July 17, 2015 at 4:15 p.m.
Siblings design card game featuring a Hodag lost in space
Siblings design card game featuring a Hodag lost in space
David and Laura Olson call the game "Furball Rampage."
The duo began the project five years ago when both had an entire month at home.
"We used aspects of all the games our family loves to play," David Olsons said.
Once they had a feel for the mechanics of play, and what would work, they began to actually sketch out the cards and figure out how players would interact with each other.
"The cool thing about the concept is that it's very family friendly," Olson said.
The story behind the game is a group of animals that came from Earth are on a spaceship, and they are each trying to be the first to return to Earth. One of the animals is the Hodag.
Animals from the Olsons' past are featured as characters of the game.
One of the characters is a goldfish, in honor of the Olsons' grandmother's pet, which was relocated between Arizona, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.
"Each move she'd bring the goldfish with, which meant that a special place in the vehicle was needed to keep it safe and secure. My grandpa was always at a loss as to why so much time was spent pampering a goldfish that could be replaced for $.20." Olson said. The goldfish passed away Wednesday.
Another character is a moose inspired by a family trip to Colorado many years ago, Olson said.
"We drove through a wildlife preserve and came across a large group of these animals. They came over to the window and they put their faces in through to get some apples ... quite memorable to a child," he said.
A rabbit is also featured, drawn from the memory of a lucky rabbit's foot Olson had as a young boy.
The alligator was inspired by a gas station exhibit in Florida that was essentially a pit with gators, Olson said.
"You could spend some money and throw food in. There were quite a few and seemed to be crawling all over each other. I remember thinking that was the scariest pit on Earth ... nothing would come out of there alive," he said. "Needless to say, it occupied my imagination for awhile."
To play the game, each person picks a character card. Given that the game is set in space, there are opportunities for upgrades, weapon cards, and additional cards to help each character succeed in getting back to Earth, Olson said.
A Kickstarter campaign for the game will go live Monday.
David Olson said if local people donate to the Kickstarter campaign, and the campaign goal is met, the siblings will donate a portion of the funds raised to the animal shelter, given that the game is about animals.
An additional donation will be made for each game that is picked up at the Oneida County Humane Society in Rhinelander.
The game costs $23, and the shipping is $6.
Katie Perttunen may be reached at [email protected].
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