For players:

Should I play QuestaGame or Spirits of the Realms.

We recommend Spirits of the Realms, as it has all the key features of QuestaGame (and much more!) — with data contributed to biodiversity databases — but is better supported and more nature-positive.

We cannot guarantee continued support of QuestaGame.

However, if you still wish to play QuestaGame, here are some basic tips on how to play to get you started.

Can I submit sightings of my pets or garden plants?

The games accept sightings of all 'wild' living things, but it won't accept cultivated plants (such as the plants in your garden), or captive animals (like your pets or zoo animals).  Don't worry though, you don't have to look hard to find the wild life around you!

What's a "sighting"?

A "sighting" is when you submit an observation of a certain species of living thing - a.k.a. a monarch butterfly, or multiple monarch butterflies. For each submission, you can submit up to five different photos of the species that you've spotted.

Can I submit the same species multiple times through multiple sightings?

Yes, as long as you don't submit the same species within 1km or 24 hours of each other.

So if you submit a monarch butterfly, and then move 1km and find another monarch butterfly, you can submit it. Or if you submit a monarch butterfly that's perched on a statue, and you come back to that statue 24 hours later, and it's still there, you can submit it again. 

Will the sightings data I collect be shared in public databases for biodiversity research?

Within the apps, in Menu > Settings, you can decide whether or not you wish to share the data. By default it's switched on, and will be shared with national and global biodiversity databases for scientific research (such as gbif.org). If you decide to switch it off, all your sightings records - including previous ones - will be removed from the public databases.

How quickly can we expect sighting to be verified?

It depends on your priority settings when submitting the data. The higher you set your priority settings, the quicker and more expertise you will receive.

All sightings are verified and closed within 14 days.

If you wish to better understand - or participate in - the verification process, see our Oracle of Life platform (aka the BioExpertise Engine).

For Organisations:

How can I get my community involved?

The best way to get your community involved is to create a Nature Realm on GuardiansofEarth.io .

This platform, which operates QuestaGame, Spirits of the Realms, the Oracle of Life, and other interfaces, supports 12 different biodiversity apps. See all the supported apps here.

This way your community can use whatever apps they’re most comfortable with and still participate in your Nature Realm.

My community has many groups. Can I have multiple clans, one for each group?

We recommend grouping by location. You can have multiple realms and create your own collection of Realms, which can compete against each other. For more information, contact us. You can also group people into “civilizations” on the Spirits of the Realms app.

Can we communicate with our groups?

Yes. This feature is available on Guardians of Earth for Activated Realms

How do I create a quest for my community members?

You can create quests through the Spirits of the Realms game app. GuardiansofEarth.io is also adding new Quest features to Activated Realms.

How much assistance can we expect from tech suppor?

As much as you require! Best contact us via our Guardians of Earth discord group, or via our Contact Us page, or via info@earthguardians.life.