IRVINE, Calif. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — August 6, 2014 — Oomba, Inc., a social media pioneer leading the way in organized play, is launching its long anticipated Tournament Management System™ at this year’s GenCon in Indianapolis, Aug. 14-17. Oomba simplifies tournaments by replacing paper and spreadsheets with a cloud-based social network and suite of mobile apps that aid in running large, live tournaments. At Gen Con Oomba is working with Mayfair Games to manage its US World Championship Qualifier for the Settlers of Catan® and Cryptozoic for its introduction of Adventure Time™ Card Wars, along with DC Comics™ Deck-Building Game and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings™ Deck-Building Game.
Founded by Michael Williams (Tremor, Planetwide) and Advisor Nolan Bushnell (Atari, Chuck E Cheese), the company’s Oomba.com follows Oomba.tv, which launched in October 25, 2013. For the first time, Oomba.tv will be broadcasting Gen Con live all four days in continuous coverage of sneak peeks, interviews with industry insiders and behind-the-scenes craziness.
To showcase its ability to operate large, live tournaments, Oomba will make an official attempt to set the Guinness World Record™ for the largest tournament of Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock with thousands of players expected to participate. Oomba will award prizes to every participant with top-level prizes including an Apple® Macbook Air®, two Apple iPads®, and four Settlers of Catan® 15th Anniversary Editions. The attempt will run all four days with the finale on Sunday, Aug. 17.
“Tournaments are an immensely important facet of hobby gaming, and we believe in what Oomba is bringing to the table with tournament management and live webcasting,” Larry Roznai, Mayfair Games President, said. “Oomba’s sophisticated platform that has been sorely needed in the game space for a long time now and will add a new level of excitement to our events. We hope to see this partnership and platform grow worldwide.”
“Mayfair Games is an ideal partner for us,” Michael Williams, CEO and founder of Oomba, Inc., said. “Catan is a global phenomenon popular with hobbyists and families throughout the world. If our platform can amplify the excitement by making Catan events easier to organize and stream live that would reward our effort.”
According to Oomba’s research, over a billion people enjoy organized sports, traditional games, or video games, spending half-a-trillion dollars annually to participate in tournaments, leagues and other events.
Oomba is the first social media platform seeking to simplify the organizational process while simultaneously providing players with a permanent record of their results and a compelling forum within which to share their experiences. Oomba’s capability ranges across the entire competitive spectrum, from a single soccer match to organizing the inner workings of a major sports or game league.
Oomba features include:
- Tournament Management System: Templated and custom-configurable tournament management tools to handle registration, scoring, bracket seeding, and result calculations - everything needed to keep players performing and make every event a success;
- Social Networking: Picking up where other systems have left off, Oomba offers multiple persona types, easy-to-use security and permissions, full multimedia integration, communication tools such as messaging, chat and more;
- Live and VOD broadcasting: Oomba.TV is a full feature, live and on-demand video broadcasting platform working in tandem with Oomba.com to offer the best in webcasting to competitors, proud parents, event hosts, and all looking to blast their achievements.
“The versatility of Oomba in terms of tournament management, social media, and webcasting, is unprecedented,” said Nolan Bushnell, Oomba’s Advisor and Chief Visionary Officer and gaming industry legend. “It is a game changer that allows players, fans, and hobbyists to focus on what is most important: the game. Our partnerships with Mayfair Games and Cryptozoic will be the first major show of how Oomba can revolutionize the space, and we cannot wait to head east to Indianapolis for Gen Con.”
Oomba tournaments for Mayfair and Crytpozoic games will run continuously in Hall F at GenCon with Oomba also providing live web broadcast of the entire Gen Con event featuring interviews with industry leaders and competitors. A live Q&A will be held via Twitter - @oomba.
About Oomba, Inc.
Oomba, Inc. is a specialized social media company bringing elegant organization to sports and games. Based in Irvine, California, the company was founded by Michael Williams, CEO, founder of Planetwide Games and Tremor Entertainment. Aiding Williams in the creative development of Oomba is co-founder and visionary, Nolan Bushnell, founder of both Atari and Chuck E. Cheese restaurants. www.oomba.com
About Mayfair Games, Inc.
Based in Skokie, Illinois, Mayfair is an international publisher of board games and card games for all ages. The company touts over 100 game titles, including the long-running series Empire Builder™ and Settlers of Catan™. www.mayfairgames.com
About Cryptozoic Entertainment
Founded in 2010, Cryptozoic Entertainment, Inc. is a premier developer and publisher of original and licensed board games, card games, comics and trading cards, including the World of Warcraft® Trading Card Game, DC Comics Deck-Building Game, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Deck-Building Game, The Big Bang Theory Party Game and The Walking Dead™ Board Game.
About Gen Con
Gen Con, LLC produces the largest consumer hobby, fantasy, science fiction and adventure game convention in North America, Gen Con Indy, The Best Four Days In Gaming!™. Each year more than 49,000 gaming enthusiasts converge in Indianapolis to share their enthusiasm in the experience and culture of gaming. The gaming community comes together from across the world to experience a vibrant exhibit floor, more than 11,000 gaming events, celebrity appearances, anime, film, an art show, and more! Last year, Gen Con celebrated its 46th year with an expanded Family Fun Pavilion, special guest appearances, and many exciting events. www.Gen Con.com
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Wonacott Communications for Oomba
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