@PopRox84“Stuff like this is one of the reasons I love living in Pittsburgh.”

Congratulations to PopRox84, who used DM Twitter clues to find a #buckUP balloon in Shadyside! And thanks for the compliments! After a week, over 50 balloons have been dropped in various Pittsburgh neighborhoods, and people are on the hunt! To join the game and find the balloons filled with cash, follow Obscure Games on Twitter (@obscuregames) and check out the website www.scgf2com for more about the #buckUP game and the upcoming Steel City Games Fest!

What is buckUP?

It’s a game.

What?

Yep, a game. Obscure Games makes lots of ‘em.

How can I play?

You’re already playing.

Bull.

No, seriously. Just by knowing about the game, you’re playing it. You don’t need to register, provide an email, or anything.

What do I do?

Look for red and yellow balloons spread throughout the city. Some balloons contain cash. Find a balloon, pop it, and win.

Where are the balloons?

Hidden in plain sight. Every day, more balloons will appear, and a clue to their location will be broadcast on Twitter. You can follow  us @obscuregames to get the clue. If you retweet the clue, we’ll send you a direct message with another hint about the most valuable balloons.

Why are you doing this?

For fun! We play games  like this all the time. In fact, we’re organizing a festival of these games on August 27th. There’s more information about the festival on this website – check it out and come join the fun!

What’s this about re-tweeting?

Here’s the deal. Every day we’ll tweet a general clue to the location of new balloons, with the hashtag #buckUP. If you re-tweet this by 2pm, we’ll send you a direct message with an extra hint about the most valuable balloons that will be dropped the next day.

See the event on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=153802488014622&index=1

How to play:
Approach a volunteer and get an LED badge. Your LED badge represents your universe. You must always wear it proudly.

There are four alternate universes. Start in one and deliver a package to another, using certain storefronts as gates from one world to the next. You can earn a a reward for delivering certain packages, but only if the package arrives unharmed!

Look for gatekeepers in your universe, with the same-colored badge as you. Gatekeepers can pass you through to another universe and give you a new LED badge.

You can only talk to players and gatekeepers in your own universe: red-to-red, green-to-green, etc. All other players and gatekeepers are invisible to you.

Lastly, look out for chasers! They’re wearing glowing colored wire, and will steal your delivery if they tag you.

You can pre-order the kits from GreenGoose now, and GreenGoose is also reaching out to game studios (including Obscure Games, perhaps) to come up with new ways to turn everyday actions into a game.

Science Friday, with Jane McGonigal on video gaming for social change:

All Things Considered, with a story about the importance of exercise on the aging brain:

Two things. One, now that this has been released online, packs of Portland hipsters are going to actually do it, for the ironic cred.  Two, I have the Crock-Pot featured in the last scene.

Thanks to Edwin for the tip!

– A Snow Ball Fight Game –

By James Lomuscio and Adam Nelson

Capture the Flag meets your classic snowball fight in Barrage!, a new game of tactics, strategy, and good old fashioned fun.

Here’s the goal – capture your opponent’s main flag (it’s marked with a star) and bring it to your base before they do the same to you!

You can stop your opponents by hitting them with a snowball. Anyone hit with a snowball is dead, and can’t move. Dead players must keep their hands on their hips (to tell other players not to hit them again, and again, and again… and so that they can’t block snowballs with their hands!).

Dead players, don’t you worry though – the fun isn’t over! Your teammates can bring you back to your base to revive you. Any teammate who’s carrying one of your flags (you’ll have 3 to 5 total), can link arms with dead players (creating a chain if needed) and lead them back to the base – but that flag carrier is vulnerable, too; if they get hit with a snowball they’ve got to drop the flag, and that’s one more dead player!

These “bases” are areas of the battlefield outlined with orange cones (there’ll be 5 to 7 of them available at a time). Inside these bases you can post your flags to “claim the base” (that means planting the flag into the snow or ground so that it stays upright). Here’s the beauty of having a base – when a flag is up, no opponent can come into the base as long as you have at least one living player inside!

Dead players can come back into the game by touching a flag that’s posted inside one of their bases, but a player can’t revive themselves inside the same base twice in a row, so be careful to protect at least two bases, otherwise with only one base you might find your self dead… for good!

So go capture your enemy’s main flag, before yours is gone!

Formal Rules for Lawyers and People Who “Just Wanna Play by the Rules!”

Objective: To capture the opposition’s Command Flag, and bring it to one’s own Base.

Don’t Be A Jerk

Don’t be a jerk about the game. If you’re hit with a snowball, you’re hit with a snowball. And try not to aim for the face… I mean, come on. Also, no headshots or soakers.

Snowballs

A Snowball is defined as a projectile greater than 2” in diameter made only of packed snow. Projectiles including ice, rocks, or other materials are not Snowballs.

Flags

Each team has an equal number of Flags, colored to distinguish the team. One Flag from each team is designated as the Command Flag and is decorated with a star.

The Flags are pennants attached to ½” diameter PVC pipes between 5’ and 10’ tall.

Bases

A base is an area in which a Flag can be Raised (put in an upright position, claiming the Base for the team). Bases are delineated by a ring of cones 20’ in diameter. Bases belong to the team that’s Flag is Raised inside.

Dead Players

Any player is considered a Dead Player when hit with a Snowball, until they touch one of their team’s Raised Flags.

Dead Players MUST place their hands on their hips, MAY NOT carry Flags (Flag Carriers MUST immediately drop their Flag when hit with a snowball) or move unless linked by an arm with a Flag Carrier. Dead players, guided by a Flag Carrier, MAY link arms with other Dead Players.

Dead Players MAY move freely when within their team’s Base, but MUST keep their hands on their hips.

Dead Players CANNOT revive themselves within the same Base twice consecutively.

Entering a Base

Players MAY NOT enter an opposition Base while a non-Dead Player of the opposition is inside.

Flag Carriers

A player holding a Flag is considered a Flag Carrier. If two or more players’ hands are on a flag, the player whose hand is closest to the top of the pole is the Flag Carrier.

Concerning Flags that are held by a Flag Carrier, players of the opposition MAY NOT grab or otherwise handle the Flag.

Flag Carriers who become Dead Players MUST drop whatever Flags they were carrying.

Raising and Lowering Flags

Within a Base, Flags can be Lowered (taken down) at any time.

Within a Base, Flags can be Raised (mounted upright in the snow) by a Flag Carrier if no non-Dead Player of the opposition is within the Base.

Start of Play

Before beginning play, each team selects a Starting Base in which to Raise their Command Flag.

At the start of play, each team shall have all of their flags, and all players MUST stand in the Starting Base of their team’s choosing.

To begin, the teams will count down from five, yelling “Five, Four, Three, Two, One, Barrage!”

At “Barrage!”, the Command Flag MAY be planted, and all players MUST touch their Raised Command Flag before they begin playing.

Endgame

The game is over when either team’s Command Flag enters their opponent’s base. The team which captured their opponent’s Flag is the winner.