I play the Game; I write about it. Usually I play with Team Mystic Fish. But sometimes I play the Game as an embedded reporter, a guest on another team. Then I write about it.
Here are the write-ups so far. There aren't many, I do at most one per year... but there's hope for the future:
What kind of person plays overnight team-based puzzle-solving Games?
Freaks, obviously.
But there is a diverse range of freakage going on here.
Motivation...
Some people love the competition of locking wits; some love the fun
of riding around in a van for 24 hours; some like to hang out with
their friends; some love the immersion.
Techniques... Some
teams love to talk in the van; some keep their solving gear in
ready-to-grab backpacks; some choose roles for their players to make
sure they have all the bases covered.
Background... Fans of the Stanford dorm games; ex-pat Australians
clinging together for support in a barbarian land; childhood friends;
relative strangers who unite only for Games...
People are curious about other teams, how they operate. Gather a bunch of Gamers and they'll talk about past Games and gossip about other teams. They're curious about how other teams operate, what keeps them going, what they've been up to. Thus, these "Embedded Reporter" write-ups.