Family Village: A Game and to Explore Family Roots

• October is National Family History Month
• Free Facebook Game by Funium Makes Family History an Adventure
• An Entertaining Way to Access Serious, Detailed Background About One’s Ancestors

SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--To many, genealogy research stirs visions of dusty old records and dustier ancestors. But this Family History Month, Funium has the cure for even the most research-challenged: Family Village.

“Family Village is uniquely placed as the first social game with real-world value”

Family Village is a free game for all Facebook users that helps players navigate their family trees – all while building a virtual community reflecting the historical period in which each of their ancestors lived.

The Facebook game allows players to visit the times and places of grandparents going back as many generations as can be found. Each ancestor is represented by an avatar, which can be digitally adorned with clothing typical of the period they lived in. Those avatars exist in villages or cities true to their times, where other members of players’ current, earthbound family can collaborate in filling in details and adding new names and histories.

“Family Village is uniquely placed as the first social game with real-world value,” said Funium CEO Jeff Wells. “The longer it is played, the more valuable it becomes to the player as the possibilities grow with each new revelation for deeper discoveries about family members, both known and previously unknown.”

A typical gaming session with Family Village may find the player bringing immigrant ancestors to new lands and building their homes, businesses and families. Family Village fleshes out these past relatives’ lives with the aid of newspaper articles, census records and other historical archives.

Through the gaming platform, similar in function to such popular Facebook diversions as Farmville, players also have portals to prime online genealogy resources and historical documents, an online family history museum to store newly discovered records, and save recollections and photos.

While putting family historical research into a format anyone, from young to old, can enjoy, Funium takes second place to no company in its genealogical expertise. The company's founders know the business of finding one's roots, having been involved with such traditional genealogy leaders as Ancestry.com, GeneTree and the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation. In August, Funium added a partnership with the National Genealogical Society that will allow Family Village access to NGS resources and research aids.

Want to give it a try? To play Family Village, visit http://familyvillagegame.com.

About Funium

Funium is an emerging leader in the creation of Facebook games with social value that produce real-world, useful content. Funium’s flagship game, Family Village, is the first Facebook game that enables players to explore their own family tree while building a virtual, online community. Through strategic partners, the game enables players to connect with billions of family history records using the Facebook platform. For more information on Family Village, visit www.familyvillagegame.com.