Local app makes splash

One of the founders of Club Penguin is making a splash with a new gaming app called AdVenture Capitalist.

Lance Priebe's new Kelowna firm Hyper Hippo Games has launched the app on iOS and Android. It has already racked up 75 million plays in just a few months on various platforms, earning player-choice accolades including 2014 Game Of The Year on Miniclip.com.

The free game is published by Kongregate and has the website’s top 10 most played games of all time.

“It is a wildly addicting game that our web players love, and we are thrilled to be publishing the mobile version," said Kongregate CEO Emily Greer.

Featured as a best new game app on iOS, Adventure Capitalist is an unusual “idle” video game, consisting of progress bars, revenue generation buttons, and a catchy tune. Players work to get their “investments” churning out profits they can later reinvest.

The quirk of AdVenture Capitalist is that, as an idle game, it continues to play itself, even when players turn it off. Upon returning to the game, you receive a burst of cash you earned while you were gone. 

Priebe formed Hyper Hippo in 2013. He is known for creating the wildly popular children's gaming site Club Penguin, which was sold to Disney in 2007.

“I’ve spent more hours playing AdVenture Capitalist than anything else I’ve ever produced," he said. "I’m addicted to my own game.”