Tickle Engine, LLC | Application Preview
Tickle Engine, LLC is applying for a government grant primarily to fund the marketing of their innovative software product, HitPlay Pulse, aimed at enhancing immersion in tabletop gaming. They plan to allocate 95% of the grant toward targeted ads and influencer partnerships, with the remaining 5% covering basic operational costs. Their MVP is set for release in November 2025, followed by a Kickstarter launch in March 2026. Initial feedback and user interest have been strong, and Tickle Engine believes this funding will significantly boost their outreach and help the product succeed financially.
The company was founded by three friends—Erwick, Caleb, and David—who bring together deep experience in music composition, sound design, software engineering, and application development. Their goal is to build an integrated ecosystem of products that elevate the experience of “analog gaming” through immersive sound and intuitive design.
In a competitive landscape featuring companies like Monument Studios, Syrinscape, and TableTone, Tickle Engine believes it has a clear edge. HitPlay Pulse stands out for its simplicity, high-quality handcrafted music and effects, adaptive sound dynamics, voice-triggered sound cues, and a user interface designed to retain the tactile nature of traditional tabletop games.
With strong foundational expertise, user demand, and a well-thought-out strategy, Tickle Engine sees this grant as the key to scaling their product and establishing a strong foothold in the growing tabletop gaming market.
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General Information
Business Registration Number: 20251462408
Location: Dover, DE, United States
Length of Operation: 1-5
Number of Employees: 1-10 Employees
Annual Gross Income: Less than $100k
Annual Gross Expense: Less than $100k
Open to Loans: YES
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Funding Usage
95% of the amount requested would go to marketing. The other 5% would go toward recurring (monthly) operating expenses. We have a KickStarter launching on 3/3/2026 and we have a robust plan in place to see great success there. We have been able to organically spread awareness of our pilot product "HitPlay Pulse". However, it's slow going. We need to be able to pay for targeted advertisements and influencer coverage. We have confirmed, through user surveys, that there is a strong desire for the service our application provides. Also, based on research done into the approaches taken by our competitors, we are very confident that the funding requested would give us everything we need to bring us to a very successful KickStarter early next year.
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Business Plan
We are scheduled to have our Minimum Viable Product (MVP) for our pilot product, HitPlay Pulse, out by 11/15/2025. It is a tool aimed at heightening player immersion in tabletop gaming. From there, we get into the hands of our group of 57 user testers and social media influencers. All of this is in preparation for our KickStarter campaign which begins on 3/3/2026. In that campaign, we are cautiously optimistic that we can make enough money to cover our operating costs for 2026 that would push our MVP to a level heads and tails above the quality of our competitors. According to our Project Roadmap (which we are in-line with) We will have HitPlay Pulse in a place where we can confidently begin developing other products in our pipeline. Each of these products will be part of the same ecosystem, integrating with each other to heighten the immersive aspects of tabletop gaming (we like to call it analog gaming). Our current roadmap carries us well into 2027. Beyond that, we plan to listen to our target audience and develop tools that would make the biggest splash in the rapidly-growing tabletop gaming community. Tickle Engine is a company founded by 3 dear friends with affinities for analog gaming, immersion, music and sound design. Erwick, Caleb & David graduated together from the UNCSA Film Music Composition Graduate Program in 2024 and have marked experience crafting top-tier cinematic music and sound effects. Additionally, Erwick has 12 years of experience in design and his work stands out as eye-catching, sleek and simple. Caleb is an engineer-turned-composer who has gleefully and authoritatively taken on the actual development of HitPlay Pulse. David has 22 years of experience in application development for some of the world's largest banks. They have a combined skillset and drive that puts great success clearly within reach. They study their competitors (and their products) and are aware of what must be done in order to become a leader in the tabletop gaming market. They work hard for each other and for their customers.
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Self Identified Competition
Monument Studios: They are seen as the top competitor. They have great music and great sounds but their interface is too cumbersome and complicated (a computer is necessary). In a setting where immersion us such a critical factor, this is not good. Syrinscape: They have a lot of features (music, sound effects, ambience, sonic scalability) but their interface is too complex and the quality of their sounds is not great. It is a specialized mobile app, but using it requires too much player attention. TableTone: They have created another specialized mobile app which is easier to use than our other competitors but they have fewer features and the quality of their content is not at the same level. HitPlay Pulse is designed to tick all of the boxes critical to immersion in tabletop gaming: 1. It's easy to use and requires minimal in-game interaction. 2. The content is all bespoke and handcrafted to rival even the best video game music and sounds (which is at an astounding level these days) 3. The music's intensity organically rises, falls and shifts with the ever-changing gameplay scenarios. 4. Sound effects triggered by vocal cues. 5. A user interface that gives the app the appearance of a physical product (tactile aspects of tabletop gaming are very important).
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Contact Applicant
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