Rules



This page contains an in-depth explanation of the rules for the Survivalism ARG. This video will run you through everything you need to know, also see below for a more detailed description.



Items
In order to retrieve items within the game players must scan QR codes using their mobile devices.Once you scan a QR Code, the link will redirect you to the website, where the item assigned to the QR Code will be added to your profile. QR codes are also used to Sign into buildings.

Food
Food is the core mechanic of Survivalism. Without food, you will be knocked out of the game. At the beginning of the game, players start with 2 units of food. At the start of every weekday (12:00am / 0000hrs), 1 food will be deducted from your food count. If you have no food at the start of a day, you will be knocked out of the game.

To gain food, you will need to explore the buildings in the game and follow clues from the Benefactor.

See Looting below for more information.

Energy
Energy is the core mechanic behind Survivalism's combat system. At the start of each day, each player has 1 energy point, and more can be gained by consuming excess food. Energy is reset to 1 at the end of each day. After a fight with another player, it does not matter who wins or loses, both players are reduced to 0 energy.

See Combat below for more details.

Guns/Bullets
Guns and bullets are separate items in Survivalism. You may find a gun, but no ammo, and vise versa. Guns will be a very rare item in the world, and will enhance your ability to kill people.

See Combat below for how they work in combat.

Med Kits
Med kits are the final item available in Survivalism. They can be used to save a person who is mortally wounded, and allow them to continue playing. These can only be used on another player, so it is up to the other players whether you get saved or not.

Signing-in to Buildings
In order to take any action in this game, you must be signed into a building. To do this, just go to the entrance of one of these buildings and scan the QR Code. This will then allow you to use the Item QR Codes inside the building you signed in to, and get a list of all the players in the same building as you. You are able to change which building you are signed in to at any time.

Signing out of Buildings
You can sign out of buildings entirely, meaning you cannot be attacked and also cannot loot anything. To prevent abuse, if you do not sign in at least once within a 3 day period (excluding weekends) additional food will be deducted from the player.

Looting
Looting is a very important aspect of Survivalism. To collect food, guns and bullets, you need to scan QR Codes located within the buildings utilised within the game. Each of these buildings will have QR Codes at the entrances, and you will need to scan one of these prior to being able to loot anything within the building. This also leaves you open to being attacked, see Combat below for more details.

Combat
Fighting other players in Survivalism is very simple. Firstly, you need to be signed in to a building to be able to see others in the same building as you. You can then choose to attack someone who is in the same building, and whoever has the higher energy wins. If you are tied on energy, no-one wins. The player that wins will be presented the following choices: If the winning player chooses any of the first 3, they will get the items the losing player has. Mortally wounding a player means they have until the end of the day to be healed by a med kit, which another player can use on them, or they will die. Choosing to kill and cannibalise a player has ramifications, see Cannibalism below for details on this. The winning player can also choose to simply leave.
 * Loot
 * Loot & mortally wound
 * Loot, kill & cannibalise
 * Leave

Using a gun in combat is a trump card, and the player who uses it immediately mortally wounds the other player. The winning player can then also choose to cannabalise the player. If both players have a gun and a bullet and both players use them, the player with the higher energy wins and mortally wounds the losing player. If the players are tied on energy, both players end up mortally wounded.

Group Combat
Group combat is the same as normal combat in terms of how it works. Through the web interface, you are able to team up with other people in the same building as you. A group can take on a single person or another group, and all the energy from the members in a group is combined, so it is still possible for a single person to beat a group.

Cannibalism
Yes, Cannibalism is part of this game. As mentioned in the combat section, this is an option when you win a fight against another player. Taking this action will give you 1 food for a day, so this counts as your 1 food for the day that you ate the other player.

However, there are penalties for taking this action such as: So beware of the ramifactions.
 * The Benefactor could place a bounty on you.
 * The Benefactor could simply inform every player that you are eating other people.

Trading
Trading can only be done with players in the same building. Like combat, you can select another player from the web interface and select "Trade". If the other player accepts, both players will be taken to another page, where players can offer items in the trade. Once both players agree to the proposed trade, the items are exchanged. Either player can quit the trade at any time.