Six to Start
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The Whys and the Whats behind Wired’s Enigma game
Who ? Wired UK asked us to make a game out of the July issue. The game is open to all, however, only UK players will be eligible to win the iPad.
When? Now - July 7th. New Challenges Daily from June 7th - June 19th.
What? Follow the instructions of Charlton Rice-Laurie, ambassador of the alternate reality country British Empire (the UK’s alter ego). The British Empire offers citizenship to any British national who will successfully pass a series of tasks.
You can learn more about the story by reading the Open Letter to the PEOPLE of THE UNITED KINGDOM on the challenger dispatch website.
Why play? Because it’s fun. That, and you can win an iPad (that shiny thing people are queuing up to get and that probably gives you superpowers). Now, why this game? As David Rowan, editor of Wired UK explains it in this month issue:
“[But] what’s also interesting about these services [location-based apps, like Foursquare and Gowalla] is their clever use of game psychology. On Foursquare, you earn badges for scoring various in-game achievements — such as checking in to a bunch of airports, or becoming “mayor” of a bar you’ve checked into more than anyone else. And that psychological drive to reach the next level in the game — and let others know that you’ve done so — is proving a tremendous spur to growth. In short, “checking in” brings out our playful competitiveness. That set us thinking. What if we could use Wired itself to tap into this mindset? What if we could turn this whole edition of Wired into a game — and offer a shiny new iPad as a prize?”
How? The Enigma Challenge is a game you play via Twitter, with tasks scattered across the magazine July’s issue, on WiredUK’s website as well as in the real (physical) world. You can play on your own or form a team (just add your team name to the hashtag).
To get you started:
“Once you’ve got hold of your print magazine, you can start playing by visiting wired.co.uk/enigma/hiddenmessage, which will download a PDF image to your computer, and holding the editor’s letter up to the screen. The challenges scattered around the magazine are designed to test your observation, wits and historical knowledge. Each challenge has a specified confirmation and a Twitter hashtag (such as #books). Send the confirmation and the hashtag to @WiredUK on Twitter to claim your points.”
What are the tasks? Puzzles (crosswords, crack a code, create a photo). Once you think you’ve got the answer, send confirmation on Twitter (@WiredUK) to gain points. Check the challenger dispatch for updates. You can also follow your progress (how many points you have earned, how many points the others have earned) on the leaderboard.
Where are we at? Next Monday (June 7th), the live testing part of the game will begin.
“From Monday, we will be bringing you new tasks to complete daily, with each bringing your goal of joint citizenship ever closer. My anticipation could not be more palpable.”
So you better get your Wired issue this week-end and get started!
![The Whys and the Whats behind Wired’s Enigma game
Who ? Wired UK asked us to make a game out of the July issue. The game is open to all, however, only UK players will be eligible to win the iPad.
When? Now - July 7th. New Challenges Daily from June 7th - June 19th.
What? Follow the instructions of Charlton Rice-Laurie, ambassador of the alternate reality country British Empire (the UK’s alter ego). The British Empire offers citizenship to any British national who will successfully pass a series of tasks.
You can learn more about the story by reading the Open Letter to the PEOPLE of THE UNITED KINGDOM on the challenger dispatch website.
Why play? Because it’s fun. That, and you can win an iPad (that shiny thing people are queuing up to get and that probably gives you superpowers). Now, why this game? As David Rowan, editor of Wired UK explains it in this month issue:
“[But] what’s also interesting about these services [location-based apps, like Foursquare and Gowalla] is their clever use of game psychology. On Foursquare, you earn badges for scoring various in-game achievements — such as checking in to a bunch of airports, or becoming “mayor” of a bar you’ve checked into more than anyone else. And that psychological drive to reach the next level in the game — and let others know that you’ve done so — is proving a tremendous spur to growth. In short, “checking in” brings out our playful competitiveness. That set us thinking. What if we could use Wired itself to tap into this mindset? What if we could turn this whole edition of Wired into a game — and offer a shiny new iPad as a prize?”
How? The Enigma Challenge is a game you play via Twitter, with tasks scattered across the magazine July’s issue, on WiredUK’s website as well as in the real (physical) world. You can play on your own or form a team (just add your team name to the hashtag).
To get you started:
“Once you’ve got hold of your print magazine, you can start playing by visiting wired.co.uk/enigma/hiddenmessage, which will download a PDF image to your computer, and holding the editor’s letter up to the screen. The challenges scattered around the magazine are designed to test your observation, wits and historical knowledge. Each challenge has a specified confirmation and a Twitter hashtag (such as #books). Send the confirmation and the hashtag to @WiredUK on Twitter to claim your points.”
What are the tasks? Puzzles (crosswords, crack a code, create a photo). Once you think you’ve got the answer, send confirmation on Twitter (@WiredUK) to gain points. Check the challenger dispatch for updates. You can also follow your progress (how many points you have earned, how many points the others have earned) on the leaderboard.
Where are we at? Next Monday (June 7th), the live testing part of the game will begin.
“From Monday, we will be bringing you new tasks to complete daily, with each bringing your goal of joint citizenship ever closer. My anticipation could not be more palpable.”
So you better get your Wired issue this week-end and get started!](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l3hk8vrmGq1qbmt0lo1_500.jpg)
