< Irwin ChenFeatured Project

Mages & Macrophages

Game Design,  Tabletop Role-Playing Game, 2018-2020, Ampersand RPG


Ampersand RPG is a game company I co-founded with two other Brooklyn nerd dads that makes Tabletop Role-Playing Games for parents and kids. Mages & Macrophages was the first game we released in 2022.  

PROBLEM
Parents who want to introduce their kids (ages of 6-12 years old) to D&D and Role-Playing Games face a host of obstacles:
  • Too many rules and arcane lore
  • Some material is not age-appropriate
  • No time to prepare and set up adventure
  • The presence of digital devices is distracting


SOLUTION
Ampersand RPG packages the entire experience into one box, with everything needed to play, and very little preparation needed by the parent. 
  • No separate rulebooks
  • Simplified rules are derived from D&D 5e
  • Loot tokens make inventory tangible
  • Monster and NPC cards make tracking stats easy
  • Narrative is provided with color-coded notation for the GameMaster
  • Map provided in tiles to focus players’ attention and introduce the element of surprise
  • Figurines and dice are included
# game design
# animation
# illustration
# writing
# prototyping
# user testing
# marketing  
The box opens out to become the GameMaster’s screen:




Excerpts from the storyboards for the 1-minute intro video: