Social Thinky Games RFP

What we’re thinking

We want to fund social thinky games.

We love thinky games that give players the space to think and see the beauty in elegant systems. We are excited about the work Astra Logical and Thinky Games, two of our key partners, are doing to bring these sorts of games to more players.

But we still aren’t seeing enough social thinky games. We want to see more games where players are collaborating to problem solve or where they are problem solving and creating so they can share with others.

So we’re providing project based financing to support these sorts of games from established studios.

What you’ll get

$1m+ funding
Awesome terms
Mission-focused partner

What’s our process

Apply using this link. We accept submissions on a rolling basis.

FAQ

What makes a game “thinky” to us?

Thinky games are games where the core loop drives mastery of deep systems and mechanics through discovery, often encouraging “aha moments.” These games often involve creative problem-solving, logical reasoning, strategic decision making, and/or deep planning to achieve success. Such games include Baba Is You, Patrick’s Parabox, and Factorio.

What makes a thinky game “social” to us?

Social thinky games highlight the significance of shared problem-solving, making "social" a crucial pillar rather than just a feature. We see two broad categories of social thinky games: co-op or competitive thinky games, which could encompass anything from ibb & obb to chess to Prismata to Portal 2, and create & share, which encompasses a range of games from Minecraft to Mario Maker.

What is project based financing?

At this time we’re only offering funding for projects. We’re not investing in studios. Our funding will follow agreed upon milestones for the project. We also don’t offer publishing services.

How does our non-profit status come into play?

Our funding exists to take big and innovative risks that align to our games mission of inspiring more people to fall in love with and see the beauty in math and mathematical systems: we require a limited quantity of the created games / IP to be made available for free to kids from low income families.

What makes a project exciting to us?

We want to take risks in the direction of reach. We like projects with a go-to-market that goes beyond publishing on Steam. These projects find innovative ways (core design, business models, tech solutions) to reach millions of young people.

Do you have content restrictions?

These games must be suitable for all ages, so we’ll only consider projects that are rated E.

If we receive this funding, can we also receive additional funding from a publisher?

Yes!