How to play

THE CREATORS RESERVE THE RIGHT TO CHANGE THE GAME WHILE IT IS RUNNING.

The “Creators” are the organizer — bansko.be (the Bansko Community) — and the team that makes the game on its behalf. How we publish changes is written at the very bottom.

QR Hunt is a game around Bansko. There are plaques with a QR code around the town. You find them, scan them on the spot with your phone and collect points. The game is free.

The game starts on Sunday, 18 October 2026, at 15:00 Bulgarian time, and ends on Thursday, 19 November 2026, at 15:00. Until then you can sign up and keep a name, but scanning does not give points. See “Before the start”.

The game is at hunt.bansko.be (opens in a new tab). You can also start by scanning any plaque.

Here are the steps. The full terms are in the Rules. How we protect your data is in the Privacy Policy.

What you need

• A phone with a camera, GPS and mobile internet.
• A browser, for example Chrome, Safari or Samsung Internet. You do not have to install an app (optional — see “Install and turn on notifications”). In the built-in browser of Facebook, Instagram or Viber the camera and location may not work.
• Precise location switched on for the browser (step 5).
• Your own profile at bansko.be (opens in a new tab) with a correct email: we write to it if you win or if you ask for an email at the start. If you do not have a profile, create one there.
• If you are under 18 — the consent of a parent or guardian. Under 14 you play only with a parent or guardian.

The profile must be yours — not a parent’s or a friend’s. If you are under 14, create the bansko.be profile together with a parent or guardian. bansko.be is not aimed at children under 16 and deletes data of a child collected without a parent’s consent (bansko.be policy (opens in a new tab), section 10).

Before the start

Until 15:00 on 18 October 2026 the game is open but does not give points.

• Sign in with bansko.be, choose a leaderboard name, enter your date of birth and press “Sign me up” (steps 1 and 2). This way you keep your name before someone else takes it.
• Then you see “You are on the list” and “Hunter #…”. This is your sequence number on the list of hunters. The number does not give points and is not a place on the leaderboard.
• Do you have a name and date of birth from before the list, but no number? Press “Sign me up” in “Places”.
• The game shows how much time is left until the start.
• “Add to calendar” saves the start in your calendar: “Google Calendar” or an “.ics” file for Apple, Outlook and other calendars.
• Would you like an email when the game begins? When you sign up there is a checkbox for an email at the start, with your bansko.be email address. It is not ticked in advance: tick it if you want the email. We write once, on the day of the start. You can change your choice at any time with the switch on the “You are on the list” screen. Or press “Unsubscribe” in the email and then “Yes, unsubscribe me” — no sign-in needed.
• If you scan a plaque before the start, there are no points: instead of the scan the game shows how long is left until 15:00. The plaques may already be in place — the team places and activates them before the start.

1. Sign in with bansko.be

1. Press “Sign in with bansko.be”.
2. Sign in to your bansko.be profile. If bansko.be asks for confirmation, press “Connect and continue”.
3. bansko.be returns you to the game.

The game does not ask for a new registration and password. From bansko.be it receives your profile number, name and email. Other players do not see them.

If you scan a plaque before signing in, the game takes you to the sign-in and then back to the same plaque.

On the same phone and browser you stay in the game for up to 14 days. The sign-in is valid for each browser separately.

If the sign-in does not work

• “Sign-in failed” — “The token is invalid or has expired. Sign in again from bansko.be.” The token is the one-time key with which bansko.be lets you into the game. It is valid for only a few minutes and only once. The sign-in also fails if you started a sign-in in another tab. What to do: press “Sign in with bansko.be” again, in only one tab.
• “Sign-in with bansko.be is not set up” or “Sign-in through bansko.be is not switched on yet. Please try again later.” Sign-in is temporarily not working. What to do: try later.
• “We could not confirm the session. Try again later.” This message is from bansko.be: the site did not confirm your sign-in. What to do: try later. If it repeats, write to us.

2. Choose a name and enter your date of birth

On your first sign-in the game asks two things. Each only once. By pressing “Continue” (before the start — “Sign me up”) you accept the Rules.

Leaderboard name. Other players see you by it: in “Leaderboard” and, if you are among the top five in your category, in “Prizes” too. “Prizes” can be seen without signing in. Your real name from bansko.be is not shown. So do not write it here either — nor an email or phone number.

• From 3 to 20 characters: Bulgarian or Latin letters without accents, digits, space, _ - .
• It starts with a letter. Space, _, - and . appear one at a time and between letters or digits.
• It cannot repeat a name that is already taken. Capital letters, separators and look-alike letters do not make a name different: “Ivan_P”, “ivan.p” and “Ivan P” are the same name.
• Offensive names and names that pose as the organizer are not accepted — for example with “Bansko”, “municipality”, “admin”, “moderator”, “support”, “official”, “mayor” or “Jev”.
• No idea? Press “Suggest one”.
• The name cannot be changed. If it is offensive or misleading, the organizer may reset it. You then choose a new one, and the old one stays forbidden for everyone.

Date of birth. Day, month and year — yours, not a parent’s. You cannot scan without it. Your age category for the prizes depends on it. Check it before pressing “Continue” or “Sign me up”: it is entered once and you cannot change it in the game afterwards. If you make a mistake, write to us at support@bansko.be. The correction is made by an administrator, with a reason, and is recorded in a log. If you entered only a year earlier, the game will ask for the full date at your next sign-in.

Email at the start — optional. Before the start there is also a checkbox for an email at the start. If you tick it, we will write to you when the game begins. Without it you play in exactly the same way. Details are in the Privacy Policy, section 10.

Before the start the button is “Sign me up”. After it you see “You are on the list” and your hunter number (see “Before the start”).

If the name or date does not go through

• “The name must be 3 to 20 characters long.” Shorten or lengthen the name.
• “Only Bulgarian or Latin letters (no accents), digits, space, _, - and .” Remove emojis, accents and other characters.
• “The name must start with a letter.” Start with a letter.
• “Space, _, - and . may appear only singly and between letters or digits.” Do not put two such characters next to each other and do not end with them.
• “This name is reserved.” The name contains a word like “Bansko”, “municipality”, “admin”, “mayor” or “Jev”. Choose another.
• “This name is not allowed.” The name contains a rude word or the name was banned after a reset. Choose another.
• “This name is already taken.” Someone has the same or almost the same name. Add a digit or press “Suggest one”.
• “Enter a full date of birth.” The day, month or year is missing, or the date does not exist. Choose all three.
• “Your date of birth is already saved.” The date is entered once. If it is wrong, write to us.

3. See the places

“Home” lists the plaques in the game. Until you find one it is just “QR 1”, “QR 2”… — no name, description or radius (the map and the radar call it “Plaque N”). Once you scan it, it stays “QR N” (the same number): the name, description and photo of the place are not shown until the hunt ends. You see:

• the radius, for example “50 m” — how close to the place the phone must be;
• how many plaques of the place you have, for example “1/2”.

If the radar brought you to “Hot” or “Burning!” near a plaque you did not scan, its card says “You passed it”. Only your phone remembers this (see the Privacy Policy, section 8). After the hunt ends, the names and descriptions of all places are shown.

“Code” and “plaque” in the game are the same thing: each plaque has one QR code.

Start from whichever place you like. The order does not matter. The “Next” sign is only a hint.

4. Scan the plaque

Stand next to the plaque and scan the QR code in one of two ways:

• With the phone camera. Open the “Camera” app, point it at the code and open the link that appears. If “Camera” does not show a link, use the buttons in the game (“Scan with the camera” or “Photo of QR”). If the link opens in another browser, sign in again: the sign-in is valid for each browser separately.
• From the game. Open “Scan”, press “Scan with the camera” and point the phone at the code. The browser will ask for camera access — allow it. The game picks the main back camera and remembers the choice on the phone; “Switch camera” changes it, and where the phone allows it there is zoom and focus. If the camera does not read the code, press “Photo of QR”: the phone takes a photo of the code.

The camera reads the code inside the phone itself and stops as soon as it has read it. Photos are not kept and not sent. The same goes for “Photo of QR”: the photo is read in the phone, not uploaded and not kept. In Huawei Browser and in the built-in browsers (for example Facebook and Instagram) the game suggests opening it in Firefox or Chrome (Safari on iPhone) and has a “Copy link” button.

5. Allow location

When the plaque page opens, the browser will ask for your location. Allow it. Without it no points are collected.

• When scanning, the game takes the position for only a few seconds: it watches the GPS, sends one position and stops. It does not track you continuously. The radar (see below) sends a position only while following with “Where is it?” is on. The Helper sends a position every 20 seconds while it is on.
• If the browser has already blocked location, allow it for this site in the browser settings.
• In the phone settings, switch on location, allow it for the browser and choose precise location, not approximate.

6. Collect the points

When you open the plaque page, the attempt starts by itself. If it does not start — for example after a reload — press “Check and collect points”.

While the button shows “Finding your position…”, wait. It usually takes a few seconds, at most about half a minute.

The game checks that:

1. the game has started — from 15:00 on 18 October 2026 — and has not ended — until 15:00 on 19 November 2026;
2. the code is from the game and the plaque is active;
3. you do not yet have the points from this plaque;
4. the phone is within the radius of the place;
5. the GPS is accurate enough: the error the phone reports is not larger than the radius. For example, with a 50 m radius the error must be up to ±50 m;
6. you are within the territory of Bansko Municipality (see “Only in Bansko Municipality”).

If everything is in order, you see “Code accepted”, the points, how many metres you are from the marker and your total. The marker is the point of the place from which the radius is measured.

If not, “This scan does not count” below says why. Fix the cause and press “Check and collect points” again. Each attempt takes a new position.

Scanning without internet

If the phone has no connection when you scan a plaque in the game's scanner, the scan is not lost. The game saves on the phone the code, the exact location and its accuracy, and the time of the scan, and shows “Saved — it will count as soon as there is a connection.” As soon as the phone is online again, the game sends the saved scans by itself, one by one. The server checks them with the same rules as a normal scan (the code, the distance using the position saved at the moment of scanning, once per plaque) and gives the points. If the phone has no GPS position at the moment of the scan, the game keeps trying only while the scan screen is open. If there is still no position 5 minutes after the scan, the saved scan is not counted and you see why: “Not counted: the phone had no GPS at the time of the scan.”

Points count from the moment the scan reaches the server, as for every scan. That time also decides ties and the “+2 together” bonus (15-minute window). If you and a friend scanned together offline, you may miss the bonus when your phones send the scans more than 15 minutes apart.

Saved scans are deleted from the phone as soon as the server answers. Unsent ones are deleted after 7 days or when the game ends. They are kept per player on the device: a shared phone does not send another player's scans.

Limits: this works if the game was open while there was still signal. Opening the game from scratch without internet, and scanning with the phone's own camera without internet, are not supported yet.

If the scan does not go through

• “The hunt has not started yet. The plaques wake up on Sunday, 18 October, at 15:00.” Before the start the plaques do not give points. What to do: come back after 15:00 on 18 October 2026.
• “The plaque is more than a kilometre from here.”, “You are not close enough to the plaque…” or “Your phone does not see you at the plaque yet…” The first two mean the phone is outside the radius. The third means within about 150 m of the zone, or weak GPS. If the position is invalid, it says “You are too far from the place, or the GPS is inaccurate…”. After the message it shows the phone’s accuracy, for example “GPS accuracy: ±65 m.” (the distance to the plaque is not shown). If the accuracy (±) is larger than the radius of the place, the cause is weak GPS, not distance. What to do: get closer, go outdoors, wait a few seconds and try again.
• “The game is played only within Bansko Municipality. Come to Bansko and try again.” The phone is outside the municipality. The game does not calculate how far you are and does not keep your coordinates. What to do: come to Bansko and try again.
• “Wait a few seconds and try again.” At least 3 seconds are needed between two attempts. What to do: wait and try again.
• “Too many failed attempts in the last hour. Try again later.” You have a reserve of 30 failed attempts. Once you use it up, you get one new attempt every 2 minutes. Until then no scan goes through, not even a correct one. What to do: wait. Meanwhile go outdoors and check that location is accurate.
• “You have already collected this plaque. Each plaque counts once per player.” The points from this plaque are already yours. What to do: head for the next plaque.
• “This plaque is not active yet or has been switched off.” The plaque is new and not yet activated, or the organizer has stopped it. What to do: try later or go to another place.
• “This code does not exist.” The code is not from the game. What to do: scan a plaque of the game.
• “First save your date of birth.” You have no date of birth saved. What to do: enter it and try again.
• “The hunt ended on 19 November at 15:00. The leaderboard is frozen.” The campaign is over, no more points are given. What to do: nothing — the leaderboard is final and is checked for the prizes.
• “Your session is not valid. Sign in again.” The game cannot find your profile — for example if it was deleted. What to do: sign in again with bansko.be.
• “We cannot access your location…” The browser does not have permission for location. What to do: allow it for the site in the browser settings.
• “The position is taking too long…” The phone is still looking for a position. What to do: go outdoors, wait 10–20 seconds and try again; “Improve accuracy” in the location settings helps.
• “The phone could not find your position…” Location is off or the signal is weak. What to do: turn on Location and “Improve accuracy” (Wi-Fi and Bluetooth), go outdoors and try again.
• “This browser cannot share your position.” The browser does not support location. What to do: open the game in another browser.
• “We cannot access the camera…” The browser does not have permission for the camera. The game says where to allow it: the padlock next to the address, then Camera and Allow (in Firefox — the icon left of the address; in Huawei Browser — Settings, Apps, the browser, Permissions). What to do: allow the camera for the site and try again, open the game in Firefox or Chrome, or scan with the “Camera” app.
• “We could not find a camera on this device.”, “The camera did not start.” or “This browser cannot access a camera.” The game cannot use the camera. What to do: scan with the phone’s “Camera” app.
• “The camera is busy or not responding…” or “This camera cannot give the picture we need…” Another app holds the camera, or this camera is not good for reading. What to do: close the other apps and try again, or press “Try again” or “Photo of QR”.
• “This browser cannot read QR codes…” The browser cannot read the code. What to do: open the game in Firefox or Chrome or scan with the “Camera” app.
• “No code found for 15 s…” The camera does not see the code. What to do: clean the lens, add light, hold the phone 20–40 cm away or press “Photo of QR”.
• “No QR found in the photo…” The code in the photo from “Photo of QR” cannot be read. What to do: take the photo closer and in good light.
• “That is not a QR code from the game. Try the plaque.” The camera read another QR code. What to do: point it at the code on the plaque.
• “Report: missing code”. The button is hidden. It appears if the scan of the same plaque is refused twice in a row for distance or accuracy, or in the radar when the GPS is too inaccurate near a place. You pick one of three reasons and send the signal: the team checks and fixes the plaque. We keep the place, the code (when known), your profile, the reason, the GPS accuracy, the number of attempts, the time and the status of the report, without coordinates. You can send one open signal per place; at most 10 an hour.
• “We lost the trail.” (Error 404) The address is not from a plaque of the game or is incomplete. What to do: scan the plaque again. If it still shows, write to us.
• “Something went wrong.” An error in the game. What to do: press “Try again”, and if that does not work — “Back to the entrance”.
• “The scan was not accepted.” Another error. What to do: try again in a moment. If it repeats, write to us.

The refusals “too far”, “already collected”, “inactive” and “nonexistent code” count as failed attempts.

Write to us at support@bansko.be.

Only in Bansko Municipality

The game is played only within the territory of Bansko Municipality. Scans and the radar outside it are refused, and a refusal does not keep your coordinates. The municipality boundary is based on data from © OpenStreetMap contributors, licence ODbL 1.0. In the mountains it may be up to about 100 m from the real one, and in the settlements there is no difference. Details are in the Rules, section 7, and in the Privacy Policy, section 9.

The “Where is it?” radar

The radar is an optional aid. Without it you play in exactly the same way. It does not give points and does not replace scanning.

• You press “Where is it?” and get one word — “Ice cold”, “Cold”, “Cool”, “Warm”, “Hot” or “Burning!” — for how close you are to the nearest plaque you do not yet have. When you are far away, a rough direction also comes: one of eight — an arrow on the map where you asked.
• The limits: “Warm” is within 150 m of the plaque’s zone, “Hot” within 100 m, “Burning!” within 40 m. Farther away: “Cool” within 300 m, “Cold” within 3 km and “Ice cold” beyond.
• “Where is it?” starts following: the radar updates the word as you walk. Following stays on until you press “Where is it?” again or log out, and resumes the next time you open the game if location is already allowed. While the page is hidden, following is paused and resumes when you come back.
• What happens to your position. The phone sends it while following is on (every few seconds, only while the page is on the screen). The server rounds it to a 50 × 50 m square, works out the word and direction, and forgets it. Nothing is recorded. The game does not show anyone where you are.
• You switch it on and off with “Where is it?”. Logging out also switches it off.
• The radar is switched on and off by the organizer. If it is not working, the game runs without it.
• For details on the data — see the Privacy Policy, section 9.

Golden codes

At the sponsor’s venues there may be golden codes. You scan them like a plaque, but they give fixed points once per player per place per day, however many golden codes there are there: the day resets at 00:00 (Europe/Sofia). The location check is the same. The happy hour applies to them too, but “+2 together” does not. Only scans after they were introduced count.

• Golden places are not in the plaque count, the progress or the hints. They are in the radar while they are available to you today; once you have taken the day’s points, the radar does not lead you to them until 00:00. They are not listed in “Home” and the map does not show them: you reach them with the radar, and they are the sponsor’s venues, open to the public.
• After scanning you see “Golden code: +N. Again tomorrow after 00:00.” If you scan it again the same day: “You have already scanned it today. Again after 00:00.”
• The organizer turns golden codes on and off and changes their points; a change applies to later scans.
• At some places a child (up to 17 inclusive) sees, after scanning, a short fact about the place (“Did you know?”) instead of the advertisement for adults. Nothing is stored for it.

Map

The map is optional and is another view of the radar: you open it with “Hunt”, and the radar band is at the bottom, with “Where is it?”, the Helper and the word. Without it you play in exactly the same way. It does not give points.

• It draws your trail along the streets of Bansko. The colours follow the radar words, from “Ice cold” to “Burning!”. The trail appears when you ask the radar (“Where is it?”) or use the Helper. When you are far away, the map also puts an arrow with the rough direction where you asked; the newest is the boldest.
• The map never shows where the plaques are, nor the golden places. It shows only where you have been.
• While you have no successful scan, “Home” has a tile for one starter plaque: with its points (no hint) and a button that opens its spot in Google Maps outside the game. After your first scan the tile is hidden.
• The trail stays only on your phone for up to 14 days. “Clear trail” removes it at once. “Sign out” removes all of this too. Collected plaques are not shown on the map.
• For details on the data — see the Privacy Policy, section 8.

Helper

The Helper is optional. It runs on the radar and warns you in one word when you get close to a plaque you do not yet have. It gives no points and does not replace scanning.

How to turn it on

1. Sign in to the game and open “Hunt” and press the “Helper” icon next to “Where is it?”.
2. On iPhone, first add the game to the home screen and open it from the icon (iOS 16.4 or later; see “Install and turn on notifications”). Android: Chrome, optionally installed.
3. Allow notifications and location when the phone asks.
4. Keep the game open on the screen and set off.

What you get

• A notification with one word: “Warm” (within 150 m of the plaque’s zone), “Hot” (within 100 m) or “Burning!” (within 40 m). The notification does not say a direction, a distance or a place.
• On Android — a short vibration too: one for “Warm”, two for “Hot”, three for “Burning!”.
• On a watch — if the phone forwards notifications to it (Apple Watch, Wear OS, Galaxy Watch).
• At most one notification for each level of each plaque and at most 6 per hour. After “Burning!” there is a pause of 10 minutes. There are no notifications for plaques you already have.
• If you move fast, for example in a car, notifications are skipped.
• The Helper works only while the campaign is running and only in Bansko Municipality. Under 14 it is not available. From 14 to 17 a session lasts up to 30 minutes and there are no notifications from 22:00 to 08:00.

How to stop it

Turn it off from the same place in the radar area. It also stops by itself: after about an hour without movement, after 30 minutes for ages 14–17, when you leave or close the game, and when the battery drops below 15% (where the phone reports it).

Battery tip

The Helper uses GPS while the game is on the screen. Lower the brightness. “Keep the screen on” keeps the connection but drains the battery faster: use it only while you search. Cold also hurts the battery. Your position is not recorded (Privacy Policy, section 9).

Hints

Most places have a hint for the exact place of the plaque. It is locked while you search, so that there is something left to discover. Places without a hint show no lock. A hint unlocks when:

• you buy it in the radar: when it says “Hot” or “Burning!” (within 100 m of the plaque’s zone), the game offers you the hint for 25% of the plaque’s points, rounded down, but at least 1 point. You confirm, and the points are taken from your total (the points on the leaderboard). You buy it once per place: you do not pay a second time;
• the hunt has ended (for everyone, no payment).

Hints are also locked when the radar is not on: they then unlock after the end of the hunt. A place also has a public description, which names only the area, not the exact place; you see it after the end of the hunt. A hint may also have a photo of the place. Once you collect the plaque, a hint you bought disappears from the place’s card until the hunt ends.

Points and leaderboard

• Each plaque gives points once to each player, except golden codes (see “Golden codes”). You do not need to get there first: every player can collect every plaque.
• You learn how many points a plaque gives when you collect it; the price of the hint at “Hot” also hints at it.
• Your points and the plaques you have found are in “Places”. “Your scans” is below the places: there the places are “QR N”, and golden codes are “Golden code · +N”.
• If the organizer replaces a plaque, the new one is the same plaque. If you already have the old one, the new one gives no new points.
• “Leaderboard” shows all players with at least one point, ordered by points, with their leaderboard names. Team members are not on the leaderboard.
• “Happy hour”: the organizer may start it at once or from a set time for 15–240 minutes, and the points from scanned plaques and golden codes are multiplied by ×2 to ×5 (it may be stopped early). You see it in “Home” as a band with the multiplier and the end time. If the organizer chooses, adult players also get a notification: at most one per hour and not from 22:00 to 08:00. It applies to all players; the “+2 together” bonus is not multiplied. Details are in the Rules.
• Crown: only the first three in each age category hold a crown: gold (1st place), silver (2nd) and bronze (3rd). You see it next to the name in “Leaderboard” and on places 1–3 of the Hall of Fame in “Prizes”, and in “Home” only you see a “Crown · place N” badge. On the live map the first three in each adult category carry a crown with a digit (1, 2 or 3) above their avatar: adults who also show themselves on the map see it, and when zoomed out (zoom below 15) only the 1st-place crown is shown. Up to 17 there is no crown on the map and no crowns are seen there. The map has no names, but “Leaderboard” shows them, so the crown can give away where you are; if you do not want that, do not turn on “Show me on the map”, or choose “Invisible”. A crown is not a prize; prizes follow the final ranking. If the organizer has turned crown notifications on, you get a notification on every change in the top three of your category — when you enter, drop out or your metal changes (at most one per day for crowns). You get it with notifications on, whatever the topics; only “Someone passed you” needs the “leaderboard” topic. Up to 17 there are no personal notifications from 19:00 to 08:00, and for adults none from 22:00 to 08:00.
• “Prizes” has the Hall of Fame — the top five of each age category — and the prizes for places 1 to 5 in each category: “0–17”, “18–28”, “29–38”, “39–49” and “50+”. The category there is based on your date of birth: age in completed years on 19 November 2026 (at 28 you are still in “18–28”, at 38 in “29–38”, at 49 in “39–49”). The rules for the prizes are in the Rules, section 11.
• The campaign is the period during which the game is played for prizes. It starts on Sunday, 18 October 2026, at 15:00 and ends on Thursday, 19 November 2026, at 15:00. For the prizes, the points at the end of the campaign count. The dates are in the Rules, section 3.
• After the end scanning gives no points: “The hunt ended on 19 November at 15:00. The leaderboard is frozen.” The leaderboard and the Hall of Fame stay, but no longer change.

Ranks

According to the share of plaques you have collected, you get a rank. It is for fun and does not affect the prizes.

Friends

• On “Home”, tap the people icon (“Friends”). “Invite a friend” shows your QR code for 10 minutes. Your friend scans it and taps “Yes”.
• If you scan the same plaque within 15 minutes of each other, each of you gets +2 points. At most +2 per plaque.
• Adults can tap another hunter’s avatar on the live map (when it is open to players) and “Become a friend”. The other person chooses “Accept” or “Decline”. The request is deleted when accepted or after 7 days.
• Up to 17, a friend is added only with the QR code, for example a child and a parent. The map shows no names; a friend’s name appears when you tap their avatar.
• “Remove” deletes the friendship for both of you.

If you win

• On the day the campaign ends, a person from the team checks the ranking and we announce the winners in “Prizes” — with the leaderboard name and points.
• We write to the email address of your bansko.be profile. Check your “Spam” folder too.
• You have 14 days from the announcement to collect the prize. Bring an ID card or passport.
• If you are under 18, the prize is collected by a parent or guardian, with their document and yours.
• Details are in the Rules, section 11.

Install and turn on notifications

This is optional. You can play fully without it. Installing gives no points, and notifications give a one-time bonus: +33 points if you turn them on during the hunt (after the start and before the end). Otherwise you get points only from the plaques.

Install the game

• Android, Chrome. Press the “Install” button on the page. If it is not there, open the Chrome menu (⋮) and choose “Install app”. On a phone without Google services (the game recognizes it by the browser’s built-in QR reader not working) there is no “Install” button, but steps: open the menu ⋮, choose “Add to Home screen”, then “Shortcut” (not “Install”), so there is no warning about dangerous software.
• Android, Huawei Browser. Open the browser menu and choose “Add to Home screen”.
• Android, Firefox. Open the Firefox menu ⋮ and choose “Add to Home screen” or “Install”.
• iPhone, iOS 16.4 or later. Open the game in Safari. Press “Share” (a square with an arrow pointing up), then “Add to Home Screen”. Open the game from the new icon.
• In-app browser (Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Viber, TikTok, Line). It cannot install. Open its menu (three dots or a compass icon) and choose “Open in Safari” or “Open in Chrome”. Then install from there.

Turn on notifications

1. Sign in with bansko.be (step 1). On iPhone, first install the game and open it from the icon: Safari allows notifications only for installed apps.
2. Open Notifications and press “Turn on notifications”.
3. Allow notifications when the phone asks.
4. Choose the topics: start, leaderboard. By default only “start” is on.
5. When you turn them on during the hunt, you get a +33 point bonus once. The history shows “Notifications · +33”. If you turn them off, the points stay; turning them on again or on another device gives no second bonus. The organizer may stop giving new bonuses; bonuses already given stay.

How we keep the data for notifications is in the Privacy Policy.

Turn off notifications

Open Notifications and press “Turn off notifications”. You can also stop them in the browser or phone settings. To remove the app, delete it like any other app.

Tips

• Scan outdoors. Tall buildings, trees and narrow streets worsen GPS. If the accuracy is poor, wait a few seconds.
• Do not scan again a plaque you already have. That also counts as a failed attempt.
• Cold drains the battery. Set off with a charged phone, and for a long walk — with a power bank too.
• Keep the codes to yourself: do not photograph them for anyone else and do not share them. A souvenir photo is fine, but without the QR code in the frame.
• On someone else’s or a shared phone, press the exit button at the top right when you finish. On the phone it is only an icon with an arrow. Signing out of bansko.be does not sign you out of the game.
• Plaque damaged or missing? Write to us at support@bansko.be.

Safety

• On the street watch the road, not the phone. Do not scan while crossing the road, riding a bicycle or driving.
• Private property. Do not enter yards, buildings, construction sites and places with forbidden access. If a plaque cannot be reached freely and safely, do not try. Write to us at support@bansko.be.
• Winter. In Bansko winter brings ice, snow and early darkness. Wear shoes that do not slip, dress warmly and play in daylight. In the mountains, do not leave the marked trails and watch the weather.
• Children. Children under 14 play only with a parent or guardian next to them. Older children play with a parent’s consent and tell them where they are going.
• Emergency? Call 112.

Changes

THE CREATORS RESERVE THE RIGHT TO CHANGE THE GAME WHILE IT IS RUNNING.

We publish every change with a new date in the document it affects: here, in the Rules or in the Privacy Policy.

In force from 21 October 2026.

Versions

• 8 October 2026 — first version.
• 8 October 2026 — territory of Bansko Municipality, “Where is it?” radar and locked hints.
• 10 October 2026 — installing as an app and notifications (push).
• 10 October 2026 — Helper and new limits for the radar words.
• 10 October 2026 — map: trail only on the device.
• 11 October 2026 — bansko.be profile for children.
• 11 October 2026 — the “39+” category has been split into “39–49” and “50+”; “50+” keeps the prizes of the former “39+”; “39–49” gets brand-new skis and ski boots (models to be announced).
• 15 October 2026 — new limits of the radar words (“Warm” within 150 m, “Cool” within 300 m).
• 15 October 2026 — one “Where is it?” button: the radar follows until you press it again or log out, pauses while the page is hidden, without the 10-minute limit or the stop when you stand still; choosing a target removed.
• 15 October 2026 — plaques are hidden until found (“Plaque N”, no name, description or radius); “You passed it”.
• 15 October 2026 — friends in person only and the “+2 together” bonus.
• 17 October 2026 — a friend request from the map (adults only); up to 17 — only with the QR code; no names on the map.
• 17 October 2026 — the radar is in “Hunt” for all players: the word in the band, the rough direction as an arrow on the map.
• 18 October 2026 — scanning without internet: saved on the phone and counted as soon as there is a connection.
• 19 October 2026 — “Leaderboard” shows all players with at least one point; “happy hour” with multiplied points.
• 19 October 2026 — hints for points; no notification for a new hint; a starter plaque for a player with no scan.
• 19 October 2026 — golden codes at the sponsor’s venues (points once per Sofia day) and “Did you know?” for children at some places; collected plaques are not shown on the map.
• 19 October 2026 — the “happy hour” is started by the organizer for 15–240 minutes, ×2 to ×5, shown in “Home”, notified only to adult players; a one-time +33 point bonus for turning on notifications; crowns (gold, silver, bronze) for the first three in each category; children under 18 get no personal notifications from 19:00 to 08:00.
• 20 October 2026 — golden places are no longer listed in “Home” and there is no button to Google Maps for them; golden codes work every day, and the radar still leads you to them while they are available to you today; in “Home” an unfound plaque is “QR 1”, “QR 2”… (the map and the radar call it “Plaque N”).
• 21 October 2026 — the happy hour also applies to golden codes; until the hunt ends only “QR N” is shown (no name, description, photo or hint of the place), and in the history “QR N” and “Golden code · +N”; the scanner works on phones whose built-in reader does not, with “Photo of QR” and “Switch camera”, clearer camera and GPS messages and a tip to use another browser in built-in browsers; “Report: missing code” after two refusals in a row for one plaque or with a weak GPS in the radar, without coordinates; on Android without Google services there are steps with “Shortcut” (Chrome) instead of an “Install” button, and in Huawei Browser and Firefox the steps are shown on any phone; a crown with the digit 1–3 above the avatar of the first three in each adult category on the live map (no children; below zoom 15 only 1st place).