Not too long ago, I wrote up a post announcing Jason and Zach’s project over at Kickstarter. What is it you ask? It’s a new and crazy card game called Millennial Manatees. I will state now if you watch the video below you will have the song stuck in your head. This all thanks to Parry Gripp. You may remember some of Parry Gripp’s songs like Space Unicorn, Raining Tacos, Oh Potato Dog and more. However, for those of you that have been looking at the game or have even backed the game we got to chat with both creators of the game and how it came to be.
At this time of writing the Kickstarter for Millennial Manatees is $20,934 with a goal of $15,000 so you can clearly see it’s fully backed and with four days left. For now, enjoy this video below that will totally have you watching more than once and our interview below with Jason and Zach.
Marooners’ Rock: For our readers who haven’t heard of you before, can you give us an introduction on who you are and what have you worked on previously?
Jason: Hi, I make funny board card games. I’m most known for the Drinking Quest series which is a 50-50 blend of RPG and Drinking Game. For this project, I got to collaborate with Zach Stafford of the wonderful webcomic “Extra Fabulous Comics”. Currently, we’re kickstarting “Millennial Manatees” which sees the millennial generation depicted as manatees, starting businesses and trying to pay off student debt. Millennial humour tends to be mean but this is actually kind of an endearing take with minimal meanness.
Zach: I make “Extra Fabulous Comics”. Not much else I’ve ever done has been interesting, aside from making a game with Jason. It’s a game about the struggle of the honorable Manatee in an honorless world.
Marooners’ Rock: What inspired the concept for this game? And why manatees?
Jason: Zach and I were throwing around ideas and coming up with a lot of terrible ones. When we said the words “Millennial Manatees” we knew that was the terrible idea for us.
Zach: The idea was Jason’s. I didnt know what the game was called until the Kickstarter launched.
Marooners’ Rock: When you’re not working on your own games, what are your favorite games to play? (Board games, video games, whatever.)
Jason: My all time favourite game is Milton Bradley’s HeroQuest. Beyond that, there is a great current wave of games that are inspiring on so many different levels. Some games I’ve been enjoying lately are Wreck Raiders, Bob Ross: Art of Chill, Carcassone, Welcome to Pie Town, and Joking Hazard.
Zach: Jason introduced me to a game called Machi Koro that is currently my favorite. Before that, it was a toss-up between Mouse Trap and Crossfire.
Marooners’ Rock: What industry are the millennial manatees going to kill?
Jason: ALL THE INDUSTRIES. There is a single card in the game that does let you kill an entire industry. It is likely so powerful that it will inspire players to write snarky think piece articles.
Zach: We’re also hoping the game will educate and inspire people to demand an end to the Manatee Butter industry. Dozens of manatees are captured each year and straight up turned into butter.
Marooners’ Rock: Who would be your ideal celebrity pitchman for this game?
Jason: Well the jingle for the Kickstarter video was performed by Parry Gripp of Nerf Herder. That was kind of an amazing experience and I don’t think we could have a better pitch than that song. It’s the catchiest song I’ve heard in my life and my kids are constantly singing it.
Zach: Mickey Rooney, but sadly he died a few years ago.
Marooners’ Rock: How long have you been working on Millennial Manatees before Kickstarter?
Jason: Well over a year. It’s gone through a lot of versions and the version you want to stick with is the one you keep having fun with. MM kind of players like Machi Koro meets Guess Who but it’s also really funny.
Zach: Too long. Babies dont even take this long to make. Jason and I made a baby together just to see which would take longer. The baby is now old enough to start helping draw assets for the game and we’re gonna have to pay him? It’s gotten ridiculous.
Marooners’ Rock: What’s your plans post Kickstarter? Will there be a Backerkit, retail product, or other ways for folks to get Millennial Manatees if they miss out on the Kickstarter?
Jason: Yes, they may not get some Kickstarter exclusives (like an enamel pin to all backers was just unlocked) but we’ll make sure the game is available to everyone afterward!
Zach: Jason promised he would fly to my house from Canada and we’re gonna fulfill orders together, so I’m pretty stoked. It’ll also be good for him to spend some time with the kid we made together. We should have a pile of games left over to send out to whoever wants one, no problem. Love you!
We’d like to thank you, Jason and Zach, for your time to answer our questions. If this has talked you more into backing Millennial Manatees then head on over to https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/extrafabulous/millennial-manatees and back the game. With four days left, we here at Marooners’ Rock are hoping they meet all of the stretch goals. You can follow Jason on Twitter here and Zach on Twitter here.
