Assistance
Rules
Goal
Your goal is to help other people. How you choose to do this is up to you.
Time
Day Of The Figurines is one day in the life of the town. The game runs every day for 24 days: each day equals one hour in the town. The game runs from 25th July.
Text Messages
You will receive text messages from time to time (but never between 11pm and 11am). They will tell you where you figurine is, if they have met anyone, what events are taking place near you. You play the game by replying to these text messages. We suggest that you save the number 07797 882 310 as Day Of The Figurines in your phone's contact list: every message you ever send should go to this number. Blast Theory will pay for all messages you receive, you will pay for all messages you send. It is up to you to choose whether to respond to incoming messages.
Other Players
You can chat with other players when your figurine meets theirs by sending text messages to the game number. You will never be able to text another player directly and no other player will ever be able to text you directly: we will never give your mobile number to anyone else.
When your figurine meets another figurine in the street you can chat with each other. You can only ever chat with one other person in the street. At a destination you can chat with every player there. If there are too many messages, you can just leave that destination and head somewhere quieter.
Events
By going to a particular place at a particular time you can attend events in the town. You will learn about these from graffiti in the streets, posters at destinations or other players.
What is going on?
You will receive a status message every day telling you where your figurine is and what time it is in the town. You can also request a status message. Send a text that reads "Where is [NAME]?"
Reducing Messages
You can play as much or as little as you like: if you do not respond to any messages, after a while you will only receive one message a day. You can then pick the game up again when you feel like it by sending messages.
Destinations
You choose where your figurine goes in the town. Just send a message that reads "Destination: [name of destination]."
Website
Visit www.dayofthefigurines.co.uk to access extras: a map of your nearest destinations, a list of players you have met and other information.
Leaving the game
You can die - be careful what choices you make. If you want to end your game just send a text message saying "[Your figurine's name] leaves the town."
Feedback
We will develop the game after this test. Please let us have any feedback - good or bad. You can email info@dayofthefigurines.co.uk and we may also contact you via phone, text or email (if you have indicated your agreement) to ask specific questions. The game is also being studied by the Mixed Reality Lab at the University of Nottingham and the Fraunhofer Institute. You may have completed a questionnaire when you started your game and we would greatly appreciate your help at the end of the game also. You can learn more about the context for this research at www.pervasive-gaming.org