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Badge Drop #7: Tags! You're it!

by mariah




HOLY MOLY, SUMMER GAMERS! Now that you've shown some SUPREME STARPOWER, gotten ON BOARD, and sought out the SPECTACULAR, what MORE SUMMER FUN could POSSIBLY be LEFT?!?!? You might imagine that your STELLAR performance had STUNNED all of us here at SGHQ into silence.



FEAR NOT, intrepid players, because we've taken a deep breath, wracked our respective brains, and want to assure you that there's still ONE MORE MONTH of curious clues, hectic hunts, and scintillating searches to go!



DON'T STOP NOW!



We've got a BUSHEL of BEWILDERING BADGES dropping today, awaiting the quick wit and calculated cunning of YOU, the most SHREWD SUMMER GAMERS!



Whether your interest is piqued by CHROMOSOMES or CRYPTOZOOLOGY, or whether you'd rather hunt for BIGFOOT or a DUMBO OCTOPUS, we've got a badge for YOU! We've got TOWERS, DRAGONS and even a little HEAVY METAL!



2017 Badge Drop #7
echo theme_summergame_badge(1448,1449,1450,1451,1452,1474,1476,1473,1477,1447,1464,1471,1479,1467,1478,1469,1470,1472);
?>



So SNAP TO IT! Grab those badges, rack up those points, and move on up that leaderboard by tackling this week's contributor trophies and tacking TAGS onto your favorite items in the catalog!



We're extending some GO GET 'EM enthusiasm to you — TAG(s)! YOU'RE IT!



THANKS FOR PLAYING!!!


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Blog Post

Badge Drop #6: Stars in our Eyes

by andrewjmac




WHY, you may ask, do we here at Summer Game Headquarters (SGHQ) have STARS IN OUR EYES? We're so BLOWN AWAY at you STELLAR players and the SUPREME STARPOWER you've shown us so far in Summer Game 2017!! Want to know just how STELLAR is STELLAR? Then let's get out our telescopes and take a look at the ASTRONOMICAL numbers you've all racked up so far:


6,037 PLAYERS have received

50,407 BADGES and entered

310,980 CODES to earn them

104,819,074 POINTS!


OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!


Since you are all doing such a STELLAR job, we thought we'd give YOU a way to start seeing stars like we are! How will we do that? WITH THE PREMIERE OF THE STAR MASTER SERIES, THE FIRST OF THIS YEAR'S CONTRIBUTOR'S TROPHIES!!! Just rate your way through everything you've ever read, watched, and listened to to make your way to the coveted title of SUPREME STAR MASTER!!



But don't worry, we didn't get so lost in STARGAZING that we forgot to make a whole CONSTELLATION of other badges to keep you busy all night long! What ELSE have we got? Keeping with this week's theme, we've got an all-new Ann Arbor Stories badge all about ANN ARBOR'S ASTRONAUTS! There's DESSERTS and DESERTS! REBOOTS and BOOTIES! AND we've got FLAGWAVERS, the very first Level 4 badge of the year that will REALLY teach you what a Level 4 badge is all about!


2017 Badge Drop #6
echo theme_summergame_badge(1440,1441,1442,1443,1444,1438,1431,1435,1436,1445,1434,1446,1439,1433,1430,1437,1432);
?>



With a little luck and a lot of ratings, you could ROCKET up to the top of the leaderboard! Now get out there and SHOOT FOR THE STARS!



THANKS FOR PLAYING!!!


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Blog Post

New in the shop! LIBRARY BOARDS! MAGENTABRELLAS! And MORE!

by eli

We've got two more NEW and two more CLASSIC items for you Summer Game Shoppers this week, featuring the snappy Bamboo LIBRARY BOARD and the long-awaited MAGENTABRELLA!

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These are sure to be some VERY POPULAR ITEMS so be sure to SHARE NICELY when you place your order! Also, more RAINBOW RULERS and ROTARY DEIDLEIZERS are on the way, so watch for those in a future SHOP DROP, along with a WISE LITTLE FRIEND for our now-sold out S.G. FOXPANTS.

There won't be a SHOP DROP next friday, but we've got a bunch more items yet to come in August, so stay tuned, and....

THANKS FOR PLAYING!

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Blog Post

TONIGHT ONLY: Get ON BOARD and get BIG POINTS!

by eli

Here at Summer Game HQ, we work for YOU. Like, literally. Through the transformative magic of REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY and the arcane power of ORG CHARTS, there is direct line of authority that flows through library staff up to Josie, the Library Director. (we hope you've visited her office for her 2,500 point badge!) But who does Josie report to? Well, Josie reports to the AADL Board of Trustees, and unlike many libraries, here at AADL the board is ELECTED AT LARGE by the citizens of the district! That means WE work for THE BOARD but THE BOARD works for YOU! Therefore, through the transitive property of local governance (that's a thing, right? hello?) WE work for YOU!

AND WHAT BETTER WAY to UTILIZE that authority than by coming to TONIGHT'S MEETING OF THE AADL BOARD OF TRUSTEES! Tonight's meeting will be the first AADL Board meeting to be recorded on video and streamed LIVE, and you can watch it right here! Jamie, the Board President, will hold up the code for the meeting right at the beginning of the meeting at 7 PM, and if you miss it, later this week the recording will be posted and you can find it then! That's a 250-point code, plus, it will get you the 250-point bonus for the BODY ELECTORATE badge, and you don't even have to SHOW UP to get it!

BUT! There are TWO more codes worth some SERIOUS points that you can ONLY GET by showing to tonight's AADL Board Meeting IN PERSON! (Or, if you have some sort of telepresent robot, we suppose that would work too.) The meeting will take place in the Multipurpose Room in the basement of the Downtown Library at 7 PM on July 17, 2017, and if you're there in the room, you can not only get a special 500-point code that's only available to those who show up in person or via robot, AND you'll have a chance to get a 1000-point bonus FOR MAKING A PUBLIC COMMENT TO THE LIBRARY BOARD!

That's right; there are two opportunities to comment; one at the beginning of the meeting and one at the end. You can sign up in advance by calling the admin office at 734-327-8311; or you can sign up in person right before the meeting starts at 7 PM. If you miss the beginning of the meeting, there's another chance at the end! Commenters have 3 minutes to talk about anything they'd like to tell the Board about the Library, and on the podium, you'll find that 1000-point code!

For you SUMMER GAME L33TS, if you come or watch, you'll not only get an enticing SNEAK PREVIEW of the ALL-NEW AADL.ORG coming in January 2018, you might even hear a little bit about THOSE BIG SUMMER GAME 2018 CHANGES we keep dropping hints about!

There's another AADL board meeting scheduled for August 21st, but it is not uncommon for the board to cancel the August meeting. AUGUST IN ANN ARBOR AMIRITE? So, TONIGHT might be YOUR ONLY OPPORTUNITY to not only get some amazing POINTS and BADGES, but also to tell the BOARD -- and the STAFF -- what we can do better for YOU!

Let us know if you have any questions, and we hope to see you all there tonight for POINTS, CODES, and CIVIC ENGAGEMENT GALORE!

THANKS FOR PLAYING!

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Blog Post

Badge Drop #5: Badge Drop Spectacular!!

by Sara W




Happy Summer Game Spectacular Eve, everyone! This is the day BEFORE the day we have all been waiting for! Tomorrow is the SUMMER GAME SPECTACULAR at VETERANS PARK!



There's gonna be points! There's going to be jaw-dropping, hair-raising AERIAL ENTERTAINMENT!!! There's gonna be GIANT GAMES - Tumble Towers and Connect 4 and CHECKERS! There's gonna be metal detectors AND METAL TO DETECT! There's gonna be FACE PAINTING, PHOTO BOOTHS, and FRIENDS - with FRIEND CODES!!!! HULA HOOPS! BUBBLES! FOOD TRUCKS! There will be PEOPLE, PLACES, AND THINGS! All the nouns! All the verbs! Adverbs, even!! Yes! Excitedly we tell you, also, POINTS!



But of course, that's all happening JULY 15.



And here we are on JULY 14. It's only Summer Game Spectacular EVE! You probably won't be able to fall asleep tonight thinking of the AMAZING SUMMER SPECTACLE awaiting you on Saturday from 1-4 pm. So, since you've got some hours to kill before the POINTS-AND-FUN-BONANZA that will be the Summer Game Spectacular, here are some BADGES FOR YOU!!!!

2017 Badge Drop #5
echo theme_summergame_badge(1418,1423,1429,1419,1426,1421,1424,1420,1428,1427,1422,1425,1406,1405,1404,1403,1391);
?>



So badge it up, beloved Gamers! We'll see YOU tomorrow at Veterans Park. Bring suncreen and friends with you to the Spectacular, but no need to bring extra AWESOME, we'll have PLENTY of it there for you.



THANKS FOR PLAYING!!!


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Blog Post

ATTENTION PLAYERS! Time to MAKE A NOTE OF IT!

by eli

Can you BELIEVE IT? Only one week into the 2017 Summer Game Shop and already OVER 1,700 orders have been placed, and tonight we've got THREE NEW and TWO CLASSIC ITEMS for all you HYPER-ENTHUSIASTIC SUMMER GAME SHOPPERS.... Introducing a match made in Summer Game Shop Nirvana.... AADL-BRANDED FIELD NOTES, including PULP and the ever-popular SECRET LAB!




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Now, if you placed an order this past week, and didn't get a notification that your order is ready for pickup yet, just HANG IN THERE; your ENTHUSIASM was such that our humble SUMMER GAME SHOP ORDER FULFILLMENT CAPACITY was plum OVERMALOADED and we couldn't possibly fill them all! BUT, as is our SG HQ mantra, NO WORRIES; every order will be filled in the order received and we will be CAUGHT UP before you know it!

More great new items are coming around badge drop time next Friday, including something to help you with ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATION, and little piece of the LIBRARY BOARD for everyone. Stay tuned for all this and more, and....

THANKS FOR PLAYING!

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Blog Post

Summer Game Spectacular Spectacular Countdown- T Minus 1 Day!

by evelyn

HOLY JUMPIN’ JIMINY, BATMAN! It’s almost time for the Summer Game Spectacular! We are so excited over here that we can barely stand it! Except we have to stand it, because we have to get ready to host all of you at the most AMAZING EVENT OF THE SUMMER! In fact, we might just call this the most amazing event of any summer! What about the Olympics, you ask? Ha! Do the Olympics have Mini Ping Pong? No! They just have regular ping pong AKA table tennis AKA no fun at all! Burning Man? Does Burning Man have GIANT CONNECT 4? I don’t know! Maybe! They have a lot of weird stuff. BUT you’d have to fight off 65,000 dusty hippies to play it and that would be NO FUN! Lollapalooza? More like Yawnapalooza!

So now that we’ve convinced you that no other event is even worth thinking about going to, why should you come to the Summer Game Spectacular? Well, do you like the CIRCUS? Even better, a CIRCUS with no trained animals, so you don’t have to feel guilty about loving it!? OF COURSE YOU DO!

What about games? Do you like games? Of course you do! You’re not a monster! Unless you are one of our friendly picnicking monsters, in which case, welcome! In either case, where else are you going to see AN ENTIRE BASEBALL FIELD jam-packed with our amazing outdoor game collection?!

Also, what does your face look like RIGHT NOW? Is it as plain as plain oatmeal? As plain as a low-salt saltine? Come get it painted by a WORLD CLASS FACE PAINTER and worry no more!

Did all that talk of oatmeal and low-salt saltines (can you believe that’s even a thing?!!) make you hungry? Why don’t you hop outside and order some delicious food from a foodtruck? Oh there’s no food truck right outside your door? NEVER FEAR! Come to the Summer Game Spectacular and eat your heart out!

And how about points? We KNOW you love points! And badges! Well look no further! The Summer Game Spectacular will boast not one, not two, but FIVE badges! Just think of all the AMAZING ITEMS you’ll be able to buy from the Summer Game Shop with all those points!

So have you gotten all of this?! We’re inviting you to a HUGE PARTY where you can PLAY GAMES, WATCH A CIRCUS, HAVE YOUR FACE PAINTED, and then earn points to spend on COOL PRIZES?! No library would be crazy enough to do all of that! It would be just TOO MUCH FUN! Or maybe… it would be JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF FUN!

From 1:00 - 4:00 PM come one, come all, to party with us at the Summer Game Spectacular, this Saturday, July 15th, at Veterans Park! We'll be at the baseball field and the softball field closest to the dirt parking lot off of Maple, next to the Skate Park. WE CAN’T WAIT!!!!

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Blog Post

The 2017 Summer Game Shop is NOW OPEN! New items coming almost EVERY WEEK!

by eli

OH MY WOW! It's the moment that your fevered dreams have circled around for weeks -- the culmination of nine months' worth of ANTICIPATION and SLACK-JAWED WONDER.... the 2017 Summer Game Shop is NOW OPEN for an activity that models the basic tenets but eschews the fundamental underlayment of BUSINESS! We've got some of our brand-new 2017 items in there now, with many more to come as the summer goes on, including some great prices on older items and even some legendary GOLDEN BUNDLES for you Summer Game Plutocrats.




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While there are no limits on purchases from the Summer Game Shop, it is possible for your orders to be edited and points refunded during the fulfillment process, so remember that Summer Game is all about the fact that LIBRARIES ARE POWERED BY SHARING, and not so much about PANIC! At the COSTCO.

Orders are filled weekly, on Fridays, and you'll get a notice when your order is ready for pickup. Remember that all Summer Game Shop orders are Final, and if you have any questions about your order or anything else, why just Contact Us! It's the fastest way to get the answers you crave.

Thanks as always to the Friends of the Ann Arbor District Library for providing the funding that powers the Summer Game, and stay tuned for more great Summer Game Shop items all summer long!

THANKS FOR PLAYING!

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Blog Post

Badge Drop #4: Drop til you SHOP!

by nicole




The world is full of pesky price tags, but we believe that there are some things in the world so BONKERS AWESOME that money just can't buy 'em! Like SPACESHIPS, SUPERNOVAS, SHINY POKEMON, BASICALLY ALL CATS and a whole mess of other things that are PRICELESS and IMPOSSIBLE TO CATCH!



You see, here in the Official Summer-Game-Bubble-of-Bonkers-Awesomeness (working title) we don't think you need to have FUNDS to have FUN, so put away your wallets! Toss out your tender! Because NOW for a LIMITED TIME ONLY you can feast your eyes on this excellent selection of deluxe edition, top-of-the-line, high quality, grass-fed, free range, featherlight, waterproof, weatherproof, whatever-forever-and-ever-proof BADGES!


2017 Badge Drop #4
echo theme_summergame_badge(1395,1397,1396,1398,1399,1415,1416,1385,1414,1394,1407,1412,1400,1413,1401,1410,1417,1393,1402,1392,1411,1409,1406,1405,1404,1403,1391,1408);
?>




For the low, low price of ABSOLUTELY NOTHING these beautiful badges could be YOURS, shopper! Branch Explorer Badges are on SALE for just ten quick-and-easy payments of ZIPTY-TWO doubloons! Monsters and majestic cakes and high-flying females are half-off of ZILCH MONIES! And this fine selection of Spectacular Event Badges that you can get just for horsing around outdoors at our SUMMER GAME SPECTACULAR on July 15th, well those are ALL ON CLEARANCE and you can have 'em, you clever bargain-hunting haggler, you, for just BUPKIS PLUS TAX!



YOU WON'T FIND A BETTER DEAL ON MADE-UP STUFF ANYWHERE!



This Friday also marks the momentous and much-awaited SUMMER GAME SHOP OPENING DAY--an event that is SURE to happen at a RANDOM FUTURE TIME that has yet to be determined but might almost certainly possibly totally be TODAY!



So earn yourself some POINTS, then point yourself toward the shop (or the Get Started page if you're a newbie) for AMAZING AADL PRIZES!



THANKS FOR PLAYING!!!


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Blog Post

Badge Drop #3: Raindrops Keep Falling on our GAMES

by andrewjmac




We here at Summer Game Headquarters have been raising out periscopes periodically this afternoon and have repeatedly discovered a disturbing fact: IT'S RAINING. Now we are not, as a rule, anti-rain here. Some of us rather like it (puddles and coolness and lifegiving), and most of us prefer it to awful, oppressive heat. But it can be a bummer when you're in the middle of a thing called the Summer Game to not have anything even resembling summer weather. But instead of letting it stop our fun, we decided there's just one thing to do: BADGE DROP!



See, rather than let the rain get us DOWN, we decided to step UP and we've spent the last few days creating--nay, CRAFTING the FINEST set of badges in at least a WEEK!! What kinds of badges? Oh, just your usual assortment of STUPENDOUSLY INTERESTING and DEEPLY ENTERTAINING badges!! We've got some HOT SPRINGS and some LADIES WITH SNAKY HAIR. We've got some DELICIOUS BREAD and some GREAT MICHIGAN INVENTIONS. Some GHOSTLY PHOTOGRAPHS and some UTTERLY UNNECESSARY SEQUELS. AND AND AND (if it ever stops raining) we've got the very first ever ANN ARBOR STORIES WALKING TOUR badge and the first of this year's ARBOR EXPLORERS: Ponder Barton Dam! TAKE A LOOK!!

2017 Badge Drop #3
echo theme_summergame_badge(1381,1378,1382,1386,1380,1383,1387,1379,1384,1388,1389,1390);
?>




So until this rain lets up, get to work on these shiny new badges! And don't forget to tag/rate/review everything you've ever loved/hated (hopefully mostly loved) in the catalog! And when the DROPS DO STOP, get out there for the walking tour and check out Barton Dam! And, rain or shine...



THANKS FOR PLAYING!!!