Last month, the Finksburg Library in Carroll County, Maryland, started its second alternate reality game tied to its summer reading program. The Mystery Guest is a strange, out-of-place fellow who has fallen out from the pages of a book, and local teens in Finksburg are trying to find a way to put him back. They tried using an iron (ouch!) and stuffing him in, but nothing is working.
Will young Finskburg readers be able to uncover the Mystery Guest’s identity and return him to wherever he came from? You can follow the adventure at The Mystery Guest blog shared by tweeners Kitty, Alyson, and Caroline and the “voice of reason”—the Librarian.
Last year, the Finksburg Library hosted its first alternate reality game, Find Chesia, which centered on a 14-year-old girl whose parents had gone missing on an archaeological dig. The game itself was created by small teams of young local teenagers.
In The Mystery Guest, local players can win limited edition gold Library Bucks and other prizes for answering the Librarian’s challenges. The overall story is linked with Carroll County Public Library System’s summer reading program. Teens can use Library Bucks to buy things at the Auction Wrap-Up Party on August 21st to be held at the Westminster Branch Library. The Mystery Guest adventure ends August 14th.
For more information about the Finksburg Library’s outreach programs, check out its Facebook fan page and its Twitter profile.