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Turlock game designer thinks small for big fun
pack o game
Joe Silveria plays Hue as part of Chris Handys Pack O Game series. - photo by Photo Contributed

Turlock game inventor Chris Handy doesn’t want to see his newest games sitting on anyone’s shelf. He would much rather see them in cup holders and coat pockets.

That is because Handy’s latest game creation is about the size of a pack of gum, but packs a wallop of fun, the designer promises.

“These are the types of games that bring people back to the experience of sitting around a table and engaging with one another,” Handy said.

For more than a decade Handy has been creating music, apps and board games. Not long ago he became preoccupied with the idea of creating a card sized game and instead of thinking bigger, he started thinking smaller.

The result was a game that could fit into a pack of gum, so Handy dubbed the series Pack O Game. The pocket-sized tabletop games all have unique themes and varying skill levels from casual to challenging. The games are made up of 30 one inch by three inch cards that can be utilized as tokens, tiles and cards, depending on the game. Each pack contains a single rule sheet.

“There is something about the size,” Handy said. “The size isn’t intimidating for people who normally don’t play games. They offer quick play and are very approachable.”

Handy’s foray into games has typically been of the board game variety where one game can be in development for an entire year or two. But with Pack O Game the ideas came swiftly.

“It just went crazy,” Handy said. "In about two months time I had developed, play tested and refined about 30 games. It just exploded.”

Handy, who maintains an office in downtown Turlock, has been testing the games locally and with other game enthusiasts and has found the response to be quite agreeable.

“People are enjoying the mobile game experience that has a face to face component,” Handy said.

Handy is developing Pack O Game independently and has turned to the online forum KickStarter to help fund the project and develop some buzz. He set a goal of raising $30,000 and with the campaign closing on Saturday he has already had 1,084 individuals pledge $37,199.

Handy will be refining and marketing the games and hopes to have them available in a variety of retail stores sometime in the spring or summer of 2015 at a retail price of about $5 to $6.

To view Handy’s KickStarter campaign visit packogame.com.