Blockchain software development firm Jelurida is set to launch an on-chain version of the bridge, the strategy card game. The platform will be called Bridge Champ and will enable anyone to set up their own white-label bridge gaming environment. The game leverages the benefits of blockchain, including in-game tokens and cheat prevention.
Jelurida is known for its development platforms, which include Ardor and Nxt. Ardor, a multi-chain proof-of-stake blockchain, is the company’s flagship project. Ardor operates as a parent-and-child structure, with the Ardor main chain securing child chains connected to the platform. Jelurida launched Ignis as the main child chain of Ardor back in 2018. Now, among its other projects, Ignis will host Bridge Champ, which aims to bring the features of blockchain to the world of online bridge.
Fivefold Increase in Players in 2020
Online bridge was already popular among the millions of bridge players worldwide. However, since the coronavirus pandemic has restricted social opportunities, online bridge has proliferated to the point where the American Contract Bridge League reported it had seen a fivefold increase in usage by June 2020. For the benefit of the uninitiated, bridge is sometimes referred to as the “chess of card games” due to its complexity and sophisticated gameplay.
However, online bridge players are getting a raw deal as two large operators currently dominate the space. With a lack of competition to challenge the sector, it’s now a closed system that isn’t optimized for competitive gameplay and doesn’t support white label solutions.
Now, Jelurida aims to shake things up in collaboration with the Bridge Online Academy – experts in bridge online training. The Swiss blockchain firm is providing the platform and technical know-how, while the Bridge Online Academy brings the know-how of the trick-taking card game and is helping Jelurida build its network in the world of bridge.
Bridge Champ leverages the benefits of blockchain, introducing an in-game economy for competition registration and organization. Players will be able to “mine” bridge tokens based on “proof of play” and their achievements record, which is also stored securely on the Ignis blockchain. Gamers will also benefit from proven randomization and cheat prevention.
According to statistics aggregated by FunBridge, over two-thirds of bridge players also play other games. This could bode well for Jelurida, which plans to develop an ecosystem around game tokens that can be used on other platforms.
Ardor – An Expanding Footprint in Gaming
It’s not the first time Ardor has been used for games and gamifying activities. The platform also hosts Triffic, an augmented reality app that gamifies movement by rewarding users for moving around. Like the vastly popular Pokemon Go, which went viral a few years back, users can hunt for “beacons” on the Triffic app, which nets them even more rewards. The platform is ad-based, enabling advertisers to target their audiences based on location.
The gaming industry is already huge, with an estimated 2.7 billion gamers worldwide. However, the pandemic is spurring unprecedented further growth. Research from Deloitte shows that 34% of millennial US consumers confirmed they had tried a new gaming activity during the coronavirus pandemic, and the firm believes there’s every chance that game operators can continue to engage these new users even once the pandemic ends. This could spell good news for those blockchain firms that are making inroads to the massive global gaming sector.
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