Byzantium Tests
- Brand
- Hunted
- Year
- 2012
- Objective
- Engagement
- Industry
- Entertainment
- Mechanic
- Puzzle
- Platform
- Web
- Agency
- Campfire
- With
- Jam3
Objective
Cinemax needed "Hunted" to stand out in a crowded fall lineup and wanted a committed core audience in place before the show even aired. Rather than advertise the series, the campaign recruited viewers into its world of corporate espionage directly, turning premiere-night curiosity into weeks of hands-on anticipation. It also had to teach people what Byzantium Security International was before episode one, so the spy plot would land immediately.
Solution
The player arrives at what looks like the real careers site for Byzantium Security International and applies for a job. The "application" turns into five rounds of psychological testing: a personality quiz, then a test that reads emotional reactions to images (connecting Facebook or Reddit pulls the player's own photos into the mix), a webcam round that tracks facial expressions, a multitasking logic challenge, and a final round where the player draws shapes and follows spoken instructions. Series lead Sam Hunter (Melissa George) breaks in on video throughout, addressing the player directly as the tests grow stranger. The finale springs a trick: the system reveals it predicted exactly what the player would do. Anyone who finishes is waved into a "classified" section of the site and handed one of five job titles inside Byzantium.
Results
The site drew over 1 million unique visitors, with more than 1.3 million people completing the tests over the 12-week campaign and averaging 13-14 minutes per session on-site — reach that reportedly beat the campaign's own success targets. Byzantium Tests also hit Reddit's front page three times during the run.
- 1
The game opens as byzantiumtests.com, a website styled as the corporate portal of Byzantium Security International, a private intelligence firm; it features a corporate video explaining the company's work and an invitation to apply for one of the few positions reserved for "1% of those who matter."
- 2
The first stage is a personality survey framed as an innocuous quiz, "Are You Normal?", whose questions ("When do they laugh at you?", "Is there a way out?", "How safe are your dreams?") and vague or image-based answer choices grow steadily more unsettling.
- 3
Between stages the site prompts players to share their progress and results on social media, asking which platforms to post to.
- 4
The second stage offers optional login via Facebook or Reddit, then presents a series of emotionally loaded image questions, such as identifying which face in a photo looks like a potential enemy; when Facebook is connected, the test pulls in photos from the player's own profile and contacts, turning the questions toward people the player actually knows.
- 5
The third stage requires the webcam: images and video are shown to the player while the camera reads facial expressions to gauge emotional reaction, and the stage closes with a task followed by a result staged to feel as if the system has read the player's mind.
- 6
The fourth stage is a logic puzzle solved under multitasking pressure, with the interface issuing competing demands while the player holds the puzzle in mind.
- 7
Throughout the five stages, series character Sam Hunter (Melissa George) addresses the player directly in campaign-shot video interludes, commenting on the test and reinforcing the sense of being watched.
- 8
The fifth and final stage has the player draw and follow on-screen instructions; it closes on a mentalist-style reveal in which the system appears to have predicted exactly what the player would draw and choose.
- 9
Completing all five stages redirects the player into a locked section of the Byzantium Security site and assigns them one of five roles — Field Agent, Communications Specialist, Information Analyst, Surveillance Expert, or Combat Officer — unlocking a set of exclusive series images tied to that role; logging in via Reddit unlocks all five sets at once instead of one.
- 10
A parallel offline entry point sent wooden puzzle boxes containing a USB drive to bloggers and critics, who had to solve the puzzle to open the box, retrieve the Byzantium materials, and reach the site.
