Travel Mania
Travel Mania is a trivia-based board game developed to provide an entertaining way for players to learn about the world around them. Answering questions relating to languages, forms of government, the economies of different countries, and their geography, players “travel the world” by moving around the board, having their passport stamped, picking up “visa” cards with information about 200 different countries, and being sent to interesting places through chance when drawing a Looney Luck Card.
Ooga Booga!, Inc. came to Fifth Letter to turn their game concept into a true product. We oversaw the design, photography, illustration, and manufacturing production of the game in addition to helping with the copywriting. We also worked to develop custom packaging solutions for the trivia card boxes as well and developed an original insert to keep the game contents in place during shipping and storage.
Board Game
We worked with Jim Paillot, an illustrator in Phoenix, Arizona, who went above and beyond the call to create some beautiful work for us. Each color-coded section of the game board represents a continent or continent group and contains several characters from the cultures found in each region. The colors then matched up with a corresponding box of related trivia questions.
The board game was named one of the best products by Dr. Toy (also known as Stevanne Auerbach, PhD) in spring of 2007 due to the design, illustration, and level of intellectual challenge provided and has also been awarded three stars (the highest level of approval) from the Canadian Toy Testing Council.
Point-of-Sale Signs
The iconography of the game box was based on luggage labels used during travel’s “golden age.” We picked up on these symbols and created point-of-sale materials to accompany the game’s retail debut.
Website
The website for Travel Mania once again leveraged the characters, colors, and overall identity the product itself created. Each department was assigned a color and a character, and the navigation was created with fun animations to encourage visitors to explore the entire site. An online store makes picking up the game (and other fun products) a snap.
Click here to view the full website.
Promotional Items
Several different items were created to “get the word out” and build a buzz, while hopefully making a bit of money in the process. Screen printed stickers, an embroidered patch, gift certificates, and a direct mail party invitation were all part of the package.
T-Shirt (Front)
Playing off the idea of “global positioning,” we created a fun t-shirt to help spread the word about Travel Mania.
T-Shirt (Back)
Playing off the idea of “global positioning,” we created a fun t-shirt to help spread the word about Travel Mania.
Bottle Logo
Travel Mania’s parent company was started with the name Ooga Booga!. Such a fun name begged for a voodoo-tiki-island approach to keep things exotic and build a bit of intrigue. We couldn’t choose just one logo, and neither could the client, so a series was created.
Mask Logo
Travel Mania’s parent company was started with the name Ooga Booga!. Such a fun name begged for a voodoo-tiki-island approach to keep things exotic and build a bit of intrigue. We couldn’t choose just one logo, and neither could the client, so a series was created.
Volcano Logo
Travel Mania’s parent company was started with the name Ooga Booga!. Such a fun name begged for a voodoo-tiki-island approach to keep things exotic and build a bit of intrigue. We couldn’t choose just one logo, and neither could the client, so a series was created.
Stamp Logo
We also developed a logo for a rubber stamp that’s a component of the board game. It only made sense to have it feel like an “official” stamp with a border similar to those found at the post office.
This same artwork appears on the back of the Travel Mania t-shirt.