FUN Technologies and Hasbro to Create Online SCRABBLE® Competitions
SCRABBLE Cubes Allows Fans of the Classic Crossword Game to Prove Their Word-Making Skills for Cash and Prizes
Toronto ( July 27, 2006) - FUN Technologies Inc. [LSE (AIM): FUN and TSX: FUN], one of the world's leading online casual gaming providers, today announced it has signed a North American licensing deal with the Hasbro Properties Group (HPG), the intellectual property development arm of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE: HAS), to develop SCRABBLE Cubes, a 3-D word game based on the classic crossword game. Players will be able to compete in a variety of tournaments for cash on FUN's WorldWinner and SkillJam sites, with a collective audience of 27 million gamers. Also, tens of millions of additional gamers can compete in SCRABBLE Cubes via FUN's partner sites, including GSN.com, AOL Games, MSN Games, Pogo, Real Networks and Virgin Games.
SCRABBLE Cubes is a 3-D word game, in which players connect letters across the surface of an ever-changing arrangement of cubes to find as many words as they can. The game will feature SCRABBLE tiles with corresponding point values, giving wordsmiths everywhere the opportunity to compete in a modern version of their favorite word game for cash and prizes. Adding to the challenge, players are tempted with bonus cubes containing special values, such as "double word score" or "double letter score," as in the popular SCRABBLE board game.
"This relationship with Hasbro is another example of FUN's strategy to enhance our games portfolio with branded titles in response to player demand," said Lorne Abony, CEO of FUN Technologies. "Through deals with leading consumer brands, like Hasbro, we're making online cash play more mainstream by introducing the masses to the concept of competing in tournaments in the traditional games they played growing up."
SCRABBLE Cubes will be available on WorldWinner.com, SkillJam.com, and all of FUN's partner sites in Q3 2006.
About FUN Technologies
FUN Technologies Inc. is one of the world's leading online casual gaming providers. FUN's strategy is to provide its cutting-edge gaming systems to top distribution partners around the world. FUN is 51% owned by Liberty Media Corporation, and FUN's common shares are listed on both the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange under the symbol "FUN".
About FUN Games
FUN Technologies' FUN Games division, comprised of its wholly owned subsidiaries SkillJam, WorldWinner and Octopi, develops and distributes casual games solutions with a focus on free play and cash competitions across online, mobile and iTV platforms. Its broad network of partner sites includes leading global brands, such as AOL Games, EA-Pogo, GSN, Lycos, MSN Games, Real Networks and Virgin Games. With more than 27 million registered players internationally, FUN Games hosts ten million tournaments and awards millions of dollars in prizes every month.
ABOUT THE HASBRO PROPERTIES GROUP
The Hasbro Properties Group (HPG), the intellectual property development arm of Hasbro, Inc., (NYSE:HAS), translates one of the industry's richest portfolios of brands into a world of fun and excitement for children and adults globally. Through a host of publishing, digital media, lifestyle and entertainment platforms, HPG is able to surround fans worldwide with consumer products that expand Hasbro's core brands, such as TRANSFORMERS, LITTLEST PET SHOP, MY LITTLE PONY, MONOPOLY, G.I. JOE, TONKA and PLAYSKOOL.