Almost two million subscribers, 125 different users a day, 37 simultaneous players, for 239 games a day, about 7 million games a month, seven halls for chatting and 24 rooms for playing: these are the measurements of Burraconline, the first free Italian site for fans of this game, the best gym for those who want to try their hand at scales, tic-tac-toe and pinelle. Every day 2300 new players knock on Burraconline's door and, it is said, personalities such as Senator Giulio Andreotti, the show girl Alessia Marcuzzi, the singer Laura Pausini, the soprano Katia Ricciarelli, the record company Mara Maionchi pass through its virtual threshold. 60% of users are women, 40% men.
To support such a large number of enthusiasts, Burraconline produces continuous updates of the system, yet it can happen to find yourself in a traffic jam, when all the rooms are red, i.e. full. An impasse that the site also addresses through the "elite" category, for players who pay a fee of 60 euros a year and by virtue of which they enjoy a privileged channel. But the real strength of Burraconline is the free nature and the ability to be a great social network as well as a place to play. His role model is BBO, the site for bridge players from all over the world which boasts ten million subscribers. The international horizon is therefore his new goal.
"We want to translate the pages into almost all languages, from English to Chinese - announces the creator of the site Enrico Airoldi - because we are convinced that the burraco, thanks to that mixture of simplicity and dexterity and the satisfaction it gives when you find the the understanding with the partner, is destined to become a worldwide success, because it is an eternal game like checkers or chess. We already have players from Argentina and other countries. We also want to increase the social network side by offering new opportunities”.
Airoldi, 52 years old, a banker from Bergamo with roots in Puglia, began to conceive Burraconline at the end of 2002. For the IT part he relied on his retired uncle Mario Airoldi. A fun site is born, but with several connection problems due to the mass of players who immediately appreciate the initiative. In a short time, more sophisticated and modern skills are needed to update the system, so Airlodi decides to invest all his savings in the company and entrusts himself “to a genius in the sector. He did a thorough search – he says – at the end of which I chose Luis Dragotto, an Italian-Mexican with an extraordinary curriculum, who had collaborated on the UN website and in the birth of Libero. Luis offered me three possibilities with different costs and also thanks to the subscribers I found the funds to create a good level site. The success was such that in two and two fours we were forced to invest again. The professional leap took place in 2006 and in five years Burraconline has arrived here, with a call center, a staff of about fifteen people and a company, openbge srl, for advertising sales. We are proud of the fact that an important German website has chosen us as the best Italian social network”. To communicate with teammates and opponents, players have a chat available in the halls and at the green table, where they also have a series of smileys (emotions); moreover they can create a friends list and a black list, choosing with whom and which type of game to play, head to head, 4 players, 1,2,3,4 hands.
A great incentive to improve your game is given by the levels: in fact, by winning you climb a ranking that goes from butterfly to dragon, based on the ratio of games won/lost. To become a mouse you need to have gnawed at least 5 points, then it becomes more difficult because you need more and more, to switch to cat, panda, lion, eagle, panther, shark. Only at 500 points (for example with 1000 games won and 500 lost, for a total of 1500 games played) does one enter the Olympus of dragons. The elites have more levels and more criteria to evaluate their game. Burraconline also organizes live rallies and tournaments to allow players to meet and party.
