Author: DanielGrest

Happy Nation is now played on the tables in Australia, South Korea, USA and in some European countries, including Germany and Denmark. We are excited, you too?

We made a video, which shows how one round of the game unfolds. It shows the “fast-paced” rule variant, where each player has only one action per turn.
This variant will be the new standard.

I want to explain a bit, why the game is about work-life balance.

In order to win the game, you have to manage your two resources: Time and money. 

In order to earn money, you need to work. But how much time to spend on work ?Just enough to survive ? Or so much that you can improve your production level and produce more per time later ?

In reality, most people don’t have production facilities to improve. But many spend time and money on getting an education in order to get a better paying and probably also more interesting job.We assumed for the game, that getting happy directly from working is for most people first a reality, when they have build their own business or finished the education in their profession of choice. Many people, however, have a job primarily to earn money. Therefore, you become happier from working first from production level 3.

Do you learn in the game how to balance work and life better ?

Well, I don’t think, that a board game can really teach that. But you do learn, that you can 

a) work too much  

b) spend too little time and money on “work” (career/education). 

Both extremes will not make you a winner. At some point, more money and even higher production levels do not help you in getting happier faster. 

On the other hand, ignoring your production levels (career) and spending all your time and money on fun activities will force you to work more for less later in the game or leave you in a situation, where you can’t pay back your loans, loose your business or can’t afford the treatment when you get sick.

We have now a design for the bank notes. In over the 100 test games it turned out, that notes of 1, 5, 10 and 50 are working very well. More would be unneccessary.

That is how they will look like:

Where does money come from ?
Can banks borrow money, that they don’t have ?

We set out 5 years ago to make a board game, which gives playes the answer to these questions without them even noticing it.

Happy Nation on Kickstarter

Any feedback is welcome, even just a comment or email like:
“this sentence sounds funny”
None of us is a native speaker…

We are getting closer to going live with our Kickstarter Campaign.
For that purpose we made a little video, which introduces the game.

Our collection of “What players say”.
What is better to get an impression about a game than asking the people who played it.
We will edit your post and inform you, so dont worry about what exactly you write, just whatever comes to mind.
We then regularly move a collection to the front page.

“Fun for the whole familiy ! Feel like a farmer, builder or entertainer and try to sell your goods. No game is the same.” – Sarah Grunnet, Dr.med. Pediatrics

“How could you come up with this ? It is great!” — Ingrid Grunnet, Psychologist

“I usually don’t like board games, but this one was really fun !” – Yetkin Sari, Computer Graphics Expert

“Something completely new and different. A lot of fun.” – Michael Durgunlar, MSc Economics

“Really fun game with interesting dynamics and a parallel to society, because the game explains how economy works on a simple level. ” — Mikkel Gram, phd Artificial Intelligence

“This game is awesome! Had a lot of fun playing it. It has a bit from Monopoly and Settlers of Catan. Will definitely play it more often.” — Sven Grest, Journalist

“An interesting game, that combines elements from strategy, fun and survival. I really like the idea and principle of the game. What do I use my time and money for ?” — Christiane Dopp, Lecturer

“I was laughing so much. Just keep giving me more money.” — Kristine Slot, Project Manager

So you can rate us ! And maybe leave a comment ?