This experimental beta trial has been concluded.

News

• Version 1.0 now available from the Nokia Store
  • Go to the Try It page for links.  (You need to sign in with your Nokia/Ovi account.)
• Note: We do not recommend using credit cards or passports.
  • Your data should be safe.  However, we and other BetaLabs users (thanks to you all) have found that these types of cards do not work consistently with the games for various reasons, including possibly the antenna position in these cards.  Also, we do not want you to risk physically damaging or losing the cards.

FAQ

• How to get NFC tags or cards
• How to tap

Background and Overview

At Nokia Research Center, we are using Near Field Communication (NFC) technology to open up a new genre of mobile games not possible before – tangible mobile games.

These games let you play with physical objects in the real world.  They bring back the fun of playing traditional family and party games, where you can hold, shuffle, and trade objects, play face-to-face with other players, and even make up new game rules with your friends.

You can play these games today with any Nokia Symbian NFC-enabled phone (i.e., a Nokia C7-00, C7 Astound, 600, 603, 700, or 701), and a few NFC tags.

You may be able to use NFC cards you already have in your wallet, such as “contactless” or “tap”-able transit cards, ID badges, etc.  (Read "How to get NFC tags" for more info and tips.)  The phone only needs to detect the tags, and does NOT collect, write, or change any data.  So, you can continue using your cards as usual after playing the games.  And, since you can use the same tags for different games, you can download and play more games from the Nokia Store in the future without having to get new tags.

For starters, we are releasing 3 new games for your enjoyment:

• Nokia World Flags. This is a matching game with a twist -- instead of flipping cards, wave your phone over physical NFC cards to magically reveal hidden flags.  Almost 200 flags to match and learn.
• Nokia Shakespeare Shuffle. Wave your phone over different NFC tags to magically hear parts of famous quotes from Shakespeare.  Rearrange and tap them in the right order to complete the quotes before time runs out!
• Nokia Nursery Rhyme Shuffle. This is a kid’s version of Shakespeare Shuffle, using nursery rhymes from Mother Goose, together with beautiful artwork from the early 1900’s. It is also great as a cooperative game between kids or between kids and their parents.

We also have several more games in our labs and on the way, including word games, math games, adventure games, NFC-enabled variations on old board games, and even some games that can be played with a teddy bear.  (Watch our video above for a preview.)

While we hope you enjoy these games, our real goal in releasing them is to broaden the horizon of NFC applications.  From here, there are so many possibilities, especially in educational games, family games, and social games.  These first games are simple, but think of them as just the first seeds or sprouts in a whole new field of games enabled by NFC.  This is just the beginning.

We welcome your feedback

Since these games offer a radically new kind of mobile gaming experience, your feedback would be very helpful to us.

You can contribute in a number of ways, including:

• Join the BetaLabs trial to receive a short survey and be notified of future updates.
• Share your thoughts and experiences in the Discussion Forums (click "Give Feedback" above).
• Submit a Review for each game in the Nokia Store (if you are actually able to play the games).
• Send email to nfcgames@ovi.com

Some questions we are particularly interested in:

1. Were you able to find tags to play with?   (Please make sure you read "How to get NFC tags" for tips.)  
2. If so, how?  Did it help to pool NFC cards with your friends?
3. Are you able to use cards you already have (e.g., transit cards, ID cards, credit cards, etc.)?  
4. If so, which ones?   
5. If not, are you able to purchase new tags easily in your country?  If so, how?
6. Is the NFC-based user interface intuitive enough?  Do the Help pages help? 
7. What do you think about the idea of using NFC as a "tangible user interface"?

A note on submitting reviews in the Nokia Store:

If you are able to find enough tags and play the games, please consider giving a good Review under each game in the Nokia Store (not here).  But, if you are not able to play the games because you don't have tags, then please do not submit a review.  (It would be more useful to other users if the reviews in the Nokia Store come from people who have actually been able to play and experience the games.)  Instead, please Give Feedback here on BetaLabs, or email nfcgames@ovi.com, and we'll try to address any problems.  

Thanks for your feedback.