The full list of games funded by the Astra Fund:
- Unannounced Title - Furniture & Mattress
- Unannounced Title - Zach Gage & Orta Therox
- Paper Trail - Newfangled Games
- Star Stuff - Ánimo Games
- Schrödinger's Cat Burglar - Abandoned Sheep
- Rytmos - Floppy Club
Astra Fund is a philanthropic venture fund with a mission to support & promote the creation of thinking games - puzzle, strategy and genre-bending games that challenge players and spark genuine curiosity. The fund is headed by co-founders Josh Taylor, who previously held CEO roles in CS education and ed tech, and Eileen Hollinger, former producer on Sky: Children of the Light, Wattam and Riot Games.
“For Astra, the idea behind thinking games is simple,” said Astra co-founder Josh Taylor, who spent years working with learning scientists at UCLA to develop coding games. ”They are games that create opportunities for the player to get lost in deep thought. We are really excited about our first signings which exemplify this idea by delivering on our three pillars - thinky mechanics, intriguing problems and wondrous worlds.”
Josh Taylor and Eileen Hollinger, Astra co-founders
Astra currently supports thinking games with project financing and self-publishing support. The team at Astra have also been offering year long patron grants to eight individual “Fellows” to support their work developing thinking games. To support Astra developers and Fellows, Astra has engaged a team of top-tier mentors, including veteran puzzle game creators Gwen Frey (Kine, Lab Rat), Alan Hazelden aka Draknek (A Monster's Expedition, Cosmic Express), Daniel Benmergui (Fidel Dungeon Rescue, Storyteller) and others.
“We are working to support and elevate the whole thinking games genre,“ said Astra co-founder Eileen Hollinger, who worked to create widely accessible games as Executive Producer at thatgamecompany. “We want to demonstrate there is a demand for high-production, aesthetically rich, deeply thoughtful games. Beyond funding, we nurture the ecosystem through our Fellowship, which provides more entry points for new voices; through player and developer community-building; and through research and parent advocacy.”
Developers who are working on innovative thinking games and are interested in partnerships or applying to the Fellowship can contact Astra through their website at https://www.astragames.org.
For more information on Astra Fund, visit https://www.astragames.org/.
For special interview requests, get in touch with pr@popagenda.co
About Astra Fund
Astra Fund is a game fund backed by Carina Initiatives, a foundation dedicated to sending more kids from more communities to the frontiers of math and science. Our grants and investments are made to support the creation of more and better thinking games, and getting those games into more homes.
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