Made by Hand
ON TOP OF HER GAME Rosie Roberson ’99 and her son play one of her games in a game cafe.
Like most children of the ’80s, Rosie Roberson ’99 enjoyed classic board games such as Monopoly and Life. But it wasn’t until 2005, when she started buying for her own children, that she realized the market had expanded beyond a few mainstream bestsellers. Today, people can choose from thousands of games, many invented by independent designers and produced by small publishers. Roberson had been looking for a creative outlet, so she decided to try her hand at game design. An Oregon-based software designer by day, Roberson has now created nearly 100 games — mostly unpublished and geared toward children — in her spare time. Several of her 12 published games have won awards, and she was nominated for a Toy and Game Inventor Excellence Award in 2012. The former Willamette art major enjoys game design because it marries her artistic, problem-solving, writing and math skills. She says, “It gives me a reason to create art but also engages the part of my mind that makes me successful in software design and systems analysis.” Games can teach skills such as teamwork, strategy and how to handle failure. Smaller children learn basics like taking turns, simple math and counting skills, and color and shape identification, as well as the fine motor skills needed to maneuver game pieces. Roberson’s “Say The Word” blends charades and silly words to test players’ memories, while “Shapetigo” requires players to use strategy to recreate a picture card. But Roberson says she doesn’t design with learning in mind. “I think the learning just happens,” she says. “I create games for fun, laughter and time together with family and friends.”
16
SPRING 2018
ROBERSON’S INVENTIONS Cha-Cha Chihuahua Say The Word Treasure Trax Shapetigo What’s It? Wizards of Waverly Place: Under My Spell Card Game This Big! Super Scooper Stack-o-Saurus Card Game JONAS: All Access Card Game Fancy Nancy Posh Bedroom Clothespins!