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Similar to geocaching but based on QR codes. You need a smart phone to play it. Download the ap and capture the QR code. GPS on the phone checks you are in the correct location to prevent cheating. Seems to be gaining in popularity as I’m noticing caches are also beginning to have a munzee to capture in them, or there is a munzee near the location.
See http://www.munzee.comI’ve seen these codes appearing on the odd cache and I see there are a few around Dartmoor. It will be interesting to see how this develops. Seems that the organisers are encouraging more competitiveness than groundspeak and are publishing leader boards, etc. I also notice they are charging $30 for premium membership! They are also using Google maps – so that won’t last!
But is the munzee an article like a cache or is it just the code? The first one of these codes I saw was on a fence post next door to the Log Ness Monster – but probably not on the cache (I didn’t actually find it!) So, I’ve just looked this one up and see that the munzee is owned by LordDarcy, but of course the cache is not his. Seems strange to place a munzee right next door to somebody else’s cache and call it the Log Ness Monster. If these are going to be just stapled to fence posts it all seems a bit pointless. Am I missing something here?
My comment yesterday on one of your other forums was “Do munzees have containers?” I understood you just find the bar code and read it if you happen to have the right app on your smart phone.
They don’t have to have containers, just the QR code. I’ve noticed a few around that Lord Darcy has placed near other caches which seems fine to me. If you collect them and don’t cache you wouldn’t know the cache was there and if you do go caching as well you get two for the price of one [:)]
That’s ok if you understand how it all works, but an inexperienced cacher may log the cache on-line because he has found the QR code. I think it unfair to latch on to the name and location of somebody else’s cache (and possibly cause confusion). Wouldn’t it be better to chose new locations along the same footpath?
I’m not sure I agree that an inexperienced cacher would mistake a munzee for a cache, people who cache tend to know they are looking for a container. I agree it is odd to use the same name, especially if you don’t also own the cache ….. although thinking about it a non cacher could place a munzee at a known landmark and use the landmarks name without knowing anything about a cache there with the same landmark name; and if a cacher was also setting a Munzee they may want to use the same name at the same place.
Thanks for all the info…….. Shame it doesn’t fly the Union Jack.
Beep. “Hello from Orange. You’ve topped up by £20 so your phone fund now stands at £11:63. Offset this against a new smart phone at the Orange Shop”.
Oh dear! Not enough munzee yet to get on the Munzee scene!I’ve not found any yet, and to be honest it’s not a hobby I’m looking to get into – but even if you don’t have a smart phone you can take a photo and scan that at a later date. I can’t find one at the moment, but there may even be a site you can upload a photo to and have it scanned by the site.
QR Codes are fascinating, invented by Toyota for tracking stock – there’s an excellent wikipedia articles about them;
Just incase anyone is thinking of doing this, thought I’d better mention that you can’t take a photo to scan later as you have to capture the QR code using the munzee ap on your phone and when you do this the GPS in the phone tracks that you are at the correct location. So, capturing the munzee later and not in the location of the munzee doesn’t work and the ap is programmed not to allow the capture.
Ah, my mistake – I didn’t realise it was a specific app, I thought it was done via qr codes only. Sorry!
I’ve tried a few of these, and they are an interesting variation on the GPS theme. The plus side is that they don’t need a reviewer’s approval to place, and cheating is not allowed as your smart phone’s GPS location must match up to the Munzee you are photographing. The downsides are that they don’t need a reviewer’s approval to place, and you can’t do them off-line, which limits their placement to locations where there is a mobile phone signal. I guess there won’t be many on Dartmoor yet, although I understand they are working on making it work off-line.
There is yet another variation, called Geocheckpointing, which is geared towards taking people to nice locations, where they won’t have to hunt for too long for their find, but there is only one of these in the UK at the moment. This version of the game does not seem so appealing, and if this kind of approach is to be taken, it might be more straighforward just to have your smartphone register when you are at a location, and count that as a find. All checkpoints would then be virtuals in effect.
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