National Genealogical Society Partners with Family Village Facebook Game to Help Players Build Family Tree

Players of Free Family History Facebook Game Now Have Access to a NGS Custom Tutorial

BIRMINGHAM, AL (30 August 2012) – Funium and the National Genealogical Society (NGS) today announced a partnership that will allow players of Family Village, Funium’s popular Facebook game, to further explore their family trees by accessing a number of NGS resources and research aids. The collaboration was announced at the Federation of Genealogical Societies 2012 Conference in Birmingham, Alabama.

In coordination with the announcement, NGS will launch a separate landing page on their website tailored entirely to Family Village players. Featuring a customized step-by-step guide complete with instructional videos, the page grants Family Village users free access to materials typically reserved for NGS members, including ancestor charts and family group sheets. Players will be guided on how to collect more information about their relatives and ancestors, complementing their progress in Family Village.

“We are thrilled to join forces with Funium,” said Jordan Jones, president-elect of NGS. “Introducing the Family Village audience to NGS’s resources aligns with our mission to help serve and grow the genealogical community. We are excited to be able to share our knowledge about family history with the Family Village players.”

On August 21, Funium officially opened Family Village to all Facebook users. In gameplay, players foster their own personalized virtual community by building businesses, houses, immigrating family members, and assigning jobs. Family Village encourages players to build a documented family tree and matches that data with relevant real-world documents about the users’ living and deceased relatives, including newspaper articles, census records, and other documents.

“This partnership significantly bolsters the real-world value of our game,” said Jeff Wells, CEO of Funium. “We created Family Village as a way to promote interest in family history with the end goal of players starting their own genealogical journey. With NGS on board, our players have some additional resources in their arsenal to further develop their family tree.”

To visit the NGS Family Village page, visit www.ngsgenealogy.org/fv. To play Family Village, visit http://familyvillagegame.com.

About National Genealogical Society

Founded in 1903, the National Genealogical Society is dedicated to genealogy education, high research standards, and the preservation of genealogical records. The Arlington, Virginia-based nonprofit is the premier national society for everyone, from the beginner to the most advanced family historian, seeking excellence in publications, educational offerings, research guidance, and opportunities to interact with other genealogists.

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.

Contacts

NGS Board of Directors

Jordan Jones

919-809-9045

[email protected]

Funium Public Relations
Alex Koritz

801-461-9795

[email protected]

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