Over a week away from the release of Season 6 of HBO’s hit series Game of Thrones, thousands of fans were antsy as a bad picnic for the start of the next season.
While previous seasons were based off George R. R. Martin’s books, this was the first truly unknown storyline. The air thick with suspense and anticipation, HBO called on Yours Truly to whip up some Westeros fantastical fun. The Go Game invited hundreds of fans to public events in three different cities to celebrate the premiere of the newest season.
We created a live-action, interactive game around the series that was free and open to the public. Teams tested their skills in a series of missions and competed against each other for access to the coveted Season 6 premiere showing hosted by HBO.
Like any endeavor of epic proportions, this game came with its own particular challenges. This was a big game. It was free and open to fans in Austin, Atlanta, and San Francisco. The Go Game is essentially the Lord Commander of mapping scavenger hunts onto urban settings with mobile technology, but the prospect of offering this technology to an unknown number of players was tricky. Thank the old gods and the new, Go Game technicians did a little witchcraft and whipped up a custom downloadable app that could be accessed on players’ personal phones. When the day arrived we were able to deliver the scavenger software to hundreds of fans.
Nothing gets people more psyched than Game of Thrones-inspired Quests, Battles, and Skills. It is known. Teams protected dragon eggs, rode with the Dothrakis, challenged other teams to duels, and fought on behalf of their House and sigil. Interactions with actors dressed as Westeros characters and city-specific challenges helped players immerse themselves in the storyline. We knew players would want to tap into their arsenal of trivia knowledge so we put them to the test. Fans rose to meet our challenges, including re-enacting famous scenes using their fingers or re-writing the theme song with kazoos and beatboxing. In short, people had a rippin’ good time.
This was a particularly unique and exhilarating game, in part because participation was voluntary and fueled by a rich fanbase who freaking love Game of Thrones. From our side, we are also really pleased with how it turned out. Teams were engaged and excited, and sharing in the competition brought fans together in this rare moment of anticipation. Hundreds of teams in each city vied for coveted Game of Throne prizes. Top-scoring teams took home prizes such as The Hound’s Helm helmets, with the ultimate prize of a private showing of the season premier. In the end, it wasn’t about the prizes, it was about the game. As we all know, “In the game of thrones, you win or you die.” But in the Game of Thrones game, you just create incredible shared memories in an adventure about your favorite TV series! We think that’s a preferable outcome.