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Tom Spencer of Cherokee County is the one of the most interesting people you’ll ever meet. After moving to the area 14 years ago, he helped form a local chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters, and the tennis tournament he started continues to be a big fundraiser for the nonprofit agency.
Despite being 80 years old, Spencer doesn’t look like he’s slowed down much – and he hasn’t. His latest project, and one he hopes will leave a lasting legacy for his family, is creating games.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, both new and classic games have seen a boost in popularity. With many people rarely leaving their homes for months on end – and others tiring of new digital entertainment – the old analog family game closet has become more important than ever.
Board games stimulate the mind while also doing something else that’s important – bring people together. They are a social activity that allow you to be more invested in the people you are with rather than in the activity, such as a movie or video games.
“I grew up in Kentucky, with five cousins down the road and little to do in town, so we played games,” Spencer said. “I once invented a game while driving to Florida, using tiles like Scrabble but with a different concept.”
Spencer and his oldest son, Todd, have spent a considerable amount of time and resources working on an elaborate medieval board game, Castle Odyssey, and the first-class preliminary version is eye-catching. However, it costs tens of thousands of dollars to produce something with so many pieces formed through 3D printing, and there’s no guarantee that a big company like Hasbro Games will buy it to make your money back – much less make a profit.
Instead of being discouraged, Spencer went back to the drawing board and created a card game called TrikPlay to hopefully raise enough money to bring Castle Odyssey to life. Spencer’s company, Twin Mountain Games, has shared several decks of the card game to a select group of people in order to get feedback and suggestions.
I’m fortunate to be one of those folks. What we discovered playing at home is it doesn’t take long to get the hang of TrikPlay; it contains elements of other card games that longtime players should be familiar with, making it seem like something you’ve played before that you’re learning to enjoy all over again – only with new twists, like Trikster and wild cards.
“The game is fun and easy to learn,” Spencer said, “but hard to master.”
Todd Spencer, an architect and graphic artist, designed both of the games. While the expansive Castle Odyssey game might be priced around $50 if it hits the market, TrikPlay can be had for less than $10. And if Twin Mountain Games can sell enough decks, Castle Odyssey will be up next. Visit twinmountaingames.com.
Fox Business reported earlier this year that the global board game market has an overall projected value of $14.37 billion. Since that value is projected to rise to $32 billion by 2032, Spencer might be right that this is just the right time to bring his games into the world.
David Brown is publisher of the Cherokee Scout. You can reach him by phone, 828-837-5122; email, dbrown@cherokeescout.com; or on X @daviddBstroh.