A Story: from Idea to Orange Pill Device
📝 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲. 𝐀𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲.
About #bitcoin and an idea I had for a long time. Since this week, 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲. And I’m frkn proud of this. This is the story of Blockhunters.
In 2019, I graduated as an Industrial Product Designer. Inspired by #bitcoin, I decided to NOT work for a design agency. Instead, I wanted to work full-time on my own bitcoin projects. Copywriting, translating, educating, and making documentaries and magazines.
In 2020, an idea emerged. How can I combine my skills as a designer with my knowledge of bitcoin?
The first idea of @Blockhunters was born: a board game that combines FUN with BITCOIN.
How can we engage tactile learners, that don’t care about articles, podcasts or videos? It all started in July 2020 with some pencils, a4 papers and a rough idea. Some week later, I crafted a first prototype with blocks, cards, and colors. Very, very basic. No branding, no theme, no rulebook, no funding. Nothing, but an idea.
By November 2020, I brought the game to a coliving community, where it was playtested in the wild for the first time.
⏳ But progress slowed down… A lack of skills, motivation, and a clear path forward led to the project being put on hold.
Fast-forward to April 2022. During my travels in Namibia, I met @@emily — it was a perfect match. She brought the missing skills and energy to the project, and took away all reasons to abandon the game for good. We decided to make this happen, and create the game together!
In December 2022, we picked up the game again, playing it with bitcoiners on Bitcoinn Island in the Philippines. By January 2023, we decided to go all in, launched a @geyser campaign and rethought every aspect: the theme, branding, components, gameplay, rulebook, and more.
We even won a Geyser grant, which allowed us to go into full creative mode. By September 2023, we launched a “real” prototype, complete with characters, a game board, branding, and more. With a few thousand dollars raised, we were motivated to bring Blockhunters to life.
From September 2023 to February 2024, we playtested the new prototype dozens of times all over the world. From El Salvador to Madeira, and Tokyo to South Korea. At meetups, conferences, with friends and family. This was soooo fun!
In March 2024, we ordered the first official prototype from a company in Shanghai.
During that time, Emily even visited the factory in China to oversee production. Full of confidence, we proceeded.
The excitement was palpable when we received the first real prototypes. This kicked off the final phase of development: Revising components, shipping logistics, securing STEM registration, CE-testing, quality checks, and translations.
Finally, in July 2024, we placed the order for the first 1,000 games. And had to wait… for many weeks/months to finally receive the games.
🥳 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬.
Here they are :) Last week, we delivered the first couple of hundred games to our loyal fans and supporters.
It’s so great to see pictures coming in from all over the world.
We did it! 🥰
It’s been 4 years since the idea for Blockhunters came to life. Now it’s reality. This journey has been unforgettable, with amazing support from the community. Your enthusiasm, pre-orders, feedback and patience were crucial. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. 🧡
So what is Blockhunters about?
We like to say: Have Fun Being Orangepilled.
It’s about: 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐮𝐧 But also about 𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝
You collect coins for your character (private key), without revealing it, while building a blockchain together.
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𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐮𝐧 The game is truly fun. It’s a mix of memory, poker, and game theory. The tension builds up as the blocks are mined and the money becomes scarce. Mining adds randomness, securing your key/coins adds strategy and powercards add twists.
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𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 The game also has educational elements. ➖ 10 characters with real world stories that explain the social importance of bitcoin ➖ technical elements (halving, keys, mining, mempool), that explain the technical significance of bitcoin
Are you too obviously stacking sats for Omar, Diego or Hila? Someone may steal your key! Do you have a bad powercard? You are subject to a $5 wrench attack! 🔧 Or a good powercard? You have extra hashrate, can make a multisig, or attack your opponent with a blackout. ⚡️
But you don’t have to understand bitcoin at all! Follow the rulebook, play a game, and you’ll understand.
With of course questions popping up:
- why is money scarce (in contrary to many games)
- what happens if I leak my key?
- why can’t I cheat in this game?
This is your moment as a bitcoiner to step in, and explain more. The game triggered their attention! They see, feel and experience elements of bitcoin in the 40 minutes game.
You have their interest. It’s time to orangepill!
What a journey: from product designer to a bitcoiner designing a product again☺️ Now it’s time to spread the word! Still looking for an Xmas gift? This is your call! Send this flyer to your loved ones and Bring Bitcoin Home!
We ship worldwide 🌍📦
🛒 https://blockhuntersgame.com
Oh and please follow @Blockhunters to stay tuned :)
#bitcoin #design #productdesign #boardgame #game #playtest #education #orangepill #orangepilling
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