EAP Toy and Games' Chrissy Fagerholt: 'A laugh is the easiest way to build connection'
The key to a great game that spans the generations according to the indie publisher founder and designer? Five rules or fewer
Making a game decidedly for grown-ups was the key that unlocked Chrissy Fagerholt’s door into the family market.
With experience as a florist and greetings card designer, the Denver resident had a habit of landing jobs that connected people from afar. So, it was a natural jump to want to create something that got people enjoying each other’s company in closer proximity.
And that was the origin story for Friend or Faux – a risque party game, comprised of “ridiculously revealing” questions, a mechanism to tell-all about the laughably absurd moments in life – created by Chrissy alongside her friendship group.
A family version has followed suit: You Who?!, which apart from toning down the adult factor replaces Friend or Faux’s “bullshit card” with a cutesy baloney figure to call out various fibs.
With the food-fight themed The Lunch Room and Go Big or Go Broke – which demands maximum efforts from players for simple actions – the EAP stable is expanding. So we spoke to Chrissy about what makes great family games and what the future holds for the brand.
Firstly, can you describe for us the work of EAP Toy and Games and what its origins are?
CF: EAP is a woman-owned, self-publisher of family-friendly party games that mix light competition and humour, for kids, teens and adults.
Why should families play together? From your own experiences, how can they help people to connect?
CF: Play and humour are how I connect with people, especially my kids. It is a pressure-free, inexpensive, easy way to share a laugh, discover things about other people, learn from competition and decision-making.
Through games you can sit with people you know well or strangers and find common ground. As parents/guardians, we have so much pressure to educate and teach everything our kids need to know to get through life successfully, make good choices, etc, but often we forget to simply have fun.
Play allows us to relax, take a break, find humour in tough or stressful situations, and it shouldn’t stop once you become older.
Think about the last time you had a good laugh: I bet you can remember when it was, who it was with and why? Just like sharing a good cry with someone, they open a line of communication and form memories.
‘As a mom, I like to enjoy what I am playing with my kids, so I use that as a rule when I am coming up with ideas’
Do you have any tips for parents to get children involved in board games and away from screens?
CF: Screens are a part of daily life, so rather than fight what is not going away, my goal is to create options/games that make people want to put their phones down, and requires people to be face-to-face in a fun way.
With that being said, a lot of people want games that don’t take a long time to learn or explain.
EAP games are designed with no more than five rules, so they are easy enough for a younger audience to teach themselves, for a parent to quickly explain, or for those reluctant to games to get into quickly and enjoy.
What’s the secret to creating good family games that entertains across various ages?
CF: As a mom, I like to enjoy what I am playing with my kids, so I use that as a rule when I am coming up with ideas; games that can be played with just kids, just adults, and the combo of both. So, no matter the age, you’re having fun!
This usually means sprinkling humour in the play somewhere. I have learned getting a laugh is the easiest way to build connection.
You adapted your party game Friend or Faux for a more family-friendly format with You Who?! What were the major changes?
CF: We were able to keep a lot of the same questions in the first three rounds of the game, which helped! The questions in Friend or Faux that become more risqué, we turned more interpersonal in You Who?!
We also added the baloney in place of a BS card. Both have the same meaning, but the baloney gave it a more fun, tactile approach to calling someone’s answer out!
Can you think of any good house rules you’ve used that families can explore on other games to make them easier or more entertaining for younger players?
CF: I had a kindergarten teacher leave a review for my game The Lunch Room. She took out the cards that had the rules and strategy, leaving just the option for kids to choose cards to be the first to fill their lunch tray, but she left the food fight card in the deck so the kids still got to fight over the tater tot, so they wouldn’t have to dump their tray.
It’s a simple one rule action she could apply to an audience as young as four. I’m sure that can be applied to a lot of games: find the one action that makes for the most fun and limit the other rules.
If other designers have ideas about getting their games out into the world, what advice can you give them?
CF: This applies to those interested in designing party games: start simple, take your idea and have a lot of different people play it. Figure out what it is they like, what they don’t like, and go from there.
Nail the mechanics down so you can figure out the written rules (the hardest part). Then decide if you want to self-publish or try to license your idea to a company. Both have their ups and downs.
Ask yourself if you want to become an entrepreneur with higher risks, bigger rewards and self-publish? Or, do you want to give the control to someone else, in hopes it does well and earning a royalty so you can move on to creating other ideas.
There is no guarantee of success with either one, so it will take hustle, hope and resiliency.
Figure out where you think your strengths lie and choose your path.
Often, self-publishers license their ideas down the road and licensed designers have turned to self-publishing, so there are always options to pivot.
What games did you play when growing up?
CF: For me it was the classics: Trivial Pursuit, Battleship, Clue, Uno, Candy Land, Monopoly, and simple card games like rummy, war, etc.
Do you have a favourite family board game both within your titles and from elsewhere?
CF: I love The Lunch Room for its aesthetics and components. It’s a fun little game that requires a little luck, strategy and action.
I also love a quick card or dice game, from Five Crowns to Left Center Right or Yahtzee.
What plans do you have for the future for EAP: Anything in development?
CF: I am about to introduce my fourth game, in hopes I have it ready to show retailers in June and soon after to consumers.
It’s still a work in progress so I can’t say too much – so stay tuned!
For more information, visit eaptoyandgames.com
Game reviews and subscriptions
We’re trying something a little different here at Generations Games Towers. We’ve only been sending the weekly feature to subscribers and leaving the game reviews to the website only.
But it feels like this approach is cutting us short, seeing as these game reviews – in which both me and my daughter seek out the best games that bridge the age gap – are our own USP.
Therefore, for now we’ll be sending out game reviews on Mondays or Fridays – or both – and the main feature in mid-week.
For now, you can find all our previous game reviews by clicking this link.
Review round-up
This week, me and the kid have mostly been playing…
Ghost Castle
Spooky but simple ghostly goings-on with Milton Bradley's childhood nostalgia-fest board game.
Read the full review
Slide Quest
A board game like a video game – Slide Quest plays straight out of the box