The Firecracker Arcade Updates It's Games

By Bixyl Shuftan

Last year as part of Montecito Bay's renovation, among the new buildings was a video arcade. The games were provided by Mateo Firecaster, and there were a lot of them. There was one not so small problem though. The majority of them relied on Flash to play, a program that would no longer be supported after the end up the year. So Mateo has been updating them.

In late December, the following games no longer needed Flash:

Killer Instinct, Puzzle Bobble, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles, Splatterhouse 2, Street Fighter II Turbo, Super Ghouls'n Ghosts, Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World, Super Mario Kart, Super Mario World 2, Yoshi's Island, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III - The Manhattan Project, Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV - Turtles in Time

More recently, it was announced a second set of games were ready to play:

Kong Classic, Altered Beast, Sonic The Hedgehog, Dr. Mario, Moonwalker, Castlevania Bloodlines Special Edition, Double Dragon, Streets of Rage, Sonic The Hedgehog 2, Jurassic Park Rampage Edition, Metal Gear MSX, F-Zero, Breath Of Fire, Sailor Moon R, Metroid, StarTropics, SimCity, Kid Icarus, Super Tetris 3, Super Street Fighter II: The New Challenger, Final Fight 3, Thunder Force IV, Ms. Pac-Man, EarthBound, Tetris, Mega Man X, The Lion King, Dragon Quest IV, The Revenge of Shinobi, ToeJam & Earl, Jurassic Park, and Dragon Ball Z Hyper Dimension.

As mentioned before, many of these games weren't in real-life arcades but in home console systems or from 21st century app gaming. Sim-City is really a strategy game that one could save some progress on their cartridges, but that's not an option here yet.

Mateo also had some instructions on how to play the games.  

How the arcade games work: A̲r̲c̲a̲d̲e̲s̲ ̲n̲o̲t̲ ̲w̲o̲r̲k̲?̲

Our arcades works without Flash Player, games are now playable perfectly without lag, but you have to update your viewer to the newest EPP release.


H̲o̲w̲ ̲t̲o̲ ̲p̲l̲a̲y̲:̲

Right click the cabinet and select "Sit Arcad", your camera will automatically focus on the screen.
A menu at the right top of your screen will open, you can choose your gender bento animation, adjust the pose or close the menu.

C̲o̲n̲t̲r̲o̲l̲s̲ ̲S̲e̲t̲t̲i̲n̲g̲s̲:̲

By default, keyboard controls are "z, x, c, a ,s d", RETURN and ← ↑ → ↓
You can customize your own controls by click the gamepad icon at the bottom left of the cabinet screen.


M̲u̲t̲e̲ ̲s̲o̲u̲n̲d̲:̲

Click the music note icon at the bottom left of cabinet screen.


R̲e̲s̲t̲a̲r̲t̲ ̲t̲h̲e̲ ̲g̲a̲m̲e̲:̲

Click the arrows in a circle icon at the bottom left of cabinet screen.


H̲o̲w̲ ̲t̲o̲ ̲s̲t̲o̲p̲ ̲t̲h̲e̲ ̲a̲r̲c̲a̲d̲e̲ ̲c̲a̲b̲i̲n̲e̲t̲s̲?̲

You only have to turn off your media player of your viewer.

 Have fun playing the games you spent hours on in your younger years, or want to take a crack at the classics.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Montecito%20Bay/39/29/23

Bixyl Shuftan

RFL: Settlers of Hope And Fiona Fei's Ribbon Hunt

By Bixyl Shuftan

The theme of this year's Relay season was "Game On, Cancer." And at the Relay track this year, the camps often had a tribute to a game. Several of the camps had builds inspired by Monopoly, such as the Sunbeamers. And some had actual games such as the Second Life Cheerleading Squad's playable game inspired by Donkey Kong. Two I came across offered prizes for completing games. One was in RFL Encourage: "Settlers of Hope."

Sandie Loxingly told me that the game had been made by her Relay Team "Seekers of Hope." It was based off the board game "Settlers of Catan."

 I would come back later with an alt.  In this SL game, a player had to purchase the HUD for 100L.

 As one goes down the track, one clicks on the people next to the signs to get a resource. You only get one good per station. There's also several games on the track, such as this Bejeweled spinoff.

Usually you get the same kind of good as the station. But sometimes a different one will appear. If you prefer the usual kind, click on the person again once or twice again.

Besides the game, there was a little scenery to explore.

At the end of the course, click on the chest at the end to get a prize. What you get depends on what combination of the six resources you have. For instance, one of each will get you a "Gamer Signs Fatpack." But there are others. Trying a combination not mentioned in the notecard, what I got was a token prize. Oh well, next time.

Oh, and Sandie told me one can get an online version of "The Settlers of Catan" for free on Steam (link).

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/RFL%20Encourage/194/113/22

Of the sims, RFL Courage was a unique one, as it was designed by an artist.

Fiona Fei (Fionafei Resident) had designed the exhibit.

One place was meant to say "Pencil and paper games," which certainly described the sim.

Much of the place looked like landscape covered in various scribbling and simple games on paper.

But the place wasn't just scenery. There was also the "Black Ribbon Hunt."

 Clicking on the sign, one would get the first clue, and would find the eight others by finding the eight black ribbons in the sim.

 There were several tiny critters in the sim, that when clicked on would say something, occasionally offering a clue to finding a ribbon.

Some of the ribbons were clearly in plain sight, though others took me a while to find.

 A few of the ribbons had little gifts, such as this overhead, "Game on, Cancer!" (those in furry avatars, don't wear but add).

For getting all of the ribbons, the player gets a tiny "Toontoons" avatar. It seems to be one at random from a couple dozen, in my case getting a female panda.

There are of course more games in the rest of the sims, and a lot to explore. While some people have picked up their camps, there's plenty to look over. But not for long. Eventually the sims will be gone, so look around while you can.

Bixyl Shuftan

Halloween Attractions at Caledon

By Bixyl Shuftan

Earlier, the Newser reported on a Halloween party held at the steampunk-themed community of Caledon. For fans of the area and people who missed on the event or are looking for more fun there, or are just looking around for more spooky fun, there's more fun and games to be found there.

Cynthia Farshore's Caledon Downs has a few games that residents looking for spook-tacular fun. One is a Skull hunt courtesy of Shockwave Yareach. To start, look for one of three large "giver skulls" that will hnd you instructions, as well as a basket. "There are nineskulls hidden about, here and there.  When you find one, simply touch it (note: you must be within 20m).  The picture of a skull will appear in your basket, showing how many you have found.  Try to find all nine skulls and put their souls to rest.  But don't think this too easy.  Not to give anything away right now, but keep in mind as you search that the dead are not resting right now.  Just keep that thought in mind."

The skulls could be "in any public building, gun placement, tower, runway, hanger...  If you don't have to cam to go there, it can be there." They will not be underwater, inside vehicles, in trees, or private homes.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Caledon%20Downs/99/90/32

Also at Caledon Downs, in the northwest corner of the sim, is a Haunted Steeplechase. To run it, go to the starting gate, touch it to start, and run the course as it goes up and down a nearby hill, jumping over obstacles. The best times are posted on the board. I saw no sign of a horse rezzer, so you'll have to provide your own steed.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Caledon%20Downs/43/156/23

To the east, there's a shooting gallery. To play, press the sign to get the spider gun in your inventory, then click on it and select "add." You then press the green button to start a round, shooting spiders at the various monsters and ghosts. When you're done, your score is displayed.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Caledon%20Downs/202/81/44

To the south of Caledon Downs is Caledon SouthEnd. Here, you'll find a spooky amusement park in three parts. There are a number of rides to go on, notably four rides through haunts. The "Orphan Asylum" ride was busted, but the other three were working. Probably the scariest of these was a demonic-themed one which the maker felt they needed to add a disclaimer on.

There were also games to play, such as a "wack-a-mole" type game with witches popping out of nine pumpkins. There was another shooting gallery game, in which one was to shoot the zombies while avoiding hitting the human. In another shooting game, one shoots at witches, ghosts, black cats, etc. while avoiding hitting the pumpkin, "we need it for the pie." For those wanting a break from the spooky, there are regular rides such as a ferris wheel.

The main parcel of the carnival is at http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Caledon%20SouthEnd/129/41/23

Caledon is a big place, so there's likely to be a Halloween attraction I missed. But the ones I found are worth stopping by to look.

Bixyl Shuftan

Gaming Island

By Bixyl Shuftan

Recently on the official Second Life Blog, Linden Lab announced the creation of an area to inform residents about "skill games," Gaming Island. They called it a "region dedicated to educating Residents about skill games in Second Life." Deciding to see what exactly the place was like, I went over to check it out.
 

To begin with, it used to be that games which were outright gambling were available to play and common in Second Life. There were virtual casinos in Second Life in which people could play blackjack, poker, roulette, slot machines, and more. But in 2007, Linden Lab banned gambling on the grid, saying there were laws against it on the Internet. And the games and casinos vanished. Some time afterward, new games such as "Zyngo" appeared. The makers claimed that some degree of strategy was involved, and play did not rely entirely on chance. Despite their similarity to gambling machines, Linden Lab allowed the games, although could and did demand changes in a game's internal programing. Some residens saw little difference between these games and other forms of online gambling.

In July 2014, Linden Lab updated their policy on "skill games," saying they could only be in designated areas of which the owners had applied to the Lab to house them and pay fees. The makers of such games also had to be approved by Linden Lab and pay them fees as well. Critics charged Linden Lab was trying to squeeze a few extra bucks from the residents out of greed out of an industry of which the legality was based on technicalities in the law. But a number in the business paid the fees and a number of residents continue to spend Lindens on the games.


As it turned out, there is more than one "Gaming Island" on the map, Gaming Island and Gaming Island 2, presumably in case Linden Lab anticipated anticipated a large number of residents checking out the place. A third, Gaming Island Build, was blocked when I tried heading over. Heading to one, the area is made up of a welcome area for landing on, a "Play" area for the games, a "Learn" area to find out the basics of the Lab's policies on the games, and a portal area to one of several gaming areas.

There were several different kinds of games there, all in "free to play" mode. There were instructions nearby explaining how the games are played. I found the games rather simple enough. While they offered a prize for getting to a certain score, I never did reach it in any of the games.

The "Learn" area was were the policy of Skill Games was explained in brief. The definition of a Skill Game is describes. Another sign mentions the eleven US states where residents living cannot take part, which ironically includes Nevada despite it's gambling mecca of Las Vegas.

The last place was a portal area which would teleport residents to one of several areas with skill games. For some reason, PI Games, which did have machines in the "Learn" area, did not have a portal leading to their place. In the past, PI Games temporarily closed and halted operations of it's machines due to Linden Lab but has since come back online and their gaming hall is up and running.

Despite the controversy, it seems unless there are some changes in the law, Skill Games will continue to be a part of Second Life. And it's up to residents to decide whether or not to play. Just keep in mind in the long run, the House always wins.

Bixyl Shuftan

Games in Second Life: Linden Realms and 7Seas

By Gemma Cleanslate

Bixyl asked what games do we play. I looked back in my life in sl and I still miss the old casinos , especially the camping casinos ,sorry to say. Sigh. I am not fond of the new gaming possibilities. So far I have not attempted any mostly because of laziness.

One game I still like is chasing crystals in the Linden Realms. It is "stupid fun" to run and escape the rumbling monsters that watch over the crystals and will get you if you are not fast or careful enough. That is okay because there are resurrection sites where you go after they kill you and begin again from there. You never lose the crystal points you have captured and when they are enough to matter you can go and exchange them for lindens. 

Each part of a realm is large and encompasses many adventures to run through. When you first arrive in the realms for the first time you will be asked to complete a quest. I did that years ago, but then you are free to run to any area of the forests, caves, mountains, hollows and find the varied colored crystals that stick out of the ground. Each color offers certain points to exchange. Not only do you have to watch the rock monsters but watch for falling rocks and many other very scary dangers. Try it for yourself. Read the rules and follow them or you will find yourself at home once in a while. 

You will automatically be wearing a hud that keeps track of your crystals while you are in the realms but don’t worry if it does not appear, your points are still added. The entrance is by teleport through a blue arch found at the Linden Portal Park.    

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Portal%20Park%201/69/66/23

Another game I play almost every day I am in Second Life for at least 30 minutes or possibly more if I have time is 7Seas Fishing Contest. I have been fishing for almost 10 years and not only fishing in contests but hosting them for various places. It is a social activity as well as a contest. All the fishers who are mostly too lazy to hold a rod so fish automatically with invisible rods. It is all random. 

As soon as the cast begins the fishers begin to collect various fish with points that are registered on a leader board that keeps track of the points of the top 5 fishers. At the end of the contest the top winners are rewarded with lindens and possibly trophies and other rewards. Bait is used in almost every contest and we must purchase our own bait. There may be a lot of grumbling taking place as time passes and the fish are not biting. 

Trivia questions play at some of the fishing holes and help pass the time. Conversations can range from fashion to food. Greedy game is available at some of the sites but I have never tried that. And there are many Krafties (another game I have not tried) enthusiasts who come fishing too and have their battles while there.  

There are other forms of fishing in sl but this one is my favorite. There are custom fish to be caught at many of the sites that people love to collect as well as the trophies. Those trophies belong to Grey Nacht who collects them and more. 

You can learn about 7seas Fishing at the website  http://www.7seasfishing.com/  or you can visit the headquarters inworld.  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Flotsam%20Beach/39/104/22

Gemma Cleanslate

JasX Games Part 4: Designing BARE

By Locke Esgal

Last time, we talked about Fright and J-fish, but that's not even his biggest game. Many of you have heard of BARE, the fighting card game that's played in quite a few clubs and sims across the grid. I asked Jasdac about his inspiration for the game. He answered, “Fright was also my first complete free to play game. Then a friend sent me to an early alpha of a game, Kemo Coliseum. At the time, I wanted to make a class based fighting game. I started working on it with the working name Domcom. This was summer 2013.”

Kemo Coliseum is a versus game similar to Bejeweled where two people fight in an attempt to strip the armor and lower the health of the enemy with gem combos and special abilities. “My friend sent me the first public alpha and I was pretty hooked, except I'm not a huge fan of Bejeweled. I knew I wanted something where you'd strip your opponent's armor piece by piece.”

At this point, all that was needed was the fine tuning of the idea. A inkling, a thought...anything that might kick start the game we know and love today.

“So I distinctly remember taking a walk around the neighborhood, this was after midnight. When I came back 15 min later. I had the first BARE combat system planned out.  And one day of scripting later, I had the first working version of BARE. Now keep in mind BARE at that time didn't have any abilities, no combat styles other than the default, and no website.I needed someone to test on, and realized I had an old bot that I used for mesh upload back when firestorm didn't have mesh upload features. Which meant I needed to run firestorm for building and regular viewer for uploading.”

This testing period proved fruitful, as now BARE is likely the most played game Jas has made! “BARE grew pretty exponentially and by the time I released it (roughly 3 months after inception) it had almost overtaken TiS. At this moment, BARE has 8.5k users. And the idea of having cosmetic sex-related things for sale (like animation packs) while releasing the game itself for free, seems to be the most profitable thing.”

For more about BARE, check out their page at http://jasx.org/lsl/BARE/ .

Next time, we'll have the last part where we learn a bit about Jas working with another game designer, Toonie, and learn more about Dungeons and Pandas!

Locke Esgal

Editor's Note: You might want to know your opponent some before getting into a BARE match. From what I was told, and saw in group chat, while a squeaky-clean PG-rated match takes no effort, some frisky players take advantage of the options. But there's no shortage of courteous players whom would rather not embarrass new fighters learning the game.

JasX Games Part 3

By Locke Esgal

    In the previous part, we learned about how JasX managed to succeed in game creation, but Jas has also had a few mistakes. While games like TiS, BARE and Fright have done extremely well, one game didn't quite top the charts in sales.

    “jFish. Nobody plays jFish," Jasdac Stockholm explained, "I wanted to take on 7seas, but I guess fishing just isn't popular on SL. It's a bit of a niche, something you could do when there was nothing else to do. jFish was a really good learning experience for website-scripting though. By today, jFish has 1377 players. I'm not even sure if I've made back the Lindens I spent uploading content for that game, so I guess it's pretty dead in the water.”

    Not to be deterred by a single loss, Jas moved on to some more familiar projects, ones that are still played today. “jFish was released in early 2012. Since jFish was not doing well, I decided to start anew at an adult game. This time I wanted to explore PVP, so I came up with Fright. Fright is probably the quickest 'big game' I've ever made. ... Oh yeah, mesh came out just as I was rounding up TiS, so Fright was the first game I made where I completely abandoned sculpties, since they're really bad. I think Fright took less than a month and a half to make.”

    During the creation of Fright, Jasdac began to sit down and show his process to his growing fanbase, starting to create on stream for all to see. From these, others could learn how to make their own mesh objects, including potential levels for both Fright and TiS “I also remember streaming a lot of tutorials on mesh. When I made the game I wrote down all the meshes I'd like to use, then I'd sit and stream for hours at a time while I just worked off that list. It wasn't very fun, but some people enjoyed it.”

    “My reason for making Fright was to just make something people could enjoy for Halloween, but it did get some traction, so I made two additional maps and some extra game modes. It was fun all in all, even though the fun of playing died down for me quite fast.”

    Stay tuned for part 4, when we take a look at BARE, what inspired it, and talk a bit about Jasdac's Dungeons and Pandas branch!

Locke Esgal

JasX Games Part 2

By Locke Esgal

    In the previous segment, we took a look at how Jasdac Stockholm of JasX Games got his start in creating his different games. Jas had created a game called Fable of the Unknown that took SL by storm, setting the framework that helped create Tentacles in Space. However, it wasn't his first game.

     “Somewhere there I also made a Halloween game. I think that might have actually preceded all of those. Well before all that tentacle stuff, I do remember making a Halloween puzzle game. Basically just a big haunted house (like Fright). I got permission to rez it and play in one of the sandboxes during Halloween and a bunch of people had a lot of fun with it. Even though it was VERY crude, that game kinda spawned a running gag. In the game you'd first find a shovel, then you'd find a frying pan and pitchfork to tie to the shovel to remove spider webs, then you'd find a key holder to add to it to keep your keys in one place. Then finally, you'd be able to add a bolt launcher to it. The 'shovelnator' made it's way into TiS. I think there might still be a shovelnator poster somewhere in Fright. It's not in BARE though.”


    References to Jas's other games do occasionally pop up in the background of BARE maps, but they weren't the only inspirations for some of the games.  “Anyways, moving ahead to 2010. A friend and I play Borderlands a lot. I decide I want to make a similar thing in Second Life. Thusly, TiS is born. A new function has been added, llSetLinkPrimitiveParamsFast(), which lets you reduce lag by a lot. Also by implementing a sort of "LOD" which makes monsters only animate when players are near. So TiS is still laggy, but at least it's better than FotU.”

    Even with TiS' success, Linden Scripting Language is notoriously limited for such large-scale complex projects. “Some time a few years ago, I stopped selling and took down the remnants of FotU, because it was a security hole. Right now, TiS is the security hole in by back. Going back, it's awfully scripted.  But TiS is nonetheless where I got my first popularity, if you can call it that, in SL. It's a really good learning experience, if I see something I like, I tried implementing it. It was fun all around to make, even if it's a pain now.”

    “TiS today has 4500 registered users. That sort of game is really not meant for SL, though. It does have some major issues, most of them stemming from it's size and age. High lag, high prim cost, and a steep learning curve makes it not a game for everyone. But it did get some very dedicated fans, and I made enough money to keep going at least.”

    Not all of JasX games were the successes we know today. In the next part, we'll take a look at a game that didn't do so well, as well as some more of the well known games. See you next time for Part 3 of the Jasdac interview!

Locke Esgal

JasX Games

by Locke Esgal

Second Life has always been a beacon of creativity in online sandbox gaming, predating games like Minecraft by years. People have been able to make avatars for people to use, clothing to wear, places to live, and even games to play. One company, JasX, has taken a spin on the usual card games and has managed to create exciting games like BARE, a card-based fighting game, TiS, a first person shooter similar to the Borderlands series and Fright, a Halloween themed scavenger hunt. However, many have wondered about the man behind the JasX logo. Well, I've been fortunate enough to grab an interview with Jasdac Stockholm and got to ask him the big question: How did you get started in creating games in Second Life?

    I came across him coding for his next new game, a branch off from a pen and paper game, "Dungeons and Pandas." After a little persuasion, I got Jasdac to spill the beans on his rise to Second Life fame and his history creating games for the virtual sandbox.

    Jas wrote, “Well, it started off with a flash game someone made. I liked the idea of a furry game with tentacles and went like, 'Wait with my scripting knowledge in SL, maybe I could make something'. So I made a prototype...To position the player, I made a little invisible vehicle the user would have to rez and sit on called a 'walkpad'. My first prototype was just an obstacle course and it was laggy, as well, because sculpt swapping (sculpts had just been introduced) was laggy as s**t, and still is. I just had the little thing as a test. Then I made FotU.”

    "Fable of the Unknown," while not on his current list of playable games, is recognizable to many long time fans as the predecessor to his first person role playing game, Tentacles in Space.

    Jas continued, “FotU was kinda like my previous game except it had very rudimentary combat. You got to pick between 3 classes, I think. You still had a walkpad which would cause people to fall over and it had achievements...But the monsters were now mobile! It was still laggy, but not as bad.”

    Back in 2007-2008, many functions in the Linden Scripting Language didn't exist, so it made certain aspects of coding difficult at best, lag-inducing at worst. Despite this, FotU did rather well.

    “...FotU was my first 'success'; I was so happy when I made 10k Linden Dollars (around 50 USD) from it. It was heavily focused on puzzle solving. It got popular enough to warrant an expansion. The coding was terrible, but it did pave the way for TiS.”

    Ten thousand Lindens is nothing to sneeze at for a first game, especially when you consider most of the JasX games available these days are free to start, save for the 300L TiS. While FotU was a rousing success, Jas moved on to create even more games. We'll move even farther down the path that led us here, along with a glance into Jasdac's current projects in Part 2!

Locke Esgal

Death in the Desert

 By Grey Lupindo

If you like riddles and mysteries, the new “Death in the Desert” site should be on your list of go-to places.    It opened October 1^st and will remain open until October 31^st.   The site was created by Slueth-Sayers Builders and is located at Death in the Desert, Fun and Games (130, 20, 22)

The mystery is that that Edmund Mallory, a great archaeologist but perhaps a not-so-great person, is missing.  He has lots of enemies, including rival archaeologists, shady businessmen, government agents, and even his own son.   There are notecards which give you the background on the historic site, as well as a few bare facts about Mallory.  After the original investigator was promoted to a position with INTERPOL, a new agent—you-- is assigned to the case.  To make matters more interesting, the evidence that the first Investigator found has been stolen from the police evidence locker.    

Since I love hunts and mysteries, this seemed like a perfect challenge for me.    The locale is beautiful, too:  an Egyptian market surrounded by the desert, the Nile, a pyramid, and lovely oasis waterfalls.    

The first problem I faced was too high a script count.   To its credit, the sim keeps lag down by keeping scripted avi’s at bay.    Warning messages told me how many scripts I needed to lose or risk being sent home.   It took a bit, but I finally got my weight down without shedding too many clothes.

You are instructed to first go to the police station to meet Police Chief Fasir.   This is easy since there is a large sign.  At the police station you receive a Case File filed with photos of the main suspects, interview notes, clues and other items.   You are then sent out to investigate. 

To work the case you will need to look in every shop and back alley.   As you hunt you’ll find some freebies as well as some beautiful items for sale.   I picked up some free clothing, lots of snacks, and a few other fun items.   The goods for sale range from beautiful furniture to inexpensive trinkets.   My favorite furniture item was an inlaid desk with drawers that open and close.   My favorite fun item was a pool of blood on the floor, which was for sale for $30L.   I passed up buying either item, but I may go back after that desk.

 There’s also a train and a boat to ride, both of which were fun and passed by sites where you might find clues.  I hopped off once or twice, but when I stayed off too long the train left without me.   It was a long, dry walk back to the market.  

After receiving the case file, I snooped around and soon found informant Badru Fayad.   I collected some evidence off of him, including a pick axe and shovel.  Then I was off to dig up more clues.

As soon as I found my first person, I was able to access the interview sheet.   I quickly realized I was going to have to gather all of the basic information before I could solve the crime, just like a RL detective should do.   Once all of the evidence is gathered, the rules tell you to take your time solving the mystery.  If you guess wrong, you have to start all over gathering the clues again.  

So far I’ve found four of the people I need to interview and lots of evidence, including a potentially useful recipe for poison.   I’ve filled up on snacks and Skeleton Cake, too.   In short, I had a great time.

The names of the ace detectives who have already solved the puzzle are listed at the entrance.  My name isn’t there yet, but I’m working on it.

 Fun and Games (130, 20, 22)


Grey Lupindo

The Elusive Arcade

By Gemma Cleanslate

I have been trying for two days to get into the Country Club region to visit The Arcade. 

This is an Event at The Arcade and it is the first birthday. It is always full! This event will be here until the 30th of September, so sooner or later you may be able to get there. It is billed on the website as, “The Arcade is a brand of gacha events within Second Life, featuring some of the grid’s best content creators.” Read about gacha events here on the website http://thearcadesl.com/about/the-event/ . 

As I hung around in the air at the edge of the sim with others waiting and hoping we got a message from Archibald Gachum, who shouted, "Enter The Arcade photography contest, featuring prizes from 12 beloved brands. 1st place gets early access into our next 4 gacha events (December 2013 - September 2014)! http://thearcadesl.com/contest/how-to-enter “ in the chat. 

As I cammed in on the inside of the Arcade, I could see that the games are definitely arcade games from the past. Each game has a prize connected with it that is displayed on a small billboard next to the machines. I don’t know how much it costs to play yet, since I am still hovering on the next sim edge but it looks extremely popular and I wanted to let you all know about it so you will have time to try to enter. The build itself is worth a visit and perhaps if you are a photographer enter the contest. 

As I looked around at the three sims next to Country club I found 34 avatars hovering in the air or on the landing ship in Casablanca Bay, or Club Road and Park Drive. If you are a member of the group I read that you are granted early admission to an event.  As I left there were still 31 people inside The Arcade. Good Luck!! I will try again tomorrow! This is the first time I have written about a place to which I have never been! 

Thanks to Daniel Voyager for getting the slurl!
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Country%20Club/167/114/3132

Gemma Cleanslate

Editor's Note: The games I noticed in a visit in June cost 25-100 Lindens each round to play. It's possible others could be higher.

Byngo is Booming Again

After several weeks of angst among the byngo fanatics, it looks like the game is flourishing again. There was a period of withdrawal that had some lovers of the game panting for its return. To satisfy the Linden Lab, the creator of the game, Dazzo Staheli, has redesigned the Super B Bonus game so that there is a decision making element. I watched as some of the players tried out the new game, and learned how to play it properly. After several days of trial it looks like the nearly finished product is back on line at all the byngo places in Second Life. 

Dazzo is hoping that this is the end of the changes. I talked to two of the byngo place owners. Both seem to like it. Bold Baddingham said, ”It's going good, Super B bonus plays a lot differently. But once people of gotten used to it, I’d say feedback is great, players like it. It`s more of a challenge to play. There a sense of achievement even if you don’t win in a lot of cases.” Felgood812 Solo remarked, “Well they seem to like it. ... just one I talked to don’t like it. .... too hard for her but everyone else does. ... just a little slow getting them back here to play.” 

I also talked to several players.  Alyssa Darwinian told me, “Yes I have played it, but only once. And I was confused. I did not know about the changes and when my game was over after only 1 line I was bummed. I have since read the new rules, which I should have done before playing the game, and it looks like it is going to be fun.  I see myself back to playing the game as much as ever. And I used to play all the time, which means everyday (laughter).” and Cassie  Broadfoot told me she loved it and likes that it “requires more concentration and strategy,” and has already won quite a few times. 

If you like to play bingo in real-life try byngo in SL. Check out the Byngo Bonus group for more information and places to play. 

Editor's note: Be sure to check out Gemma's earlier article about the Byngo controversy Here. 

Gemma Cleanslate