Akoha: A Social Interaction Game That Beats Smoking

My predilection for the occasional cigarette has more to do with the rules of engagement than any kind of nicotine craving. Mom, I know you’re rolling your eyes and muttering, “you have an answer for everything”, but hear me out. I’m an extremely gregarious person – I carry on chatting with strangers at bus stops, in coffee shops, and even in a telephone booth, if the mood strikes – and more often than not, I freak people out. Over time, I’ve learned that you can’t pull a conversation out of nowhere just because you feel like it, you have to have a pretext for talking. The weather or “I like your shirt” rarely lasts for more than a few seconds so you have to get creative. That’s where cigarettes come in handy. A cigarette provides at least a fifteen minute, one-on-one platform of conviviality with a complete stranger. They’re relaxed and they’ll tell you basically anything. And if you bum them a cigarette, this act of kindness practically makes you their best friend.

I have yet to find anything as easy and accessible as the cigarette to function as my simple “ploy to catch the boy” or to beg off the bouncer into letting me backstage – until today. I’m hereby giving up smoking for the online/real world social interaction game, Akoha. Like its lovable word cousin, Ashoka (no actual affiliation), Akoha is committed to spreading good in the world, but in an even cooler format – as a game! Here’s how it works:

Someone gives you an Akoha card that prescribes a mission of kindness: “Buy a coffee for someone else” “Donate an hour of your time” “Give someone a book” etc. They probably gave you the card by completing their own mission – perhaps it was “give up your place in line” while they were at the grocery store. It is now your responsibility to complete your own mission. You can take the Akoha card, log online, enter its barcode, and see just how many hands your particular Akoha card has traveled through to reach you. As an Akoha member, you can also earn karma points, browse missions, and compete with others. Once you successfully complete a certain number of missions, you can even create your own missions for others to play.

Excuse my French, but this game is effin’ amazing! It’s teaching people how to promote kindness! Finally, there is a new, fresh platform to totally make someone’s day and a way to start an engaging conversation that doesn’t involve handing over a stinking cancer stick. Sign me up!

Currently, Akoha is in the process of working out the game’s kinks before unveiling it to the general public. It is still a private beta game, which means that you can only sign up if someone gives you a card or you buy a deck. (Dear Destiny: I’m waiting…) A few of the features Akoha gurus are hoping to develop include an iphone application that allows you to scan the barcode of your Akoha card, a virtual currency that, once accumulated, can lead to cool prizes from social sponsors, and themed Akoha decks that cater to specific causes such as the environment or human rights.

Technology has often been bashed for taking us away from real, human connection, but the Akoha social reality game has created the perfect mix of human contact and technological tracking in order to bring it back. That’s why Social Earth is so excited for it’s launch this year. And so is my mother, for that matter. Now I can finally give up smoking.

• Akoha is the world’s first social reality game where you can earn points by playing real world missions with your friends. Come play it forward.
• Organization Type: Non-Profit
• Website: https://akoha.com/
• Founder(s): Alex Eberts & Austin Hill
• Founded: 2009
• Location: Montreal, Canada
• See complete company list here