Looking for something fun or educational to do this weekend A just-launched site called GameMaki aims to be your guide.

The basic mechanics of the site look pretty straightforward. Users can post suggestions for worthwhile activities and assemble some of those activities into a set of suggestions called a GameMaki. Then if youa4��a4�re looking for something to do, you can browse the site or see what your friends posted, vote suggestions up or down, and add items to your to-do list. Once you actually do the activity, you claim it on the site and win points and badges.

With its application of game mechanics to real-world activities, particularly the way it awards points and badges, GameMaki has probably taken some inspiration from location-based app Foursquare &8212' and Foursquare includes activity tips too. The difference, as pointed out by co-founder and chief executive Keith Ng, is that GameMaki isna4��a4�t tied to your location, so you can include activities that take place anywhere, like a4��ARun 10 miles.a4��� (Foursquare has dipped its toe into rewards that arena4��a4�t tied into location check-ins, but I dona4��a4�t think it has gone very far in this direction.)

Thata4��a4�s not to say that GameMaki challenges cana4��a4�t be location-specific. The company has created a special set of activities related to the South by Southwest conference thata4��a4�s just starting up in Austin, and most of them involve visiting a particular location, whether ita4��a4�s the GameMaki booth or the conference kick-off party.

Ia4��a4�ve played with the site, and the challenges definitely cover a lot of ground &8212' they include everything from a4��Arevive the 80s tomorrowa4��� to a4��Aabstain from shopping this weekenda4��� to a4��Acreate your own variant of Vincent Van Gogha4��a4�s Starry Night.a4��� That could be an advantage, if GameMaki users find lots of fun suggestions that arena4��a4�t available elsewhere, but it also risks making the site feel a little random.

GameMaki opened to the public today, and ita4��a4�s still in beta testing. Ng said his team is also working on a mobile application.

The site was created by Singaporean startup Socialico. Investors include Myspace founder Brad Greenspana4��a4�s Social Slingshot Fund and Robert Bong, the chief executive of UCSI University in Malaysia.

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Companies: GameMaki

People: Keith Ng

Companies: GameMaki

People: Keith Ng

Anthony is a senior editor at VentureBeat, as well as its reporter on media, advertising, and social networks. Before joining the site in 2008, Anthony worked at the Hollister Free Lance, where he won awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for breaking news coverage and writing. He attended Stanford University and now lives in San Francisco. Reach him at anthony@venturebeat.com. (All story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com) You can also follow Anthony on Twitter.

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