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The 2013 Summer Game Shop is NOW OPEN!

by eli

Are you playing the SUMMER GAME at your library? If so, the 2013 SUMMER GAME SHOP is now open for you to spend your points on great AADL stuff! If not, well, what are you waiting for? Players of ALL AGES can have fun earning points by reading, attending events, finding codes hidden in library buildings, and solving puzzles hidden in the AADL catalog, plus tagging, reviewing, and rating items ALL SUMMER LONG! GET STARTED today and see what all the fuss is about with Ann Arbor's most rewarding way to spend your summer! Any questions? Just Contact Us and we'll help you out! Find some codes, read some books, play some games, get some points and trade them in for great stuff like this, delivered to the branch of your choice! It's super fun all summer... DON'T MISS IT!

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Comments

Submitted by ssmyth on Fri, 07/05/2013 - 5:58pm

Thanks again for another smashingly great Summer Game Shop! Some familiar things, some improved things and some super cool new things! You guys are the BEST!!

Submitted by adimarzo on Fri, 07/05/2013 - 7:34pm

Love all the bags! The backpack from last summer is great. These look just as good. Off to place an order now.

Submitted by ValerieL Staff on Tue, 07/09/2013 - 3:45pm

@irenzero - LOL, my bag addiction has also been fed. :)

Loving all the cool new stuff in the shop this year. Had to get a little puppy dog for my niece. I got one of the super closeout packs too and will give her the duck in a bucket. She's only 4 months old so doesn't need a sand bucket QUITE yet, but someday soon. :) Looking forward to the picnic blanket as well - I often like to go walking in gentle rain showers but I do NOT like sitting on wet benches so that might be nice for that too with its moisture-resistant/blocking back. :)

Looking forward to seeing some of the other mystery prizes as the summer unfolds!

OMG!!!!!! Those earbuds!!!!! I am SOOOOOOOO getting those!!! *squeee* They are so cool!!! *freaking out* I don't even know why I'm so excited… But I'm probably gonna go on a shopping spree like James.

Submitted by messa on Fri, 07/05/2013 - 11:45pm

Are there going to be any different items added to the Standard Items as the game progresses or is it just the Super Packages that will be added?

Submitted by tawesomenessk on Sun, 07/07/2013 - 12:30pm

awesome

Submitted by Akkitaset on Sun, 07/07/2013 - 12:32pm

:)

Submitted by Akkitaset on Sun, 07/07/2013 - 12:33pm

LOVE NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDDDDD

Submitted by Akkitaset on Sun, 07/07/2013 - 12:33pm

ABSOLUTLEY AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!

Submitted by graceliu on Sun, 07/07/2013 - 7:20pm

How long does it take for the orders to be ready for pickup? I ordered some things on the first day, will it be ready by August?

Uh… @rose twinkle?
Spam much? JK. But please stop doing that… it's kinda hard to find actual Q&A about the summer game shop that way… :(

And @graceliu
It should be around a week but as the summer progresses and awesome stuff comes in (YEAH!) it could take a bit longer cause a lot of people will be ordering stuff. ;)

Submitted by andrea on Sun, 07/07/2013 - 8:13pm

Great looking prizes! How did you know that my kids need new lunch sacks to go with their awesome (and very much needed) backpacks from last year? Perfect!

Submitted by fka83111 on Sun, 07/07/2013 - 8:24pm

Yeah

Submitted by Jan Wolter on Mon, 07/08/2013 - 7:09am

I very much enjoyed the descriptions of the products in the summer games shop. Very entertaining.

But do I get "I finished this" points for reading them? "Review" points for saying I liked them?

Oops, sorry, getting a little obsessive here.

@Jan I don't know whether to be proud or apologize to you that I recruited you into the summer game. ;-) lol. Maybe both? I hope you are enjoying the obsession like I am.

Getting addicted to the Summer Game is a thing to be proud of. :)
RIght, gxl? (*cough* The person who was teasing me for being so obsessed last year, look where you are now on the leaderboard *cough*)

I should have done that!!!!! *sigh*
If I get duplicates, at least they will be there to distract my sister or replace anything that breaks....(my headphones broke and I'm glad I had another pair)

Submitted by tomiwa on Mon, 07/08/2013 - 3:51pm

I'm going to get my young cousin an S.G Puppypants because we got him a S.G Bearpants last year. I'm also going to get one for myself.

Teamwork! I wonder just how many of us are in the top 20s or 30s.....
I think I will just put into my cart what I want, and buy them only when they are running out, since it's probable that they will release the super packages before that.

Submitted by illy on Mon, 07/08/2013 - 11:22pm

Just want to point out that the text for the purple earbuds says that they're 5000 points instead of 8000. It's 8000 everywhere else, and the text for the green earbuds says 8000.

Submitted by Bookbird on Tue, 07/09/2013 - 2:38pm

I think last year was one of everything, a code, and a bonus prize. This year should be the same. Or maybe they will leave out a thing or two for us to try to get on our own.

Submitted by gxl on Tue, 07/09/2013 - 8:31pm

Whats with the long list of comments by one player, seriously it isn't necessary. If you want to say something, one or two comments is enough.

Submitted by Bookbird on Tue, 07/09/2013 - 9:09pm

I don't think we should do that until the post is on the 2nd page of posts. Then we will be sure it doesn't disturb anyone

Submitted by dorina on Wed, 07/10/2013 - 9:20am

We have been trying to get the backpack from the summer game shop for the last couple of years. This year I don't even see it in the game shop :-(

Submitted by willow on Wed, 07/10/2013 - 10:19am

These are really cute.

By the way there needs to be tighter monitoring of comments. There's spam popping up, eg in the HIV testing post

Hi Willow, We do monitor pretty tightly, but some monitoring is automated, which is what led to problems when super enthusiastic *real* posters were posting.

Is the HIV testing post still up on a thread? If so, can you tell me which? I haven't spied it yet. Thanks so much!

We're doing our best to keep things spam-free, but sometimes it's a tricky balance, and sometimes even the best filters let things through or block real folks! : )

Ok, then, a coupon for $5 worth of books at the shop. You wouldn't have to use points towards it if you didn't want to, but some people might prefer books as prizes. Just a thought.

Submitted by ValerieL Staff on Fri, 07/12/2013 - 5:45pm

I'm really loving all the new stuff this year. The new messenger bags are terrific! I like both, but the navy/lime & olive/grey ones are so spacious! I got the navy/lime one and it's become my new "take to work" bag. There's plenty of room for the book I'm currently reading, an extra book if I'm getting close to the end, my day planner, and any other assorted odds and ends. And I love that it has velcro AND straps that hook together as a closure. It helps to ensure it doesn't fly open at the wrong time.

The picnic blanket is really great too. I'm really bad at visualizing dimensions so even though it says the dimensions in the description, I didn't realize just how large it really was and yet it folds up into a nice, compact bundle for easy carrying. It's really soft too. I'm looking forward to trying it out. :) The picnic cooler's incredibly spacious as well and I'm looking forward to using that as well.

So definitely get out there and earn those points so you can spend them on these great items. :)

@wulfflynn, based on past years' super packages and intuition, this is what I expect:
-the caffeinated one is likely coffee beans and some accessories, like a mug or similar.
-the chocolatey one will be a largish plain chocolate bar, with an SG and/or AADL logo, and may come in milk and dark.
-the supreme package will be a selection of basic summer game shop items, like a hat, a tee (not sure about this, since they have limited inventory according to the tees available in the shop), frisbee, beachball, one of the messenger bags (probably the canvas one), earbuds, one of the new sippers, an S. G. Puppypants, and some misc other promo swag (buttons, pens, etc.) Usually you could get the main items it will include for fewer points separately, but this is a prestige package, so it comes at a premium.
-similarly, the penultimate package will have a selection of main shop items and odd promo stuff, usually with some items not otherwise available. For example, last year there was a lunch bag only available as part of this collection, and the previous year there was a silver water bottle only available in the penultimate pack.
-the button pack will be a selection of library buttons, maybe with some unusual/new stuff or reprints based on the package text.
-the "badgey bag thing" will be one of the cotton messenger bags and some stuff to customize it, perhaps markers, stencils, fabric paint, iron on transfers...?

I expect each one will have a special game code to be redeemed for a badge indicating the package purchased included so the player can memorialize his/her specialness on their earned badges list. Note I am not staff and have no inside information; I just know the history of the super packages. Actual packages may differ significantly. Maybe I have it all wrong and the supreme package won't have a messenger bag but will have a cooler and picnic blanket. We won't know until they are posted and available

Thank you for the really descriptive and most likely completely on the mark guesses, Cherylo.
I wonder how the staff feels to have their plans exposed.....:D

Submitted by bchapman630 on Mon, 07/15/2013 - 2:18pm

cherylo your comment was really helpful - this is my first year playing. Thank you so much for some insight into what they may be. So cool!

@bchapman630, I remember the first year (2011) that I had a real dilemma deciding whether to get a particular piece of swag before the contents of one of the prize packs was announced or to hold on to my points for a prize package. I don't remember how I resolved it exactly (I would have to dig into my 2011 point ledger records to remember what exactly I did), but if I can help people understand the choices, I think that is helpful and makes the game better. If the staff think otherwise, they will let us, or me, know. :) Although I can't take back what I said (though the staff can if they decide to), if you asked me in person about the prize packs, I would tell you the history and my suppositions without hesitation. Therefore I also have no problem posting about it when another player asks.

if they still did the commenting average, I think you would get the biggest badge. and a "Helpful Comment er" badge if there ever was one. I don't think so, but imagine it's there. lots of smileys and thumbs up :) I'm glad that they stopped with the OK and AWESOME badges, because they can put ideas into spammers' brains about writing reviews with just one word....
*currently waiting impatiently for the next mystery package*

Submitted by beeniepie on Tue, 07/16/2013 - 11:58pm

Is there still a back log with game prize orders? I placed an order a week ago and still haven't received an email notification. I'm not in a hurry, but I just wanted to check. Thanks!

HI there - please read this blog post re: orders http://play.aadl.org/node/229001. The issue is that the 4 library branches do not have enough space to store all of the prizes that were ordered (while waiting for people to pick them up). So this week's notices (that go out on Friday) will still be orders that were ordered when the shop opened. You will receive an email notice when your order is ready to be picked up. Thanks for your patience!

Submitted by Jan Wolter on Wed, 07/31/2013 - 7:19am

So, because I'm me, I'm working myself into a moral dilemma about the game shop.

See, the stuff in there costs actual money, considerably more money than anything I do here does to add value to the library. I mean, some of my reviews are good, but not that good. I understand that the money for this comes from the Friends, but I'd still rather see the money used to buy more books, add more services, pay more staff, etc.

The buttons seem more reasonable - they can't actually be worth much of any money. But I don't have much of anything to do with buttons.

So I'm hoping that the game shop will eventually contain something spectacularly worthless.

Or maybe something like the right to choose a book for the library to add to it's collection. Though that would be a darned hard choice....

Jan,

I understand your dilemma. Last summer I felt a little guilty when I would go to pick up my loot at my local branch. I know I would still do the online game even if there weren't prizes because I enjoy it and it's a challenge. but that's not true for everyone. My 10 year old is really into the summer game, in part for the prizes, and in part for the bragging rights when he sees his score up high on the leaderboard. This has made him read more both to himself and his little sister, he is wanting to spend time in the libraries, he is searching the catalog, and wanting to attend lots of events (in part to get the game codes) all the things that I'm sure the aadl staff was hoping for when creating this game. Unfortunately, the swag is part of the motivation for many participants. The way I see it is that because all the items in the summer game shop have the aadl logo on them, when they circulate in the community, it raises awareness about the library and it's programs. We first really learned about the game last summer when we saw a friend of my son wearing an aadl hat and asked him about it. Every time we wear out play@aadl.org t-shirts, we're walking billboards for the library! So yes, I agree that it's a lot of money that goes for the prizes, but I actually think that the positive publicity does more to raise interest in and enthusiasim for our librarys then even a few thousand more books would. Sad perhaps, but true.

Zekicmom

Oh, I don't doubt that the summer game is great for the library, and the swag is a great motivator for some people. But I'm kind of losing the "war against stuff" anyway, and I don't circulate so much that I make much of a good billboard. If I see something I really think I would use, I might go for it, but mostly I don't expect to cash in much.

Unless I change my mind. :-)

@Jan, you could check out the "classic button shop" too...speaking of exorbitant point costs for things with small physical footprints. Or just hold the points until and unless there is something that is useful to you. I do enjoy my swag (I used one of the new sippers this week, and am looking forward to using the cooler and blanket.), but like @zekicmom too would continue to do the summer game even if swag was seriously curtailed or made mostly virtual.

But only a few coupons. Imagine people buying a bunch of zoom lends coupons. Then it wouldn't really be zoom lends if the coupons become common as library cards.

Submitted by smv on Fri, 08/02/2013 - 11:30am

I haven't really been playing much this year, but I just found out that I had about 35K points laying around from last year. Score!

Submitted by ZackTheCardshark on Sun, 08/04/2013 - 8:16pm

Somebody should point it out -- the earbuds are very poor quality. They'll make all your MP3s sound like their bitrate is only 16 kbps.

And as for the text description about them, where it says "including earpieces for 3 DIFFERENT SIZES OF EAR CANAL!" -- that's a lie.

It includes 3 sets of earpieces, ALL THE SAME SIZE, so you just have to hope your ear canals are sized right.

@gxl: Yeah, that's what I said to him (he's my brother.) He didn't listen - said he was using valuable time (didn't you, ZackTheCardShark? Or have I got it wrong?)
But, ZackTheCardShark, I thought you contacted the library via the "contact us" link about it. So that means someone has already contacted them - namely, you!
BTW, were the replacement earplugs they said they'd give you just as bad?

The earbuds fit my parents better than me, though my mom complained that it was to short. I don't think there's anything wrong with three same size white things, whatever they're called. If my sister chews on one, I can replace it.

Submitted by estermyer on Wed, 08/14/2013 - 2:05pm

i got the picnic blanket. :) it is really cool how it just rolls up. i want to get the messenger bag, picnic cooler, and beach balls :)

Submitted by yaldah on Fri, 08/23/2013 - 2:49pm

I was noticing that the "AADL Super Closeout Pack" is sold out, but when you go to the "Super Packages" shop, it doesn't say that above the icon for the pack. Is there a reason for that, or is it a mistake?

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