Game Format
Physical Drop + QR Claim
Players find a placed object in public space, scan, and claim through a mobile-first flow.
Case Study
Urban3D City Launch: Running a Public Hunt with Cartodrop
This page documents how Urban3D uses Cartodrop to run a city-scale QR hunt: publishing hunt points, validating claims in real time, moderating edge cases, and reviewing completion patterns after launch.
Runtime Controls
Eligibility + Duplicate Guarding
Claims are checked against player state, item rules, and claim settings before completion.
Operations
Live Moderation Loop
Urban3D operators can review interactions, handle abuse, and keep the hunt fair.
Interactive QR Scan Recreation
A playful simulation of what a participant sees: scan a code, process claim, then success.
Point camera at QR
Scanning for valid mission code...
Validating Claim
Checking player state, duplicate scans, and claim limits.
Claim Confirmed
You claimed: City Lantern Token
Success
Team Dashboard
Map View
Claim Feed
How the Urban3D game works in the field
1. Discovery
Urban3D deploys physical drops across the city. Each drop is tied to a Cartodrop item and has a linked QR sticker. Players discover a piece in the street, open the scan entrypoint, and are routed into the claim surface for that exact item.
2. Validation
Before awarding progress, Cartodrop checks authentication state, duplicate protection, and mode-specific eligibility. While the map enforces progression rules and player moderation, items are marked as scanned even if a claim does not take place.
3. Claim / Check-in
A successful interaction records a claim or check-in and updates the player timeline immediately. The flow is optimised for one-thumb use on mobile so players can complete it while standing at the physical location.
4. Fair-play safeguards
Urban3D runs with first-come mechanics, practical safety guidance, and moderation visibility. When suspicious behaviour appears, team admins can review records and apply map-scoped moderation without stopping the whole game.
How Cartodrop enables the launch
Authoring and deployment
Urban3D configures maps, item metadata, and per-mode behaviour from the app workspace. QR-linked item pages are generated from the same source of truth, so field deployment and digital claim logic stay in sync even as launch details are adjusted.
Runtime orchestration
Scan and claim events run through a unified interaction path. This centralises duplicate handling, eligibility checks, and result messaging, which keeps player outcomes predictable during high-concurrency moments and reduces player frustration.
Moderation and editor issue handling
Operators monitor interaction logs, progression states, and leaderboard movement while the event is live. If a participant reports a blocked claim or invalid state, the team can verify the interaction record and take action in a series of clicks.
Post-event analysis
After the launch window, Urban3D reviews completion paths, drop performance, and player bottlenecks. The same data used for live operations becomes the basis for the next drops, using everything from placement choices and drop design to time periods and social media posting.
Implementation notes from this rollout
Clear scan instructions reduce drop-off
Most field friction appears in the first interaction. Keeping the claim screen short and explicit increases completion reliability.
Progression rules need visible feedback
If sequence constraints are enabled, players need immediate guidance on why a claim is blocked and what to do next.
Moderation tools must be map-scoped
Gameplay issues are usually local to one item drop. Scoped actions prevent broad side effects across other drops.
Operational data should stay close to gameplay
The same interaction events that power gameplay should drive issue handling and insights so teams avoid parallel tracking tools.
Summary
Urban3D uses Cartodrop as the operational backbone for a physical-world hunt: one authoring surface, one interaction pipeline, and one moderation/insight loop. The result is a game that remains simple for players in the street while still giving operators enough control to run it safely and consistently.