About
Our Story
Lockdown 2020
The world had suddenly changed - from normality, everyone was thrown into uncertainty. No work, no socialising and no football! For three football fanatics that was a hard pill to swallow and the onset of boredom quickly arrived. After hours of thinking what to do with our time, a spark of imagination struck. Why not play a football board game? (at a distance of course). After trying to find some we were surprised to see a lack of anything that looked remotely interesting to play. So we decided to change that and make our own. Rising Star Football Edition was born!
Creating The Game
After many Zoom calls...
Our main aim was to make it competitive, fun and interesting. We toyed with many ideas but the one that we related to the most was playing out a footballer's career, a dream many of us have as a child. Bringing all the varying components of a footballer's journey to life - the ups and downs, the transfers and contracts, the agents, the success and failure, the fame, the money, the injuries, and most importantly the matches!
After many Zoom calls we had the start of what seemed to be a working prototype, even if it was just scraps of paper with drawings on. The mechanism for playing matches against your opponent worked like a dream and really gave you a competitive buzz when you won. We laughed a lot reading out the cards that had been written by each other and playing out the scenarios on the board. After a few seasons we felt like we actually had something of substance, something to work with.
Turning Semi-Pro
After many more Zoom calls...
As you've seen, the rough board was enough for us to mess around with but we started wondering if anyone else would enjoy playing the game. If they were going to it would have to look a touch more professional! We still had a lot of time on our hands and luckily between us we had the skill set to turn our ideas into reality. We set out designing everything, from the playing pieces to the images of the agents. We sourced what we could and made what we couldn't. Eventually, we had our very first game!
It certainly wasn't a finished product but it was enough to give to people to play and test. Enough to find out a family member who hates football absolutely loved the game! This was a bit of a turning point. How could someone who genuinely disliked football all their life find so much enjoyment from beating her husband 3-1 on Derby Day? It turns out we hadn't just created a football game, we had created a competitive and engaging story for everyone to enjoy. With all the feedback, both positive and negative, we made change after change until we were finally ready to take the next step.
Turning Pro
Private Funding & Manufacturing
Our initial campaign was unsuccessful but opened the door to private funding where investment was provided to get the first manufacturing run underway. Our prototyping became even better and the quality of the product looked amazing! We were so pleased with the finished result and are able to share previews of the actual game here so check them out!
This has meant that we are expected to release the game for general sale in July 2021. Be sure to pre-order a copy today to make sure you are one of the first to get your hands on the game.
Our Cup Final
The Board of Dreams
It might sound funny but it really does feel like our cup final. We've got a shot at turning what was just an idea and a bit of fun into something for many people to share and enjoy. Our Kickstarter campaign, although unsuccessful, has given us the opportunity to offer everyone the chance of owning their own Rising Star Football Edition. It's been an enjoyable journey and one we want to continue long into the future. Following the campaign we received private funding to get the first manufacturing run of games created. This has allowed us to create a pre-order opportunity for those who are interested in purchasing a copy.
Seeing the way people enjoy and react when playing the game has given us the confidence that this could be a business for the future and we already have many more titles in the background, ready to develop, if we are successful with our debut game. Our marketing strategy will put the product in the virtual shop window for many football fans and board game fans alike. With enough support we can make this dream a reality.
On behalf of the team at Rising Star Football Edition we would like to thank all of our supporters, contributors, family and friends, testers and partners who have given their time, hard work and money to bring this project to life. We hope you enjoy playing as much as we do.