by Gina Manola, Owner CALICO
Each year the Chicago Toy & Game Fair hosts and promotes the Young Inventor Challenge encouraging kids ages 6-18 to invent and present their original toy and game at the fair. This year’s competition reached a new high attracting over 150 young inventors from all over the world. The winners were singled out for their inventive game play as well as their attention getting displays. Want to know what it takes to create a winning game? Read on as Nick Metzler shares his winning game Squashed. Tune in next week for Junior Winners, Isabella Ray Miller & Simon Shifrin.
Nick Metzler, Two-time winner in the Senior Category
Age: 17
Name of Invention: Squashed
Object of the Game or Concept: Squash all other players to become the last one standing!
Number of Players: 3-4 | Age Range: 6-87
Nick with his winning game at the Young Inventor Challenge.
How does it feel to win the YIC Sr. Category two years in a row? I’m both honored and awed by this accomplishment. I decided when I won last year that it was my goal to win again. To actually achieve this goal with the number of new participants in this year’s competition was incredibly exciting.
How did you prepare for this year’s challenge? First I considered what I learned last year as a participant in the competition and as an attendee at ChiTAG. Last year I learned that the games which drew the most attention were those that were based on both strategy and luck, allowed players within several age groups to play together and those whose artistry caught the eyes of the potential players. Then I considered my personal goal of making games that incorporated a twist or two into simple, but fun games. I dreamt up the idea of a cubical “game board” to change the concept of a flat board. Thinking about a cubical game led me to consider my options of incorporating all sides of the cube within the game itself. Determining the actual object of the game and its rules actually came last.
I heard that your winning concept received interest from a prominent game company. Can you tell me about that? The day after the competition, I returned to ChiTAG as a volunteer for a few of the planned events. While there, I was approached by the president of a prominent game company who presented me with the unbelievable offer to license my game, Squashed! He had played my game and apparently loved it enough to license it. My parents and I are currently working out the logistics, but if all goes as planned, my game could be in stores by next October! This is an opportunity I had always hoped for but did not know when or if it would happen. I am thrilled that what I enjoy most in life could be an avenue I continue to explore in college and beyond.
Tell me about your invention. I have changed a lot since last year when my focus on winning led me to figure out how to make my game and display enticing to the viewer. This year, while already having a handle on that component of the competition, I also finally had the internal desire to make a game that was fun for anyone who played it, not just a game that interested me.
Nick showing off his unique 6-sided game board design.
Inspiration: I was truly inspired by many of the individuals I met least year at ChiTAG. They were people living their dreams-not just people selling their wares. I believe life is what you make it so why not make it fun. I have watched adults in our society and learned that many are not doing what they truly love to do. I am hoping that if I continue to trust myself, I will continue to live a life worth living and for me that means it has to involve having fun. I have fun when I am creating all kinds of games, including board games.
Over the years I have studied the patterns found in games, starting with the rules and moving onto the concepts, construction and marketing of games. I have studied human behavior and learned that sometimes games look more fun than they are to play. I no longer wanted to win just to win, I wanted to make a game that was more fun to play than it was to make. My unique talents of using patterns to create systems and recognizing how to change patterns to fit current interests-like having a game move faster, increasing the involvement of the game board, keeping the rules so simple that I don’t lose players by having too many details and combining luck and strategy to entice players with preference for one or the other.
My game is unique because it requires players to recognize the playing field is 6-sided, thinking must occur on several levels. Squashed is designed so that luck can trump any strategy, but strategy can minimize the need for luck…and isn’t that what life is like? Playing games teach much about life. I think my game was successful because not only was it fun, but I put much time and effort into my display board and my presentation. I learned from the tips Mike Hirtle told the inventors last year, to be able to describe the game in 30 seconds and then to be able to show the most fun component right away. I was able to implement these strategies while presenting this year. This led all the viewers of my game to become the players of my game.
I believe this game was successful because it was a very different game board. One of the easiest ways to win is by flipping the cube, squashing multiple pawns at once. Flipping the cube has a two fold effect, squashing pawns as well as changing the way everyone looks at the board, giving advantages to other players who may have been losing just one turn before. I also believe it is successful because it is a quick and easy game to play. In the age of phone apps and instant entertainment, quick and easy is the only way to go.
I learned a lot about myself while developing my game, specifically I learned to manage my time, to recognize that I have more energy and skill than I thought, and to allow myself time to generate each component of the invention. Besides this project, I was and still am involved in completing college applications, taking college-credit classes, working part-time as a balloonist/kids party manager, and leading a team of teen volunteers to coordinate a large scale interactive, all-day game competition for next summer.
Prototype Materials: My main material was sheet metal which I was able to purchase in 12×12 pieces on the Internet. A helpful school staff member soldered them together for me. I also purchased magnetic playing pieces and a single die numbered 1-3 on the internet. I drew six checkerboard grids on poster board and used white tape to adhere the grids to each side of the cube.
Play-testing: I started with my chief testers-my family, and then expanded to extended family members and friends. It was most rewarding to hear and see everyone’s excitement about the game as some of my previous games had mixed responses. The greatest compliment was hearing, “Let’s play again!” at several different times and from players of different ages. That’s when I knew I finally had a game with potential.
What’s next on the horizon for you? Have you chosen a college yet? Any idea what you plan to study?My main goal at the moment is to gain acceptance into Stanford University. If I am accepted, I plan to study a variety of subjects, a few being Entrepreneurship, Industrial Design, Marketing, Advertising, and Psychology. I believe that having an academic background in all of these areas of study will provide me with a solid base from which to launch myself into the professional world of the game industry. It’s my hope that a second win in the YIC as well as currently working on having my game licensed will be a couple of strong positive factors influencing my acceptance and future career.
You’ve spoken to school kids about game inventing. What message do you share with kids about your experience as a game designer?When I speak with school kids, I attempt to inspire them to believe in themselves and to use their imaginations to create new ideas. Because children are often shielded from the pressures of society, I believe they could create new ideas by paying attention to whatever they imagine and dream about. When I describe my experience in designing games I’m sure to include stories about my games that were successful as well as the ones that didn’t make it past my family play-testers. In this way, I’m able to describe how much I learned not only from winning but also from my failures.
