The game is relatively simple. Books are hidden and clues are given about where to find them. Once a person finds a book, he or she is encouraged to read it and then “release” the book back into the wild.
The game was invented Aveline Gregoire, a primary school headmaster. According to Gregoire, she came up with the idea when she realized she did not have enough space for all her books. Having played Pokémon Go with her kids, she decided to release some of the books “into the wild” and have other people look for them. It serves as an alternative to running around looking for Pokémon monsters.
But, as MegaGames reports, Gregoire lacked the funds and the technical expertise to create a high tech augmented reality game such as Pokémon Go. So she relies on Facebook to play the game. The headmaster created a Facebook page, “Chasseurs de Livres” (Book Hunters) to enable the game to be played.
People are encouraged to wrap books in plastic and then hide them. They then post pictures on the Facebook page and give hints as to where these books can be found. Once found, people are encouraged to read the book and then hide it again and provide clues as to where the book is hidden. Books are being hidden throughout the country, in and around towns and in the countryside. People who find books are requested to post their finds on the Facebook page. The books range from children’s books to adult books such as Stephen King novels.
The Facebook group already has more than 50,000 members although it has only been in existence for a few weeks. Reuters reports a family as saying they include looking for books when they go for morning walks. Jessica Detournay said her daughter described looking for books as being similar hunting for Easter eggs.
Gregoire is thinking about creating an app so the game can be played around the world.
