A little over a month ago, an anonymous account popped up on Instagram, @find_tuffy_ncsu, with a simple premise. Miniature Tuffy wolves (named after our adorable Tuffy III) would be hidden around campus for anyone to find and choose a new hiding spot, organized by creators Mr. and Mrs. Tuffy. Run by Mrs. Tuffy, the account began following NC State students to gain recognition and gauge interest in preparation to start hiding Tuffys. 

After gaining a following, the first step was to 3D print a Tuffy. Once he found a design online to base it off of, Mr. Tuffy got to work.

“They only take about six hours to print and they’re hollow,” Mr. Tuffy said. “It was easier to print that way … the material is like $20 a roll so it starts to add up.”

From there, Red Tuffy was born and ready to hide. However, before the games could begin, Mrs. Tuffy had to explain the structure.

“The rules are pretty simple … when you hide it all you have to do is just take a picture, send it to us on Instagram, and then hide it again,” Mrs. Tuffy said. “Take a picture when you hide it … and give me a hint. If you can’t think of one, I’ll give one for you. Then I’ll make new posts letting everyone know it’s been hidden again.”

Despite how open ended it is, there are some limitations for Tuffy hiding.

“Places you can’t hide it: inside dorms, apartments or areas that aren’t open to the public … anywhere that’s not an on-campus building,” Mrs. Tuffy said. “We prefer indoor locations for them to be hidden, but outdoor locations are okay, just preferably out of direct sunlight or somewhere where it might get wet.”

After realizing how much engagement they were getting, Mrs. Tuffy decided to give a more material incentive.

“I made it into a little competition and whoever’s got the most points wins maybe like, a little Tuffy statue and gift card,” Mrs. Tuffy said.

With the rules established and students excited to hunt, they were ready to start it off. Red Tuffy was officially hidden for the first time Sept. 13 and the game was on from there.

Konde Brown, a third year student studying communications, shared their thoughts on Find Tuffy’s rise to fame. 

“Once I saw the first post, I thought it was a pretty cool concept … it’s an activity where it’s very self-sufficient,” Brown said. “For someone to have this idea … I think it’s really interesting and fun, commendable to whoever decided to start that.”

After finding Red Tuffy in the WKNC radio station, Brown got into the competitive spirit when hiding it next in the student lounge in Lampe.

“I was like, ‘Oh, this is a good hiding place, like I’ll be surprised that someone can make a hiding place as good as mine,’” Brown said. “And then mine was the first one to be gone for 24 hours.”

After the first week Mrs. Tuffy had created the account, they had less than 100 followers. In the month since the first Tuffy was hidden, they have since risen to 477 followers. In time since, Red Tuffy has also been joined by siblings: White Tuffy and Black Tuffy.

Mr. and Mrs. Tuffy hope this can become a fun tradition that lasts for years to come.

“At some point, we’d like to hand it off to other people and make it sustainable,” Mr. Tuffy said. “Having it exceed our time here and maybe become more of a tradition would be a great legacy for us to leave as we go on to graduate.”

While some students, like the mechanical engineering and aerospace team, consistently seek out the Tuffys, Brown is a more casual follower.

“You don’t have to engage with it. If you find it you don’t have to pick it up and then take it if you don’t want to,” Brown said. “If I see a hint, I’ll be like ‘I think I could tell where that’s at.’”

Unfortunately, Red Tuffy was stolen a few weeks back. A new one was printed and hidden soon after, with air tags added to all three. 

“I don’t know how sustainable it is long term if these keep getting stolen,” Mr. Tuffy said. “Because that’s the biggest issue with us, we’re just students and we’re not wanting to shell out like $100 for a set of 3 Tuffys.”

Mr. and Mrs. Tuffy’s anonymity allows them to keep an eye on the Tuffys as well. For Brown, the anonymity adds to the experience.

“I kind of liked that it’s faceless … I kind of don’t want to know,” Brown said. “It’s like a man behind the curtain kind of thing … that’s just the type of person I am — when there’s magic afoot I’m not going to be the one to question that. I’ll just rock with it.”

Most of us can miss that magic in our everyday lives, especially as the semester gets busier.

“A lot of times I get caught up in like, going to classes and stuff and not really paying much attention. I kind of get caught in the motions,” Mr. Tuffy said. “So it was something that would encourage people to pay attention to the real world and not be caught up in their head.”

Follow @find_tuffy_ncsu on Instagram and keep a look out for the Tuffys next time you walk to class.