FINISHIT sees a successful launch
University of Guelph alumni and entrepreneurs Jamie Doran and Jeff Huber have created a game that you can win by simply being the worst.
Their new party game FINISHIT launched at The Boardroom on Dec. 3 and was met with a great deal of support from both local and online communities.
“We sold 75 games prior to having any games in our hands [in pre sales], including 55 VIP copies,” Doran explained in an interview with The Ontarion.
Doran was completing his PhD in plant agriculture at the University of Guelph when he met Huber, who was completing his Master’s in environmental biology. Despite starting out as scientists, Doran and Huber have always shared an interest in creating things together.
“It was always in our minds to eventually one day make this our job,” said Doran.
After a number of hobby projects over the years, the two entrepreneurs decided to start a toy and game company, Kyfak, with FINISHIT as their first product.
[media-credit name=”Heather Gilmore” align=”aligncenter” width=”1020″]
“We’re actually trying to commercialize a game rather than having fun for ourselves and our friends,” said Huber. “Now we want to introduce that fun to the rest of the world.”
A rough prototype for FINISHIT was first tested at a friend’s cottage last January and the mechanics of the game have since been perfected to include 240 cards, acting as a “slot machine of ideas,” explained Doran.
For each round, there are up to nine “scribes,” a “bomber,” and a “judge.” The judge initiates the round by drawing a starter card that will reveal a short incomplete phrase. As the scribes write down their answers to end the phrase, the bomber will select a card from the bomb pile to add a twist to the initial phrase. Once the scribes submit their endings, the bomb is revealed and the judge awards cards for both the best and the worst responses. The first player to collect five cards wins—regardless of whether they have the five best or the five worst responses.
At the Guelph launch, locals and board game enthusiasts had a chance to test out the new game. The launch also gave Doran and Huber the opportunity to partner with other businesses connected to the U of G Alumni Association, including The Boardroom and Royal City Brewing.
Feature photo by Dana Bellamy.