Ghost Patrol Lessons and Finding Sonoma County Puzzlers
Playtesting and volunteering for Ghost Patrol, I have to say, were invaluable experiences (many thanks to Lowkey and Desert Taxi!). First off, we had so much fun during the playtest, it was all I could do to stop myself from telling everyone at BANG 19 who was going to play "You guys are going to have a blast!" in order not to skew opinions and experiences. (I think my unspoken prediction was accurate judging from the standing ovation for GC.) Secondly, it gave us a behind-the-scenes look at what it's like to run The Game.
One of the main observations I made about constructing a Game is that having teammates who live fairly close nearby almost seems like a requirement, since Game constructors will have to meet on a fairly regular basis. Someone I asked from GP's GC said they met once a week for about a year and three times a week for the last month or so. This kind of presents a difficulty for us... one I've touched on before.
At some point, The Smoking GNU would like to host a Game. It may be years in the future, but it is on our to-do list. The difficulty is that on our team, pretty much only Jonathan and I are really devoted to the idea; Given maybe to a lesser extent. The rest of our teammates tend to be involved when they have some free time, but aren't ready to commit to such a large production. Heck, sometimes, I'm not sure I am either.
Two and a half puzzlers aren't enough to host a Game and I don't know of anyone else in Sonoma County who's involved in the community. So I keep thinking that somehow I need to introduce the locals to this amazing event. My guess is that 99% or more of people around here think that a puzzle hunt is something involving haikus (thanks, Downtown Santa Rosa Puzzle Hunt!). That opinion needs to change.
One idea I've had include re-running a BANG up here and putting a clue to its existance on craigslist or around the Santa Rosa Junior College. Seems feasible enough and maybe I'll try it after the arrival of spring. I think my teammates would be up for helping with that.
The SRJC, actually, seems like the best place to get people interested in puzzling. It's possibly the best JC in the U.S. and has around 40K of students who have yet to be introduced to this idea. I wish I had heard of puzzle events back when I was going there and would like give that opportunity to students who might be like me (scary thought). So the idea occurs of maybe getting the SRJC to have a hunt a la Mystery Hunt and try and make it an annual tradition. I'm not sure how to go about doing that though.
Assuming a Sonoma County puzzling community would take root and grow, then perhaps we can find enough local people to make whatever Game we eventually come up with a reality.
One of the main observations I made about constructing a Game is that having teammates who live fairly close nearby almost seems like a requirement, since Game constructors will have to meet on a fairly regular basis. Someone I asked from GP's GC said they met once a week for about a year and three times a week for the last month or so. This kind of presents a difficulty for us... one I've touched on before.
At some point, The Smoking GNU would like to host a Game. It may be years in the future, but it is on our to-do list. The difficulty is that on our team, pretty much only Jonathan and I are really devoted to the idea; Given maybe to a lesser extent. The rest of our teammates tend to be involved when they have some free time, but aren't ready to commit to such a large production. Heck, sometimes, I'm not sure I am either.
Two and a half puzzlers aren't enough to host a Game and I don't know of anyone else in Sonoma County who's involved in the community. So I keep thinking that somehow I need to introduce the locals to this amazing event. My guess is that 99% or more of people around here think that a puzzle hunt is something involving haikus (thanks, Downtown Santa Rosa Puzzle Hunt!). That opinion needs to change.
One idea I've had include re-running a BANG up here and putting a clue to its existance on craigslist or around the Santa Rosa Junior College. Seems feasible enough and maybe I'll try it after the arrival of spring. I think my teammates would be up for helping with that.
The SRJC, actually, seems like the best place to get people interested in puzzling. It's possibly the best JC in the U.S. and has around 40K of students who have yet to be introduced to this idea. I wish I had heard of puzzle events back when I was going there and would like give that opportunity to students who might be like me (scary thought). So the idea occurs of maybe getting the SRJC to have a hunt a la Mystery Hunt and try and make it an annual tradition. I'm not sure how to go about doing that though.
Assuming a Sonoma County puzzling community would take root and grow, then perhaps we can find enough local people to make whatever Game we eventually come up with a reality.
Labels: behind the scenes, ghost patrol, hosting, The Game, The Smoking GNU
posted by Skott at 10:54 AM
1 Comments:
Certainly remote collaboration is possible, using telephones and internets. Heck you'd probably wind up with much better informational organization than we had (everything was in our heads, which makes it hard for volunteers).
But I agree that you'd want more than two core GC members.
-Jesse (posting anonymously because openID doesn't seem to be working)
Post a Comment
<< Home