Archive for June, 2014

June 30, 2014

Happy Birthday Munzee!

Get ready to blow out the candles because it is officially Munzee’s 3rd birthday celebration, or #FiestaThree as we’ve come to call it around the office. As we celebrate our three years of outstanding achievements, we want to give back to the players that continue to give it their all year after year! This July we have a long list of events and announcements planned throughout the month, so be sure to stay tuned as we reveal more in the coming weeks. Remember, “three is a magic number”, so you may want to keep an eye out every three days this month!

We’ll have sales on special items throughout the month, so to start off we’d like to announce sales on the following items for beginning July 1 at 9 AM (MHQT, GMT-5) for 24 hours.

$3 Virtuals
$3 Socials
$3 Rovers

Take advantage of those discounted Rovers and get them out of their kennels. You’re going to need them if you want to get your hands on the exclusive Birthday Barker badge this July. You can get the badge in one of three ways:

If you interact with 3 rovers that you do not own
or If a rover you own interacts with 3 unique players
or If a rover you own reaches 33 miles of combined distance throughout the month

What’s a birthday without presents? We’ll have prize days throughout the month featuring physical, virtual and totally random prizes. Our first prize day is Thursday July 3rd (mid morning MHQ time) where players have a chance to get Blast Caps, Mystery Virtuals and… a SPECIAL NEW MUNZEE type to celebrate our July Birthday. Those who saw the July Clan Requirements may have heard a bit about this new sparkle in coachv’s eye, but check in Thursday morning to learn exactly what the new munzee is.

Of course we’ll have many, many more announcements throughout the month as well. It helps to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and the blog. Stay tuned to hear about a new special following the end of the Copa Do Munzo challenge, triple point days and an all-out worldwide birthday party.

Big stuff is happening, so happy hunting and happy birthday to Munzee!

June 30, 2014

Meet Munzee Munday: Peter Vogt

Here at Munzee we’re constantly encouraging our players to meet and greet and build the personal relationships that make this game so great. Over the next few weeks we’ll be showcasing members of Team Munzee so our players can get to know us a bit better. So each Munday (see what we did there?) check in to see a new member of Team Munzee and you decide if you trust the game in our hands. This week we get to know our new designer, Peter Vogt.

Name and Title:
Peter Vogt, User Interface Designer.

Where are you from?
I was born and raised in Norfolk, Massachusetts. Equidistant between Boston and Providence (yes that’s a word, yes that fact is true, and yes I’m damn proud of our little town). I went to college in Connecticut and have been living in Texas the past few years. Hate to admit it, but I’m probably never leaving.

Tell us about yourself:
Well, I’m slowly creeping up on the wrong end of my twenties, but I don’t feel too awful about it at the moment. I’m a lover of technology, hound dogs (we have two – Bonnie & Huckleberry), cinema, gaming and music. Firearm and Central Texas-style barbecue enthusiast. Retired punk rocker. Lifelong geek.

How long have you worked for Munzee?
Just about a month.

How did you find Munzee?
I found their post for a designer on Reddit’s “for hire” section. The thought of working for a mobile game company based out of McKinney of all places really intrigued me, so I sent a reply pretty much right away. They impressed me, I impressed them, here I am now.

What do you enjoy most about Munzee?
The community of Munzee impresses me the most. It feels really good jumping on board with a company whose fans, friends, family and local community are so gung-ho about the product. I’ve kept a pretty close eye on the Munzee Facebook groups ever since joining up and love reading the feedback and seeing people come up with really creative and awesome new ways to Munzee. I love the support and love we get from the town of McKinney. Everything about and surrounding Munzee is special and fun right now. My co-workers are incredibly talented, informed and helpful people. Rob is an outstanding leader.

What is your favorite Munzee?
I love the virtuals. I’ve deployed in all of my previous hometowns and it’s great seeing someone from Massachusetts drop by my childhood home to play.

What are some of your other hobbies?
I live and breathe my craft in the sense that I’m always trying to learn as much as I can about design, development and working with tech startups. I love creating products, communities and shiny fancy internet stuff. At home and in the office. My girlfriend and I watch a metric ton of movies together which has become a hobby all on it’s own, as we’re always looking for new and obscure stuff to geek out over. Chasing after our two beloved (and dumb) hounds is a daily task in and of itself and on weekends you can find me smoking briskets, ribs and sausage while tending to the fire pit of my offset cooker. It’s named Cool Runnings and it definitely feels the rhythm.

Famous last words?
“It’s a hundred and six miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a packet of cigarettes, it’s dark and we’re wearing sunglasses. Hit it.”

Check back next week to get to know another member of Team Munzee!

June 29, 2014

July Clan War

July is the birthday month for Munzee. We are very excited to extend our 3rd birthday into the clan wars this year. There will only be 3 levels. Baby Chuck, The Chuck, and #SuperChuck. This month is a gift to you!

In order to earn Baby Chuck, all 10 members of your clan must reach 333 points. All 10 clan members must each have at least 3 deploys of any munzee type and 33 captures of any munzee type. Baby Chuck Reward: 3 virtual munzees.

In order to earn The Chuck, all 10 members of your clan must reach 3333 points. All 10 clan members must each have at least 33 deploys of any munzee type and 333 captures of any munzee type. The Chuck Reward: 3 mystery virtual munzees, 3 diamonds, 3 maces.

In order to earn #SuperChuck, all 10 members of your clan must reach 3333×3 (9999) points. All 10 clan members must each have at least 33×3 (99) deploys of any munzee type and 333×3 (999) captures of any munzee type. #SuperChuck Reward: 3 mystery virtual munzees, 3 diamonds, 3 longswords, 3 motels, 3 of a brand new special munzee being released in July.

Don’t expect future months to be so nice, Rob is in a giving mood due to the birthday month 😉

June 26, 2014

Munzee Player of the Week: Roderick Howie (rodz)

As Munzee approaches it’s third birthday celebration we like to look back on our humble beginnings. Although we now have more than 165,000 players, we wouldn’t be where we are now without our first loyal followers. One of those players has continued to be a staple in his community across the pond. We’re proud to announce that Roderick Howie (rodz) is this week’s Player of the Week. Rodz, who was Munzee’s 150th player to join, also celebrates his third Munzee birthday today (June 26th) so scroll down to learn a bit more about the Brit.

Who are you?
Funnily enough I am Rodz in real life too – although my given name is Roderick Howie I get called all sorts of things. MHQ side of the pond I often get called Howie but that was my school name.

Where in the world do you live?
I am fortunate to live in London here in Blighty. I think it is one of the most amazing cities in the world, so culturally rich and so ethnically diverse. It is a double-edged Longsword that there are relatively few other Munzeers here as I have been able to accumulate a lot of prime real estate. The downside of that being the recent introduction of activity points and number of captures. Those that know me know my motto is “deploy, deploy and deploy some more!”

How long have you played Munzee?
Over 1086 days – I had to borrow my brother’s iPhone to deploy my first as the Android version hadn’t been released yet. I think that was 26th June 2011.

How did you find Munzee?
I usually find the app is the easiest way to find Munzees, but did start out with a Garmin unit too. Hehe! I think I first heard about it on an unnameable forum that also involves the use of a GPS receiver.

What do you enjoy most about Munzee?
I love the spontaneity and innovation, to just fire up the app and off I go. The team is amazing at bringing new ideas to the game (and getting money out of my pocket). The clan wars bring a lot of interaction with other players and an extra twist in strategy. I enjoy surprising unsuspecting local cappers – be warned – and love watching points roll in at home from cap ons!

What is on your wish list?
Apart from a Ferrari, I would like to see the ability to use QR codes found in public to be Munzeed! So that permanent QR code at the bus stop could be converted to a Munzee. I would also like to see the removal of special (bought) Munzees being auto-archived for premium members. Oh and maybe change the event background pic to be something better that a bin/trash can shot!

Tell us about yourself!
I’m a 51 year old Brit (although born in Scotland on April Fool’s Day – yay more birthday wishes next year!) and a counsellor. That combo means talking about myself is less familiar (British reserve and self disclosure) and a bit embarrassing haha! AND I am still working on my addiction to Munzee.

What are some of your other hobbies include?
Cycling to Munzees, going on holiday where there are plenty of Munzees, etc. You get the drift! A big thanks to all that nominated me (you know who you are – MHQ can get some rest now) and all the contributors to the various rings that I have set up in the capital. I love the community spirit of Munzee.

Rod was kind enough to share his social with us, so cap away!

June 24, 2014

Podcast Episode 18: Welcome to McKinney and changes around MHQ.

This week on the Munzee podcast, we welcome our players to downtown McKinney, Texas and introduce the newest members of Team Munzee.

This week’s topics:

1. Check out the fresh new faces of Munzee at: http://www.munzee.com/team

2. McKinney native Dderrberry60 shares his insight on the history and charm of McKinney, Texas (home of Munzee HQ) while LeftOvers4Dinner focuses on the points (of course). Plan your visit to McKinney by visiting the McKinney Convention and Visitors Bureau: http://www.visitmckinney.com/

3. Pmvogt and Coachv do da’ Copa Do Munz: https://munzeeblog.com/the-time-has-come-for-copa-do-munzo/

4. RMH Virtuals: https://munzeeblog.com/munzee-for-good-this-may/ -Leave the map June 30th, get your caps in while you can! Also, be sure to check out the event later on this week (June 26th) for RMH Spokane: http://calendar.munzee.com/RMHSpokane/ -CoachV and Dderryberry60 will be there!

Feel free to send us feedback, suggestions, or thoughts on our new podcast “freestyling” to podcast@Munzee.com.

June 23, 2014

Meet Munzee Munday: Dylan Derryberry

Here at Munzee we’re constantly encouraging our players to meet and greet and build the personal relationships that make this game so great. Over the next few weeks we’ll be showcasing members of Team Munzee so our players can get to know us a bit better. So each Munday (see what we did there?) check in to see a new member of Team Munzee and you decide if you trust the game in our hands. To start off, here is one of our latest recruits, Dylan Derryberry.

Name and Title:
Dylan Derryberry, Master of Media, AKA glorified writer, AKA whatever Rob tells him to be.

Where are you from?
I grew up in McKinney, TX long before Munzee thought it was cool. I’m just that kind of trendsetter.

Tell us about yourself:
I’m a 24 year old Master of the Universe. I’m father to two Welsh Corgis, who like me as much as most teenagers like their fathers, and I’m expecting my first non-fur child in August with my wife Wylie. No, she’s not named after the city, Texas players. After graduating from McKinney High School (Go Lions) in 2008, I took my skills a bit north to Colorado Mountain College (Go Eagles) in a small town outside of Aspen. While there I got my Associate of Arts, studied theatre, enrolled in Advanced Snowboarding 101 (real class) and River Orientation (also, real class) and blogged about the student experience. After two years in the snow and three vehicles lost to a Texas kid driving on ice, I transferred to the University of Kansas (Go Jayhawks) where I studied journalism. After many nights of studying, singing karaoke and slinging liquor part time, it was finally time to graduate and get a big kid job. Jury is still out on Munzee’s qualification as adulthood.

How long have you worked for Munzee?
Although I may have just started a few weeks ago, Team Munzee has welcomed me into their home without hesitation. Their mistake.

How did you find Munzee?
After moving back to McKinney after college graduation I began writing for the local news publication Town Square Buzz. After two months of putting my journalism degree to good use, the publication had to shut down for financial reasons. Out of work, again, my editor-in-chief suggested I reach out to Munzee. The rest is (very short) history.

What do you enjoy most about Munzee?
Aside from the fun work environment, I’m regularly astounded at the dedication the players have for this game. Whether it’s players coming to visit Munzee Headquarters, the ever-growing game map or how many notifications I get on Facebook at 2 in the morning, the loyalty to Munzee amazes me.

What are some of your other hobbies?
After witnessing true art in the form of Gordon Bombay and the District 5 Ducks, I became engrossed with ice hockey at a young age. I played throughout high school and even played a couple weeks in Germany my senior year. In Colorado I attempted to organize a team for the school, which was a blazing success of a failure, but fun all the same. In Kansas I played a year with the school’s club, but busted my shoulder in Chicago and decided it was probably time to call it quits. I still try to get on the ice as often as possible (which isn’t often enough) and cheer on the Dallas Stars in the regular NHL season. Come playoffs, it pays off to be a Chicago Blackhawks bandwagon fan. Other hobbies include watching movies, crafting and working around the house. I’m told I’m never satisfied, which I’m not totally against.

Famous last words?
Worrying is like a rocking chair: It gives you something to do, but doesn’t get you anywhere.

Check back next week to get to know another member of Team Munzee!

June 19, 2014

Munzee Player of the Week: Douglas Lynch (5daughters)

The key to Munzee is networking, making connections throughout our global community of players. But it’s not just networking with friends around the world, Munzee strengthens the bonds within your own family! Marana, AZ isn’t exactly a Munzee hotspot, however, this does not stop Douglas Lynch (5daughters) and family from “growing the map” and growing the game wherever they can! The incredible growth and deployments of the Lynch family are why Munzee spreads so quickly. They’re an inspiration to players living in their own “Marana” – grow the map, and make your mark in the Munzee world! Scroll down and get to know 5daughters, this week’s Player of the Week:

Where in the world do you live?
I live Northwest of Tucson in Marana, AZ.

How long have you played Munzee?
My account shows 603 days old, but I didn’t do any until the middle of last December when I opened the app and saw the christmas specials on it. After that it was go, go, go.

How did you find Munzee?
A friend of mine told me and my wife about this crazy game almost two years ago at a gathering. We looked into it and downloaded the app, but there wasn’t much around then and we promptly forgot about it. Now we’re hooked though.

What do you enjoy most about Munzee?
What I enjoy most is the competition in the clan wars. The clan I am on is currently shooting for a top three finish this month. We’re keeping our fingers crossed and hoping for the best, but some of the clans are really tough and it’s a fight.

I also enjoy the badges and specials and I love to see new ones added.

Another aspect I really enjoy is getting outside with my wife and three of my daughters and having fun with them. Without their support the game wouldn’t be nearly as fun and exciting.

What is on your wish list?
To get more Munzee players to come capture our area. We have created a virtual garden at the University of Arizona and are in the process of putting out 1000 mystery munzees along with a bunch of weapons to entice people to the area. Currently my family is about the only active players for almost 100 miles around.

Tell us about yourself!
My family is the most important thing to me. I am one of the luckiest guys out there to have a great wife who is supportive of the crazy things I get us into. We have five daughters, three of which are very active munzers, one of them was able to make it to level 100 on her 100th day. Not bad for a 12 year old lol.

If you have seen some of the stuff I post on the FB groups, you will know that I like to make people laugh. For me, laughter is what makes life fun. Although in person I am a pretty reserved individual until I get to know you, then I am more like my online persona. I am a locomotive engineer which allows me to have a pretty good amount of time between trips to Munzee.

Other hobbies include;
We love the outdoors, we kayak, hike and camp when we can. We also love to travel, going different places is very high on our list of priorities.

Douglas was kind enough to share his social with us, so cap away!

If you know a player that should be nominated for Munzee Player of the Week, shoot us a message at iLoveYou@Munzee.com and let us know just why this person is outstanding in the global Munzee community!

-Please note, this is a super active campaign. We may not be able to get back to everyone, but you’re helping to grow the list of amazing people in the Munzee community!

June 12, 2014

Munzee Player of the Week: Don Abreu (DerbyGuy)

Munzee is so much more than a 21st century scavenger hunt. It’s a chance to explore the beauty of the outdoors, a test to your senses and ability to notice tiny details and most of all it’s a rich community of players that help build something no one ever thought possible. This week’s Player of the Week, is Don (DerbyGuy) who like many Munzee players had to help build a local following. Don finds time for Munzee in between work, but he can’t wait for retirement so he and his dog Zoey can take their Munzee adventure even further. Read below to get to know Don a bit better:

Where in the world do you live?

I live in Redcliff Alberta Canada

How long have you played Munzee?

As of today I’ve been active 605 days. I’ll definitely be renewing December 3 of this year, Most likely sooner.

How did you find Munzee?

Like most of us I was browsing around for caching apps. I downloaded the app, checked it out, but when I looked at the map I had to zoom out, and then zoomed out again. I had to laugh, the closest Munzee was over 100 miles away! So I thought to myself, this could be a new thing to try. I went to Munzee site and had a look and I was hooked. I bought a pack of the first magnetics. Emailed a few friends and let them know to keep an eye out for a new game in town! And wow we have around 7000+ local now!

What do you enjoy most about Munzee?

The points has to be the clincher. It wasn’t long after I started playing that there were limited time specials on the map and that did it for me, and I think everyone here too. It became very competitive for all of us!

What is on your wish list?

I would have to say I’m looking forward to Munzee’s third birthday in July. Maybe something like a special triple layer cake where you cap three times and then it bounces off? Hint hint hint!!

Tell us about yourself!

I am 46, but not much to tell. I have worked 27 years at Goodyear manufacturing now. Single guy, with a faithful companion Zoey, a Lab-Sharpei mix. I’m looking forward to retirement in 2017 and my big mission after that is to go to California to meet the most of the fellow players. Maybe score 200,000 points lol? I love spending time with all of you in groups, Munzee madness and rookie Munzee club, which is almost at 100 members now! I enjoy trying to help new players see the fun and answer as many questions to get them all out there to grow the world!

What are some of your other hobbies?

I have done caching and used to be into demolition derbies. Now Munzee has to be my favorite thing to do in my spare time. It gets you out an about to enjoy the air, see the sights and meet a few of the other players. I have been seeing a few new names on my feed. Very impressed!

Don was kind enough to share his social with us, so cap away!

-Please note, this is a super active campaign. We may not be able to get back to everyone, but you’re helping to grow the list of amazing people in the Munzee community!

June 11, 2014

The time has come for… COPA DO MUNZO!

In celebration of Munzee, our players across the world and the greatest sport known to man, we are happy to announce the Copa Do Munzo special map which will go live tomorrow at 3 p.m. (GMT-5). From the first whistle in Brazil on June 12 until Germany hoists the cup (according to Munzee President Rob Vardeman anyway) on July 13, we will have 704 bouncing footballs (soccer balls to those in the States) on the map across the world. These special captures will attach to physical greenies that have already been deployed internationally and those lucky enough to find them get a Copa Do Munzo special icon and badge. As players cap the specials a reward of 23 points will be randomly split between the player that captured it and the owner of the Munzee. Once captured the ball will bounce to a new location somewhere in the world and similarly if a ball is not captured within six hours of spawning it will relocate. Why 704 bouncing balls? Why 23 points? Well we’ll leave that to the smartest of our Munzee players to figure out, because those numbers do indeed signify something.

Also, don’t forget to visit www.munzee.com/football to pick who you think will win the Cup this year for a chance to win even more extras. You’ll have until noon (GMT-5) tomorrow to pick your team, so don’t miss out. Good luck to the teams in Brazil, the Munzee players across the world and from the rest of us at MHQ (Rob excluded) GO TEAM USA!

June 10, 2014

GeoGearHeads Podcast 127 featuring Munzee

In case you missed it, last Thursday the guys over at GeoGearHeads were gracious enough to invite President Rob Vardeman for an update on all things Munzee.

-Rob introduced a slew of updates on some of our newer Munzees including:

Motel Munzees, where players can lease capture locations and receive a cut of up to five players’ deploys
Mystery Munzees that give anywhere from 5-50 capture points.
Rovers that can travel with you or without you, all across the world.
The new Blast Capture tool, which allows players to capture up to 100 Munzees in a one mile radius.
Colored Munzees, to add to the artistry of virtual gardens that continue to pop up around the world.

-He expanded on the integration of the Fitbit technology and hopes Munzee can give players even more of a purpose when getting out into the world and capturing. In connection to the fitness aspect of Munzee, Rob also hopes to bring back Munzee apparel that players can buy and possibly even including more active wear options.

-Munzee is also proud to announce that players with a Pebble Smartwatch will be able to download the Munzee companion app which notifies you of nearby Munzees and can display socials as well as Fitbit stats. The app is available for Android users now and should be available to iPhone users any day.

-An update on all of the philanthropic work Munzee has done over the past year, including our donation of $25,000 to the Ronald McDonald House of Spokane, WA late this month.

-Finally, Rob gave a look into the Munzee events over the next few months including an Oktoberfest celebration in McKinney, TX, the #MunzeeSummer campaign and the creation of our Copa Do Munzo international football tournament connection as well. By visiting Munzee.com/football players will be able to choose which country they think the will win the World Cup in Brazil and can earn special points as their team advances.

Keep checking in on our various social media aspects for updates on everything Munzee and thanks again to the GeoGearHeads for reaching out to us.

*Don’t expect future months to be so nice, Rob is in a giving mood due to the birthday month* 😉

Don’t expect future months to be so nice, Rob is in a giving mood due to the birthday month 😉