The goal of this annual event is to encourage families and friends to play more games -- totaling 1 million minutes of game time between Sept. 1, 2004, and Dec. 31, 2004.
Any U.S. resident who plays games was able to log game-play minutes at www.millionminute.com.
As of 2:55 p.m. on Jan. 8, 2005, the total had reached 1,085,699 minutes. "This is the fourth year we organized the Million Minute Family Challenge but the first year we reached one million minutes," said Lisa Wuennemann, director of communications at Patch Products, in a press release.
Maryland (322,706 minutes), Ohio (264,582) and California (120,280) led the way. Pennsylvania (8,842), my home state, finished in 17th place.
According to the release, the top five minute-logging groups were:
1. Games Club of Maryland
2. Columbus (Ohio) Area Boardgaming Society
3. California Homeschool Network
4. Wapehani Girl Scout Council (Daleville, Indiana)
5. Outpost 2000 & Beyond (Brooklyn Park, Minnesota)
The Ice Family of Tahlequah Oklahoma, logged the most game-playing minutes for a single family, according to the release.
The Million Minute Challenge web site includes some ideas on how to participate, games to play and educational information including the benefits of family time, the history of games and how to use games in the classroom.
Patch Products, headquartered in Beloit, Wisconsin, is a leading manufacturer and marketer of family entertainment products including board games, card games, puzzles and foam sports toys.
In very early results [as of Sept. 4, 2004, at about 5:40 p.m. eastern U.S. time], 2,120 minutes were logged and Pennsylvania led the way with 990 minutes, followed by California, North Carolina, Maryland and Texas.
As of 12:13 a.m. on Jan. 5, 2005, with game-playing over but a few days remaining for players to log their time, 924,345 minutes (about 15,405 hours, 642 24-hour days or 1,926 8-hour days) had been logged.
