Virtual. A word that, for many, would have been rarely used a little over 13 months ago, but one that has become synonymous with the day to day grind of many a global workday during the subsequent time frame.
However, with interactions via an in-person physical environment largely inaccessible, and continuing to be so, taking events, meetings and more online has become an essential, and in some ways defining, aspect of 2020/21.
And so we bring ourselves to the final full week of March, where FunFair Games has become the latest supplier to invite CasinoBeats to a very amply named ‘Virtual Media Day,’ complete with a more than generous hamper delivered just a day earlier and taking place amid one those rarest of rare days – a sunny day in Manchester.
As Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow went on the offensive against the Indian attack in Pune, which would level up another ultimately doomed series, Lloyd Purser, COO of FunFair Games, began by painting the picture of what had united a select group of the industry’s media on a Friday afternoon.
Born out of blockchain casino firm FunFair Technologies, FunFair Games is striving to fill a perceived gap in the market as it aims to carve out its niche with what it dubs as “multiplayer to single outcome” titles. This, in its basic format, means that there’s multiple players playing against a single RNG.
“Our mission is to develop what we are calling a new genre of games for a new generation of gamblers,” Purser begins.
“It’s clear from what we were looking at, and from my experience in previous roles, that the audience that are playing, especially slots, are getting older, and that there’s a gap in the market for content that traditional casino operators can put out there which is attractive to gen z and millennials.”
Lauding the multiplayer nature as “critical” in the space for younger players, due, in part, to an upbringing on social media and video games, FunFair notes that the specific foundations of its games are built around being social and not solitary, active not passive and simple yet engaging.
And so attention turns to the main attraction, as the curtain is pulled back on AstroBoomers: To The Moon; described by Purser as “probably the most stark example of an incredibly simple game which is incredibly exciting to play”.
The company’s second game, titled Wheel of Steal, is pencilled in for a June 15 launch, before an, as yet unnamed, game hits the virtual shelves in August.
AstroBoomers: To The Moon, an “immersive crash-style, multiplayer game,” is to become FunFair Games’ maiden release on May 11, and includes live player bets, a visible betting history, and real-time decision-based wagering.
The premise is, as suggested, a simple one, with the potential to place single or multiple bets, which are visually represented by astronauts boarding a rocket during the launch sequence, before players are tasked with staying onboard for as long as possible and, crucially, cashing out before the multiplier crashes. Wins are max capped at 250,000
As the sun continued to shine, and England threatened an all too familiar batting collapse, on with the competition it was, as CasinoBeats aimed to turn the tide on dismal showings at past virtual offerings.
“We hope we can create a new vertical with this,” Purser continued as the competition heated up, adding “the speed of which you can burn through money on a slot is much higher than you can here”.
Across four, tense rounds, and plenty of premature explosions, the light hearted afternoon fun drew to a close with a hint of a potential exclusive early launch alongside a “tier one operator”.
For CasinoBeats, the main lesson learned, among the numerous offered up during the near 90-minute get together, was one of utter cowardice, that dastardly rocket had the beating of us every single time.