Is there a game where, if you win, you get back access to the awesome, functional version of Google Maps instead of the ugly, slow, impossible-to-use version that’s being forced down users’ throats?
I used to be addicted to GeoGuesser. My best score was 32338 points…
I enjoyed the article overall, and Google sheep view looks awesome, so thanks.
But given how many places in the world are under armed conflict right now or experiencing attacks (Charleston US, Sousse in Tunisia, Syria, Iraq, and so on), it’s kind of disturbing to try and turn any place into a ‘backdrop for blowing things up’, or that it’s put that way in the article.
I know games are full of violence, and usually I try not to take it too seriously. But actually inviting people to parade tanks and whatever through actual streets where people live is pretty twisted, and not in a good way.
I have configured an internal proxy/firewall thing on my computer to block ********* from even appearing as a word. I spent hours and hours playing, making sure I was never off by more than a few meters. Obsessively driving around, multiple windows open to search various clues… madness!
Gah! Dammit, BoingBoing, why did you show me GeoGuesser? I was going to go to bed two hours ago! (Still, got one to within 6.2 meters. I’m rather pleased with that!)
About 8 years ago my brother and I invented a Google Earth game similar to GeoGuesser. we would play for hours.
Here is how you play:
- Player 1 spins Google Earth and hovers mouse over the zoom button (make sure labels are tuned off)
- Player 1 and 2 closes eyes
- Player 2 says ‘stop!’
- Player 2 clicks down on the mouse, activating the zoom and holds it down so that Google Earth zooms in as far as it will go
- Player 1 and 2 opens eyes
- If zoomed in on ocean, player 2 moves North until land is reached
- Player 1’s turn: Has the option to zoom out then guess where or not zoom and just guess where (we used to play it as guess which country). Write down player 1’s guess and Google Earth’s zoom distance from the surface (we played in Kilometres)
- Player 2’s turn: Has the option to zoom out then guess where or not zoom and just guess where.
Write down player 2’s guess + distance from surface - Player 1’s turn (as per step 7)
- Player 2’s turn (as per step 7)
- As per steps 7-10
- Then, once you have zoomed out completely, and can see the Earth as a full beautiful globe you work out where you actually were
- Scoring: Look back at the list of guesses, did anyone get it right? If not, choose the closest guess. Now, minus the distance they were from the surface when they made that guess, from the distance from which the Earth can be seen as a beautiful globe. I think we would minus from 5,000km to get the score for that round. A best-guess early in the round will get a score of 4,500 or maybe more. A best-guess later in the round might only get you a score of 500 or so.
Have fun!
Add all this time-wasting bullshit, and take away the ability for me to export a route to my standalone GPS. Fuck you, Google.
Personally I enjoy finding real estate in my city advertised without an address way more than I should.
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