Pervasive Gaming anyone?

Gaming without a dining-room table , a recent article from those wonderful people at SFGate, offers us a very useful introduction to the increasingly popular art of pervasive games.

Though all the various games are worthy of your most thorough consideration, one shining, archetypal example is SFZero. According to the article:

SFZero, founded by Kizu-Blair, Lavigne and Mahan three years ago, is a real-world, location-aware game, in which participants cherry-pick tasks to execute from an online hub of user-generated missions. Once a task (burying a treasure box for a stranger) is completed, players document their work (via photos, usually), post it on the Web and rack up points.

"We place a big emphasis on getting out of your house to complete a task, getting into the city and creating things that will enhance the lives of non-players as well as players," Kizu-Blair said.

Very simple concept, endlessly creative, attracting players of all ilk, and a wonderfully transparent web presence for those of us who want to understand what this playfulness is all about.

Still puzzled? See SFGate's semi-inspiring Guide to Pervasive Gaming (and more)

via Emperor Matt Weinstein, of Playfair fame

from Bernie DeKoven, funsmith