Mind Candy Buys Online Kids Game Tutpup

Mind Candy Inc., a London-based developer of online games for kids, has acquired Tutpup, a site that allows kids from around the world to play each other in multi-player math and spelling challenges. Tutpup had been developed by Cominded Ltd., a firm owned by Bebo co-founder Paul Birch. No financial terms were disclosed. Mind Candy has raised over $10 million in VC funding from Accel Partners and Index Ventures.

 

PRESS RELEASE

Mind Candy (developers of the online game for kids, Moshi Monsters) today announced that they have acquired Tutpup for an undisclosed sum.

 

Tutpup was developed by Cominded Ltd, a London based firm owned by Paul Birch (co-founder of Bebo). The site allows kids from around the world to play each other in multi-player maths and spelling challenges. The game has been growing rapidly through word-of-mouth and currently has over 350,000 active players worldwide.

 

CEO of Mind Candy, Michael Smith, commented: “We’ve been very impressed with the site that Paul Birch and his team built, and are delighted with this acquisition. We strongly believe that kids learn best when having fun, and the global endorsements from teachers about Tutpup confirm this. Introducing Tutpup’s multi-player puzzles into the world of Moshi Monsters will make the site even more compelling for the thousands that play Moshi Monsters daily.”

 

Moshi Monsters is a world of adoptable pet monsters, an exciting cross between a virtual pet, social network and educational puzzle games site for kids. Moshi Monsters is free to play, allowing kids to adopt their own pet monster and play games online with millions of other children across the world. Mind Candy will be working with Tutpup to integrate its suite of multi-player puzzles into Moshi Monsters adding increased gameplay functionality into the already popular children’s site.

 

Since launch over 1 million monsters have been adopted and 8 million friendships made by players. The site successfully mixes free to play puzzles with an educational twist that appeal to both kids and their parents. The puzzles test a variety of skills including basic maths, spatial awareness, logic, counting, anagrams and vocabulary. Since launch over 23 million puzzles have been played, adding Tutpup’s portfolio of multi-player puzzles will further increase the exciting array of games already available for free to players across the world.

 

Moshi Monsters is free to play allowing children to create their virtual pet and play online with millions of other players across the world. Moshi membership is also available allowing players for a low monthly fee to unlock additional in-game content, further personalise their pet monster and collect rare pet Moshlings.

 

To create your free Moshi Monster and enter a world of fun and puzzles visitwww.moshimonsters.com

 

For artwork & press materials relating to this press release visithttp://www.moshimonsters.com/artassets

 

ABOUT MIND CANDY

 

Mind Candy was established in 2004 byCEO Michael Smith, UK based entrepreneur who previously founded Firebox.com and Second Chance Tuesday. He currently runs Mind Candy, a social gaming company that created the global treasure hunt Perplex City and more recently launched the highly successful children’s social gaming site Moshi Monsters. For more information on Mind Candy visitwww.mindcandy.com

 

ABOUT MOSHI MONSTERS

 

Moshi Monsters is a world of adoptable pet monsters, an exciting cross between a virtual pet, social network and educational puzzle games site for kids. The puzzles test a variety of skills including basic maths, spatial awareness, logic, counting, anagrams and vocabulary.Over 1 million monsters have been adopted at the site to date, 8m friendships made, and over 23m puzzle sessions played! For more information on Moshi Monsters visitwww.moshimonsters.com