YIX – The First GIF Game And The Most Fun You’ll Have With Friends All Day!

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YIX is a new mobile game where friends compete on the funniest GIF responses to a wide range of phrases and questions. The idea for YIX was born when a group of friends wanted to create something fun that allowed people to be expressive using animated GIFs. To find out more about YIX and its upcoming features, we recently chatted with Benjamin Diggles, co-founder and marketing director at YIX:

Q: YIX breaks mobile gaming ground in a new game format, how would you describe YIX? 

A: YIX is a mobile game, similar to card games like Cards Against Humanity or Apples to Apples, but using GIFs as a response instead of a phrase. The game is social so you can play with your friends and also allows for an in-person Party Play mode. Interestingly, it’s the first GIF Game too.

Q: Where did you get the idea for the game?

A: We love GIFs (who doesn’t?) and were working on a different idea to build visual mix tapes using GIFs and music. We hit a few roadblocks during early stage prototypes. Someone on the team mentioned adding some game mechanics to it and very quickly the idea evolved into a mobile game and the format changed. We were inspired by popular card games like Cards Against Humanity and wanted to build a game we wanted to play. So really, we built it so we could play it.

YIX Founders: Jostin, Tiffany, Jenny, Jeremy, Benjamin and Jasenka

Q: You are currently working on patents for technologies that were developed in the process of building the game, tell us more about it?

A: There are only a few things we can say right now, but we found ways to optimize the GIF performance as well as a new way to share analytics reports with our sponsors.

Q: Is it possible for businesses to use it?

A: We have an advertising model where our ad units are GIFs and woven into the gameplay. Sponsor GIFs show up with each ‘hand of GIFs’ given to players during game play. Players can use the GIFs as their response, favorite them without using up a favorite slot and share them with friends. We’re also exploring sponsored phrases, GIF packs, and custom sounds.

We are building a unique and easy way for sponsors to see at-a-glance how their content is performing in the game. We are excited to use sponsored content in a way that’s beneficial for both players and sponsors without detracting from the gameplay.

Q: What can YIX players expect in next six months?

A: So much! We have so many new features we will be adding soon, including new ways to log in, and an improved Party Play experience. Beyond that, we are looking at ways to match players up in what we’re calling internally “Stranger Danger” so you can play with other YIX players that you aren’t friends with, an Android version and more. We will also see how players are using the game and will add features based on their feedback and usage.