Connecting Tabletop Games & Cardano

We have already developed and tested our first physical card game called Captivate: Cardano Edition. Final artwork for the game is currently in production.

Captivate: Cardano Edition will connect players and collectors to Cardano through:

• The theme of the game (Cardano).
• Rare physical assets only collectable by redeeming FTs on the Cardano blockchain.
• Providing more information about the Cardano blockchain (Veritree, SPOs, & Cardano itself).

This proposal is to get funding for physical production of the game. If we get funded, ideally our game will ship Q1 of 2023 (largely dependent on manufacturing & shipping timelines).

If you'd like a more visual presentation, please check out our website:

https://frostloregames.com/games/

*With our product, we are also working to implement and develop more sustainable manufacturing within the tabletop game industry. This is a result of our stake pool's mission to help heal the earth with GAIA Stake Pool. You can find out more details below in the Sustainability section.*

Game Overview:

Captivate: Cardano Edition is a fast-paced tabletop card game of strategy, skill, and memory for 2-4 players. Flip over cards and capture them to score points, but watch out – your opponents have plans of their own! Featuring iconic characters from Cardano pop culture, like the "King of the Rats" himself. Combine themes or multiple decks for exciting battles, and to increase the number of players to 5+

Game Features:

Captivate is quick to learn even for a large group, but difficult to master. There are many features to keep you and your friends playing over and over again – who will come out on top?

Strategy:

Planning when to play your cards is important. Playing as many cards as possible could score you more points, and will allow you to draw more cards faster. However, this will leave your high value cards open to capture by opponents.

You can also strategically place your cards in the corners or edges of the grid so that they're more difficult to capture. Setting up your card placement strategically is also a tactic that can be used to capture your own cards on future turns.

Saving your high value cards to the end of the game is another viable strategy, but if the game ends and you still have cards in your hand, those points will count against you!

Skill:

In Captivate, the highest value card doesn't always win. The power dots on each side of a card allow for an alternate way to flip cards.

There are 4 "elements" or "suits" which determine the placement of the power dots. Each element has a different pattern of dot placement, and using your cards most efficiently is a huge advantage.

When flipping cards by comparing card value, only a played card that is higher in value will flip adjacent cards.

When flipping cards by comparing power dots, a played card that has more power dots than the cards around it will flip those cards. Also, any adjacent cards that match the played card's element will be flipped if they have the same number of power dots.

Even the lowest value card can flip the highest value card when played the right way.

Memory:

You'll need to remember which cards were flipped over to make sure you're capturing cards with the highest point value.

When cards are flipped over, they aren't always captured. If you don't have enough cards left in your hand to capture with, you'll need to leave any remaining flipped cards for future turns.

This also gives your opponents a chance to capture any remaining flipped cards, so choose carefully!

Watching which cards your opponents play can also give you an idea of what cards may be left unplayed. There are 13 cards for each of the 4 elements, so by counting cards you can use your memory to your advantage.

Pop Culture:

Each edition of Captivate is themed, and showcases many favorite characters from the popular culture of each theme. This is a great way from people of different communities to connect over pop culture they love. Captivate can be a great conversation starter or ice breaker for parties or new gaming groups!

For example, Captivate: Crytpid Edition will feature the elusive Sasquatch. When Sasquatch appears and starts flipping over cards, how will you and your friends react?

Currently we have 3 themes planned for Captivate, with Captivate: Cardano Edition being the first, but could add more themes in the future. This proposal only focuses on Captivate: Cardano Edition.

Multiplayer:

With a single deck of Captivate, you play a game with 2-4 players. Game time ranges from 10-30 minutes based on player skill and group size.

If you have a larger gaming group, or want longer and more challenging games, just add in another deck of Captivate to support a group from 5-8 players.

If you want to make the game even more exciting, you can combine 2 different Captivate editions and split into teams to see which theme will come out on top!

Budget (Estimated):

Manufacturing & Production Costs:  $30,000

Additional Artwork (Packaging): $2,500

Shipping & Distribution: $5,000

Marketing: $5,000

Legal: $5,000

Total: $47,500 + Tax (5%) = $50,000

Roadmap:

Complete: Game Testing, Card Design

In Progress: Card Artwork, Discussions with Manufacturer

In Queue: Packaging Artwork & Design, Discussions with Distributors & Retailers

Q4 2021:

• Create final card artwork (cards 1-12).
• Work with manufacturer to see how our game can come to life, and how our future goals can be accomplished.
• Determine what a realistic possible physical ship date could be, as the pandemic has bottlenecked manufacturing & distribution across the world.
• Determine what additional resources may be required on our part (deposits, additional art files for production of foil cards, etc.).
• Develop our social media presence (Twitter, Instagram, Discord, Twitch).

Q1 2022:

• Create final card artwork (cards 13-36).
• Begin on rules insert design.
• Begin submitting any deliverables required from manufacturer.
• Continue to develop social media presence.

Q2 2022:

• Create final card artwork (cards 37-52).
• Packaging design (hired professional).
• Finalize rules insert design.
• Design of card information inserts for more info on: Veritree, Cardano, and GAIA Stake Pool.
• Submit any deliverables required from manufacturer.
• Continue to develop social media presence.

Q3 2022:

• Get test sample prints for review.
• Create promotional video & instructional gameplay video (hired professional).
• Contact retailers & distributers about the game (after videos are produced).
• Submit any deliverables required from manufacturer.
• Continue to develop social media presence.

Q4 2022:

• Continue to contact retailers & distributers about the game.
• Make any changes from test sample prints & submit new files.
• Design & submit any further required art files (foiling, final print files, etc.).
• Get final test sample prints for review.
• Submit any deliverables required from manufacturer.
• Continue to develop social media presence.

Q1 2023:

• Make any final changes from test sample prints & submit final files for printing.
• Print Premium & 1st Printing versions of Captivate: Cardano Edition.
• Create online store on website for selling game and accepting payment in ADA (Mercury Plugin).
• Ship game to retailers.

Q2 2023:

• Begin organized play with retailers.
• Begin further advertising (conventions, events, etc.).
• Start looking into accessory production (sleeves, playmats, merchandise, etc.).
• Start developing Captivate: Cryptid Edtion.

Definition of success:

We reach and accomplish as many of our goals in our roadmap as possible by the outlined dates. Ideally all goals are accomplished by these dates, but there is some flexibility for moving things around if needed.

Packaging Details:

- Each deck of Captivate: Cardano Edition will include 52 cards and a rules insert, inside a sealed paper tuck box.

- Decks will be packaged in display bricks for retail, and size will depend on price point, shelf space, dimensions, and weight for shipping.

Print Runs:

*We are currently exploring what options are available to us for print runs based on manufacturer pricing. We will add further information when we know more*

Each print run will include a marking on the packaging and the cards to indicate what print run the cards are from.

Captivate: Cardano Edition (Premium) - 1000 Decks.

- This is a limited print run only available by redeeming a full set of Captivate: Cardano Edition Early Access FTs.

Policy ID: 21da3b1d6db55ef771667653755af5f8c03aa9db82c2588e6da07eb7

- These decks will feature a premium foiling option unobtainable in Captivate: Cardano Edition Unlimited printings. Ideally each deck will consist entirely of premium foiled cards.

*The only way to get early access FTs is by delegating to GAIA, in giveaways from our remaining supply, or on the secondary market*

Captivate: Cardano Edition (1st Printing) - 10,000 to 40,000 Decks.

- The size of the print run will depend on final price quotes from our manufacturer, but we believe there will be enough demand for this unique product to reach a 40,000 deck print run.

- These decks will feature a standard foiling option for foil cards, and a chance for a premium foil card. Foil cards will be randomly inserted in the decks.

- This will be a limited print run, so whichever final print number is chosen, that will be all the decks printed in this manner.

Captivate: Cardano Edition (Unlimited Printing) ~ Decks *For plan purposes only, not part of funding request*

- This will be the printing that sustains the game long term. Once the supply of Captivate: Cardano Edition (1st Printing) dries up, we will use this printing to continue the game for the foreseeable future. Printing will depend on demand, and may go out of print in the future.

- These decks will feature a standard foiling option for foil cards. Foil cards will be randomly inserted in the decks.

Promo Cards / Prize Cards.

- We are exploring the option of including promotional prize cards in the 1st Printing as a way to support official Captivate organized play for retail stores. Ideally this will be the case, but depending on cost and scheduling, this may be pushed to a later date to line up with the Unlimited Printing instead.

Foil Reprint Policy

*Premium foil cards may be reprinted in the future as prize cards for the purpose of supporting official Captivate organized play. These cards will be visually differentiated from 1st Printing and Premium printed cards using the premium foil method.

*A card printed using premium foil techniques can be reprinted in an alternative foiling method or as a non-foil.

Distribution (Based on a 40,000 deck 1st Printing scenario):

- 1,000 Captivate: Cardano Edition (Premium) decks redeemable directly from us by holders of our early access FTs.

- 10,000 Captivate: Cardano Edition (1st Printing) decks for sale in our online store (will need to be created). Ideally we would use the Mercury plugin developed by Adam Dean so that we can also accept payment in ADA.

https://github.com/cardano-mercury/cardano-mercury-woocommerce

- 30,000 Captivate: Cardano Edition (1st Printing) decks to be sold to retailers across the world. This would also be open to any Cardano product retailers that wish to carry the game. Retailers will be able to purchase product at a discounted rate.

*10,000 - 20,000 Captivate: Cardano Edition (1st Printing) decks will be reserved for brick and mortar retailers.

*We will work with traditional distributors of tabletop and card game products for fulfillment to retailers globally.

Sustainability:

Long term, we are looking to create our game products in a manner that is more sustainable than what has been available in the tabletop game industry in the past.

We will work with our manufacturer to be able to achieve as many of these options over the short term as possible, and to ideally implement all of them eventually.

The goal is to maintain a superb product for collectors and players without adding additional waste. Some of these sustainable alternatives are:

- Paper booster pack wrappers instead of foil.

- Packaging sealed with recyclable wrap.

- Cardstock from semi-recycled or fully recycled paper (if possible)*

- Paper packaging made from semi-recycled or fully recycled paper (if possible)*

- Alternative ways of offsetting environmental cost of products, like donating a portion of product sales to tree planting, ocean cleanup, or both.

For tree planting, we would like to make donations to the Cardano Forest through Veritree from every product sold, since GAIA Stake Pool is already working with them as part of the Climate Neutral Cardano Group (CNCG). This would add another way for gamers to connect with Cardano:

https://www.veritree.com/

https://ito.veritree.com/

We could add one or two double-sided card inserts to each deck that would have further information about Veritree and the Cardano Forest on one side, and information about GAIA Stake Pool and Cardano in general on the other side.

We could also use QR codes to give gamers a quick way to get further information from websites.

Future Goals:

Organized Play:

While our initial focus is getting Captivate Cardano: Edition into the hands of gamers, organized play is a large part of what builds a community around a game. Although it is not a necessary component to create success for a game, organized play is something that we want to implement. Long term it will be easier to introduce a larger amount of tabletop gamers to Captivate, and by extension, Cardano if there is an established community they can be a part of.

To accomplish this goal, we would introduce a prize support mechanism for official Captivate organized play. This would include:

- Promotional prize cards.

- Captivate product from any of our own remaining inventory.

- Possibly extra product for retailers in exchange for hosting organized play (based on order volume & recorded player turnout). This idea and volume of product will largely depend on the cost of giving away product, and possibly initial sales of the 1st Printing.

- Possibly prizes in ADA for both retail and large events. This would be a great way to further introduce tabletop gamers to Cardano. This idea will largely depend on the legal requirements of implementing this in countries around the world, and if we have the extra ADA in the future to do so.

Additional product that expands on the Captivate brand:

- Cardano themed sleeves, deckboxes, and playmats. These items are a standard in the tabletop games and card games industry to keep product in good long term condition. This product could be themed to match any Cardano artwork we create, or that is supplied to us by interested partners.

- Future Captivate editions with different themes to reach and connect different audiences together. After Captivate: Cardano Edition is complete, we have Captivate: Cryptid Edition scheduled next to tie in with our podcast "Rocky Mountain Cryptids"

https://www.rockymountaincryptids.com/

We'll be able to use the podcast to advertise all our Captivate products, and connect the cryptid audience to the Cardano audience.

Our last Captivate product currently scheduled is Captivate: Fantasy Edition, which will connect the fantasy audience to the Cardano audience.

The Captivate brand could be expanded upon in the future, depending on partnerships. We could also add future Cardano-related editions, with new cards focused on different characters, if there is demand and interest for this.

Future games that use a similar theming model as Captivate:

We currently also have 2 other tabletop games in our schedule to be developed and produced in the future. Ideally we can follow the same theming model as Captivate to attract players to Cardano. These two games are an Untitled Dungeon Crawler, and an Untitled RPG Card Game. Initial theme would be focused on Cardano, and later themes would target audiences from different groups, with a way to connect all audiences together.

Further Blockchain Integration:

To take blockchain integration and tabletop games further, here are some options we are exploring for future products:

- Individual cards have a QR code printed on them, which is connected to a digital NFT or FT asset in a wallet. Assets would be pre-minted and manually placed in wallets, and a wallet recovery phrase would be included in each card pack.

- Individual cards have a QR code printed on them, which is connected to a digital NFT or FT asset that can be minted. Users would put in their wallet receive address into an app/DApp, scan each QR code for redemption, then pay the transaction & minting fee. The assets would be then minted and sent to the user's wallet.

- A more cost effective solution would be to follow either process from above, but have a single additional card with a QR code that represents all assets in a card pack. To do this, assets cannot be generated to match randomly inserted cards into a pack (ie: foils or randomized booster packs).

Assets can be randomly generated with the same properties and same chances of appearing as the physical cards, but they would generate results different from the physical cards.

This would be acceptable if the goal was to create a similar ecosystem in a digital version of the game, but not an exact copy (Pokémon TCG does something like this already, but not on the blockchain).

A happy medium could be to have all static physical cards linked to one QR code, and all randomized physical cards with their own QR codes on each card.

- To get full benefit out of this kind of integration, a smartphone app or DApp would be ideal to manage game assets and to have a virtual gaming experience that can be connected to the physical game.

- The cost, complexity, and user effort required to implement each of these ideas would have to be weighed to ultimately determine which route would be chosen.