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SUMMER GAME 2012: It's ON! Let's PLAY!

by eli

WELCOME PLAYERS! Ann Arbor's hottest THING TO DO is back for another rollicking summer of ADVENTURE, EXCITEMENT, EXPLORATION, and most importantly.... POINTS! Summer Game 2012 has begun, so keep checking back throughout the day for updates as pieces come alive. There are some changes to the way points are scored, some opportunities new and old, and by the end of the day, the first of 12 WEEKLY BADGE DROPS to take you all the way through summer!

For now, as we're updating pages and rolling out all the AMAZING NEW STUFF, let us know as always if you have any questions by posting in the thread below or contacting us. To answer a few of your burning questions: Summer Game 2011 Shop Points DO rollover and will be available to you to spend when the Summer Game Shop opens on July 2. Also, if you missed any 2011 badges, most of them are STILL AVAILABLE to earn this summer, although they're now only worth 10% of the points. All your players are still here, we've just cleared out the gamecard numbers, so if you play the paper game, just add your new gamecard number on your player page when you pick one up!

WIN YOUR SUMMER at YOUR LIBRARY! Stay tuned, and THANKS FOR PLAYING!

Comments

Submitted by tree64 on Fri, 06/15/2012 - 12:18pm

I don't think I received the prize for finishing Treasure Quest yet. What am I supposed to do to get it?

Submitted by Morgsush on Fri, 06/15/2012 - 2:35pm

The tag system has reverted itself back to last year's. Now whenever I add a tag, regardless of whether I make several tags and separate them with commas or just make one tag, I just get the amount of points I would usually get for only one tag (10 points).

Thanks guys, so glad to see all our players roaring back to the library for summer game! As for tags, we have in essence nerfed tagging. You now get 10 points for each item that you tag, not 10 points for each tag. We shifted to this midyear, but we've got so many items with so many great tags now, we don't need to put such a high, open-ended value on tagging. So, ompopp it's working right if it's telling you that on something you tagged before, even last summer; you can tell because you get a list of your tags on that item you can delete. On the flipside, you might notice that when you rate an item in your checkout history, you get 50 points for the rating instead of 10. So rate those items in your checkout history to QUINTUPLE your rating scores!

Thanks for the feedback, guys.... keep it coming!

-[:eli]

Thanks for the feedback, guys! We have a badge page update you're going to love coming shortly; and I think you're right about the blue and red. We'll try some other combos! And Teams are just for fun. They let you make your own leaderboards, but we'll also be able to see how teams are doing compared to each other!

-[:eli]

Submitted by Morgsush on Fri, 06/15/2012 - 3:08pm

But on some items I haven't even tagged them (I can't see the list of tags that I can delete), but it says I have.

Submitted by Bookbird on Fri, 06/15/2012 - 3:22pm

eli, fix the badges page please. it still contains all of last year's badges, and treasure quest keys.

Submitted by ejk Staff on Fri, 06/15/2012 - 4:16pm

The tag issue should be fixed. Thanks for letting us know.

There is a new badge page coming, it will group badges and highlight which ones you have earned.

-Eric

i think i search EVERY Peanuts item. the creators must have forgot to put the codes in there. there should be extra points for making us look when the codes weren't even in place

Hey guys,

All the codes for the Peanuts Gallery badge are where they are supposed to be. Notice that the clue says that his friends (and one enemy) are <em>lost</em> in the catalog. Try looking for them in places other than Peanuts items.

Everyone did such a great job at badges last year that this year we made some of them a little bit harder. And some of them a <em>lot</em>.

-andrew

Are their ten items for the Peanuts badge? I have 9 and no badge, so I think it must be 9 friends and one enemy for 10 total.

Also, when I tried to use the supplied link for one of the old newshound items, I got a "you are not authorized" error for the page. I successfully copied and pasted the code, but I think you should know about broken links.

Re: Bookbird
The movie codes aren't in the catalog. It says to "Be a good Observer...". Hmmm.

Re: Morgsush
The music is intended. That's what the "secret powerup" is for the Zelda badge.

My goal is to stay in the top 10, if possible. I don't know how much longer I can hold on the Number 1, especially when I'm going on vacation.
There are a lot more places this year (up to 454!).

Submitted by Morgsush on Sun, 06/17/2012 - 3:38pm

There's now an aquatic invertebrate exhibit at Traverwood? How come no one tells me these things?

I only found out about the exhibit at Traverwood today, when the family & I went on the "Tour de Library" (as we called it) to collect branch codes. We listened to an audio book together in the car driving around. too. :)

I expect all or most exhibits, whether science-related as this one is or otherwise, to have codes, based on last year's history and what we have seen so far while touring branches.

wow. wish I could go on a "Tour de Library" with my family, but they don't really encourage it, saying I read too much (which is impossible, according to my LA teachers)
can you at least tell me how many extra codes to expect, and how many per library, as i am NOT enthusiastic about going through the ledger of those who allow it (you must have tons of stuff for me to dig through, since your near the top of the leaderboard).

It's always possible we missed something, but we found one exhibit code each at two of the branches.

The branch we didn't visit today, our closest one, has an art exhibit starting today. I suspect there is a code there for that exhibit, but I will not be able to confirm until at least tomorrow.

If it goes like last summer, there will seemingly randomly be codes posted at each branch from time to time, often highlighting particular resources, collections, or features. Also, many library events handed out or mentioned additional codes last year. I can only guess that will continue.

Submitted by Zhengyang1022 on Sun, 06/17/2012 - 9:18pm

I wonder what kind of new things will be in the summer reading game store this year.

OMG! I just found out that some of this year's shop's new items include a teddy bear, a wool hat, earphones, and a messenger with a water bottle (probably with other stuff too)! I can't wait until the shop opens!

morgsush, there are some of the items on display in the case just inside the children's area at the downtown library if you want to see them in person. Myself, I'd like to see or know how the inside of the messenger bag is organized.

Re: Morgsush
I think(I'm no AADL staffer, just think) that the messenger bag is either this year's equivalent of last year's Magic Bag or this year's equivalent of the Penultimate Silver Summer Game Set. It has a silver bottle like last year's, so I think that it's leaning towards the latter, not the former.

Submitted by Morgsush on Sun, 06/17/2012 - 9:46pm

Hah! If you look at ejk's player page (on the staff's leaderboard), he added 10,000,000 points to his account. Apparently it's because of Deus Ex Machina (god from the machine).Very clever (but wouldn't that be cheating?).

The teddy bear kinda disappointed me. It wasn't as cute as I imagined but he bag and the headphones are really cool! No offense but the bag is way cooler than last years.

I didn't go after the badges that much last year. Mostly I just input all the books I read, and enough extra to stay in the top 50.

This year I will endeavor to stay within the top 15. (Top 10 is too competitive for me. XD)

Submitted by Parzival on Mon, 06/18/2012 - 2:17pm

When I go to write a review, all of the reviews before mine are headed "Awesome" and reviewed "awesome" just for points. I find that somewhat sad.

Submitted by Zhengyang1022 on Tue, 06/19/2012 - 10:41am

How?

Submitted by Morgsush on Tue, 06/19/2012 - 8:58pm

eli and ejk (the usernames) kind of do look alike, though.

Do not underestimate the potential cuteness of the teddy bear Smiles! I bet it's very soft and fraffy in real life. :)

I repeat: DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE POTENTIAL CUTENESS OF THE TEDDY BEAR! In fact, the teddy bear is so cute that the picture on the website is marred. The teddy bear is SO cute, the universe just couldn't let the picture be cuter. So the universe made its digital life look very dull. The End.

(Good job if you understood what fraffy meant.)

Submitted by Morgsush on Wed, 06/20/2012 - 12:09pm

The shop opens on July 2. I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL JULY 2!!!!

Re: Smiles
I think the shirt looks cute.

Zhengyang, just as a heads up, RPO has kind of a lot of bad language, and has some racism as well. Although I haven't read it yet, this is what I heard. However, many people have said it is a really good book. idk, maybe you should read it anyway.

Submitted by Bookbird on Thu, 06/21/2012 - 5:31pm

OK, got the 2 codes for traverwood, one for down town, none for the others. Sad. I fell to #30 on scoreboard.

The chocolate was decent dark chocolate. Two members of our household got one each, and we shared. Do you not want to taste it because you don't want to stop having it? or because you don't like dark chocolate?

Commenting and saying we need to get to page four somehow just doesn't seem to make for very scintillating conversation.

So. What are you reading right now, or what is a book you read recently that you liked a lot?

I read <em>One More Valentine</em> by Anne Stuart yesterday, which is about a gangster who was killed in the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre, but comes back to life every year for 48 hours on February 13 and 14 for a chance to find true love. (And since this is a romance novel, of course he does.)

Submitted by Rin on Sat, 07/07/2012 - 8:12pm

Isn't it? : D

Anne Stuart is one of my favorite authors. The fact that she likes visual kei and often writes books set in the 1700s with heroes that look like VK men certainly doesn't hurt.

/total 18th century nerd and VK fan

So. What are you guys reading?

RE: what I've been reading (and can recommend), Rin:

My family and I recently finished the 2nd and 3rd books in the trilogy "The Magic Thief", called respectively Lost and Found. They were wonderful--we listened to the audiobook versions and the performance was great, too! Also, I strongly recommend audio books for long car rides, assuming you and your family or companion(s) can agree on a book.

Yes, the first is just called The Magic Thief. It's about a thief who steals the main magic item of a wizard, one that is the talisman and badge of his status, and then finds himself embroiled in a whole new way of looking at the world and it events. It is really well done, and would make a great movie. Seriously, I strongly recommend it.

???
I just saw the book, and if you scroll down to the Additional Credits (on the left side), one of the authors is listed as "A young thief is drawn into a life of magic and adventure after picking the pocket of the powerful wizard Nevery Flinglas, who has returned from exile to attempt to reverse the troubling decline of magic in Wellmet City."
Shouldn't someone fix this and put that in the Additional Details?

A friend of mine has a copy of The Magic Thief, I think. Maybe I should borrow it......
On to other books. Who has heard, and read, the Brotherband Chronicles, Artemis Fowl, and Heroes of Olympus series? I mean all three.

I've heard of the Brotherband Chronicles (I've read some books of the Ranger's Apprentice series). I tried reading Artemis Fowl, but I thought the book was too boring and didn't read it. I've read the Heroes of Olympus series. Rick Riordan FTW!!! :)

It would be just terrible if the Goddess Inheritance is really cheesy. But I know that Henry is definitely going after Kate. my prediction is that he will get hurt very badly, Kate will take care of him (DUH), and probably Happily ever after. Unless there is a cliffhanger AGAIN. If there is, I will get really mad (again).

Submitted by Bookbird on Tue, 07/17/2012 - 7:56pm

how to use italics?
I guess the unfamiliar names are people who realize this great way to earn points. People who don't usually comment here: DON'T SPAM
that means put worthless comments, they'll get deleted with your points

Just put < em > and < /em > (no spaces) around the stuff you want to italicize (< em > goes first, and < /em > goes last).
< em >Like this!< /em > (But without spaces).
<em>Like this! :D</em>

<strong>It drives me nuts to see their, there, and they're misused, along with affect and effect. Earlier today I was mortified when I found that I had typed their instead of there!</strong> <em>(Luckily I corrected it in time)</em>

Submitted by Rin on Sat, 07/07/2012 - 8:15pm

<em>Isn't it? : D

<em>Anne Stuart is one of my favorite authors. The fact that she likes visual kei and often writes books set in the 1700s with heroes that look like VK men certainly doesn't hurt.

<em>/total 18th century nerd and VK fan

<em>So. What are you guys reading?</em>

Stupid duplicate.

Er... I do not recommend it for anyone under the age of 15. (But you probably don't want to know ehat I was reading in eighth grade;;; )
The library doesn't have it, anyway. I am lame and read nothing but romance novels, though, so in the interests of starting a conversation I have nothing else to say.

How about favorite manga? (For those of you who read manga...)

Definitely Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler for me. Although the current arc has gotten really weird...

YES!!! Black Butler FTW!
My favorite manga actually used to be Naruto, but once Shippuden started I stopped reading it. I was also reading Dragon Eye, which is a pretty good manga. Can you recommend any good mangas?
What were you reading in eighth grade?

I actually know some people who don't like chocolate. I think one reason for it is some genetic condition which makes chocolate (and other things) taste excessively bitter. (Some people are probably just haters, though.)

I'm mostly waiting for the mystery items to come out (I want the tote bag, but some mystery items are combos and one might include the tote bag). Then I'm going to spend my points. :)

Re: Rin
Also, some people are allergic to chocolate (lactose-intolerant, for example).

I just checked the store and I'm pretty sure the Mystery Item #4 is the chocolate. Last year it featured the logo, but the description says that this year it's going to be BETTER (caps intended). Can't wait to see it! :)

Wow. I think that I might try for some of the top prizes, if they restock them, then chocolate. I hope i have enough points. "Art-THREE-mis"/Morgsush probably has enough for the entire store.

Wow Bookbird. Nice job, just stressing the THREE part. *sarcasm* :)
I don't have enough for the entire store! Just enough for maybe two or three mystery items (I'm not that far ahead of NYYankees1, you know).

I'm probably going to buy some of the mystery items (definitely the chocolate).

Re: Bookbird
On the description (if you click on the item) it says this was one of the most popular items, and that it was made to be eaten. Plus it said that it featured the AADL logo last year. So, I just connected the dots (eli already said there's going to chocolate, so I'm guessing that this item is probably it).

I can't wait for the mystery items!! I really just want the mystery items since they are usually combos (and much cheaper than buying all the items--I actually calculated that last year).

Submitted by blingo on Wed, 06/20/2012 - 11:16am

I can not wait until the shop opens!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Umm... Hard work? Lots of time on AADL? Getting all the badges that will be released tomorrow?
I dunno... Why do you want 3000+ points? (Wait, that's a bad question. Does it have to be 3000+?)

Submitted by SBNB on Thu, 06/21/2012 - 8:09pm

Does anyone know why points might have disappeared? I was sure I had a certain number of points when I turned off the computer last night, but today there are a couple hundred fewer points. I'm not complaining or anything. I'm just wondering if anyone knows why that would happen.

Re: SBNB
Maybe you accidentally spammed, and eli removed your comments. I'm not really sure...

Re: Zhengyang1022
Oh... I couldn't find Zhengyang1022 on the leaderboard at all. That explains a lot... Thank you!

Congrats on getting the Peanuts badge.
I personally think it's the hardest badge (so far), because there are so many parts (and because Peanuts characters have common names, so when you search their names, you come up with a LOT of results you have to dig through to find the code).

Submitted by sophas on Fri, 07/13/2012 - 11:30am

This is so exciting! I love earning points and purchasing new things. I hope I can do this for years to come!

Submitted by sophas on Fri, 07/13/2012 - 11:45am

cool

If you like Black Butler, then you might want to try Kaori Yuki's manga. It has a tendency to be very dark, and you probably want to avoid the M rated ones, but I like them a lot. Godchild is Victorian, if you enjoy that aspect of Kuroshitsuji. For humor, look up Ludwig Revolution (Ludwig Kakumei). The humor is dark, but I remember it as being fun. (It's been a while since I read it...) It isn't available in English, but scanlations can be found online.

Petshop of Horrors is another manga I recommend. It can be kind of creepy at time, but it's quite interesting. (And the art is lovely.)

Romance novels may be cheesy, but that's part of their fun. You know what to expect from them, and that's not always a bad thing.

I loved Artemis Fowl. Also, it appears a new one just came out O: I should go find a copy.

Apparently, <em>Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian</Em> came out on July 10. The cover looks pretty intense. It is also the last one in the series. (And now I should go and reread them all, since I barely remember the first few anymore.)

Submitted by gxl on Mon, 07/30/2012 - 2:25pm

<em>Well she did tell me she read a manga called Gentlemen's alliance or something like that and she said it was really good...<em/>

<em>Yeah, and it's hard to type on it. Plus, the badges are not compatible with the iPad. You can't scroll down, so I have to go back to the original way to find the hints-look on other player pages.

Submitted by Bookbird on Sun, 08/12/2012 - 5:50pm

<em>Morgsush is in China, using an iPad, and i had planned to use my grandparent's iPad for summer game should I travel to China....... Anyone else with similar thoughts?</em>

<em>I'm surprised to hear the iPad doesn't scroll. We have a Blackberry PlayBook and it scrolls (although not always predictably). I would expect that the iPad would do it, and do it better for the price.</em>

<em>Uh oh, the system says I can't edit my comment...I just broke the streak. If you reply to your previous comment, you can't edit the previous comment...T.T<em/>

<em>Yeah, it's really cool, there is a laptop and then a bigger screen to the side of it. So my sister can do her stuff on one screen and I can do my stuff on the other.<em/>

Submitted by Morgsush on Thu, 08/30/2012 - 11:23pm

<em>You guys DO realize that you completely forgot about the italics streak, right? Guess I have to be the one who starts it again...

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