Print-and-Play with a Date
How far are you willing to go for love?
That and, how far is your lover willing to participate in the hobby you’re obsessed with?!
If you are thinking of ways to impress your date while bringing the person closer to your passion for print-and-play, let’s get started.
Time to kill two birds with one stone!
For reference, say hello to my date- Isabelle. And it’s my task to woo her with the world of print-and-play!
Before jumping in:
– tweak the plan depending on how receptive your date is to PnP games. Is your date new to it? Or a pro?
– what’s her patience level like? Would you limit her only to easier games, or something more advanced?
– how far are you willing to go, to get her hooked on PnP games? In other words, can you customize little parts of games?
The effort
You are not planning a typical date, so nothing about this plan is ordinary. In other words, get ready to:
– uniquely invite your date; a cute letter of invitation for an evening of candle night snacks and games that have never been played before (since you’re modifying them). Don’t type it out for the love of God. Handwritten letter only!
– prepare an atmosphere that fuses comfort with a nice space for gameplay. Not too bright, yet not too dim to squint the whole time while playing. Don’t make it too obvious that you are trying to make her join your league, okay?
– get ready for some customization! All the 3 games that we are planning to play on the date will require customization. Your date needs to feel the effort you put in and must find the game relatable in some way. Or else, it’s just a game night! Nothing romantic about it.
So, here we go. Time for me to share how I envision my perfect date to be, with Isabelle!
The Date
After sending a handwritten note to Isabelle, I sparked her interest quite a bit! She got curious as to what I was up to, and took a keen interest in games, as I mentioned, ‘never played before’. So upon confirmation, I customized the games and prepared them for the big day.
Lantern
It’s a game that can easily be taught in less than 5 minutes. And it’s highly entertaining. And the best part? It can be modified with ease!
The game involves the player encountering and defeating 7 enemies, so I listed and sketched out 7 people in Isabelle’s life who give her a tough time. Be it her math lecturer, annoying neighbor, or her little brother- I turned them into 7 evil bosses that she had to take down. Is it romantic? Not entirely, but it’s fun!
She had a blast rolling the dice and taking down the enemies that existed in her life. It was a good way for her to unwind, and laugh at the silly troubles that life throws at her. And that was sort of romantic if you ask me. Caring to say the least!
Needless to say, she was quite impressed!
All you have to do:
1. Learn how to play Lantern, if you haven’t already
2. Print out the game. It’s only a page! Laminate it, for durability.
3. Draw 7 characters on an art card or any sturdy board. It does not have to be perfect! Stick them on the playing surface on top of the existing evil bosses in the game.
4. Be a good Game Master! Narrate her game journey, and praise her after taking down the villains of her everyday life.
All is Bomb
Isabelle is new to PnP games, so I chose to play the game with her.
It’s a highly entertaining 18-card-based game where everything is a bomb. The game involves making the perfect breakfast for the princess before she wakes up and everything explodes! So I chose to:
-swap the 3 food items in the game with 3 foods that Isabelle loves.
-swap the 3 food prophecies of the game
-add myself as the Prince, by replacing the King
– added a cute photo of her in place of the Princess!
So we spent 30 minutes trying to activate prophecies for her favorite food (Sushi!) before everyone exploded. After winning the game, I dished out fresh Sushi that made her super giddy! To her, it felt like she earned the sushi, after winning this tricky game. She got even more happy when I revealed all the 3 foods that were in the game, for us to feast on.
Great things can happen if you can plan things through!
All you have to do:
1. Learn how to play All is Bomb if you haven’t already.
2. Print out the game. You’ll need card sleeves. It’s easy to assemble!
3. Finalize the 3 foods that you will base the game on. Food that your date likes!
4. Hand-draw on papers that you’ll paste on top of the food cards, prophecy cards, and the king. So that’s 7 cards in total. If you have some basic knowledge of Illustrator, you can digitally draw on top of cards before printing them out.
5. Play the game by yourself a few times. It’s a fun, yet tricky game. So be good at it. Use my review blog where I shared some tips on winning it!
6. Place an order for all the 3 foods that your date loves on the big day. Reveal them only after you win the game.
7. Make sure you win the game! The gameplay duration is only 10-15 minutes, so it’s okay if you lose it the first time. Make sure to narrate as you play the game, to keep your date enticed the whole time.
Black Sonata
A game of suspense where you are in pursuit of a lady is all you need to peak the experience of print-and-play with a date.
For Black Sonata, I opted to customize only one component and a bit of the concept! I posed myself as the player, aka, a hopeless lover- searching for love throughout old London. As we played this game together, I witnessed how enticed Isabelle got with this deductive game.
With the reveal of clues, catching merely a shadow of the Lady throughout London, I portrayed how I am in search of my One. After an adrenaline-rushed pursuit of almost 30 minutes, I am finally able to catch the Lady, only to reveal that it’s Isabelle!
And boom! Isabelle was swept off her feet!
All you have to do:
1. Learn how to play Black Sonata, if you haven’t already
2. Print out the game. It’s a bit complicated to assemble, but keep in mind that the climax this game offers is pivotal for your date night!
3. Play the game a few times. Get better at it, since you will be playing this game with your Date.
4. Attach one photo of your date on one of the Dark Lady cards. You can attach it manually, or choose to add it digitally before printing it out.
5. The tricky part! You need to make sure that you choose the edited Dark Lady to play the game with. Don’t make it too obvious! Shuffle the cards, and make it seem like you randomly chose the card, while in hindsight you’ve already preselected the card. It better be a surprise till the very end that the Dark Lady chosen for the game is your date!
And that’s it! You got:
– a game that will have her laughing while also showing that you know exactly whom she dislikes!
– a game about her favorite food, followed by eating them in real life.
– a game of chasing her to all ends, all in the pursuit of her love.
I give you the perfect recipe to not only make your date swoon over you but also to make her fall in love with print-and-play games. I wish someone did that for me, I swear!
YOU ARE WELCOME!
Tasliman is a board game developer based in Bangladesh, with the dream of exploring the world of games and introducing it to anyone new to it. He is the founder of Kraftz, a brand that develops board games commercially, as well as with reputed entities like BRAC and The Gates Foundation.
