

6) You can try and enter a code as many times as you want, but if a code is not working then the code is not correct. And yes, we can see what you type in 😑

7) We know you "can’t find the code." It’s supposed to be challenging- it’s a hunt. If you’re participating in our game then think of it as a game! Conversely you could also watch the original Scream movie, now streaming on Disney+.

Summary: The hunts are childhood nostalgia driven entertainment. Find the codes. Use the code. Win. Have fun.

Okay, So How Do I Get the Clues?

When the hunt starts at 3pm MST you will be able to see the clues that will lead to the codes. Below is an example of the clue console where prizes and clues are shown (again, this will not be visible until 3pm MST):

How does the clue console work? When a hunt / trick or treating round begins, a prize will unlock and you’ll be able to see the sponsor, the potential treat, you’ll see a countdown timer and the number of treats remaining. The treat console updates in real time. so you’ll be able to see how many prizes are available and how many have been found. A new sponsor and treat will be revealed every thirty minutes. Some users have reported that the time shown on the clue console is not correct. While annoying this should not affect the gameplay and rounds will still unlock every thirty minutes.

Important: During our Halloween Hunt the clues will need to be found by visiting sponsor houses in our neighborhood (try scrolling down to the bottom of the clue console page). You say you don’t see the clues? Well, maybe poke around an illuminated house or something. Don’t make us do all the work.

Summary: The Clue Console is awesome. Sponsors and Treats are revealed every 30 minutes. Prize availability is shown in real time.

Can You Just Run Me Through a Round, Start to Finish?

You bet. Let’s do a Halloween Hunt round together!

1) You logged in. You’re on the Hunt page. The clock strikes 3pm MST.

2) The first Sponsor and prize is revealed. It’s a BassMaster 700 from Fishmonger! Wow. You could wait and see what the next treat is. Maybe it will be something better? But no- you need the BM700 now. Time to get to work.

3) Okay, where to? Ah, you should visit one of the neighborhood houses. Scary! "Man, they put a lot of work into the hunt. Geez," you think. So, the clue. You find it. Great start.

4) Maybe the clue says something about a "Ghost Face" guy. What do you do? Let’s think here… the round is sponsored by Fishmonger so it must have something to do with them. Oh! They make the PP Ghost Face 550! Okay, the Fishmonger website, Fishmonger’s Youtube, was it in a Fishmonger email somewhere? Should you call Fishmonger’s customer service line (do not call or email their customer). Eventually you’ll figure it out.

5) You’re on Fishmonger’s blog and you’re scanning a review for the Ghost Face 550 and you see it! The code cleverly hidden in the water ripples of a glamor shot of the Ghost Face. GH0ST-FaZE-550. You can taste that Bass Master now (do not east the Bass Master).

6) You check the clue console and see that 4/8 of the prizes have been claimed. There’s still time, you’ve got this this.

7) You go to the Blade HQ cart page and type "GH0ST-FaZE-550" into the promo code box. Success (not for you intrepid blog readers- this is just an example). You have just scored a free BM 700. The cost? A few minutes of fun. Blade HQ covers shipping and taxes. The game prizes can only be claimed in the USA (void where prohibited by law).

8) You sit back and relax while stuffing your face with candy intended for trick or treaters. They lose, you win. Speaking of winning- you can only win one prize per hunt, and you’ve got yours. You read the comments on the Reddit subforum and laugh as they cry.

Everyone Wins on Halloween

One thing to keep in mind for the Halloween Hunt- These scary houses have eerily deep treat reservoirs and want everyone to walk away with something in their pillowcase. Even after the physical prizes are claimed there will be a final hunt round where everyone and anyone who didn’t win a knife can still claim a most excellent prize (note that to claim this final prize you will need to be a member of the Blade Club).

Clue Finding Strategies:

In the past we’ve heard that it’s "too hard." And, amusingly enough, we’ve heard it’s "too easy." Well, guys… it’s a free game that we put our at a fairly substantial cost so… Arg. We hear you. So here’s a bit of help to think outside the box-

1) When the clues are revealed it’s important to know where to look- on the website? On Instagram? On Tiktok? Maybe we show you where to look.

2) Let’s say a clue is hidden on YouTube. How would you find it? Our suggestion would be to try and decipher the clue (riddle) and come up with an idea of what video you might be looking for. Maybe go to that brands official channel and do a search of their videos. Watch a few relevant videos and see if you find some text that could be a code. Okay, there you go- I feel like that’s feeling good? Rinse and Repeat.

3) It’s a game. The codes are hidden. You might be in the right spot and you might be in the wrong spot. You probably won’t know until you find the code. There’s no penalty for trying the wrong code, so if you see something try it!

4) The codes could be words. They could be symbols. Some codes might require that you do some actual work to "crack" them.

5) Don’t panic. Remember, even if you don’t win a knife in this hunt you’ll get to win something.

6) Remember that Haunt HQ will be in our Blade HQ subreddit. Here you can interact with other trick-or-treaters and maybe even get a clue or two.

Good Luck Trick or Treaters!  

Happy haunting you monsters. Maybe we’ll see you at the Bloody Candle Bar and Grill later. Once again a huge thank you to our amazing sponsors: Microtech, Chaves Knives, WE Knife, Benchmade, Spyderco, Kizer Knives, Cold Steel, Buck Knives, Flytanium, and Kershaw Knives!