Project Overview
As part of a Product Framing & Prototyping class within the Rutgers University Masters of Business and Science program, I collaborated with my team to design and prototype a board game aimed at gamifying household chores. The project targeted young adults living with roommates or significant others, as well as families sharing a home, with the goal of reducing conflict and making chore completion more engaging and fun. By capitalizing on the trend of gamification and offering a customizable modular game board, "Chore Challenge" provided an innovative way to manage household responsibilities. The final product was well-received, with users expressing excitement about the game’s potential to transform how chores are viewed and managed in shared living spaces.
Timeline: June 2024 - August 2024
Role: Product Designer
Tools: Microsoft Designer, CAD, 3D Printers, Adobe Aero
Team Members: Ryan Shupp, Charlotte Seeley, & Uday Patel
Background
From Dull to Dynamic: Why Chore Challenge is a Game-Changer
As we set out to generate ideas for our game design project, it became immediately clear that our main goal was to create a game with a purpose, one that found a way to infuse fun and entertainment into efforts of productivity or self-improvement. This drive led us to our concept for Chore Challenge, a multiplayer board game that turns otherwise mundane tasks of cleaning your home into a fun, engaging, and perhaps most importantly, competitive experience.
Historically, the fair division of household labor has been a source of conflict among families and roommates, often leading to tension and feelings of exploitation. "Chore Challenge" aims to address this issue by offering a lighthearted and structured way to divide and complete chores, reducing misunderstandings and promoting harmony in the home.
Like with any new venture, it is essential to evaluate the current climate of the game industry and seek out opportunities for innovation where possible. In the current landscape of gamification, which has seen success in digital platforms like Duolingo and Nike Run Club, there is a clear opportunity to innovate by bringing these concepts into physical board games. "Chore Challenge" aims to extend the benefits of gamification into the board game industry, with the potential for a companion app to enhance gameplay. This approach combines the excitement of gamification with the tangible, customizable aspects of physical games, bringing a fresh perspective to chore management.
Target Audience
User Personas
The Primary Audience for the “Chore Challenge” game can include the following groups:
Young Adults/ College Students: Many young adults and college students live with roommates and seek fun and effective ways to share household responsibilities and maintain a clean living environment.
Couples: Both couples that have recently moved in together and couples that are in long-term relationships seek ways to maintain a fair distribution of household tasks.
Families: Families also seek ways to manage household chores and maintain a clean home. If there are children in the family, parents may seek more fun ways to divide the household tasks by making chores more appealing through rewards and challenges.
Busy Professionals: Many busy professionals may only have a limited amount of time in their schedule for household chores, and may seek more fun and motivating ways to complete their chores.
Initial Design & Game Mechanics
Initial Concept Generation
In the early stages of designing "Chore Challenge," our creative team individually brainstormed and sketched various game concepts. We also leveraged generative AI through Microsoft Designer for additional inspiration.
Initially, we explored a calendar-like format to align with the chore theme, but ultimately shifted toward a more modern design that emphasized board modularity and customizability. Drawing inspiration from games like "Settlers of Catan," we focused on creating a dynamic gameboard that could be reconfigured each round, giving players aesthetic and creative control over how it’s displayed in their home.
Working Concept
Combining our favorite aspects of the initial ideas above, our working concept for "Chore Challenge" features a fridge-mounted board, designed to evoke the familiarity of classic family to-do or shopping lists often found on refrigerators.
The game board is customizable, using interlocking hexagonal pieces to represent tasks, which are organized by room and connected by straight "hallway" pieces. Each hexagonal piece includes a card with task descriptions and point values, covering standard chores like taking out the garbage or washing dishes, as well as blank cards for personalized tasks. Each household member represents themselves by selecting a colored peg to place in the task slot, claiming credit for completed chores.
Below are sketches and CAD mockups generated using Creo Elements, illustrating the concept. Additional peg colors and hexagonal pieces will be available beyond those shown in the example setup.
Visual Design
We designed "Chore Challenge" with a focus on color psychology and font legibility to enhance user experience. The game board features calming blues and whites, inspired by the sky and ocean, to evoke cleanliness and tranquility. Dark blue text against lighter backgrounds ensures readability, while brightly colored game pieces, chosen for their high contrast with blue, make it easy to track progress. As players complete chores, the vibrant pieces will clearly show who is leading, reinforcing engagement and competition.
All fonts on our game board will be sans serif, known for its clean, modern appearance and superior legibility, especially at smaller sizes and across both analog and digital platforms. Unlike serif fonts, which have decorative lines or "tails," sans serif fonts offer a straightforward, accessible design, making them easier to read for a broader audience.
Defining Game Mechanics
The objective of the “Chore Challenge” is to encourage teamwork, accountability, and consistency in maintaining a clean home by gamifying household chores. A thorough description of the game mechanics is detailed below:
Game Components:
Magnetic/Rearrangeable Game Pieces: The game features magnetic tiles representing various home areas, including hexagonal room tiles (living room, bathroom, bedroom, kitchen) and rectangular pathway tiles. These tiles are interchangeable, allowing players to customize their board layout. The set includes multiple tiles for common chores in each room and blank tiles for players to add their own tasks.
Player Color Pegs: There are color-coded pegs representing each player, which can stick to the board to reflect that the chore has been completed.
Chore Cards: The game includes predefined chore cards detailing the area, task, points value, and frequency, along with blank cards for custom chores.
Reward Cards: The game features predefined reward cards describing the prizes for weekly challenges, plus blank cards for custom rewards.
Dice: A dice is used to start the game and before each round for special plays.
Weekly Tracker/Scoreboard: The game includes a scoreboard to track daily progress, chore completions, and points throughout the week.
Game Rules:
Set Up the Game:
Players first set up the game by arranging the magnetic room and hallway tiles in a format that reflects the setup of their home.
Each player selects a color of pegs to represent them throughout the game.
Players place the weekly scoreboard (also magnetic) above the game layout and write in all the names of the players next to the corresponding color of choice. This board will be used to track daily progress, chore completions, and points over the course of the week.
Random Assignment Mode:
Players shuffle the deck of chore cards and place them in the draw pile. During this step, players can choose to use only the predefined chore cards or they can also write and add custom chore cards to the mix.
Players shuffle the deck of reward cards and place them in the draw pile. During this step, players can choose to use only the predefined reward cards or they can also write and add custom chore cards to the mix.
Free-Choice Mode:
If players do not want random assignments, they can play a “free-choice” version of the game. In this version, players do not roll the dice before each turn and do not need to shuffle the chore cards.
Players shuffle the deck of reward cards and place them in the draw pile. During this step, players can choose to use only the predefined reward cards or they can also write and add custom chore cards to the mix.
Starting the Game:
Each player rolls the dice to determine the playing order. The highest roll starts first (Random Mode Only).
Drawing Chores Cards:
Random Choice Mode:
On their turn, each player draws a Chore Card from the pile.
The player reads the chore aloud, announces the points value, and notes the frequency (e.g., daily, twice a week).
The player then rolls the dice to determine if they are eligible for a special play.
If the dice rolls a 2, they get double points on the chore.
If the player rolls a 6, they can choose to team up with another player to complete the chore. In this case, both players receive points for the completion of the chore.
If the player rolls a 5, they can choose to switch chores with another player of their choice.
Free Choice Mode:
In this version, players can choose to complete any incomplete chore of their choice throughout the week. Once the chore is completed, they can take credit for the chore by placing their assigned color peg on the chore tile.
Completing Chores & Tracking Scores:
There is no specific time limit for completing the chore; instead, each chore has a deadline by the end of the day or week.
Once completed, the player places their color peg on the tile correlating with the chore and then updates the Weekly Scoreboard.
Ending Weekly Rounds:
At the end of the week, players review the scoreboard and the player with the most points draws a reward card and is eligible to use that reward.
User Testing
Assessing Early Gameplay Dynamics & User Interactions
When designing our User Testing Plan, we focused on 4 critical aspects of the gaming experience: game setup, rule clarity, gameplay experience, and task selection and scoring. We crafted specific questions for each of these areas and compiled them into an Interview Matrix document, which we used to track participant feedback during the interviews.
For this phase of user testing, we used paper prototypes of the game board. Participants were guided through a round of the game, including reading and interpreting the rules and setting up the board. We conducted these tests with a total of 6 participants.
Refine
Iterative Design: Refining Game Elements Based on User Insights
1. Gameboard Size Concern
Issue: Participants were concerned that the game board may take up too much space on the refrigerator.
Solution: We've decided to maintain the current size of the game pieces to ensure readability, despite concerns about fridge space, as reducing their size would compromise clarity and usability
2. Request for Expansion Packs for Larger Homes
Issue: Some participants desired expansion packs to accommodate larger homes or extra rooms like basements.
Solution: The game includes blank tiles for players to add custom rooms, such as basements, allowing for easy customization and accommodation of larger homes.
3. Clarity on Chore Frequencies & Tracking
Issue: Participants wanted clearer information on chore frequencies, specifically how they relate to point values and how points would be tracked.
Solution: Chore cards will now show task frequency, with players earning points for each completion. The game board will also include multiple peg holes per tile to track tasks that need to be completed multiple times per week.
4. Accountability
Issue: Some participants wanted accountability measures to ensure tasks were completed properly.
Solution: In response to the feedback, we've introduced an optional accountability system within a mobile app where players can upload selfies or photos as evidence of completed tasks. This feature promotes transparency and encourages thorough completion of chores.
5. Concern about Stagnant Gameplay
Issue: Some participants expressed concerns about Free Play mode, fearing that players might consistently choose the same tasks, leading to a stagnant game experience. Additionally, in Random-Play mode, there were worries that one player might receive all the difficult chores and highest points from the start, potentially creating a "predetermined winner" and reducing motivation for other players.
Solution: To address feedback and improve the gaming experience, we've introduced new challenges to make the gameplay more dynamic, reduce repetitiveness, and increase competitiveness:
Stealing Tasks: Players can now steal incomplete tasks at the last minute. If a player fails to complete their assigned chore by Saturday night, others can take over the task and earn the points. This rule encourages continuous participation and prevents any single player from dominating the game based solely on initial luck.
Categorized Chore Cards: To ensure fair competition, chore cards are now divided into separate decks based on point values (1, 3, and 5 points). Players draw from the same value deck during each round, rotating decks in subsequent rounds. This system ensures everyone receives a balanced mix of tasks, preventing any single player from gaining an early advantage and keeping the game engaging for all.
Time-based Points: Players earn bonus points based on how early they complete their chores. Completing chores by Tuesday earns 2 bonus points, by Thursday earns 1 bonus point, and no bonus points are awarded after Thursday.
End-of-Week Bonus Challenges: A new stack of “last-minute” challenges is introduced, available only after Thursday. These high-effort tasks (e.g., deep cleaning the oven) offer players a chance to gain an advantage. Each week, a limited number of these special challenge cards are in play, and once a task is completed, it cannot be repeated for several rounds.
Prototyping
Building a Functional Prototype
To create a functional prototype of the Chore Challenge board game, we used an Ender 3 Pro 3D printer for the game pieces, including hexagonal task pieces, scoring pegs, and peg cups. The interlocking design allows for customizable board assembly. An HP color printer was used to print paper-based hexagonal labels and drawing cards.
There are two main differences between this prototype and the final product: color and mounting. Due to material limitations, the 3D prints’ colors do not match the intended scheme. Specifically, pegs were printed in white but marked with colors for differentiation. Additionally, adhesive magnets for fridge mounting were unavailable, so tape and other adhesives were used instead.
User Testing 2
Assessing the Refined Prototype through Heuristic Evaluation
We conducted a usability evaluation of the Chore Challenge board game based on Jakob Nielsen’s 10 Usability Heuristics. We crafted specific questions for each heuristic and an additional question for general feedback. This testing was conducted using both 3D-printed and updated paper prototypes reflecting the latest design and rules of the game. Our goal was to identify gameplay issues, explore opportunities for improvement, and understand user preferences.
To ensure a comprehensive evaluation, we focused on 4 participants from our target demographic (ages 20-40, living with roommates or cohabitants). Due to resource constraints, we selected participants from our network, but future evaluations should include a broader and more diverse sample, including families with young children.
Specifically, in-person, moderated sessions were conducted, with participants setting up and playing the game in their own environments. The prototypes (both 3D printed and paper), while not magnetic or fully polished, closely mimicked the final game components. This setup allowed us to observe realistic gameplay interactions. Participants read and interpreted the instructions independently to ensure their interactions were based on their understanding of the provided materials. We only intervened to clarify rules if absolutely necessary.
We gathered primarily qualitative data through interviews, which offered actionable insights for product refinement. Numerical data on gameplay adjustments was also collected and organized using Microsoft Excel. Despite potential biases from proximity-based sampling, we generalized the feedback to reflect broader user experiences.
Refine Further
Iterative Design:
1. Improving Game Board Pieces:
Issue: Participants found that the pieces required excessive force to fit together and experienced confusion with piece orientation. As one participant mentioned, "The pieces took kind of a lot of force to fit together… The orientation of parts seems simple enough, but could also be helpful if parts only fit together one way."
Priority: High
Solution: To address the tight fit of the hexagonal board pieces, we will first conduct a tolerance analysis to understand 3D printing and injection molding impacts, then study the optimal clearance needed for assembly. To prevent orientation errors, we will add color-coded dots on the back of each piece for clear alignment.
2. Reward Ideas:
Issue: Users requested additional reward ideas to avoid having to create them themselves.
Priority: Low
Solution: Our game lets users create their own rewards, but also includes standard task cards to start the game.
3. Motivation and Buy-In:
Issue: Participants expressed concerns that users might neglect chores despite potential rewards.
Priority: Low
Solution: While this concern is certainly valid, customers playing this game will be doing so voluntarily, and between the ability to choose the magnitude of your own rewards/punishments for motivation and the competitive spirit fostered by the game’s concept we do not feel any changes must be made to address this.
Final Game Design
Putting the Pieces Together: The Final Design
Reflection & Next Steps
Developing Chore Challenge was an incredibly valuable learning experience, especially since this was my first time working on a physical product/ non-digital design project. Specifically, I was able to gain practical skills using tools in the Rutgers Makerspace, especially 3D printing machines for creating game pieces.
Collaborating with my group members on this game design project was enjoyable and fulfilling, as we developed a solution to real-life challenges related to household chores.
User testing and iteration played a crucial role, providing insights that guided design refinements and ensured the final product was functional and enjoyable. Specifically, the project highlighted the importance of adapting designs based on real user experiences and preferences, leading to a more effective game.
Next Steps:
Due to limited time, we focused heavily on game mechanics and physical design. As a result, one major next step includes developing the optional mobile app component of the game. This would include conducting user research, drawing up wireframes, and testing the mobile app with users will be crucial to ensure its functionality and integration with the physical game.