Biba Ventures lauded in TIME Magazine's "Best innovations of 2019"

Developer of free mobile playground games ready to accelerate growth in 2020

VANCOUVER, Jan. 29, 2020 /CNW/ - Biba, Ventures (Biba), the developer behind the world's only smart playground system, has capped an impressive year of growth with a ringing endorsement from iconic TIME magazine. The world's most widely read weekly news magazine heralded Biba as one of 100 groundbreaking 2019 innovations that are changing the way we live, work and play. This builds on Biba's recognition earlier in the year as one of Fast Company magazine's Most Innovative Companies.

"2019 has been a real David and Goliath story for a growing Vancouver startup like ours, and it proves that big ideas can still make real change in the world," said Biba CEO Matt Toner. "Many of our peers in the gaming industry have expressed enthusiasm for our smart playground system. Having dedicated so much time, energy and ingenuity to sedentary video games, it's inspiring to see a company using those same techniques to get kids off the couch and back outside for the physical, healthy and imaginative play their parents know they need."

To assemble its Best Inventions list, TIME solicited nominations from its editors and correspondents around the world, as well as through an online application process. The editorial staff at TIME then considered factors ranging from originality and creativity to ambition and product effectiveness in narrowing the field and finalizing the list. TIME's endorsement is particularly exciting given that past "Best Invention" lists have included dozens of enormous commercial success stories, ranging from the iPhone and the Tesla Roadster 100 to Kickstarter and Casper mattresses.

Described as a company that is "making the world better, smarter and even a bit more fun," Biba Playground Games is working "to turn screen time into quality time spent outside," writes Matthew Gault.

Biba's smart playground system, which transforms any playground into a smart playground via the smartphone already found in every parent's pocketbook or purse, can be found at more than 4,500 sites worldwide, with millions of healthy minutes already played. The games are based on iconic family-friendly franchises like the Teletubbies and Hotel Transylvania, and are designed to be co-played by the entire family: parents, kids and other caregivers. The system then turns gameplay into actionable data municipalities can use to gain valuable insights into how playgrounds are used on a day-to-day basis. "Biba is continuing to integrate our system with playgrounds around the world as we aggressively expand our offerings with new partnerships," Toner added.

About Biba

Biba Ventures (Biba) was founded in 2014 and initially financed by a grant from the Canada Media Fund and a few noteworthy game industry angels, including Greg Zeschuk, Co-founder of BioWare, and Jason Kapalka, Co-founder of PopCap. Since then, the team has released a series of free-and-fun smart playground games that work with any playground, and are optimized for 4500+ sites worldwide. In addition to earning several awards and nominations in 2019, Biba released its first white paper on the data science of playgrounds.

For more information or to find a Biba smart playground near you, visit www.playbiba.com.

Media contact:
Karli Leitl
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SOURCE Biba