Here's a new game that could be fun if it works. It may not be perfect from the word go but we'll develop the rules as we go along.

In this game you use Google maps (maps.google.com) selecting the satellite imagery rather than the map option. Treat the earth as if you are an alien viewing it from space. Using only visual and directional clues, you must guide us to a specific point on the map of your choosing. You may not use place names (eg Spain, New York, Pacific ocean, equator etc). You may only use visual references and compass bearings. The first member to centre the required location then gets to choose the next, starting from the finishing point of the last person. If someone guesses close, you can give new directions from that location if you wish. I think that's everything. For the fist run well begin from the default location theat the maps loads at. Here goes nothing...

Go SOUTH until you reach a large, ice covered land mass. Follow the coast EAST until you see some small pinkish features, right on the shore, mixed with some light blue. there is a grey colored cape that looks like a clowns hat here. Travel NORTH until part of a large green land mass appears on the right. Centre this land mass on your screen.

Still with me? The location we are looking for is on the east coast, about half way down. Zoom in on this area slowly and you will notice an outcropping jutting into the water, just above the curve in the centre of the east coast of the land mass. It is the most noticable feature present and has light colored areas on it. Zoom in on this feature until it stretches from the top to the bottom of the screen. (Note: This is Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world. Normally this would be cheating but I doubt many of you have heard of it and for those of you who have... just ignore what I said.)

Go SOUTH and you will see a similar outcropping to the one we just saw, but about half the size. Centre this feature on the screen and zoom in very slightly. You should be able to see a meandering, squiggly river. Zoom in on the mouth of the river. You should be able to see an airport on the left side. Follow the river past the first bridge, and stop at the second. This bridge is at the top of a tight bend, about the second noticable bend in the river. There is a white, circular stadium almost due SOUTH from this bridge; zoom out slightly if you can't see it. Once you have the stadium centred, zoom in as closely as you can (this is the GABBA for those of you who know of it).

We are very close now! The stadium is on a rectangular block surrounded by roads. Go to the NORTH-EAST corner of the block and follow the road NORTH for two blocks, until you come to a white building that looks like a warehouse. Turn RIGHT ( or go EAST down the road) for three blocks, until you come to the first major intersection. The target (my house) is on the south-west corner of this intersection.

So did you find it? I have a feeling I am going to have to give more instructions as I'm bound to have been unclear somehwere. Any way, if you think you did, give me a link with the target centred.If not, give me an area that you think is close, or a point along the way where you got lost, and I'll try to guide you there. Good luck...

which zoom are we starting at?

The default.

http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=-22.339379,114.047184&spn=0.007071,0.010050&t=k&hl=en

i got to the stadium but your road directions from there completely lost me, or maybe this isnt the stadium...

WOW! What the heck is THAT!! Give me a few minutes to get my bearings here...

Oh and no, that is DEFINITELY not the stadium I was referring to...

Aha... I see where you went wrong, I think. YOu are on the West coast, rather than the East coast. I do know where you were as it happens, it is an antenna at a military base. By a remarkable coincidence, I have actually been inside that structure... but I can assure you they never play cricket there!! ;-). That area is called Exmouth, it is a really beautiful place for a holiday with some brilliant beaches for snorkelling among the reef. It's also renowned for the whale sharks that visit there, people come from all over the world to see them. But I'm afraid my location is on the other side of the country...

*sob* I tried but that was one helluva "outcroppy" coast.

look, here was the riverbed and the airport

http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=-22.236750,114.096966&spn=0.056606,0.080398&t=k&hl=en

LOL! I'm guessing that's part of the military base also. From memory I don't think Exmouth has a civilian airport...

"Go NORTH and you will see a similar outcropping to the one we just saw, but about half the size"

did you mean TWICE the size???

Nope. The first outcropping we visited should be the largest one.

http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=-22.596420,150.485401&spn=0.113371,0.160469&t=k&hl=en

is this at least the correct river???

http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=-25.406066,153.229065&spn=1.774694,2.564896&t=k&hl=en

ok im totally lost, is this the first or second outcropping

That is the forst. The second is not far below...

Aha, therin lies the mistake. you said NORTH from the first outcropping *another black mark on Sam's record* Ill do it tomorrow, too tired to try again now.

Doh! *Slaps forehead* I'll change it...

Ok here it is but I cheated...

http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=-27.483565,153.042834&spn=0.004693,0.007226&t=k&hl=en

I started from the link that was identified as the first outcropping above. When I bring up google maps it starts with a full view of the united states. I am assuming that is not the case for everyone. We have to establish some sort of consistent starting point and zoom level I think. I guess we can always start from this point now and zoom all the way out.

Excellent! I was starting to wonder it was impossible.

For the next one, we start from the link you posted above (ie the last finishing point). I also started on a map of the US and I presumed that it would be the same for everyone else, but we shouldn't have to worry about that from this point.

So Torque, feel free to post the next set of instructions when you are ready.

OK starting from my last link, zoom all the way out and then zoom in 3 times. Now go EAST until you get to the next large land mass (it looks like an ice-cream cone). At the north end of the land mass there is a thin strip of land connecting it to another large land mass. Center this thin strip of land on your screen. To the north of it you should see a very long and narrow island that runs east-west. North of that there is a peninsula that attaches to the large land mass to its north. Center this peninsula on your screen and zoom in 4 more times. Near the middle of the southern half of the peninsula is a large lake, bigger than any other lake on the peninsula (the northwest portion of the lake appears white-grey because google does not have a good satellite picture of that area).

Got the lake? OK. Center the lake on your screen and zoom in 4 more times (be sure to keep the lake about centered). Now go EAST until you hit the coast of the peninsula (the ocean coast not the lake coast). Disregard the weird looking sections of the map caused by bad or missing satellite images. Center the coast on your screen without moving too much to the north or south, and zoom in 2 more times. Move SOUTH along the coast and you will begin to see a waterway running parallel to the coast, just inland (forming a thin strip of land between itself and the ocean). Continue SOUTH until you see a large island in that waterway. The island has an inlet to its east, connecting to the ocean, and a bridge to its north (which runs east-west across the waterway).

Got the island? OK. Center the island on your screen and zoom in 2 more times. Keep going SOUTH along the waterway, you will pass a long straight bridge across it, then another bridge across it that looks like it's under construction, then another bridge across it that is divided by a vegetative island, which trails off to the south. Keep going SOUTH along the waterway and you will pass another bridge that has a boat speeding away from it to the north, then STOP when you reach the next bridge after that. In the vicinity of this bridge the waterway is split in two by a long strip-shaped island.

Got the bridge? OK. Center the bridge on your screen and zoom all the way in. East of the bridge (on the long strip-shaped island that divides the waterway in two, still west of the strip of land that separates the waterway(s) from the ocean), there is an intersection with the road the bridge is on. South of that intersection the road running north-south forks. Folow the fork to the east and it will fork again around a football-shaped park and then rejoin itself at the southern tip of the park. Directly west of the park there is a house on the shore of that strip-shaped island. The house has a swimming pool on its west side and a long straight dock coming out from its beach. It has a light grey roof and a portion of the roof and swimming pool are in the shade of a big tree (which is south of the house).

That house is your target, I chose this target because I am mixing this game with actual Caedes wallpapers:

Backyard Paradise
Join Me?
Nightfall

All taken from the backyard you're looking at from space! Good luck...

Okay! Here's the next starting point.

I must say it looks much more impressive in the photographs than on the satellite imagery. Everything looks very small and insignificant form the sat... Now I have to think about my next target...

Zoom out completely then in again 3 times. Directly NE from the peninsula we just visited, there is an island that almost touches the edge of the land mass, right on the tip; it's about the same size as the aforementioned peninsula. Centre this island, then travel EAST until you reach the next land mass. Ignore the small, cold and miserable island just to the North (sorry I couldn't resist...) Centre the point that juts out directly opposite of that last island ( you can draw a line SW from one to the other) Zoom in 3 times. Go EAST until you can see a snow covered mountain range in the SE corner of your screen. Approximately in the centre of your screen you should be able to see a white cloud mass. Centre it if it isn't already. Zoom in three times, then travel NORTH to the winding river. Zoom in twice more and follow the river inland (ie SE) You will come to a city, the city centre is a brown looking circle. There is a fork in the river just after the city centre. Zoom in on the fork 3 times. Then travel down the river back towards the city centre. You will turn a large bend in the river turning to the south west. Just after this bend you can see the shadow of the target, a large structure. Centre the target and zoom in to max.

Hope you found it...

Arrgh, someone stole my win! I cant do this one atm cause I'm at school but rest assured I'll make a comeback.

Yeah sorry about that... it was my fault for giveing him the clues, and for giving wrong directions to begin with! Im gonna go through my last one now to make sure I didn't make any errors this time...

No takers?

I'm still trying, dont be hasty

*prods warrior in the back impatiently*

*slips and takes a chunk out of Austrailia with the pointer* There! see what you did!!