Sunday, June 24, 2007

The Plushy Master Supreme Challenge

Team: Ponies

The PMS Challenge (PMSC) is a Treasure hunt game takeing place in a defined location range of the real world using clues supplied to competitors via mobile phone Short Message System (SMS). Two or more teams of Competitors will race to collect Plushys or stuffed toys from seeded locations within a known arena of play.

Competitors
: Participants in PMSC are divided into equally numbered cooperative teams. Teams must work cohesively to win the game and ‘should’ never be out of sight of one another.

Plushy Master: The Plushy Master (PM) is an independent arbitrator and judge, not a competitor. The PM acts independently to the competitor teams to set up the game and facilitate play of PMSC. Additionally the PM may choose assistants or ‘deputies’ to aid them in the game Plushy Deputies are useful for the play of large games.

A prime number of Plushies: Plushies are easily obtainable from your local Opportunity shop for a pittance. I collected 12 plushies of varying sizes from my local op shop for only 6 dollars or so. Plushies are collected by competitors during the course of the event. Plushies are sequentially ‘adopted’ by team members and must be carried by that team member for the game, Plushies must be shared equally by all team members and not hogged by individuals. At the end of the game the team with the most number of Plushies wins the game.

Mobile phones: Each team of competitors and the Plushy master must be in possession of a (1) Mobile phone Capable of both sending and receiving ‘Short Message Service’. SMS clues to the location of Plushies will be sent to Each team.

The Log: The Plushy master will require a ‘log’ a list upon which to track the events of the game and record locations of the Plushys. The log is produced by the PM and must be kept confidentially to the players. The PM is also advised to keep colored pencils or markers one color for each team to help keep track of the game.

The Arena: PMSC must be played within a known location with clearly defined boundaries. The Range of the arena should be carefully chosen by the Plushy Master to accommodate the limited time of the games play and the capability of the competitive teams. By varying the range of the game its difficulty can be easily varied.
Games may last for minutes or weeks but the longer the period the harder the game will be to set up.

Setup.
The PM first chooses a range and defines its boundaries. These boundaries must be easily communicable to the competitive teams. Imprecise definitions of the game area can lead to confusion in a treasure hunt. Game setup begins with the Plushy master marking his Plushies. Each plushy should be marked with a unique alpha numeric code (A24F). A printable sheet of Tags is provided with this document but the PM may mark the plushies in any way that seems fitting. The plushy master then distributes the Plushys throughout the range and records the Plushys location and code together in his/her log book with a Black pen or pencil.

e.g.
#1, Tiger, A24F, Amongst Fruit bowl in ‘The Poser’ Coffee shop.

#2, Bear, 234G, On top of Post box in front of Mayberry Bakery.

Plushies should be seeded in Prime number groups larger than 2 such as 3, 5, 7,11,13,17,19,23,29 ect. As prime numbers have no natural divisors two teams can never tie for first place. Some effort should be taken preferably to secure the location of the Plushies. Hiding the Plushies from public view or requesting cooperation from local businesses or services are examples. PM’s should mark their plushies with a tag that describes that the plushy is being used in a treasure hunt and may be left in place. To reduce confusion the PM may wish to add their Phone number to the Plushys tag. Some people can become suspicious of an innocent plushy toy left lying around and PM’s should do all in their power not to upset or frighten members of the public.

Sequence of play

The PM should assign the teams colors corresponding to marker pens he will use in his log book. This helps to avoid confusion and aid the PM in producing a more challenging and hopefully more Fun game.
At the commencement of the Challenge the teams are informed of the range of the game. Any confusion or debate over included or excluded regions may be resolved here. Instructions such as ‘you will not have to cross any streets to play this game’ are easily interpreted compared to coordinates or map directions. Clear instructions are important for players to visualize the field of the game. Players are informed of the number of Plushies in the field and given a brief idea of how long it should take them to retrieve each plushy. The PM may be enigmatic or cooperative to set the mood at this stage. The PM should take this opportunity with a new PMSC crew to remind them that this is a live game and should they get stuck the PM is only an SMS away. Players are also informed of the expected time of expiration of the game.
Each team is given the PM’s Phone number and the location/clue to their first plushy and teams race off to find their Plushys.
The PM circles the two starting clues numbers with corresponding team colors and records the times of the clues sent. This important in determining a winner in a closely tied game.

#1, Tiger, A24F, Amongst Fruit bowl in ‘The Poser’ Coffee shop. 9:30

#2, Bear, 234G, On top of Post box in front of Mayberry Bakery. 9:31

When a team finds a Plushy the team SMS their team name and the Plushys marked code to the PM.

‘Red A24F’

Upon Receiving this code the PM checks the code in the log. If valid he crosses out the Plushys entry marking it as being collected, it is advised the PM uses a colored marker to do this corresponding to the team color collected.

#1, Tiger, A24F, Amongst Fruit bowl in ‘The Poser’ Coffee shop.

#2, Bear, 234G, On top of Post box in front of Mayberry Bakery.

The PM scans the list for another appropriate uncollected or sent Plushy and sends its location/clue back to the team via SMS. The responding location/clue may be varied in difficulty depending on the time available to play the game and the difficulty involved.

Bear will post you a slice of Mayberry Bakery pie.

Interception rule
After an appropriate delay the PM may send the clue to opposing teams. The delay should be long enough to give the first team a head start but still allow the opposing team the chance to hijack their opponents Plushy. It is HIGHLY advised that colored circles and marks are used if the interception rule is going to be employed. Without this system it becomes almost impossible for a PM to keep track of which plushies are in play and which teams have an active clue.

Teams are reminded that they must remain one cohesive group and Plushys must be shared between members of the team. The PM should remain mobile during the course of the game usually drifting towards areas the plushies are hidden. If a team becomes stuck or cannot find a plushy it is the PM’s responsibility to help them out and keep the game fun. Advised strategies include standing near hidden plushy locations. Sending additional clues to stuck teams or paying a game of ‘hotter-colder’ to aid a team in finding a plushy.

The teams hunt down their next plushy collects its code and send it to the pm and the sequence begins again.

Finishing the game.
Game play ends when either all Plushies have been collected by participating teams.
Or the Time period expires. The PM is responsible for informing all teams of the conclusion of the game where by all teams converge upon a location to count up Plushies. Meeting should be time stamped to aid in coordination.

Game Expired. Converge on Clock tower for count 15:00.

It should be noted that the final scoring of the game is determined by ACTUAL delivery of Plushies. Not by entry’s of Plushies into the log. In the event of three or more teams drawing the collection of Plushies. For example 3 + 4 + 4 = 11. The team who collected the most Plushies fastest wins. The PM Refers to the Log to determine who collected their Plushies first.

Bonuses & variants

Cameraphone PMSC
: Camera phone variant involves instead of the collection of Plushies themselves the Collection of photographs of Plushies from toyshops and other locations within the range. Photos may be directly sent to the PM for confirmation or ‘collection’ to proceed to the next clue. Alternatively Stickers holding alpha numeric codes may be covertly secreted at the location of the Plushy necessitating both the photographing of the described plushy and then the search for the sticker holding the code. In both cases Evidence of Photographs is required to score points and win the game.

Bonus points: The PM SMS’s ‘Bonus Tasks’ To the Teams that can only be accomplished at the location provided. These may include retrieving a paper cup from a coffee shop. Taking a photograph of your Plushies location. Or picking a leaf off a certain tree. Completion of these tasks award points that are tallied to determine winner at the end of the game.

Static hunt: Competitor teams hunt for the plushies as normal but do not remove the plushys from their locations. Instead they collect and SMS the alpha numeric codes and compete in parallel or sequence with other teams to complete the field of plushies in the shortest period of time. This game is best suited to a large number of teams as the setup required for the game is not multiplied by the number of teams playing. However the PM may require multiple assistants to deal with the SMS traffic flow and managing the logs.

1 comment:

Administration said...

The Plushie Master Supreme Challenge (TPMSC) assessments.

Who would the game appeal to? (age groups, demographics)
16 – 21, both male and female.

Was it too hard? Or Easy? Why?
The game was quite easy and straight forward, the players are required to track down the location of the plushies to reveal the next clues (the location of the next plushie).

Was it physically or mentally challenging?
The game was quite physically challenging because some of the plushies were hidden in odd places that required us climbing the stairs and jumping in order to reach it (e.g on top of a vending machine). Also, if the players were to stand a chance on winning this game, they would need to RUN or move very quickly to beat their opponents to the plushies. Because of the constant running and moving around, we felt exhausted after completing the game.

Does it have a steep learning curve?
No, the game was very easy to understand and learn, the game required us to perform very basic tasks, such as running around looking for plushies.

Would it be a game people came back to play again to improve their skill etc?
Yes definitely, I enjoyed playing this game very much and i would play this game again, in my opinion this game was very fun and it reminds me of ‘hunting for the chocolate eggs’ game that we used to play during Easter. This game doesn’t require much skill from the player to play because it is very easy and basic, and this game is good for exercising.

Rules
Are they clear, comprehensible, logical?
Yes, the rules were very clear.

Are they easy to remember and follow?
Yes, the rules were very easy to remember (e.g. the players must stay within their own team at all time and not allowed to leave the RMIT campus).


Are there enough or too many?
The number of rules in this game was about right, this game was very simple and basic, and so it doesn’t really require that many rules to comprehend.

Do they get in the way of playing the game?
No, the rules didn’t get in the way of playing the game.

Magic Circle

Is a sense of the scope of the game established?
Yes, we knew exactly what we had to do.

Is it over an appropriate area?
We played this game in the RMIT campus area, the area was very appropriate for this game because there are many hiding and tricky places to hide the plushies in for the players to find. However, personally I’d like to play this game in a much bigger area (around the whole city).

Is any special paraphernalia needed for it appropriate?
Yes, each groups must have at least one member with a cell phone to txt and communicate with the game master every time after we have found the plushie.


Do such items fit in with the theme of the game?
The cell phone was appropriate and fits in well with the theme of the game, it’s small and so we can carry it with us while running around. Also, the plushies acted as a reward for the game, it gave us a sense of satisfaction for hunting it down.


Goals

Do you know what the goal of the game is?
Yes, the goal of this game was very simple and is very similar to treasure hunt, Beat the other team to the location of the plushie, collect the code and txt the code to the game master to reveal the next location of the plushie, the team collected the most plushies wins the game, sadly the other group beaten us by 3 plushies, (12 to 9)

Do the game actions make sense in relation to the goal?
Yes, the action that was taken in the game was very appropriate. We exhausted ourselves by running around finding plushies to achieve the goal.

Do the goals seem meaningful?
Yes, the goal of the game was to collect all the plushies, the group collected the most plushies wins the game.

Duration

Did it take too long?
The game didn’t take too long for us to complete, I think there were about 22 plushies hidden around the city campus and didn’t take long for us to find it.


What was the experience like?
My experience from playing this game was very positive and very enjoyable. I can’t help but feeling like a little kid again running around collecting treasures (plushies) and I got excited every time we have found the treasure.

Gameplay.

Was it fun? And why/not?
Yes, this game was very fun and enjoyable, this game is good for building friendship because the members in the groups will need to interact and communicate with each other to work out the clues for the next plushie. We had a lot of fun working together trying to interpret the clues.

Would anyone play it if they weren’t being forced to?
Yes, I would definitely play this game again, I had so much fun playing this game that I forgot about the time (the passing minutes).


What could have been improved?
I’d like to play this game in a wider area (maybe around the city), because I think this game was quite easy to play, a wider area with increase the difficulty of the game because it’ll make the plushies much more challenging and harder to find.


What really worked about it?
Having the players to interact with the other members in the group, and also the way they (the game masters) set out the game, everything seems to fit in well and flows together (txt the hidden code collected from the plushies to the game master to reveal the next location).



Who would the game appeal to?
Treasure hunts are a type of game that appeals to all ages; well at least I believe so. However given the criteria/requirements of this particular adaptation, I would say from the ages 10 an above. (Given that fact that 10 year olds these days could be carrying mobile phones)

Was it too hard? Or Easy? Why?
The level of challenge was just about right; it was neither too hard nor too easy. This is because of the controlled environment the group has opted to create. By choosing a location we are all familiar with, it makes it easy enough for us to move around the location. And the clues given are not too obvious nor over heavily cryptic. The balance between the both was just about right.

Was it physically or mentally challenging?
The game was both physically and mentally challenging. It is both a treasure hunt and a race at the same time. The game required us to solve clues in order to locate the hidden plush toys. And because the game was a race between other teams, it required us to try and locate the plush toys quickly, which meant running around RMIT.

Does it have a steep learning curve?
No, the game does not have a steep learning curve. The rules were simple. The objectives were clear and easy to complete.

Would it be a game people came back to play again to improve their skill etc?
If people want to improve on their knowledge of RMIT, physical endurance and a keen eye on spotting hidden plush toys, then yes I think people might play this game again.

Rules

Are they clear, comprehensible, logical?
Yes

Are they easy to remember and follow?
Yes

Are there enough or too many?
The amount of rules given was enough to equip us for the game.

Do they get in the way of playing the game?
Apart from the fact, the rules made me have to run up the stairs because my team mates did…. No they don’t. The rules make sure players work together as a team.

Magic Circle

Is a sense of the scope of the game established?
I believe there is. There are game masters throughout the game monitoring us – reinforcing rules and giving out help.

Is it over an appropriate area?
Yes.

Is there any special paraphernalia for it appropriate?
Yes. Mobile phones.

Do such items fit in with the theme of the game?
We are required to send a code to the game masters in exchange for another clue for another hidden plush toy. I believe the item fits in with the game because using the mobile phone (text messages) was the easiest way to communicate. It creates a sense of urgency when teams are racing against each other while having to wait for the next clue to be sent, and it allows the game masters to control the game flow.

Do they extend the experience or potential of the game?
Yes (read above answer). I also think that by using the text-messaging feature, it allows anyone or group with a mobile phone to play and it also means that the area of location is not limited to a certain area – can be played in a shopping mall, a park, or even the CBD)

Goals

Do you know what the goal of the game is?
To find the most plush toys

Do the game actions make sense in relation to the goal?
Yes

Do the goals seem meaningful?
Well, in order to win we had to have found the most plush toys, and we want to win, so yes the goals were meaningful.

Duration

Did it take too long?
Only because I felt tired from running. An hour is plenty of time considering the area of our location.

What was the experience like?
It was different in a sense because the game took me to different places around RMIT that I have never been to and it help me notice that I do know my way around RMIT a bit.

Was it fun? And why/not?
I found the game fun. It required basic knowledge of the location, we had to work as a team as well as trust each other as one leads you to some place you never heard of. And it’s always fun when your winning XD

Would anyone play it if they weren’t being forced to?
I think they would. I would like to play this game again

What could have been improved?
I can’t think of any, never did I feel at one point did I question the game. It genuinely felt like a perfect game (if a game can ever be perfect)

What really worked about it?
I would have to say the controlled environment – the game went smoothly because we were eating off the palm of their hands… or so to speak.


Who would the game appeal to?
Almost all ages and those especially with no impairments that may limit their ability to run or solve location clues.
Was it hard? Or easy? Why? It was average in terms of the clues and finding the treasure locations, but difficult in terms of endurance and sometimes actually retrieving the treasure.
Was it physically or mentally challenging? Physically, a little. Mentally, not really.
Does it have a steep learning curve? No
Would it be a game people came back to play again to improve their skill etc? Well if you wanted to train in the military, yes! Otherwise no. It’s not that tactical.

Rules
Are they clear, comprehensible? The rules are very simple
Are they easy to remember and follow? Yes.
Are there enough or too many? There are enough, but to make the game more strategic you could easily add some more limitations.
Do they get in the way of playing the game? No they don’t.

Magic Circle
Is a sense of the scope of the game established? Yes because we were told at the start, but if we weren’t I’m not so sure.
Is it over an appropriate area? Yes. I never knew RMIT had so many places it didn’t want people to know about. The distances between each treasure were vast but that suited the game and made it more exciting to play.
Is any special paraphernalia needed for it appropriate? Sure, soft toys are “appropriate”. They’re also a nostalgic kind of prize to, like you get at show grounds.
Do such items fit in with the theme of the game? It’s all relative but I think so.
Do they extend the experience or potential of the game?
Not especially.

Goals
Do you know what the goal of the game is? To find the treasure before the other team.
Do the game actions make sense in relation to the goal? Yes. When you receive a clue, solve it and go as quickly to find the treasure as humanly possible. Search high and Low.
Do the goals seem meaningful?
I guess.

Duration
Did it take too long?
Didn’t take too long but it wasn’t obvious when it would finish either.
What was the experience like?
Fun but a little tiring.
Was it fun? Why/not?
It was fun because we were constantly racing against the other team to find the treasure before they did. It was frustrating because we couldn’t split up…so in a way the idea of team was only for solving the clue or finding the treasure, there was no potential for strategy. Also, the radius for being labeled “separated” wasn’t clear and this was frustrating/ not mentioned in the rules.

Would anyone play it if they weren’t being forced to?
Yes I think so.
What could have been improved?
Like I said, perhaps being a little more lenient with splitting up so an element of strategy could be involved. Perhaps a different kind of penalty besides a point.
What worked?
The mysterious element of never knowing when we might get an SMS clue. Also how well the treasures were hidden and visiting places in RMIT that we had never really seen before.




- The Game had very clear rules and goals
- Playing the game was easy to learn
- Good use of TEXT Msg into the gameplay to receive the information
- the game overall played rather well within the time frame of 1hr
- The overall experience was that it played well with always fresh new objective that keeps the game exciting
- The game is also physically challenging as it required a lot of running which is good exercise
- This can be a good social game to play 1-2 times



Who would the game appeal to?
I think it would appeal to a wide range of audience, but it would appeal mainly for kids due to the clues used. However the concept itself can (and have been) applied to even team-building activity for office workers.

Was it too hard or easy? Why?
It was fairly easy. Clues were straightforward but the physical toil was immense for me.

Was it physically or mentally challenging?
Physically yes, as you have to get from one place to the other in such a short time

Does it have a steep learning curve?
Nope, everything is, again, straightforward

Would it be a game people came back to play again to improve their skills?
No, maybe to improve their scores but that just requires a really fast running skill


Rules

Are they clear, comprehensible, logical?
Yep, nothing too complicated.

Are they easy to remember and follow?
As there were only around 3 rules, they were really easy to remember. And most of them are about team rules: staying together.

Are there enough or too many?
There’s enough rules and they don’t burden the players

Do they get in the way of playing the game?
Not at all


Magic Circle

Is a sense of the scope of the game established?
It’s defined, but it doesn’t feel like a contained area, as they only say “RMIT buildings”. In the end though, the route we took defined the actual scope itself.

Is it over an appropriate area?
Absolutely, there wasn’t traffic, or noticeable obstacles

Is any special paraphernalia needed for it appropriate?
Yes, although even if you change the clues (plushies) it wouldn’t detract from the game at all.

Do the paraphernalia fit in the theme of the game?
As there wasn’t really any “specific” theme to the game aside from treasure hunting, the plushies didn’t really alter the theme at all. In fact even if we change the plushies to some other objects, the game itself can still be played in its entirety.


Goals

Do you know what the goal of the game is?
Yep, to get more plushies than the other team

Do the game actions make sense in relation to the goal?
Running around to try and get the plushies fit the bill as this is a race

Do the goals seem meaningful?
It’s meaningful only at the competition level. Unfortunately the game itself needs to be a bit bigger in order for it to be much more meaningful as it will present more competition.

Duration

Did it take too long?
After a while I got really tired and by that stage I started losing interest in the game. By no means they should alter the gametime, 1 hour is just enough.


Game Play

What was the experience like?
Shameless fun. Tiring but a good way to get your competitiveness running. Unfortunately the mental satisfaction ends because the game does not really continue along after that.

Would anyone play it if they weren’t being forced to?
Yes, this type of game is fairly popular with all ages.

What really worked about it?
The whole Team vs Team trying to get a FINITE number of treasure worked very well as they know that they can lose if they don’t get somewhere fast. It promoted enthusiasm.

What could have been improved?
Most of the clues require going up a lot of staircases due to the building limitations. For someone not in top athletic form like me, it was such a burden. Maybe put more plushie at closer distance. Also in the concept it’s said that you can intercept the other team’s plushie. That didn’t come out as well since the clues come rather slow due to the SMS technology not being instant.



This game would appeal to a wide range of people including older children, teenagers, adults, families, and students (The game documentation also reinforces this with the feature of making the game adaptable depending on the audience). The demographic would be anyone interested in playing and with access to a mobile phone.

The game strikes the right difficulty balance for the teenage/adult audience. It was like a challenging Easter egg hunt. The clues were clear without being unnecessarily obvious. E.g. library fire hydrant clue was the hydrant closest to the library doors and around the corner rather than one of many inside the library. The variation between the soft toys and their suitability to their location kept the player on edge.

The game was surprisingly physically challenging, but that may have been partly our group’s fault as we were always on the run. The mental challenge was at the right level - it was dependant on our knowledge of the game arena, whether we had a map and our communication skills within the group and when asking staff for directions.

The learning curve was not steep. Even though from a personal point of view our group narrowly lost the challenge, I believe that the experience was so enjoyable that the game has potential for replay-ability. I’d certainly like to try it again to improve my game playing technique.

Rules
Rules are clear, comprehensible and logical.
The Rules are very easy to remember and follow.
The amount of rules present, were appropriate for the game.
The only rule that may have gotten in the way of playing the game was that each group member had to be in sight of each other. While I think it was a good rule, I found for our experience in large groups this proved difficult to adhere to. We also had the dynamic of slow and fast runners forcing our group to spread out at times.

Magic Circle
A sense of the scope of the game is established. The game area is appropriate for the needs of the gameplay. The soft toys needed for the game are not only appropriate but also a very cute touch to the game’s look and feel! These items successfully fit in with the theme of the game.
The use of mobile sms extends the experience or potential of the game to multiple variations of the game. Game can be adapted to alternative locations with an alternative theme for the items. And with a camera phone photos could be taken instead of physically collecting items.

Goals
Do you know what the goal of the game is?
The goal was clear – to collect as many soft toys possible before the other team(s). The game actions made perfect sense in relation to this goal. The goals seem meaningful in so much as the more toys the more awesome your group is!

Duration
Duration was about right. The game seemed long because we got stuck with one of the clues, and it was very physical, but it also seemed short because it was enjoyable (This is my indicator of a good experience – time fly’s when you’re having fun).

What was the experience like?
Experience was a physically exhausting, unexpected training session on a Monday morning winter! A couple of us were loosing concentration due to the repetitive physical tourture.

Gameplay.
This was extremely fun. The most fun of all the games I tested. The fun was caused by a simple, organised and well thought out idea. The game masters added to the experience by being very clear and helpful throughout. This is one of the few games that I truly believe anyone would play if they weren’t being forced.

To improve the game the locations could have been either more obvious or less spread out to cut out running and backtracking.
The organisation behind the Gamemaster (use of their log book) sending and receiving sms made the game flow really well.

Well done Ponies!


Who would the game appeal to? (age groups, demographics)

Any one from about 5 up to 45

Was it too hard? Or Easy ? Why?

The game was of moderate difficulty to play

Was it physically or mentally challenging?

The game was both physically and mentally challenging because you have to run around and deciphers clues.

Does it have a steep learning curve?

No not once the rules have been expand to you.

Would it be a game people came back to play again to improve their skill etc?

Not shaw if they would improve there skills but just to have fun yes.

Rules
Are they clear, comprehensible, logical?

Yes

Are they easy to remember and follow?

Yes

Are there enough or too many?

There are adequate rules to this game.

Do they get in the way of playing the game?

No,not that I found.

Magic Circle
Is a sense of the scope of the game established?

Yes

Is it over an appropriate area?

Yes
Is any special paraphernalia needed for it appropriate?

Just a mobile phone


Do they extend the experience or potential of the game?

They made the game more thrilling.



Goals
Do you know what the goal of the game is?

Yes it’s outlined clearly in the rules.

Do the game actions make sense in relation to the goal?

Yes.


Duration
Did it take too long?

No the game was of sufficient length

What was the experience like?

It was very fun to play and I would like to play it agene

Gameplay

Was it fun? And why/not?

Yes it was, there was a since of excitement the hole time we were playing the PMSSC it was an exceedingly fun game to play.


Would anyone play it if they weren’t being forced to?

Yes I would like to play it agene.

What could have been improved?

The game seemed to run smoothly and without a hitch.

What really worked about it?

Just the hole concept of the game was fun, you had to work as a team to work things out and you all had to trivial together to the locations… it was just a hell fun game to play.



It is obvious a lot of effort went into the game’s setup. While the game could be played by (theoretically) as many teams as you’d like we were able to split into only two teams, plus the GM team, and the game worked very smoothly despite it.

Its premise was basically a scavenger hunt with the team holding the most plushies wining the game.

The pace of the game changed as we played, beginning with a feeling of exploration, which quickly evolved (devolved?) into a more competitive felling territorial challenge and race. This included some of the deceit and underhanded tactics what make this kind of scavenger hunt so exciting. Set over an entire RMIT City block and some of the participants complained about the need for repeated running between targets however I felt it was a good way to break up the intensive searching in each clue area.

Given the presentation of the game I’d say it would work well as a short session or activity for teens to young adults. Both the physical and competitive components would require teams of similar approximate skill to make the most out of the experience.

With one exception the clues were great, clear but not too obvious and it helped that as the GM team sent out the clues they would ‘follow’ to the areas they were hinting at to help direct and/or adjudicate.

The ability to ‘steal’ plushies that the opposing team was after or grab ones without yet having received the clue for them was a great plus and added to the intensity of the competition, kept everyone on their toes. There was also the possibility of ‘scaling’ where if a team were leading they would be sent clues for plushies further from their last catch.

The only problems I could see with the game was the lack of a clear ending point and that the rules could’ve been expanded on more before the game began.



Who would the game appeal to? (age groups, demographics)

I think, this Game could be played by any person, who in first case is able to walk/run and who is quite smart enough to get the conclusions. On the other hand, it is necessary to obtain a mobile phone, to get access to the information the Team Constructor gives you. People who like treasure hunt games will also like this game.

Was it too hard? Or Easy? Why?
Was it physically or mentally challenging?
Does it have a steep learning curve?
Would it be a game people came back to play again to improve their skill etc?

The Game itself was a real kind of treasure hunting. You are in a team by max. 5 player and you get information/clues to find the objects. The only obstacle is, that you have to stay in your team. The Team Constructor/Master of TPMSSC were running through the RMIT to make sure, you are not split up to search for your Objects. The clues we got through a mobile phone was quite easy to understand and it wasn’t really hard though to find the objects. The hardest part actually was to keep up finding the objects before the other team and to find more items/objects than the other team So, you have to run and to hurry up. It was more a time challenge. So I would say it hasn’t really got a steep learning curve.
With this Game, you cannot really improve your skills by playing this Game more often. The only thing that changes is the places where the items are hiding.
The teams could also be changed to make it more interesting.


Rules
Are they clear, comprehensible, logical?
Are they easy to remember and follow?
Are there enough or too many?
Do they get in the way of playing the game?

The Rules were easy and logical. Everyone could get into this Game very easily, because most of the people already know kind of the rules of treasure hunt games.
So, it was not really complicate and easy to follow and remember.

Magic Circle
Is a sense of the scope of the game established?
Is it over an appropriate area?
Is any special paraphernalia needed for it appropriate?
Do such items fit in with the theme of the game?
Do they extend the experience or potential of the game?

The items itself, which had to be found were tiny pets. Small letters were bound to them. On those letters were words like “live” which we had to send to a mobile phone number (the number of the game master). After that the game master gave the new clue. Those pets were distributed through the whole RMIT. So the area was big enough for the game. Otherwise it would be to long to search. You could replace the pets, because those weren’t necessary. You can use any item you would prefer.

Goals
Do you know what the goal of the game is?
Do the game actions make sense in relation to the goal?
Do the goals seem meaningful?

The Goals of that Game were clear. It worked out fine and made sense.

Duration
Did it take too long?

The Game ended when all items where found. The Team who found most of the items won. In my case, the duration of the game were approximate one hour.

What was the experience like?
Gameplay.
Was it fun? And why/not?
Would anyone play it if they weren’t being forced to?
What could have been improved?
What really worked about it?

It was quite fun. You have to act as a team and it was really interactive. The Gameplay was really like treasure hunt games. The clues were sometimes too easy.
So it was just the running to the object itself. Maybe you could put more obstacles in the way to make it more interesting.
What really worked was to work as a team and stay as a team.