I knew something strange was afoot as soon as I saw #WORMAGEDDON trending on Twitter. To the surprise of no one, Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty were responsible. Earlier in the week, we posted an interview speaking with Chris Parnell, the voice of Jerry and Sarah Chalke, the voice behind Beth, to celebrate the upcoming season six premiere of our favourite show. Turns out, Adult Swim and HBO GO had an even bigger celebration in mind.
Over the next couple of days leading up to the season six premiere of Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty, fans around the globe (well, except for those in Antarctica) have formally been invited to participate in an immersive Rick and Morty-style adventure. In short, #WORMAGEDDON is a sort of “living episode” meets “treasure hunt”.
“To celebrate the new season, we are inviting fans around the globe to take part in an immersive experience that allows them to go on a real-life Rick and Morty adventure, our world is being invaded by alien space worms so menacing that #WORMAGEDDON has been declared on nearly every continent. The first fan to find the hidden battle scenes around the world will nab a golden Rick head, clearly one of the most collectible items in the universe.”
Okay, now let’s break this down. #WORMAGEDDON is a global event that started this past Monday and will run until the 5th of September. The “event” is an international real-life scavenger hunt aided by 14 unique and immersive scenes. These scenes aim to bridge the events of the season five finale with the recently announced season six premiere of Rick and Morty.
Fans are invited to hunt for the clues needed to discover the nine real-world locations using the 14 supplied scenes as reference. The first fan that finds each hidden location in person will be rewarded on the spot with a life-size golden “Rick” head statue – perhaps the most fabulous prize in all history.
If you want to follow along with the #WORMAGEDDON experience or try your hand at solving the puzzle yourself, all the details and rules can be found here. Fans have already tracked down and activated the first two locations. The first location was found in Mexico City, where a massive Beth Smith and Supernova statue was erected, the second was in Malibu, California and led to a statue of Rick sitting upon his porcelain throne.
Make sure you’re following #WORMAGEDDON on social media to ensure you don’t miss out on all the highs and lows of this scavenger hunt. Otherwise, the worms will win, and I don’t have to tell any Rick and Morty fan how much that would suck.