There aren’t many science quizzes out there, and even fewer of them are:

a) fun
b) scientific

But by joining forces with Profile Books and New Scientist, we think we can make a game that’s really special – something that’s a lot of fun, that helps you learn some very neat science facts, and also harnesses everyone’s competitive spirit. The Last Word Challenge will be out in September, shortly before the book, so watch this space for more information!

Read the announcement on Profile Books’ site, and download the press release (PDF).

Bryan Hill was formerly Senior Vice President of video company Fifty Lessons and prior to that, spent nine years in various senior positions at visual imagery giant Getty Images.

Adrian Hon, Founder and Chief Creative Officer at Six to Start said, ”Previously, we split the CEO role across three of us in the company but eventually we realised this wasn’t tenable. We spent over six months to find the right person – someone with real senior management experience, a great background in digital and IP, and a good understanding of the creative process. In Bryan Hill, we found that person.”

Bryan Hill said, “Six to Start has already gained critical and client acclaim for the work they’ve produced for companies like Channel 4, Wired magazine, and the BBC.  They have a great reputation in their sector; I’m looking forward to taking the company to the next level in its growth and to the development of our own IP. It’s an exciting time to be working in this area. Companies are increasingly trying to figure out new effective ways of building and engaging online communities, whether they are on free to air platforms or behind the paywall. Online social gaming is becoming an increasingly important tool in the marketing mix and we look forward to continuing to be at the forefront of its development and use.

About Six to Start

Six to Start is an award-winning online games company, specialising in browser-based social games. We’ve worked with clients including the BBC, Channel 4, Penguin, Warner Music, the National Maritime Museum, and Disney, to design, build and run online games. Our games have social interaction built-in, with players sharing their achievements and experiences with friends via Facebook and Twitter.

Contact us at hello@sixtostart.com!

After three years of helping to build the company, Dan is fulfilling a long-held wish to move to the U.S. He has taken up a position with Wieden + Kennedy based in London and aims to relocate to Portland to take on a greater role in W+K’s global network.

Fellow co-founder and brother of Dan, Adrian Hon said, “I totally understand my brother’s decision, and wish him all the best at W+K. He’s been an invaluable part of Six to Start since we founded the company, working on some of our top projects including Misfits for E4, and Ununited Eurasia for Muse, and I’m sure he’ll do very well in the US.”

Dan Hon said “It’s been a difficult decision moving on from Six to Start but I’m incredibly happy with the company that Adrian and I have built together. It’s brilliantly placed for even greater success with its expansion plans, and I wish Adrian and the team all the best for the future.”

• Broadcast Digital Awards 2010: Best Multiplatform Project
• Association of Online Publishers/AOP: Cross-Media Project

We’ve teamed up with our friends at Faber and Faber to launch Visit Grubtown, a new website from Grubtown’s Tourist Board, that features six Grubtown locations and a special new Grubtown Story: Grubtown and the Golden Pineapple.

But that’s not all: we’ve also built The Grubtown Daily Herald, a fun way to involve fans in the Grubtown universe by submitting news articles, restaurant and film reviews. We’re even teaming up with our friends at Newspaper Club to give children the fantastic chance of having their work published in a limited-edition 16-page printed edition of the Grubtown Daily Herald, gathering the best stories from the five weeks, as selected by Philip Ardagh.

This isn’t Smokescreen’s first award either, having won the Best Game category at SXSW 2010 – so this proves that Smokescreen is both fun and educational!

7pm - Arrive, grab a drink and a seat

7:30pm - Show and Tell

8:30pm - Very important drinking and networking time

10pm - Hometime

Go check your evening here and see you soon!

“Six to Start is pioneering the art of real-time multi-platform digital tales that mix time and space across the internet.”

Dan has had the opportunity to share the company’s inspiration and vision, especially concerning the “We Tell Stories” Project:

“The idea [for WTS] was inspired by the “emerging field of alternate reality games (ARG) or cross-platform entertainment; this intersection where you have creativity and technology”.

And he says the company’s ambition is “to take devices like mobile phones and transport people into a fantastical, magical world that is playful, has great game design and story-telling”.

“It was obvious to E4 that they should do something online,” says chief creative, Adrian Hon. “It’s a young audience – the Skins audience – and a genre show. If you want to engage with these people and get them excited, you have to do it online. We worked with E4 to figure out the sort of community and experience that would really get people engaged, and to get fans of the show doing more stuff.

“The core of it was a website where you could get exclusive content and play games related to that week’s episode. The element that people were really interested in was the social stuff where we tweeted as the characters both during the show and between shows. Simon had a Facebook feed where he put up content – it was the first time a UK broadcaster had done that.”

He has then hinted at some issues regarding social viewing, interactivity and web functionality:

“If I was the BBC I’d think it was really smart to start doing enhanced iPlayer shows, so you have your window showing video from the programme, then you’ve got other stuff going on around it.

“The big problem is keeping up with all this. Imagine if you’re watching Lost and you have to keep up with one guy’s Facebook and someone else’s twitter feed – it’s too much of an effort. It needs to be, push one button and it happens. I wouldn’t be surprised if something like that came out of the US soon, something for young adults like MTV or Nickleodean. That would be a smart move – something truly, truly cross-media …”

Full article is available here