Kraft Foods Group’s Crystal Light Liquid and
social game services provider Zynga have partnered to host “the world’s largest Words With Friends game” on May 8, from 8 to 11 p.m. EST.
The event will mark the
first time that fans in all U.S. states can all play the game together online in real-time (via computer, smartphone or tablet), and the first time players will earn chances to win real-world
prizes.
An eight-story-high game board will be projected on the front of New York City’s The Maritime Hotel (363 W. 16th St.) and live-streamed online through the Words
With Friends Facebook application.
Consumers 18 and older can participate in the live game by visiting the Words With Friends Facebook page during the specified playing hours and clicking on the “Crystal Light Liquid Play Now” tab.
There will
be two teams, and multiple rounds. All players can play for both teams (whether playing live at the game board location or online), and will receive the same seven-letter tiles as the rest of their
team. Each player will have two minutes to create his/her best word, and one randomly chosen word will be projected on the giant projected game board.
Submitting a word within any
given round triggers a chance to enter a sweepstakes with a grand prize of a trip for two to one of six luxury waterfront destinations (including $1,000 in spending money for the winner, and an
activity geared to the specific destination, like surfing lessons or a whale-watching cruise).
The trips are themed to Crystal Light Liquid’s six new flavors: Strawberry
Lemonade (Laguna Beach), Blueberry Raspberry (Nantucket), Iced Tea (Cloister Sea Island), Pomtini (the Hamptons), Mango Passionfruit (Miami) and Peach Bellini (Santa Barbara). In addition, 10 first
prizes (mini tablets) will be awarded.
Those who attend the event in New York are also being promised “swag” from Crystal Light Liquid and Zynga.
The game, according to the hosts, will also mark the first use of a social extension (an HTML 5-based Words With Friends Facebook Challenge mode) to create a large, synchronous event; the
first time that more than two players can participate in the same game at the same time on teams, where words are being chosen in real-time from the community; and the first time users are being
offered a Words With Friends puzzle within their games to win more prizes. The hosts also hope to set a record for the world’s largest number of participants in a single game.
In addition, the promotion is being extended with a series of mini games, tied to trips sweeps, for six days after the initial May 8 mega-game.
On each of those
days, the beverage brand and Zynga will host mini games within the existing Words With Friends game platform, offering adult U.S. residents multiple chances to win one of the Crystal Light Liquid
flavor-themed trips each day. The more words played, the more chances a player has to win that day’s vacation experience.