BookLamp.org Launches Kickstarter Campaign to Fund National Reading Game
'The Game of Books’ encourages engagement with libraries through the gamification of reading discovery
BOISE, Idaho — November 1, 2012 — BookLamp.org, parent company of the Book Genome Project, is introducing The Game of Books in its first ever Kickstarter campaign (http://gameofbooks.com). The Game of Books is an interactive reading project and mobile app that allows readers to earn points, badges, and experience levels for the books they read.
Powered by BookLamp's ‘Book Genome’ technology, The Game of Books rewards readers for completing literary “Journeys” - earning badges and experience levels based on their reading preferences. Played with both physical game pieces - such as bookmarks and game cards - and a mobile application that allows readers to scan the barcode of a book to see what badges it contains, The Game of Books engages readers by turning the discovery process into an exploratory adventure and a modern-day treasure hunt in their local libraries.
For the last five years, the Book Genome Project has been exploring the language of books using computers and algorithms, launching the book suggestion site BookLamp.org in Fall of 2011. The site, sometimes referred to as the ‘Pandora for Books’, uses the full text of a book to suggest other books based on scene-by-scene measurements of writing style and thematic make-up. Now, The Game of Books will use this granular data to allow readers to earn Reader Experience Points from the themes of the books they read.
“We're introducing The Game of Books for libraries as a Kickstarter campaign so we can work with readers, teachers, and librarians as The Game evolves. We grew up in and around libraries,” said Aaron Stanton, CEO and founder of BookLamp. ”We want The Game to be a fun way to connect both the digital and the physical reading worlds. The Game already exists in the fabric of the reading experience. What we're creating is the tool for learning your score, and the score of your friends. My hope is that The Game will promote reading and library interaction, but without altering the core reading experience, which doesn't need any help from us.”
The funding from the Kickstarter project will be used for the creation, production and distribution of gaming kits for libraries, teachers, and parents, as well as the mobile application that allows readers to scan the barcode of a book to see what badges and points they earn by reading it.
These starter kits, intended to help a participating library, teacher, or parent easily join and play The Game of Books with their readers, is an initial game package that contains everything needed to play. Through Kickstarter, BookLamp hopes to fund the distribution of gaming kits to advocates of the reading mission.
“The Game is intended to help promote reading in all age groups,” said Stanton. “If you are a reader, a gamer that likes creative projects, or just love books in general, we're hoping that you'll help us achieve our goal of getting The Game of Books into the hands of as many people as possible.”
Please visit http://gameofbooks.com to learn more. Contact Brooke Bloomfield at bbloomfield@booklamp.org or visit http://gameofbooks.com/press with media inquiries or questions.
Brooke Bloomfield
Public Relations, BookLamp.org
bbloomfield@booklamp.org
About BookLamp
BookLamp is a publishing technology company powered by the Book Genome Project, which uses the DNA of language to explore the world of books. BookLamp uses computer-based modeling to compare books and manuscripts based on their thematic makeup, character prevalence, and language elements. This provides fingerprinting and "place in the universe" information for authors, trend and market targeting for publishers, and the next generation of book discovery for readers. We aim to be the best in the world at applying science to the written word, to share the knowledge we gain from that passion, and to be an ally to publishers in an industry where technology has been a double-edged sword. Connect with us digitally at Facebook.com/BookLamp, Twitter.com/BookLamp, or BookLamp.org.
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