Who among us hasn’t dreamed of searching the seven seas and a deserted island for hidden treasure using an old map with an X on it? While that dream isn’t exactly about to become a reality, thanks to border closures, Xbox and Telstra have teamed up to offer the next best thing: an online scavenger hunt to win a brand new next-gen console.
All you need to do is follow the clues to find a “distinctive mark” somewhere on the internet, report it on the Telstra Exchange website (which is also where you can find the T&Cs). If you do that, you could win the equivalent of an Xbox All Access Package from Telstra, including an Xbox Series X and a 24-month subscription to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
According to the press release, the clues have been formulated with all gamers in mind, from speedrunners, to Portal fans, to Candy Crushers, so there should be something for everyone.
For those expecting an easy search, the Exchange website stresses the difficulty in store: “We want you to use those tried and tested talents to track down the hidden consoles. This treasure hunt will end when all the consoles have been found, but we think we’ve put together some pretty hard clues, so it might even stretch until the end of the promotion period on 22 September at 12 midday (AEST). When you’re submitting your entry, we want to know two key things – which clue you’re responding to, and where (you think) you’ve found the answer. Copy and paste the website address (URL) of the page when you’ve found it, and let us know…”
The good news is that you won’t find yourself hunting for clues that have long been found – Telstra is going to be updating the site as problems are solved so you can move onto the next one.
Nathan Gumley, Telstra’s Principal for Gaming, is pretty excited about the whole thing, saying in a statement: “This is the moment millions of gamers around the world have been waiting years for – the arrival of the next generation of Xbox consoles. We know the wait has been hard, so we wanted to reward Aussie fans by giving them a jump on the pre-orders and put their detective skills to work tracking down our first ten Xbox Series X consoles in their virtual hiding spots. Wishing them all happy hunting!”
Here are the clues:
- Messy slurp without first rinsing gets us rewards
- The first awestruck, fierce legends before 10 amateurs led to a different competition
- We’ve come a long way since Emily Valentine tied up her boots
- Running out of time to master Call Me Maybe on Just Dance (can’t explain why yet tho)
- What is that place which cradles the iron, born of the forge. After tired and tried days on the battlefield? My axe rests here.
- The dandy dropped 500 to shout us a writing tool, but he’s still a great boss among the birds
- Learning to fly is hard, but we’ve been looking into it, and you’ll never hear us say you shouldn’t get involved
- Broccoli mixed with football to focus on the task at hand
- Sounds like 100 takers in this seafaring game
- Navigating initially north by north, a simple changing service
Reading those, I’m pretty stumped, so good luck with that.
This announcement came at the same time as a bonus was announced for existing Telstra Plus members, Telstra’s loyalty program, who sign up for a new Xbox All Access plan. If they sign up for the $46 a month Xbox Series X plan, they’ll get a bonus 30,000 points, or 20,000 points for a $33 per month Series S. Given that All Access is already looking like the best deal to get an Xbox Series console and Game Pass Ultimate at launch, that’s pretty good. Customers have until November to sign up for Plus to get the bonus points.
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