How to plan your chicken chase

People often email me asking the number of bars to include in their chicken chase, how many groups to have, or when to start, so here’s how I do it.

🧮 The Quick Formula for Number of Bars

To determine the minimum number of total bars to include in your chase area use the following basic formula, then add a few for good measure. Remember spot check it based on other inputs below. 

Minimum Total Bars = (Bars per Group) × (Number of Groups)

📌 Important Inputs to Consider

Set Your Total Chase Time

I usually recommend 2 to 2.5 hours of actual chase time, and at least 1 hour at the end for everyone to hang out once the chicken is found. This is obviously up to you and your group, so feel free to adjust.

Estimate Your Time Per Bar (Including Walking)

Note that this very much depends on where you’re doing your chicken chase, but a good estimate is 40 minutes per bar, which includes roughly 10 minutes for walking to the bar and 30 minutes to have a drink. Adjust if bars are closer together, if you think the group will move faster or slower, or if you expect it will take longer at each bar.

Bars Per Group

Typically 3 bars per group is the sweet spot. Again, this can go up or down depending on the total time you set for your chase, and the time it takes at each bar.

Number of Groups

This is a function of the total size of your party, and can also be impacted by the number of bars you have access to in your chase area, but I typically find groups of 5 are pretty solid.

🐔 Example Chicken Chase Setup

Let’s say you have 35 people for your chase, and you decide to split into 7 groups of 5. Let’s also assume you want the chase to last 3 total hours (2 hours for chasing and 1 hour for everyone to hang out with the chicken). You also figure it will take 40 minutes per bar. In this case:

(3 Bars per Group) × (7 Groups) = 21 Total Bars, Minimum

Assuming 40 minutes per bar, that means you’d be looking at around 120 total minutes, or 2 hours of chase time (40 minutes x 3 bars per group) leaving the 1 hour at the end.

I usually add a few extra to avoid overlap or just in case, so in this case, you would aim for 25 bars in your chase area.

📍 Advice For Selecting a Chase Area

I recommend you use Google Maps to scope your out your chase area in advance. Keep the zone tight enough to walk, but spread enough to make it a challenge.

Look for bars that aren’t so small you can spot the chicken from outside, are walkable in your chase area, don’t have cover charges, and will actually allow a chicken to come in.

💡 Bonus Tips

To set your chase timeline, you should also consider when you want people to be able to find the chicken based on when you want the chase to end.

Once you do that, just work backwards. You can also instruct the chicken drop “clues” for people who have not yet found the chicken.

Let’s say you want to be able to call it at 1:00 AM.

Working backwards, you want everyone to find the chicken by midnight. If by 11:00 PM no one has found the chicken, or if there is only a few groups who have, instruct the chicken drop clues every 20 or 30 minutes as needed.

For example if the chicken is at a bar called “Dr. Teeth” the hint might be “Remember to floss.”

This same method can also help you figure out your overall chase timeline.

Ending at 1:00 AM means everyone should find the chicken by midnight. To make sure they do, you might want to start dropping hints by 11:00 PM. Since you want at least 2 hours of chase time, you should start the chase by 10:00 PM the latest.

To start at 10:00 PM, make sure the chicken has left to go to their bar by 9:45 PM, so select the chicken and break up into your groups by 9:30 PM.

If you want there to be 2 hours of pregame and arrival time, start your chase at 7:30 PM.

Remember it’s just about having a good time, so don’t stress too much. Hit me up with questions if you need to!