Summer Game 2020!

Fri, 06/12/2020 - 8:40am by richretyi

The Summer Game starts at 9:59am June 12 and runs all summer long until August 30! Get ready for another summer of reading, riddles, codes, and prizes. Stay tuned for more teasers on the upcoming Summer Game.

What are you waiting for? GET STARTED NOW!

Badge Drop #5: Right to Your Home Codes

Fri, 07/10/2020 - 12:00pm by ohheyitselle

You, dear players, have taken up RESIDENCE in our minds here at Summer Game Headquarters. We have been DWELLING on ways to assure you that you are ENVIRONMENT to be here! Any thoughts of of Summer Gamers not belonging to the Summer Game doesn't ABODE well by us because you are as much of the Summer Game as we are! So much, in fact, that we are bringing the Summer Game right to your LOCATION!!!...Well...more than it already is... because we're introducing: 

HOME CODES! Bringing codes to you and your neighbors since 2020! 

The way HOME CODES work is simple! You create your VERY OWN PERSONALIZED code by clicking My Player. Then scroll down your My Summer Game page until you see "Player Details". You'll see the words, "Create a Home Code", click that and... well... CREATE A HOME CODE! Your Home Code is 100% created BY you FOR other passerby! You can choose whether or not you want your Home Code displayed on the map of ALL THE HOME CODES (A serious, no puns note: No personal information is given on the map. Just the address linked to the code!) Once your Home Code is created, you can MAKE a sign or PRINT a sign to put in your window! WHAT FUN! 

While you're busy making Home Codes, remember that the Summer Game Shop is opening VERY SOON! July 17th to be exact! 

So go make those Home Codes and thanks for pla-WAIT. 

In all the Home Code excitement, we've forgotten about the BADGES!

As per usual, we have all sorts of FABULOUS, THRILLING, and FUN badges just for you! LOOK!

Badge Drop #5

That's all folks, and THANKS FOR PLAYING!

Badge Drop #4: Ready FOUR MORE??

Fri, 07/03/2020 - 12:00pm by ohheyitselle

It's badge drop FOUR! What MORE could you want? 

We have badges of LORE, some BORE-ing critters, THOR, quasi-BOARD games, even some WAR! And a bunch of other topics that don't rhyme with FOUR but you'll still ADORE... and hopefully not DEPLORE!

Long story short, we hope you'll SAVOR every second! 

So why don't you POUR yourself a nice cold drink, partake in logging GALORE, OUTSCORE some players, and get these badges with VIGOR all BEFORE it's too late (you actually have all summer, but you get what we mean)! 

Oh! And have a great July FOURth weekend and thanks FOR playing! 

Badge Drop #4

Badge Drop #3: Find Your PARK!

Fri, 06/26/2020 - 12:00pm by nicole

WOOD you look at the time? It's halfway through FRIDAY! Let's drop some badges.

This week we ask you to lumber through badges on SWEETS, CREEKS, and HIDE-AND-SEEK! Root for the home team with badges about baseball! And make sure to leaf room for MUSKOXEN, REBEL BIRDS, and STORMWATER SMARTS! 

When you've had your chlorophyll of online badges and tree puns, you can branch out and see some ACTUAL TREES with our NEW PARK EXPLORER BADGES!

These are badges of ADVENTURE! Badges of DARING! Badges that need sunscreen and bug spray and bathroom breaks and a BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF MAPS AND DIRECTIONS!

EXPLORE any or ALL of a dozen outdoor quests that will send you from PARK to PARK across the city, so you can see the sights and avoid the CROWDS! 

So...which tree should you bark up first?? We'll leaf that up to YOU!

Thanks for playing!

Badge Drop #3

Badge Drop #2: Bigger and BETTER

Fri, 06/19/2020 - 12:00pm by ohheyitselle

HAPPY JUNETEENTH! We've dropped one set of badges so far but you know what's BIGGER and BETTER than one? TWO! It's TRUE and SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN! It's Badge Drop #2, dear player, and we're ALL IN! 

Join us in celebrating a BIG event in America's history with the launch of our Black and African American local history badge series, talk about MASS QUANTITIES of BUNNIES, seeing some of the WORLD'S LARGEST THINGS, and even learning about a MASSIVE April Fool's Day prank! 

And that's just the tip of the BIG OL' ICEBERG! 

Summer is just getting started and this year we're taking things to the NEXT LEVEL, starting with some BADGES! 

A BIG THANKS for PLAYING! 

Badge Drop #2

Badge Drop #1: Now and TEN

Fri, 06/12/2020 - 12:00pm by nicole

It's a sunny summer FRIDAY, and that means it's time for a Summer Game BADGE DROP! It's the first Badge Drop of the TENTH year of Summer Game, so we thought we might do something extra, like drop 10 badges at a time or write 10 Badge Drop Posts or make every code worth 10 points.

What bad ideas! 

So we decided to keep things casual and just BURY YOU in a BARRAGE of BADGES. Like we usually do!

It's a smorgasbord of boredom-busters! These badges are about HISTORY and ANIMALS and CRUMBLY COOKIES! Take a BIZARRE ROAD TRIP through the U.S.! Explore the QUIRKY WORKS of Wes Anderson film by film! Learn about BASEBALL and how to score a GOAL or get to FOURTH BASE or WHATEVER BASEBALL IS ABOUT!

It's the GAME OF THE DECADE!

Thanks for playing!!

Badge Drop #1

Summer Game 2020: Away We GO!

Fri, 06/12/2020 - 9:59am by nicole

What a wild year. What a time to be alive! Thank goodness, summer's here. The sun is shining, the bugs are buggin', and that means the Summer Game is ON!

And it's not just ANY Summer Game. 2020 marks our TENTH YEAR of bringing you codes, badges, and MIND-BENDING PUZZLES of all kinds! 

Code-hunting and badge exploring has been tweaked to make it easier for players to keep a VERY fond distance, but there will still be TONS to do to earn yourself Summer Game points! 

Here are some ways to start playing the Summer Game RIGHT NOW:

-Start at the start of all Summer Game fun with our new-and-improved GETTING STARTED series! Earn NEW badges like the nearly-unpronouncable Points-o-Matic-o-Rama Badge.

-Go to each AADL location and collect a code! All FIVE branches have 1 big code on the banner outside the building! You'll only need this ONE code to get your Branch Explorer Badge this year, making it the EASIEST BRANCH EXPLORER BADGE IN SUMMER GAME HISTORY!

-Play any or all Points-o-Matic modes! Comb through catalog reviews in Review Reviewer; sort scattered series with the Series Serializer; or name some newspapers in News Sprinter! This truly ENDLESS fun is perfect for those who like to earn their points in WILDLY SMALL DOSES!

-Visit the AADL catalog to rate and review some things you like! You can write up to 10 reviews and rate up to 100 items each day!

-Read books, watch movies, listen to music, or download something cool from the catalog! Log your items for up to 50 points per day!

-Watch AADL TV to enjoy some socially-distant entertainment, and be on the lookout for ONLINE EVENT codes!

-Clear your schedule for a BADGE DROP at noon today, filled with BADGES (duh) and clues and hidden catalog codes!

Getting Started Badge Series

On July 7th you'll be able to spend your points on NEW 2020 PRIZES in our Summer Game Shop! Teens and kids who play the Summer Reading Game can also pick up their FREE PRIZE BOOKS when the shop opens. The Shop will be making some changes to PRIZES and PRIZE PICK-UP, so keep your eyes out for more info!

Our TENTH YEAR is just getting started, and we've got plenty more in store! So what are you waiting for??

Ready? Set?

GO!!!

Introducing Points-O-Matic: News Sprinter!

Fri, 05/01/2020 - 12:01pm by andrewjmac

What do you do when you are sitting on a HUGE pile of scanned microfilm images that need names to make them usable?  If you are AADL, you turn to the gamers!  A while ago, AADL undertook the task of scanning EVERY SINGLE ROLL of Ann Arbor newspaper microfilm.  We've been turning those scans into page images that we will use for all sorts of things, including making browsing the microfilm TONS faster and eventually even creating a fully-searchable index of EVERY Ann Arbor newspaper.  But first we need to know what all the images are, and YOU can help us make that happen!  So welcome to...

NEWS SPRINTER!  In this Points-O-Matic mode, you will be shown the top part of a newspaper page.  All you need to do is look for some information and enter it.  And because this will help us so much, every page you enter info for on News Sprinter is worth 6 Points-O-Matic points AND 6 Summer Game points!

Here's what we are looking for:

It's the LAST BUMMER GAME DROP!

Fri, 05/01/2020 - 12:00pm by eli

OK, y'all, today is the last drop of new Bummer Game Badges! It's been 47 days and 141 badges, and it's time for your humble badgesmiths to turn their attention to the impending SUMMER GAME 2020! We've got a lot of SOCIALLY DISTANT plans cooking to make Summer Game 2020 as much fun as it possibly can be, considering whatever the circumstances are once we get to summer! What will those circumstances be? WHO KNOWS! But will you have weekly badge drops, beaucoup points opportunities, and the long-awaited return of the SUMMER GAME SHOP?!?

YOU BETCHA!

All 141 Bummer Game badges will remain earnable all the way until the end of August, so if you haven't earned them all yet, you've got plenty of time to do it! AND in addition to today's badges about May Day, a Creative Contest from our friends at Ann Arbor Summer Festival, and a whirlwind tour of AADL.TV.... 

We've also got a BRAND-NEW POINTS-O-MATIC MODE! So, after you finish today's badges, check out NEWS SPRINTER, an all-new POINT MACHINE that will help you help us organize HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of images of newspapers on microfilm! This new mode is FUN, FAST, and SUPER USEFUL to AADL's Archives Team, so if you do a good job, you can rack up 6 Points-O-Matic points AND 6 Summer Game 2020 points for every page of the Newspaper you help us to organize! Find out more here and GET SPRINTING!

So, with that, thanks to all of you for coming with us on this whirlwind, spur-of-the-moment BUMMER GAME journey... we'll be working hard to take as much BUMMER out of SUMMER as we possibly can, considering the circumstances! So, stay tuned, and as always....

THANKS FOR PLAYING!

BUMMER GAME Day 47 ~The Last Bummer Game Badge Drop~

BUMMER GAME Day 46: BREAKFAST HART PLACES

Thu, 04/30/2020 - 12:00pm by nicole

Enjoy this second-to-last batch of badges about HARTS, EGGS, and LOCAL MUSEUMS! These are some of the last Bummer Game badges before we pack up our puns (for a bit) and get ready for SUMMER GAME 2020! Tomorrow will be the final Bummer Game Badge Drop, but you can still play and earn Bummer Game badges until August 31st. As always, THANKS FOR PLAYING!

BUMMER GAME Day 46: