Here at The Next Web, we’re never afraid to try new things – and we think it’s fair to say that one thing we’ll be doing at this year’s The Next Web Conference has never been done at a tech conference before.
What do you get if you take online gaming, an offline component, social sharing, the Million Dollar Homepage, a real life cow and a farmer, and bring it all together new game at the hottest tech conference in Europe…?
Watch out Zynga – welcome to Dungville.
We’ve partnered with the brilliant minds at Natwerk to take an 800-year-old Dutch game called “Schijt je Rijk” (which roughly translates as ‘The Shit That Makes You Rich’), played in the north of the Netherlands by farmers, and relaunch it as an online game with an offline aspect.
Dungville is a tiny one-day pop-up village created in the middle of Amsterdam at the TNW Conference venue, hosting one real farmer and one real cow, called Klara. Klara has a field to roam in, laid out as a grid of 48 squares. Your task is to predict where she will drop her dung. Yes – you’re betting on bovine bowel movements.
So, how do you take part?
Startups and other business can sponsor a square for €100. To get involved, users need to pick three squares in the field using our Web app. If you pick the squares where Klara leaves her dung, you win.
Dungville started out as a weekend project for two of our developers, Dennis and Nico, but we’ve seen them putting in long hours at the office in Amsterdam to get it all ready. As Lard, the founder of Natwerk explains: “We want to give Klara a chance to rule the interwebs over Farmville for one day in her precious life. What more can a cow wish for?”
Klara will be on-site next Friday during The Next Web Conference in Amsterdam. She’ll be treated like a queen with great food. We’ll be interrupting the conference to get updates on Klara’s latest ‘number 2s’ from Bertus the farmer.
You can play Dungville whether you’re at The Next Web Conference 2012 or not, but we recommend you experience it in person. Not only is there an excellent line up of speakers, startups and events, you’ll get to meet Klara herself, too. Book your ticket today!
Follow all our TNW2012 coverage here.
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