The Golden Cricket Cage of Khan

The Moat
One partner from each team had an "Aztec footboard". When Kirk said go, the first partner of each team paddled across the moat. Once across, they climbed out onto the other side. That was the signal for the second partner to pull the footboard back to the other side, jump on, grab the rope, swing the footboard into the water, and pull themselves across the Moat. When the second teammate reached the other side, it was his job to hit the gong.

The Steps of Knowledge
When he was seventeen, a famous Italian explorer traveled from Venice and along the legendary Silk Road to China. He was Marco Polo. Along the way, he rode camels through burning deserts, giant sandstorms, and through the icy mountains. After he arrived in China, Marco was invited to dinner at the palace of the emperor Kublai Khan. Marco was very impressed with Kublai Khan's court, and the Khan was very impressed with Marco's bravery and intelligence. They quickly became friends, and Khan gave Marco many gifts, including ivory, jade, silk, and some say a very special pet cricket cage made of gold.

On the journey back to Venice, he was robbed by bandits and lost everything including the golden cricket cage.

Travel the Silk Road (Dragon Tunnel)
In this game, each player's task was to snake through the "Silk Road", grab a piece of silk on the other end, inch back through, and carry the silk back to the beginning. The first player to do this in one minute won. Michelle beat Jon, pulling the silk back in thirty seconds.

Giant Cricket Cages (Peanut Shaft)
The players grabbed a cricket from the bottom of the "cage", climbed up, and placed the cricket in the bin at the top. Then, they climbed back down, and grabbed the next cricket. The first player with five crickets in the bin - or the player with the most after one minute - won. Tia and Mike tied, 4-4.

More Spices for China (Bungee Soap Line)
One player from each team started with a bag of spice. When Kirk said "go", both partners pulled themselves to the center. When they got there, one passed the spice bag to her partner; then, they both slid back to their respective starting points. The first partner grabbed another spice bag while the second partner dumped his spice bag into the bucket. Both players then pulled themselves toward the center and repeated the process. The team with the most spice bags in their bucket at the end of one minute won. The Silver Snakes barely won versus the Purple Parrots, 4-3.

The Temple Run
Many runs in Season One feature one smart player and one stupid player, but this episode featured a pair of stupid players that had absolutely no idea what they were doing! They only covered four rooms in three minutes - a record low for the show (admittedly, the team in Elizabeth I's Golden Ship also only covered four rooms, but they had a valid excuse - they got caught by three temple guards.) If it makes the players feel any better, they're one of the few teams in the history of the show to use both crawl tubes connecting the bottom entrance to the Pit area.

Trivia

 * This was the first time that an artifact was hidden in the Swamp area.
 * Jon was the first player to use the upper crawl tube in the Case of Sighs.
 * This episode ties with Elizabeth I's Golden Ship with the fewest rooms entered.
 * This Temple Run is considered the worst run because of the contestants cluelessness throughout the temple and not making any progress.
 * Ironically, the Purple Parrots  (the show's worst team) didn't go to the temple, even though they did come very close.