Blog Post
SG 2025 Stats Are In!! Take a PEAK!!!
by SaraP
Peak summer has passed but, statistically peaking, our MOUNTAIN of Summer Game players, points, and prizes grows taller each year! SG 2025 was SO BIG that it was granite some air time on both Michigan Public’s Stateside and NPR’s Morning Edition! We had things SLATEd to be BIGGER and BETTER THAN EVER, but if you tried to track just how SEISMIC the shifts were this year, it would look something like this (and we saved the best for last) . . .
BADGES: SGHQ created 240 different MAGMA-NIFICENT BADGES this year. We weren’t really quartzing any fame here (a 5% grade on this gentle plateau), but players EARNED 497,202 badges this year—expanding by over 26% from last year!!!! Almost a HALF A MILLION!!! Y’all were FIRE!!!
LAWN & LIBRARY CODES: The increase in L&L codes this year was MORE than a GNEISS surprise!! Topping out at 3,559 player-created codes in lawns and at libraries—a STAGGERING 65% over last summer—it’s clear that SG fans have really lost their MARBLEs for this aspect of the game!!! :D
OTHER CODES: If you’re looking for some jaw-dropping stats, you dolomite want to consider that we happened to make 3 less codes than we did last year, but our CORE 2025 players (i.e. all of you) accomplished a truly aSTONEishing FEAT: you redeemed those codes about 50% MORE times than last year. How many is that?? It’s 4,265,267 total code redemptions!!!!
POINTS: You could argue this is the whole point of the game. We would argue it’s about having FUN! But our players are nothing if not a TUFF group of competitors, explorers, and collectors. Points PEAKED this year at an all-time high of 583,351,525 points earned across the whole game! That’s also nearly a 50% rise over 2024. NO PRESSURE for next year!!!
MOST POPULAR: As usual, the big code MOUNTed on the sides of AAATA buses was hard to ignORE! That code and it’s Spot TheRide badge rolled right to the top of the list with 10,336 redemptions! Curious about what kind of L&L codes players created?? Here’s a snapshot:
Cat-related—241
Dog-related—216
Book-related—118
Tree-related—47
Gardener-related—35
Dragon-related—30
Bird-related—22
Panda-related—19
Unicorn-related—18
Fishermen-related—18
PLAYERS: We saw record-breaking numbers LAST YEAR, with 14,672 players (a nearly 14% increase), and had high hopes going into 2025. But Y’ALL ABSOLUTELY ROCKED THIS YEAR, with a staggering 17,416 players earning points in Summer Game 2025!!! That’s more than an 18% increase over last summer and engagement on a SHALE that makes us feel positively SEDIMENTal . . .
Basically, we couldn't have reached such HEIGHTS without EACH and EVERY one of you and we LAVA you a whole lot!!!!!!!!!!!
See you next year and THANKS for PLAYING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Blog Post
GAME OVER!
by SaraP
And that’s a WRAP! Summer Game 2025 is officially over. But wraps aren’t alllll bad! Some are like a warm hug to all the best ingredients in your summer game sandwich and…wait a minute…didn’t we already do sandwich puns a couple years ago?? We should really think of something butter for the stats post coming later this week!
In the meantime, we know many of you are CHOMPING at the bit for prizes! So lettuce remind you that the last day to order prizes is Labor Day (Monday, September 1st)!!! Check out our online menu (aka The Summer Game Shop!) this week to get some fresh swag!!!! We don’t do delivery, but we do do prize pickups!
Speaking of prize pickups, keep an eye on your email for all things prize-pickup-related! We send emails when you place an order, when it’s ready for pickup, when/if you missed your pickup window, and if you request a re-delivery. If you haven’t gotten that “ready for pickup” email, your order isn’t ready yet. WHY??? Well, mostly t-shirts! Every t-shirt is made-to-order based on your tastes! Prize pickups at libraries will continue into the fall and then we’ll send an email to anyone with missed prizes still in storage about a final opportunity to request re-delivery to a library location. After that, all prizes will remain in storage for pickup at the AALF (our offsite logistics facility) through December. Details in the emails!!!
While you’re waiting for prizes (or even if you’re not) now is a great thyme to harvest your LAWN CODE SIGN and store it until next year in a cool dark place (like the garage)!!! Honestly any place will do as long as it’s not your lawn—those poor signs have been bacon out there all summer!! Might as well clean them off now, too, to save yourself some elbow grease next summer, because codes need to be registered every year and you might need to pick a new one!
Now we’re off to crunch some numbers for later this week. But a tiny little taste test tells us that the secret ingredient that made this Summer Game a 5-star, top-rated, newsworthy experience is YOU! A truly HAMBITIOUS and RECORD-BREAKING 17,415 players (up over 17% from last year) scored a WHOPPING 583,351,525 points this year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It’s been an absolute delight dishing out this much SUMMER FUN and LIBRARY MAGIC—we can’t wait to cater to all our hungry fans in 2026!!!! :D
THANKS for PLAYING!!!!!
Blog Post
Badge Drop #11: A Fairytale Ending
by SaraP
Once upon a time, it was the LAST BADGE DROP and FINAL WEEKEND of the Summer Game. Actually…that time is NOW! And the jolly picklefairy godmother of the game is here to wave their magic wand of encouragement!!!
Whether you’re a puzzle princess, eligible badge-lor, lawn-code connoisseur, or local eggsplorer, there might be a Completionist Badge in this drop made just for you!! Already earned one and wondering where it is? At your next points-earning action, all of your earned Completionist Badges will be awarded to you!!!!
If the shoe fits, or you’re simply looking for a few good points, then slipper into gear because the LAST DAY TO PLAY is THIS SUNDAY, August 24, before midnight!!!
Speaking of Sunday…there’s no better to way to say The End than by attending the GAME OVER GALA—ALSO THIS SUNDAY from Noon-3pm! So bippity boppity into your trend-setting SG finest and head Downtown for the event of the season! You’ll be glamouring to enjoy a microcosm of everything that makes the Summer Game magical—puzzles, codes, points, prizes, and players like you—all in your favorite place to be: the library! Do you have a princely sum of leftover points in your shop balance?? Check out our gala Auction Catalog, featuring household goods, toys, art prince…er…prints, various bags and carriers, and more! PLUS, for all you Scatterlog domaineers, the last new Scatterlog puzzle releases on Sunday, too!
Just remember, when the clock strikes twelve on Sunday night—POOF!!!—the Summer Game will be OVER and SG Headquarters will turn back into a little pumpkin full of wild animals (aka librarians and, occasionally, mice). You can still order prizes from The Summer Game Shop through Labor Day—Monday, September 1.
Now, hurry!! Your SG carriage awaits!!!
BADGE DROP #11
Despite the magic wand, we can’t time travel. But we can step just outside of summer break to share a game-over post and some superior stats next week—stay tuned! Spoiler: YOU, Dear Players, are the REAL Summer Game magic! So have a SUPER MAGICAL weekend and, as ever…
….THANKS for PLAYING!!!
Blog Post
Badge Drop #10: The ALMOST Grand Finale
by SaraP
Hear ye, hear ye!
Summer Game Headquarters calls upon each Goodly Player, where’er they may be—near the heart of DOWNTOWN to the farthest reaches of the district—to behold an abundance of PINTERESTING and FUN points of fact in this, our TENTH, badge drop of the summer!
But be warned! In one week’s time, we shall bestow upon ye the ULTIMUTT and final badge drop of The Game, replete with COMPLETIONIST BADGES! But what, pray tell, is a Completionist Badge? BEHOLD, Fair Players, the FITTING culmination of the LIFE of a Summer Game badge series: a badge of honor earned by vanquishing all TEN badges in a few exhalted series!!!
Yet, as ye be DIPPIN’ into this last full week of our ANCIENT Summer Game tradition, take COURAGE in knowing thine own true self! Pursue ONLY the points contained herein that CALL to you—for what is a Summer Game if not a gathering of diverse minds, a perfect UNION of opportunity AND choice, a metaphorical feast of DISHES fit for ANY palate??
HARK now! All's well that ENDS well and the end of Ye Olde Summer Game is nigh! Thus we humbly remind all our devotees that the LAST DAY TO EARN POINTS and badges is the 24th day of August of the year 2025!!! Please double-checketh for Important Summer Game Dates HERE!
Now, lest we tarry upon these sundry details too long, we extend an early invitation to attend the GRAND finale of it all: The GAME OVER GALA—to be conducted on the last-most day of The Game as the bells strike the noon hour. Be there or be declared square!!!! (We KID thou in good sport, but do hope for your presence!)
If your ‘ye-olde English’ is a little rusty, here are the important bits stated plain & simple:
- Completionist Badges (for the badge series that have them) drop next Friday
- Sunday, August 24 is the LAST day to play and earn points!
- Sunday, August 24 is also the day of the Game Over Gala and we'll drop a badge for beforehand!
And now, MAKE HASTE, Fair Players, and cast thine eyes to the wonders before you!!!!
BADGE DROP #10
And THANK THEE WELL for PLAYING!!!
Blog Post
Badge Drop #9: We’re RADIO FAMOUS now!!!
by emjane
Did you TUNE in to hear about our TOWN on Morning Edition earlier this week? And not just Ann Arbor, but specifically SUMMER GAME?!?! PALS, it’s like the radio is throwing a not-so-TINY PARTY just for us (and that “us” includes the more than 16,000 of you playing!!!)
We feel like SWAN IN A MILLION! First NPR, what’s next? The GLOSSIES? Fine ART??? WHAT ABOUT the moon?????? You never know where in the WORLD Summer Game will turn up.
But no need to SEARCH to find the Summer Game! It’s noon on Friday, so we’re here waiting for you AND HAVING A MARVELOUS TIME!!!
We’ll pause this RHAPSODY to give one important bit of info. This Sunday, Aug 10, is the LAST DAY to create your Lawn and Library Code!!! So if you’ve been waiting to PLANT that sign on your lawn, get to it!
Speaking of getting to it…here’re the badges you’ve SO PATIENTLY been waiting for!
BADGE DROP #9
Summer Game may be getting some extra attention this week, but y’all are the real MVPs. THANKS for PLAYING!!!!!!
Blog Post
Badge Drop #8: Another Week at Camp Summer Game
by emjane
Good afternoon, campers!! We’ve got another SUPER weekend ahead of us at Camp SG. Whether you’ve been living the LIFE OF THE ARTY in the craft cabin or plan to BELT IT OUT in the talent show, we’re excited to see what you’ve got!
Okay, okay, we’re just being SILLY SKELLIES, there is no Camp Summer Game, but we aren’t just WEAVING TALES about getting to see your talents. This Sunday is our 20th(!!!!!!!) LEGO Contest, so HOP on over to the Sheraton on Sunday (get the details on the event page) and show off your brick creations!!! (And earn a badge and get some POINTS!!!!!!)
And, FRIENDS, it may seem like Summer Game lasts FUREVER but we’re in the final month of the game, which means your last chance to make Lawn and Library Codes is August 10. So put your BEST FOOT FORWARD with that code that’s bouncing around your brain, GRAPPLE with getting that great pun to work in 12 characters or less, and HOOK your friends and neighbors into getting those 100 points!
BUT I’M A BADGE fan, you say! Don’t worry, we’ve still got badges for you through the end of the game, including some RIGHT HERE:
BADGE DROP #8
So let’s ROCK and roll and earn some points! THANKS for PLAYING!!!!!!
Blog Post
Badge Drop #7: Yeehaw!
by SaraP
A, B, C, D, E, F—GEE willikers!—is it HIGH NOON on Badge Drop Friday ALREADY?!? You caught us in the middle of corralling another herd of our very best blue-ribbon PRIZE ORDER PICKUPS into alphabetical order! And, WHOA NELLY, it’s been a little on the WILD SIDE here at the SG Ranch this week!!! Y’all aren’t CHICKEN about CHASING down your Summer Game Shop orders and we are OVER THE MOON about it! Keep up the great work, prize picker-uppers!!! :D
Meanwhile, out on the range we have over 3,000 head of Lawn & Library Codes happily grazing (gracing?) your lawns and libraries! But why stop there??? You’ve got about two weeks left to create Lawn & Library Codes by August 10th!!! After that, we’re putting the L&L Code creation options out to pasture for the rest of the summer so y’all have time to find them. SEW, if you haven’t already, BE A SPORT and impress all the SG FOLK with your very own SUPER amazing code! If thinking up a pun makes you SHIVER in panic, well NO SWEAT!!! You only need to intend a pun if you really mean to (or want to)!! If you do already have a lawn code, take stock of any letters fading under the blistering sun; a SMART new coat of sharpie might turn your code back into a real looker…you know…for all the ONlookers!!!!
Before you saddle up for this week’s badges and all your SPECTACULAR weekend plans, keep an eye on the The Summer Game Spectacular event info. It’s scheduled for TOMORROW, Saturday July 26, at Vets Park from 1-4, BUT the SKY may have some nasty weather in store for us! We’re hoping for RAINBOWS, but might get buckets of STORMWATER instead, and even a lick of wind. This isn’t our first rodeo, though, and we sure ain’t afraid of a little drizzle, so let’s DANCE around any cancellation decisions just a WEE bit longer!! If the show goes on, we'll have a badge for it too—stay tuned!
Now giddy up, my dears! Let’s go round up these badges!
BADGE DROP #7
Oh and one more thing…THANKS for PLAYING!!!
Blog Post
Badge Drop #6: Players and Points and Prizes—OH MY!!!
by emjane
Well, folks, here we are in the BACK NINE of the Summer Game. You and more than fifteen thousand(!!!!!) of your friends and neighbors are TIPPING THE SCALES to make this Summer Game season one of the BEST YETI!!! Whether you’re FAMILIAR FACES who have played the Game since its INVENTION or players new this year, we think you’re just SUPER!!!
Y’all have already earned more than 290 million points and are CASHING those in at the newly opened Summer Game Shop! The first round of Prize Pickups starts this week. Don’t BRIDE YOUR TIME waiting to pick up your prize when we tell you it’s ready! It will only be held at your pickup location for ONE WEEK!!! (Don't worry...your prizes aren't lost forever if you miss this window. But WHY WAIT?! SG Flamingopants is EAGER to meet you!!!!)
Remember this weekend is ART FAIR, so downtown will be filled with Artists, Crafters, and Shoppers AS FAR AS THE SKY CAN SEE! You may want to SCRATCH that Summer Game ITCH by playing our website badges, rather than EXPLORING downtown! Or perhaps you want to be an INTREPID IMPRESSIONIST and get your ART on in A2!!!
What’s that? You want MORE CHEESE?! Oh, MORE badges??? Absolutely! EYE SPY some just ahead!
BADGE DROP #6
We may be in the second half of summer, but there’s a lot of SPECTACULAR stuff on the horizon! Stay tuned, and THANKS for PLAYING!!!!!!!!
Blog Post
Badge Drop #5: Let's Talk SHOP!
by SaraP
GREETINGS, SG SUPER FANS!!! Hope you all had a fun CHIME over the holiday weekend—and survived the HEAT! This week we have another crop of all new, variously puzzling badges. But, before you start trying to CONNECT all our DOTS, we also have BIG NEWS…
The SUMMER GAME SHOP is now OPEN for orders! Order up to 4 prizes—whichever ones you want as long as you have the points for them! Last day to place an order is Monday, September 1st! We’re ready for a WAVE of orders for significant stickers, on-point pins, ARTful puzzlers, and pink plushies that are sure to fly off our shelves. Speaking of which…after years of struggling to meet demand for our annual “pants” stuffies, we’ve ordered 4,000 SG Flamingopants to try and get everyone a plush pal! But if they run out, THAT’S IT! So, if not getting one will leave you feeling BLUE, order it sooner rather than later. Most things won’t run out, though, because they are easier for us to restock!!!
Now, listen up KIDS, because a BIG CHANGE is coming to PRIZE PICKUPS!
This year, when your Summer Game Shop order is ready, you’ll have ONE WEEK to pick up your prizes at whichever library you choose. You can LICHEN the process to the hold pickup process for library books and stuff. When your order is ready, we let you know you have ONE WEEK to MEANDER on over to get it! EXCEPT, if you meander too slowly and you miss your pickup week, we won’t put your prizes back into circulation; instead, missed pickups will be sent to offsite storage and we’ll give you further instructions about how to get your hands on your order. Don’t worry, you won’t lose it! Just check that email you’ll get the Monday after your order was due to be picked up, and you’ll know how to claim your missed order!
WHY IS THIS HAPPENING??? To combat the TOWERs of prize bins we used to hold at our info desks for months on end. It’s too many!! We needed to get out from UNDER this mayhem and landed on a new, but hopefully familiar, WAY TO GO with pickups!
IF MEMORY SERVES, we’ve already reminded everyone to register your lawn codes before sticking them into your lawns, but GOOD lawn signs make GOOD NEIGH-BORS, so we’re saying it again!
Okay enough of this already! Here you go…
BADGE DROP #5
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Grab your CREW, have FUN, and THANKS for PLAYING!!!
Blog Post
Badge Drop #4: THURSDAY?! Is that you?? Oh, HEYYYYYYYYY!
by emjane
A Summer Game badge-drop on a THURSDAY?! This is ONE FOR THE BOOKS, folks! Yes, we’ve hit that magical “every-six-years-or-so-depending-on-leap-years” season when Thursday puts on its Friday shoes and tries a badge drop on for size!
Plus we have a DOUBLE TROUBLE drop of Points-o-Matic Contributor’s Trophies, catered to fit your needs, whether you’re working on your STREAK or your massive QUANTITY of points.
Speaking of massive quantities . . . Y’ALL DID IT! You got POM TUNNEL VISION and identified the massive quantities of News Sprinter images we have! FRANKLIN, MY DEAR that is some IN-SPIRE-ING WORK!!!! News Sprinter is going into hibernation for the summer, but if you haven’t met yet, we are pleased to introduce you to TEXT RECTIFIER!!! They’re the new kid on the POM block, and we can’t wait to see y’all put your EYES TO THE CHALLENGE of RECTIFYING all that text!
BUT THAT’S NOT ALL!!!! You’ve flipped your calendar over to July and your SG Spidey Sense is tingling because we all know July means the SUMMER GAME SHOP opening is just around the corner!!! You can peruse what’s on offer this year RIGHT NOW, but the shop officially opens 7/11. Stay tuned next week for ALLLLLLLLL the shop deets, including updates to how prize pickup works! But that’s all in your FUTURE!
In your PRESENT is this badge drop, filled to the brim with WONDERS and dressed in its THURSDAY finest! You’ve got a whole extra day this week to go ALL AROUND TOWN (and around the catalog) to earn points and badges. AND a whole extra day to REMEMBER TO REGISTER THE CODE ON YOUR LAWN SIGN!!!!! But, really, we’d be happiest if you remembered to do it RIGHT NOW! Your friends and neighbors are CLAMORING for it!!!
Also, SGHQ will be CLOSED for the holiday on July 4, but we'll BE BACK answering your emails and giving extra hints on July 5!!
BADGE DROP #4
THANKS for PLAYING!!! And, Thursday, this badge drop really suits you!! Wear it again in 2031?!
