Sara Estus – Case Study “Easter Week Bunny Hunt”

Summary: For the week of  Monday April 14th – Monday April 21st 2025, which is considerably the week before Easter Sunday, and the Monday after – Eight little plastic bunnies of various colors were hidden in eight different buildings across the campus of Robert Morris University in Moon Township, PA. Various Instagram Posts were made on the account “What_The_DucDuck” that stated the concept of the game, as well as rules, hints, and photos portraying the “finders” of the bunnies. Each day from April 14th, to April 17th, 1-3 Bunnies were hidden and a hint was provided. Each “finder” who found a bunny had their name put onto a slip for a chance to win an Easter basket that had a mason jar of ducks, candy, and stickers. (There was no class Friday the 18th, and the prize was awarded April 21st) 

Primary Audience: Anyone who followed the account “What_The_DuckDuck” could join in on the game. Even people who did not follow the account could participate, but many who found out about the game at a later time from hearing about it, did end up following the account regardless. *Anyone ages 5+ can play the game, it just requires knowing the campus, and being able to understand the hints*

Design and Thought Process 

Iterative Design: There was not much involved in terms of a design process, most photos used were taken on the spot, but the beginning photos with the bunnies to announce the game was a simple set up on a table with jelly beans. The rest of the posts just used different colors of bubble lettering provided by instagram, and finding music to add to the video was by search. The plan for the post’s design was to remain simple, fun, and light hearted. 

Game Mechanics: The mechanics were simple for the ‘finders” but the process of hiding the bunnies creatively was a challenge. For the people searching for the bunnies, all they needed to do was keep an eye out for any posts on the Instagram page, and then use the hints to generalize the area and possible place the bunny could be hidden. Each hint provided the name of the building, and a vague hint in the form of a statement of where the bunny could be inside of the building. Once the bunny was found, they could directly message the Instagram account, and it would be announced with their username that the bunny was found, and what building it was in. 

Player Goals: Find a little plastic bunny based on hints and clues, share that they found the bunny to Instagram, and get their name put into a drawing to win a prize.

Gameplay Sequence: In steps: 

1. Look out for what building a bunny is hidden in, and any of the clues provided 

2. Find the bunny (Players could find more than one if they wanted) 

3. Share that you found it to Instagram 

4. Players who find a bunny and share it get tagged in a post letting others know it has been found, and then have their name put into a drawing. 

5. After all the bunnies have been found, all names will be written on slips of paper and put into a bag, and randomly one will be picked to receive the prize

6. Player whose name was picked will receive the prize

Game Board and Components: Eight little plastic bunnies, an Instagram account to make posts, and a prize basket with candy, and goodies

Rulebook and Playtesting

Rulebook Sample: As there is no clear ruleset, besides the answer to the comments and post, here is a summarized version of the rules for clarity: 

1.) Eight Bunnies will be hidden in eight different buildings across campus from Monday to Thursday! After they a hidden, various clues and hints will be given for each bunny!

2.) Have sportsmanship! They are only plastic, and there is enough to go around!

3.) The bunnies will ONLY be hidden in places that are fully accessible, so no shops like Saxby’s or Romo’s!

4.) You can find more than one bunny to get your name put into the drawing more than once!

5.) Search high, low, below, and around! But please refrain from damaging or moving anything! BE RESPECTFUL!

6. Have so much fun! And be KIND!

Playtesting Notes: 

What Questions did players have? Players wanted more hints for the first bunny. I made it quite difficult, and they took two days to find it, which made me believe this would be a longer process than I had anticipated, so I hid them a little easier. 

How quickly did they learn to play? Hell hath no fury like a college student who wants cute bunnies and candy, they learned how to play very quickly, almost obsessing over the concept of the game, and drive to win a bunch of candy and goodies.

What kinds of interactions did the player have? Many people ended up teaming up into groups, running around campus quickly due to turning on notifications for the Instagram account, so each time I made a post, many would be on top of searching for bunny, many times even minutes after it was hidden.

What confused Players? The factor of one of the rules being that the bunnies will only be hidden in places that stay open. Many reached out worried a bunny was in Saxby’s, concerned that it was closed and they would have to try again later, they were all assured it would be hidden and easily accessible. Of course I messed up this rule by putting one in the Nicholson basement, but you can read above how that was resolved. 

What made players excited? The ducks have been very popular, and now that there was a new animal, and new colors, players were on the hunt pretty obsessively about finding them. Many even made comments on the posts like “I needed this” or “This is my whole life this week” I think the excitement of not knowing where something is, and hunting for it in order to have a chance to win a prize makes people really happy and have fun.

What did your players enjoy doing? Hunting for the bunnies for sure! When I met with some of the “finders” afterward, many commented that they enjoyed the unknowingness of when another bunny hint would drop, so they were always on their toes!

Did any aspect of the game frustrate players? I think there’s always an aspect of frustration when players don’t win the final prize. But I also observed that many players who didn’t find bunnies would be a bit disappointed if they didn’t find a bunny in time. 

** The very last bunny was hidden with me, as I wanted to end the game by being able to ask some of the players what they thought, besides the comments and DMs I would receive. It ended up being really helpful for future insight to receive this feedback directly!**

Game Reflections: As a person who has placed over 35.000+ ducks across campus for the last two years, I really enjoyed this instance where I would be able to interact with the public and people who have been following the account for some time. It was really fun to have a bit of control and guidance directly with people, by means of encouraging them to keep looking, and congratulating them for finding bunnies. I definitely want to do this again! I did run into some issues that I think I will try to prevent in the next iteration of this concept, and I would like to share what I experienced in simplified points:

1. Be 100% sure that places you are hiding bunnies/anything is fully accessible 24/7. I hid a bunny in the Nicholson basement and I did not know the basement closes at midnight. It did cause some issues for players, with a few getting upset. Due to this, I ended up hiding eight bunnies instead of seven to make up for the mistake. 

2. Stress the importance of sportsmanship. Though I shouldn’t have to, some people who played the game became very difficult with other players upsetting them. For this instance, one “finder” hid from other players that the bunny was found by them – wasting others’ time. 

3. Have prizes for people who do find bunnies, but don’t win the final prize drawing. I had a group who found six of the eight bunnies, and I ended up giving them a bunch of ducks and stickers since they all worked so hard. I think it would be good to stress that even if they don’t win the big prize, they will still get an award. 

I do plan to do this again! I really enjoyed this experience!!