If you loved ‘Where’s Waldo’ as a kid, you’re going to love ‘Place Spotting.’ Combining ‘Hiding Go Seek’ with geographic riddles courtesy of Google Maps, the online game has practically become an instant hit—something Martin Fussen, a Swiss computer programmer, didn’t exactly anticipate. Of course, he’s not complaining!
“It is used very often by teachers for their classes,” explained Fussen. “The response has been overwhelming. When it was released, the game was heavily covered in German and Swiss newspapers. A national German TV station even had a short story about the game in one of its tech-news formats.”
Soon after the site was launched, more than 5,000 quests were launched by players. Today, there are more 60,000.
“People love the game,” stated Fussen. “The site attracts about 11,000 users each month. While more than half of our players come from Germany, we’re hoping to gain more traction in the USA, Australia and the United Kingdom.”
‘Place Spotting’ is pretty easy to play. You’re basically given an image to start out with, and then you have to find it on the map.
“In addition, you get up to four hints to help you find out where the place shown in the picture is located on earth. When you find the place, the quest is solved,” stated Fussen. “This might sound a bit trivial, but it can become a very addictive time-killer. Some users have solved more than 10,000 quizzes already.”
The site also makes it possible for users to create their own quests and then share them by e-mail or on Facebook. When users register, they get access to additional analytical features. (Example: complete list of created quests, number of solved quests, etc.)
According to Fussen, as the site continues to grow, it will also continue to evolve.
“In the future, I’d like to add more community features, a better rating system as well as more possibilities to share the quests,” Fussen said.
To learn more about ‘Place Spotting,’ click here (http://placespotting.com/
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