I tried for two weeks to visit the Giant Snail Races. They only take place on Saturdays and last Saturday I blew it. (Forgot, even after looking forward to it all week, arriving early to get familiar with the sim layout, and then warning my family that I had to be on the laptop at 2pm my time.) I would have forgotten again this past Saturday too, but my hubby reminded me. "Don't forget your snail races at 2" I swear he did. How funny is that? Anyway, thank goodness because I made it just at the end of the first heat, which is the beginner race. The second heat is for the intermediate snail racers, and the third heat is the advanced racers. So after I arrived and rezzed, I picked up my fan gear and picked out a seat. It was time to choose a snail to cheer for. Each snail is a different color, and has been modded slightly by it's avatar - all in the spirit of cheer and competition. My personal favorite was a rainbow-shelled snail with a salt shaker on his back. It shook out salt as he moved. Continuous good luck, I think. The snails must complete an obstacle course in record time. Sitting on the color coordinating observation bench allows you to move around the course with your snail. A white stationary bench which remains at the start/finish line is provided for those people who prefer it or need it due to computer limitations. The lag made the snails appear to do some crazy things, and also made picture-taking a challenge. Of course all picture-taking is challenging for me so you can imagine. The race course is really clever. The first obstacle includes a bridge with falling pieces... and if the snail falls through the bridge, sharks and Spongebob await. The maze and village are next, followed by wooden spoons that flip the snails through the air toward the finish line. Fireworks and particles celebrate the finish. Soon you will be able to turn your winning snail picks into profit as the bookie window will be opening soon. What a fun time! All told, it was about an hour from start of the first heat to the end of the last. You can view past Giant Snail Races from SLCN here. Or, you can view the weekly standings here. But don't let that stop you from watching it live. I encourage you to mark it on your calendar: Every Saturday, at 11:00am SLT. Happy day!
Here the Giant Snails are taking position behind their gates.
Just after shotgun, the snails are clammering to cross the tile bridge first. As each snail passes over it, tiles fall.
Having crossed the bridge and gone through the maze, they are headed for the mountain village. See me waving my flag? The the penants were scripted with several "fan" animations. Cheering, jumping, yelling...
The pink snail is preparing to land in a wooden spoon, which will toss him through the atmosphere toward the finish. (I think that's the blue snail just about to land)
And the race is over... the snails gather in relief. This particular finish was the second race. See the salt coming out of Kumi's salt shaker? Cute.
