3. Wildlife Refuge on Facebook

This unique offering by Sony Online Entertainment focuses on rare animals set in a wildlife reserve. Wildlife Refuge is a fusion of an animal simulation, treasure hunting and farming game.It blends all these features to help promote a greater awareness of the African wilderness. Players need to explore the wild to find injured animals, prepare an ecosystem to help rehabilitate these injured creatures and ensure the animals’ survival. Farming is also encouraged for sustainability of the environment. An animal almanac is available to introduce players to these endangered species and there’s a special “Charity” button that brings up information of the charities supported by this app. There are more than 58,000 active users playing this game on Facebook and it supports the Cheetah Conservation Fund and Cheetah Kids among others.

2. Foursquare on iPhone, Blackberry, Android and online

This location-based mobile application started off in New York City but has now gathered more than 5 million users worldwide. It brings the concept of gaming into the real world by allowing users to “check-in” to physical locations around the world. As users “check-in” at different locations, they collect badges or become “mayors” of locations most frequently checked in for bragging rights among your friends. Foursquare ties up with retailers to provide location based advertisements and discounts when users check in near partner shops, or special badges for checking into locations of its partners. This app also supports the community and healthy living by creating special badges to support various causes like (Red)™ for World AIDS Day, Healthy Fox for HealthMonth and Healthy Eater to promote healthy eating when checking in at farmers’ markets and more.

1. Raise the Village on iPhone and iPad

This free game by New Charity Era goes beyond a regular city building game and incorporates social good into its game. Raise the Village players learn how to virtually create an African village and ensure its sustainability via farming and simple manufacturing as well. Goods bought in the game are not beautifully drawn, special-themed goods to decorate the village but essentials like mosquito nets, school scholarships for the children and so on. While the player base is nowhere near the likes of the Facebook apps featured above, what differentiates this game from the rest is its reality-based gaming. New Charity Era founders actually travelled to Uganda to find partnering villages to work with. Items bought within your virtual village is replicated physically in the partner village of Kapir Atiira in Uganda. Players can view actual photos and read about frequent updates of the developments there. This gives players instant gratification that their donations and efforts have helped contributed to the well-being of another real world community.

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