On June 26, Kathleen Henkel, a 68-year-old grandmother from New Jersey (pictured below), will be seated in a hotel in Manhattan, fervently playing PopCap's Solitaire Blitz in an attempt to set a new record for the Longest Videogames Marathon Playing a Card Game. Her goal: To play the game for 30 consecutive hours. The next day, Wales resident Laura Rich will do the same in London, UK.
This marathon/publicity stunt is part of a larger charity event sponsored by PopCap, where fans of the game can go online, starting today, and pledge money based on how many consecutive hours the two ladies play. For instance, you can pledge 10 cents an hour, which means if the full 30 hours is reached, you will pay out a mere $3. The proceeds will go to charity: water which facilitates water projects in developing countries.
"I'm thrilled to be attempting a world record and supporting a very worthy cause at the same time," says Ms. Henkel. "I'll be logging at least 60 hours of Solitaire Blitz playtime over the next two weeks to get in playing shape. I'm really determined to reach the goal of 30 consecutive hours. Luckily the space is connected to a hotel - I'll be ordering lots of coffee!"
PopCap's Solitaire Blitz game on Facebook launched in early March, and currently has 1.9 million monthly players, according to AppData.
If you're interested in pledging some cash for the cause, visit the Solitaire Blitz Charity Marathon page on Facebook.