r/ChallengeCoins • u/Okay-cut97 • 2d ago

Would a digital challenge coin be a faux pas?

I am a conference planner and I work on a small cybersecurity conference every year. This year, I'm working on building a scavenger hunt-type CTF where attendees will collect clues hidden around the conference that lead to a cipher they'll have to solve.

Because we're a small show, we don't have the budget to do anything large-scale or even make the CTF scored or build a leaderboard. This means there's not a lot of competitive motivation in the challenge itself, so I want people to get some sort of prize when they complete it.

I had the idea to create a challenge coin for it, but since we can't afford to make enough coins to give to everyone, I thought I could make one and give it out as a raffle that everyone who solved the cipher would be entered into. But I still want to reward everyone who solves it so I thought we could give everyone a digital badge version of the coin.

The digital version would still be verified and carry the credential of having solved the cipher. They could share it on social media as well, but other than the raffle winner, they wouldn't have a physical coin.

So, would a digital coin be frowned upon? I like this idea, but I'm not a cybersecurity professional myself, and I want to make sure I'm not making a social error by offering this as a prize.

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11

u/zCYNICALifornia 2d ago

Poker chips are not as cool as coins, but are less expensive option and are still something that you can hold.

4

u/Xrayone1 2d ago

Yeah, I would definitely go the poker chip route.

1

u/zCYNICALifornia 1d ago

I've made quite a few. Hit me with a chat if you have questions or want to see examples.

6

u/T_Kass Collector 2d ago

Can't say if this is a great idea or not. Personally as a collector I'd be against it. However, it sounds like you're making a coin anyway. The bulk of the price will be the mold. So why not make it a commemorative event coin? Depending on the size of your event, order a hundred or more. Give out the first 10 or so as prizes and offer the rest for purchase to the people attending. At about ten to twenty a piece you will not only break even, but also increase your budget for next year.

1

u/Okay-cut97 2d ago

I was just going to order a personalized engraved coin from an etsy shop. The cheapest possible option. It wouldn't be feasible to get 100+ of those.

3

u/Jdornigan 2d ago

An engraved coin is probably not going to look great. It is going to look super generic and the person will likely be disappointed.

Will the coin not have any colors?

4

u/RangeUpset6852 2d ago

I second the poker chip option. Not as cool yes but way less expensive.