Mixed Media Game
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A Mixed Media Game is a type of Game that evolved out of ttRPGs and was popular in the seventies and eighties but is now seen as "retro" or rather nerdish in Ill Bethisad. It was popular amongst university students and middle class liberal people.
A Mixed Media Game is started with a clue - such as a book, for instance - which contains hidden puzzles which lead on to other puzzles. It is called a Mixed Media Game because it uses all sorts of different media - e.g. there may be a phone number in a book, which when you phone you get a clue which leads to a travel brochure, which gives more information about the book etc etc, leading you on a trail in order to solve a mystery.
The first MMG - although not known as such at the time - was "Catrina's Book", set in Montrei but contained references elsewhere, in 1971. It was targeted at teenagers, (esp girls), and recieved a much bigger sellout than was expected. (Ironically, a lot of the people buying it were adults or students). It was incredibly difficult to translate as all of the "extra" material had to be translated too - including that related to Montrei.
Some MMGs were Armchair treasure hunts but most were not. One of the (arguably *the*) most famous books of this genre was Kit Guilelme's "Masquerade", which held paintings which lead onto instructing leadings to find units. (Often this meant finding the key to a Vignere Cipher hidden in a text rather than the actual thing).
Most MMGs have attracted fanclubs of some size; often MMGs are set up to actively encourage discussion with others about the way forward (e.g. by hiding things in different countries etc.). In fact there was once a heavy rivalry with the two main MMG fan clubs in the NAL and Louisianne.
