Bangalore-based mobile gaming platform PlaySimple has secured $4 million in a series A round of funding led by SAIF Partners and IDG Ventures India, reports the Mint. The company will use the funds for marketing, hiring and developing new titles. Earlier this year, PlaySimple had received equity-free funding worth $50,000 under Google’s Launchpad Accelerator programme. It had also raised an undisclosed amount in seed funding from IDG Ventures last year. Founded in July 2014, PlaySimple Games currently offers 2 games - GuessUp and WordTrek. WordTrek, as the name implies, involves finding hidden words in a 3*3 grid of alphabets. The grid gets larger as users select neighbouring alphabets to complete words. The app claims to have over 600 puzzles with more than 3000 words. GuessUp on the other hand, is a Pictionary like game where users are presented with multiple emojis (instead of pictures), to guess the word. This app has a multiplayer element letting users play with friends. Both games are currently available on Apple’s App store, Google Play store and Amazon App store. The company previously also offered a game called PicTales, which seems to have been taken offline. PlaySimple monetizes via advertising revenues and in-app purchases. It focuses on casual mobile games like word puzzles and trivia with an average play session of 15 minutes, targeted primarily at English speaking users in North America, Europe and Asia. Mobile gaming is still in its nascent stages in India with the size of the industry estimated to be $214…
