What if I told you there was a location-based game, like Pokémon GO, where you join teams, seek out targets and capture them for points?
What if I also told you that UNCG's campus is one of the most popular and plentiful places in the Triad to play said game?
Meet Munzee. It's a QR code-based, scavenger hunt-type game that requires you to go different real-world places to find small QR-code stickers, or "munzees," which can be stuck on light poles, the back of signs, fences, electrical boxes, or other different fixtures. You then scan, or "capture," the munzee to get points, which can range between 5 and 100 points depending on the type of munzee. That's the goal of the game—to rack up points, level up, and capture as many munzees as you can. It's simple, and terribly addictive.
This is what a munzee looks like when deployed and ready to be captured.
You can also deploy your own munzees. You can put them practically anywhere, and when other players capture your munzees, you get points for their capture, called "cap-on" points. There are lots of different types of munzees to deploy and capture clan weapons; Zodiacs; mysteries; gems; hotels, motels and resorts; virtuals; and of course, the standard 5-point "greenie," among many others! There are even "mythological" munzees that jump from greenie to greenie. They're much more rare and worth the most points.
One of the greatest things about the game is that you can join teams, or "clans." There are different difficulty levels that you can choose from based on the intensity of your gameplay, and if your clan complete's the month's various capture requirements, everyone in the clan wins munzees to deploy. You can compete with the other people within your clan, or compete as a whole clan against other clans. Or you can just play in the clan war to meet the requirements and win munzees at the end of the month. It's up to you how you want to play. Regardless, the clan war is one of my favorite things about Munzee. It keeps you playing every month, and you get rewarded for it!
I love Munzee—it's so easy to capture munzees, and it's exciting watching points rack up for the day. The point system is like a video game, except it's all real-life, in real places and with real people as your fellow players. It's that real-life element that I like best. A lot of the elements of Munzee are similar to Pokémon GO, like the real-time map, capturing your target, and competition with fellow teams and players. Both games also get you up and moving, which many of us—let's be honest here—have trouble doing on our own.
The Munzees in the Spring Garden Street, Oakland Avenue, baseball stadium, and upperclassmen apartment area.
One of the main differences between Pokémon GO is that munzees really do exist in the real world, and have an actual physical element to them. It's exciting to be walking down the street and spot one on a sign or light pole- even if you weren't looking for it. Munzees are usually deployed in a large group, so you can capture 10 or 20 Munzees (or more) without even getting back in the car. It's very convenient, and makes it easy to get lots of points at once!
And to my fellow UNCG students, there are dozens of munzees already on UNCG's campus, lots of them I deployed myself, and lots of room for many more. Our school is the perfect school for a serious Munzer, because few colleges are so filled with Munzees.
The Munzees in the music building, high-rise, Gray Drive, Tate Street, EUC, and College Avenue area.
Trust me, the more munzees you capture, the harder it'll be to stop. It's a very addicting game, with a vibrant local and worldwide community that you'll love just as much as the game itself, if not more.
So maybe next time you're out catching Pokémon, you can try capturing a few munzees too- and maybe you'll see why I'm so addicted to the game! You can download Munzee onto your smartphone from the App Store or Google Play Store. Once you've downloaded the app, scan this code and you'll recieve 50 to get you started on your Munzee adventure.
Munzee on!
