News regarding this year's Lockpicking Contests

[Deviant Ollam]

So, it recently came to our attention that the DefCon homepage lists "Lockpicking Contest: Unknown" with a link to this forum. Well, since I took over for Doc on the contest side of things and since we've been doing loads of planning behind the scenes... i suppose i'd better put something up here, eh?

So, first and foremost yes, of course we're having some great lockpicking games at DefCon this summer. Many are things you've seen before in Vegas, but there will also be some new fun goodness, as well.

Here's the rundown so far...

Points Competition
(all weekend in the LP Village)

You've seen this one before... a large number of the public locks in the village are specially marked as part of this challenge. DefCon Attendees who hang out in the village can present opened locks to the staff who will record their achievement on a master score sheet which shows a running total. The individuals with the highest scores by Sunday at noon (or the individual(s) to open every point-valued lock the soonest) are awarded some swag and other prizes that we can wrangle.

Lock Field Stripping
(in the LP Village at a specific time TBD by Schuyler)

This contest was a hit last year (it was a wonderful on the spot creation by Schuyler) and it will be happening again. Contestants will be given a simple lock core and tasked with fully breaking it down to its component parts. That means (in addition to getting it unlocked and opened without a key) they will have to pull the plug, eject all the pins and springs, and keep these parts in relative order... because with that checkpoint cleared, they must re-assemble the lock in such a way that the original key still functions. We promise to have an announcement for when this will take place by Friday at noon, if not before.

Speed Picking Competition
(in the LP Village at a specific time TBD by Mr. E)

This will be a test of skill in the vein of what has been historically called the LPCon... you've seen it with KaiGoth, DC719, Doc, and the rest of the wonderful people who've hauled tons of gear with them to Vegas every year. Simple, straightforward, timed picking is the name of the game here. No special tools, snap guns, bump keys, etc... just you and your thin bits of steel. This year the contest will be officially called the "American Open" as it will follow the rules set forth by the European competitions such as the Dutch Open. Players will be reduced in heats and rounds via head-to-head face-offs in which two locks are opened, then swapped, then opened again (to eliminate any chance of uneven lock difficulty) etc etc. This will separate the men from the boys, the ladies from the lasses, and the leeto burritos from the nooby nachos.

Gringo Warrior
(in the main contest area Saturday afternoon with a finalist round on the contest stage at 17:00)

This a new happening, for DefCon anyway... some of you have seen this game in its nascent stages as i work the bugs out at places like ShmooCon, ToorCon, and next weekend at LayerOne. Thus far, even in its experimental form, people have had a fucking blast with it. Speak up here if you've seen it and give your thoughts... I want to hear them and make the game even better. Gringo Warrior is a scenario-based escape game which pits you against the clock and against hypothetical captors. Imagine you've been kidnapped south of the border. Are the people holding for ransom? Do they want to extort you for money? Do they just want to violate you anally and leave your abused body in the desert? You have no intention of finding out, because using your hidden lockpicks you will break out of the cuffs you're wearing, the door that's holding you, etc etc etc... In Gringo Warrior you make your escape to freedom picking up points and items along the way. The gringo with with the best score wins!

(The course, which can be seen here, features multiple locks at each stage in easy, average, and hard configuration so that participants can chose their own path through the challenge. It's a game designed so that even the most basic noob can still have fun, but those with strong skill sets can also really shine. Come on by and see if you can make it to freedom!)

NOTE - As of now, my understanding from the DefCon staff is that this will be the only Black Badge event. However, as you know... the more people show up and have fun and make games very popular, the more likely they are to be Uber events in the future. So come on by and try to do as much as you can! DefCon is what you make it and the contests are what they are because of your participation!

[neil]

Re: News regarding this year's Lockpicking Contests

So, it recently came to our attention that the DefCon homepage lists "Lockpicking Contest: Unknown" with a link to this forum. Well, since I took over for Doc on the contest side of things and since we've been doing loads of planning behind the scenes... i suppose i'd better put something up here, eh?

Status on DC16 site officially changed to "New Content".

[valanx]

Re: News regarding this year's Lockpicking Contests

Will the locks be the same as in previous competitions?

[Deviant Ollam]

Re: News regarding this year's Lockpicking Contests

Will the locks be the same as in previous competitions?

many of the public locks (and, thus, the points locks) are from years past if not too beat up. others will be new, of course.

the speed picking setup will be all fresh and tightly-controlled locks.

the Gringo Warrior course is mostly what people may have experienced when i've taken it some other places.

i don't know what locks Schuyler is bringing for the field stripping. my guess is something like clones of Schlage or Kwiksets since it's geared towards ease of participation. but if i recall, there was an advanced round last time with like a Primus or some other sidebar based lock. maybe we'll see that again, too.

[valanx]

Re: News regarding this year's Lockpicking Contests

many of the public locks (and, thus, the points locks) are from years past if not too beat up. others will be new, of course.

I meant to come back and clarify that question and ask specifically about Gringo Warrior. Sorry about that, but thanks for answering the others too.

Has anyone opened the hard kwikset locks in the course yet?

[Deviant Ollam]

Re: News regarding this year's Lockpicking Contests

Has anyone opened the hard kwikset locks in the course yet?

actually, i'm going to edit the web page to reflect a change there. The new "Smart Series" by Kwikset is insane... crazy side-bar system that is a devil to pick and basically impossible to bump. At the most recent Dutch Open, i was told, only the great Arthur was able to open it, and even he didn't think it was an easy job. (old article about the Dutch Open, it's written in a very over-sensationalized style but it's still a great read and gives good context)

I've replaced the Smart Series with an industrial-grade knob and deadbolt. In addition to the standard spool pin that these locks contain, i also added a double-inverted mushroom spool pin out of a Norwegian TrioVing padlock to one chamber in each of them, too.

[Schuyler]

Re: News regarding this year's Lockpicking Contests

Yes - expect common door locks. [in the Field-Stripping competition] Old-model kwiksets (though there will likely be a 2nd gen smartkey in the final round) and schlages or their equivalents.

There will be 4 rounds [for the Field-Stripping competition]

First round - This is an open round with common 5-pin locks. Also - only the key pins will be removed in this round, drivers and springs will be left in the bible of the locks. Plug followers and cardboard pinning-trays will be provided for everyone participating.

Second round - with either 50% of the previous rounds participants eliminated or x# of fastest people (where x is the number of locks I prepped for this round) will likely be 6 pin, possibly 7 pin (have to check my stock) and will require that the participants remove the drivers as well as the key pins. This round will also include master wafers.

Third round - the four fastest from the second round will move on to this semi-final round. This is a new round for this year's competition and will actually require the folks participating to REKEY a lock. I will provide pinning kits, key gauges and tweezers for this round. You will receive two keys with your lock. The first will open it, the second is what you have to key it to.

Fourth round - the two fastest from the third round will continue on to disassemble two more intricate locks. The new generation of the Kwikset Smartkey & either an Abloy disc-detainer lock, or the new RKS system from Stanton Concepts.

Last year I set aside a few minutes for people to try to pick or shim the locks before they were given keys, however, we also ran very very long last year, so instead I'm planning, 30 minutes before the competition starts, to give a demonstration of basic lock maintenance and repair. Showing how shims work, and where to find useful material, etc. and let people play with shimming locks. In the actual competition, I'm just going to provide everyone with their keys as soon as they get their locks as this competition is meant to give folks a much deeper understanding of how the locks actually work, rather than picking them.

Just like last year everyone can expect to keep whatever locks they have worked with once they are eliminated from the competition. Save, of course, for the folks in the final round. However, this year much moreso than last year (where I just awarded them whatever used gear I had laying around) I'm going to have some pretty kickass prizes for the 2 finalists.

My apologies for taking so long to get this information out!

[Deviant Ollam]

Re: News regarding this year's Lockpicking Contests

someone on the TOOOL forums pointed out that i drunkenly omitted one contest.

Obstacle Course
(at a specific time in the LP Village, organized by Locksport International and the Longhorn Lockpicking Club)

You've seen some form of this before with KaiGoth and his crew from the 719... but Doug Farre and his people have put a whole new load of effort and energy into redesigning the entire "obstacle course" game. New hardware, new locks, new skill levels, and more fun... pit yourself against many styles of locks that will require a wide range of techniques and tactics. The crew of LI and LLC bring more imagination and innovation than the creators of Kinniku Banzuke when coming up with this wicked romp.

[sugardaddy]

Re: News regarding this year's Lockpicking Contests

Gringo Warrior was a blast at Shmoo! I only learned to pick a few locks about 2 hours prior and managed to get through the whole course in about 3 minutes. Loads of fun taking out the guard too. I'm surprised it will be the only black badge contest for LP but at least that means I "might" have a chance.

SD

[warelock]

Re: News regarding this year's Lockpicking Contests

Sign me up for all the contests. Thanks.