AQUA PIPE board game background story
Over the years of making board games, we have developed a special material that we are very good at. We have our own reasons for continuing to use the same materials, such as ease of production and cost.
However, this also means that we can create board games with different ideas if the material is changed.
The production of "AQUA PIPE" began when I met Mr. Hideo Hayashi of BUSYU INDUSTORY CO.,LTD. a company that specializes in metal pipe processing in Ome City Tokyo, at a social gathering at the end of 2023.
LOGY GAMES won a Good Toy Award in 2017 for a board game called "ACTOP" and when I asked him about it, he told me that BUSYU INDUSTORY CO.,LTD. had also won a Good Toy Award in 2015 for "Pipe Gram" a toy in which aluminum pipes are assembled with resin joint. We had a very interesting time talking about manufacturing, commercialization, and the difficulties of selling them.
I was very interested in the material pipe, so I did a lot of research on its properties and realized that pipes are hollow and can accommodate a wide variety of sizes in a multiple structure.
This led me to the idea of a board game that fully utilizes the characteristics of pipes and the bending technology of metal pipes. When we presented Mr. Hayashi with the idea of commercializing a board game made of pipes, he replied that it would be difficult for BUSYU INDUSTORY to commercialize it on its own due to the history of "Pipe Gram," but that he would cooperate with us in the development project as a LOGY GAMES product.
Due to its structure, a board game made of pipes is a very unique game in the world that cannot be replaced by any other product. It would be a shame to abandon the commercialization of the game, so we planned to make a prototype and release it to the world through kickstarter, a crowdfunding campaign in the United States.
Bushu Kogyo has agreed to cooperate with us by providing us with samples until the prototype is made, on the condition that we promote their aluminum pipe processing technology in the campaign.
The game is to make a water pipe lines. We first explained the game and drew drawings of the necessary parts, and then requested sample production.
The samples he sent us are three different thicknesses of pipe, and two of them are bent into a U-letter shape. We cannot create a design until we actually hold it in our hands. There are textures that can only be understood when you hold it in your hand, such as the feel and weight. This is a very important factor for games that you can actually play.
As an aside, whenever I am confronted with a new material, I always go to see the company, the factory, and the site (although there are times when it is physically impossible to do so). This way, I can see what the company is good at, what they are not so good at, and many other things. I also went to the aluminum pipe company (Bushu Kogyo) for this project. By seeing the site, I was able to experience firsthand what the company can do.
Board game creating
We drew up a drawing of the size and board of the pipe pieces to be used from the actual pipe. At the initial stage, we envisioned a U-shaped pipe with a pitch of 30 mm in width, but we found that a mold for bending was required for that size and would cost more than 200,000 yen. However, since we already had a mold for a 40 mm width, we were told that we could produce the product without incurring any special costs. Since there was no problem playing with the U-shaped pipe of 40 mm pitch that we had received as a sample, we decided to make a new drawing of the board with a 40 mm pitch pipe to save money.
Prototype of a pipe piece
This is a machined pipe that was fabricated and delivered based on the above drawing. We even had it color coated in red and blue. Since it is a sample, they did not outsource the coloring, but finished it by hand using oil-based lacquer in-house. It is very beautifully finished.
Here we see a few problems with commercialization. Pipe processing is more expensive than expected. The processing cost of U-shaped pipes is high, and if a lot of them are used, the selling price will be very expensive (several tens of thousands of yen).
Therefore, we decided to change the board size to a 2-player game with a 4x4 =16 squares board. By doing so, we were able to reduce the number of pipes used to 1/3. In addition, we have found that it is difficult to distinguish the thickness and size of the U-shaped pipes, which was one of the most common comments from our test-players.
Prototype game board
At the same time as manufacturing the pipe pieces, we also asked the client to draw and manufacture a board on which the placed pipe pieces would be fixed. We thought that designing the board in such a way that the pipe pieces would be fixed to the board would improve the playability of the game.
The first was a sample, so it was made with a 3D printer. The finished 4x4 space board looks like this.
As a problem, we found that manufacturing products with a 3D printer was not appropriate in terms of cost and finish. As a solution, we were suggested to manufacture plastic boards by cutting, but we also found it difficult to manufacture small quantities at a low cost due to a combination of cost and production lot size.
In fact, we had produced a tile board for test play in parallel with the 3D printed board. Playing with it, we found that even a flat board made of tiles was as good as a product. Tile boards are a specialty of LOGY GAMES. We can produce a wide variety of products in small quantities.
We had tentatively named the game PIPE LINE, but decided to be a little more creative and revised the design as AQUA PIPEE. Since the game is about connecting water pipes.
Tile boards can be modified in various ways and add-ons for sales.
Pipe coloring
Now that the general direction of the project has been decided. The biggest challenge was the coloring. Aluminum is a nonferrous metal, so we were concerned about the strength of the paint, as it tends to peel off easily. So we asked for a quote for anodized aluminum coating, which is the best coating for aluminum.
The cost was really high. The cost estimate was 600 yen for one single pipe and 1,000 yen for one U-tube. 24 single pipes and 4 U-tubes are needed for one game, so the painting cost alone would be 18,400 yen. As expected, we could not price the product as a commodity.
The next quotation we received was for baking coating with powder paint. This is suitable for painting metal products. Although the painting cost can be reduced to 1/10, it is still expensive. The initial cost of the equipment (jig cost) for efficient painting is about 150,000 yen, except for the painting cost. If 100 sets of games are made, the cost per set is 1,500 yen. Since we plan to use the crowdfunding kickstarter to sell the product, there is a possibility that it will be realized, but the risk is high. If the number of sales is small, there is a possibility that the cost will fall down.
After much thought and consideration, we have come to the conclusion that the first sample we received from LOGY GAMES should be painted by hand using a lacquer sprayer. It takes more time and effort, but it is less expensive. And, by having the game artist apply the paint himself, he can emphasize the rarity of the product as a work of art.
I immediately bought oil-based lacquer from a store for testing and started test painting. I would like to improve my skills by the time the campaign starts by trying various things.
This is my first time painting metal products, so trial and error is required. It is also necessary to create jig equipment to achieve a clean finish. The good thing about hand work is not only simple flat painting, but also unique painting as a creator that can only be done by hand. For the first time in a long time, I am going to enjoy creating myself.
Kickstarter is a platform for creators who allow me to do that.
Now, I will write about this painting process as a "continuation".
And the kickstarter campaign will start in the coming March 2024. Once the date is set, we will make an official announcement. Please stay tuned.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/logygames/aqua-pipe
2024/Feb LOGY GAMES Gift Box Yamamoto
Changes and Details of Rule Making
Rules are very important for board games. Trial play is very important to create a good game.
This game was initially conceived as a 4-player game with 6x6 = 36 spaces. During the production process, we realized that a 4-player game would be very costly due to the large number of pipes used. Therefore, we changed the game to a 2-player game with 4x4=16 spaces.
We asked our gaming friends to play the first trial game to get their opinions. At that point, the victory condition was simple: four straight pipes of the same thickness, arranged in any direction, horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, won.
After playing the trial game, we realized that it takes a lot of time to place the pipes in 4-pipe layouts alone, and the tension during the game was weak. Therefore, we added a win condition: if you can make 4 sets of pipes in 3-pipe layout, you win the game. To test the game, we asked different colleagues to test the game.
The game is now very good. The rules are now complete. I also noticed during this trial play that the game can be enjoyed not only by the usual 2 players, but also by 2 to 6 multiple players as an impartial game where the pieces do not distinguish between friend and foe.
This almost finished the development of the rules for the game, but the high post cost of the pipes made the selling price of this game higher than we wanted to sell it through the kickstarter campaign. and we cannot reduce the number of pipes to be used any further. It makes the game less interesting.
After much deliberation, I came up with a good idea: why not make the game a 3x3 = 9-space board and use only single pipes instead of U-shaped pipes? When I tried it out and played against my wife, the rules worked very well as a game. This set can be sold at about half the price of the regular type.
We decided to add this limited set to our rewards in the campaign.
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