Progressive Launches New Online Game

In August, Mayfield Village, Ohio-based Progressive launched a new online game about safe driving, the carrier announced in a press release on Tuesday.

The new game, Route-rageous!, challenges players to earn points "driving" around town by laying out a driving route using arrows, speed markers, and different types of vehicles, Progressive says. Gamers must also avoid colliding with other vehicles and navigate jumps. Points can be earned by collecting coins and running errands, while points are deducted for risky driving behavior such as jumping ramps.

"Our goal was to create a fun, interactive, game. Sure, online games help us build our brand, but as a gamer myself, I feel it's important to create games people actually want to play, not just advertisements dressed up as games," Chris Scott, Progressive's emerging media manager, said in the press release.

Route-rageous! is available via both Facebook and Yahoo! Games. It is the carrier's second foray into online gaming. In 2007, Progressive launched Special Investigations Unit: Case of the Crooked Crackup on Yahoo! Games.

Progressive's newest online game is the first it has made available on Facebook. "Expanding the game to a social networking site like Facebook allows players to easily challenge their friends, see how others are scoring, and share the fun," Scott said in the release.