How to Play

1. Install the Creature Journal App
2. Scan Creature cards to fill your journal
3. Make your own Creature cards and share them with others

There are many creatures hidden throughout the event. Some are easier to find than others and new ones are constantly added. Some might only appear at certain times or places. We don't control when or where the creatures appear (they are very mysterious and chaotic!). So keep exploring, but don't be frustrated if you can't find them all.

The game is completely free. We only ask for a donation for printing your own cards. We recommend 2€ per card to cover costs for material, printing, accessories and equipment. We make no profit from the game.

Cards

Each card shows a creature with pixel art image, short name and three traits. There are eight card types with their own color palette. The "Secret" is a hidden message that you reveal by scanning the card.
The cards are friendly, simple and humorous in design. The limitations on image size and names are intentional: they promote creativity and allow all data to be stored directly on the NFC card. This keeps the game playable offline.
You can also design your own creature. Click on Create , get it printed at our table and take it home. It's the most fun when you share it with others at the event.

Rules

• Please don't steal or destroy any Creature cards. Just scan them with the App and enjoy the discovery!
• Please don't submit inappropriate Creature designs. We want to keep the game fun and safe for everyone. We will not add creatures to the game that we feel are inappropriate or offensive!

All you need is a NFC-capable smartphone with the Creature Journal installed. The App has no Ads, no Signup, no Tracking and is free to download for IOS and Android.

Open the app and click the Scan button, then hold your phone up to the creature card you want to collect.

NFC Technology

NFC stands for Near Field Communication. It is a wireless communication technology that allows devices to exchange data when close to each other (usually less than 10 cm). We use plastic cards with embedded NFC tags that store the Creature's data. When you scan a card with the App, it reads the data from the NFC tag and stores it.

We use NTAG216, which has 888 bytes of usable memory (we use every byte). Other card types are not supported by our game.

We write-protect the NFC tags to limit misuse, so you cannot use a Creature card for something else (sorry). But if you wish, we can remove the write-protection for your own Creature cards. We also have other blank NFC tags available if you want to experiment with this technology, just ask us.

Feel free to experiment with the NFC cards and the App, cheating is allowed as long as you don't ruin the fun for other players.

About Us

We are MysteryHack , a group of friends from different countries who come together for hacker events to work on fun projects and games.

Read our blog post about Creature Cards at 39c3 .

Data Collection

We collect no personal data.

Other data we collect:

• We store all Creature designs to build the Creaturedex.
• We store a list of all players (anonymous player IDs) and when they first started the game. We use this data for statistics about how many players participated in the event.
• We track discoveries, meaning who (anonymous user ID) discovered which creature and at what time. We use this data to show stats in the app and on the website, for example to sort by most popular Creatures.