TEXAS CITY — Residents can test their puzzle-solving skills in a new citywide scavenger hunt featuring riddles, secret codes and spy-themed challenges, with cash and high-tech prizes on the line.

The City of Texas City has launched Scavenger Hunt III: 409 Protocol, a competition that will take place over several weeks and send participants across the city following clues and decoding hidden messages. The event will culminate in a race to the finish on April 9.

Prizes will be awarded to the top three finishers. First place will receive $500 and a pair of Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer sunglasses. Second place will earn $300, and third place will receive $200. In addition, one participant will be selected as an instant winner of another pair of Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer sunglasses during the hunt.

Participants, referred to as “special agents,” can enter by picking up a classified field packet at Texas City Hall, Moore Memorial Public Library or Cook Ford, which donated the two pairs of sunglasses as the event sponsor. The packet includes mission objectives, instructions and a guide to creating a special agent code name using the first letter of the participant’s name and their birth month.

One challenge directs agents to Cook Ford on Palmer Highway, where they will use special decoder glasses to reveal a hidden message. One lucky participant will win a pair of smart glasses on the spot as additional “mission gear.”

The scavenger hunt is free and open to all ages, and organizers say it can be completed as a family or group. Most clues can be completed at any time, with very few tied to specific dates. More information is available at the City of Texas City’s website.

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