Introducing SharehouseGame

Project X

So I’ve been working in stealth mode for the last 6 weeks on a project to help make living in a Sharehouse easy and fun.

I’m very proud to open the site as an early open beta.

The idea behind the site is that living in a sharehouse isn’t easy. Infact, with more than two people, it quickly gets rather difficult to agree on who will do shared jobs (such as cleaning the microwave!), who’s turn it is to take out the trash (not mine, I did it for like the last four months) and who drank all my milk.

It is the classic “tragedy of the commons”; (excuse the economics terms), shared space, objects and consumables are rival (if you drink my milk, I’m out of milk) and not excludable (I’m not going to watch the fridge 24x7, probably).

It is also a compelling problem; getting along with your housemates is the difference between living in a great house and spending heaps of time wishing you lived somewhere else!

I believe that with a little help, share house living can be fantastic. That’s where [Sharehouse Game] (http://www.sharehousegame.com) comes in!

Concept

• What if you could make the tasks and obligations of living in a sharehouse fun?
• What if you got points for buying milk?
• What if you could offer points to your housemates to do things?
• What if you got reminders automatically to pay rent, pay bills, take out the trash, and clean the bathroom?

But why would housemates want to play?

Incentives

Each housemate receives points for tasks completed - the light hearted competition makes it compelling to stay involved (and helps keep track of who is/isn’t pulling their weight).

Housemates can offer custom bounties for specific tasks (I’ll pay 100 points for someone to mop the laundry floor) - if all housemates agree, the points come from the great sharehouse in the sky. If just one housemate wants something done, they can pay from the point balance.

Visibility - this in itself is a powerful motivator. If I suspect one or two of my housemates do most of the cleaning and washing up in our house, I’ll now be able to actually see who has washed up 70 times in 4 months, and deserves some serious kudos.

Longevity - what if the next share house you moved into asked to see your previous share house game profile?

So what’s the point of all this?

Sharehouse Game turns the tasks of living in a sharehouse into a game, with rewards, competition and visibility of who is doing what (and who’s not doing their fair share). By keeping it light hearted, The Sharehouse Game makes a smoothly run, happy sharehouse an easy thing to achieve!

Please check it out, sign up (and sign up your housemates too) - add a few tasks and let me know what you think - any and all feedback is greatly appreciated!