Well, Game of Shrooms has come and gone! It was my very first time (ever!) participating. As expected, it was exhilarating and exhausting to join in as both artist and shroom hunter. For this year’s game, I created one mushroom-themed artwork titled, Shroompoleon (aka Napoleon Shroomaparte), which was claimed by a mystery hunter within a few hours.

I don’t exactly know how long it took Shroompoleon to find his forever home, as I wasn’t notified. Meanwhile, I ran around the East Bay for over 4 hours looking for shroom arts but found 0 to keep! 😭

*6/12/23 Update: I found a shroom art two days after the Game of Shrooms officially ended! Special shoutout to my colleague for notifying me of the lovely shroom art created by Tina Banda:

Needless to say, I was so unprepared for this event despite hearing about it from my colleague months before. My colleague had successfully found multiple shrooms in the previous Game of Shrooms. Allow me to share what I learned from her and most importantly, from experiencing the games firsthand.

But before I share any lessons/tips, here’s a brief overview of Game of Shrooms 2023!

Game of Shrooms 2023 Review

The anticipation was quite exhilarating. As the day drew nearer and nearer, more red mushroom pins started to pop up on the Artist Map. This was what the map looked like in the evening on Friday June 9, 2023, just a few hours before the game officially began:

🍄 Limited to a Few

Although there were so many mushroom pins on the map, the number of shrooms you can actually look for is way fewer as you are limited to where you live and the areas around it. You also need to be lucky to be living in the same area as the talented artist(s) whose work(s) you want to find and keep. For instance, I loved the shroom arts created by Dana Paints Co., especially this artwork shown on Instagram HERE. (If I remember correctly, the official Game of Shrooms Instagram account featured this artwork!)

And these mushroom earrings by moonlightingnz!!!

Alas, the paintings were going to be hidden away in Old Town Fort Collins in Colorado while the earrings were all the way in New Zealand..

🍄 Shroom Art by Bay Area Artists

Luckily for me, there were several artists in the East Bay whose works I really adored and wanted to find:

• Sombean – I mean, who wouldn’t want to find and keep these cute little shrooms felted by Sombean??? 😭💕💕💕
• Lea Zalinskis: I adore her whimsical shrooms made of paper! Love their expressions and the way the artist described her shrooms: the purple shroom was called “Accidental Rasputin,” the orange one “Migraine Mushroom” and the blue one was referred to as the “sassy fella”! 😂
• CormSlut: Oh, to display one of CormSlut’s aesthetic shrooms in my room!
• craftybish: Have you seen craftybish’s cute shrooms yet?

Not to mention the gorgeous shroom paintings by Eli Wild, this locket with shroom art inside created by Stephanie Silk, unique shroom earrings by Kelly, and various shroom goodies by The Inkcredibles! And I didn’t even get started on the shroom works created by artists from the City, like these glow-in-the-dark shrooms by Arcanist Union.

🍄 Experience as a Hunter: 4 Hours of Desperate Search 👀

So the day before the hunt began, I made a list of artists whose works I wanted to find and keep (see above). Then I followed their Instagram accounts for the latest hints shared and wrote them down on my phone. I thought this was enough preparation. Boy, was I wrong!

When the day of the Game dawned, I leisurely ate breakfast and headed outside. To my utter surprise, when I opened Instagram on my phone, I saw that many of the artworks had already been found! I tried to keep my calm as I went on to look for other artworks. But as I made my way to the locations hinted at by the artists, those shrooms were being claimed as well!

I began to panic a little as I desperately tried to find remaining shrooms. But as I walked around the East Bay huffing and puffing in search of shroom art, I was notified by the artists that all their works had been claimed.

After over four hours of searching and finding nothing, I resigned and admitted my defeat.

🍄 Experience as a Participating Artist: Consolation & Gratitude 🎨

I utterly failed as a shroom hunter this year, finding not a single shroom art even after over 4 hours of searching. But I was glad to know that my shroom art, Shroompoleon, had been claimed with all its packaging and message. Knowing that Napoleon Shroomaparte had found his forever home was a consolation. If it weren’t for the art I had hidden, I don’t think I would have felt like I participated in this year’s Game of Shrooms.

Below is the reel I made for shroom hunters looking for Shroompoleon:

Game of Shrooms Tips: For Artists

Here are some useful tips for artists who want to participate in the next Game of Shrooms:

1. Start Early. I’d say you should take ample time to create artworks that people would want to find and keep. This is an excellent opportunity to share your passion, your creativity, to the public! Make the most out of it.
2. Make more than one artwork. You can certainly create just one shroom art, but I’ve noticed how popular artists make more than one. I think it’s great for them to do that, as it creates more chances for those who want to find and keep their works.
3. Create good marketing materials. Utilize social media to build anticipation leading up to the day of the game, and prepare business cards/flyers to hide with your work. Again, this is your chance to share your art and bring joy to others via your art!
4. Beware that your art will be found very quickly. As I found out this year, shroom hunters are very competitive and eager to find artworks! This will be especially true if you are a talented artist. I know one artist whose shrooms were claimed minutes after they were hidden!
5. Understand that people might not tag or mention you. Although I’ve asked hunters to tag me if they found Shroompoleon, I wasn’t tagged/messaged that my art was found. And I’ve heard from other artists that they also didn’t get notified. Though some hunters most definitely will tag you in Instagram or send you a message to let you know and thank you, understand that not everyone will for one reason or another.

Game of Shrooms Tips: For Hunters

They say failure is the mother of success. Here are the most important things I learned this year for a more successful hunt next year:

1. Know thy neighborhood. You will have the most advantage in the neighborhood you are familiar with, whether that be the town you grew up in or lived the longest in. One might think this won’t matter but it does, when there are numerous hunters vying for shroom art.
2. Vehicle, vehicle, vehicle. You need wheels for this event! Unless you want to walk around cities on foot like me and dejectedly watch everyone find shrooms before you do. Public transit won’t get you far either. At the very least, get an electric scooter, with which you can race to shrooms before others.
3. The game is no joke. I had no idea people were this passionate about shroom art! The competition is fierce, especially for popular artworks. So set out early, have a plan, keep tabs on artists and follow them to get the latest hints.
4. If you feel comfortable, please do let the artist(s) know. Please do let the artist(s) know that you’ve found their artworks! It helps them keep count of their works yet to be found and keeps others from looking for shrooms already found. Also, it just makes the artists’ day if you let them know and show appreciation. 💜
5. Comfy shoes are a must!!! The reason why I survived the approximately five hours of walking and running was my tennis shoes. If it weren’t for them, my feet would have been covered with blisters. Even if you plan to drive around, I say comfortable shoes are a must – you never know when you’ll have to run to your destination!
6. Divide & conquer. Work as a team with friends/family members interested. With different shroom artworks hidden across an entire neighborhood/city, it’s best to divide and conquer.

Final Words

Last but not least, stay safe! As it says on the official Game of Shrooms page, it is an “at your own risk event” in which you will be participating with total strangers. Practice safety!

Equally important, watch where you’re going! Due to the excitement and fear of losing yet another art to another shroom hunter, I was impatient to cross roads and sometimes running to get to places. Beware of cars, pedestrians, and whatnot!

There you have it – tips for hunters and artists for the next game of shrooms. And guess what? Attaboy, the creator of Game of Shrooms, announced the date of the next game already! Game of Shrooms 2024 will be on June 8, 2024.

🍄 Let the countdown begin!!! 🍄

P.S. To view my post on the Game of Shrooms before the 2023 event, click HERE (feat. all the excitement & anticipation).

P.P.S. Did you know that Tina Banda’s shroom art glows in the dark? It’s stunning! 🤩