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Alistair
McKechnie,
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RUNMOB
– THE REAL-LIFE URBAN PURSUIT GAME
Runmob is an extremely simple – and absurdly cheap – idea I came up with for Camouflage, the Army's youth nurturing programme. But it's designed for any gamers aged 13-30, as well as the "what on earth are we going to do this year" corporate-day-out market. Here's how it goes: The players agree on the 'run zone' (a 4-sided area with sides of about half a mile: half a page of the local A-Z is perfect). The more urban the zone, the edgier the tactics have to become. A runner is chosen. The rest are the pursuers. Each participant needs two pieces of equipment: the map and a mobile phone with a reasonable camera. At a set time, the runner texts the pursuers, giving his/her map grid reference and a photograph showing his clothing. And he starts running. (Or crawling or walking or climbing. He can even catch a bus as long as he stays within the run zone.) The pursuers converge on him, either on their own or by working in teams (it's their choice, but there can only be one winner*). Every 5 minutes, the runner texts his new position. (Or the same position if he's hiding up a tree.) The first pursuer to take a close-up photo of the runner wins**. The winner becomes the next runner. That's it. It's the add-ons that turn into a marketing opportunity: recruitment, ladders, forums, photos, youTube, social media... If you try out the game, let me know how it goes. If you want to turn it into a branded thing, get in touch. *If you're doing this as a corporate exercise, the whole team wins. *Health and safety v. important obviously. Running in front of traffic, for instance, is a disqualification offence. |
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