BlindBox Pāʻani Lāʻau by Ufuk Bircan Özkan

BlindBox Pāʻani Lāʻau by Ufuk Bircan Özkan is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2014 A' Design Award Hao in Hoʻolālā Mea Pāʻani, Pāʻani a me Lako Lealea Competition Category.

HaoMea Pāʻani· 2014

BlindBox Pāʻani Lāʻau

by Ufuk Bircan Özkan

Client: Ufuk Bircan Özkan

A' Design Award Hao Winner in Mea Pāʻani Category

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Verified Award Winner
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View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About BlindBox Pāʻani Lāʻau

ʻO ka BlindBox kahi pāʻani lāʻau kahi e hoʻopili ai i nā mea pāʻani me nā pāʻani hoʻomanaʻo, a hoʻoikaika i nā manaʻo e like me ka hoʻolohe ʻana a me ka hoʻopā ʻana. He huli pāʻani pāʻani no nā mea pāʻani ʻelua. ʻO ka mea pāʻani e hōʻiliʻili i kāna mau kinikini ponoʻī ma mua o ka mea e lanakila ana ka mea pāʻani. Ke hoʻohālikelike nei nā mea kau e pahū nei e nā mea pāʻani e hoʻomohala i nā lua ma waenakonu o lākou e hana i nā ala ākea no ka hāʻule ʻana o nā makika. neʻe ka makika i.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award Hao

Ua lanakila ka hoʻolālā BlindBox Pāʻani Lāʻau i ka A' Design Award Hao, he ʻike hoʻohanohano i hāʻawi ʻia i nā hoʻolālā maikaʻi e hoʻokō ana i nā koi ʻoihana a ʻoihana hana i manaʻo ʻia mai nā mea hoʻokumu i hana maikaʻi ʻia. Hōʻike nā lanakila Hao i ka mākau nui, ka loea kiʻekiʻe, ka ʻike akamai a me ka hiki hana noʻeau o ka poʻe i hana iā lākou. Manaʻo ʻia ʻo ka hoʻolālā BlindBox Pāʻani Lāʻau he mea hoʻokumu i mahalo nui ʻia, hoʻohiwahiwa ʻia a aloha ʻia e pono a hou. ʻO kēia hoʻolālā i lanakila i ka A' Design Award Hao e hoʻohui ana i nā hana maikaʻi loa o ka ʻoihana a loaʻa nā ʻano ʻenehana mākaukau i hui pū ʻia me ka ʻike hana a me ka makakoho. Mahalo ʻia ka hoʻolālā BlindBox Pāʻani Lāʻau no kona nānā pono a ua hoʻolālā ʻia e hāʻawi i nā hoʻomaikaʻi ola e kōkua ai i ka hana ʻana i ka honua i wahi maikaʻi aku.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: BlindBox is a wooden game which combines puzzles with memory games. Because of the natural materials used, it strengthens feelings like hearing and touching. Players change the 3D maze in each move during the game in order to gather their own marbles. Players need to consider the position of their opponent's marble too, when making moves. Because of the unique game scenario, players may score for their opponents by causing their opponent's marble fall down first. Causing a marble to fall out of the structure requires the marble to start from top layer.
Dimensions & Packaging: Proposed package dimensions are mm x mm x mm
Tags: wood, game, puzzle, maze, turn based, marbles, sound
Production Technology: BlindBox can be produced by conventional production techniques as it requires basic geometrical shapes to be formed in wood, glass and steel.
Design Challenge: The hardest part was checking the game against any bugs which will effect the gameplay. As far as I experienced, there are no bugs that allow cheating or stucking.
Research: User and market research es are done at the first stages of the esign studies. 3-dimensional gameplay, risk of scoring for your opponent and selection of the natural materials used in production are the results of these researches.
Inspiration: I wondered if I will be able to add a 3rd dimension to classic maze games. A static 3D maze would be boring as it would have just one solution; so I created one where users change the path in each turn. As it contains small parts, it is suitible for children aged over 6.
Project Duration: The design was an old student project of mine from 2006 in Ankara. I revised it in Bursa in February 2014 to make it a commercial product.
Operation Flow: Placing the drawers randomly to the storeys, and marbles diagonally to the holes on top are the preperation stages of the game. One player plays with glass marbles and the other player plays with steel ones. Players can choose any classic method to select who will start. The aim is to collect your marbles before your opponent does. What you can do is to slide the drawers in turns in order to align holes in the drawers with the ones in the storey below to make marbles fall down. Because you don't see where the marbles are in the construction; you need to remember or guess their places by the help of the sounds they create when hitting the wooden drawers. You can recognize your own marbles by the different sound they create than your opponent's because of their different materials.
During the gameflow, you may fall your own or your opponent's marbles outside the box which means they need to be placed in and start from the holes at the top. Similarly, you may accidentally gather your opponent's marble from bottom, which means an own-goal.
The next game set can start with the last winner's move after replacing the marbles.
Image Credits: Image #1: Industrial Designer Ufuk Bircan Özkan, BlindBox, 2014.
Image #2: Industrial Designer Ufuk Bircan Özkan, BlindBox, 2014.
Image #3: Industrial Designer Ufuk Bircan Özkan, BlindBox, 2014.
Image #4: Industrial Designer Ufuk Bircan Özkan, BlindBox, 2014.
Image #5: Industrial Designer Ufuk Bircan Özkan, BlindBox, 2014.