Tringo - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Tringo is an online multiplayer game created by Nathan Keir (aka Kermitt Quirk) in December 2004 that is available to play inside the virtual reality

Virtual reality

Virtual reality , also known as virtuality, is a term that applies to computer-simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary worlds...

platform Second Life
Second Life
Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab. It was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs, or Viewers, enable Second Life users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars...

owned by Linden Lab

Linden Lab

Linden Research, Inc., d/b/a Linden Lab, is a privately held American Internet company that is best known as the creator of Second Life....

. It is described as a cross between Tetris

Tetris

Tetris is a puzzle video game originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov in the Soviet Union. It was released on June 6, 1984, while he was working for the Dorodnicyn Computing Centre of the Academy of Science of the USSR in Moscow, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic...

and Bingo

Bingo (US)

Bingo is a game of chance played with randomly drawn numbers which players match against numbers that have been pre-printed on 5x5 matrices. The matrices may be printed on paper, card stock or electronically represented and are referred to as cards. Many versions conclude the game when the first...

Rules

Tringo was played by a large group of players at once. Each player is given their own "card" with a 5×5 empty grid. The game provides a new shape every ten seconds, which the player must fit into their board. The object is to create solid square areas of 2×2, 2×3, and 3×3 squares. When that happens, the shape is cleared from the board, and the player earns points.

Gameplay

Tringo is normally played as a gambling game, using the currency

Currency

In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...

of Second Life

Second Life

Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab. It was launched on June 23, 2003. A number of free client programs, or Viewers, enable Second Life users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars...

, "Linden Dollars" (L$) Because of the need for a large number of players, most game units are not owned privately, but are installed in casino areas and hosted by players who take the role of casino staff. (The game unit is freely purchasable at the cost of L$15000- equivalent to roughly US$50 - but the buyer must also own game land to install it on, and be able to attract the required number of players.)

At the start of each game, the host will usually place an amount - around L$100 - in the pot, which is then won by the player who scores the highest number of points. Players are not charged to enter but they are encouraged to add donations to the pot. In the past, the casino gained money via the Second Life

Second Life

"traffic" system whereby any location that attracted large numbers of people for significant periods of time was given an extra L$ award by Linden Lab. Linden Lab no longer gives payout awards for traffic.

Popularity

Some Second Life

Second Life

players take the view that Tringo's popularity is entirely due to its ability to offer "free money" in this way. (Second Life does not feature monster hunting or any systematic way to earn L$; they must be bought in US$, received in the stipends, or earned through doing business.)

Similar games

Tringo is similar to Jtris (a solo and multiplayer variation game), Slingo

Slingo

Slingo is an online multiplayer game created in 1995 by Slingo, Inc. It features a mix of slots and bingo.-Play:A player has 20 turns to "spin" the numbers below his or her bingo card. Five numbers appear, and if they are found on the card, they can be marked off.During the game, other special...

(a cross between slot machines and bingo with a similar multiplayer focus), and Blood 21 (an abstract blackjack which is also multiplayer).

Game Boy Advance

Tringo was unique as the only game developed with Second Life

Second Life

so far which has been licensed for non-Second Life uses. Donnerwood Media licensed the game and is focused on releasing it on other platforms. The first is on the Game Boy Advance

Game Boy Advance

The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...

published by Crave Entertainment

Crave Entertainment

Crave Entertainment is an American video game company. It was founded in 1997 by Nima Taghavi. Its headquarters is in Newport Beach, California...

and developed by David A. Palmer Productions was released in late April, 2006, and there will be more platform releases in 2006.

Tringo for PC

In 2007 Australian ASX listed company Two Way Ltd. licensed Tringo globally for PC and for iTV in Asia from Donnerwood Media and now distributes the PC version of the game via its games portal Way2Play. The game is also available through other major games portals, and is promoted inside Second Life at Way2Play Island. The PC license reverted back to Donnerwood Media in late 2007, and the flash version of Tringo is now widely distributed.

External links

Tringo Web - Support website for Tringo in Second Life.
Tringo Web Game - Play Tringo For Free.
Tringo article on CNN

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.