'Games don’t have to have many rules to be engaging': Helaina Cappel of Kids Table Board Gaming on family-friendly designs
The Haunt the House and Foodfighters co-designer on how her experience as a teacher helped her work as a games publisher
Too complex for kids; no real challenge for adults: that was the frustration Helaina and Josh Cappel found when playing mainstream titles when introducing their children to board games.
So they started Kids Table Board Gaming, focusing on creating games that hit the sweet spot of keeping all generations entertained. Nine years later, the husband-and-wife publishers now have 11 titles to their name, including Creature Comforts, which won at last year’s Origins Awards for best social/light strategy board game, and the Mensa-recommended Power Plants.
Having successfully funded latest title Maki Master – a tile-laying game about making sushi – on Kickstarter in December, we spoke to Helaina – who also co-designed KTBG’s Haunt the House and Foodfighters with Josh – about the importance of family game time and what the future holds for Kids Table Board Gaming.
Can you describe the work of Kids Table Board Gaming and what its origins are? How do you and Josh split the work between you?
We make games for adults that kids can play. Our goal is for games to grow with families. So, when you open up one of our games, you can play it as-is, or you can remove components/rules to fit the level of the people playing.
We decided to start this company because of the lack of kids’ games that interested the adults in the family. We thought that there had to be a way for everyone to have fun.
I do all of the business stuff, Josh does all of the creative stuff. We both do development. We are both absolutely suited for our specific roles. It's really a great partnership!
KTBG seems to have developed out of seeing a gap in the market for games that could be enjoyed by all ages. How do you think that marketplace has developed since you started? Is it more competitive now?
Absolutely! If you can't have fun with everyone, are you really having fun?
Since we began this company nine years ago, we have seen a huge spike in fun, playable games for everyone. We like to think we were some of the first to make games accessible for everyone and that we continue to lead in this category.
While there are many competitors out there, I think we still do it best.
What do you think the importance of families playing together is?
Besides the need to get everyone off of their devices, it’s a time for families to have fun and get to know each other.
Playing games forces people to talk with each other. They create a cohesive group of gamers who have a common interest and often create a common understanding of how to play together.
It’s so fantastic for me to hear that a family has purchased one of our games and even the little kids are engaged. That doesn't happen very often these days. I'm so proud to be a small part of that.
What advice would you give to designers when creating family-friendly games? Do you see common mistakes in terms of game mechanics that spoil the vibe?
Don’t assume that kids won’t or can’t understand complex ideas. They can. It’s just about the way the information is presented to them.
Games don’t have to have many rules to be engaging. They can be easy to learn with many interesting decisions to make.
When playing, kids can play intuitively, while adults strategically. This is a magic spot where adults and kids can play games together.
When designing a game, how much importance do you put into the type of conditions a game will be played in – for example, a frazzled parent reading through instructions backdropped to the sound of easily distracted kids very keen to frequently ask when they can start?
We try to make all types of games so that families can choose the one that suits them best.
For example, Maple Valley is easy to learn, but complex in the choices you can make. Diced Veggies is easy to learn and your choice making is easy. Choosing the right game for your family is important.
You don't want to overwhelm kids who are disinterested in playing. Fewer choices will equate to more success playing with some kids.
‘Having your kids choose the game you are going to play will yield the best results. No matter what they choose, it was their choice and they will be engaged because of it’
As well as designing games, you’re a teacher – how does gamifying the classroom benefit the education of kids and how can parents bring that into their own game time? Are there some kids who really benefit from the approach more than others?
Even before I knew I was a gamer, I made everything into a game.
I remember trying to teach the feudal system to my grade 4s. It was so dry and boring. So, I turned it into a game about who can acquire the most gum (I used sticks of gum because that year we had a huge gum problem at our school 🤣).
Obviously, the king had buckets of gum at the end of the game, which lead our class to have a discussion about how our economy works. The kind of discussion every grade 4 teacher dreams of having with their students.
This lesson taught me that there is so much to making a game out of learning. It snowballed and, to this day, I have had every single one of my classes design their own games. I hope to have helped at least one of my students to become a game designer.
I really believe that if you take a kid away from their desk, they will learn better. No matter who they are. And at the end of the day, we don't just want people who can recall information, we also want thinkers. After all, isn't that what we all want our kids to do? Think?
What tips do you have for parents to get children interested in a board game and away from screens?
I will never tell a parent to get their kids completely away from screens. We are living in a time when you have to keep up with tech in order to be present in our world.
However, I do suggest having family game nights, where screens are not welcome. Once a week. Once every other week. Once a month. Whatever works for your family. But it's an important time to connect.
Having your kids choose the game you are going to play will yield the best results. No matter what they choose, it was their choice and they will be engaged because of it.
If you are just starting out, go to the store together to buy your games. I find giving your child a budget (there's the teacher in me) is helpful, because often they will choose more than one game to fit your budget.
You’ve spoken before about finding games that were bought out in your childhood uninteresting, due to a lack of agency or choices. These games remain what most people think of when board games are raised as a subject – can you think of any good house rules that people playing mass-market games can explore to make these more entertaining for all concerned?
This is a difficult question, actually. Because of this, we don’t really play many mass-market games. And when I was a kid, we never house ruled any game.
However, I would first suggest to reread the rules. Many times people grow up playing a game so they think they know the rules. When they teach it to others, they often teach it wrong.
For example, I know you all grew up putting Monopoly money straight into the Free Parking spot on the board. This is not actually part of the game. It’s the reason that the game sometimes takes hours and hours to finish. If you read the rules properly, that game should not take you more than 45 minutes to an hour to play. It might actually be a bit more enjoyable (or less enjoyable, depending on who you are).
Do you have favourite family board games that you play often with family members, both within your titles and from elsewhere?
My favourite games of ours to play as a family are currently Power Plants and Maple Valley. We've been playing a lot of It’s A Wonderful World, and of course Taco, Cat, Goat, Cheese, Pizza.
Are there any games you’re releasing or work on that you're particularly excited to bring out into the world?
We have an incredible game launching on Kickstarter in the fall called Lairs. Think Battleship and a dungeon crawl, all wrapped into one.
It will start with a base intro game and, as you play more games, you unlock more exciting content. At its very core, it is so accessible. We are excited for the world to play it.
Pre-order Maki Master on Kickstarter. For more information on Kids Table Board Gaming, visit kidstablebg.com
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