Guru4u Forums

A game played out in both the real and virtual worlds has been won by a 38 year old man from Middlesex in the UK. Andy Darley was one of 50,000 players from 92 countries who played the alternate reality game, Perplex City.

Gamers have spent nearly two years solving clues in a quest to find the Receda Cube, an "ancient artefact" buried somewhere on earth. He eventually tracked the object to a wood in Northamptonshire. Finding it nets him ?100,000 ($200,000).

"I was playing for the puzzles and the stories, but it was only a few days ago that I thought I was in with a chance," said Mr Darley.

"As I pulled the Cube from the sticky, wet clay, and even afterwards as I was waiting to return the Cube, all I could think about was how bizarre the whole thing really was."

Perplex city is one of a number of alternate reality games (ARGs) that blur the boundaries between the real and virtual worlds. The first recognised one was The Beast, developed as part of a marketing campaign for the film AI.

They use real world events and clues planted on the internet, television and newspapers to guide players on a real-life treasure hunt.