Folks on the national Worldchanging team have written a number thought provoking posts about “serious games�—it’s all pretty dense and amazing stuff. You can check them out: here, here, here and here. Here at Twin Cities central, though, we’re decidedly old school. We’re roll-the-dice people. We’re “pass-go� people. We’re “in the parlor with the candlestick� people. And we’re proud of it ... people.
Just as I was feeling nostalgic for some plastic game pieces, a big slab of cardboard, an Orange Slice in a Styrofoam cup and a fight with my older sister, it dawned on me the board games of my childhood were more than a waste of my time. They were just plain wasteful. Needless to say, I was happy to stumble across Kvale Good Natured Games. Kvale is local board game company committed to creating games that are “as earth friendly as possible.�
Says their Website:
All of our game pads and cards are constructed with 100% recycled paper, printed with processes and materials (i.e. soy inks) that improve upon environmental, health, and safety standards; our tokens are recycled wood composites, and we use biodegradable, non-toxic pencils."
KGNG was founded by Tony Kvale, a lifelong board game enthusiast whose professional background is in promoting natural products. According to their Website “In 2005, Tony had a revelation that he could blend his deep passion for board games with the distinct attraction he had more natural products with principles.� Now, he’s out with the company’s first came, Head1Liners, for which players have to give headlines to anonymous photographs. They’ve got a demo up on their site, so curious players can check it out.
