While the world seems to be trending to more and more digital, two Boulder businessmen are headed in the other direction.
Analog. Tangible. Real.
And the 5,000 people who pre-ordered their latest creation — a card game based off the app Spaceteam, made possible by a crowdfunding website — are apparently craving some real world, too.
“There’s this new wave with going back to the roots,” says Mathew Sisson, one of the co-founders of Spaceteam.
Sisson and his business partner, Tommy West, first gained notoriety for opening Pixel Space, “the geek’s ultimate hangout,” a bed and breakfast (complete with a Super Nintendo) at 15th and Pine specifically for tech recruits visiting Boulder. But at $300 a night and such a narrow niche, their audience was limited.
They then broke the news last year they were opening Enigma, an escape room on Pearl Street. Small groups are locked in a room and must work together to find clues that ultimately help them escape, before the timer goes off. No cell phones or high-tech gear allowed.
West and Sisson next opened an escape room in Fort Collins, with plans to soon open one in Denver. But they say they wanted to widen their reach far beyond Colorado.
They were into the popular mobile game, Spaceteam, which has been downloaded more than 3 million times and translated into 11 different languages. They asked the creator, Henry Smith, if he was willing to turn it into a board game. He said sure.
It took a year of development, including working with the founders of Exploding Kittens (which included the creator of The Oatmeal). Exploding Kittens made history as the most-backed game in Kickstarter history.
The local designers followed in that legacy and threw their vision on Kickstarter, wrapping up with 5,000 backers, who have started receiving their games this week.
You also can buy the limited-edition Spaceteam card game (only about 500 are left) on Amazon.com for $25, plus $10 for an expansion pack, which include family-friendly and subtly raunchy adult versions and the ability to have more players. Spaceteam is for ages 10 and older and groups of three to eight.
Like Enigma, the game is low-tech and cooperative; you must work as a team, not competitively, to win. Either everyone wins or no one does, says West.
“We’re creating a new way to interact with people,” he says. “It’s a new type of game that didn’t exist with Mattel and Hasbro in the past.”
The goal: Race to repair your malfunctioning spaceship. Malfunctions can be fixed by different tools on the cards players are holding. Sometimes those cards involve action, like jumping out of your seat and switching with someone else.
It inevitably escalates into chaos and shouting, the founders say.
“It creates this fun, exciting experience,” West says. “As far as we know, there are not any games that exist like this yet. We’re hoping that this indie board game movement is creating a new type of game.”
Ten years ago, everyone had the same board games: Monopoly, Scrabble, you know the stack, West says. Only large companies had the money and connections to produce games.
But crowdfunding, such as Kickstarter, has sparked a game revolution, where even the small guys can have a chance, Sisson says.
West and Sisson already are working on the next idea; they hope to churn out one new game every few months — and they believe there’s a demand to support that.
“People want to get back to the roots, having a conversation, playing a game, holding something in your hand, knowing it’s going to be there,” West says. “You download a game on your computer and you don’t have the interface to use it when we upgrade in a year. There’s something nice about holding on to something that won’t become obsolete.”
Aimee Heckel: 303-473-1359, heckela@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/aimeemay
