The IBBC is still up to no good.  Last week, stoptheinternational.com got a sizeable makeover.  Drop points – money caches – appeared splattered all over the United States and Europe, with specific dates and times.  Seven US locations were intercepted, their packages retrieved in the limited 3 hour time alloted for them. Only one location wasn’t retrieved – in New York City.

No worries!  The map still lists a truck-load of drop locations coming up, scheduled for times through January 21-22, and January 28-29 in the US and Europe.  Check the list below to find out if there’s a money cache drop planned near you – and if you’re in a city within range, be sure to ‘drop in’ and find the cache!  Reports of money totals, in various domestic and foreign currencies, have ranged from $80 through over $500 USD.

Be sure to visit stoptheinternational.com to get fully up to speed on the money being tracked, and the case against the IBBC.  Get a login, and join in the adventure.   You may also have a chance to win a car.  (Note: the car contest is only open to residents of the US, UK, Spain, Italy, France and Germany; but the money can be found by anyone!)

Remaining locations listed chronologically (note timezones), bold means the drop is live!:

(update: a report indicates that while the drop info is made live early, the locks themselves may not appear until the original scheduled time)

(Update 2: drop times may change at any time – Last updated  12:00amE, Jan 29)

USA (Wed Jan 21st)
(collected) – Tempe
(collected) – Miami
(collected) – Detroit
(collected) – Atlanta
(collected) – Ann Arbor
(collected) – Mesa
(collected) – El Paso
(collected) – Scottsdale
(collected) – Oakland
(collected) – Phoenix
(collected) – San Francisco
(collected) – Seattle

Europe (Thu Jan 22nd)
(collected) – Paris
(collected) – Barcelona
(collected) – Berlin
(collected) – Rome
(collected) – London

USA (Wed Jan 28th)
(collected) – New Orleans
(collected) – Pittsburgh
(canceled) – Oxford
(collected) – Washington, DC
(collected) – Tampa
(collected) – Kansas City
(collected) – Columbus
(collected) – Salt Lake City
(collected) – Tucson
(collected) – Denver
(collected) – Baltimore
(canceled) – Dayton
(collected) – Newport
(collected) – New York
(collected) – Detroit
(collected) – Atlanta
(failed) – Ashville
(collected) – Raleigh
(collected) – Gainesville
(collected) – Miami
(collected) – Boston
(collected) – Philadelphia
(canceled) – Cincinnati
(collected) – Chicago
(collected) – Minneapolis
(collected) – Mesa
(collected) – Boulder
(collected) – Durham
(failed) – College Station
(collected) – Madison
(collected) – Milwaukee
(collected) – El Paso
(collected) – Seattle
(collected) – Portland
(collected) – Providence
(collected) – Austin
(collected) – Houston
(collected) – Phoenix
(collected) – San Francisco
(collected) – Las Vegas
(collected) – San Diego
(collected) – Los Angeles

Europe (Thu Jan 29th)
1pm GMT – Paris
1pm GMT – Madrid
1pm GMT – Berlin
1pm GMT – Rome
2pm GMT – London

DON’T FORGET! – if you plan to intercept a money drop:
1) Make sure you check the website to find out the exact location of the money cache in your city when its counter hits zero!
2) Make sure you check the website to make note of the combination lock code so you can open the money cache!
3) Play nice!  You may not be the only one to get to the money cache at the appointed time. People like when people share ;)

• Join in the ongoing discussion and tracking at Unfiction
• Bookmark StopTheInternational.com
• Go see The International, starring Clive Owen, opening February 13

Tags: 42E, the international

Categories: ARGs General, Movies

Wikibruce recently received a special exclusive clue into the Legacy of Julian Teng. This comes after previously receiving this exclusive clue:

To read the entire extensive text of the document entitled “The Effects of the Tunguska Blast on an Eyewitness”, please continue and read the full article below.

• Go and visit the Julian Teng Wiki to get caught up
• Head over the GamerDNA’s ARG Community forum to connect with other players!

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: gamerdna, julian teng, wow

Categories: ARGs General, Video games

On Saturday, January 17th, a number of New Yorkers gathered at a predetermined location in Central Park, not knowing what for or who might show up. On arrival, they met with Joey from the Milwaukee Tourism Commission, who disseminated some conspiratorial information about the status of Milwaukee and recent events.

• TheRyuujinMike’s full report is here: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4
• Relia’s full report is here: part 1, part 2

The climax of the event came when Worker Power showed up and interrupted their meeting in the park. Power came running at the group in his ‘Power run’ form as seen in the promotional video, and a battle ensued… It has to be seen to be fully understood. (Well, not fully understood – it probably won’t help make anything more understood at all; but it is quite entertaining!)

On collecting the reward for defeating Worker Power, the bystanders uncovered a hidden message from Mars Madison by sorting out 100 one-dollar bills by serial number, with one letter on each (strangely, bill #42 was missing) which read:

I MADE A MISTAKE WORKING HERE, BUT I’M TOO DEEP TO QuIT 888 @ 8 AV FOR BUSINESS AND EVEN SOME PLEASURE PHASE TWO NOW BEGINS <3 MM

This led the group to an ice cream shop where they ran into the Businesswomen trio, giggling to themselves and enjoying life while sharing a milkshake. They handed over the diary of Mars Madison, which contained a number of hand-written, encoded pages. More footage of this livedrop follows:

All this to say, there’s something afoot in Milwaukee!

The full series of raw footage from the event is available in 5 parts, thanks to BigT.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

• Join in the “This Is My Milwaukee” discussion at Unfiction
• Catch up on the game wiki at mymilwaukee.wikibruce.com

Tags: thisismymilwaukee

Categories: ARGs General, Viral General

Now here is a great, and frankly a bit spooky, use of real-world media:

Tags: fringe

Categories: ARGs General, TV Series

These days, it seems the frontier fields of bio-technology and genetic research are the popular subjects to explore in most every science-fiction medium. Not to be left behind, the UK’s Channel 4 has commissioned Oil Productions Inc. (working with Mind’s Eye Media) to produce an educational ARG directed towards teenagers (but has age focus ever deterred anyone from playing?).

This one, however, is boldly purported to be “underpinned by credible, cutting edge science”, to the point of receiving support from The Wellcome Trust.

Oil’s website says about “Routes”:

Routes is not a passive viewing experience; it is a story that participants can reach out and touch, where all telephone numbers work, where the fictional bio-tech company websites are indistinguishable from their real counterparts and where characters may turn up on your doorstep asking for help. The participant is not just a fan of the game and the accompanying narrative; instead they are a tangible part of its universe with their actions shaping the events that unfold in the story.

Routes differs from most ARGs produced to date in that the narrative is underpinned by credible, cutting edge science; so much so that the format has gained recognition and investment in the form of sponsorship from The Wellcome Trust.

Channel 4 Education says:

Embedded in the game, award-winning comedian Katherine Ryan explores her own genetic make-up, and tests her DNA to find out whether it is her genes or her environment that define who she is. Can genes make you fat? Do they hide critical information about disease? Can Katherine blame her genetic make-up for the fact that she gets drunk on two beers?

As players delve deeper they are forced to explore these questions by solving puzzles, playing mini games, trading tips and collaborating on challenges, and as the broader game unravels the players will uncover a compelling mystery that lies at the heart of Routes itself. Who owns your genes? What are the pros and cons of exploring your genetic make-up? Do your genes determine who you are, or does our environment play a greater role?

Read Channel 4 Education’s official press release, and watch for more details at the official site www.routesgame.com and the game launch itself in upcoming weeks.

Tags: channel 4, routes

Categories: ARGs General, Educational

Before posting any news for 2009, I just want to pass along a (late) Happy New Year to all Wikibruce readers, and all the best for the upcoming year of ARGs in 2009.

 Here’s hoping for an exciting, entertaining, productive year!

Tags: 2009

Categories: Site Info