Horizon West resident's board game a finalist in Hasbro contest

HORIZON WEST  It all started with a stack of blank cards, blank tokens and a whole lot of creativity at a prototype gaming convention.

But what Summerport Village resident Kelly North Adams didn’t know at the time was that when she sat down at the convention and let her imagination and love for tabletop board games run free, she would inadvertently launch her career as a board-game designer. Her first board game, a card game called Veggie Garden, was drawn out and designed in less than two hours. 

“I’ve played games all my life … but I’ve gotten really back into it in the past 10 years, where I grew my collection and it’s become a big part of my life,” Adams said. “Over the past 10 years, I’ve seen an influx of females starting to play games. It’s been sort of a male-dominated industry, especially in the way of when it comes to designing, playing and publishing games.”

Now, just more than a year later, she has created a total of five games, two of which are either under contract or published. But her most recent game, Chibi Quest!, is quickly gaining momentum — multinational game- and toy-making company Hasbro has chosen it as one of the five finalists in its recent contest for the next great family game. 

Chibi Quest! is a light, fun, family-friendly game that takes less than an hour to play. Players take on the role of a Chibi and start out dressed in their pajamas. The Chibis are the protectors of their land, Shortshire, and must keep it from being invaded by monsters. Players do this in three phases: equipping the Chibi, fighting the monsters and defeating the “boss.”

The inspiration came from Adams’ 12-year-old nephew, who loves video games and roleplaying games. Adams wanted to create a game where players could take on different roles but play with friends and family and interact socially rather than on a computer.

“It’s bringing the world of fantasy to the table,” she said. “I’m a big fan of any way you can bring your family together and have fun. It’s interactive, it’s silly, and there’s a little bit of strategy in it, too. It’s popular with kids and families and gamers. It kind of fits a lot of different groups.” 

Each of the five finalists is required to reach at least 100 backers on his or her Indiegogo campaign page and to reach his or her fundraising tier. At the end of the campaign, games will then be evaluated by a panel of judges. Hasbro’s celebrity guest judge is Daymond John, the founder of FUBU and a “shark” on ABC’s show “Shark Tank.” The winner of the contest will be flown to Hasbro headquarters to meet the team, have his or her game published and receive $25,000.

“I’ve told Hasbro it hasn’t quite set in that I’m actually a finalist yet; I’m still in awe,” Adams said. “For them to pick the game (as the winner) it would be really big as a board-game designer because it’s one of the biggest companies you could work with.”

Contact Danielle Hendrix at [email protected].