#813; The Tic Tac Treasure

Comic Transcripts

[[Gerald sits at a table, working on a large QR code. Reginald approaches.]]

Reginald: Working on a puzzle?
Gerald: Kind of! I’m engaging with Viral Marketing.

Gerald: It’s a giant QR code puzzle. I’ve been printing out pieces all month.
I got the image files from a bus stop ad for Tic Tacs. Every day while I wait for the bus, I view that day’s portion of the ad through my special Tic Tac Viewer app, which links me to a downloadable puzzle piece PDF.

Gerald: I knew about the viewer because I happened to peel off the label on a box of Tic Tacs. Printed on the inside was a rebus that resolved to an App Store URL.
I love how companies take risks with viral promotions! I like Tic Tacs just fine, but what I like even more are puzzles. I like feeling like someone believes I’m smart enough to figure this out.

Gerald: And that’s the last piece! Let’s see where this QR Code takes us?
It’s a GIF! Animated letters! Y?O?U?A?R?E?W?A?S?T?I?N?G?Y?O?U?R?L?I?F?E?I?T?S?J?U?S?T?T?I?C?T?A?C?S?
What does that spell

{{header: dig deep into WONDERMARK.COM}}
{{alt-text: Gerard peels back every label on every single thing, each time holding his breath and HOPING a mystery like this is waiting.}}

#813; The Tic Tac Treasure transcribed by in

In addition to buying things directly from me, the normal way, my game Bolted! is also now available on Amazon dot com.

On that famous website, you can also get the Creature-Crafting Magnets Set, which is made of the same artwork from the game, but is just a weird little trinket (not a playable game).

My kiddo made the elaborate version below to show off just how many magnets you get in the set (it’s 150 pieces in all — this isn’t even all of them).

Also now on Amazon is my set of Multi-Purpose Greeting Cards — a full dozen cards with envelopes in a fancy, unbranded, foil-stamped box!

Event alert!

I’ll also be showing off Bolted! at Greenwood Games, an event in Seattle this Saturday:

Greenwood Games is a free, all-ages community game event that invites players to spend the afternoon walking Greenwood Avenue from 65th to 80th, collecting clues, cracking puzzles, and discovering games made right here in Washington.

Think of it as Pride Hop, ArtWalk, and the Gumshoe all rolled into one, except the whole thing is built around games and puzzles.

Local game designers will be set up at different places along Greenwood Avenue in Phinney Ridge (near Ballard). My specific spot will be the “Holy Mountain Phinney Ridge Taproom”. All the information about all the different games & venues is on the website!

(If you’re in Seattle generally but not free tomorrow, Bolted! is also stocked at Blue Highway Games in Queen Anne.)

Next week, I’ll be at Gen Con! I personally will be hanging with my buddy Sam Logan at BFE Webcomics, booth #1217… but I have it on good authority that copies of Bolted! will be available at the CRWN Studios booth, #2549.

Visit one booth! Then the other! The order…is up to you.