Goal: Create a game with mechanics and an aesthetic that mimics the Trader Joe's shopping experience.
With Trader Joe's as my muse, I created this game. This project combines strategic game design and Trader Joe's branding, and provides a fun game for me to play with my family and friends. While enjoying Trader Joe's products, of course.
My initial game structure looked like this:
Game Setup
Game Rules
Early Product Card Design Variations
I wanted to make a game board, along with game cards and pieces, roughly inspired by my local Trader Joe's store layout. You could choose each turn to move up to 3 spaces. To get a product of a particular type, you would have to be in its respective section, and then for a turn action your could take it. For example, if I wanted the frozen product in the product lineup (the row with the colored circles), I would have to be on one of the three frozen squares.
However, when testing out the game, I found that having the game board slowed the experience down to an impossible level. After toying with several different solutions, ultimately, to my dismay, I decided to remove the game board from play. I did this amongst other changes, such as changing the number of cards. This made the game much more playable.
I then went on to create the physical components of my game.
Product Cards
The product cards were all divided into 7 categories. Each category had 24 unique Trader Joe's products, with one card for each product. Only the cards in the eggs category were all the same products (a tribute to the flowers in American Mahjong, which influenced aspects of my game). The category was marked by a color and listed at the top, to make it accessible to those who are color-blind.
Customer Service Cards
Then came the action cards, otherwise known as customer service cards. This was inspired by the customer service desk at my local Trader Joe's.
Customer Service Cards
Finally, the Fearless Flyer cards, influenced by the Trader Joe's newsletter. This is a call to the products reviewed and listed in the flyer, and in the game is a call to action to find specific categories of products to complete the card.
And after printing and making a physical mockup of the game, along with a game rules pamphlet, I had my final product.
Game Rules Pamphlet: front (left), inside (middle), back (right)
Trader Joe's: The Game in use
Physical Cards, First Edition
Trader Joe's: The Game being played by my mother (left), my sister (right), and me (behind the camera)
