We love information. We love to set it free! Often that’s as easy as copy and paste, but sometimes – for the important stuff – it requires subterfuge. A little cloak and dagger. A bit of…sneaking.

We can all do that in the virtual world – that’s why you’re here – but can you do it in person? In public? Where strangers might see you, where you must work with – and against! – your peers, all the while with exposed to public view in the real world?

Time to find out!

I am one of you, and I have set you a challenge: to encrypt, send and decrypt bite-sized (not byte-sized) chunks of information through meatspace…IRL…the actual world. You must cooperate with your teams to safely send as many codes as you can, without being intercepted by the other teams. And no electronic devices must be used! I’ll be monitoring you; we’ll find out. Then we’ll see how well you’ve done – and whether you’ve gathered enough information to solve my final riddle…

Wikisneaks is a team-based game of encrypted communication. Each team must assign roles to its members – sender, receiver or intercepter – and devise a way to transmit short numerical codes from one node to another in a physical representation of a network. Each team earns points for codes successfully transmitted – but the information must be encrypted, because if another team can decipher your message, they can negate your points. Teams may use any non-electronic means to transmit their information: flashing lights, coded sounds, musical notes, coloured flags…whatever they can devise. How well each team succeeds will determine how much information they will have to work with to solve the puzzle at the end of the game.

It’s a race against time and against the other teams. Will you use a simple cipher, to speed up transmission? Or will you concoct something more devious, to make sure you get to keep your points? And regardless of the points, will your team take the ultimate prize by deciphering the final puzzle? 

Wikisneaks will be presented on Wednesday 25 September at 7pm as part of the Freeplay Playful Program.

Tickets $15, available soon from the Freeplay website

 

Wikisneaks image from here, used under the Creative Commons license.