Lock and key parties

[archerships]

The Lock and Key Encounter is a very interactive social mixing game where each person tries to find their matching hardware amongst the group of participants. It works like this . . . Every female attendee receives a lock. Every male attendee receives a key. The object is to find the Lock that fits the Key and the Key that fits the Lock!

For two hours, you try and meet each person at the event, getting to know them and of course, trying to match the lock and key. The object is to find as many -Matches- as possible. When you find a Match, you'll visit the Lock and Key Station, there you'll both enter your names into the Prize Drawing! Then you'll receive new Locks and Keys, and you'll go out again to try your new Hardware and find additional Matches. The more Matches that you find, the more times your name is entered into the Prize Drawing.

via gumption.typepad.com

Posted via web from crasch's posterous

Comments

[ipsafictura.livejournal.com]

I wonder if this is a female versus male perspective thing, or just a nature of my personality thing, but if I knew an event I was invited to was having a game of this kind, I'd avoid it like the plague. Awkward sexual metaphors and forced interaction that focuses almost exclusively on the opposite sex? Pass.

[crasch.livejournal.com]

Yep, not every event will appeal to everyone.

[visgoth.livejournal.com]

I'll chime in as a male who would stay away for much the same reasons.

"Key parties"

[capitalism-yeah.livejournal.com]

Um. OK: I've only heard of this in the sex party context. As in, you bang the random person with your key. Reno 911 covered this phenom - Jonesy and Raineesha Williams were there, undercover, and the other attendees were all in their 80s.

Re: "Key parties"

[ernunnos.livejournal.com]

Also seen in The Ice Storm. Not even funny-creepy, just creepy.

[cramer.livejournal.com]

I was just thinking this wouldn't work to well with a room full of engineering types. 5s after explaining the process, two lines form... all the locks in one line and all the keys in the other: try key, shift left, repeat.

Heh, it'd be like bringing Universal Solder to a party. :-)

[danlyke.livejournal.com]

Wonder how the social interaction would change if you gave the males the locks...

[zarex.livejournal.com]

I went to a party like this several years ago, mostly attended by MIT geeks. It was bolts/nuts instead of lock/key, and most of the crowd seemed amused.

Luckily, my bolt happened to fit my date's nut perfectly. ;)

[easwaran.livejournal.com]

I don't understand why the genders and hardware are matched up. As some of the others mentioned, it only makes sense in the standard "key party" swinger scenario (and then only if everyone is heterosexual). If it's about socializing and mixing, then shouldn't it be something where anyone could match with anyone?

LockandKeyEvents.com comments on this blog

[(Anonymous)]

Hi all,

The Locks and Keys just help force interaction and makes it easy to break the ice with anyone you would like to talk to.

Now we also give away great prizes at our events as well, so the women will approach the men and vice versa. Everytime a couple unlocks, there is NO obligation to stay with that person. You each get a new lock and Key and a raffle ticket each towards the prize drawing at the end of the event. The more tix, the more chances to win great prizes.

This is the only large scale party where there are NO wallflowers.

Check out our site as we run these events in over 35 cities (and more to come)

THIS IS MY CONCEPT FOLKS AND IT REALLY WORKS!

Cheers!

Darren President - LockandKeyEvents.com

Re: LockandKeyEvents.com comments on this blog

[easwaran.livejournal.com]

But again, it doesn't make it easy to break the ice with anyone you would like to talk to, but rather with anyone of the opposite gender.