Where in the world…

I’m following Wired’s Vanish contest; you should be too. And not just because it’s fun to channel your inner Nancy Drew.

Compared to your typical ARG, this is delightfully simple. Evan Ratliff hides. If he’s found, a chunk of the prize money comes out of his pocket. If he’s not, it doesn’t. Assuming that his motivation is authentic — and that Ratliff doesn’t plan to intentionally drop clues — this game has a nice, open, uncontrolled environment. The players aren’t following breadcrumbs to a destination that the game designers want them to eventually find. Failure on the players’ part spells the success of the game.

Follow #vanish on twitter and see if crowdsourcing wins the day.  And keep your eyes peeled. (I don’t have much of a strategy myself, beyond hoping I bump into him accidentally at a pick up Ultimate game.)