ARrrrrgh
Dig up AR treasure with friends in fun hide-and-find game.
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ARrrrrgh
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this app.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that ARrrrrgh is a hide-and-find game for two or more people. Players use augmented reality (AR) to "bury" a treasure chest somewhere around them in the real world, and then they hand over their device to a friend or friends who have to use the app's AR feature to "dig" around the location and find the chest. When they do, it opens to reveal a treasure of gold coins. Read the app's privacy policy to find out about the types of information collected and shared.
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What’s It About?
To play ARRRRRGH, first give permission for the app to access to your device's camera. Then move the device around to scan the area where you're currently standing. Tap on the shovel to choose where you want to hide the treasure chest. It has to be near enough to where you're standing, or it will turn gray (indicating too far away) or red (meaning not enough room). A big red "X" marks the spot! Now the treasure is "buried," and you give your device to your play partner, who will use the map on the device (and trial and error) to walk around and find the treasure. If players think they've found it, they tap the shovel to dig up the treasure. Once they've dug in the right spot, they win!
Is It Any Good?
For anyone who's ever dreamed of finding buried treasure in the backyard, this free app is worth bullions of fun. ARrrrrgh uses augmented reality to create a seek-and-find experience that lets one player hide a treasure chest for another (or more than one) player to seek. The graphics on this game are remarkably realistic, and gameplay is easy enough for younger players to enjoy both seeking and finding. It would be extra fun if this app had options to add some clues, customize the treasure in the chest, or send the location to another person's phone (rather than sharing a device). Just as it is, ARrrrrgh is an easy AR game experience that gets people playing together for real-world fun.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how to play ARrrrrgh fairly with friends. Set parameters within which the treasure must be buried. Decide if you'll give each other clues if one player is having trouble finding the treasure. Setting rules up front will help this very fun game stay fun.
Talk about how to play safely using AR. Whether kids are playing indoors or outside, it's more important to watch where you're going offscreen than to see what's happening on-screen. It's also important to remind kids of the dangers of real digging without permission in places like yards that may have buried lines.
Encourage your kid to create a make-believe treasure map for a friend that leads the friend on a path and gives landmarks on the way to the treasure.
App Details
- Devices: iPhone, iPad
- Skills: Thinking & Reasoning: prediction, spatial reasoning, Tech Skills: using and applying technology
- Pricing structure: Free
- Release date: October 29, 2017
- Category: Simulation Games
- Topics: Pirates
- Publisher: Warpin Media AB
- Version: 1.0.2
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 11.0 or later
- Last updated: February 12, 2020
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