SIMAGES 2015.1 - Getting Wild with Goose Chase

Getting Wild with Goose ChaseBy Brent DarnellAs part of the entertainment during the gala at the last NASAGA conference, we played a game called GOOSE CHASE. It’s a very simple app-based game. The steps to set this up are easy:

1. Download the free Goose Chase application at https://www.goosechase.com/.
2. Set up “missions” that attendees can accomplish. Each mission has points associated with it. The harder the mission, the more points can be accumulated. Get creative with the missions and make sure that many of the missions involve groups of people. This will ensure that there will be maximum interaction.
3. Invite the attendees to download Goose Chase and sign up. This process is great for finding out more about your attendees. You can have them answer questions and post photographs that indicate the answers as a part of their sign up. For each question they answer, they receive points. Again, you can get very creative with what you ask them to provide. Make it relevant to the group and find out the information that would be great for the attendees to think about. One question might be “How did you get into gaming?” or “How do you use games for training?” or “What is your favorite game?”
4. Have a set time, set up the game and rules, and let people begin to complete missions.

Of course, many of the missions involve interactions with others. As a player, you can choose to go it alone, but many of the assigned missions need to be completed by small groups. Here is a sampling of what you might have to accomplish:

• Take a photo of your group inspired by a famous painting or statue
• Take a photo of at least two people dancing
• Take a picture of two or more people planking in an unusual location
• Take a photo of your group imitating your favorite Olympic sport
• Depict what play looks like to you, etc.

You can get very creative when you set this up. Make it fun and relevant to the group. Then the whole game becomes like a scavenger hunt. There is a frenzy and energy that is created that is quite fun.For every mission completed, players accumulate points. The winner is the one with the most points – in other words, the person who completed the most missions.I am usually the guy who blows this kind of game off. I like to watch others do it, but I am rarely interested in completing these types of games that create interaction, much less try to compete to be the winner. But playing Goose Chase at the NASAGA Conference was different. I completed the first mission which was “Get your best photo of the NASAGA gala.” Once I completed it, I looked at the standings and found out I was number one. Evidently, no one had really accomplished anything yet.That fueled me. When I saw myself in the number one position, my competitive instincts kicked in and I started doing missions with great energy and fervor. I was a maniac! It was every man for himself. I kept going and going, completing one mission after another. There was one other person who was highly competitive in this particular game. Every time I would complete a mission and take the number one spot, he would complete his own mission and take the lead. I started looking for the missions with the highest number of points. I wanted to WIN!Of course, during this process, I interacted with dozens of people I had not met previously during the conference. I learned their names and made new connections. That is a very valuable part of this game. After around fifteen or twenty minutes, a winner was announced.By the end of the game, I had come in second by just a few points. But I was not disappointed. It was great fun. This is an excellent game for creating energy and connections, and I would highly recommend it.