Iron Toys, Games and Hobby Products Design · 2014
BlindBox Wooden Game
- A' Design Award 2014 Iron Winner in Toys, Games and Hobby Products Design
- Awarded April 15, 2014
- CLIENT: Ufuk Bircan Özkan
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 27,965
- Verification code 50C940D143 · Verify this award
About BlindBox Wooden Game
BlindBox is a wooden game which combines puzzles with memory games, and strengthens the feelings like hearing and touching. It is a turn based game for two players. The player who collects his/her own marbles before the other player wins. Horizontal drawers are moved by players to align the holes in the middle of them to create vertical paths for marbles to fall down.The game requires strategic thinking capabilities to block your opponent, a good memory for right moves and high attention to make out where your marbles move to.
Press Kit
- 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.
- 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. - 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.
- 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.
Colors of BlindBox Wooden Game
Design Interview about BlindBox Wooden Game
Starting point for designing this game was to create a puzzle in a 3-dimensional structure with simple rules.
My aim was to create something that interact with our senses. BlindBox does not allow players to see what's happening inside. Instead it encourages to use our memory and hearing capabilities supported with touching and strategical thinking.
I want to develop it a bit more and market it as a production ready game worldwide.
It was actually a school project of mine in Middle East Technical University, Department of Industrial Design. First version of the game was finished in November 2006. Later on in 2013, I revised the design and rules.
As a school project, our brief was just designing a wooden game. Then I come up with this idea as a final decision.
I have applied for eligible copyrights, but it is not yet mass produced. I want to lease its property rights to a manufacturer.
I think people need to use their senses while having fun, like touching and feeling natural materials, instead of only using plastic buttons and LED displays.
In the first sight it looks like a popular wooden block stacking/collapsing game. However, my first inspiration came from a game where you try to align 4 discs in a row to win.
As the game includes 10mm marbles made of glass and steel, it is not proper for children under 6. Anyone in any age over 6 and from any social level who will enjoy playing it are my target customers.
Although it does not allow players see the paths inside, it gives clues about where your marbles are and force you to use your memory and senses.
BlindBox directly refers to a blind box, which you don't know what contains inside. BlindBox is a blind box for the game itself because in each session you have different maze paths and strategies.
I started with sketches and then made a mock-up. When the product proved itself I prepared CAD data for presentation purposes.
It requires using senses to be successful in the game.
I was on my own while developing the game.
It does not require high technology. It can even be produced as an hand-made product.
I conducted market researches in order to define the needs in present games in the market.
The hardest point was to achieve a bug-free game-play. Because games need rules, there shouldn't be any open point to manipulate the game out of its rules.
I explained the game to many of my friends and colleagues and everyone who listened were excited about it.
I proved one more time what I had experienced before; that building mock-ups for products that require high physical interaction is vital.