Losing the plot

I have been tearing myself apart trying to make this ARG engaging AND educational and struggling to make the connection. Too much engagement, Ithought, would involve making a complex plot the kids read about or were into without necessarily producing any indication of the learning about samurai. Too much on the 'educational product' side and I might as well have asked for an essay and saved myself the effort.

But then I thought....

People (even hormone-addled teenagers) read books, play MMORPG and KNOW that they are not 'real' and enjoy them no less AND...even better...they learn and reflect on those experiences. So why am I killing myself trying to fool my students when the plot is FAR more important.

So I introduced a newish character who sent them the letter below:
Dear Agent,

My name is Dr Simone Schama and I am a reporter for the Mainichi Canberra Newspaper. I have some important news for you about the storm two weeks ago that you probably won't believe - but I need you to trust me. I believe that the Institute for the Study of Traffic is just a front. I know this because I hacked their IT system - and that is where I learnt about the experiment....and about your helping Dr Frank Tonkin. Please read on so I can explain.

I have been doing some digging around with sources at the Australian Bureau of Meteorology about the storm and none of them can explain it. It seems as though it wasn't actually a storm at all but really a electrical discharge of some kind. Now, I am not a scientist but I started to hear rumours about a secret government organisation doing experiments with temporal shifting - or time travel.

There was something strange about this story so I decided to ask someone at the Australian National University. No one was really able to help me but I was referred to a man called Dr Frank Tonkin. I looked him up and he appears to have a long and prestigious background in high-energy physics before taking a job at the Institute for the Study of Traffic.

From talking to people at your school I have learnt that officers claiming to be from the Institute took away a strangely dressed man in the morning following the electrical disturbance. As strange as it sounds, I believe that man has been dragged from someplace and sometime in history. He is probably a 'samurai' but more than that, I do not know.

I can't risk Dr Tonkin finding out about me before I know more so I've convinced Agent Yoda to give you a mission to learn more about this Samurai. Secrecy is vital so follow these instructions carefully.


アルフレッド・ディーケン・ハイ・スクールの せんせい コード がわかります。

だれ？　わかりません。よくきいてください


TWBR HVFSS DWQHIFSG OH ZSOGH 150 MSOFG CZR. KFWHS 350 KCFRG CB VCK HVSM SDWHCAWGS HVS PIGVWRC QCRS.