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Four Weeks to Go! And an all-new SECRET SHOP!

by eli

OH MY WOW! So many great things going at your library this summer, how do you find the time to do them all! Summer Game 2012 is going strong with a beautifully weird 4,444 players as of this moment! And those 4,444 players have earned a SHOCKING 47 MILLION POINTS on over 379,000 scoring events! I mean CAN YOU GET BEHIND IT? It's amazing. You guys are amazing. THIS IS AWESOME! So, now the moment you've all been waiting for, the riddle that will lead you to SECRET SHOP #2!





Look for a CD by 5 local guys,

with matching white dress shirts but 5 different ties.

Liberty Square is the place one would see 'em;

The disc takes its name from a strip-mall museum.




The Secret Shop can be found in the AADL catalog by solving this riddle! And again, the Secret Shop will stay where it is until it is sold out, or until next friday at 6 PM, whichever comes first!


And now for this week's BADGE DROP!

Summer Game 2012 Badge Drop #8
echo theme_summergame_badge(339,340,341,342,343,344,345,346,362,363,364,365,366);
?>


echo theme_summergame_badge(347,348,349,350,351);
?>


echo theme_summergame_badge(352,353,354,355,356);
?>


echo theme_summergame_badge(357,358,359,360,361);
?>





You may have noticed something COMPLETELY NEW; an all-new, very rewarding Points-o-matic Click-o-Tron mode: TEXTULATING RECOGNIZORATOR! First, you need 1000 Points-o-matic points to even unlock this mode, but it's worth your while, because in TEXTULATING RECOGNIZORATOR mode, you'll level up every 250 entries, and you'll receive a SECRET SHOP TOKEN at levels 2,4,6,8 and 10! YOU CAN CLEAN UP!




A few quick tips about this new mode; just type what is in the highlighted box. If there is punctuation inside the box, include it, and if only half a word is inside the box, only type the part of the word in the box. If it's not a word, just click "I'm not sure, give me another". The mode is loaded with the August 3rd, 1887 edition of the Ann Arbor Courier, and you can see the whole thing right here. Let us know what you think and if you run into any trouble, and stay tuned for a fun challenge using this mode next friday!



And now, some long awaited SHOP NEWS! We have some very special items yet to come in the shop, starting with the TRIUMPHANT RETURN of the Messenger Bag next friday! Plus the unveiling of not 1, not 2, but 3 MYSTERY ITEMS next friday! Summer Game 2012 scoring will end at Midnight on Friday August 31st, with a final Secret Shop and a final Badge Drop that night! Don't worry though, that last badge drop will be for badges you either earned, or you didn't, you won't have to go hunting madly. THEN, the Summer Game Shop will stay open until Monday, September 17th for you to get in your last orders until next Summer! Can you believe we're in the HOME STRETCH?



THANKS FOR PLAYING!

Comments

Something up? I think I"m in the right spot, but with "Access Denied?" (At the bottom of the page)

In reply to by Bobo34

WHOOPS! I messed something up, but it's fixed now. Sorry guys, you were in the right place! Try reloading that page!

Why are some things in the secret shop marked "you are not authorized to access this page" ???

Found it! But unfortunately there's nothing there I want. My question is, does this mean next week's stuff is going to be xpoints+THREE secret shop tokens. I need to know if I need to earn more.

Look in google, In the best state! Also i have 2 tokens ordered somthing and it still says 2 tokens!

Zheng, (if you still haven't found it), it is in a cd. The name of the cd comes from the name of a strip mall museum that is in Michigan (not Ann Arbor). Google is very helpful.

I think the secret shop aspect of the game is really fun. I hope the library has it again next year as part of the game!

Everything I've looked at either say it's out of stock or I can't access that page. Is the stuff really already out of stock?

I found the secret shop but there is nothing there I really want. Guess I will wait till next week.

Am I supposed to get a secret shop token for each week that I find the secret shop or is that only the first time you find it?
(I found it last week and thus can't redeem the code this week.)

Thanks

I found it! Is there going to be a way to get Secret Shop tokens from the Summer Game? I think there should be a secret shop token redeemed for if you FIND the secret shop! (instead of a one time dealy game code)

Also, I hope that this doesn't mean next week's secret shop will be SG points + 3 Secret Tokens...cause I'll be SOL.

p.s. Got my Motawi tiles today, they are AWESOME! Thanks AADL.

"Sold Out" items were surely liked by someone :) Don't give up hope we have 4 more weeks of Secret Shop to go with a wide variety of stuff and remember that we have players of ALL ages playing the game - babies through seniors - so that's a lot of different tastes!

Mysterio: you have everything you need if you use google to its maximum potential. The museum isn't in Ann Arbor, but not too far - so maybe in the same state? Add this location to the words in the clue that describe where it's located - and what it is and you will surely find something. Don't forget that when you get very specific mentions of something in a clue searching it in google with "quotes" around it always leads to better results because it keeps the keywords together in the search.

Was there a code to enter for last week's secret shop in order to earn a token? I found last week's shop but didn't notice a code to enter until I found tonight's secret shop.

Wow, things sold out even more quickly this week! Holy Toledo. I have got to remember to get on at 6pm on Friday... 'cept that's not going to happen next week as I'm going to be at the zoo (yay!). I thought this week's items were cute - loved the rock and roll baby set but I was too late. Oh well. :) Still having fun. :) And proud of myself for actually finding the CD without having to come here for hints ('course it helped that I just saw something on that museum on TV a week or so ago). :)

LOVE the group where you find the Secret Shop. While you're on that page, you should put a hold on the CD and check it out.

I love the new point-o-matic game! If the highlighted portion has some punctuation as well (I'm thinking mainly of commas), do you want us to enter that as well?

Textulating Recognizorator mode seems to highlight more than words - designs, periods, $ signs, numbers, a person's head. If the highlight is on part of a word, do we enter the entire word or just that part. A bit of information on this new set of badges will be helpful.

Found the secret shop. I tried entering the code and it wouldn't allow it as I already redeemed it on 7/28. Anyone else have that problem? How do I get my Secret shop token for this week?

to the best of my understanding, you only get one freebie SS token for finding the SS, with a code found where-ever that shop is currently. Otherwise, you have to use one of the other methods outlined in the previous post: Points-o-matic review and photo describer badges at level 5 and 10 award one each, or get one by completing Treasure Quest. (Scroll way down in this blog, to the next page at least, to see posts. Start with the September Chrono Key.)

Only one "free" secret shop token has been given out for finding the shop -- if you got it last week than you got it already - it's not an additional token this week. More information about other ways to get secret shop tokens will be forthcoming.

Aw; it looks like new Points-o-matic badges do not come with SS tokens at levels 5 & 10. ::mildly disappointed pout::

That's right, cherylo, they come with Secret Shop tokens at levels 2,4,6,8, and 10! Textulating Recognizorator is a very helpful mode, so the rewards are big! Plus, the levels are all the same distance apart so it doesn't get slower as you go!

OH! I didn't think to look at the other levels! Wow! I totally take back my pout and regret it fully!

Edited to add: So, I a few that I got:
-parts of graphics or borders (I submitted a blank, as it was not a word.)
-one that was a word that was four lines tall, with parts of words from each of the four lines next to it also in the selection (I passed that one.)
-one that included a digraph (a smashed-together oe in Phoenix; which is not a typographic character we use nowadays. I took my best guess and spelled it with both letters as if they were separated siamese twins.)

If any of our guesses as to how to handle these situations was wrong, please let us know. I also assumed that capitals being entered as seen would be helpful, and to treat small caps as non-caps. The better we know the guidelines, the better we can help you do what text recognition needs a little help with. :)

Yes, please let us know what to do when the green box highlights several lines (or portions of several lines). Should we type everything we see, top to bottom, left to right? Pass?

And type all caps as all caps (but a combination of tall cap and smaller caps as cap and lower case)?

Okay... I'm totally addicted to this new Points-O-Matic mode. I have GOT to go to bed! *prys fingers from keyboard* Of course, I've been saying that for about an hour now.. managed to get to level 6 tonight. But since I'm starting to fall asleep sitting here, maybe I'll actually pry myself away and go to bed!

Thanks for the guidelines on it. :) I'm happy to know that typing just the partial word is the correct way to go in those cases. @cherylo - I, too, separated the o and e in Phoenix when I typed it out. Hopefully that's correct!

Must choose new typeface for Olympic flick picks badge! It now appears to suggest that we seek out something a bit more xxx. LOL!

Also, I want to say the Museum named in the poem and CD was not originally in a strip mall, but in an actual indoor mall that no longer exists. I should know: I hung out there as a teen, where I played some righteous pinball and saw a few awesome early commercial rotoscope machines among other wonders. That now-demolished mall's name is related to the name of the group in question. The current museum location is also nice (I took my kids there on spring break this year), but the old one had better light.

Suggestion for the secret shop: When artwork is in the shop, please give the approximate dimensions. That can make a big difference sometimes!

What about the secret packages? I've been saving all my points to get the 100,000 one... I don't want to be disappointed!

Just FYI, the image titled "aa_courier_18870803-p01-001-S431" highlights the top of a man's head. And, a question. If the image shows part of a word highlighted, should I type in the whole word or only the highlighted part. And, if some punctuation in highlighted, should I put that in as well?

In the new points-o-matic thing, if only part of a word is highlighted (for example, "ma" from the word "maintain"), do you want the whole word or just the highlighted letters? I've been putting in the whole word.

@SBNB - According to the blog post, you should only type in what's highlighted.

The blog post says:
"A few quick tips about this new mode; just type what is in the highlighted box. If there is punctuation inside the box, include it, and if only half a word is inside the box, only type the part of the word in the box. If it's not a word, just click "I'm not sure, give me another". "

I would be very interested to know what we're supposed to do when it highlights more than one line of text though. :)

In reply to by Zhengyang1022

Okay, I'm confused. Who's Twinkle?
Oh, and Eli? Is it alright if I don't pick up my order until school starts? I am leaving for China in two days and won't be able to come back until school stats. My order will jut be sitting in the library for three weeks. Is that alright?

"Also, can someone help me with the last code of the Team Titans badge? I know what the team is, but they don't seem to have a name..."

I had to do some Google searching, rather than Wikipedia searching to find the answer, but it's there. Both words start with F and the same name was given to a band that made their US debut on Ed Sullivan's show.

However, just saw an article with a new name going around that starts with Fierce. That wasn't the search term to find the code item.

What about obvious typographical errors? Should we enter the letters as written or as it should have been? For example, I just ran across the word banking with an L where the I should be. Only the L was highlighted. Should I have entered an L or an I?

Another question about Points-O-Matic: Is the Best Reviews section gone for good?

In reply to by alumeng.ajl

Thank you! I feel so lost though... And I'm so behind on the badges...
But, there was one item left in the Secret Shop and I got it. I'm so happy. :)

can someone help me with the weirding way badge? I'm missing the code for the notes that will help you if the weirdness is about to drive you off a Cliff part.

Mysterio! You changed your name to Twinkle <3 (TTS)! YESES!!!
I love that song. It's kind of different from SNSD's usual style, but I love it. It's so jazzy. <3 Is SNSD your favorite kpop band?
SNSD hwaiting! :D

I can't find several of the Olympic game codes!
Barefoot Contessa comes up with nothing & so does Flying Finn...Help!

Teardrop?
Anyways, it's back online now. And I just saw a bunch of hidden codes at Traverwood. There's also some at the Youth Department of Downtown, and someone told me they were at Malletts Creek too. Are those the only branches with secret codes?

I saw a bunch of kids entering in codes at Traverwood, and I think I may have creeped them out a bit... Haha... I asked them if they played the Summer Game and for their username. They wouldn't tell me. *sob* :)
Sorry if I creeped you out, guys. I think I told one of you my username. Your username was mari, I think. Sorry if my spying scared you; I just like meeting other players. Hehe...

Hey everyone,

If you ask the staff at each location they will tell you the TOTAL # of codes in the building - that way you know how close you are. There are more codes in the Downtown library than in just the Youth Department - look elsewhere on the 1st floor...

I've been very polite every time I ask if the staff person knows how many codes might be in the library or area, so I can check if I have missed any and should keep looking. (I also look around first, not last.) Once or twice I've run into staff members who had no idea, and I did not have the magic word 'wiki' to mention at the time.

One time I had a chat with a staff member who mentioned that other people, usually on behalf of their children, have nearly demanded a list of codes. I hastened to add I was :not: looking for anything like that at all, just an indication if I was being dense and/or unimaginative in my hunting. In fact, I'm usually kind of sad if I get unsolicited hints.

For the Textulating Recognizorator - if there is a typo, and its obvious, should we put in the typo, or the real word? Also, are you using this to make a "clean and readable" version of old newspapers? If so, this is a clever way to do it...

Eli, I've been wondering if the stats you quote:

"4,444 players have earned a SHOCKING 47 MILLION POINTS on over 379,000 scoring events!"

refer to only Summer Game 2012 events or all games' events? Does it include Treasure Quest and Point-o-Matic score events, for example? It would help to know what you are counting to really understand the magnitude. Thanks!
~a data geek, cherylo

cherylo:

Have you ever read "How to lie with statistics"? It explains the way that people and entities can provide and/or manufacture statistics in the most favorable light. It really opened my eyes to the factors that are missing in sooooo many figures that are thrown around. (Like whether the people questioned biased due to the way they were contacted, such as people on a political website being more likely to say they will be voting on a web poll on the site.)

@Morsush, that's cool. I'm sorry if it came across as I was accusing you and Pokemonfan12 of anything; that was not my intention at all. I figured it had to be a bug in the coding, and that it should get mentioned so it could get fixed. Also, it was very surprising when I stumbled across the leaderboard in that state. !!

Can someone help me with the Event-Duality badge? I need help with the fourth code. I <em>know</em> what kind of medals she got, but when I search that in the catalog I can't find the code.

Morgsush and Zhengyang1022: That took me a while, too. I finally realized that I was being to specific. You've probably found the specific events, but you need to find the general event. For example, if it's a medal in balance beam (it's NOT), then you would search gymnastics.

Man, I'm glad I read these comments. I had no idea there were secret game codes hidden in each branch. I went to the Downtown & Mallett's Creek branches tonight & picked up about 9 game codes. AWESOMENESS

I know, right? When I was at Malletts I saw the same people I'd creeped out at Traverwood. :P
I think I creeped them out more. Hehe...

If you can't give me your usernames in real life, could you just tell me here? I'd love to know who you are, and maybe exchange some codes!

"I need help in the second and fourth codes for the Team Titans badge."

I have looked fo the names on Google, but I get multiple results. I have tried all the different versions of nicknames, but none of them work.

I'll be sad when the Summer Game is over, but I can't wait to see what some of these mystery prizes are.

I found the phrase that the queen used to describe her bad year for the Queen's English badge, but it won't work as a code. It says to use the phrase, is it just the two words? I've used them with a space, without, capitalized, and as a sentence fragment. Am I missing something? The words I found start with A and H.

It seems like every week the Secret Shop has had a theme in its items. I wonder what this week's theme will be...

I know this sounds stupid, but can someone help me with the second code for the Tinca Tinca badge. Thank you!

I'm looking for a little help with the Gnarly 90's 4th code... I've gone to Wikipedia and know that Tamagotchi is roughly translated as "egg" "watch", and that Time and Hatch are capitalized in the clue so they are probably important. I've entered every combo of these 4 words in the catalog I can think of, and still nothing!

For the badge "Queen's English" I have all the codes but the last one. I get that it's the national anthem, but nothing comes up.

jsulimin: "For the badge "Queen's English" I have all the codes but the last one. I get that it's the national anthem, but nothing comes up."

Did you search for the title?

I also need the fourth code to the Games of Throwin' badge. I've search all different kind of related to nail games.

Oh yeah, did you already find the fourth code to the Event-Duality badge, I also need help with that, I'm so behind right now, I feel like I suck at finding codes. :(

"I need help with the last code for the fool's gold badge"

The comedy group is British and has had a few popular movies in the U.S. Perhaps the most popular one begins with the name of the group and follows some knights.

In reply to by vadnala

I looked. And there were 15 new comments on this one. :P
I might have some Internet over the weeks, but probably only about once per week. Goodbye, Summer Game... *tears*

Is it just me, or does the clue for the third code in Fool's Gold seem to point to an item that has a code for the Fish Tank Tales badge? I guess it must be some other item that I am looking for. :/

Thanks, alumeng.ajl! I was despairing that I would have to look at 60-ish items to find the right one! Though I didn't need to google, just to look at the name of the segment on the item listing and re-search.

how am i supposed to find the codes in the catalog for the event out badge? i know what the events are, but when I search them in the catalog, I end up having to look through hundreds of items

Wow, gone for three days and there's 69 comments.
I'm sad. Most of the time I'm at China I won't have Internet, so this may be the last of my Summer Game playing for the summer. :(

i need help for the second code of the team titans badge. i know the team name but it isn't there in the catalog

I know this is not related, but I really want Morgsush to know that SM Town is holding auditions, maybe for a new band. Sorry, this is not related to summer games at all, but me am so excited!!!!! :) <3 <3

i need help for the last code for the team titans badge. i know the team name, but it's not in the catalog.

@ mysterio: Nevermind, I found it, if you search 2012 us women's gymnastics olympic team nickname on google, the nickname is in the second post, it starts with an F, hope that helps, you can also hear it in the us olympics news.

Wait - did someone say we can now find the game codes for events we may have missed in the catalog? Did I misinterpret a comment? Because that would be awesome...

I'd like to apologize for the typos I make in Points-o-matic from typing too fast and hitting enter before I realize there's a mistake.

I'd also like to say that you hardcore SRG'ers are pretty amazing. I don't know how the IT staff can keep up with you guys.

I don't know if this is a possibility, & this might demonstrate how lazy I am, but it would be AWESOME if we could get the cursor to stay in the entry box for all of the Points-O-Matic things, instead of having to click the entry box every time.

I've found that if I hit TAB before typing, that works to get the cursor into the entry box. Give it a try to see if it works for you. (I am working in FireFox, but I am not sure whether that would be relevant.)

Missed replying to Morgsush going to China...... Unlike some of you, I don't really have a desire to go.
Have to try harder for visiting the web every day...........

In reply to by mysterio

I'm going to my grandmother's house for a week, and there's no Internet at her house. So, no Summer Game for a week. :(

How are you supposed to find the event out codes? i know what the sports are, but when I search them in the catalog, i have hundreds of items to search through.

How are you supposed to find the event out codes? i know what the sports are, but when I search them in the catalog, i have hundreds of items to search through.

For the <strong>Team Titans</strong> badge, how do I find the second code? I find "Magic Magyars," "Mighty Magyars," and even just "Magyar," but no codes come up.

@jsulimin: You are on the right track. Wiki has another name for them that ends in 'Team'. Search in the catalogs for it and you will find the code within the first few items.

dude, the olympic badges are rough even with three kids helping it takes hours. Actually that is a good thing its keeping them busy and they are working together instead of fighting over the WII. yeah summer contest.

In reply to by Zhengyang1022

It's in the same series as another badge's item. The other badge's item's code was about orbital points...

I finished the badge "Games of Throwin'", and I got the badge bonus, but when I go to the badge detail, it's still showing that I'm missing the first clue. Any ideas?

I know this is late, but can someone help me with the last code of the Serially Weird badge. I've tried searching a bunch of different things, but I can't find it...

Thanks, I found it...I searched cable car and found it, your hint was super helpful! :) :)
Also need help with the second I can relay code...I feel kind of stupid right now...

In reply to by gxl

Gxl was my inspiration for the Ultimate Otaku badge. :) She's a LITTLE obsessed with Japan and Korea (Kpop, Jpop, anime, dramas, manga, etc.).

In reply to by gxl

I think Morgsush just pretended not to notice......
<strong>starting bold streak<strong>

<em>well, the conversation before had nothing to do with the post, so I wrote a comment that had something to do with the post, being I got all the badges released with the post except for the commenting and POM badges</em>

<em>I usually figure it out within minutes, but then since so many people go on the same page atone, I have to wait until the page loads but by then everything is basically sold out.

In reply to by gxl

<strong>oh really....................? in the recent secret shop I find them in a minute, but everythings already sold out:(</strong>

In reply to by Bookbird

<strong>I've never found the secret shop before...yeah kind of sad...<strong/>

<em>Try! The riddles are getting easier, and I heard there's going to be about forty items in the last Secret Shop. You could get really awesome stuff. :D

<strong>First of all I don't have any secret shop tokens, and I am not all hooked like you. I have to do math, Chinese, and other stuff everyday. I might try on the last one, maybe...<strong/>

In reply to by gxl

why are we still commenting if we won't get points? I know, because it's nice conversation....
how about we leave these posts alone until SG2013? Let's suggest a topic for every post to comment on next year. Ex: Fav series

I will Copy Paste this comment to all the other posts too, just so you know. :)

I got the mosaic necklace!!!! >.< I was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo happy I got it!!!! >.< It was the highlight of my day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! >.< :D

ARGH! Sorry, wrong post! I opened up a bunch a tabs of posts because of the summer game player onsluaght of comments, so I guess I got some of the posts mixed up. Sorry again!

How about this:
I miss her, before and after the Secret Shop. :D

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