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Kagai Games Board Games

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KAGAI GAMES was created to make table top experiences that resonate with great stories, mechanics and social experiences. These tools are built to create social dynamics that facilitate making friends, building relationships and discovering patterns. Creating memories for people that everyone can talk about and are always different. Experiences that people take away from the table and discuss in their everyday lives as events they have witnessed together. I want people to mention the games and instantly have acquaintances and friends who want to play. To expand our time for face to face interactions and provide moments in public spaces where people stop in their tracks and ask “Can I play?” or “Space for one more?” This is what I want to develop at Kagai Games

When I’m asked about Kagai Games it’s very easy to go into detail about the games I’m working on, the projects I have in the pipeline, and how excited I am about future. However, there always comes a point when I’m asked where the idea for Kagai Games originated and what it means to me personally. That’s something I find harder to explain, something that triggers mixed emotions, but I’m going to attempt to explain to you now.

Who is this guy?

I was a bit of an outcast growing up. I remember really enjoying my first experiences in primary school. Each day came with excitement and happy anticipation, and my teachers where brilliant. Then, when I was around eight or nine years old, things began to change. I noticed a void growing between me and the other children. This separation grew faster than I could understand, soon leading to me becoming a social outcast. This continued through late primary school and into early secondary school. I was increasingly the butt of other kids’ jokes, which only drew me further away from interactions with others my age.  

In class I was hyper focused on facts and things I could find patterns in. I would often find answers to questions in ways people found odd, and questioned things that seemed unimportant to my peers. This only ostracized me further and I found myself being picked on and made fun of every day. This soon escalated to physical kicks, punches and pushes. I became a punch bag for other kids to “practice” fighting on both in and out of school. At it’s extreme I was hit over the head with a metal drainpipe and on one occasion even stabbed. I truly believed that being “different” wasn’t a good thing. It wasn’t OK.

The reality of being bullied both physically and mentally obviously took its toll. There was a blind spot in my social awareness. I made jokes about the “wrong” things. I constantly worried about my conversational skills and the impression I left on people. I nearly always avoided social events, on the rare occasions I was ever invited. I felt alone.  

The bullying had created a fear of social situations, something I masked through faking confidence and becoming as self-reliant as possible. It wasn’t until much later that I understood more about my struggle. My emotional state, constant anxiety and a lack of understanding of other people’s emotions was in fact autism, specifically Asperger’s.

Let the games begin

Board games are not just fun escapism, they are a powerful tool that can be used to teach and help people grow. I realised they are exactly what I needed to bridge the gap I had been missing. A way to allow us to let go and stop over analysing life. The tools to allow us to enjoy the company of others without worrying about the real world social hierarchy. 

My aim is to tie in with charities specialising in autism and also children within the UK with a focus on building games and social activities designed to help people with difficulties interacting.

I want to generate a wider understanding about the autistic spectrum, provide a social tool for making friends, bring children the smiles that we remember from our childhood and fund other projects within these organisations by building content and releasing  products.

I want Kagai Games to become a bridge for the creatives of the future. Providing a safe no risk way of creators testing and creating games, prototypes and materials for test and/or exhibitions without losing creative rights or privileges.
Board games are not just fun escapism, they're a powerful tool to teach and help people grow. I realised they are exactly what I needed to bridge the gap I had been missing. They’re a way to let go and stop overanalysing life. They offer us a way to enjoy the company of others without worrying about the social hierarchy of the real world. They level the playing field. One of the biggest differences between tabletop games and computer games is the face to face interactions we need as human beings and are ever so lacking in this age of social media and emails. With tabletop games, we can reclaim that time and in doing so, get some real social interactions in our lives. 

 Why Kagai?

Kagai in Japanese means Mischief. It sums up one of my favourite things about tabletop games: the ability to create mischief at the table. Just like Sun Wukong in the classic TV series retelling of “Journey to the West”, Monkey Magic. The perfect example of a playful friend. 

 
What am I making Making?
Our First Game:

The first game I plan to release is the story of Koi and the yellow river.
The game is designed to give little stories each playthrough.
The stories change every time you play as you choose them at random
with 20 stories to choose from you never know what order or story is going to play out.


All the stories are based on Myths from oriental culture and games will include reference materials for during or after game reading.


With your help I can:
 
*Pay for a production house to make the first fully realised prototypes. This includes boxes and playmates based off of specs and designs.
 * Purchase tools and equipment (i.e. Printers, materials cutting matts, and computers) 
*Launch the first product and marketing.
*Become legal to trade within the UK
*Pay for the help I need to finish work with a trained prodution professional.

Organizer

Barrington Campbell
Organizer

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