Newswise — SEATTLE – “Quingo,” a game created by local startup Game It Forward that was first released in September for the iPad, will be available for the iPhone starting Oct. 31. Six charities, including five based in Seattle, receive funds from the game, which combines the fun of bingo with the challenge of trivia questions.
Just in time for Halloween, the latest version will come with a “spooky question” pack that challenges players to find: five things that are thought to bring bad luck, five countries where trick-or-treating is common around Halloween, five animals that drink blood and five actors who’ve played Dracula in a movie, among many more.
Projects from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Kiva, PAWS, Seattle Children’s, Splash and The Martinez Foundation benefit from the game. Game It Forward shares a portion of revenue generated by Quingo through advertising and in-app purchases to specific projects managed by each charity.
“There are at least two-and-a-half times as many iPhones as iPads in use and so the potential for fundraising for these charities is greatly increased with the launch of the iPhone version of Quingo,” said Game It Forward founder and industry veteran Brandon Bozzi. He estimates that people worldwide spend 3 billion hours a week playing games. “If those games donated just one penny an hour, we’d raise $30 million a week for people in need,” he said.
Quingo players can select one of six charities to play for and are given information on the project their game will support. The game presents players with a trivia question that has five correct answers hidden among 20 wrong answers laid across a bingo-style grid. Correct responses range from easy to very difficult, making it engaging for players of all knowledge levels. Players are awarded points for correct answers and scores can be shared through social channels.
“Quingo is a fun and unique way to support our lifesaving research,” said Fred Hutch’s Vice President of Development, Susan Dolbert, Ph.D. “We are delighted to partner with Game It Forward and work together to have fun and save lives.”
Game donations will support one of five projects at Fred Hutch. These include: Project Violet, benefitting drug discovery; one day of breast cancer research; hot lunches for Hutch School students; teacher training through the Science Education Partnership; and patient housing at Pete Gross House.
Quingo is free to download from the Apple App Store and the iTunes Store. In addition to the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch, Game It Forward plans to develop Quingo for additional platforms in the coming year.
# # #At Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, home to three Nobel laureates, interdisciplinary teams of world-renowned scientists seek new and innovative ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer, HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening diseases. Fred Hutch’s pioneering work in bone marrow transplantation led to the development of immunotherapy, which harnesses the power of the immune system to treat cancer with minimal side effects. An independent, nonprofit research institute based in Seattle, Fred Hutch houses the nation’s first and largest cancer prevention research program, as well as the clinical coordinating center of the Women’s Health Initiative and the international headquarters of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network. Private contributions are essential for enabling Fred Hutch scientists to explore novel research opportunities that lead to important medical breakthroughs. For more information visit www.fredhutch.org or follow Fred Hutch on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.
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