Game of Shrooms<\/a> returns June 13 and just may be your lucky day.<\/p>\nWhat began as a niche art project started by a guy who was trying to get past a bout of depression has evolved into something bigger: a global event during which the public can hunt for mushroom-inspired creations.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome years ago, we had some scientists in Antarctica participating,\u201d says Daniel \u201cAttaboy\u201d Seifert, Game of Shrooms found and Hi-Fructose Magazine co-publisher. His website has been fully translated into different languages by participants, and this year, he anticipates the Philippines will have as many players as Portland, Oregon.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was shocked to see how pervasive this thing is,\u201d says Robin Slonina, owner of Slonina ARTSpace in Las Vegas. \u201cJust like mushrooms, it pops up everywhere. I love the spirit of fun and generosity it encourages.\u00a0The whole thing is so homegrown and wholesome.\u201d<\/p>\n
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CLOSE\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Slonina\u2019s gallery will be the Las Vegas hub for at least 27 participating artists in her area. The Phoenix metro area has about that many artists scheduled to participate as well, spanning a region from San Tan to Casa Grande and up to New River.<\/p>\n
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Past Game of Shrooms art by Daniel \u201cAttaboy\u201d Seifert.<\/p>\n
The rules for Game of Shrooms are delightfully simple. Artists create mushroom-themed works \u2014 anything from paintings and ceramics to sculptures, jewelry, stickers and miniature installations \u2014 then hide them in public places. Clues and maps are released on the website and on social media, and hunters go a-hunting. Find a piece of shroom art, and it\u2019s yours.<\/p>\n
The mushroom art could be hidden in public places like local parks, libraries, bus stops or on street signs, or be tucked into local businesses like record stores, coffee shops and even tattoo parlors.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of them don\u2019t even know they\u2019re participating,\u201d Seifert says. Throughout the day, artists may drop hints on social media about where they hid their art, creating a friendly competition among seekers.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody gets a little paranoid \u2014 it\u2019s pretty funny,\u201d Seifert says. But, generally, if two people hit the same spot at the same time, they become friends, he explains. \u201cWhen people find the same piece at the same time, they sometimes do rock, paper, scissors over who gets to keep it.\u201d<\/p>\n
No money is exchanged for the art, and there is no entry fee, no registration requirement and no grand prize. It\u2019s just a free event, open to everyone.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/game-of-shrooms-Joe-Vaux.jpg\")
Past Game of Shrooms art by Joe Vaux.<\/p>\n
Seifert says he was inspired by his grandmother, who collected ceramic mushrooms; San Francisco-based public art activism collective The Billboard Liberation Front; and puppeteers Sid and Marty Krofft, creators of kid shows \u201cH.R. Pufnstuf\u201d and \u201cThe Bugaloos.\u201d Sid Krofft died in April and this year\u2019s GoS is dedicated to him.<\/p>\n
Some finds are picked up within minutes, while others remain hidden for hours waiting for the right explorer to stumble upon them. It\u2019s important to Seifert that participants maintain a leave-no-trace ethos.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOn game day, nature invades the human space in the form of one-of-a-kind, nature-inspired art,\u201d Seifert says. \u201cIf your art isn\u2019t found, you need to go back the next day and retrieve it. You don\u2019t need to be destructive to be subversive.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
But maybe the biggest appeal of Game of Shrooms is its sense of wonder. In an era dominated by digital experiences, the event encourages people to step outside, pay attention to their surroundings and embrace the possibility of an unexpected discovery.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou discover artists who might be literally in your backyard or just down the street,\u201d Seifert says. \u201cIt has given people permission to become art collectors,\u201d he says. \u201cIt opens up a whole new world to them.\u201d<\/p>\n
And for the artists involved, it\u2019s a day to simply make art for art\u2019s sake and not obsess about the business side of things. \u201cYou\u2019re not branding your stuff \u2026 it\u2019s not a day to merch out,\u201d Seifert says. \u201cIt\u2019s a day to work on yourself and put your work out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
For first-time hunters, Seifert recommends keeping an eye on participating artists\u2019 social media accounts, wearing comfortable walking shoes, maintaining hopeful optimism and of course, starting early.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTake an extra look around you. You may find something,\u201d Seifert says.<\/p>\n
See the Game of Shrooms artist map<\/a> to discover participating artists in the metro Phoenix area.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Past Game of Shrooms art by Stephanie Kilgast. Game of Shrooms Are you a sucker for magic mushroom…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":864205,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5131],"tags":[5229,5643,1587,2879,152918,1589,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-864204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-phoenix","tag-america","tag-arizona","tag-az","tag-events","tag-free-cheap","tag-phoenix","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116742053410400594","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=864204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864204\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/864205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=864204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=864204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=864204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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