PlaySap beta has officially launched on the Play Store, and we are looking to spread the word as much as possible!
This new app is designed to completely eliminate the tedious time spent waiting in lines to sign up for events, allowing you to do so remotely from your phone.
It's got really simple functionality - you sign up for PlaySap and it will automatically give you a list of stores in your area that are using the app. When you click on a specific store, its listed events will drop down and you can simple press the "join event" button on your phone, and you're in!
It connects directly to your phone's GPS, so if you are on vacation in an unfamiliar city, it will show you a list of all the stores in your area that are running events, their distance from your current location, and their start times and entry fees.
Grab some food, show up when your phone buzzes to let you know that the event is firing, and find your seat with no hassle.
This is beneficial for players, obviously, as there is less annoyance with waiting in lines (All Magic events start 15 minutes late, don't they?), but it is also highly beneficial for stores who are having valuable register space taken up by guys who want to sign up for FNM.
I have seen people with merchandise just leave a line that was too long, and 70% of that line was taken up by people signing up for events.
Not only that, PlaySap prints a neat, orderly list of everyone in the event that can easily be entered into WER, so there's no more deciphering someone's handwriting or trying to track them down to find out their DCI number.
PlaySap also keeps a list of everyone who is currently signed up, if they have paid or not, and what their DCI numbers are for easy reference.
Once the event is good to go, the TO simply clicks the "Fire" button on the store's PlaySap interface, and everyone who has signed up will receive a phone buzz letting them know their event is firing and to get out of the bathroom immediately!
This is just the floor of what PlaySap can and will be used for. As the app is currently still in beta, we are still working on many functionalities like: Interfacing directly with WER so pairings don't even need to be entered by hand, storing *all* store credit so that the store does not need a separate system with which do to that, and more!
Currently PlaySap is Android only, but an Iphone version *will* be available down the line. Also, as the app is currently in beta, the ability to pay for these events through the app is currently not live. This is the first piece of functionality that we are going to implement as it is crucial for the app to work absolutely smoothly, but PlaySap is being programmed by one hardworking gentleman who has to figure all this stuff out for himself, and this one is rather tricky. For the moment, stores will most likely be best off taking entry fees out of entrants' Store Credit, or letting them pay a certain amount upfront to be used for PlaySap events.
For players, all you need is the app. For stores, the website portion will most likely be more useful, but everything can be run from the app itself. The web portion is currently slightly out of date, but we are getting that back up to speed Play-errr, ASAP!
A kickstarter for this app is going to be posted later this week, so keep an eye out and if this gets enough traction I may make a followup post when it is live.
If this sounds like something you would want to use, let your LGS know about it! If this sounds like an amazing idea to you, don't stop bugging them about it! The biggest and easiest way that PlaySap will be able to grow enough to encompass a sufficient amount of players and stores is if people push for this to become the new industry standard. The Kickstarter will have a video detailing the functionality in more detail, so feel free to direct store owners and your friends to that when it is live!
This new app is designed to completely eliminate the tedious time spent waiting in lines to sign up for events, allowing you to do so remotely from your phone.
It's got really simple functionality - you sign up for PlaySap and it will automatically give you a list of stores in your area that are using the app. When you click on a specific store, its listed events will drop down and you can simple press the "join event" button on your phone, and you're in!
It connects directly to your phone's GPS, so if you are on vacation in an unfamiliar city, it will show you a list of all the stores in your area that are running events, their distance from your current location, and their start times and entry fees.
Grab some food, show up when your phone buzzes to let you know that the event is firing, and find your seat with no hassle.
This is beneficial for players, obviously, as there is less annoyance with waiting in lines (All Magic events start 15 minutes late, don't they?), but it is also highly beneficial for stores who are having valuable register space taken up by guys who want to sign up for FNM.
I have seen people with merchandise just leave a line that was too long, and 70% of that line was taken up by people signing up for events.
Not only that, PlaySap prints a neat, orderly list of everyone in the event that can easily be entered into WER, so there's no more deciphering someone's handwriting or trying to track them down to find out their DCI number.
PlaySap also keeps a list of everyone who is currently signed up, if they have paid or not, and what their DCI numbers are for easy reference.
Once the event is good to go, the TO simply clicks the "Fire" button on the store's PlaySap interface, and everyone who has signed up will receive a phone buzz letting them know their event is firing and to get out of the bathroom immediately!
This is just the floor of what PlaySap can and will be used for. As the app is currently still in beta, we are still working on many functionalities like: Interfacing directly with WER so pairings don't even need to be entered by hand, storing *all* store credit so that the store does not need a separate system with which do to that, and more!
Currently PlaySap is Android only, but an Iphone version *will* be available down the line. Also, as the app is currently in beta, the ability to pay for these events through the app is currently not live. This is the first piece of functionality that we are going to implement as it is crucial for the app to work absolutely smoothly, but PlaySap is being programmed by one hardworking gentleman who has to figure all this stuff out for himself, and this one is rather tricky. For the moment, stores will most likely be best off taking entry fees out of entrants' Store Credit, or letting them pay a certain amount upfront to be used for PlaySap events.
For players, all you need is the app. For stores, the website portion will most likely be more useful, but everything can be run from the app itself. The web portion is currently slightly out of date, but we are getting that back up to speed Play-errr, ASAP!
A kickstarter for this app is going to be posted later this week, so keep an eye out and if this gets enough traction I may make a followup post when it is live.
If this sounds like something you would want to use, let your LGS know about it! If this sounds like an amazing idea to you, don't stop bugging them about it! The biggest and easiest way that PlaySap will be able to grow enough to encompass a sufficient amount of players and stores is if people push for this to become the new industry standard. The Kickstarter will have a video detailing the functionality in more detail, so feel free to direct store owners and your friends to that when it is live!
Check it out on the Play Store in your phone, or on your computer here: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=playsap&c=apps&hl=en
There are currently two listings for PlaySap - ours should be the first, but if it is not, it is the one by SoftWare Matters that says PlaySap (beta).
Let's eliminate wasted time and make events run more smoothly for everyone!
PlaySap - play your games, ASAP.