The Scavenger Vortex

"The Scavenger Vortex" is the third episode of the seventh season of the  The Big Bang Theory. The episode aired on October 3, 2013.

Summary
The gang goes on a scavenger hunt.

Extended Plot
At The Cheesecake Factory Raj is discussing his s (dinner and solving a murder mystery) that they did not attend. He then tells them that he will set up an M.I.T.-like . Leonard suggests that the teams be the couples and then changes it to picking names out of a hat. Penny gets mad that it seems like Leonard doesn't want her on his team. Penny picks Sheldon and then asks Amy if she wants her as her partner. Amy quickly agrees that names should be pulled out of a hat. The teams are:  Sheldon and Penny, Howard and Amy, Leonard and Bernadette.

The hunt starts with a puzzle that sends them to the comic book store. There gives them a  that sends them to the Caltech  lab. The is followed by a couple of more stops until they end up in the laundry room. There they find a bag full of dirty and one  with a spot on it. They all rush up to apartment 4A to look in Sheldon's spot for the treasure, a gold. Raj walks in and tells them to check their and everyone has a gold coin. Raj makes the point that when they all work together they are all winners. The competitive players get mad at Raj since no one won and they chase him down the stairs.

Penny and Sheldon work good together despite their usual personality clashes. Both of them come up with clue answers. Bernadette is very competitive, like a in a cage according to Howard. She badgers (pun intended) Leonard who is only worried that Penny is mad at him. She ends up driving his car, though Leonard feels like she is flying it. Howard and Amy have never spent any time alone, something Penny had warned her about. They tried to find common ground, but none of her interests appeal to Howard. When he suggests playing some music, she finds his collection, a singer that she also loves. They end up singing his songs throughout the rest of the hunt. They even blow off finishing the hunt and go to The Cheesecake Factory to do some Neil Diamond and are really enjoying themselves.

Critics
To be entered.

Trivia

 * Raj claimed the game consists of ten puzzles, while not all the puzzles are revealed in the show:
 * The game starts with a (jigsaw) puzzle, with the answer "comic book store";
 * A riddle that attached to the life-size Riddler stand-up at the comic book store, with the answer "Geology Laboratory";
 * A riddle on the table of Geology Laboratory, directing the players to see the next hint behind the door of the  Geology Laboratory;
 * A map coordinate hidden behind a post on the door of the Geology Laboratory, sending the players to a bowling alley;
 * A puzzle at the bowling alley, content unknown, probobaly directing the players to the bottom of the broken elevator of the Apartment Building;
 * A puzzle at the bottom of the elevator, content unknown, probobaly directing the players to the Planetarium ;
 * A puzzle at the Planetarium, content unkown, probobaly directing the players to the Tar Pits;
 * A puzzle at the Tar Pits, content unkown, probably directing the players to the Laundry of the Apartment Building;
 * Bags of dirty clothes in the Laundry, in which there are Sheldon's T-shirts, with stained spots on them, with the answer "Sheldon's Spot“.
 * Note that 5 to 8 is not confirmed to follow that order with the information revealed in the show.
 * In an unusual move in their friendship, Amy doesn't want her "bestie"  Penny on her team. She immediately says that they should pick names out of a . Amy knows that she isn't as smart as the other members of their little group.
 * Amy and Howard find out that they both like the songs of.
 * It is confirmed in this episode that Leonard studied at Princeton University, which was previously implied in The Jiminy Conjecture (S5E11).
 * Amy explains that she studied at.
 * Howard and Raj have been to the Tar Pits in The Cornhusker Vortex (S3E06).
 * Amy mentions that she likes, which she will watch with Sheldon in The Raiders Minimization.
 * Nobody wants Penny on their team as she is a "liability".
 * Bernadette is very competitive in this episode and is very eager to win.

Quotes

 * Raj: I’m going to make you guys a scavenger hunt like they have at M.I.T.
 * Howard: Oh, I love those. I did them every year there.
 * Leonard: We did them at Princeton too.
 * Howard: Oh, that’s cute. Like it’s a real college.
 * Sheldon: Amusing. I was going to say that about M.I.T., but it works for Princeton, too.
 * Amy: Scavenger hunts at Harvard we’re really tough. I’d always get stuck on the first challenge; trying to find someone to be on a team with me. [Laughs] I guess that story’s more sad than funny.


 * Sheldon: MY BRAIN IS BETTER THAN EVERYBODY'S!