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

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), e ...

platform ''

Second Life ''Second Life'' is an online multimedia platform that allows people to create an avatar for themselves and then interact with other users and user created content within a multi player online virtual world. Developed and owned by the San Fra ...

'' owned by

Linden Lab Linden Research, Inc., doing business as Linden Lab, is an American technology company that is best known as the creator of ''Second Life''. The company's head office is in San Francisco, with additional offices in Boston, Seattle, Virginia an ...

. It is described as a cross between

Tetris ''Tetris'' (russian: link=no, Тетрис) is a puzzle video game created by Soviet Union, Soviet software engineer Alexey Pajitnov in 1984. It has been published by several companies for multiple platforms, most prominently during a dispute o ...

and

Bingo Bingo or B-I-N-G-O may refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * Bingo, a game using a printed card of numbers ** Bingo (British version), a game using a printed card of 15 numbers on three lines; most commonly played in the UK and Ireland ** ...

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 A currency, "in circulation", from la, currens, -entis, literally meaning "running" or "traversing" is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general ...

, "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

"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

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 is an online single and multi-player game that combines elements of slots and bingo (the name is a portmanteau of the two games). The game was created by New Jersey real estate developer, Sal Falciglia Sr. in 1994, who also founded the comp ...

(a cross between slot machines and bingo with a similar multiplayer focus), and

Blood 21 Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the ci ...

(an abstract blackjack which is also multiplayer).

Game Boy Advance

Tringo was unique as the first game developed with

to be 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 The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2 ...

published by

Crave Entertainment Crave Entertainment was an American video game publisher founded in 1997 by Nima Taghavi. Its headquarters was in Newport Beach, California. It was acquired by Handleman Company in 2005 in a deal valued up to $95,000,000 but was then sold to Fi ...

and developed by David A. Palmer Productions was released in late April, 2006, and there will be more platform releases in 2006.{{Cite web , url=http://www.businessweek.com/mediacenter/qt/podcasts/cover_stories/covercast_04_20_06.mp3 , title=Virtual World, Real Money , author=John Burn , publisher=

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, date=May 1, 2006 , accessdate=2006-12-03 , format=

MP3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Orig ...

Tringo for PC

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

References

External links

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

Second Life 2006 video games Game Boy Advance games Video games developed in Australia