Here are the requirements to play:

• a smartphone
• a Telegram account
• data connection
• a QR code scanner (in fact, this is not mandatory: you could also click on the QR Code in order to obtain the same effect)

In order to play, you must scan the following QR Code:

This will automatically launch the Treasure Hunt bot on your device, allowing you to join the match via Telegram.

First of all, the bot will ask you a simple introductory puzzle to check if you are ready for the game. The puzzle is based upon the rules of Cody Roby (a do-it-yourself card game). You will see a robot – Roby – on a 5×5 chessboard, and you will have to indicate the patch where the robot arrives if it follows the instructions indicated by yellow, green and red cards. These are the movements you can do:

• turn left (yellow card, also denoted by  L, which means turning 90 degrees counterclockwise),
• move forward (green card, also denoted by letter F, which means moving into the box in front of you),
• turn right (red card, also denoted by R, which means turning 90 degrees clockwise).

Then, the Treasure Hunt bot will ask you:

1. a name for the team;
2. the number of participants in the team (leader included);
3. a profile picture for the team.

The Treasure Hunt bot will ask you to look for 8 important places for Astronomy. Each place will be suggested by the bot itself, on the basis of a clue. The clue will only arrive after solving a coding puzzle based on the rules of Cody Roby (in case of a mistake, you will have to wait 30 seconds before answering again).

Remember that you can search online (using Google, Wikipedia, etc.) for additional clues to find the correct place on the map. If you think you have found it, click on the pin and follow the QR Code (either with a scan, or a click). You can ask for an extra hint, if needed, through the “Request hint” button. By clicking on “Open location map”, the map will also open on the device you are playing from.

If the selected place is correct, you’ll be facing another puzzle and another clue. By the end of the 8-step quest, you should have solved the final puzzle (be careful what the Treasure Hunt bot tells you).

This is the map. You can display it in full screen on your device by clicking the symbol under the zoom buttons, top left. By clicking on the symbol at the top right, you can change the type of map displayed. In case you do not have this page open on the desktop, do not worry: the bot will also give you the link to an online map, where you can find each destination.

The map is available in several languages: Italiano – English – Français – Deutsch – Español (lugares en España) – Català (ubicacions a Catalunya)

In the end, directly in the Telegram chat, you will receive the certificate of the Online Code Hunting Game – signed by the INAF President, Marco Tavani, and by Alessandro Bogliolo, coordinator of the Europe Code Week – with the name of the team, the selfie and the time taken to complete the treasure hunt. This time is considered well spent, and its social value will be recognized through the issue of a Wom (Worth One Minute), a digital voucher planned to recognize the value of the actions which have a positive impact on society. The Woms can be collected by scanning the QR  you will receive on Telegram with the app Wom Pocket.

Partners

We wish to thank our partner organisations who supported this initiative: