Interactive GPS Gaming Software Transforms Tourist Destinations

into Real-life Game Boards 

Ranger Quest™ challenges multiplayer groups to “save the day” using location-based

videos, puzzles, secret codes and hidden clues as they explore

Release date: 11/13/2008

Ranger Quest is a choose-your-own-adventure style game that offers players the opportunity to craft their own experience according to preference and skill level as they explore a venue.  Played using the GPS Ranger® handheld video tour guide device equipped with GPS technology, visitors assume a character role and follow video clues, answer trivia questions and solve Flash-based games and puzzles to earn points and work their way towards unraveling the mystery at hand. Each Ranger Quest game is customized to the venue or destination hosting it and contains unique characters and plots. Destinations can offer such themed missions as a Wild West adventure, safari hunt, international spy mission, or pirate’s bounty, to name just a few of the options available. 

Players can compete with friends for time, points or skill level and returning patrons enjoy a different experience each time they play. Utilizing GPS technology, the game is easily integrated with existing landmarks and points of interest within a park, zoo or city tourism zone. BarZ Adventures an Austin, Texas based GPS multimedia tour company is launching the new software experience in connection with the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) Attractions Expo in Orlando November 18-21. For the product launch, BarZ Adventures has secured two launch partners, the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC and Stockyards Station in Fort Worth, Texas.  Both venues will be developing Ranger Quest challenges for their visitors to enjoy as they discover these locations and the surrounding areas.  

The International Spy Museum will present a global espionage mission with their Ranger Quest adventure that will have players exploring such Washington sights as the U.S. Capitol grounds and the area around the FBI building looking for clues and evidence to help them solve the mystery.  Stockyards Station will offer a very different Ranger Quest experience that is more akin to a Wild West “Whodunit”. Both games will have players racing against the clock and each other as they learn about and experience the locations in a new and exciting way. 

“We are eager to launch the Ranger Quest multiplayer game system to venues and attractions worldwide. Ranger Quest is a group activity that has been designed to enhance the fun and excitement of a visit to any venue in the world. Ranger Quest along with our award winning tour guide products offer increased options for our customers and their visitors. We are especially pleased to announce both the International Spy Museum and the Ft.Worth Stockyards Station as our first installations to introduce a Ranger Quest gaming experience,” said Wm. Lee Little, BarZ Adventures founder and CEO. 

The GPS Ranger hardware device utilized to play the Ranger Quest game features a 4-inch sunlight viewable touch screen, dual-speaker stereo system and the ability to use headphones. The system supports full-color video, audio, still photography, musical soundtrack, animation and Flash-based games. All of these elements combine to create an experience where players interact with the device and their surroundings in this electronic cat-and-mouse, that’s part scavenger hunt, part “Clue”.  The device can also be used for GPS multimedia tours that are less for the adventurous tourist and more for the “intellectually curious”.  BarZ Adventures currently has GPS Ranger tours at a variety of national parks, zoos and city walking tours across the nation.   

ABOUT BARZ ADVENTURES INC
BarZ Adventures Inc, founded in 2005, is an Austin, TX based company combining experts in the fields of computer delivery systems and content development. BarZ Adventures has designed the patent-pending GPS Ranger®, Zoo Ranger®, and Ranger Quest™ systems with large venues and their visitors in mind – its sole mission is to enhance the visitor experience at high visitation locations using modern technology. GPS Ranger tours are currently available at Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, Cedar Breaks National Monument, Vicksburg National Military Park, Death Valley National Park, Shenandoah National Park, Independence National Historical Park, Bryce Canyon National Park and Zion National Park.  Zoo Ranger tours are available at the San Francisco Zoo, Dallas Zoo, Oklahoma City Zoo and Santa Barbara Zoo.  The first GPS Ranger College Campus Tour is available at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in California. Historic city walking tours are available in Key West and St. Augustine, Florida, Bermuda and Austin, Texas, which is also the first tour to be made available in American Sign Language (ASL).  BarZ is proud to offer ADA compatible and accessible tours available in ASL, captioning, audio description and with accessible features information for the physically disabled. For more information, log on to www.gpsranger.com or call (512) 732-0135. 

Media Contact:
Sunny Smith
Marketing Manager
BarZ Adventures Inc
Austin, TX
(512) 732-0135 x109
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