Ghosts of a Chance: The End (for now)! November 13, 2008

Georgina Bath is the Interpretive Programs Manager for the Luce Foundation Center for American Art, SAAM's visible storage facility.

Searching for final clues in front of Georgia Stele by Jesús Moroles

In September, SAAM launched an Alternate Reality Game (ARG) titled Ghosts of a Chance. SAAM is the first museum to host an ARG, which is an immersive gaming experience that intentionally blurs the line between reality and fiction, inviting players to interact with the story using tools that are part of their everyday lives such as web sites, email, and cell phones.

If you have been following our posts you will know that Ghosts of a Chance invited gamers to create objects and mail them to the museum for a one-day exhibition organized by guest curators Daisy Fortunis and Daniel Libbe at the Museum on October 25. Participants, whether they submitted artworks or not, could play a "game within the game", combing SAAM's web site and the Internet, attending special events at the Natural History Museum and the Congressional Cemetery, and even calling special phone numbers for clues to uncover the story of Daisy's and Daniel's spirit guides. As we approached the game's final event, Daisy and Daniel called out for help as the spirits began to grow stronger and even started to threaten the museum.

On October 25 more than 240 people came to the museum and played a series of six quests. The quests were a bit like scavenger hunts but, instead of collecting objects, players accumulated clues by (among other things) waltzing with a ghost, tracking down a mysterious jacket and answering a ringing cell phone hidden in its pocket, following a treasure map, and unlocking an umbrella to find clues taped inside. Fortunately for Daisy and Daniel (and the museum), 70 players persevered to the end to complete all six quests and the spirits were successfully banished.

In addition to the live event at SAAM, more than 6,000 people played along with the game online and hardcore ARG players discussed the unfolding narrative on the Unfiction Forum, a gathering place for dedicated gamers. SAAM is now developing a shorter version of the game that will be played on a recurring basis by school groups and fun-loving visitors. To schedule your ghost-hunting experience, contact Georgina Bath at BathG@si.edu!

• Ghosts of a Chance, ARG, Luce Foundation Center for American Art, American Art,
  Smithsonian American Art Museum