Posts Tagged ‘iphone’

January 15, 2015

Munzee Player(s) of the Week: Bill and Susan Balling (TheIrishDuo)

Munzee is a game for hunters, adventurers, and travelers. Our community spans the entire world and more than a few of our players have taken their Munzee trek into foreign lands. Even our world-traversing President Rob Vardeman has made his way throughout the Munzee world to meet our dedicated players more than once. What makes Munzee so much more spectacular than any other worldwide brand is that Munzee players know no strangers and we all open our lives to one another in the name of the game. This week’s Player(s) of the Week are Bill and Susan Balling (TheIrishDuo) and they have been on both ends of the Munzee journey. When Munzeeing the world they were welcomed by international Munzee companions and in turn when Munzee players (and even employees) show up in the Ballings’ home of Butte, Montana, they heartily toast to the occasion. Read on to learn more about TheIrishDuo!

Who are you?

We are Bill and Susan Balling aka TheIrishDuo

Where in the world do you live?

We live in Butte, Montana in the northern Rocky Mountains.

How long have you played Munzee?

Just over 3 years. We signed up on Christmas Day, 2011 when we lived in St. Paul, Minnesota and capped our first Munzee the same day.

How did you find Munzee?

Susan heard about it from a cacher. We looked into it and signed up and haven’t looked back since. We were instantly hooked.

What do you enjoy most about Munzee?

4 things jump out at us:

1. Getting out and seeing new places right around us as well as different parts of the US and world.
2. Meeting new Munzers along the trails or at events.
3. The new innovations MHQ keeps introducing to really keep the game fresh and interesting and moving along.
4. The community feeling that Munzee has established.

We were very fortunate to have visited a lot of places in the US as well as internationally over these 3 years. In 2014 we visited Prague, Munich, Cologne and Paris in June to celebrate Susan’s birthday. We met a lot of great Munzers on that trip, including CACHEEATER in Prague. The EuroAmbassador Robje64 along with Zeusi were kind enough to set up a Munzee event to meet TheIrishDuo while we were in Cologne! We met so many Munzers there including Robje64, Bixby, Zeusi, hugosoft, c-bn, Seal, Paverick, Tinkerbell, johanandpaula and a host of others. We had a great time spending the weekend with many of them as they took us around to capture! And of course, we had great food and drinks in both Prague and Cologne – vital to TheIrishDuo!

What is on your wish list?

Several things. 1) Restructuring the points needed for the different levels. I know it is on MHQ’s list already. 2) To see some type of new twists to Clan play other than just changing requirements each month 3) Allowing for players to cap their own Munzees when they become random specials (maybe reduced pts?) 4) New Badges for: higher number of First To Captures (other than First Responder); a Jeweler or Precious Stone Badge when you cap and/or deploy ‘x’ number of Diamonds and/or Rubies 5) More Specials similar to Munzee Munch that triggered other specials to pop up locally by capping one.

Tell us about yourself!
We have been married for 4 years. Previously, we lived in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul in Minnesota before moving to Butte, Montana 2 years ago. We have a dog, an Australian labradoodle, named Keeva.

We started both the Minnesota Munzers and Montana Munzers Facebook groups. When we first moved to Montana, there might have been a half-dozen Munzees in the entire state, We enjoy spreading the Munzee word and growing the game! It’s been great to see how Munzee has grown in our 2 years here in Montana. In 2014, there were 3 Munzee events held in Montana (Helena, Butte and Kalispell). CoachV and Dylan made the trek to Butte in late June to experience a variety of wild weather we had in store for them. TheIrishDuo also has the distinction of having our Premium Gold Star as the first Gold Star ever captured!

We were preparing to move to Portland, Oregon in October of 2014. However, while we were in Dallas for the Munzee Oktoberfest Bash in September, Susan suffered a major stroke. The stroke affected all of her speech. Needless to say, we did not move to Portland. Susan is recovering here in Butte and learning to speak again and she is progressing well.

I mentioned above that one of the things we most enjoy about Munzee is the Munzee community as a whole. Susan spent 10 days in the hospital in Plano, TX and MHQ went above and beyond with their concern and support. They sent ‘care packages’ to us at the hospital. Many from MHQ stopped by to see Susan as a show of support. TheRealGigi, ThePiedPiper, MeanderingMonkeys and The Yote all took time away from the event to stop by the hospital and they lent lot of emotional support and prayer. In fact, Munzers everywhere around the world, and especially here in Montana, have been in contact to inquire as to Susan’s progress. I can’t say enough about the Munzee Community and MHQ and how Munzee is more than just a game; we are all part of a very large and caring family. You guys are just tremendous.

We would like to thank the Munzer(s) responsible for nominating us for POTW; we are very humbled and appreciative!

Other hobbies include:

We both like to travel and the outdoors. We especially like Munzee trails forcing us to walk and capture. We love discovering new beers and especially love drinking Belgian beers. We love Craftsman/Mission Style furniture of which Bill made a good portion to furnish our house.

TheIrishDuo included a new POTW Social as well as their original Social, 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!

January 8, 2015

Munzee Player of the Week: Josef Lewerken (GeoBeTa)

Munzee may be an international game, but our team is very much headquartered in the US. A lot of responsibility falls on our worldwide players to not only grow the game, but also aid in spreading and translating Munzee news and announcements. One such dedicated player is Josef Lewerken (GeoBeTa) who helped start the first German Munzee podcast- MunzPod. It’s this dedication that truly helps our small staff continue to grow the game in new and interesting ways- and in all languages! Read on to learn more about GeoBeTa!

Who are you?

I´m Josef Lewerken aka “GeoBeTa”.

Where in the world do you live?

My hometown is called Delbrueck, a small town near Paderborn in Germany. It´s also the HQ of my clan “Team Delbrueck” which won the October clan battles in 2013 with the highest result before the Mystery-Virtual-Munzee-Rollout. So there is some historical air to breeze.

How long have you played Munzee?

Today my account is 1.181 days old, but I’ve played seriously since I got my first Android phone in April 2012.

How did you find Munzee?

I heard about Munzee as an active “other game” player in 2011. At the time, Paderborn was a munzee desert. An addicted player, called PappaPad, was kind enough to build a local community.
During the october clanbattles in 2013 Paderborn changed to “Paderblue”. We added over 1,000 mystery munzees and made our area to the 3rd biggest mystery cluster worldwide.
So thanks alot Mr. Pad, you made me find Munzee.

What do you enjoy most about Munzee?

It´s a combination of different things. Getting outside, reaching the highest possible clan level with it´s rewards, chasing special icons, the German Munzee community and of course producing the German spoken munzee podcast called MunzeePod. But clan battles are the biggest fun factor.

What is on your wish list?

Well, it´s an app-based game. So, why do I have to use a browser for my daily needs? It would be awesome to buy credit items, to watch my #pointstoday, to have a message system which invites me to a private clan chatroom when I´m joining a clan, to capture a location-less by touching it and say “open with Munzee” (you need a second device) and that all in app. I want to go outside! There´s no time for sitting in front of a PC.

Tell us about yourself!

I´m 33 years old and married to my wonderful wife Debby (Thank you for supporting me Honey. I love you!). We´ve got an awesome 2 year old son who is interested in mobile devices. In the Munzee breaks I am a certified engineer for professional coffee machines.

Other hobbies include:

Definitely the podcasting. I´ve produced the German spoken MunzeePod (http://munzeepod.de) since march 2013. In my opinion it was the 1st pure Munzee podcast worldwide. I´m thinking about a monthly live talkshow with guests form the German Munzee community in 2015. Many thanks to my awesome audience. And of course many thanks to matzenthias. There wouldn´t be a MunzeePod without him.

GeoBeTa was kind enough to share his social, 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!

January 7, 2015

Apply to be an Eventzee Beta Tester!

Eventzee is ready for your input! We’re now taking requests for beta testers. All iOS and Android testers interested should fill out THIS FORM. If accepted you’ll receive an invite over the next ten days to install.

Thank you in advance for your input and remember this will be an active campaign so the number of testers will be limited.

NOTE: You must have a Munzee account to use Eventzee. Go to http://www.munzee.com/signup/ for your free account.

December 29, 2014

Top 4 of ’14: Special Icons

As the year comes to a close we can’t help but look back on how big 2014 was! Over the next few days we’ll be looking back on some of our favorite moments of the year. To start things off, here are some of the icons that made this year so special. As many of you may have noticed a few of these have been re-released to the map for the rest of the year as well!

ALS Ice Cubes

SEPTEMBER

MHQ’s base in McKinney, Texas may usually be warm in September, but the Munzee community helped freeze us over in our fight to end ALS. This September we sold special virtual icons featuring ice cubes in connection to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and gave all proceeds to ALS research. The campaign was an overwhelming success and in two weeks we raised a donation of $54,000 for Project A.L.S..

Copa Do Munzo Footballs

JUNE

In celebration of the world’s favorite sport, Munzee blasted the world with football icons. From the first whistle in Brazil on June 12 until Germany hoisted the cup on July 13, 704 footballs bounced across the Munzee map. We also held a competition where players could vote on who they thought would win the Cup. As many guessed, Germany won the cup and in hand our players were rewarded too!

Autism Awareness Puzzle Hearts

APRIL

To celebrate and bring awareness to April’s Autism theme, Team Munzee deployed 680 special icons on the map. 680 represents the 1:68 ratio of children born with autism currently. The amazing efforts of our active Munzee community lead to over 8,055 hearts captured in the month of April! Player captures raised a total of $4,027.50 in donations towards the Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism.

3rd Birthday Piñatas

JULY

As a part of our #FiestaThree 3rd birthday celebration, we released special piñata munzees around the world. What better way to celebrate Munzee’s third birthday than to hit a paper-mâché donkey until it gives you candy? We released 3,333 piñata specials and just like in real life, munzee piñatas were about getting as many different kinds of candy as quickly as possible. When you capped a piñata you randomly received one of three types of candy and a corresponding special icon. It was a hit! Get it?

What were your favorite icons of 2014? Be sure to follow along the rest of the year as we look back on more big moments from 2014!

December 23, 2014

Year End Special Icons!

Expect the Unexpected! As Team Munzee winds down and prepares to spend the holidays with our families, we want to offer our players something to keep them busy during the rest of the holiday season. As many of you have captured, our blue gifts have been on the map all month long, but Santazee may have let a few more things slip off his sleigh. Along with the blue gifts we’re launching red gifts to the map as well. But that’s not all!

It’s been a big year for Munzee and for those that missed out on various parts of the year, we wanted to bring back a few of our highlights. So, starting December 26th at midnight (00:01 MHQ Time) we’re re-releasing a few icons. These special icons, along with the two gifts, will stay on the map until the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s eve (23:59 MHQ Time). 200 of each icon will be on the map (Blue gifts will reduce to 200 when the rest go live) and they’ll sit in one place for 6 hours or until capped, when it will then bounce to a new spot in the world. For those that have captured these already, this is technically a new icon so it will show up in your specials list as a new icon. All of the icons can be seen on www.munzee.com/gifts once they go live on the 26th. As with all special icons you are not able to capture one on your own munzee, but you are able to capture an icon on any other munzee (even if you’ve capped it before).

All will launch on December 26 at 00:01 and stay on map until December 31 at 23:59

: Football- More Kicks- Points: 20 split cap & owner

: Blue Gift- Points: 25 split cap & owner

December 18, 2014

Munzee Player of the Week: Frank Broughton (FrankBroughton)

Much like our map, Munzee the game is always growing. We’ve evolved in our three years and continue to do so every day. That being said, we’ve had growing pains and some times that loses the interest of players, but we pride ourselves on fixing our errors and earning back respect. This week’s Player of the Week wasn’t impressed with Munzee his first go around, but he’s happy he gave the game a second chance. Frank Broughton went from deleting the app to running a unique system of clans in the Western New York area and hasn’t looked back since. It’s this dedication that proves to us that our game means something and we take pride in knowing players will always give us another chance. Read on to learn more about FrankBroughton!

Who are you?
Hmmmm… I do not know, sometimes I ask myself that same question. The answer varies… from simple man, to complex man, to father, to dad, to husband, to grandpa, to friend, to leader, to follower, to loner. My Munzee player name is my real name, “FrankBroughton”.

Where in the world do you live?
I live in Western New York. In small country town, south of the City of Buffalo. Munzee has grown immensely in Western NY. Niagara Falls is 45 minutes away from Team Broughton HQ.

How long have you played Munzee?
I joined the Munzee website on October 1st of 2012.

How did you find Munzee?
I run a forum for other GPS based location games and hobbies. One of my good friends asked this question on a thread he started “Dare I use the “M” word?” GOF Munzee introduced me to Munzee that day. I was skeptical of the game at first, I even deleted the APP shortly after (it crashed too many times on my phone). Some time had passed and another friend of mine talked me into giving the game another attempt. He mentioned how the APP had improved, he encouraged me download it again, I did. He even walked me through a park finding some Munzees. Something clicked, Rayman, thank you for that day. You reintroduced me to Munzee and I have never turned back from that point.

What do you enjoy most about Munzee?
Easily first, I love the clan aspect of the game. I love running the NY & Friends Munzee Hunter Group of Clans and our Facebook group. We currently have 6 clans, each one has different goals allowing players to jump from clan to clan depending on the effort they feel they can dedicate to the game on a given month. I could write a small book on this aspect of the game. Secondly, I love the freshness of the game. I love how Team Munzee is always coming up with something new. From the various types of clan requirements, to new Munzee types, to specials on the map, the weekly Google hangout, the up and coming Munzee event APP, and more. There is something always fresh and new about the game of Munzee. Third, I love the competition aspect of the game. It pushes me to get to the top of the score boards, to earn more badges, and to have my clan’s streak of superchucking continue on. Yes, I enjoy many aspects of the game of Munzee. Last but hardly least, I enjoy getting out with some of my family playing the game together. Two of my sons, GoldenEagle and EagleClaw, and my wife SunShower, are active in the game. (Shout out to Katzrule712, my faithful clan teammate.)

What is on your wish list?
Glad you asked. I think it would be very neat to see the creation of the Munzee Missile! It would work just like a standard blast, but the different being one picks a virtual Munzee any place in the world as a target. The Munzee missile lands at that location and captures the nearest 100 virtual Munzees within the blast zone. Let’s face it, many players will never have the chance to travel the world to get to the many awesome Virtual Gardens on planet earth. The missile Munzee would be a neat tool. Make it so it would have to be earned, and rare. Perhaps the ability to earn one for say each 1,000 deploys and 1,000 captures of Greenies. Something along that line. It really could work and be a fun part of the game. It covers the virtual world and the ground game. Again, it would have to be earned.

Tell us about yourself!
I have been through some bumps and bruises in my 55 years so far of life. From my dad passing when I was 13, to my first born son passing at age 26. I have to say though, I also have been very blessed. I have a wonderful wife and 7 other kids. I have 5 wonderful grand children. I have had the great privilege of working for my church full time for 23 years now. I am someone who puts his all in most everything I attempt to do. I love this Jack Dempsey quote, “A champion is someone who gets up, even when he can’t.” I know that feeling.

Other hobbies include:
I have a passion for Fireworks. I put on a huge show on America’s Independence Day each year at a summer camp I help run. I use the Cobra Electronic Firing system to create a pyromusical (fireworks synced to music). I am an administrator on a very popular Fireworks forum. I enjoy scenic photography, hiking, and simple things such as watching sunsets with my wife.

FrankBroughton was kind enough to share his social, 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!

December 16, 2014

Munzee Videocast Episode 7: Not-Rob and The Case of The Missing President

Our seventh videocast has been converted to audio, so click the link and listen on!

http://munzeepush.munzee.netdna-cdn.com/Munzee%20Videocast%207.mp3

You can also re-watch the videocast HERE.

This week we talked about:

Rob is MIA. Well, actually, he’s at Disney World growing the Mickey Map. Co-Founder Scott Foster filled in, in his absence.
We’ve hired a new IOS guy. Happy to have ya Nick!
Trail Packs are currently in Beta and more news should come at the start of the year.
The Eventzee social pages have gone live, the app is still coming soon.
Scott looks back on what a big year 2014 was.
2015 Theme voting will start tomorrow.

Remember to join us Tuesdays at 1 pm (MHQ Time) for the live videocast where you can interact with us, ask questions and see us stumble over our words! To learn more follow us on Google + and if you missed last week’s videocast click HERE.

We’ve also created a NEW WEBPAGE strictly for the Videocast. Here you can watch the past and present podcasts anytime and it also allows downloads to iTunes! If you’d like to subscribe to the Munzee Podcast on iTunes go to File > Subscribe to Podcast > enter http://www.munzeepodcast.com/feed/podcast/. If you want to interact live with the Videocasts and ask questions, you will still need to join us on our Google+ page,

December 4, 2014

Munzee Player of the Week: Honza Stastny (CACHEEATER)

We’re always pushing our players to grow the map. Although some areas are bigger than others, they all started somewhere and took the hard work and dedication of our players to grow. This week’s Player of the Week remembers when his home city of Prague was just a few dozen greenies and now the game has grown exponentially. We’re proud to announce Honza Stastny (CACHEEATER) as this week’s POTW and hope he continues to help his Munzee community grow! Read on for more about CACHEEATER!

Who are you?

Honza Stastny (CACHEEATER). My surname „Stastny“ means Happy and this is who I am. Whoever is happy will make others happy too. And I like to make others happy!

Where in the world do you live?

I live in a beautiful city of Prague, Czech Republic.

How long have you played Munzee?

Today I celebrate …. oh …. no … 666 days …. wait … no. It was yesterday! O.K. 667 days today. (Editor’s note: It’s been a few months since he sent this. We think he’s in the clear from demonic possession now.)

How did you find Munzee?

I discovered my first munzee while I was caching. I immediately checked out what it was, but created an account a few months later.

What do you enjoy most about Munzee?

Tak hlavne to, jak je to jednoduche. Pipnes, publikujes (in english please!!!) Oh sh.. Sorry. I like it is so easy to play. To go out and capture or deploy. We don’t stop playing because we get old. We get old because we stop playing. So I’m going to stay young forever 😉

Thanks to Munzee I met a lot of new players, visited new cities and beautiful places. This is a very quick game and I can always expect something unexpected – new specials, sales, server issues – it has really enriched my life 😉

I am very proud of how Munzee has grown in the Czech Republic, especially in Prague! Prague has become a ‘destination’ for Munzee players around the world to visit, see the magnificent architecture and beautiful surroundings AND cap a LOT of Munzees! When I started to play there were several dozen greenies and FIVE virtuals – now it is one BIG, BIG coloured cluster filled with greenies, motels, specials and thousands of virtuals! All surrounded by amazing architecture and history. You all are very warm welcome to Prague!

What is on your wish list?

Visit more new places, meet more new friends, capture more munzees …

I would like to see Munzee fix the problems with capping virtuals all around the world using changed location. It is still a big problem. The special icons have change the game a lot and I see all around me a lot of greenies without captures because most players prefer special icons. It is a pity I guess. I wish more “greenies related” days 😉 I love Clan Wars and the way they are each month different. Good for greenies were April Clan Wars. It was based solely on our activity! 1 capture = 1 point. 1 deploy = 1 point. And socials were excluded from these calculations. It was fair for most players and you could see the different results in the end of month 🙂 I would also love to see the daily leaderboards based solely on activity as I mentioned above! It is hard for new players to get to Top daily leaderboard (and get Winner, First Loser, Lucky and Unlucky badges) if other players get thousands of cap on points each day 😉

Tell us about yourself!

About myself … What to write … I don’t know … The remarkable position in which I find myself is that I don’t actually know what I actually know … 🙂 Did I mention I like interviews, but don’t speak english?? …

One of my dreams I had when I was much younger has been fulfilled – I became a bus driver 🙂 But I have new dreams and keep working on these. Dreams keep me motivated.

Other hobbies include;

I like driving and I like buses. In my leisure time I make the paper buses – small simple models not only for children. Look at www.paperbusmodels.com 😉 I also like hiking trips out of Prague and traveling somewhere abroad. This year I visited beautiful Scotland, in 2011 I spent the absolutely best month in Alaska. I love calm places, nature and wild animals. I really enjoyed that journey and took a lot of photos. In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.

CACHEEATER was kind enough to share his socials, 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!

December 2, 2014

Munzee Videocast Episode 5

Our fifth videocast has been converted to audio, so click the link and listen on!

http://munzeepush.munzee.netdna-cdn.com/Munzee%20Videocast%205.mp3

You can also re-watch the videocast HERE.

This week we talked about:

Cyber Munzday has come and gone and now we look back.
Munzee has a new gear store! Check out munzeegear.com for the latest in Munzee goods.
With the conclusion of “A Tale of Trails” web series Rob announced the new Trail Packs. COMING SOON

November 29, 2014

December Clan Wars 2014

Santa is preparing his sleigh to deliver rewards to clans able to reach the 5 levels in this month’s clan battle. Clan winners will be determined by reaching each level first. For example: MHQ Clan may have 1 million points but they have only achieved level 2. They would be ranked behind all clans achieving level 3 or higher. *Please note there are no special capture or deployment requirements*

Level 1: Requirements: All 10 clan members must have a minimum of 300 points and Clan total must be greater than 4000. Rewards: 1 virtual

Level 2: Requirements: All 10 clan members must have a minimum of 750 points and Clan total must be greater than 9000. Rewards: 1 mace, 1 virtual

Level 3: Requirements: All 10 clan members must have a minimum of 1250 points and Clan total must be greater than 17500. Rewards: 1 longsword, 1 mystery virtual, 1 diamond

Level 4: Requirements: All 10 clan members must have a minimum of 2000 points and Clan total must be greater than 30000. Rewards: 1 battle axe, 1 diamond, 1 ruby, 1 motel

Level 5: Requirements: All 10 clan members must have a minimum of 6000 points and Clan total must be greater than 80000. Rewards: 1 virtual, 1 mace, 1 longsword, 1 battle axe, 1 hotel, 1 mystery virtual