For Immediate Release, 5/3/2000

Mini-MindRover(TM) Robot Game

Acton, MA: Ask Kim Quirk, CEO of CogniToy, what their biggest problem is with their game MindRover, and she'll tell you straight out -- getting people to try it. Both the game and the company are getting rave reviews, but because CogniToy is not using traditional distribution channels, it can be very difficult to get people to try it. "MindRover is not available in retail stores," she says, "and some people have a hard time giving a credit card online to a company they've never heard of."

So in an attempt to get the word out and broaden the appeal of the game, CogniToy went back to the drawing board to do what they do best - make games. They've just announced the release of Mini-Mindrover, a free web-based Java game that is available at the CogniToy web site.

Kent Quirk, Chief Technical Officer at CogniToy and the designer of both MindRover and Mini-Mindrover, wanted Mini-MindRover to give people a taste of the game's style of play. "We wanted to give people the experience of building a smart robot, but in a way that could make them successful in only a couple of minutes. I really think we've succeeded."

In both versions of the game, users wire up intelligent robots to compete against the clock or other robots. The full version of MindRover allows users to choose the chassis type and components, build the robots, wire them, and then provides a variety of 3D scenarios for competition. Mini-MindRover starts with a predesigned robotic race car and lets the player program its components to race around one of three different race tracks in a top-down view. Future levels might include more race tracks, sports or battle competitions modeled after some of those found in MindRover.

Right now, players of Mini-MindRover can get $10 off the price of the full game just for trying it out. The game can be played at CogniToy's website:

https://cognitoy.com/minimindrover

CogniToy is seeking additional sites to host the applet to increase awareness of this new genre of game. For more information, to download a demo of the full game or to buy the full version of MindRover visit the CogniToy website:

https://cognitoy.com