SEATTLE, Sept. 19, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Six charities, including five based in Seattle, will receive funds from a new iPad game created by local startup Game It Forward. "Quingo" combines the fun of bingo with the challenge of trivia questions and is now available for free on iTunes. Game It Forward will share a portion of revenue generated by Quingo through advertising and in-app purchases to specific projects managed by each charity.

Projects from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Kiva, PAWS, Seattle Children's, Splash and The Martinez Foundation will benefit from the new game.

"Players 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," said Game It Forward founder and industry veteran Brandon Bozzi. "Game It Forward will help make that happen by producing free-to-play games where money generated from ad and in-game purchases is donated to charities."

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 really innovative way to connect people with the lifesaving work that our scientists do every day," 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, benefiting 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.

"Most charities are used to working with third-party fundraisers, but integration into a game was new territory," said Game It Forward founder and game industry veteran Brandon Bozzi. "As the game took shape, our partners became more and more excited about participating. We are very excited to enable people to help causes they believe in just by playing a game they enjoy."

Quingo is free to download from the Apple App Store and is available for the iPad on the iTunes Store. Game It Forward plans to develop Quingo for additional platforms in the coming year. 

About Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research CenterAt 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.

About Game It ForwardGame It Forward is a Seattle-based Social Purpose Corporation dedicated to making fun games that have a positive impact on society. We use the compelling, interactive nature of games to support education, science, health care, and variety of charitable causes. Our games are "fun first" - a completely entertaining experience aside from their particular mission. They just so happen to also make the world a better place. For more information check out: www.gameitforward.org, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

 

Media contactsGame It ForwardBrandon Bozzi, Founder425-753-1192brandon@gameitforward.org

KivaKaren Littlekaren@kiva.org

Seattle Children'sCaity McKean206-987-2836caitlyn.mckean@seattlechildrens.org

The Martinez FoundationYoko McCann206-819-5031yoko@themartinezfoundation.org

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research CenterKristen Woodward206-667-2210media@fhcrc.org

PAWSMark Coleman206-419-6646mcoleman@paws.org

SplashLindsey Walsh206-535-7375lindsey@splash.org

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SOURCE Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

RELATED LINKShttp://www.fhcrc.org