Badge Drop #9: Classic Review Tips

Fri, 08/05/2022 - 12:00pm by SaraP

It’s that time when we start rewarding you for all the REVIEWS you’ve written this summer about books and movies, CROSSWORDS and CHICKENS! So here’s a tip that might TIP THE SCALES in your points balance: you can write a review about any item in our CATalog!!! Technically our catalog doesn’t include crosswords or chickens, but it does include FIELDS for searching (though you can’t review the search field itself). It also includes CLASSIC WHODUNITS (you can totally review those). There are a lot of RED things, too (people love red cover art for all sorts of media!!!). Heck there’s probably a bunch of books about TEDDY bears and Teddy-the-dogs, if not Teddy Talks. 

So leave your fellow library lovers some POWERFUL reviews and then go maybe even REVIEW the REVIEWS with the Points-O-Matic Review Reviewer mode!!! Or, if you love a hands-on activity that really builds community and allows for some healthy competition, maybe participate in (or just show up and attend) the 17th annual LEGO Contest this Sunday, Aug. 7 at Kensington Hotel! Or do ZERO of those things (but at least do LEGO - it's gonna be rad) and simply use your IMAGINATION to solve some badges, because we are dropping L’EMOUR of them right now!...

Well, after we remind you that you have just 10 days left to create your own Lawn or Library Code: the last day to create is Monday August 15th! 

No time to WASTE - the POWER is YOURS!

BADGE DROP #9

You’re WELCOME and, as always, THANKS for PLAYING!

Badge Drop #8: The Great 8

Fri, 07/29/2022 - 12:00pm by ohheyitselle

It’s week EIGHT and quite frankly, that’s GREAT!!! Or in the paraphrased words of Lady Gaga it’s INCREDIBLE, SHOW-STOPPING, SPECTACULAR, NEVER THE SAME, TOTALLY UNIQU-… Wait… did we say SPECTACULAR???? *checks notes* WE DID!!!

What a WILD coincidence because TOMORROW just so happens to be the SUMMER GAME SPECTACULAR. Did you get that?? The Summer Game Spectacular will be on Saturday July 30, 2022: 1:00pm to 4:00pm at Veterans Memorial Park (2150 Jackson Ave)!!! There will be GAMES!!! CODES!!! FACE PAINTING!!! POINTS!!! LIVE PERFORMANCES!!! And FUN!!! Click HERE for more information!! 

But all of that is tomorrow. Today, we have CHICKEN!!! LEGOS!!! ART!!! OLD NEWS!!! FROGS!!! CROSSWORDS!!! SEQUELS!!! And MORE!!!!!

ALSO, BIG NEWS!!!!! You asked and we listened!!!! Starting today, the Summer Game Map has received an update that makes it easier to tell which streets and blocks have Lawn Codes! There are just as many codes as before, but we tweaked things so the heat map is more helpful when you are out and about! SAME CODES, MORE SPECIFIC BLOBS!!!!!! You still can't catch 'em all, but you'll have an easier time catching several. We've ALSO added pins for Explorer and Partner badges found around town!! HUZZAH!!!!!!! 

Our exclamation point counter is going off the charts, so we better get to the DROP!!!!!!!!!!

BADGE DROP #8

Stay SPECTACULAR, dear players, and as always THANKS FOR PLAYING!!! 

Badge Drop #7: Legendary Star Festival

Fri, 07/22/2022 - 12:00pm by SaraP

It may be Art Fair weekend. It may be a perfect time to lounge on the BEACH. Or maybe it's time to CATCH A MOVIE in the air conditioning. Perhaps it would be best to ditch those full length INSEAMS for some TINY shorts! But here at SG Headquarters we have regular-length shorts and STARS in our eyes for all you STAR GIVERS out there! So we’re SEIZING THE CLAY - and the DAY! - and simply GIVING away a ton of points for all those stars you’ve given the items in our collection! 

So maybe stay at HOME (or come to the library!) and water your PLANTS (or leave them little cacti alone) and, when the summer heat lulls in the evenings, look to the SKIES (or the catalog) and admire the constellations of stars that YOU have worked so hard to BUILD up there! Of course, if you’ve been a SLACKER, well it’s time to GIVE IT A SQUIRREL and rate some items you’ve seen, watched, or listened to! Or DON’T! It’s totally up to YOU how you earn your POINTS!! We’re just here to give them out!!! Okay, here you go:

BADGE DROP #7

You’re TRULY LEGENDARY! THANKS for PLAYING, superstar!

Badge Drop #6: Mid-Summer Crisis

Fri, 07/15/2022 - 12:00pm by ohheyitselle

Mid-July already?????? NO NEED TO PANIC!!!! While summer seems to be CRUISING ALONG, we here at SG Headquarters are pumping the BREAKS because we’re still SAVORING this SUMMER for all it is!! NO saying SAYONARA to SUMMER yet!!!!!

Badges are still dropping, Chicken still has loads of adventures to go on, Crossword puzzles are still puzzin’, things are somehow STILL getting lost in those dang LEGO bricks, there is still a whole HERD of RED critters to discuss, and Lawn & Library codes keep popping up all over the GALAXY. 

PLUS, our first EVER A2CAF Mini will be TOMORROW, JULY 16th at the Downtown library!!! You can find the day’s information HERE!!! 

AROUND AND AROUND WE GO!!! 

WHEN SUMMER GAME STOPS??  NOBODY KNOWS!!!! 

Well…we DO know when it stops, but we still have buckets of time before we get there!! So for now…. CHECK OUT THESE BADGES!! 

BADGE DROP #6

Have SO MUCH FUN, stay cool, and THANKS FOR PLAYING!!!

Badge Drop #5: LAWNS and LIBRARIES and PRIZES, OH MY!

Fri, 07/08/2022 - 12:00pm by SaraP

ALRIGHT! Here we are - it’s week 5 and we don’t know where the TIME is FLYING! You’ve been LOGging your reads, your listens, your watches. And while you’ve been logging, we’ve been PINEing to give you more points!!!! Soooooo…here you go: all the Log Jammer badges that reward you for…well…all your WONDERFUL logging!

It’s a FRUITFUL week here at SG Headquarters in more ways than one, though. The Game is like a FARM (perhaps a tree farm) - orderly little rows of badges flourishing under the hot sun as far as the eye can see! Not only can you earn this week’s cornucopia of DIGITAL bragging rights (aka badges), you can now do these things, too:

Browse THE SUMMER GAME SHOP!
- The shop opens for PRIZE BROWSING at 6pm tonight! View, browse, drool over what you want, and get ready...
- The shop opens for ORDERING at noon on Monday July 11! 
- FUN FACT: Nothing will run out of stock, so order any time through August 27th.
- Choose up to 4 items and spend any year’s points!
- These prizes are ALL the prizes available this year and everything will be in The Summer Game Shop when it opens for orders. No Classic Game Shop this year.

Create LAWN & LIBRARY CODES!
Aha! The moment you’ve all been waiting for…the return of HOME CODES! Well, SORT OF. Home Codes have evolved and SG Headquarters is now bringing you better lawns & libraries all across town with LAWN & LIBRARY CODES!!!!!!!!!!

What it is
Starting NOW, you can create your very own code to display either on a Lawn Code Sign OR on a Library Code Card. Lawn Code Signs are special lawn signs (which we provide) that you place next to your sidewalk, street, or parking lot. Library Code Cards are special mini code signs (which we also provide) that get zip-tied to one of our five adorable Summer Game Stops. What is a Summer Game Stop, you ask? It's an SG sign on a perforated pole outside each branch - kind of like a bus stop sign, or a train stop sign, or just a stop sign, BUT FOR FINDING CODES :D

How it works
1. Stop into any branch to pickup a Lawn Code Sign OR Library Code Card BEFORE you register your code online…
2. Create the code by going to play.aadl.org, selecting the My Players quick link, and scrolling to “Player Details”. Click the link to "Create a Lawn or Library Code" and follow the directions.
3. Write the code legibly in ALLCAPS on your sign/card.
4. Put it up in your lawn or on one of our Summer Game Stops! 
5. You have until August 15th to create a code, to give players a chance to happen upon them before the game ends.
6. Use the new Summer Game Map to get started with Summer Game Stop locations (updates coming soon)!
7. It’s not like Pokemon - you will NOT BE ABLE TO CATCH ‘EM ALL!!! Have fun as you stumble upon these serendipitous little surprises throughout the community!

Phew!!! Now that you’re IN the LOOP, it’s TIME to KNOCK out some code-hunting. And code-making. And code-happening-upon. And prize-previewing. Go!

BADGE DROP #5

Thanks for reading this super long Badge Drop and THANKS for PLAYING!

Badge Drop #4: Flamboyant Newt Legends

Fri, 07/01/2022 - 12:00pm by SaraP

Week 4 is here and we’ve got more FLAMBOYANT badges 4 you! You’ll be VIRTUALLY gobsmacked by all the NEWT stuff rolling out today. Whether you’re still feeling a bit GREEN or already naming yourself an SG LEGEND, we aren’t too CHICKEN to claim that we’ve got a little something of everything. So SCRAP all your other plans (no not really - unless you were planning a HEIST) and CALL your best buds (actually a good idea!) to PONDER your way through more puzzles, more scavenging, and all the other ARTSY and non-artsy points-earning activities! 

Speaking of new stuff, we are ONE WEEK AWAY from two exciting things! 

On JULY 8th: 

• The Summer Game Shop opens in its entirety! (don’t worry, everything for 2022 will be listed when the shop opens, and we won’t run out of anything, so you have all summer to earn points and place orders)
• Lawn & Library Codes launch! (a little more on that right now…)

What are LAWN & LIBRARY CODES, you ask??? Great question! They are the new, improved, slightly different, but VERY SIMILAR iteration of the incredibly popular Home Codes from previous years! There will be lawn signs. There will be library signs. There will be OPTIONS about which one you choose to use, if you want to use one at all! Bottom line: You’ll get a chance to create YOUR VERY OWN CODE for fellow players to HAPPEN UPON! Hang tight and stay tuned for details on Friday July 8th - we're almost there!

BADGE DROP #4

You’re WELCOME and THANKS for PLAYING!

Badge Drop #3: The Three's Knees

Fri, 06/24/2022 - 12:00pm by ohheyitselle

We at Summer Game Headquarters really appreciate you. We appreciate you SO much, that we come back week after week to bring you BADGES, CODES, POINTS, and
(hopefully) JOY!!!! 

This is our last badge drop of June and we’ve got some EXCITING THINGS in SHOP-er, STORE for you come July, but for now a poem in honor of YOU, dear player: 

At times we ponder what SG has BECOME; 

With so much to see and so much to DO.

Our only hope is for you having endless FUN!! 

Codes-smodes! We care about YOU!!!!!!!!!

You’ve been a busy BEE,

But it’s time for BADGE DROP THREE! 

(Okay... Maybe it's not the BEST poem...)

BADGE DROP #3

Enjoy these badges, we’ll be back with more next week, and as always…..

THANKS FOR PLAYING!!!!!!! 

Badge Drop #2: Back at it AGAIN?!?!

Fri, 06/17/2022 - 12:00pm by ohheyitselle

Whew. That was a LOT of badges last week. You’re probably STILL working on ALLLLL those badges that dropped… Your poor fingers have probably typed so much your FINGERPRINTS are wearing off. Your eyes probably hurt from SEARCHING for so many CODES. Heck, you might even have RETINA damage from staring for those darn BRIGHT GREEN building codes that suddenly appeared all over the library!!!! 

Yep. You must be MISERABLE from all the PUNS, CODES, POINTS, and promises of future PRIZES… absolutely miserable.

…It would be a SHAME if someone gave you EVEN MORE badges. 

Hmm? What was that?? You WANT more badges? Surely that can’t be right. Surely you’re absolutely OVER whatever this Summer Game thing is. Surely we’ll stop saying surely. SURELY YOU DON’T WANT THIS NEXT SET OF BADGES!!! Well… if you say so. 

Since you asked so nicely despite our warnings… HERE’S MORE BADGES!!!!

BADGE DROP #2

Enjoy these badges, dear player, because it’s only week 2 of Summer Game 2022 and we have a LOT MORE in STORE!!!! 

Have fun, stay cool in this ABSURDLY HOT weather, and THANKS FOR PLAYING!!!!!!!

Badge Drop #1: Stop, DROP, and GO!

Fri, 06/10/2022 - 12:00pm by ohheyitselle

The temperature may be RISING, but we’re focused on what’s DROPPING today. Some drops are better than others, obviously. For example…

Dropping a BEAT?? GOOD!! 

Dropping a FRYING PAN on your toe?? BAD!!

Dropping the CAKE on your great aunt during her birthday party??? NOT ONLY EMBARRASSING but also HAUNTING!!!!

The first set of SUMMER GAME BADGES dropping to YOU??? JAW-DROPPINGLY GREAT!!!!!!

SPOILER ALERT: The last item on that list is HAPPENING RIGHT NOW! 

Everyone’s favorite collection of scavenger hunts and puzzles is BACK AGAIN and we have CRYPTIDS to search for, BUILDINGS to explore, ART to admire, CROSSWORDS to solve, PLACES to go, PLACES to go to but only in your MIND, and way MORE!!!!!

Pick that jaw up off the floor, because you’ll need it back in place to DROP ALL OVER AGAIN when you see ALL THESE BADGES! 

BADGE DROP #1

Ready for more wild news??? Badges drop EVERY FRIDAY at NOON!!!  We here at SG Headquarters have our caps lock ON and we are JUST GETTING STARTED!!!!!!!!!!

So stay tuned, stay cool, and THANKS FOR PLAYING!

LET'S GOOOOOOO!!

Fri, 06/10/2022 - 10:00am by ohheyitselle

It’s June 10th which can only mean one thing… THE MOST MAGICAL TIME OF THE YEAR HAS BEGUN!!!! And no, we don’t mean construction season, we mean…

THE SUMMER GAME 2022 IS HERE!!!!!!!!!!!

We have ALL SORTS OF THINGS up our sleeves for YOU and ONLY YOU… and your friends… and your neighbors…

You may be thinking that “THINGS'' is a very vague and weirdly loud and capitalized descriptor and you would be ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!!! So let us clarify!!! RIGHT NOW you can:

-START with our GETTING STARTED BADGES! 

-GO to each AADL location and collect codes! Each branch has a BIG ‘OL BANNER CODE as well as some BRANCH EXPLORER codes within each library building. CAN YOU FIND THEM ALL???

-PLAY any or all Points-o-Matic modes! This option is ACTUALLY ENDLESS so CLEAR YOUR SCHEDULES, FOLKS.  

-VISIT the AADL catalog to rate and review some things you like (or don’t like??) WE WANNA KNOW!

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

-WATCH or ATTEND  Events either in-person or online and find the CODES EVERYWHERE! 

-CLEAR your schedule for BADGE DROPS at NOON every FRIDAY of the GAME...STARTING TODAY! 

-GET HYPE for absolutely no other reason besides the fact that SUMMER GAME SEASON STARTING!!!!

Getting Started Badge Series 

BUT WHAT ABOUT HOME CODES? No worries, yard-trompers and MISCELLANEOUS ADVENTURERS! We've got the next iteration of the fun that began with HOME CODES coming in July, featuring colorful LAWN SIGNS and a whole new way for YOU to place a game code OUTSIDE YOUR FAVORITE LIBRARY BRANCH!

Our new approach will focus less on getting all the codes, and more on making it possible for everyone to place a code in the community that others can find and redeem. Stay tuned for that new game feature, plus the launch of the 2022 SUMMER GAME SHOP on JULY 8TH!

Well what are you waiting for???? GET GOING and THANKS FOR PLAYING!