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Swag Trading Game


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I had a very vague notion for a game of sorts that could be played at an event. The basic idea would be to start out with a "cache" full of good swag, and all participants get to trade "equal or better" (with nobody else looking, perhaps), and in the end, compare the contents at the start to the contents at the end.

 

That is just a rough sketch of the general concept. I'm looking for ideas to flesh it out. What sounds like fun to you, and how would it work?

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Try it like this. Post a dozen or so common swag items around the area. Give each attendee a simple form. Have them write an estimated value of each item on their form and turn it in when all items have been priced. Award a prize for the cacher who gets the most correct. In case of a tie have a drawing to settle it. Should be an interesting experiment.

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Sounds kind of white-elephanty...

 

Maybe you could do something like that actually. Put something in the description about a swag trading game, please bring a wrapped swag item not to exceed X dollars....

 

Seperate the swag into different dollar amounts on the table, and have people trade keeping the swag wrapped/covered until the end. Unwrap and let the laughter begin.

 

Or Indian poker of sorts? assign each piece of swag a card and have people draw from another deck? I don't know how that one might work....

 

Good luck, that sounds like an event activity that I'd love to partake in and may just steal sometime in the future.

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Try it like this. Post a dozen or so common swag items around the area. Give each attendee a simple form. Have them write an estimated value of each item on their form and turn it in when all items have been priced. Award a prize for the cacher who gets the most correct. In case of a tie have a drawing to settle it. Should be an interesting experiment.

 

Or this. :smile:

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I really like this idea, and the twists on it suggested.

 

However, I think it might be more of an exercise in awareness, than anything else.

 

I may be a little cynical, but the way most swag deteriorates, those trading down,(or not at all, just taking.) must know.

 

I once put out a cache with a lot of good stuff in it. My brother came to visit a very short time later, and I went with him while he found it. I was surprised at how much of the swag was gone, and there had only been a couple of finds on it.

 

I have another cache that has been out for a few years, and last time I checked on it, it was still stuffed full of good stuff. None of which was original to the hide.

 

I don't think the problem is that people don't guess the value, as much as it is, a few people don't care.

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I really like this idea, and the twists on it suggested.

 

However, I think it might be more of an exercise in awareness, than anything else.

 

I may be a little cynical, but the way most swag deteriorates, those trading down,(or not at all, just taking.) must know.

 

I once put out a cache with a lot of good stuff in it. My brother came to visit a very short time later, and I went with him while he found it. I was surprised at how much of the swag was gone, and there had only been a couple of finds on it.

 

I have another cache that has been out for a few years, and last time I checked on it, it was still stuffed full of good stuff. None of which was original to the hide.

 

I don't think the problem is that people don't guess the value, as much as it is, a few people don't care.

 

This.

I think it would be an eye-opening experiment, but the cynical side of me doubts it would change much of anything. The few cachers I know who have chosen to dedicate themselves to "cache swag improvement" will still follow that decision, and those who don't care will... well... not care.

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But how do you "value" an item? Dollars & cents are not the only measure of value, and what is the measure of value will vary from one person to another.

They could be numbered for the game. Maybe have 1s, 5s 10s and 20s. At the start, people could have an equal selection of items to trade, or random. They could join with others to pool their trades, for an advantage. One side of the trade could be blind (say, you won't know its value until after the transaction). And it could go in rounds, getting increasingly risky. At least one round might be an auction. As you mention above, if someone has several "20s", they're worth less to that person who's trying to get a "1" to complete a set.

 

It also might be funny if the participants were part of the "swag".

Edited by kunarion
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But how do you "value" an item? Dollars & cents are not the only measure of value, and what is the measure of value will vary from one person to another.

 

That, my friend, is the whole point of the game and of trading swag. However, we are adults and we really do have a pretty good idea of the worth of goods.

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But how do you "value" an item? Dollars & cents are not the only measure of value, and what is the measure of value will vary from one person to another.

Go with Suggested retail value.

 

I don't think I'd specify how to value the swag. That would totally defeat the purpose of the "game" (which, I think, is really an experiment or demonstration of how swag deteriorates). Let each person value the items in the way they would at a cache.

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But how do you "value" an item? Dollars & cents are not the only measure of value, and what is the measure of value will vary from one person to another.

 

That, my friend, is the whole point of the game and of trading swag. However, we are adults and we really do have a pretty good idea of the worth of goods.

Maybe so, but we have a vast ability to justify an incorrect value. Just check the forums for all the references to Pathtags being "worth a dollar". So we excuse ourselves for trading a happy meal toy for a coveted collector's item.

 

Seldon's right, that the value varies. That's why I think a "Swag Trading Game" should include that idea. If teams are trying to complete a "set" of swag items, the cheapest piece may be the most valuable, and the fanciest one worthless. I'd suppose the game is then closer to that "Santa Swap" party game at Christmas events. Which would be a shame. :unsure:

 

There's an art gallery card game, where paintings are valued based on how much they sold for in the previous round. The idea is that you get your artist's paintings priced higher. The Swag Game could have values assigned in a similar way.

Edited by kunarion
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I had a very vague notion for a game of sorts that could be played at an event. The basic idea would be to start out with a "cache" full of good swag, and all participants get to trade "equal or better" (with nobody else looking, perhaps), and in the end, compare the contents at the start to the contents at the end.

 

That is just a rough sketch of the general concept. I'm looking for ideas to flesh it out. What sounds like fun to you, and how would it work?

 

I did a version of this at an event in Dallas back in 2005. I did it secretly though. I filled a small Igloo cooler with 4.99 DVDs, new corporate swag (tool kits, sewing kits and such like)a few TBs (it was a geocaching.com event so no harm there) and some dollar store toys. Roughly $35 worth of stuff. I was single and had money to burn at the time. :anibad::laughing:

 

#1 I announced that my moving Terracache, Snoogandipity, was somewhere at the event and that it was hidden in plain sight.

 

#2 Sat and observed. (out of the corner of my eye)

 

The cache was found in about three minutes behind a large tree on the very edge of the gathering area. A line of adult cachers logged the cache. A few made trades. Very few. During the course of the day, all of the kids found and revisited the cache multiple times. I don't remember seeing any of the adults revisit it.

 

When I picked up the cache at the end of the day, (roughly 6-7 hours) it contained .73 cents in change, 3 dirty golf balls, several coupons (over half were expired) and 6 of the exact same Sonic kid meal toy. :laughing:

 

Cache degredation in a nutshell. FUN experiment. It was worth it to me.

Edited by Snoogans
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When I picked up the cache at the end of the day, (roughly 6-7 hours) it contained .73 cents in change, 3 dirty golf balls, several coupons (over half were expired) and 6 of the exact same Sonic kid meal toy. :laughing:

It would be funny if then the winning team of a challenging game (poker run, or whatever) were awarded the remaining contents of that cache, with great ceremony. :laughing:

 

Wait... present that cache to a "special guest"... the "president of the Bulgonian Children's Orphanage". "This cache started the day with over $35 in toys and new items. Our generous group has been trading up or even all day. So on behalf of everyone here, I'd say you deserve this..." (Thanks and appreciation gush forth for three dirty golf balls).

Edited by kunarion
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When I picked up the cache at the end of the day, (roughly 6-7 hours) it contained .73 cents in change, 3 dirty golf balls, several coupons (over half were expired) and 6 of the exact same Sonic kid meal toy. :laughing:

It would be funny if then the winning team of a challenging game (poker run, or whatever) were awarded the remaining contents of that cache, with great ceremony. :laughing:

 

Wait... present that cache to a "special guest"... the "president of the Bulgonian Children's Orphanage". "This cache started the day with over $35 in toys and new items. Our generous group has been trading up or even all day. So on behalf of everyone here, I'd say you deserve this..." (Thanks and appreciation gush forth for three dirty golf balls).

 

That, my friend, is too funny!! And of course, announce beforehand that a hidden video was captured throughout the event and has already been published on YouTube.

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Boy, threads are sure scrolling by quickly today!

 

I'm waiting on a consultant and a vendor to call back. I've got time to burn today. :anibad::laughing:

 

I find time to be quite flammable, myself.

 

I've always had a question about swag trading. Not that I encounter this situation frequently as I tend to gravitate toward signature items or cheap things in general.

 

Anyhow lets say an item in the cache is worth $3. I don't have a singular item worth $3 but I have a bunch worth $1 or $2. Is it ok to trade a few of the $1 or $2 items for the 1 $3 item?

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Anyhow lets say an item in the cache is worth $3. I don't have a singular item worth $3 but I have a bunch worth $1 or $2. Is it ok to trade a few of the $1 or $2 items for the 1 $3 item?

I think that would be great, because it produces 2 cool things where there was just one. But I've also thought a pathtag should be traded for a pathtag only, or no trade. That's only in theory, since I've never done it that way :rolleyes:.

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Anyhow lets say an item in the cache is worth $3. I don't have a singular item worth $3 but I have a bunch worth $1 or $2. Is it ok to trade a few of the $1 or $2 items for the 1 $3 item?

I think that would be great, because it produces 2 cool things where there was just one. But I've also thought a pathtag should be traded for a pathtag only, or no trade. That's only in theory, since I've never done it that way :rolleyes:.

 

I'll use my path tags as trade items but usually if I'm using them I pair them up with other stuff depending on what I'm trading for.

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