Our public Prediction Market spin-off CROWDPARK is now in its beta phase! CROWDPARK is backed by a single-digit million Euro Series A financing of international Venture Capital firm Earlybird. While CROWDPARK uses Prediction Market algorithms its primary goal is not forecasting but being a social game – hence the tag line The Social Forecasting Game.
The idea is much closer to Social Gaming concepts, where players compete against each other, than to forecasting. In PMs players compete with each other as well but the forecast design of CROWDPARK is markedly different – not only visually – from that of PMs, e.g. a market stays open up until the underlying event is public knowledge. The goal of such a design is to engage players in playing against each other while the event is transpiring. The video below shows how this triggers much more activity from players than a market which closes right before the event.
The video shows how the forecast for a popular German game show develops over time. The show is about two candidates who compete in a series of trials and games against each other for a grand final prize. In on of the trials the blue candidate has an accident and which immediately triggers activity on the corresponding CROWDPARK market. The accident leaves the blue candidate with a handicap but as he recovers and even wins some of the subsequent challenges in other games (marked with white circles on the blue line) this triggers even more activity on CROWDPARK. Eventually the blue player is on a loosing track (last white circle) and CROWDPARK players also start loosing confidence in him.
As a forecast this market would not be very useful, but as a game it is much more interesting as demonstrated by the activity on CROWDPARK.
Currently, CROWDPARK is only available in German but soon the game will launch internationally together with the official launch of CROWDPARK. If you like CROWDPARK you can become a fan Facebook.
