Penguin Hide and Seek

This Distraction and Diversion has been rated as Standard Risk. See the minigames page for a definition of high and low risk.

Introduction

Penguin Hide and Seek is a Distraction and Diversion in which you run around RuneScape searching for disguised penguins. These penguins can look like bushes, rocks, or even cacti. They will constantly be on the move so if you wish to find them you must be quick. Finding penguins earns you penguin points which can be turned in for coins or experience in a skill of your choice. Whether you actively hunt penguins each week or casually spy them, the rewards are great!

To start Penguin Hide and Seek, speak with Larry at Ardougne Zoo. Even if you don't plan on hunting them, you should speak with him anyway, because you might find one unintentionally. The concept of Penguin Hide and Seek is simple. There are various penguins scattered around RuneScape every week, which reset on Tuesday at midnight GMT, and your job is to find them. They are distinctive because you can click on the penguin to "Spy-on" it. You earn 1 Penguin Point for every penguin you spy on. After completing the Cold War Quest, harder to reach penguins will give you 2 points. Remember that because they are very small and have disguises that blend into their surroundings, they can be nearly anywhere.

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Finding Penguins

Since you will be travelling around RuneScape, having the essential items will make things easier. It isn't necessary to carry all the different teleportation items in your inventory; having them ready in your bank will suffice. See the Getting Around Guide for full details on the different ways to get around.

• Spy notebook - The Spy notebook Larry gives you in the beginning is a way of keeping track of how many penguins you have spotted as well as how many Penguin Points you have. You do not need the notebook to spy on penguins. Alternatively, you can use the Quickchat system to find out how many penguins you have spotted in the current week.
• Coins - Payment for various transport systems.
• Wicked hood - Offers two free teleports a day to any of the Runecrafting altars.
• Runes for NPC Contact - If you are on Lunar Magicks, then using NPC contact is a way to talk to Larry without continuously teleporting to Ardougne.
• Runes for Teleportation Spells / Teleport Tablets - To get to major locations fast (after the Love Story quest, you can chip Teleport to house tabs to take you to any of the house portals).
• Enchanted Jewellery - Amulet of glory, Games necklace, Skills necklace, Ring of duelling, etc.
• Quest Related Items - Dramen/Lunar staff (Fairy Ring access), Ectophial (quick access to Morytania), Camulet (quick access to the desert), Ring of Charos (a) and Ghostspeak amulet (to travel to Dragontooth Island), etc.
• A light source - Penguins can show up in Dorgesh-kaan, and you will need a light source to make the trip.
• A way to restore energy - Bull ant/Spirit terrorbird, Explorer's ring, Energy potion, etc. Simply resting is also an option.

You can ask Larry or Chuck to give you a hint as to where a penguin may be.* This will narrow down the possible locations to search for one. When you think you are at a place where a penguin may be hiding, it is time to find it. Penguins will have a disguise to help them blend to their surroundings, so it is very common to miss seeing one. Below are the different disguises that the penguins use.

Penguin Disguises
Disguise	Picture	Examine
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 mushrooms?

If you do find one, just choose the "Spy-on Penguin" option and Penguin Points will be awarded according to how difficult it was to get to the location. Most of the time, major cities and areas will award 1 point, while more secluded quest related places will give 2 points.

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Polar Bear

You can also spot one polar bear a week, after completing Hunt for Red Raktuber, for one extra penguin point. Polar bears hide in various wells around Runescape, and once you find them, you just need to choose the option "Inspect Well".

All wells are marked with this water drop on the World Map and minimap.

Polar Bears
Location	Map
Rellekka Just north of the entrance.
Falador Just west of the southern gate to the city, by the chainmail shop.
Ardougne North of the city, by the farming shop.
Musa Point In the bar across from the banana plantation.
Rimmington In the centre of town.
Varrock In the small, fenced-in area in the south-eastern corner of the city.

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The Ghostly Penguin

After completing the quest Some Like It Cold, you may also spot what some players are calling the Ghostly Penguin for its appearance when you have the ring of visibility equipped. You must have the ring of visibility equipped in order to spot the penguin. Spotting this penguin once a week will award you three penguin points.

Licensed to chill.

This penguin may be difficult to spot, not because of its translucence, but because of how it moves. Like implings, it is able to cross bodies of water and climb over mountains. To make things more difficult, after a certain amount of time, the penguin will teleport to a different location roughly every 12 minutes. Chuck will not give hints to its location.

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Rewards

After a hard day's work, your efforts will not be in vain. Larry (or if you have finished Hunt for Red Raktuber, Chuck the polar bear) will gladly reward you based on the amount of Penguin Points you have collected. You have a choice between:

• 6500 Coins per Penguin Point or
• Experience in any skill

The amount of experience per Penguin Point is equal to the level of that skill multiplied by 25. Therefore, someone with level 1 Agility would get 25 experience per point, while someone with level 99 Summoning would get 2475 experience per point. Note that you cannot distribute the Penguin Points to get experience in different skills. When you choose the skill you want experience in, all the Penguin Points will be used up. Likewise, you can't split the points between coins and experience. If you wish to portion out the rewards, cash in the Penguin Points before searching for more. If you'd like to see a breakdown of how many coins or how much xp you can receive, check out the Penguin Points Calculator.

On certain weeks, Penguin Hide and Seek will award all players who take part in it spin tickets for the Squeal of Fortune. To access this reward, simply cash in your hard-earned Penguin Points for either Coins or experience.

You can check whether this Distraction and Diversion is offering spin tickets by checking the Squeal of Fortune in-game.

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Tips

Finding something small in a big world is incredibly difficult. These tips might help you locate more penguins in your journey:

• Penguins hide at ground level for the most part but can be found up ramps and onto walls specifically at Mos Le'Harmless.
• You can only spy on a specific penguin once.
• If you have ambient sound on, you will hear sounds when you are near a disguised penguin.
• Larry is there to offer hints, not rules. If he says there is a penguin "near the pointy-eared ones" (in Lletya), you don't *have* to find that specific penguin.
• You can get a maximum of 19 Penguin Points per week, and you can save up to 50 Penguin Points before exchanging them.
• If a hint says that a penguin is in a certain city or place, be sure to search the surrounding area. Penguins are on the move often and it isn't uncommon to find one far from the hint given.
• Each week, the locations of the penguins change. Larry's hints will also change to match.
• Larry will give all of his clues if you stand there and talk to him over and over, so there is no need to continually call him or visit him, except to claim your points.
• Player thread(s) in the Distractions and Diversions subforum of the Runescape Official Forums will list all of the hints for the week, with possible penguin locations. Helpful penguin hunting clan chats are also listed.
• World 60 is the unofficial Penguin Hide and Seek world. Search in this world for the most support.
• Searching alone can be quite tedious and boring. This minigame is much better when you have help. Joining a Clan Chat can increase the likeliness of finding a penguin. The members will be able to tell others if they find a penguin, and you can tell them if you find one.
• This page Weekly Penguin Locations is updated weekly with the locations of penguins, polar bear, and circus.

Credits

Original Guide by: manoman

Thanks to: Boomer-One, damianara, ForsakenMage, Georgelemmons, Jaffy1, Juhnix, lordkafei, n_odie, Naive, Octarine, pokemama, smellysocks, Vox1st, Vulxai, WoodenFruit, X3EN, zaaps1

Last updated by: ForsakenMage

Last updated: 19-Aug-2012