COMIC-CON APPROACHES!! Which means the hunt will be starting soon! I’ve still got two more critters to post (I plan on posting those on Monday – stay tuned!), but in the meantime I’ve been getting questions about how the drops will work from newcomers. Most of the general guidelines for my drops will be the same as previous years, but one big change is that this year I’ll have an accomplice – or a “street walker,” as he calls it. 😀 (HAAA see what he did there?) People have been snagging the critters faster and faster each year, so this time I’ve got someone helping me with my drops, and we’re working to make the drops trickier and a bit more interactive! I’ve traditionally taken the “drop ‘n go” approach in the past, but this year my street walker’s got some fun interactive ideas up his sleeve, some where you’ll have to work for your critter! Otherwise all other guidelines are the same as they were last year, but here’s a recap:

facebook or twitter , but I highly suggest twitter for drop-tracking. Facebook does a weird thing where it doesn’t show my posts in real-time based on whatever magical algorithm they use to control people’s newsfeeds. Follow me either onorFacebook does a weird thing where it doesn’t show my posts in real-time based on whatever magical algorithm they use to control people’s newsfeeds. Follow @GeekyHooker The Geeky Hooker

Follow the hashtag #CRITTERDROP. I’m sure a lot of you will be following lots of other people/organizations on various social media venues during Comic-Con, so hopefully the tag will help filter things out. Set up a twitter mobile alert on your phone! This isn’t required, but it’ll help! This way your phone will buzz every time I make a post on twitter, so you won’t miss a single drop! You might end up with your phone buzzing like crazy if I’m geeking out at a panel, but otherwise I’ll try to keep it tame. 😉 Instructions on how to set this up can be found here If you find a critter, let me know that you found it! Please, please, PLEASE check in if you find a critter. Each one is tagged with a card with my contact info. I just ask for two things if you find one: 1) Send me a photo of your new friend, and 2) Let me know where the critter’s new home will be so I can add it to my Please, please,check in if you find a critter. Each one is tagged with a card with my contact info. I just ask for two things if you find one:Send me a photo of your new friend, andLet me know where the critter’s new home will be so I can add it to my map ! I do this knowing that there’s a potential that anyone could swipe the critter and never get back to me on it, but it doesn’t make it any less disheartening when one goes missing. Critters will be dropped one at a time. No pairs/groups of critters. I’ve had some folks reach out to me concerning livestreaming apps: while I don’t plan on livestreaming my drops, you’re all more than welcome to livestream your own hunts! Might be kind of fun to see POV videos of people looking for critters! Tag me if you do, I’m curious. 🙂

As for WHERE the critters might be:

I never drop critters out on the main exhibition floor. WAY too crowded, and I feel like the critters would get lost in the shuffle. So no worries about trying to fish for one in the mad sea of geekiness. However, I DO drop critters in the hallways outside of the main exhibition floor, both upstairs and downstairs. No badge? No problem! I drop my critters out in the Gaslamp Quarter too! I’ve left little dudes in trees, in random flowerbeds outside of restaurants, etc. etc. I only do Gaslamp drops when there’s still daylight outside though. I don’t like leaving them out in the streets at night…I feel like there’s a higher likelihood that it’ll end up lost when it’s dark out. If I’m in line somewhere (like for the infamous Hall H), I might step out now and then to drop a few critters. If we’re all going to be in line for hours, I may as well try to make things fun.

I don’t have any insight in terms of WHEN I’ll drop the critters, but drops will happen from Thursday-Saturday. No drops on Sunday or Preview Night this year. Otherwise I try to evenly distribute how many are dropped per day throughout the course of the con, and I just drop ’em whenever it’s convenient and if I happen to spot a good drop location!

And most of all, HAVE FUN. It’s Comic-Con, for pete’s sake. There’s always something awesome going on, so enjoy yourself. And while sleeping is optional, don’t forget to bathe. Comic-Con stank is a very real thing. Happy hunting!