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Games

Mutation spherical board game invites you to have a ball

The Premise. The classic board games we’ve all been playing for years can make us feel, well, bored. With little interaction, complicated rules and limited possibilities, popular board games sometimes leave us wanting more.

The Product. Mutation is a 3-D spherical game that can be played with two, three, or four players. It’s multi-colored and has round pegs that can be moved around on it. Mutation comes with several variations on how it can be played with possibilities for more games born from the players’ imaginations. Most games focus on the goal of getting the pegs arranged in certain shapes or patterns. Mutation is plastic and the pegs come in two colors, black and white to differentiate the teams.

The Pitch. Mutation’s funny campaign video shows two drones playing Checkers and a third Mutation advocate saying, “King me? Really?” It goes with the typical trope of the two boring guys coming alive as soon as they’re handed Mutation. The rest of the campaign discusses how the actual product will be a more updated version of the one seen in the video. It also goes into detail about how Mutation is actually quite difficult to manufacture. This interactive game hopes to raise $5,000 with the help of Kickstarter.

The Perks. For $20, early birds will receive Mutation from the second production batch. At a regular price, the second production batch Mutation goes for $25. Reward tiers climb up to $10,000 with estimated delivery set for January 2015.

The Potential. The idea of a 3-D multi-player game isn’t anything new. Mutation’s claim to fame is that, along with the various games it already provides, you can make up your own games using this product. The campaign is unclear how this is possible and, really, any game comes with this possibility. Since each set game the product provides centers just on shapes, it’s difficult to think that Mutation will really be a heap of fun. It’s hard to predict without actually playing it, but one seeking fun might instead opt for a Bop It. If marketed to a younger crowd, however, Mutation may have success if sold as a shape-learning tool for small children.