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City Games

We turn small towns into interactive games that highlight local gems, drive discovery, and support small businesses.
citygames.co
June 5×5 Night at Start Garden
Voting Closes:

June 16, 2025 11:59 pm

About this idea
City Games is a platform that turns real towns into interactive games - where players complete fun, self-guided challenges to earn points, badges, and prizes. Over the past two short seasons in Grand Rapids, we’ve had hundreds of players engaging with the city - visiting parks, murals, local shops, events, and more. Now we’re launching Play My Town, a simplified and scalable version of City Games, designed specifically for small towns. Each town gets its own branded game with 8–15 local sponsors, each featured through creative in-game challenges that drive foot traffic and promote everything great about that community. The platform is built to scale: templated gameplay, syndicated content, and a repeatable launch process that makes it easy to deploy across dozens of towns. Sponsors pay a monthly fee to be included, and residents get a fun, rewarding way to connect with their community.
Impact
Play My Town revitalizes small-town marketing by turning it into a game. Instead of relying on passive ads, local businesses become part of something interactive, measurable, and community-driven. For businesses: More foot traffic, more engagement, and stronger loyalty For players: A sense of pride and connection with their town For towns: An affordable, scalable tool for economic development and local momentum We’re not just helping small businesses get seen - we’re helping entire communities rediscover what makes them special.
What I'll do with $5,000
We’ll use the $5,000 to launch our first two Play My Town pilot towns - likely Holland and Rockford - and generate early traction with both players and local sponsors. Half of the grant will go toward promotion and advertising to acquire our first 100+ players per town and recruit local business sponsors. This includes targeted social media ads, local press outreach, and community-based marketing to build excitement and visibility. The other half will fund the infrastructure and game buildout, including: Custom branding and content creation for each town Sales and marketing materials for sponsor outreach and engagement Sponsor onboarding tools and digital assets for player participation Extension of our platform software license to support the pilots and extend our "runway". These pilot towns will generate initial revenue, validate our sponsorship model, and serve as real-world case studies for expansion. The grant gives us everything we need to move from concept to traction - and bring Play My Town to small communities across the state.
Quick Bio
I’m Toby Shaver, founder of City Games, GR local and dad of 2. I’ve spent over 30 years in local marketing and community-based entertainment, including growing a live trivia company to 70 locations.
Links
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