The annual Gen Con tabletop gaming convention in Indianapolis already is the largest event of its kind, drawing more than 56,000 attendees across a four-day opening this year.
But 2014 was different for a select few of those who made it to Indy, thanks to specialized social media company Oomba.
In the first public tournament run using Oomba’s Tournament Management System™, 2,950 Gen Con attendees beat the world record for largest Rock, Paper, Scissors tournament, with Guinness World Records on-site to officially verify the result live.
To break the previous record - which had stood at 2,826 - Oomba dispatched 25 of its co-founders to Gen Con with iPads and Androids running the Oomba app. Each representative had a personal mission to sign up more than 100 players, using the record attempt as a means of helping new players create an Oomba account and join the tournament, which was being managed on the cloud using Oomba’s software.
Players were matched in best two of three contests, with winners being sent to a specialized two-story booth in Tournament Hall, where rounds 3 through 12 of the competition were streamed live online via OombaTV. Each player received increasingly valuable prizes for how far they advanced. Tournament champion Walter Wills won the grand prize of an Apple MacBook Pro etched with the Oomba, Gen Con, and GWR logos.
"Being a part of all this, and helping Oomba and all the participants here break the world record was a blast," Wills said. "The event was a lot of fun, and it is obvious that Oomba understands the huge demand for new ways to run large tournaments like this one. It was cool to be part of their launch, but even better that I won."
The allure of the record attempt attracted several hobby game celebrities to participate, including Bob and Angus, the “spokes-sheep” of Mayfair Games' Settlers of Catan; and Cory Jones, creator of Hex.
It also, thanks to the venue of the attempt, attracted a number of costumed players matching up and representing their favourite games. Going hand-in-hand with the unique culture, participants actually played the permissible RPS variation Rock, paper, scissors, lizard, Spock.
"I could not be happier about this amazing result, and am thankful to everyone who was a part of this huge undertaking," said Michael Williams, CEO and founder of Oomba, Inc. "Having Oomba’s first-ever tournament be a world record-setting one is something we will never forget. It was a lot of work, but how cool is that?"
Has Oomba's attempt inspired you to use a product or service for a record challenge of your own? Make sure to contact the Guinness World Records events management team with your organization's details.
Related Articles
