Indiana Jones and the Lost Elgin Marmaros is a live action multiplayer Indiana Jones themed game. The game itself is centered around an original storyline with the setting being that of the University of Georgia and the city of Athens. The purpose of the game is for two teams of UGA students to compete against one another in a race to an ancient treasure that is hidden somewhere within Athens. The two opposing teams will maintain certain roles in similar formats to the Indiana Jones films and use various Indiana Jones themed props in order to solve puzzles as quickly as possible, based on historical architcture that is native to the downtown Athens area.

 

 Legend has it that during Trojan War, the Greek Goddess of Wisdom Athena entered into a wide scale conflict with Ares, the God of War. Athena gave her gifts of strategy, wisdom and craftsmanship to the Greeks, while Ares bestowed bold force, strength and power to the Trojans. The battle was fierce, but in the end it was Athena who stood victorious leaving Ares with a considerable wound. It was on this day that Ares lost his pride in battle, causing him to forever burn with rage for a chance at revenge and glory against everything Athena stood for.

Map of the Acropolas and Parthenon

 The Parthenon (Temple of Athena) stood upon the hill of the Acropolis of Athens and served as a treasury for many mythical and powerful relics that were never meant to be embraced by mortal men. As such many of the relics pertaining to the goddess Athena remained hidden and were left undisturbed for over a millennia. However, during the mid-15th century the city of Athens fell to the Ottoman empire, which resulted in an explosion that nearly decimated the Parthenon. Many were shocked by the collapse of the building that day. Although many people place blame on the Venetian bombardment on an Ottoman ammunition depot supposedly triggering the explosion, there are many records that seem to indicate that the events that took place were shrouded in controversy. There are even some accounts that portrayed the explosion that occurred as being not-of-this-earth, but rather the phenomenon to be that of the power of Athena herself, her anger over what had become of her beloved city.

Elgin. Thomas Bruce

 Centuries later a team was led by Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of Elgin of the British empire, in order to help the Ottoman empire secure the surviving artifacts of the fallen Parthenon. Under the guise of simply unearthing and studying the Parthenon sculptures, Elgin's team of explorers were given temporary permission to operate a dig site on the ruins of the Parthenon. However, in time it became apparent that many of Elgin's men secured underhanded dealings with the Disdar, the military governor of the Acropolis resulting in many priceless artifacts being sold and shipped to England.

Gov. John Milledge

 However, there was a single man who stood against this corrupt element within Elgin's entourage, an American explorer and politician by the name of John Milledge. Milledge was invited to join the exploration team personally by Elgin himself, as Elgin and Milledge had become business acquaintances during the events preceding the Treaty of Paris in 1783. Naturally, Milledge accepted Elgin's offer as he considered himself a natural scholar of ancient Greece and antiquities. There are personal entries within John Milledge's journal that describe the events that took place at the Acropolis leading up to the Ottoman Empire's eventual banishment of all of Elgin's team from Greece. Many entries told of events where Milledge had attempted to mislead or shut down the operations of the corrupt factions within Elgin's exploration team. One such entry describes an account of Milledge's discovery of several stones that seemed to emanate an immense ethereal power.

Disdar. Kleftis Proponitus

 However Milledge' s discovery of the stones was not solely his own, the Disdar by the name of Kleftis Proponitus, a follower of the war-god Ares, attempted to steal the stones for himself. A battle ensued beneath the ruins of the Parthenon between the two men fighting for the possession of the stones causing a great tremor, which collapsed even more of the Parthenon structure. Milledge made it out alive with the stones intact, while Proponitus remained forever lost within the ruins.

Although Elgin and his men were banished from researching the Parthenon after this incident, many of the Parthenon's facade sculptures remained in Elgin's possession, in which he dubbed, the Elgin Marmaros. But the stones that Milledge had found seemed different and simply too important or dangerous to simply hand over to Elgin or a museum .If you are interested in learning more about this story, consider doing a quick internet search on the topic or check to see if Comcast offers any historical documentaries on the events involving Elgin and Milledge.

 

Old College, University of Georgia

The Arch

John Milledge took the stones back with him to his birthplace of Georgia where he decided out of atonement for the events that took place in Athens, that he should rebuild much of Athen's architecture and culture in America. He proposed a new "city on a hill", a new Acropolis that would take the same name as the wondrous city he had visited. It was here that he would devote the land to become a University and instill the Athena's virtues of wisdom, art and learning. It was here, that he would hide the stones forever in remembrance for his past transgressions.

 

The stones, the lost Elgin Marmaros, are still hidden within Athens, Georgia even today waiting to be discovered. But if the Marmaros were to fall into the wrong hands, it could destroy the entire city of Athens.

 

Indiana Jones is searching for the lost Elgin Marmaros stones, and has recently come across a secret journal of a mysterious explorer (initials, L.D.) who had been tracking the clues of the University of Georgia's founder, John Milledge, and where Milledge originally hid the stones. However, it has become apparent that another faction seeks to sacrifice the city of Athena in order to reinstate the ancient glory of Ares, the god of war. This nefarious organization is led by Skylos Proponitus, a descendant of Kleftis Proponitus, and his associate, Eromeni Machi. As tenured faculty at the University of Georgia, they have been aggressively searching for the Marmaros stones for many years.

Now is the time to think fast, you will each have a series of tests to see if you are worthy of finding the stones.

 

The Indiana Jones / Order of Athena Team

Indiana Jones

Indiana Jones's role in the game is to lead the Order of Athena team to and from each destination while solving puzzles at each with the aid of the other characters of the group. If the Order of Athena team is attacked by the Glory of Ares team leader, Indiana Jones can use his "whip" ability in an attempt to counter their attack and entangle the entire team for a limited duration of time.

 

 

THE WHIP

Can be used when Indiana Jones is attacked by "The Gun" card.

Initiates "Paper-Rock-Sissors" style combate between all members of both teams.

"The Whip" is destroyed when used.

 

"I told you, it belongs in a museum!"

The Love Interest

While working alongside Indiana Jones, the Love Interest is also able to play the part of a spy that is able to infiltrate the enemy teams's position and relay information back to the team leader. She can attempt to stall the other team using "The Charm" ability, however if she fails, she loses her ability to infiltrate enemy lines.

 

 

THE CHARM

Can be used to stall the Glory of Ares team for limited duration of time.

Initiates "Paper-Rock-Sissors" style combate between the Love Interest and the Order of Ares team leader.

Order of Ares team must win 3 consecutive wins in order to defeat "The Charm" of the Love Interest.

"The Charm" is destroyed when used.

 

"You're right. It is my color."

The Sidekick

As a very booksmart individual, the Sidekick's job is to assist Indiana Jones as much as possible in solving puzzles and clues. Although the Sidekick is not much of a fighter, when the going get's rough for Indiana Jones, he can take hold of "The Replica Lightsaver" in an attempt to even the odds.

 

 

THE REPLICA LIGHTSABER

When Indiana Jones is attacked by either the Henchman#9 or Eromeni Machi, this can be used at the Sidekick's discretion to lower the amount of consecutive "Paper-Rock-Sissors" style combat wins needed to defeat opponent, by 1.

"The Replica Lightsaber" is destroyed when used.

 

"Um, are you sure it's safe?"

 

 

The Villains / Glory of Ares Team

Skylos Proponitus

Skylos Proponitus' role in the game is to lead the Glory of Ares team to and from each destination while solving puzzles at each with the aid of the other characters of the group. When encountering the Order of Athena team, he can attempt to hold the entire team hostage using "The Gun" ability.

THE GUN

Can be used to hold the Order of Athena team hostage.

Initiates "Paper-Rock-Sissors" style combate between all members of both teams.

"The Gun" is destroyed when used.

 

"Not today, Dr. Jones."

Eromeni Machi

 

 

 

 

As a of alongside Indiana Jones, the Love Interest is also able to play the part of a spy that is able to infiltrate the enemy teams's position and relay information back to the team leader. She can attempt to stall the other team using "The Armm" ability, however if she fails, she loses her ability to infiltrate enemy lines.

THE ARMM

Can be used to stall the Order of Athena team for limited duration of time.

Initiates "Paper-Rock-Sissors" style combate between Eromeni Machi and the Order of Athena team leader.

Order of Athena team must win 3 consecutive wins in order to defeat "The Armm" of Eromeni Machi.

"The Armm" is destroyed when used.

 

"I've got you now, Indiana Jones!"

Henchman #9

Henchman #9 will do anything to get what his boss wants, even if it means the occassional spying on and taking an axe to his enemies. As a spy he is able to infiltrate the enemy teams's position and relay information back to the team leader. He can attempt to stall the other team using "The Axe" ability, however if he fails, he loses his ability to infiltrate enemy lines.

THE AXE

Can be used to stall the Order of Athena team for limited duration of time.

Initiates "Paper-Rock-Sissors" style combate between Henchman #9 and the Order of Athena team leader.

Order of Athena team must win 3 consecutive wins in order to defeat "The Axe" of Henchman#9.

"The Axe" is destroyed when used.

 

"Raaaaarrrrrrghhhhhh!"

 

The Process:

I. Each team is given a journal that contains several hints and clues that specificaly relate to various puzzles that have been set up in the downtown Athens area. It is up to each team to solve each puzzle challenge in order to proceed to the next.

II. As the object of the game is a race to find the treasure first, both teams have been given a specific set of "Role" cards that can be used during the game to stall or counter enemy assaults. Please refer to the card rules listed on the individual cards.

III. If a team deems a puzzle too hard to solve and requests assistance the hosts of the game can be contacted via cellphone to recieve additional puzzle hints at the expense of "Help Tokens" provided at the beginning of the game.

Rules:

I. Be courteous to your fellow classmates and when finished with a puzzle, place the puzzle back in the same place and status that it was originally found in so that other games that may be going on behind you will not be spoiled.

II. When a Spy-type role loses to a team in combat, they can no longer spy on the enemy or attack them and must return to their team to assist with puzzle solving.

 

This video showcases many of the events that happened in the first run of the game. In this particular game set we were running two Indiana Jones games back-to-back. While it was unexpected both Order of Athena teams and both Glory of Ares teams teamed up in solving the puzzles. The Order of Athena teams were the first ones to reach the Elgin Marmaros treasure, thus winning the game, while the Glory of Ares team were just seconds behind them in finding the treasure themselves. A close match for sure!

YouTube video of the first run of the game (View in New Window)

The following link will showcase many of the images that were taken of downtown Athens that were considered during the initial development of the game.

GALLERY LINK

 

 

In this section we would like to share some of our thought processes behind how developed the game and the many puzzle elements within. Currently this section is unavailable.

 

Indiana Jones and the City of the Lost Elgin Marmaros was created by Thomas L. and Alliene B.

Indiana Jones is trademarked by Lucasfilm, All Rights Reserved.

Chisolm T.

This game is dedicated to all Indiana Jones fans and especially to Chisolm T. for inspiring us to develop the game and to do it the way an Indiana Jones game should be done. Thanks buddy!