Posts Tagged ‘team building’

August 12, 2015

Munzee Player of the Week: Tim Arnts (DarthGarbage)

As Munzee has grown over the years, the game has evolved in so many more ways than any of the co-founders could have imagined. We’ve certainly had our fair share of growing pains, but in its essence Munzee has tried to stick to its core goal of getting people out into the world. No one knows this better than those players who have been with us since the beginning. This week’s Player of the Week is Tim Arnts (DarthGarbage).

Who are you?
Tim Arnts aka DarthGarbage2. Howe Caverns

Where in the world do you live?
North Tonawanada, NY about 15 minutes north of Buffalo

How long have you played Munzee?
985 days (Editor’s Note: It’s 1005 days as of the release of this post.)

How did you find Munzee?
A local player, Monkee, picked it up at Midwest Geobash one year, and she told me about it. I downloaded the app and started out by capping other local players’ munzees to help them with their scores. I did not really get into it until the Clan Wars started. Even then, I hop on clans to help the rest of the group achieve their rewards. Munzee was never really about points for me.

What do you most enjoy about Munzee?

  1. Being outside. Any reason to get off of the couch is a good thing.1. Snow
  2. The Clan Wars. Without them, I probably would not play nearly as much as I do now.
  3. Events. I like to push the boundaries for events. Instead of the just show up and cap stuff approach, I like to try fun stuff. If you want one of my badges, you are going to work for it.

What is on your wish list?

  1. The return of FitBit.
  2. Tour Munzees. I think a great way for people to explore cities is to have the locals set up a tour of the sights.
  3. Fix the submission forms on the website so I don’t have to keep bugging Daniel.
  4. I want to party with Scott Foster in Buffalo. Let’s make it happen. 🙂 (Editor’s Note: You never know what could happen if #GetScottToBuffalo starts trending.)

Tell us about yourself!
I was born and raised in North Tonawanda, NY. I live with my wife, Stacie, our dog Fozzie (aka The Furry Jerk) who has his own cult following, and our cat Regan who is just glad when the dog is gone. For the last ten years I have worked for a local non-profit that helps children with autism. It is a very challenging job at times, but it is always a rewarding one. I also dabble in the occasional art project and have sold some of my work to benefit local charities. I started caching in 2009 and just made the progression in to Munzee. I still enjoy both games today (one of the very few in Buffalo).

4. trex pic

Other hobbies include:
I am a huge comic book nerd. I grew up reading comics and have just never stopped. I am also an avid camper and spend the bulk of my summers somewhere in the woods. I also enjoy annoying Frank Broughton any chance I get. 🙂

DarthGarbage also included a social (which is on the Header Image), so cap away!

6. Social

August 11, 2015

Team Munzee Tuezday: Chris Meza

Here at Munzee we’re constantly encouraging our players to meet and greet and build the personal relationships that make this game so great. Our team continues to grow and we’re excited with the addition of our new Senior Developer, Chris Meza. 


Name and Title:


Chris ‘Laygo’ Meza – Senior Developer (only because they wouldn’t let me use ‘Supreme Chancellor of Them 1s & 0s’)

216902_2225957609770_1510354_n

Where are you from?

I’m an Army brat as my Father served in the military for 20yrs, so I have lived where ever my Dad was stationed.. I was born in Columbus, GA (Fort Benning), but I spent most of my childhood in Houston, TX after my Father retired. As such, I grew up an Oilers/Rockets/Astros fan & now the Texans, but really I have two favorite teams: any team from Houston and any team playing Dallas. 😉

Tell us about yourself:
Well, I’m an avid fan of food and the exchange of Oxygen for Carbon Dioxide. Seriously though, I’m a foodie, like eating good food. Expensive and hoity-toity with rich ambiance doesn’t do much for me. The food has to be good first & foremost. My favorite restaurants are all holes in the walls. My favorite restaurant all time is Bagheri’s in Denton, TX. I tend to drive 30 mins or more for my favorite foods. I’m a huge fan of Vietnamese cuisine. I can eat Pho every day & have on several occasions eaten it for lunch & dinner.

I also play guitar in a psychedelic rock tribute band since 2009. We even won Dallas Observer’s Cover Band of the Year in 2013 (they didn’t have a tribute band category). I can 10629676_4651834989996_8490914886096751354_nhear you ask: what’s the difference between a ‘cover band’ vs a ‘tribute band’. That can easily described as a Kiss cover band is 4 guys on stage playing Kiss music. A Kiss tribute band is 4 guys in full costume and makeup, playing Kiss music, & replicating the stage show as best they can. We wear costumes!

How long have you worked for Munzee?
Almost 2 months, but in a way, a lot longer than that. Rob has told the story on the podcast how back in 2012 during a double points weekend, we convinced Scott to join us Munzeeing in the area. Rob wasn’t yet involved in the company & Scott was still working a full time job. Rob had just came back from playing out in California where one sign could easily contain 20 munzees. So, we started dogpiling stickers in a Costco parking lot & Scott was shocked how it was all going down. The next day, he implemented the 50′ rule for neighboring munzees. You’re welcome.

What do you enjoy most about Munzee?
Honestly, being a programmer, it’s mostly a sedentary life of sitting around, not being physically active. I like how it gets you outdoors and active. Since becoming active again playing Munzee in the last month, I’ve walked many miles when I was just tooooo busy at my last job. Being a Munzee employee has opened way more opportunities with more free time and lots of “beta testing” as I work on 3.0!

What are some of your other hobbies?
As I said, I eat food, drink water, breathe Oxygen, and play in a band. Now, I have been playing a lot more Munzee after about a 18month haitus (check my Statzee! Player name: Laygo). I also like my fast/old cars. I’ve got a 2014 Cadillac CTS-V, an 1996 Impala SS, a 1965 VW Bug, & a 1967 VW Karmann Ghia. I just test drove a Tesla sedan today & I am really, REALLY intrigued. Can’t afford it, but man was it cool. I have a rather large shoe collection for a guy. I also tend to play some computer games. I have a 15yo pet cat named Princess Nubina, aka Nubby. She has a short nub of a tail she was born with. We got her right around when Star Wars: Phantom Menace came out, so was thinking about Pricess Amidala when she was named, but she is a Princess when she sits with her crossed paws. I’m probably a bigger Houston Rockets fan than normal. The famed Red Rowdies have dubbed me Dallas Rowdy & I’m able to sit with them anytime I can get to a game in Houston or they come up to Dallas.

18357_104103886284679_5635023_n

August 5, 2015

Munzee Player of the Week: Rob Lines (OBXGeek)

As Munzee has grown over the years, the game has evolved in so many more ways than any of the co-founders could have imagined. We’ve certainly had our fair share of growing pains, but in its essence Munzee has tried to stick to its core goal of getting people out into the world. No one knows this better than those players who have been with us since the beginning. This week’s Player of the Week is Rob Lines (OBXGeek).

Who are you?
OBXGeek aka Rob Lines (Or Rob Smith on Facebook)
OBX is short for Outer Banks which is an area on the coast of North Carolina, a place I vacation often, and Geek because I am one.MHQ_Visit

Where in the world do you live?
I live in Leesburg, Virginia, USA. It is about 40 miles northwest of Washington, D.C. along the Potomac River.

How long have you played Munzee?
I signed up for my account July 13, 2011 and was user 679. My first two munzee deploys were July 27th, 2011, but I didn’t cap my first munzee until November 2011.

How did you find Munzee?
flyingmoose posted about a new smartphone based location game on the NoVAGO forums, and I signed up as he was planning to hide a few locally and I enjoyed his caches, so I wanted to see what he would come with. With so few in the area, it wasn’t until we had a handful of new players start up in early 2013 that things took off. Once we had more local players and one of them decided to start deploying ~200 points worth of munzees a day, things really started rolling. New deploys available to cap all the time led to other people going out and filling in the holes causing a snowball effect. Now, there is somewhere north of 5000 greenies within 10 miles of home and enough total munzees that my browser hangs if I try to zoom the map out all of the way.

DaleCity

What do you most enjoy about Munzee?
I love my clan Maryland Munzee Militia. Being part of a supportive group that likes to get together and have fun capping and deploying is great. The new friends I have made through the game and the old acquaintances from caching who have now become good friends due to the increased interaction of munzeeing has been fun for me.Forging-RobSquared

What is on your wish list?
I want to make it back out to the MHQ Bash as well as Munzee Madness at some point. I also really would love to visit Europe and munzee my way across though I would have to plan a doule length trip because I would need time to go everywhere with my wife to be a tourist and then go back though capping all the munzees.

Tell us about yourself!
In my day-to-day life, I work in Scientific Computing for a large non-profit medical research facility. I take care of the large, high performance computer cluster and the petabytes of storage that my researchers house their data on for processing. It is an amazing place to work as I have the chance to work with nobel laureates in my day-to-day life.

I enjoy going out and munzeeing because I can spend an hour after work and walk a couple of miles 50 feet at a time and never realize how far I have walked, or I can spend an afternoon with a bunch of good friends powering our way through a new area carpeting the area with new munzees and chatting away while we do it.

I also enjoy coming up with new events to make people go “wow” when they attend. My Hearts in DC event was an amazing experience, and even with the weather, everyone had so much fun. Then hosting Forging Community in May, coachV let me push the bounds of what could be done for an event and 146 people had the chance to take part in the fun. Now my challenge is to figure out how to top those events with something even cooler.

HeartsInDC

Other hobbies include:
I enjoy caching. I use a number of listing sites to hide and find caches and many of my travels are for munzeeing and caching trips. I also enjoy kayaking, especially when I can overlap it with location games, though I have yet to do paddle-munzees. I just don’t trust myself not to drop my phone in the water even if it is in a floating drybag. I am also a board game fan. I love to play them and have a wall filled with them, and some of my powergaming of board games spills over into my munzeeing. Finding the most efficient way to get the highest score in the smallest amount of time.

OBXGeek also included some socials (one of which is on the Header Image), so cap away!

1111-3rd-birthday-obxgeek

OBXGeek_Global_Social

August 5, 2015

MHQ Bash 2015 Tickets Now Available!

MHQ Bash 2015 will take place on October 9-11, 2015 at MHQ in Downtown McKinney, Texas. This IS NOT the weekend of McKinney Oktoberfest. Instead, this will be hosted the weekend of “Second Saturdays” in Downtown McKinney. These events center around art, music, and wine, so MHQ Bash will take on a similar theme.

There will be four tiers of tickets ranging from free to “All-Access”. Early bird prices are available until September 1st. Prices will go up at 5pm CST on the 1st and will be available until October 7th at 5pm CST. Even if you are only planning on using the free entry, you MUST register for the event. Giveaways will be limited for those who choose to register at the door.

For more information about the schedule and to purchase your tickets, check out the Eventbrite page: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/mhq-bash-2015-tickets-17921204806?aff=blog

August 3, 2015

The Jewels Are Complete

We’ve periodically released new Munzee Jewels to our collection over the past two years. Now, the final jewel is ready to make it’s appearance. Along with that jewel comes, of course, a badge. virtual_amethyst

We’re very happy to announce the newest and final jewel, the Amethyst. The Amethyst is a virtual jewel that is slightly different than others. The Amethyst CANNOT be captured using a blast cap. Also, unlike other virtual munzees, you have to be within 150 feet to capture the Amethyst. An Amethyst will be credited to accounts of users who subscribe to the August MunzPak.

P5PcrL8uTu9EDo9Mt5CAULnic_PZvrE2Ja3tUXAa-TgOf course with the completion of a Munzee type line, a badge should follow. We’re also releasing the Family Jewels badge today. To earn this badge, you must capture OR deploy at least one of each of the six types of jewels:

  • Diamond (available in the Munzee Store)
  • Ruby (limited availability)
  • Aquamarine (available in Munzee Store)
  • Topaz (only available in MunzPak)
  • Virtual Emerald (only available as part of Official Munzee Gardens)
  • Virtual Amethyst (currently only available in MunzPak)

August 3, 2015

Munzee Videocast Episode 36: 4th Birthday is Over

Our 36th videocast has been converted to audio, so click the link and listen on!

http://static.munzee.com/podcast/Munzee%20Videocast%2036.mp3

You can also re-watch the videocast HERE.
This week we talked about:

  • Last Day of Birthday Month
  • Munzee 3.0 Beta 2 Released
  • Eventzee 1.4 Released
  • Making Websites More Secure
  • POTW Update
  • Amethyst
  • We’re taking a break in August

Remember to join us Fridays at 3 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.

July 28, 2015

August Clan Requirements

This month’s clan war is less about the individual members and more about the clan as a group.

#1:
1,000 total points per player
Clan total greenie caps min. 300
Clan total deploys min. 30
Clan total points min. 12,000
Rewards: 1 virtual

#2:
2,000 total points per player
Clan total greenie caps min. 1,000
Clan total deploys min. 100
Clan total points min. 30,000
Rewards: 1 virtual, 2 maces, 1 virtual color

#3:
5,000 total points per player
Clan total greenie caps min. 1,800
Clan total deploys min. 200
Clan total points min. 70,000
Rewards: 1 mace, 1 longsword, 1 mystery virtual

#4:
15,000 total points per player
Clan total greenie caps min. 2,500
Clan total deploys min. 300
Clan total points min. 200,000
Rewards: 1 battle axe, 2 longswords, 1 motel, 1 virtual, 1 diamond

#5:
25,000 total points per player
Clan total greenie caps min. 3,000
Clan total deploys min. 500
Clan total points min. 350,000
Rewards: 2 battle axe, 1 mace, 1 motel, 1 virtual, 1 ruby, 1 virtual colors

June 17, 2015

Munzee Player of the Week: Lisa Wright (CrazyLadyLisa)

As Munzee has grown over the years, the game has evolved in so many more ways than any of the co-founders could have imagined. We’ve certainly had our fair share of growing pains, but in its essence Munzee has tried to stick to its core goal of getting people out into the world. No one knows this better than those players who have been with us since the beginning. This week’s Player of the Week is Lisa Wright (CrazyLadyLisa).

Who are you?
Lisa Wright, or CrazyLadyLisa, says it all really, lol

20130814_152337

Where in the world do you live?
Far off Perth, Western Australia. We are just a little isolated from everywhere!

How long have you played Munzee?
I signed up 3 years ago in June 2012, but it took a little while to get going. The bug didn’t bite for a month or so, but then it sank it’s teeth in and hasn’t let go!

How did you find Munzee?
My sister, Helen (AusTrackers), had been Munzeeing for quite a while before I was able to start. Helen and I are the top two players in Australia. Helen also introduced our sister Maria (Questing4) to the game.

What do you most enjoy about Munzee?
TRAVELING! Meeting lots of great people in Australia (near and far), Germany, England, Florida. Seeing all those new places and the back streets where no tourist has ever ventured! And the great side-benefits of exercise, fresh air, sunrises and sunsets, new bird and animal (those baby alligators were cute!) photos in the collection. The Rovers also seem to enjoy those long walks they get, lol.

Once a year, Helen and Gary (Auscapee), Maria, and I spend a week together Munzee hunting. Last year it was Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, and this year, it’s Rosebud, Victoria. It’s just great having the sisters together Munzeeing.

We have a small community here in Perth, but we get together and have fun, so looking forward to the Birthday bash we have planned.

The Clan battles are a challenge each month. Helen & I have been lucky enough to team up with some great players worldwide and can clain 5 medals for the effort, but traveling has had to be an integral part.

Love the statistics. I get myself buried in my spreadsheet of caps, deploys, and royalties (cap ons) for hours on end, updating and sorting it.

Socials, what fun are they! They have taken on a whole life of their own, from achievement awards to subject specific, they are great.

DSC_0365
What is on your wish list?

Where do I start, LOL.
Greenies need a bit more TLC. Maybe make 50 green caps a standard requirement of each Clan battle, along with more double/triple point days just for them.

Localised virtuals. Some areas Helen and I have had to revisit several times to replace missing munzees. It would be great if there was a virtual we could use that the capper had to be within say 2 feet to cap. The virtual would have all the same properties as the Munzee it replaced, mystery, ruby, etc. And needs to be a minimal cost to purchase!

Because of the limited numbers of munzees in some areas it might be nice if physicals were reset every year or two so that they can re-capped. Mind you having all those lovely red pins turn back to green/blue/… Again might freak some people out, lol. It would also be a good way of cleaning up the map as missing ones would be located before they become a special one can’t find!

Notifications back on the App for Munzee messages. Players might then read the message waiting for them!

Some way of contacting all the players in your area about events etc. Not everyone is on Facebook where most of the planning takes place. After all they may not even know there are Facebook Groups for everything munzee, and forums can be quite daunting.

Restructuring the levels, it takes a long time and many miles nowadays to level up, lol.

It would be nice if there were separate scoreboards for physical and virtual capping, as well as combined.

Please, add the beta unleash/fetch all option for rovers to the App! It is very stressful sitting in the airport departure lounge with boarding going on and one is individually fetching 321 rovers who have been out for a quick walk!

20130819_175020
Tell us about yourself!

I’m 56, widowed for 4 years and have been a Librarian at the state government Dept. Of Parks and Wildlife for 26 years. I leave home about 05.30 each work day so I can munzee before work. Not so much fun this time of the year as it’s dark, cold and sometimes wet! That time of the morning is much better during summer as it’s the cooler part of the day. One can’t munzee hunt well in 37° C+ (100° F+) days. I try and pop out Saturday mornings for a little while, and Sundays, Helen and I go out together, which is great.

I have 2 rainbow lorikeets who keep me company and a goose in the backyard (my late husband decorated eggs!).

Helen and I have done a lot of travelling, Europe 2 years in a row, mainly because the mystery virtuals turned up after our first visit, so we just had to go back, the concentrations of virtuals is amazing. We still remember with pride, that we got our 10K badge by physically capping mysteries in Lommel, Belgium. It took us all day, but we did it ourselves. Sadly, the advent of the blast (we call them budgies, much safer word to use in airports and train stations) has meant that particular personal accomplishment is not strived for by current players.

I accompanied a friend to Florida in May this year, which was wonderful. Met lots of great players, saw lots of lovely sights and munzeed to my hearts content. Driving on the wrong side of the road was a challenge as were those 4-way stop signs and turning right on a red light! And those vultures, fascinating.

Other hobbies include:
You mean there are other things out there besides munzees? LOL, when I have spare time (not often nowadays) I bead, embroider, create articles with plastic canvas (ie phone cover with personal social on it). I do have a stamp collection somewhere in the bowels of the compactus but it hasn’t seen the light of day for quite a while now. I do play that other geolocating game, to a minor degree, usually when I am out with Helen. The whole Coexist campaign is great, after all one can play both football and cricket on the same playing field, and it can be so with all geolocating games.

P.S. Please, please, please include a sensible deploy note, if the location isn’t in the name already. After all you want the points as well, and if it can’t be found both lose out!

P.P.S A big thank you for the nomination, it’s much appreciated and has been fun writing up, finding photos, and creating another Social, LOL.

3birds

June 3, 2015

Munzee Player of the Week: Michelle Mitchell (LILYGRIMALDI)

As Munzee has grown over the years, the game has evolved in so many more ways than any of the co-founders could have imagined. We’ve certainly had our fair share of growing pains, but in its essence Munzee has tried to stick to its core goal of getting people out into the world. No one knows this better than those players who have been with us since the beginning. This week’s Player of the Week is Michelle Mitchell (LILYGRIMALDI).

Who are you?6222158811380374487
My name is Michelle Mitchell (LILYGRIMALDI).

Where in the world do you live?
I live on the south coast of the UK in a town called Bournemouth.

How long have you played Munzee?
I have been playing Munzee since May 2013, so for 2 years now.

How did you find Munzee?
I was introduced to Munzee by a coworker, Steve (jonseyboy52), who had only found it himself about a month earlier. So I downloaded the app, found my first Munzee, and was hooked. I then had my first of many targets to beat his score, which took a while as back then, Munzees were very scattered about the local area.

4995478716461964819

What do you most enjoy about Munzee?
I enjoy several aspects of the game of Munzee. The fact that you have to get out and about and can find places, even local, that you never knew were there. Meeting so many new friends with the same love of the game. The exercise it gives me, as I have never really enjoyed walking before playing Munzee. The competitive nature of the clan wars.

5689898852190461854
What is on your wish list? I would like more extra points says on greenie captures and more emphasis on greenies altogether, i.e. badges for capping 100/200/500 greenies in a day (thanks for the idea jonseyboy52) or badges for total capped greens like for 1,000/5,000/10,000 or maybe 25,000.


Tell us about yourself!

I have lived in Bournemouth all of my 49 years. My mother lives with me and I look after her as well as working a full time job for 30 years at Royal Mail (nights) our national mail carrier. I have 3 Jack Russell dogs that now enjoy Munzee walks. Until I started Munzee, I would spend a lot of time just sitting in front of the television, but now I am out every day for at least 1 to 2 hours looking for those QR codes. Even my munnzee name came from an American Daytime soap character from “As The World Turns”. Back in June 2013, not long after finding this fantastic game, I found other players on a local social media site, and by July, had agreed to go on a trip to Cologne with 3 people I had never met before. This was the beginning of what has now turned out to be a great friendship with pilsleyguy(world no1) along with chocolatefairy and peters and others. Together with pilsleyguy, I have travelled all through Europe capping and enjoying the sites and food of every city.

5325060201395757398

Other hobbies include:
I do not have any other hobbies. This takes up all my time.

June 2, 2015

REMINDER: Munzee Worldwide Birthday Events

With Munzee’s 4th Birthday just a few weeks away we have so much exciting news on the horizon. Our monthlong celebration of all things Munzee kicks off the first weekend of July with worldwide Birthday parties hosted by you, our players. From July 1-5 we have asked that our international community join us in celebration of four years of Munzeeing by hosting their own Munzee events.

Over the past month we’ve had lots of interest in hosting these worldwide events, due in large part to the promise of a special Birthday event badge. We would like to remind everyone that in order to get this special badge at your event there must be at least ten people who participate in the event and it must be scheduled on the official Munzee calendar. Just visit http://calendar.munzee.com/ to submit your event and be sure to follow along on social media for more Birthday announcements.

These events are also an opportunity for our various clans, groups, and communities to create custom badges and icons for the players in attendance. As stated earlier we have had a lot of events scheduled, many of which have had custom badges and icons created for their events. If you’re interested in hosting an event with custom icons/badges there is a 28 day advance notice required. So if you want special icons/badges for your Munzee Birthday Event you must have that submitted to the Munzee Event Team by June 3rd at 5pm MHQ time or there will be a surcharge.

Events are a perfect way to grow the game in your area, so be sure to spread word through all available avenues.