Posts Tagged ‘Year in Review’

December 31, 2016

2016- Letter From The President

2016 was great year for Munzee Inc. and we’re excited to look back on some of the highlights! The “2016 in Review” series will showcase different aspects of the company and some of our team’s favorite parts of 2016.

As I sit and reflect on 2016, I’m not even sure how to encompass the entire year in one quick letter. There have been some amazing moments and some very difficult ones as well. As usual we’ve made some tweaks that have been wildly popular and others that have touched a nerve. Through it all I can honestly look back on the year and see that each choice along the path has lead us to the best possible place to launch into 2017, with an “All In” enthusiasm.

I’ve had the opportunity to visit new locations across the world this year in order to help you spread the word about Munzee. Each trip allows me to meet players that are the core to our game, and I hope you know that our interactions mean the world to me. I enjoy hearing the stories of improved health, weight loss, and how Munzee has introduced you to a worldwide community of people you now call friends. The same is true for me. Physically I’m in the best shape of the past 20 years, due in no small part to our MunzFit initiative. You can look forward to a renewed focus on this sector of our game in 2017. I currently have plans to send members of the team to events all over the world, with announcements being prepared for the upcoming months. Here’s a sneak peek for a few we will attend, and others we already have our eyes on as possibilities. If you would like to be considered for a visit by Team Munzee get your event on the calendar soon and start promoting it! We are quickly finalizing details on a unique location and opportunity to celebrate our 6th birthday. However, we want to go ahead and invite you to join the party in Muncie, Indiana from the 21st of July through the 23rd. We are also working on tools for you to use to reach out to your local organizations to spread the word about Munzee. Worldwide events are our main tool to grow this game, so we will invest our resources in streamlining the processes and providing you even more necessary tools to be amazing!

I’ve been fortunate to present donations to several charitable organizations on behalf of our worldwide player base. It is part of the mission of Munzee to build strong communities, and this giving back is our way of doing this locally and globally. In 2017 you will see our charity-based focus continue to shine through. This is core to who we are and what we believe Munzee should do. We will continue to look for charities that have the ability to impact global communities. This ties in with our 2017 theme, which will be announced in the coming days.

I’ve been asked to share with you some of the things you can expect from Munzee for 2017. As most of you know, I possess a talent for being completely vague in responding to questions about the future. Many times in the past it is because we literally had not planned beyond the things you already knew about (that’s serious transparency there). I’m proud to say we are approaching 2017 with MANY things already in motion for expansions to current things and introducing new programs alike. *Drumroll please*…I’m excited to announce ZeeOps is almost here! We have been working diligently behind the scenes to bring this to life. The basic premise behind ZeeOps is best described as individual clan wars. There will be an opportunity for you to earn, and purchase, Zee Credits (I’m calling it Zee Cred) to be redeemed for ZeeOps which will contain daily missions. When the ZeeOp (Operation) is completed you will earn rewards. All the details will be released in the next 1000 hours, so get ready for an amazing kick off to 2017. In addition we have been excited about the buzz around our Munzee coin line. We have been working diligently to design new styles and have great news for you early in the New Year about this fun addition to the game. This will include a full explanation of what Coinz are and how to use them. A Roverhaul is being discussed with probable implementation as we enter the MHQ summer months. We will have some awesome monthly themes you will see across the entire company in many facets.

I’m proud of our team and what we have accomplished this year. As in every company individuals come and go from time to time, and we have seen several members of the team move on this year. It was difficult in the moment but the remaining team has stepped in and made the best of every opportunity. I’m fortunate to lead a worldwide family of team members that are motivated everyday to do their best for you, our players. In the end we all want to provide the best experience for you, so you will share our little game with your friends and family. You are our most valuable team member and resource and we remember that daily. In 2017 we will grow our MHQ staff, focusing on the tech team in order to provide more timely updates to our apps and websites. We have invested heavily in our infrastructure in 2016 with plans in 2017 to prepare for, and push on toward 500,000 players worldwide across Munzee Inc games. We will launch an Android version of our popular collection game, WallaBee in early 2017. We will also focus on finding additional partnerships to expand the reach of Munzee.

In closing, I have to say I’m humbled and deeply honored to continue to serve as President of a company that provides the games we do. I will continue to lead our company in line with our mission, to provide innovative apps that build community and make a worldwide impact. If I’ve never had the privilege to interact with you, I hope this year I am able. I’m fairly active in our Facebook groups, occasionally on Twitter or Instagram, and always available via Munzee message (coachV). Additionally, you can find me in my two dimensional version in app anytime I’m away from the office. 🙂 Thank you for the difference you make in my life, and the lives of our team members, through playing one of our “games”. It’s my personal mission to make a difference in your life as well. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Munzee On!

-Rob Vardeman
CZeeO, Munzee Inc.

December 29, 2016

2016- Eventzee

As Director of Operations for Eventzee, it has been a pleasure seeing this section of the company grow exponentially in its second year. We have worked on so many unique events, seen thousands of amazing photos and pushed our mobile scavenger hunt app to new levels.

So much has happened this year it’s impossible to list everything. Our app had tons of updates including awesome new features and fixes to bugs. We got a much needed website update through the awesome work from front end developer/designer Judy Nguyen.

Eventzee’s goal for 2016 was to find new avenues of business and work with an even greater variety of conferences, festivals and events of all shapes and sizes. By enhancing our outreach efforts we have built relationships with recurring clients and begun developing partnerships with other scavenger hunt companies.

Specifically we would like to thank Distel Wolfe Events, Thrill of The Hunt, and City Fun Group for adapting the Eventzee app into their own companies’ event selections. While Eventzee offers a service for customizable mobile based scavenger hunts, these partners can offer a more hands on approach to developing clues, running events and more. Each of these companies has helped us expand our worldwide player base and also offered invaluable suggestions for making the most out of our app updates.

To learn more about Eventzee’s partnership program contact eventzee@munzee.com.

Perhaps the greatest partnership of all is with our parent company Munzee. With the help of Munzee Events Manager Louise Gibson player events have utilized Eventzee in great ways. Dedicated players have shown how well they can host events of their own with ease and are constantly discovering new ways to play.

To learn more about hosting your own Munzee Event or to see if there is an event near you, check out https://calendar.munzee.com/!

While much of our focus went toward growing business, we also continued to enjoy the smiles, laughs and, of course, high fives from our players this year. It’s always a pleasure when we can go to events and see the game in action, so we hope to travel even more next year.

This year alone Eventzee had 262,380 photos taken through the app and we hosted 875 events! We’re so excited for 2017 and all the bigs things to come. Thank you to everyone who made 2016 great- see you next year!

-Dylan Derryberry
Director of Operations, Eventzee

Eventzee: Scavenger Hunts Made Easy was created by Munzee Inc. in 2015. The app is currently available for iOS and Android devices.

To learn more about Eventzee visit https://www.eventzeeapp.com/.

December 28, 2016

2016- WallaBee In Review

Robbie McGuire, WallaBee Manager

We are lovingly calling 2016 the year of growing pains. As Munzee has had WallaBee for a year now, we’ve seen many growth opportunities- some good, some bad- that have added great changes in the app and community. We’re proud of everything we accomplished this year and excited for what’s to come.

~Community~
The BeeKeeper program has grown from a few players approving places to a full-fledged team of forum moderators, helping make the game better for all.

Hardships were found in the community, from simple drama to losing players to death. Through it all, the community has found a way of coming together to hold others up. You don’t see this kind of community through normal mobile gaming and we’re proud to be a part of it.

WallaBee “One Year With Munzee” Celebration in Anaheim, CA.

~Gaming~
Over 350 items were released in 2016. Sets like Wombie Walentine Wapocolypse, Tell Us A Tale, Veni Vidi Mixi, Sushi Madness, BCA, and Cracking Under Pressure have showcased the types of sets that WallaBee is known for.

Users were able to commission new uniques for the first time in a long time. Players are also able to save more than 255 Unique items to their set without issues. With the addition of over 90 new uniques this year, the extra room was definitely needed.

New subcategories were added to the map, some previous subcategories were adjusted to blend categories, and players can now stash more items than ever. It is obvious that locations have been modified to best accommodate players, wherever they are.

~Extra Fun~
We also saw the addition of various physical items, like the pins, shirts, and the Limited Edition WallaBee Card Game. This game was created by staff for a completely new experience with the WallaBee artwork you know and love.

Plans for 2017
The biggest question on everyone’s mind is: “When does Android come out?” We are working hard to make this dream a reality. We anticipate launching the Android app in Spring 2017 (date TBD).

Beyond the player support and gameplay you’ve grown to expect, you can expect to see exciting game growth, technology improvements, and even more items to collect. We are excited for what 2017 has in store for WallaBee! Join us as we take this road together.

-Robbie McGuire
WallaBee Manager

Munzee Madness V

WallaBee: Trading and Collecting Game was acquired by Munzee Inc. in 2015. The app is currently available on iOS devices and an Android version is coming soon.

To learn more about WallaBee check out http://wallabeegame.com/!

December 27, 2016

2016- Munzee Events

It gives me great pleasure to take a few minutes away from setting up all these amazing Christmas parties to say THANK YOU to all of the players for their contribution to events. To my lovely hosts for putting the events on and being so great to work with, and to the amazing players that travel all over the world to attend the events and make them so fun.

My favourite aspect is the artwork and I’d like to say a massive thanks to the incredible Trish for her amazing work. I also love seeing you all have fun and get involved at the events in your Dodgy Jumpers and Easter Bonnets!

It’s fun to surprise my loyal hosts with stuff such as Emerald gardens in their area and to reward attendees with hidden extras at the events they go to. This will continue.

I loved the MunzFit events and the way players supported me, Rob and Matt in our successful attempt at 2 Guinness World Records, thank you.

I’ve been lucky enough to attend a few events myself this year and it’s been wonderful to put names to faces and meet players I’ve been working with for a couple of years now. I will be continuing my efforts to spread the events love far and wide and look forward to working with many of you and meeting even more of you!

Munzee on and thank you x.

-Louise Gibson, Munzee Events Manager

To learn more about hosting your own Munzee Event or to see if there is an event near you, check out https://calendar.munzee.com/!

December 31, 2014

Top 14 of ’14: The Overall, Best of the Best for this year.

As the year comes to a close we can’t help but look back on how big 2014 was! From special icons and big events, to huge announcements, 2014 is going to be a tough act to follow. Here we have the 14 best things about 2014, ranging all things Munzee. In no particular order Team MHQ has decided on what they think made the year so special.

MHQ Gets an Office!

MHQ may have hit the ground running in 2014, but at the end of 2013 they still didn’t even have an office! So when the 3 (at the time) full time members of the team moved into their new office in McKinney, TX they knew it was a start to a big year. Having a home base (that wasn’t Rob’s living room) solidified their full time role with Munzee and paved the way for the company’s growth. Little did they know that growth would come quicker than expected…

New Hires

While the first office in McKinney was a huge step for Munzee, the 350 square foot space filled up quickly. After hiring Intern+ Matt and a month later UI Designer Peter and Master of Media Dylan, it was time to look at expansion. Even in the final months of the year our team began to grow more with development on both technical and business sides. Munzee will only grow from here- especially considering the growth of the company’s business ventures.

The Munzee Marketplace

What started as a convenience store to provide the downtown McKinney workers with an affordable snack option has grown into something much bigger than anyone at MHQ could have imagined. The Munzee Marketplace is now McKinney’s premier option for local, organic, fresh foods. The Marketplace has partnered with various local vendors and has big plans on the horizon that make Munzee proud.

MHQ Bash

All the extra space from the Marketplace was handy for MHQ’s first official event. In connection with Downtown McKinney’s Oktoberfest Celebration, MHQ Bash featured three days of activities that nearly 200 people joined us for. After seeing some of the great events our players have thrown over the year, we knew we had to go big. We learned a lot about how to plan and execute events (a learning experience to say the least) and we know next year’s Bash will be even bigger.

Official Virtual Garden

Speaking of learning experiences, there’s still a lot the players have to teach us. Much like MHQ Bash, players have made their own virtual gardens for a while and needless to say we have been super impressed with what our players have created. So in connection with the emerald family jewel we made our first official virtual garden outside of McKinney and our players helped us fill it in. It took a little maneuvering and some help from our players with our design, but we’re proud of the new garden and excited to release more official gardens around the world.

The Traveling President

President Rob Vardeman may have done a bit of Virtual Garden scouting during his world travels this year as well. CoachV started his presidency with an oath to expand the player connection and he has not wavered on that promise. For as busy as we keep Rob in the office he still made as many trips to as many events as possible this year. From Germany to California to Canada and everywhere in between, the President racked up the frequent flyer miles, sometimes squeezing trips into a 24 hour span- and enjoyed every minute of it.

Copa Do Munzo

It’s hard not to enjoy world travels, especially when you’re in Germany days after they won the World Cup. Rob got to experience just this during his trip to Cologne, Germany. To celebrate the world’s favorite sport, Munzee blasted the world with football special icons and held a competition where players could vote on who they thought would win in the Copa Do Munzo competition. As many guessed, Germany won the cup and Rob was on hand to reward the faithful football fans.

Special Icons

Much like the footballs that bounced across the map, this year featured a lot of special icons. From 8-bit ghostzees to non-exploding London dynamite, the unique and eclectic assortment of specials got players out at odd hours and in new places hunting for munzees. This year’s specials not only took the game to different levels, but also gave us an opportunity to do good for others as well…

Charity Fundraising

The benefit of special icons is that they are constantly interchangeable and can be used in unique ways, like helping raise money for charity in a fun way. Our players came out in full force multiple times this year to use Munzee for good. The Autism Puzzle Hearts brought in $5000 for the Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation, The RMH Virtuals garnered $25,000 for the Ronald McDonald House of Spokane, and the ALS Ice cubes raised $54,000 for Project A.L.S.. Needless to say 2014 was a big year in many ways!

3rd Birthday Celebrations

July 2014 also marked Munzee’s official 3rd Birthday Celebration, or #FiestaThree as we called it. We kicked off the month-long celebration by introducing Ruby Munzees, held various events every third day of the month and even had Pinata special icons that players could smash open. The whole month was a huge celebration and our players even sent in special Happy Birthday pictures and videos for Munzee. Players also took advantage of Rovers in order to get the Birthday Barker badge. Speaking of Rovers…

Rovers

During one of his many trips this year, Rob and other members of Team MHQ announced the arrival of Rovers at Munzee Madness 3 in California. Rover is a supplemental piece to the game, and in fact a game within the game of Munzee. Rover is an extremely unique part of Munzee because although it is not a munzee type it encourages players to travel and expand their personal maps. Since its announcement in March, all the active Rovers in the world have traveled a whopping 61 million miles!

Clan Wars

Another huge part of this year was the Munzee Clan Wars. Players battled it out month after month, fighting for that number one spot and the ever-glorious Super Chuck. This aspect of the game has shown MHQ how dedicated our players really are and the lengths they are willing to go in the name of Munzee. As we head into the new year we’re sure our players will take the battles to an even higher level and the Clan count will only grow from there!

Podcast/ Videocast

In case you couldn’t tell from our world-traveling President, Munzee is all about transparency and our player relations are extremely important to us. So what better way to interact with our players on a weekly basis than with a podcast? Our weekly update on all things Munzee has evolved a lot over the year. We’ve recently turned our podcast into an interactive videocast that players can now ask us questions each week, which has furthered the connection we get to make with our players. Be sure to join us Tuesdays at 1 pm (MHQ Time) for the live videocast where you can interact with us, ask questions and see us stumble over our words!

Eventzee

As big as 2014 was, 2015 is going to be even bigger. Perhaps the biggest announcement of the year was the development of our new app Eventzee! The private events-based app will not only expand the Munzee events system, but will help our business grow to new reaches and in turn grow the Munzee map as well. We’re currently beta-testing the app and fixing any final kinks, but Eventzee will be a huge part of the new year.

Thank you to all of our players for a great 2014. We can’t wait to see what happens next!

December 30, 2014

Munzee: 2014 By The Numbers

As the year comes to a close we can’t help but look back on how big 2014 was! Over the next few days we’ll be looking back on some of our favorite moments of the year. You guys grew the game in a big way this year and our numbers prove it. Check out 2014 By The Numbers!

Edit: The numbers below show what are labeled Virtual and physical deploys. These numbers should be 2014 and 2013 deploys, respectively.

December 30, 2014

Top 4 of ’14: Team MHQ’s Top Events

As the year comes to a close we can’t help but look back on how big 2014 was! Over the next few days we’ll be looking back on some of our favorite moments of the year. 2014 was a record-breaking year for Munzee events! Although there were events all across the world, the following brought out big numbers in attendance and President Rob was on hand at all of them.

MUNZEE MADNESS III

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA- USA

March 01, 2014

The original large scale Munzee event was back for its third year in the Yorba Regional Park located outside Los Angeles, California. Members of Team Munzee joined Rob for his 2nd year for some Fun in the Sun. Unfortunately the rain decided to crash the party, but it didn’t slow down the true Munzee spirit of the players who had traveled from almost a dozen states for the annual event the first weekend in March. Several events over the course of the weekend included dinners, time at the park, and mega points at nearby Anaheim Angels stadium and Disneyland. This annual event is hosted in part by Munzee reseller Elliot of the Munzee Madness clan (see where the name came from now). 🙂 Members of Team MHQ also announced the Rover!

EURO MUNZEE 2

COLOGNE, GERMANY

July 19 and 20, 2014

More than 100 Players from almost a dozen countries traveled to Cologne for multiple events and the opportunity to play host as Rob visited from MHQ. The main location was a biergarten surrounded with mystery virtuals deployed by players from around the world. Side trips to the Köln Dom, the Rhine river, and nearby parks allowed for fun times to socialize and score maximum points. Munzee reseller John of EUMunzeeshop was on hand to take care of player needs. Rob also revealed a new line of hats, clothing and stickers!

CAPPING THE COAST

MERRITT ISLAND, FLORIDA- USA

November 15, 2014

New to the Munzee scene and showing explosive growth over a 6 month period, the Space Coast of Florida was home to a huge event in November. Over 100 players traveled from distances up to 1000 miles away to join Rob as the event was sponsored by Munzee resellers Dale & Barb of the Space Coast Geocaching Store. The event was the perfect temperature to soak in the sun, cap a ton of points, and then unwind in nearby Port Canaveral at sunset to watch the massive cruise ships departing on their ocean voyages. A month later Rob rejoined over 60 Florida Munzee Hunters in Celebration, FL near DisneyWorld for an event to celebrate all things Munzee. The Trail Munzee was introduced in Celebration with many players capturing the first trail ever deployed and spending time enjoying the unique town.

MHQ BASH

McKINNEY, TEXAS- USA

September 26-28, 2014

MHQ’s first official event went BIG. In connection with Downtown McKinney’s Oktoberfest Celebration, MHQ Bash featured three (kinda four) days of activities. Nearly 200 people joined us throughout the weekend and proved just how far our players were willing to travel for the game they love. Friday night we rented out Franconia Brewery, a traditional German brewer based in McKinney, for a night of laughs and socializing. Bright and early the next morning we hosted the Amunzing Race Scavenger Hunt, followed by tours of MHQ. The weekend was rounded out with a mystery munzee poker tournament, capping The Village at Fairview and brunch with Team MHQ. Other highlights of the weekend included the Grand Opening of the Munzee Marketplace on Thursday, a World’s Collide event that took over downtown McKinney, and a special sneak peak at Eventzee! I wonder what MHQ has planned for next year…

What were your favorite events of 2014? Be sure to follow along the rest of the year as we look back on more big moments from 2014!

If you’re interested in hosting a Munzee event contact events@munzee.com today and be on the lookout for news about our new app- Eventzee!

December 29, 2014

Top 4 of ’14: Special Icons

As the year comes to a close we can’t help but look back on how big 2014 was! Over the next few days we’ll be looking back on some of our favorite moments of the year. To start things off, here are some of the icons that made this year so special. As many of you may have noticed a few of these have been re-released to the map for the rest of the year as well!

ALS Ice Cubes

SEPTEMBER

MHQ’s base in McKinney, Texas may usually be warm in September, but the Munzee community helped freeze us over in our fight to end ALS. This September we sold special virtual icons featuring ice cubes in connection to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and gave all proceeds to ALS research. The campaign was an overwhelming success and in two weeks we raised a donation of $54,000 for Project A.L.S..

Copa Do Munzo Footballs

JUNE

In celebration of the world’s favorite sport, Munzee blasted the world with football icons. From the first whistle in Brazil on June 12 until Germany hoisted the cup on July 13, 704 footballs bounced across the Munzee map. We also held a competition where players could vote on who they thought would win the Cup. As many guessed, Germany won the cup and in hand our players were rewarded too!

Autism Awareness Puzzle Hearts

APRIL

To celebrate and bring awareness to April’s Autism theme, Team Munzee deployed 680 special icons on the map. 680 represents the 1:68 ratio of children born with autism currently. The amazing efforts of our active Munzee community lead to over 8,055 hearts captured in the month of April! Player captures raised a total of $4,027.50 in donations towards the Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism.

3rd Birthday Piñatas

JULY

As a part of our #FiestaThree 3rd birthday celebration, we released special piñata munzees around the world. What better way to celebrate Munzee’s third birthday than to hit a paper-mâché donkey until it gives you candy? We released 3,333 piñata specials and just like in real life, munzee piñatas were about getting as many different kinds of candy as quickly as possible. When you capped a piñata you randomly received one of three types of candy and a corresponding special icon. It was a hit! Get it?

What were your favorite icons of 2014? Be sure to follow along the rest of the year as we look back on more big moments from 2014!