Enrolling, Entering and the Game Itself

The game card first carries the “Enroll” button. The organizer accepts the application — by hand in some games, automatically in others — and “Enter the game” appears in its place. The button starts working once the game has begun.

Everything you need while playing is on one page: the level name and the answer box at the top, the task text below it, and under that the hints, which open on a timer or are taken by a button for a penalty.

The page never reloads: an answer leaves and comes back in place, and the “Previous answers” list remembers what has already been tried.

The looks are set by the author of the game: colours, fonts and images differ from game to game, but the answer box and the hints always stay where they are.

Not in every game — only if the author turned it on:

• A bag of items — an icon at the side; it holds what you have found along the way. An item can be taken out and applied to a place on the task image.
• A GPS icon in the header — on levels where a code is counted for arriving at the right spot. The colour of the icon says whether the page can see where you are. While the icon is on, the engine records your path: the game's author can see it for 90 days — to settle a disputed spot or spoofed GPS.
• A QR scanner — a button that opens the camera right on the page.
• The “Dark mode” switch — in the game menu. Sometimes the author forces a theme on a particular level; then there is no switch on it.

A message from the organisers does not arrive as a notification — it appears on the page after the next refresh. If you have been quiet for a while and have not refreshed, you have not seen it yet.

City games are played from a phone, and the level page is built for a narrow screen: the same answer box on top, the same text underneath.

• Statistics and the rating — what to look at during a game and after it.
• The team