Munzee

[Spice]

I just happened to see someone like "Munzee" on Facebook a couple of days ago and of course I had to see what it was.

There is a web site http://www.munzee.com/ that says that it takes geocaching to the next level.

Here is the description from the web site:


Munzee is a real world scavenger hunt game where items are found in the real world and captured using your smartphone. You then level up and gain rank based on your score. Points are obtained by capturing other people's munzees or when your deployed munzees are captured by someone else. Munzee is based off of the fundamentals of geocaching and adds another layer of fun to the hunt. Badges can be earned by unlocking specific achievements.

What do munzees look like?

Munzees come in any size or shape but all must contain a QR-code style barcode. The barcode combined with your GPS coordinates are the essential gameplay elements of munzee.

Munzees can be hidden in containers, camouflaged or even in plain view.

It is free to sign up and I downloaded the free app. I see there are a couple of "Munzees" deployed in Arkansas, but I just wanted to start a thread for discussion. Looks interesting, but with no guidelines I am afraid some could abuse it and slap them in places they shouldn't be. They have a discussion page that does list "Player Code of Conduct", but it is blank.

I just bought a Droid X a few months ago and had seen some geocaches that were hidden that involved a puzzle using a QR barcode, but I haven't went any further with it.

Who all has a smartphone ? What do you think about Munzee?

[Gaddiel]

Very cool idea. I think something like this is a great addition to traditional geocaching. I still believe that geocaching's long-term survival depends on its ability to adapt in a society that is always changing.

Wayne

[cfd29]

More of them are springing up! I plan on putting out a few around here, you can hide them or just have them in plain sight, in a cache or out on their own, I wish they had a way to download to your gps, but maybe that will be coming

[Flyfishingcachers]

We have placed a few in Hot Springs area in the last few days. Already found. ArkFireMedic & 2Ter came from ElDorado to find them today. Put mine in our geocaches to maybe draw those who don't already geocache.

[Ashallond]

I don't have an iphone 4, so I can't play with this.

I really hope the new phone comes out in September as rumored.

[arkfiremedic]

I've got the 3GS and it works well, but my wife's 3G doesn't because it doesn't have "auto-focus".

2ter and I had fun yesterday scoring our first munzee find and our first munzee "FTC" - First to Capture!

Thanks flyfishingcachers!

[chimps8mybaby]

My 3G will read QR codes but Munzee wouldn't download because of no autofocus. It looks like fun. I did some smartphone caches in Las Vegas and they were a blast!

[Savoy]

I plan on doing a few of these... even if it doesn't last long, it looks like fun!

[idratherbehiking]

Just got my IPhone yesterday and just had to try it out on the way home today. There just happened to be one pretty close to one of my caches not far from home. I thought I might be the first capture it but someone else beat me to it yesterday. This could be an interesting idea to give all the locals in an area something to do when they have found all the caches in their city. It could also be integrated into a multi cache somehow. Figuring out a way for anyone to do it even without a smart phone would be the trick.

[gingerose]

I found one in New York before I flew out on Sunday. I was FTC!!! I had a bit of difficulty as the internet connection on the iphone was not so great where it was hidden.

[Savoy]

I have deployed 5 of these in Central Little Rock over the last two days. We'll see if anyone comes and gets them :-)

[Buckshot/MamaLlama]

Well, to answer the op's question. I have a smartphone and just saw Savoy's post. Being that I am in Little Rock for a conference I thought I might download the app and try to capture the ones he has placed. Bad news, I have a winmo phone and per the munzee download page they are only supporting ios and android. So, all Blackberry, winmo/wp7, and any other smartphone users are out of luck. Guess this will just make me wish my upgrade time was closer.

[arkfiremedic]

I've hidden three in South Arkansas and one in North Louisiana. I've found seven with four FTCs! I've got two friends (one being TinmanJones as G3) hiding munzees down here. Should have some good huntin' down here soon.

[Ashallond]

If Apple will hurry up with their new model iphone, I could do this. but the 3G doesn't work with this.

[captaincooder]

I've been scheming a multi-cache using this technology for months. I've got some ideas and have tested them out successfully, just have to condense them all together into a cohesive plan. Although a smartphone would be most efficient, a digital camera is all that would be needed (and of course, a GPS receiver). I had a feeling that no one would want to do the cache because of the smartphone aspect, but now I think the time is ripe, because "everybody's got one." As geocachers, we are usually the first to latch on to new technological gadgets, and the Munzee idea is just a stimulant, as I see more and more of these QR/2D codes popping up.

[Savoy]

... I have a smartphone and just saw Savoy's post. Being that I am in Little Rock for a conference I thought I might download the app and try to capture the ones ... Guess this will just make me wish my upgrade time was closer.

Sorry to hear that about your type of phone and munsee's. I made a few more of these to deploy in little rock - if someone in AR is going to start looking for these, there a good chance they could be from around here. After this next set, I'm going to wait awhile and see if any of them ever get logged. I'll probably to 5 more so I can hit the next level, and then 'wait and see' what happens with these.

Take care out there!!

- S

[arkfiremedic]

There has been a munzee explosion over Lower Arkansas in preparation for "Fired Up For Geocaching" next month! Might have to change the title to "Fired up For Geocaching and Munzees!".

[SJClimber]

Stuck in the same position as others with Blackberry. Bummer..

[Jffok]

I tried to download the app on my 3g I phone. No dice.

[arkfiremedic]

Yea, Judy it must be at least a 3GS.