If you are interested in communicating your story in a unique and enthralling way to your target audience, you are exactly where you need to be. FableSmith offers the rare possibility to have a board or card game custom designed for educational, promotional or social purposes. Board games are the perfect vessel to deliver your message straight into the consciousness of whomever you want to reach. Here you can find out why a tailor made game might be something for you or your organization.
Educational
Games offer a unique opportunity to get students actively involved with the subject matter you want to convey. Games can be a powerful tool to have them apply their newly acquired knowledge to practice and the competitive (or cooperative) environment that is created will enforce even deeper dedication to the material. For a game to leave a lasting impression, it should not simply be a test of questions masked as a game. The game’s main mechanics should reflect the most important elements of your lessons.
For an example of such an educational game, check out the Divide and Conquer game made for the Cancer Genomic Centre in Utrecht or Clickerdi Click for the EU.
Promotional
For an effective promotion of your product (or service, city etcetera) consider people playfully engaged with a game that communicates your message and sharing this with friends, family and colleagues. Simple but compelling games can invite a broad audience to experience the story you want them to hear. The upbeat vibe that is created when people play games can be used to have your message nestle firmly into positive corners of people’s minds.
Social
Next to commissioned games I also design games for the popular market. The 2 player tactical board game Ortus is the first example of this and can be viewed in all its glory right here.
Also have a look at Sell-a-Santa, a gift exchange game designed for the holidays. It is free as a print-and-play PDF. Go here.
The possibilities for a custom made game are too numerous to all mention here, please do not hesitate to contact me with your request or questions.
What you can expect
- Personal contact: easy and open communication guaranteeing control over the endproduct.
- Game design: tailor-made game, designed considering your goal, target audience, budget etc.
- Playtesting: essential testing of accessibility, playability and fun factor.
- Layout & iconography: clear card and board layout supported by intuitive iconography.
- Gamerules: clearly writen gamerules including diagrams and/or pictures.
- Third parties: contact with third parties such as artists, printers and producers.
The time it will take to develop the game greatly depends on the complexity of your request.
Production of the game will be done by a third party. Logically, the complexity and variety of a game’s components will determine its production cost. In every game design I always try to limit the amount of components required while maintaining an engaging game experience.