Penguin Hide and Seek

Penguin Hide and Seek is part of the Distractions and Diversions released on 2 September 2008. For confirmed current locations, to report sightings, and news see Distractions and Diversions Locations.

Introduction
Help Larry, the zookeeper in charge of penguins at Ardougne Zoo, spy on the penguin intelligence organisation, the KGP.

Requirements

 * No requirements are needed to start looking for penguin spies
 * Certain quests may be needed (such as Underground Pass and Cold War) to reach areas the penguins may have infiltrated, as they can be found almost anywhere in RuneScape.

Getting Started

 * Talk to Larry in the Ardougne Zoo. He also provides a Spy notebook.
 * There are only 10 spies at any one time, but they are always on the move. It is best that the players seek help from friends, as hunting alone may prove to be challenging.
 * The KGP penguins use near-perfect disguises to blend into their surroundings, but are easy to spot while they're moving.

Suggested items

 * Weight-reducing items (e.g. Boots of lightness, Spotted/Spottier cape, Penance gloves)
 * A summoning familiar who restores run energy. (e.g. Bull ant or Spirit terrorbird)
 * Teleportation jewelery; such as Amulet of glory, Games necklace, Ring of duelling, Explorer's ring(3)
 * Quest-related teleports; such as Camulet, Enchanted lyre, Elf teleport crystal, Ectophial
 * Dramen staff or Lunar staff for Fairy ring usage (after starting A Fairy Tale Part II.)
 * Money for boat trips.

Spellbooks
Using Magic for teleportation is useful, especially using the normal spellbook:
 * Teleport runes or teleport tabs
 * Ardougne Teleport for hints

When using Lunar spellbook:
 * Teleport tabs
 * Runes for NPC contact spell (for hints)

Disguises
These disguises are obtained from the Feathery Bolshevik Investigations (FBI for short):


 * {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

! colspan=7 | Penguins in disguises ! Barrel ! Bush ! Cactus ! Crate ! Rock ! Toadstool ! Pumpkin
 * [[Image:Penguin in barrel.png|A penguin in a barrel.]]
 * [[Image:Penguin in bush.png|A penguin in a bush.]]
 * [[Image:Penguin in cactus.png|A penguin in a cactus.]]
 * [[Image:Penguin crate.gif|A penguin in a crate.]]
 * [[Image:Penguin in rock.png|A penguin in a rock.]]
 * [[Image:Penguin in toadstool.png|A penguin in a toadstool.]]
 * [[Image:Pumpkin penguin.png|A penguin spy wearing a disguise seen only during the Halloween events.]]
 * [[Image:Pumpkin penguin.png|A penguin spy wearing a disguise seen only during the Halloween events.]]
 * }

Examine texts

 * Barrel - "What's black and white and smells like beer?"
 * Bush - "What's black and white and down to earth?"
 * Cactus - "What's black and white and covered in spines?"
 * Crate - "What's black and white and on a sneaking mission."
 * Rock - "What's black and white and looks like a rock hopper?"
 * Toadstool - "What's black and white and covered in mushroom?"
 * Pumpkin - "What's black and white and smells of pumpkin?"

Note
The pumpkin penguin was first released during the 2008 Hallowe'en event. This disguise is only seen during the Hallowe'en festivities.

Spying

 * When players have spotted a spy, the penguins can be right-clicked ("Spy-on").
 * Doing this, the location of the spy and its activities will be noted so that players can report them to Larry.
 * Larry has an extensive network of agents, and hears many rumours.
 * Players can use the NPC Contact spell from the Lunar spellbook to get a hint.
 * Larry's Spy notebook will keep track of how many spies you've spied.

Hints and Locations

 * For a list of confirmed locations (and to update spottings of penguins), see Distractions and Diversions Locations.

Larry offers hints to help players locate penguins. Some of the hints are general areas, while other are more specific. Some locations may require certain quests to be completed in order to allow access to that area. Some of the hints Larry offers may be for locations in which you have already spied a penguin; That is, he does not give hints only for unfound penguins.

Strategy
As penguins do not appear on the mini-map, the best strategy is to have a group of players who cooperate to spy back on them. Coordinated players can fan out and sweep a larger area. This compensates for the fast moving penguins and their large roaming area. It is better if you and your group remain on one world. World hopping may cause you to attempt to spot a penguin you have already found, in spite of it being in what appears to be a totally different location. Use the forums to identify a clan chat specifically for penguin hunting.

Penguins can be herded into enclosed areas and trapped for long periods of time for others to spy. To herd a penguin, follow it until it is near a suitable location, then open doors in front of the penguin and close them behind it. Players can no longer stand in a position that blocks the penguin's exit as penguins can now move through players. Soon it will be trapped and the location and server can be communicated to others. It takes time and patience. If a penguin is trapped in a confined space for too long, it will teleport away to another spot in the same general location.

Note: The penguin in the picture was herded into the farm house, and then through a series of doors into the fenced area, with doors closed behind it.

Having sound on increase your chances of spotting the penguins as they make a distinctive sound when nearby.

Rewards
Penguin points may be increased with the completion of the Cold War quest. See the Penguin points article for details on how to exchange these for coins and experience.

Each penguin is worth 1 point each, but some will be worth 2 upon the completion of Cold War. Players can earn a maximum of 15 Penguin points per week, and Larry will keep track of up to 50 points.

These points can be traded in with Larry for either 6,500 coins per point, or experience in a chosen skill, *your level* x 25 exp per point.

Trivia

 * The examine text for penguins disguised as crates may be a reference to the video game Metal Gear Solid. A characters in the game, Solid Snake, uses Cardboard boxes as disguise, and often goes on "sneaking" missions in the game.  "Sneaking" is also a technique used heavily in the game, as Metal Gear Solid is a stealth-action video game.
 * During Halloween 2008, the new pumpkin penguin disguise was released to celebrate the holiday.
 * During Thanksgiving 2008, free players could spot 10 Hidden Turkeys. This was the same as Penguin Hide and seek, but also for free players.
 * Players used to be able to spot all the penguins twice in a week. If a player spotted all penguins within the first few hours of the penguins resetting, later that week they could be spotted again. Jagex have fixed this bug.