RAFIKI - Pt. 1
How did you come by creating your very own card game?
- My co-founder, Tim and I have always loved playing the card games Cambio/Cabo, Golf and Rat-a-tat-cat, but felt that something was missing. Travellers love Cambio/Cabo all around the world and in lockdown when people were spending much more time behind their screens when online chess and poker grew in popularity, we saw that there was a gap in the market as there was no online version of Cambio/Cabo. From this, Rafiki was born as the perfect solution - combining these games to suit an online culture, and of course keeping the game highly competitive, which both Tim and I are. It is a fantastic game that perfectly combines chance with skill.
Are you folks big fans of The Lion King? 🦁
- Of course! Rafiki is a legend.
Sum up Rafiki in three words?
- Intense, Engaging, Escapism.
Favourite card game apart from Rafiki of course!?
- Hearts
What was the inspiration for Rafiki?
- How we came up with the name Rafiki: we generated translations of “friend” from around 30-40 languages (as a core idea behind Rafiki is that we play with friends and we teach friends). I, my co-founder and my co-founder’s Mum all independently chose “Rafiki” which means friend in Swahili, from the list of 30-40 words so we had no choice but to name it Rafiki!
Please could you tell us about the deck and the artists involved? 👩🎨
- Our deck was designed by a fantastic graphic designer called Flashbang Studios. Our royal cards have the 1920s “Great Gatsby” theme. We wanted to create an atmosphere that was both friendly and had an air of mystique. By personalising the picture cards with 1920s motifs we have tapped into a time period that is renowned for its energy and burgeoning counter-culture. Once you’ve played the game a few times you start to create different lives for the different characters we created!
What is your favourite suit from the Rafiki deck and why?
- Hearts or Diamonds as the red cards are the most significant in the game, as the best card in the game is a Red King whose value is -1 points and you want to have the lowest points score in your hand by the time one of the players calls Rafiki!
What makes a card game - GREAT!? 🌟
- Becoming fully captured by a moment where nothing else matters.
Do you have an early memory of playing card games?
- I have a distinct memory of being unable to understand a game of Hearts as a child. That’s why we have tried to ensure that Rafiki’s rules are constantly open and accessible for all users.
What were the pitfalls and learning points of the Rafiki project?
- Pitfall: If only we had spotted this gap in the market before the first lockdown! Rafiki would have rescued many desperately weary minds and lethargic days spent searching for some well-needed escapism. Plus, this would have allowed Rafiki’s rise to prominence to coincide with the peak of online gaming.
- Learning Point: As the game is particularly complicated, we worked with a few coders before finding the right person for us, so we would say it’s important to expand the search for a coder and do as much due diligence on the individual’s past projects to ensure that they fit in with your project. It is also helpful to speak to as many founders of online card games as possible who are often best placed to provide their insight. Our conversations with Flick’s founder, Ian, were hugely helpful! 😃
Is this the first of many card games to come? Are you working on others?
- We are solely focussing on Rafiki at the moment. We are now moving to expand on our marketing and merchandise.
Favourite FLICK deck/artist and why? 🎨
- I love the Drag Deck; it’s fun and the intricate details are fantastic.
Who inspires you?
- Mark Robins
How well is Rafiki going since its launch in November 2020? 🗓
- It has been going well, we spent over a year and a half ensuring that the game ran smoothly with no bugs as there are so many variations and eventualities to each play of a card. We have since been focussing on our marketing and merchandising efforts to ensure that the game reaches the right people - those that carve out a weekday evening to play online poker/chess with their friends. Due to the intensity of the game, Rafiki requires a good 20/30 minutes of people’s concentration so random Instagram ads to individuals who don’t have this allocated time are wasted marketing expenditures this is something that we have been focussing on by posting and advertising within the correct forums.
