Matt (left) and Franklin Vrtis (right).
I was in 8th grade.
I vividly remember laying belly-down in my grandparents’ basement, cutting out pieces of paper to create my first-ever card game. I wanted to make a game that felt like you were playing the childhood playground game Tag.
Well, the game sucked, and I kinda gave up.
Fast-forward a few months, my dad brings it up again. As an angsty pre-teen, I dismissed him at first, but he insisted, saying he “changed a few rules” to make it more fun. Unfortunately for me, he was right. The game was fun.
Fast-forward again, and I’m in my room brainstorming ideas for my second ever card game. Seeing as we live in the roundabout capital of the USA, my dad suggests making a game about roundabouts.
Can you guess what game we made?
---
We’ve only grown from there. We’ve entered board game design contests, attended various board game designer events, and gotten to know some awesome people in the community (…and since all of these were through a website called TheGameCrafter, it would be hard not to give them some kudos here).
I’ve also learned a lot about so many different aspects of making and selling board games, from the photography to the branding to the layouts to the rulebook to the iconography to the pacing… I could go on. And I’ve had an absolute blast learning about every last one of them.
The best part is that I’m still looking to grow my own skills even more, all while growing this business in the process! There are a few games we have in the chamber, with a special upcoming project that literally keeps me up at night with excitement.
visionmonster, for me, is a business as much as it is an outlet for my creativity and a way for me to grow as both an entrepreneur and a creative. I love everything about this business… and it helps to have a great dad helping me along the way, too :)
- Franklin