Slaying the Way
Welcome back, lovelies and beau’s to another Purposeful Pursuit post. In this week’s debate, errr, learning quest, I will be sharing a hobby that is near and dear to my heart. It’s something that really makes my heart happy and allows me to use my artistic moods, optimistic spirit, and passion for creating and learning in a unique way. Before I begin, here’s a little back story. Over the past several years, I’ve been really into games of all kinds. So much so, that I went through a period of time where I bought everyone in my family games. A few years back, I got the Whisper Challenge and the Bean Boozle Challenge. Both were great for different reasons. Then, I got my parents Mind the Gap game aka trivia throughout the generations. It is quite difficult but still such an interesting take. If you haven’t played, I recommend trying it at least once. After that, I got everyone a card game. And finally, last year I had the bright idea to bring my own idea to life! I created and shared my own board game creation. And today I’m going to share last year’s Christmas surprise with you!!
Sleighing the Way. Before I got started, I was inspired by two of my favorite YouTubers who were in the process of creating a game of their own. This inspired me to do just that but on a much smaller scale. My first thought was that I wanted to be able to do an activity that the whole family could get involved in. Specifically, something that could have as many or as little of players as needed. So, no one would feel excluded. At the same time, I also had the idea of creating a game that would allow us to get to know each other better—would encourage sharing stories of growing up, tough conversations, or not so proud but human-like moments. In order for that to happen, I included some mini games of telephone with funny or difficult sentences I could find, truth or dare suggestions, little group activity ideas, amongst other games.
Once the ideas behind the game were complete, my next goal was to figure out the game board design and functionality. Although it was going to be a board game, first and foremost, I also enjoyed card games. So what better way then to have them co-exist. In order to be able to move around the board, the player would pick a card numbered one through 6 from the pile. This standard card for my game would read, “Life is a journey. Some days are unique and some days are ordinary. Move forward ___ spaces”. In total, there are nine different card types. There is the standard, the card that leaps forward, the more creative card (get to move ___ amount of spaces depending on various colors), group activity card, moving to the nearest space that has the color of the card, moving forward the amount of trees on the card, the challenge card, the truth—learning about each other card, and lastly, the card that causes you to go back the beginning (nearly).
As for the game design, it was meant to be Christmas themed so I drew the board in the shape of a sleigh. It took some time trying to figure out exactly how to do it and how to make it fit on my poster board, but I was able to eventually figure it out. Once that was completed, I decided to match the color of the playing cards to spaces on the board. I also created the spaces to be presents. After I did all that, the 3rd version was complete.
If you now find yourself asking, 3rd version? Yes, you read that correct. The first version I made was for me, myself, and I. It was to see if the idea was something worth completing. When I discovered that it was possible, I drew the idea out on two pieces of notebook paper that I taped together. From there, I created another version—the second version, for a trial run. This time I created it on a piece of more stable cardboard. This had four pieces taped together. However, it was not yet in the shape of a sleigh. On top of that, the drawings and everything else were not there yet. It was not cute but I had the guy I was seeing at the time play the game with me. And I barely pulled out the win. He was four spaces too close, in my opinion.
Anyway, once I got started working on the 3rd version, I couldn’t stop. I was so excited to be able to share with friends but more importantly with family. They were the ones I was creating this masterpiece for in the first place. I saw it as a way to bring everyone together for a good cause, for some fun, and a way to further connect with everyone. I wanted to know about the memories my siblings had growing up when I wasn’t around yet, the moments they loved life, and some embarrassing ones too, specifically if it had some good advice.
Whether you may or may not know, I’m the baby of the family and I grew up with four older brothers. In addition to that, there is quite a bit of an age difference between the three oldest brothers and my other brother and I—a little over 10 years roughly. So, of course my youngest brother and I grew up closer. Oftentimes, I would play hide and seek amongst other games with his friends or I would enjoy watching him play video games. I never had an issue with that—only on the random occasion he would tackle me but it was all out of good fun. I even looked up to him in many ways. However, once we both got into high school, life got busy. We had different ambitions and slowly drifted apart. The same with college. As for the older brothers, they had their own families that they were taking care of when I was quite young. I became an aunt at the prime age of 6! So, it was much harder to find common ground. Not impossible but surely more difficult.
A lot of the earlier memories I don’t remember because I was quite young. Then, as I got older I was busy with my own stuff: swimming, family trips, friends, and school. So, we didn’t get nearly as much to time together as my youngest brother and I. And because of that, I was curious to know about their life before me as well as after. I enjoy knowing the lore about people. It’s something I’ve always been fascinated with but particularly when it comes to families. I think it’s interesting how we can grow up in similar environments and have different personalities, outlooks, and experiences. Meanwhile, I created this game with a specific idea in mind. It was to grow closer and more connected to my family, especially my brothers, who I often looked up too. This version of the game was never meant for outside consumption. The intended audience was and always will be my family.
At the same time, I’m open to playing with friends and those who also enjoy games too. Then, one day down the line when I’m ready, maybe I’ll create a fourth version for everyone else. If you’re interested in knowing more, please feel free to connect with me either through my socials (Instagram, TikTok, or LinkedIn—shown at the top) or by email at inspire.those.who.inspire.you@gmail.com. Before we part ways for the holidays, what is your favorite activity, game, or thing to do with your family for the holidays, comment down below!
May you have a wonderful time celebrating this week! Don’t forget the last post of the year will come out on Monday, December 30th. Looking forward to seeing you all back here this time next week!!
As a signature of this blog, I like to end each post with a suggestion to “Pass on kindness”. There is no such time as the present to “Inspire Those Who Inspire You”. Acts of kindness, no matter how big or small, can have a direct, positive impact on someone else. Go out there today and change someone’s life for the better.
***These are my personal opinions and may not be those of my employer***
