U.B. Funkeys

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Toys
U.B. Funkey Collectible miniatures games.
Manufacturer	Mattel
Designed By	Radica Games
Developed By	Arkadium
Calendar Era	2000 (Gregorian calendar)
Categories	Mattel Video game hardware Collectible miniatures games
Country	United States
Web address	www.ubfunkeys.com

U.B. Funkeys is a personal computer game for children. It can be played both online, and offline.

Play consists of a personal computer game that works together with collectable figures that represent characters in the game. Currently there is 14 different species, that come in 3 color styles each, to give a total of 42 different collectable pieces.

Gameplay involves players placing figures in the Hub, which in turn appear in the game. Each figure, when connected to the hub, allows players to unlock new areas of the game. The Hub is purchased in the starter pack with two of the collectable figures. It is required to play the game.

The product was exhibited by Mattel in February of 2007 at the New York Toy Fair and designed by Radica Games. The game software was developed by Arkadium, a game design company in New York City.^[1]

[edit] Description

Funkeys are small, colorful characters that inhabit Funkeystown, in a virtual world called Terrapinia. Players navigate a number of zones and portals where they play games to earn coins. With their coins they can buy items to customize their homes, referred to as "cribs" in the game.

Each Funkey acts like a key that grants access to new zones in the game. Users progress through the game as they collect different figures. In its first edition, Funkeys consist of 14 "species" or "tribes" of Funkeys with the following names: Xener, Bones, Vroom, Deuce, Sprout, Stitch, Glub, Fallout, Wasabi, Lotus, Scratch, Twinx, Tiki and Boggle. Each of these tribes is also divided into three categories: Normal, Rare, and Very Rare.

[edit] In-game history

In Terrapinia, there was an original codex that meticulously catalogued all of the different Funkeys throughout Terrapinia. Believed to be thousands of pages long, this codex was once required reading for all school-aged Funkeys.^[2]

The original codex, and the vast knowledge of Funkey culture that it contained, was lost in the Great Disaster. The current codex is an ongoing project of Mayor Sayso, with the goal of recovering all of the information that was lost.

After the Great Disaster, the game's antagonist, Master Lox, appeared and sent out his evil henchmen to steal coins from the Funkeys. The Funkeys must right the world by repairing the damage caused by the Great Disaster and stop Master Lox.

The first Funkeys were the Tiki and now there are several other Funkeys that are descended from this original Funkey.^[2]