Thatcham to host MonsterHero Safari

Game aims to bring a boost to high streets

MONSTERS will be springing up around Thatcham from tomorrow (Friday) as part of an ambitious new project to support town centres.

MonsterHero Safari consists of 10 window characters – monster superheroes – with embedded Near Field Communication tags that will be hosted around the town centre.

Families can start the safari by tapping any of the characters and paying a nominal cost of £2 per family for the whole trail, plus a voluntary donation to NHS Charities Together.

Thatcham Town Council will be supporting the project by paying for the first 100 families to register.

The game works by players using their mobile devices with free ‘app’ technology that does not the need players to download or sign up.

Families can engage with the experience on the trail by tapping each character’s belly and learning their names, stories and powers.

The town council said that younger children will enjoy spotting the cute and colourful characters and families will engage by learning more about them.

After finding all 10 MonsterHeroes, families will be rewarded with a free e-book about their first adventure.

The safari will be set out so that players can only interact in small family groups, while adhering to social distancing, and it is completely contactless.

The story-trail is built on the popularity of art and sculpture trails and the town council said it would give families a fun and safe reason to go back into town and give Thatcham a much-needed boost in footfall.

For more info on playing the game in Thatcham, visit https://www.facebook.com/ThatchamTC

The former chief executive of the Association of Town and City Management and the Charity Retail Association, Martin Blackwell, is coordinating the project, partnered with high street technology agency Thyngs to create the NFC and QR code-powered platform.