[thebruce]

I'm sure the codes are stored in a database and connected to the account they were entered to. Cookies won't do anything but reset your browser session so you have to re-login if you delete them =P.

[danteIL]

Varin wrote:

Of course when I created a new account for my daughter using her name and age, we couldn't reenter any of the card codes.

Naive thought: Is there something that you might be able to do with the cookies to get the site to ignore your previous registration?

Ekaterina here, btw.

[thebruce]

So ok then, what's to stop people from signing up with a lower age value, if that's all they're checking? Surely they'll do some gov't lookups to find out if there is a legitimate child as described by the game's account (since they can never really verify the child was playing the game, only that the information in the account is consistent with a real child).

[Varin]

celina63 wrote:

My issue is: The prizes are limited to 6-14 year olds - however, they aren't tracking age in any foreseeable way on the website. .

My daughter and I are reading the book, cards and website content together. When we signed up, I used my information because I didn't read the rules beforehand. (I know, my fault... ugh) Of course when I created a new account for my daughter using her name and age, we couldn't reenter any of the card codes. The customer service rep told me I was out of luck and would just have to buy more cards for the new account. (issue has been taken care of!) They said that prizes will be awarded based on the age verification step in account setup. Our first account will automatically be disqualified.

[Maggie]

39 Clues

[thebruce]

danteIL wrote:

Not everyone loves the idea: http://time-blog.com/nerd_world/2008/09/in_which_i_take_a_whack_at_the.html

Yes I caught that post on the 11th... here's the crux of his theme:

Lev Grossman wrote:

But when I was a boy a book was a book. And changing the medium does in fact change the message.

He's reviewing the concept, which Scholastic et.al. know is new and risky. So... he's effectively shutting down the idea because he likes books to be books =P. I wonder if he's heard of or reviewed Cathy's Book too?

Of course, media like this is fairly typical/expected as we've seen in the past with new viral/argish ideas that attempt to 'evolve' some art form or expression... *shrug*
They know that the next few months or year will determine how they rate this franchise and its potential... I don't think either of the two "forms of weirdness" he listed are inherently bad. He just doesn't prefer them.
ah well.

[danteIL]

I went ahead and bought the first book; haven't had the chance to read it yet. And I gave my real age when registering so no prize for me. That isn't going to stop parents from solving the clues for their kids, though...


The amount of info on the website is impressive -- they clearly want to give kids lots to explore (although the non-clickable links -- albeit understandable -- are confusing).

Also confusing is the whole "clue vs. card" thing. I still don't have a clear idea what exactly constitutes a "Clue," although maybe that is part of the whole mystery. Thus, I'm not sure what I did to unlock the first clue, nor what I'm supposed to do with the little flash thing that played there. All the codes from the first book seem to unlock the same set of new cards, so I guess that is going to be how they dole out the cards/clues over time.
I think it is all clever, although I can't quite bring myself to spring for $6.99 to buy a pack of the cards.

EDIT: This contains some useful info about how this will all be structured:
http://www.scholastic.com/internationalrights/pdfs/39cluesFAQ.pdf

EDIT2: Not everyone loves the idea: http://time-blog.com/nerd_world/2008/09/in_which_i_take_a_whack_at_the.html

[PC Tex Ripley]

You are bang on thebruce, from a company running such a thing, they need to be sure of the age of a person before they can win, and I'm sure (hope, hope) that they will have such mechanism in place when the time and place arises...

But for Celina it's clearly a moral question of whether to tell the truth or not, and, not wanting to ask a lady her age, and the fact that she doesn't want to play online in case of some prize snafu, I guess she falls outside of the age bracket, but as long as she answers honestly I believe she has nothing to fear.


Tex...

[sapagoo]

thebruce wrote:

But, then, how do they ensure that the member isn't fudging the age? Really, an age question isn't sufficient to ensure a clean determining of winners. I've already sent an email on the matter to helpSPLATthe39clues.com 9on Fri), but haven't yet received a reply.

If I were running the game, and the winner is determined by the First eligible person to input the 39th clue, then I would track the first 10 players who said they were between 6-14, and then let my legal team verify their age in the order that they finished.

If the person that entered the 39th clue first said they were 25, then I wouldn't contact them.
I'd contact the first person that entered the 39th clue that said they were in the 6-14 age group. And if it turned out they were 25, then I'd contact the next person.

[thebruce]

But, then, how do they ensure that the member isn't fudging the age? Really, an age question isn't sufficient to ensure a clean determining of winners.

I've already sent an email on the matter to helpSPLATthe39clues.com 9on Fri), but haven't yet received a reply.

[PC Tex Ripley]

celina63 wrote:

however, they aren't tracking age in any foreseeable way on the website.

You mean other than asking for your date of birth when you sign up on the website..?

nm,

Tex...

[ALISDAIRPARK]

When I signed up it asked for my date of birth?

[celina63]

I did acquire the book and card pack this past weekend - haven't cracked open anything or signed up for anything yet, mostly because I'm concerned re: the age limit....

My issue is: The prizes are limited to 6-14 year olds - however, they aren't tracking age in any foreseeable way on the website. So, let's say that I complete all the puzzles and find all the Clues, etc etc - therefore winning a prize I'm not eligible for. How are they going to handle this? I don't want to play online and such (at least, not on the *official* site) if it's going to cause some sort of prize snafu.

[PC Tex Ripley]

ALISDAIRPARK wrote:

does that mean searching through all the info on the Cahill Web to find it? because there's loads!

Not that I'm aware of, it wasn't clear to us when the clue became unlocked. I think possibly when you solve the two 'missions' set to you under 'my profile'. Unsure, you may also have to complete Heinrich Heinrichson and Ace of Spies. Speaking of which, we had great fun this morning cutting up and folding bits of paper

Note: the obituary page didn't work as it should on the laptop running linux, ffox; but managed to discover the code by trial and error. I only noticed how it should work today when having a look through on my PC.


Tex...

[ALISDAIRPARK]

On the clues page it shows a clue ready to be unlocked... does that mean searching through all the info on the Cahill Web to find it? because there's loads!