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Badge Drop #11: Drop the Beat

by andrewjmac



Okay Summer Gamers, it's Friday, and Friday means BADGE DROP! And this week we have a very special musical episode of Summer Game Badge Drop. We've got a few new Pop Music badges for you and some musical installments of Lydia and Constellations. I guess that's it for the musical theme really, but what can you expect? Isn't part of what you love about the Summer Game how CRAZY RANDOM it is? We've got plenty for you non-music lovers, too, including a new Explorer (this time you are headed to the UM Museum of Natural History!) and TWO Player Picks from fabulous players KathyD and Zigzagog!


Let's go to the badgelist:

2014 Badge Drop #11
echo theme_summergame_badge(895,899,893,901,892,897,900,896,898,890,891,894);
?>





Now that your brains are all salivating over delicious new badges, there's something we should discuss. It's August 22, which means fall is on its way soon. And if there's one thing we leave behind in the fall (get it, leave, like the leaves fall, nevermind), its the Summer Game! That's right, there are only 10 DAYS LEFT before the Summer Game closes its doors for another season. So what does that mean for you, dear player? It means you've got until midnight on Sunday, August 31 to earn all of those badges you've been putting off, tag, rate, and review all of those items in the catalog, and get to all of those library branches, local businesses, and terrarium locales to complete your code collections! That's 10 DAYS AND COUNTING!



And, as always--say it along with me--THANKS FOR PLAYING!

Comments

Submitted by kathscot on Fri, 08/22/2014 - 8:29pm

Lydia was tricky - but don't give up.
I had to go to the 9th listing under Google for the lyrics to find the deleted lines - not in Wikipedia.

Submitted by AprilCDB on Fri, 08/22/2014 - 9:18pm

So... I take it the museum is because it was brought up in discussions, or was that just coincidence?

@AprilCDB - actually, it was coincidence! we had already done the preliminary design on that badge when the idea came up in the comments. we were happy to see the interest, knowing what we had up our sleeves!

Submitted by asopijw65 on Fri, 08/22/2014 - 10:17pm

Done with all of the badges except for the event ones and the 2 latest park explorer badges. I hope to get those this weekend! Thanks to the AADL team for all their hard work!

Submitted by Lmd3577 on Sat, 08/23/2014 - 2:49am

To all the summer gamers out there,
I am trying to complete a badge that was introduced called ghost world and it is the badge with Casper the friendly ghost on it and it is in the unearthly collection. I need to find both the first and final code of the badge and I am hoping some of you summer gamers can give me a few more clues as to where to find the codewords. I have been stumped on these two clues for weeks now so I am really hoping some of you can help me.
Thanks so much for all the help
Lmd3577

1) search for _____ tavern, think Halloween and _____ attractions at Halloween

2) first locate the mans name that claimed he was haunted by the widow using a google search. If you end up in Dixboro, you're on the right track. In old news search the mans last name only.

Submitted by elsbetherin on Sat, 08/23/2014 - 10:11am

HI,
i must be missing something but I can't seem to find the code in the doughnut badge related to the Westside doughnut shop. I was pretty sure I had the right deli, but none of the names seem to get me to a cookbook.

It had been asked earlier what people's favorite badges are. Now I have to go with You Can Learn A Lot From Lydia. I had heard the song, but didn't really remember it apparently, because only now I understand why all those seemingly random things were put in the same category. I won't go into all the cool things I read today completing the final badge because it might give too much away, but anything that leads you to Kermit the Frog singing is good stuff.

Thanks for the help with the donut badge. I'm stumped, too, and trying just the first part of the name got me zero results on the catalog. That's okay. I'll just move on to another badge. (There are so many to choose from!)

@elsbetherin and @purplelily, I am having the same trouble on the donuts badge! I think I know the name (one of my sons has become obsessed with going there this summer). I tried the full name, the first word, the first word + some combination of {donuts & cookbook}, and so on. Found an old code from 2013, but not the one for this badge yet. Argh! And the official hint is no help, unless there's another donut store on that boulevard that I am unaware of!

Submitted by AprilCDB on Sat, 08/23/2014 - 9:10pm

Donuts badge, the search doesn't seem to work anymore. When I got it, I had to try two different versions of the donut place and then the book was the only thing that came up and now I can't get it to come up.

Submitted by brady.emmett@g… on Sat, 08/23/2014 - 1:43pm

Can I get someone to confirm if the third code for the Kraken badge is active? I have found only one book featuring the botanist in question, but cannot find a code. I have tried every spelling I can find of the name in Latin, not getting anywhere.

And/or help???

@bradyemmett
The code works. Search for an 8 letter name with the final 3 vowels in alphabetical order. You should get 6 items, 2 with codes, one which works for the Kraken badge.

Submitted by Alliemayzee on Sat, 08/23/2014 - 2:36pm

Yay for new badges! My kiddos and I are having a blast with the Summer game and reading a TON. Thanks AADL!

Submitted by jmock on Sat, 08/23/2014 - 4:40pm

I'm a little behind on the badges . . . but I think I will post this question here because chances are, no one will see the one I posted on a past badge drop. Hopefully, this doesn't annoy anyone like last time, but if it did, then I'm sorry.

Having a little trouble with the fourth clue on the <strong> Bewitching, Bettering Bats </strong> badge. I am quite sure I have the language, but I can't seem to find the book.

@ jmock : are you searching for the language by including an "n" on the end? Such as "{X}ean" vs "{X}ea"? If so, drop the n and you should find the phrasebook, if you have the language right.

Submitted by VickyB77 on Sat, 08/23/2014 - 7:48pm

Has anyone had any issues with the last code of the "Name That Library" badge? I found an article that lists the hours, including the two days they were closed, but when I type them in as the code, it's not recognized. I've tried listing them as "___day___day", "___dayand___day", "___days___days", and "___daysand___days", to no avail. And yes, they're alphabetical. What am I missing?

Edit: Sorry, I figured it out. I was reading right over it. But for those wondering, you'll need to enter "___day___day." (No "and," and not plural)

@VickyB77 I had trouble with "Name that Library" as well. Your hint helped - I had to read more carefully and finally noticed one day was not mentioned. That did the trick!

Great badge, @Zigzagog ! I enjoyed using multiple sources (including Old News) to figure out the clues.

Submitted by willow on Sat, 08/23/2014 - 5:57pm

I was under the impression that the tiny eraser badge had been created already-- could someone advise? My son has successfully entered all four but no badge. Thanks!

Submitted by ginarae3 on Sat, 08/23/2014 - 6:32pm

I am at a complete loss as to how to do the star wars May the Force Be With You badge. Any help or hints would be much appreciated. I don't even know how to start. :(

Star Wars badge is 7 main characters, 5 heroes and 2 villains. Search each of their names by one name at a time. For example, if the name is John Smith you'd search John, find a code then Smith and find another code. The item your looking for will be an item that comes up that is not related to Star Wars. The characters are from the original trilogy, anyone familiar with Star Wars knows 6 of them without thinking, the 7th is easily googled if you don't know, just use the clue to find out what to search for (and yes, the two you think won't work because their names are only 4 characters long, do work).

@ginarae3

you may have to be creative in the names, as one uses a title and first name (rather than the little used last name) and one four character named character is usually split 1-3 but this badge splits it 2-2. Have fun!

Submitted by Lmd3577 on Sat, 08/23/2014 - 8:27pm

to all the summer gamers out there,
I am working on the monster mash badge and I am having great trouble looking for the third code word of the badge. I have searched every possible way to find the answer and I still can not find the code word so I am hoping some of you gamers out there can help me with some more clues on where to find the clue word.
Thanks so much for the help,
Lmd3577

Submitted by Lmd3577 on Sat, 08/23/2014 - 8:40pm

to all the summer gamers out there,
I am working on the Nightshade badge and I am having great trouble finding the last code word in the badge so I am hoping some of you gamers out there can give me some more clues on where I can find the sixth code word to complete the badge.
Thanks so much for the help
Lmd3577

@Lmd3577 - It's a bit misleading, as it is not bella signora, which is what you get when you google it. Try looking up the scientific name for 'deadly nightshade' and it'll be the 2nd word.

Submitted by willow on Sat, 08/23/2014 - 8:51pm

Also, while I am delighted to see these explorer badges, it is kind of insane to release one ten days before the end! I wish all of these had been released earlier in the game. Unfortunately a small injury has really messed with my plans to finish last year's as well, and it will be a stretch if I finish this year's.

I agree willow, I am only able to get this weeks explorer badge because my surgery for yesterday got canceled as it was deemed I didn't need it. If it had not been canceled, I don't think I would have been able to complete it. While I enjoy the park badges, there needs to not be so many or released early in the game. Particularly ones which are close together and could be done on the same day (Aubudon, museum and art gallery for example).

Submitted by asopijw65 on Sat, 08/23/2014 - 9:01pm

Donut badge people: another hint, it's a pizza cookbook! You can google the name of that deli and donut shop and see a pizza place in chicago that wrote a book. Look for that!

Submitted by AprilCDB on Sat, 08/23/2014 - 9:29pm

Holy Kraken Batman! I generally save these for later, but after seeing the comments about how difficult it is I had to see for myself, the first code was simple enough, but do I seriously have to decode an entire paragraph!? Yikes! I'm not even sure I get what I'm supposed to do.

@AprilCDB I'm still working on the 2nd code! Luckily they do tell you that KRAKEN is in the paragraph, so that helped me decode some letters. I think this one is just gona take a lot of time!

Submitted by asopijw65 on Sat, 08/23/2014 - 10:13pm

I've noticed that with the kraken badge, look for words you know will show up. Like 'catalog'. That word will most likely show up and it has repeating letters. From there it's just guessing and plugging in letters that fit.

Submitted by Theophrastus B… on Sat, 08/23/2014 - 10:41pm

I wish I knew about these months ago. They're pretty interesting but I guess I didn't pay enough attention.

Submitted by Fevvers - STAR473 on Sat, 08/23/2014 - 11:57pm

MORE badges?! I thought the last batch was, well, the last. I am both excited and a tad dismayed. I won't be abke to get cracking on them for a couple of days, probably, so fingers crossed!

Help!
I'm working on the fourth code for the Kraken badge. I've tried searching the catalog using the character's name - first and/or last, original and newer name, the name of the show in all formats, the name of the actor who plays the character, what am I missing? I know I deciphered the clue correctly, so could someone please point me in the right direction? Thank you.

Submitted by Juliettie on Sun, 08/24/2014 - 11:10am

Now that I've reached the end, I can honestly say that Lydia was the most clever badge ever! Thank you!

Submitted by Juliettie on Sun, 08/24/2014 - 11:12am

I don't want to give it away, but I agree that searching the first part of the doughnut shop name will get you no where. It is the correct business you're thinking of. I found it by messing around on another website that lists lots of books..that's all I feel okay offering up. :)

Submitted by ifechijie on Sun, 08/24/2014 - 11:13am

I love the new badges! They're colorful and fun, but its a bummer that summer, and the summer game, is almost over.

Submitted by KathyD on Sun, 08/24/2014 - 11:24am

Proud to say I remembered enough from high school and college to do the 80s music badge without google help :)

I am going to make our novice driver take us to all the branches this week to get some practice hours in and finish up our branch explorers.

Submitted by amym on Sun, 08/24/2014 - 11:25am

I'm working on the badge Monster Mash. I was able to easily get every game code except the first. I found the photo, but can't find any code. The clue doesn't mention anything like 'use the first two words'.

@amym are you sure you found the photo? The code is under a photo of a 5 year old little girl waving. There is another girl standing next to her and a boy sitting in the background. Both girls appear to be wearing white dresses.

Submitted by KathyD on Sun, 08/24/2014 - 11:35am

For those of you dreading the end of the summer game, why don't you try designing some of your own badges in the off-season to get ready for player picks next summer? I've had as much fun making badges as completing them.

Come up with an idea and name for your badge. Figure out at least 5 catalog entries that fit your theme, and paste the cataglog URLs for each into a document. For each one, figure out a clue, a hint, and a game code. You can also suggest an image for the badge.

The summer game team at AADL will add or edit your suggestions as needed.

Submitted by mariah on Sun, 08/24/2014 - 2:36pm

My apologies to those working on the donut badge - as a few players mentioned, there *was* a catalog item that would come up when looking for the A2 donut shop in question, but it looks like at some point, that search/catalog record changed (odd, and I can't figure out why/how).

Work on a fix right now, but if you're stumped on the donut badge, I'd recommend holding off on that catalog search until tomorrow (Monday), when I'm hopeful things will be fixed.
Thanks!

I was also stuck on that code for the badge until I saw these comments. Thanks for confirming that the item containing the code was missing, @mariah. Now I'm just waiting till tomorrow to try the search again. Hopefully it'll work by then. :D
On a different note, I am so sad Summer Game is ending! I feel like it just started. I love the idea of having some "Summer" Game activities in the winter. As AprilCDB said, I enjoy not just the earning of points, but the fun of hunting for codes, deciphering clues, etc. Please consider this, AADL!! :-)

Mariah, I used the tip dropped by someone else in this thread and (FINALLY!!!) found the book. Looking at the catalog entry page, i can't see any way it would link to that word (except for a tag someone has added, the singular form). It doesn't appear anywhere on the page, unless the catalog search also searches the text of the preview. (Once there, I searched the preview. If I use the name with 's, no hits; if I do the singular, it finds it 12 times - including times where it appears with 's. Search & stemming algorithms, so confusing at times!)

@camelsamba - Yes, yes - what you were seeing on Sunday was an updated (eek, but we didn't want it updated!) version of that page - one that had for some reason *removed* bio/book-flap info about the author that had been in the catalog record on Thursday, Friday and before that!

So, it was a change in the catalog record that resulted in the search then not working as expected - but a tag has been added to the record that fixes that now - we just had to wait for the site to be re-indexed!

Whew! Don't know if that makes sense, but that's the best way to explain it - there was a change in the page that we didn't know had happened/was going to happen! We're looking at our processes now to try to be sure things like that don't happen again - sort of like how some of the catalog records accidentally got suppressed last year!

Thanks, everyone, for your patience - your donut-related search should work now (I just tried and it works fine now)! ;)

thanks for the explanation @mariah! Just for the record, you still have to use the non-possessive form of the name (no 's, as appears on the donut vendor's sign) for the search to work. Or at least that's the only way I could get it work just now.

Submitted by AprilCDB on Sun, 08/24/2014 - 3:02pm

Has anyone gotten the bonus code on the Kraken badge? Pretty sure I have the right answer, but not finding it.

Edit: never mind, I was searching for the group/movie, not the album/movie. Both group and album have a movie with the same name, only one is in the catalog.

Submitted by AprilCDB on Sun, 08/24/2014 - 7:57pm

I was thinking about the comments from people who want to do it all year... Past years are generally made active again each summer, but worth less points so people can keep working on past years codes. It seems to me many people are unable to complete all the badges during the summer, so what if instead of outright ending the game, the game is put into past year status. Meaning, you can still work on locating the codes, but they're worth less. (Or worth nothing outside of summer) Would it be possible to allow for this aspect of the game to continue? I wouldn't expect to get reading points, comment points, etc. I think people just want to be able to work on locating codes in the catalog and complete the park explorer badges. For some of us, it isn't all about the points, we just like the challenge and the adventure of the game.

On another note, I have an idea for an entire badge series that I'm thinking of putting together. Would AADL go for a non-employee doing an entire badge series?

I've actually spent a lot of time getting badges from previous Summer Games. I just like collecting them all! I also got the Natural History Museum badge and Bird Hills badge today. It took me a very long time to find that Bird Hills parking lot.

Submitted by camelsamba on Sun, 08/24/2014 - 10:25pm

Hey folks, you know what? If you don't finish all the badges, *it's okay.* You're still a great person and a great library patron! Just have fun!

Submitted by AprilCDB on Mon, 08/25/2014 - 8:54am

OMG! You can learn a lot from Lydia is officially my favorite! That was totally awesome! I didn't find the clues difficult at all and I absolutely love the video at the end (that's what made it so awesome). As soon as it started I remembered that scene from the Muppet Show and never knew it was in reference to this, just thought it was something they made up to be funny. It's funny to watch things from my childhood now and realize certain references are referencing real things in life, they aren't just made up.

Submitted by Drake Emmitt on Mon, 08/25/2014 - 9:01am

The Carry on carrion badge is pretty awesome! It was very informative and now I am thinking how cool would it be to have one of these?! :)

Submitted by yaldah on Mon, 08/25/2014 - 11:44am

Whoa, I think I'm going to have to give up on the "Cryptid Cryptography" master badge - I have all the other badges, but this last Kraken one is just way too hard for me. I got the first code, but I doubt I'll be able to get any of the other ones. Man, that's frustrating. Oh well. On to the next badge!

@yaldah the website in the hints helps A LOT. wouldnt have been able to get the badge without it. i mostly used the letter replacer at the bottom more than the percentages for the letters. after that it was a lot of guessing, especially with vowel words

@yaldah It's more looking at what letters and stuff keep coming up and thinking about the possible words, I guess. I didn't actually use the percentage guide all that much unless I was really stumped. I found most of the time it would just confuse me. I kind of just tested out where vowels would go and guessed around. It's definitely time consuming. I know I had to take a lot of breaks and come back to it, and then I'd figure it out!

@yaldah, Frequency Analysis uses the fact that certain letters of the alphabet are used more frequently than others. By analyzing the code for the most frequently used letters, you can make an educated guess as to which letters are substituted for which letter. For example, E is the most commonly used letter of the alphabet, so if say M is used the most in a code, than it stands to reason that M = E (but not necessarily, as you'll find if you do complete this badge).

The website on the second clue takes you to a place to help you figure this out. Copy and paste the cipher and the website will tell you which letters in the cipher are used most often and in what relation to the actual alphabet. This didn't really help me solve it though. I solved it using the alphabet substitution part of the website. For example, I figured out which words on the second clue were "Kraken" (it's in the 2nd clue twice) then plugged K-R-A-E-N into the related letters. Once I had that, I was then able to play a sort of wheel of fortune game by figuring out what some of the other words were and plugging those letters in. "Kraken" is in all the clue's except the last one. "Catalog" and "Book" were common words in the clues too. So if you can figure out which words these are, it'll really help you figure out the rest.

Once you figure out how to use the website to help you, it becomes easier. It takes some time, but it is doable.

Submitted by crwilley on Mon, 08/25/2014 - 12:44pm

I'd just like to say that the Bird Hills badge is <em>not kidding</em> about not being stroller-friendly. The route is very hilly, narrow in some places, and there are a lot of roots etc. in the path - it's a pretty serious walk. Plan to take your time if you're out of shape. :) And do print out and take a copy of the map; most of the codes are in the map/brochure rather than on signs in the park.

...and, yes, the Newport Road parking area is kind of unobtrusive.

Submitted by mjanen on Mon, 08/25/2014 - 1:15pm

Stuck on first clue of the Carrion badge. Answer seems clear but none of the catalog results yield a code. Any suggestions?

@mjanen - If you have the right name (c_____ f______), enter the first word only, In singular, into the catalog. The code should be in first item.

Edit - we must have been entering our comments at the same time. Glad you found it!

Submitted by mjanen on Mon, 08/25/2014 - 1:17pm

Been away since the last drop and just restarting. Boy must have been the time away but first few badge tries seem exceedingly tough with this drop...

Submitted by mjanen on Mon, 08/25/2014 - 1:34pm

Never mind on Carrion badge. Oh course as soon as I post I realize I had not tried it without the word "flower". Hint is rather misleading.

Submitted by VickyB77 on Mon, 08/25/2014 - 4:15pm

Has anyone tried the Geocache Master badge yet? I saw on the geocaching.com website on 8/18 that "the physical geocache is currently missing but we will get a replacement out there tomorrow evening," with an update "As of 08/19/2014, the physical geocache is back in place." I went yesterday afternoon, but couldn't find anything. Did someone take it again, or am I just blind? :-/

@Cory Michael - Sorry to hear you had trouble with the geocache. If you were looking for it last weekend, it appears to have been taken, but we put a new one out and it was still there as of this evening. Also, to hopefully clear up a bit of confusion, the geocache will take you to five locations - the first four have "virtual caches," meaning there is not a physical cache or code to find but we encourage you to visit the location; the final location has the physical cache, which is where the code is hidden. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask in a comment or email us at geocache@aadl.org. Thanks for playing!

@VickyB77 - Sorry to hear you couldn't find the geocache. We checked tonight, and the cache was still there. The hint at the bottom of the geocache listing might be able to help you out, and you're always welcome to ask at the desk for additional hints. :)

Submitted by AprilCDB on Mon, 08/25/2014 - 7:47pm

For anyone who wants to try and complete the Kraken badge, I HiGHLY recommend looking at the clue for the second code. It gives you a website that will help you decipher the codes. Copy and paste the cipher and click analyze. However, as a prior post said, plugging in letters based on analysis didn't really work. What worked was 1) figuring out which word(s) were "kraken". This was fairly easy because you just need to locate a six letter word where the 1st and 4th letters are the same. Then plug the letters k, r, a, e, n into the cipher helper thing. From there, figure out the words "a" and "I". Looking for "catalog" and "book" helps too. From there, it's like playing scrabble or wheel of fortune. I found I was able to figure out words towards the end first, plugging letters in from the words I figured out, which filled in words at the beginning until I got the cipher. Once you get the first one and figure out what works for you, the others are a little easier to complete. I'd estimate that It did take me a couple of hours total to complete.

Submitted by tbbrown76@yahoo.com on Mon, 08/25/2014 - 8:27pm

Anybody having trouble with the "carrion flower" badge? I can't get the first one.

There has been some discussion of the carrion badge in this comment thread. If you go back and read some of them over you'll probably find the help you need.

Submitted by Lmd3577 on Tue, 08/26/2014 - 12:03am

To all the summer gamers out there,

I am working on the Carron flower badge and I am having great trouble finding the third code word for the badge. I have typed in the word I think they are looking for several times now and I am getting several possible answers to look through which leads me to believe I found the wrong answer to get me to the third code word. I am hoping some of you gamers out there could give me some more clues to help me find the code word.
Thanks so much for the help
Lmd3577

Submitted by Kaydence paige on Tue, 08/26/2014 - 11:31am

I am having extreme difficulties with the last code for the donut badge. Can someone offer an extra clue I seem to be missing.

Submitted by AprilCDB on Tue, 08/26/2014 - 12:42pm

@Kaydence, the clue "jelly, cream, or even another option", the other option is the word to search for. The type of donut that is usually filled with this is a Boston Creme (my FAVORITE! YUMMY!). When you search for "the other option" and only for a video, you should get 8 possibilities. Scrolling through those you'll find the "Child-ish" one.

@yaldah - I never used the additional clues people are talking about. They actually sound confusing to me. What works for me is starting with the one letter words as I know they have to be "A" or "I". I look where else those letters are and see if I can figure out which makes the most sense, and then it's easier to fill in other things. Then I look at the two and three letter words, words that have two letters in a row (usually oo, ll, tt, etc.), and apostrophe words. What threw me off with this badge is that an occasional letter was the same in the puzzle as in the solution. It's as if "example" were written "gxrlvdg" the x is still an x.

@ Cory Michael - This was the first year I really got into the badges. I did the reading points and other stuff and a few badges last year, but this was the first summer I really dug in. It's been great fun!

Submitted by Lmd3577 on Tue, 08/26/2014 - 10:59pm

To all the summer gamers out there,
I am working on the Bewittching Bats badge and I am having great trouble finding the final clue to the badge. I have typed every combination I can think of to find the language they are looking for and I get nothing. I am hoping some of you gamers out there could help me with some more clues as to which language the codeword is related to.
Thanks for the help
Lmd3577

@Lmd3577, use the Wiki page for the technical term of bat feces. It's right at the beginning of the article. Once you search the correct language, it should be the first item that comes up, which will be a book with the same title as the language.

Submitted by ejmarcash on Wed, 08/27/2014 - 3:52pm

Just finished the Dolph Park badge. If you haven't gone yet, remember to use insect repellant. For the last clue, we had to walk through the parking lot to look for the beginning of the trail that has a wooden pole at the start. There are a lot of branches down on the paths because of the last storm. This made it hard to figure out where the main path was when looking for the 3 benches clue. In the end, we stumbled upon the bench with the plaque first and then backtracked to the 3 benches. My recommendation is to stick to the main paths as best you can and look for the big landmarks (1st and 2nd sister lakes). Also, don't bring a stroller. Many of the trails are very narrow. Good luck.

@takako did you use the #AADLShelfie hashtag and also use @aadl in your tweet? They also might be slower to respond. You can always tweet at them and ask if they got it.

@takako - The geocache did go missing last Wednesday and was replaced the following day. We're sorry if it was missing when you went to look for it, but if you would like to try again, the geocache will be in place for another couple of months (though, of course, the game code will no longer be active).

Submitted by mjanen on Wed, 08/27/2014 - 9:39pm

Okay am I seriously the only one stuck on the Swan Songs badge? I assume it is either something dumb or I have the wrong search term. Pretty sure it is a two word search term: 5-letter and 4-letter words, but for the life of me I can't find the code. Any suggestions?

Submitted by willow on Wed, 08/27/2014 - 10:48pm

Sorry, not sure where to post this, but I was rereading a 2011 thread on the game and a post suggests/promises that players will be able to generate a report of what they've read -- a feature I' d still like!

Submitted by beeniepie on Wed, 08/27/2014 - 11:12pm

@willow -- a report sounds pretty cool!

Here's a random thing I just learned: Hello Kitty is not a cat! Just had to share that since there have always been so many Hello Kitty badges in the Summer Game. My mind is blown.

@beenipie I just read about that, too! I also thought it was SO BIZARRE. I think we should have a followup badge on this and similar weird facts about cartoon/book characters next summer. :)

Submitted by beeniepie on Wed, 08/27/2014 - 11:16pm

Supreme Review Master: Your Player Progress: 5% (52 / 1000 Wrote Review scores in your ledger)

I think I'm going to just throw in the towel on this badge.

I also am sad that I won't be finishing up my Park Explorer badges. The rain, tantrums, and other annoying barriers have prevented me from dousing myself in DEET from head to toe and tackling Dolph, Bird Hills, etc. Thank you AADL staffers for giving me more of my favorite kind of badges. I think I'll now go drown my sorrows in my chocolate bar.

Beeniepie, I hear you on the park badges. And on the reviews. I've written 58 and I'm definitely maxed out on that one, because I refuse to write "cool!" and "loved it!" 900 times. (Which had already been noticed and judged unfair by summer game players in the same 2011 thread.)

Anyone with a cat head is not quite a normal little girl, so I'm sticking with thinking of her as a cat. I always liked the other Sanrio characters better, like My Melody, remember her? Hello Kitty just has gone crazy mainstream now and is *everywhere*, not just at Sanrio stores.

By the way, I smelled a carrion flower last year (?) at Matthaei -- and boy, it's named correctly.

The last Cryptid one is waiting for me to start it, taunting me, daring me...I haven't begun it and it's already giving me a headache. :P

I thought that when I saw it that it was going to be too difficult, but with a little time and patience it was super fun. I printed them out and then slowly worked from the Letter E and moved one from there. It is fun I promise!!

Submitted by mjanen on Thu, 08/28/2014 - 2:20am

Kraken my head over the Kraken, but done. Still looking for a clue on the last clue for Swan Songs.

Submitted by willow on Thu, 08/28/2014 - 7:52am

BTW the third clue in the "name that library" badge contains a typo in the word "librarian" ("Anyway, when the Malletts Creek Branch was built in 2004, it was a replacement for a branch named after Ann Arbor's first libarian").

But I can't find articles about the dedication of the branch, only photos. Very strange.

Submitted by cinderellariley on Thu, 08/28/2014 - 9:27am

I need help starting the fourth decipher of the kraken badge. Just can't seem to get this one started

Thanks

Submitted by Kaydence paige on Thu, 08/28/2014 - 9:56am

Ger on the cryptic badges! I managed to get 3 of them and accidently found a code for the kraken! Lol I find it funny when I find codes that I'm not even looking for!

Submitted by Beth Manuel Staff on Thu, 08/28/2014 - 12:51pm

I've been stuck on the Bountiful Berry Days since July! The hint: "Try to imagine a summer filled only with one type of fruit. Sounds like a romance to me!" hasn't helped, either. I'm no beginner but I could use a little help with this badge. Anyone?

Submitted by sara on Thu, 08/28/2014 - 1:15pm

Malletts Creek Branch

I noticed someone started a magazine exchange on the lower rack of the flyer area. Great! Keep it up! That's one thing I miss from the Loving Branch, and there is plenty of room in that nook.

Oh, yay, Sara, I'm glad to hear about the magazine exchange -- I so rarely am able to take all my old magazines to downtown!

I was just showing my kids old photos of the Loving branch, as they are too young to have seen it.

Submitted by ifechijie on Thu, 08/28/2014 - 1:41pm

The summer is almost over :-(; and there's nothing to do, besides EARNING MORE BADGES!!!

Submitted by mjanen on Thu, 08/28/2014 - 2:37pm

@AprilCDB--Both times I posted said I'm stuck on last clue of Swan Songs (it's the 5th). Pretty sure the search term is a 5-letter and 4-letter word. Have tried it as one word, two words, singular, plural, and lots of other terms that seem unlikely and no luck on anything. Most frustrating. (Also everyone is busy posting comments to get comment badges, so harder to actually interact...)

Submitted by mjanen on Thu, 08/28/2014 - 2:47pm

@Beth Manuel on the Berries badge--note once you get the badge you can't see the hints, but I'm guessing you are stuck on the last code? If so, use the type of berry in the clue then include the season from the hint. Hope that gets you there; I know it's frustrating when you can't get unstuck...

Submitted by Lmd3577 on Thu, 08/28/2014 - 3:46pm

To all the summer gamers out there,
I am working on the bewitching bats badge and I am having great trouble with the final clue. I have looked up what the technical term should be and I think I have the right language they are looking for but every time I type it in I get several answers to look through so I think I am looking eighter in the wrong age group or they are not looking for a book at all and they are looking for another material all together. I hope some of you gamers out there could help me with some more clues as where I can find the fourth and final codeword.
Thanks so much for the help.
Lmd3577

Submitted by SBNB on Thu, 08/28/2014 - 8:10pm

Could someone please help me with a code from the Malletts Creek branch? I was there today and I thought I found all that I was missing, but when I came home and tried to put them in, I had found one of the codes before. Thus, I am still ONE CODE SHORT of completing the badge. I'm missing the code that has the clue "You can find me hiding in the back of the library at the Malletts Creek branch." I looked all over the back of the library and didn't find it (I thought the caterpillar one was close enough to the back, but that was the one I had found before). So could someone please tell me where that code is? Or if you're feeling particularly wonderful and want to spare me the trek across town, you could just tell me the code and I would be eternally grateful......

@SBNB Cal the library and tell them what happened. They will help you. I did the same thing at another branch after going there twice. Also, the librarians will give you hints while you are at the branches.

@SBNB-
I have learned (the hard way) to always check with one of the librarians when I'm not sure I have them all the codes in a branch. They will even give hints to where you should look if needed.
If you're going to the wrap party you could always look for it then.

Submitted by crwilley on Thu, 08/28/2014 - 8:26pm

I loved this week's cryptid badge! I didn't worry about letter frequency, either - there was one particular word I looked for (other than 'kraken') that steered me right every time.

Submitted by Drake Emmitt on Fri, 08/29/2014 - 9:24am

So much fun! We have had a blast this summer working through codes and going crazy from the ones that were for beginners but apparently way to advanced for us and visa versa!!! :D

Submitted by elsbetherin on Fri, 08/29/2014 - 9:37am

It might just be me, however I seem to be struggling with the first code in Name that Library badge. I have the name of who the library was named after. I've found two books where his name appears twice but it is not located in either one of them. HELP!!! It is the last badge I need to earn and I am stumped!

@elsbetherin are you SURE you have the correct first name? It starts with an A and is 7 letters long. If you have the correct name, the book will be the first one listed in the catalog.

Submitted by willow on Fri, 08/29/2014 - 11:01am

There's a typo (letters transposed) in the clue given after finding the first code in the kraken badge: it should be CDLUGTKZC, not CDLUGKTZC. I don't think it is enough to mess anyone up for long, though.

Submitted by Lmd3577 on Fri, 08/29/2014 - 11:43am

To all the summer gamers out there,
I am working on "The Swans Song" badge and I need helping the second codeword in the badge. I have looked up what river they are looking for and I think I have eighter am typing it in the wrong way or I may not nave the right one at all together. When I go to type in the anwser I eighter get one anwser and there is no codeword or I type in the same codeword with river added and I get several more anwsers and no codeword so I do not know what I did wrong. I am hoping some of you gamers out there can help me with some more clues on where to find the codeword.
Thanks so much for the help,
Lmd3577

Submitted by yaldah on Fri, 08/29/2014 - 1:31pm

Thanks everyone who gave me advice on the Kraken badge - I think I might just be too lazy to tackle it. Ah, well. I really appreciate your trying to help me, though. :D

Submitted by asopijw65 on Fri, 08/29/2014 - 2:20pm

Just saw that the master badges were added! Sadly I am missing some Polkemania bonus codes, and finding them out of context is pretty tough. Anyone have any more hints for these bonus codes?

HINT: AADL actually has the film they're riffing on here, under a different name, but in its original German!
HINT: Nakarjakov plays a famously difficult and insectile piece on this disc. Transform it to keep evil at Bay!
HINT: One word of this title is also almost a Pokémon! Take a bunch of them around the track like in the title, that's your code!
HINT: There's a pokemon who shares 5 letters with our friend Nipper. You won't find this Pokémon in the catalog, but you will find the animal it gets its first 3 letters from hanging out with a giraffe.

**Look up your badge to see where you found these things; the badge info provides the name of the item in question

POLKéMANIA No. 006
HINT: AADL actually has the film they're riffing on here, under a different name, but in its original German!
HINT: Nakarjakov plays a famously difficult and insectile piece on this disc. Transform it to keep evil at Bay!
HINT: One word of this title is also almost a Pokémon! Take a bunch of them around the track like in the title, that's your code!

POLKéMANIA No. 079
HINT: There's a pokemon who shares 5 letters with our friend Nipper. You won't find this Pokémon in the catalog, but you will find the animal it gets its first 3 letters from hanging out with a giraffe.

Bonus #7 (from 006) is driving me nuts.

@willow I'm also having trouble with the Pokémon bonus #7. Have tried a ton of variations on the title and pretty sure I found the correct Pokémon name, though I tried a couple of others as well. I think I might just be getting the syntax wrong, or I could be way off. Can anyone offer us a hint, please?

@Fevvers - I finally got the 7th bonus code in the wee hours last night. I must have been over thinking it before. Look at the title of the album that had the 6th Polkémania code. Then find yourself a list of all the Pokemon until you find one who's name just jumps out at you as being part of the album's name if it had a typo in it. Your code is the album title with the Pokemon name replacing the similar word.
I hope that makes sense. By this point in the summer game I am so sleep deprived that my ability to express myself is stretched pretty thin.

@Zekicmom & @willow - Ok, I was confused because I was looking at the song track titles due to the mention in the whole original clue, but now I have the one similar to the album title, I think (a*******) but cannot for the life of me get the code right. Will you please give me a hint and tell me how many characters it should be? I'm trying a million variations on the title and name, with and without the Pokémon pluralized ("take a bunch of them..."), and am just bashing my head against the wall at this point.

@Fevvers - the title of the album is "R_____ w__ S_____". The Pokémon you are looking for has a name that is a lot like the word that starts with S. Substitue that word with the Pokémon and the title is your code. Maybe that's too much info for a hint, but with only 26 hours left of the game, what the heck.

@Zekicmon - Thank you so much for the help! I was obviously on the completely wrong track. I think when I went back to the Pokémon badge steps, I must have gotten the wrong one to work from. Thank you from the bottom of my sleep-deprived soul.

@Fevvers - you're welcome. There are so many codes I never would have gotten without this forum to get hints, help and encouragement from other players. I too have lost a lot of sleep to the summer game........

Fevvers, I was doing *exactly* what you were doing. I was running Jerry Springer around and so on. I am too old for Pokemon, and my kids are not interested, so I have no clue how I managed to finish the badge.

I can't get more than half the Star Wars codes, either. When I was growing up, only boys were into it! Clearly a pop culture fail....except the Wanna Dance with Somebody badge was a breeze!

I loved the website for cracking frequency based codes -- I never thought I could do them, but having the website fill in the letters was brilliant! I was always too lazy to try things because it was such a grind to keep erasing and trying again.

Submitted by Kaydence paige on Fri, 08/29/2014 - 2:39pm

Plants vs zombies
(Posted on other thread but this one gets more attention)

#4 I found the plant I think C***** but when I put it in the catalog I get 5 results and no codes... Help please?

Submitted by amym on Fri, 08/29/2014 - 3:40pm

I went to Bivouac today to get the sponsor code, and when I entered it, I was told that the code expired this morning at 12:00 am. I thought they would be good through Aug 31. What's up?

Submitted by LibraryMaven on Fri, 08/29/2014 - 4:54pm

Help! I am very pleased with myself for getting the Pokemania Master badge (some of those badges were *hard*) but although the badge itself says that I'm 100% complete it also says that I have not yet completed this badge, and the badge is still unhighlighted on my list. I notice that only 12 people have the badge, and I'm wondering if that's because other people are having this issue. Assistance would be much appreciated.

.....Never mind. As soon as I entered this comment, the badge started functioning properly.

I did love the Pokemania series, by the way.

Maybe it's a bit slow to register? I am also having this issue. Maybe this comment will fix it.

Edit: Yup! That fixed it. Guess we have to get some points before it'll count it.

Submitted by SBNB on Fri, 08/29/2014 - 8:22pm

Thanks for the tips! I dragged myself back there through rush hour traffic and found my missing code.

Submitted by jennifer-ricks on Fri, 08/29/2014 - 10:38pm

I sure enjoyed those you can learn a lot from Lydia badges and now we know what they all had in common. How entertaining.

@Kaydence, I tried recreating what I did to track down the 4th Plants v Zombies and I can't figure it out for anything! I'm pretty sure I looked up "purple toothy bite plants vs zombies" and read the p-v-z wikia entry. But searching all likely terms now doesn't lead to the code. Sorry!!

I admire those of you who did the Polkemania badges. I got sidetracked onto one (when a code showed up while searching for something else) so decided to finish it. It was super hard!

Submitted by sara on Sat, 08/30/2014 - 10:16am

The FORCE is not with me. And I thought the Karken badge was difficult! I only found 1/2 of the Star War's clues, I've looked up all of the main characters. Any hints?

Help! I can't figure out the 3rd Star Wars clue. I know who it is (3 letter first name), but the hint 'HINT: Sneaky hiding from the galactic empire in a book about an earthly empire.' Isn't working for me! I've tried the first name along with empire, with earthly empire, etc and have looked at EVERY non star wars book --- and nothing!! UGH... Please help if you can...

@sara - I had a hard time getting started with this one, but finally it clicked for me (for all but one code). Which #'s are you still working on and what is the hint? Also - for our two 'robot' heroes - spllit their names as the first 2 letters and then the last 2 letters.

@ssmyth

Thank you so much! Splitting the robot names worked- I never would have thought of that! I did try several different spellings, capitalizations, etc. How frustrating! I spent so much time on this -it was really bugging me. THANK YOU!!!!

Submitted by Fevvers - STAR473 on Sun, 08/31/2014 - 1:15am

Finished the Kraken badge! I am delirious with - well, I'm not sure with what, because I'm so delirious. It's very daunting at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's not too bad, and gives you a massive sense of accomplishment. It took me a lot of time, though.

As others have said, DEFINITELY use the website linked to in hint #2. And look for repeating letter groups, especially ones that are on their own (and therefore must be "A" or "I") or common 3-letter words that could be "THE".

Submitted by Gabriela Valderrama on Sun, 08/31/2014 - 2:17pm

I know it's the last day of the game, but can anyone help me with the Star Wars badge? I'm so confused and don't even know where to start!

Just enter Star Wars character names but separate first and last name. So if Jane Doe was a main good guy character search for "Jane" and look at result entries that are NOT Star Wars related. Then search for "Doe" and so on. The hints can also help but you may need Google if you don't know the character names. Separating the robot names is sometimes just guessing. XX-XX or something like that depending on the robot.

Submitted by Gabriela Valderrama on Sun, 08/31/2014 - 4:00pm

@mjanen thanks so much! One more question though, are there certain characters or a group of characters to search? Or just random Star Wars characters?

Thanks for the idea on name separation, mjanen . I was driving myself batty because I'd separated one name per the Internet Movie Database. Thanks again!

Another hint: I had also wasted time figuring out the last name of a certain character who goes by a title and searching for that. Don't bother. Stick with what that character is commonly known as.

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