Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Software, Odds and ends, Developer, iPhone
Puzzlotto brings a different kind of game (and a cash prize) to the App Store
Puzzllotto has been about as hidden as the lemurs you can see in the screenshot over there, for some reason -- the concept isn't real easy to grasp, and if you just stumbled across the "game" in the App Store, odds are that you'd think you had $5 stolen from you. But there is a weird story hidden here, both literally and figuratively. David Lanham and Mike Lee contributed to the Puzzllotto, which features unusual game play -- there's just a picture of a forest, and a few eyes that you can touch to make lemurs and other creatures pop out. I would tell you more, but I haven't actually figured it out yet -- there's a "fosa" that will scare away any lemurs or butterflies you've summoned, and I know that the butterflies are basically a progress meter, but other than that I have no idea.
But Puzzllotto isn't just that perplexing app -- it's been dubbed "fundware" by Lee, and 10% of the proceeds from the game will go to the Madagascar Fauna Group to support the habitats of lemurs, fosas, and butterflies. And it's actually a puzzle to be solved, with a cash prize -- if you can be the first to figure out the "puzzle" behind Puzzllotto, United Lemur will give you a cash prize out of their prize pool, currently at $5000, and growing every day for 31 days. If no one claims the prize at the end of the 30 days, all the money will go to charity, project over. You can follow updates on their Twitter -- it sounds like no one's claimed any prizes yet, which is no surprise -- if there are any clues in the app, they're very, very hard to find. United Lemur claims that there is a game in there (and that it is worth the $5 entry fee), but so far, all players have found is a few screens of the weird lemur puzzle.
But it is a different kind of game -- a cash prize handed out by a flabbergastingly tough puzzle disguised as an App Store game, all designed to benefit a charity. Lee says on his blog that they wanted to make a game where players couldn't cheat by telling each other the answer, but maybe they didn't realize that part of the fun of Myst is sharing the strategy with other players. And if you don't want to shell out the $5 on Lee's word, it might be fun to just wait until the solution gets posted somewhere anyway. Have you solved any part of Puzzllotto yet?
But Puzzllotto isn't just that perplexing app -- it's been dubbed "fundware" by Lee, and 10% of the proceeds from the game will go to the Madagascar Fauna Group to support the habitats of lemurs, fosas, and butterflies. And it's actually a puzzle to be solved, with a cash prize -- if you can be the first to figure out the "puzzle" behind Puzzllotto, United Lemur will give you a cash prize out of their prize pool, currently at $5000, and growing every day for 31 days. If no one claims the prize at the end of the 30 days, all the money will go to charity, project over. You can follow updates on their Twitter -- it sounds like no one's claimed any prizes yet, which is no surprise -- if there are any clues in the app, they're very, very hard to find. United Lemur claims that there is a game in there (and that it is worth the $5 entry fee), but so far, all players have found is a few screens of the weird lemur puzzle.
But it is a different kind of game -- a cash prize handed out by a flabbergastingly tough puzzle disguised as an App Store game, all designed to benefit a charity. Lee says on his blog that they wanted to make a game where players couldn't cheat by telling each other the answer, but maybe they didn't realize that part of the fun of Myst is sharing the strategy with other players. And if you don't want to shell out the $5 on Lee's word, it might be fun to just wait until the solution gets posted somewhere anyway. Have you solved any part of Puzzllotto yet?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jonathan Chan said 8:59PM on 10-27-2008
I love Lanham's work. I'll have to take a look @ this when I get home.
Reply
Jeff Scott said 9:22PM on 10-27-2008
I'm up to level 3. Guessing others are way past that.
Cheers,
Jeff @ http://148apps.com
Reply
who? said 12:08AM on 10-28-2008
Just finished it... There are only four levels I think (it just sends you to a different one depending on which button you click I think).
niclet said 9:17PM on 10-27-2008
Beautiful, reminds me the works of Douanier Rousseau.
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James Pope said 9:38PM on 10-27-2008
cant get it in australia! :(
Reply
Justin said 9:42PM on 10-27-2008
FYI - the last link in the post might be NSFW depending on who is walking by.. I'd appreciate TUAW being somewhat sensitive to that..?
Justin @ http://appstoredeals.com
(figured I'd join in on the free advertising, too :P)
Reply
dandaman said 10:59PM on 10-27-2008
You're right, TUAW should be sensitive to those types of things, even though they're just bloggers and don't have real jobs
who? said 12:11AM on 10-28-2008
Yes. Nothing happened. It brought me back to the first puzzle (I wrote down the pattern). I ran the text through a translator, and it just translates to 'you are the cleverest', which is totally lame....
At least I helped to save the animals...
Reply
TGABTG said 12:52AM on 10-28-2008
When you finish level 4 don't click on the billboard with the 2 options but click on the forest and you will find this picture.
http://www.tgabtg.com/Puzzllotto_Hints_Tips/Blog/Entries/2008/10/25_Puzzllotto_Hints_Tips.html
who? said 1:11AM on 10-28-2008
No, that's the image that appears when you transition to a new level. I've been decoding it for a few minutes with no luck, but as near as I can tell, you need to finish the level the right way to keep going/unlock more levels/win/whatever.
who? said 1:43AM on 10-28-2008
Yeah, I already uploaded it:
http://pismodude.com/code.jpg
TGABTG said 1:29AM on 10-28-2008
You are correct but once you get to the end of level 4 if you touch outside of the sign post this image will fade in and remain until you touch something else. No need to get a quick screenshot while the screen flips
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who? said 1:44AM on 10-28-2008
Yeah, I already uploaded it:
http://pismodude.com/code.jpg
Albert Martin said 2:44AM on 10-28-2008
I solved it and have spent the last few hours trying to translate the billboards inbetween or the picture at the very end to no avail. I wonder if that was all there was to it or if there is more to be solved?
I'm sure someone already has it ... lol
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