Patrick Nickell of South Phoenix and Michael Coe of East Mesa developed the game, “Legend of the Lost Dutchman,” along with their spouses Jessica and Brittany, respectively. They comprise the company Crash Games LLC.
“The idea actually happened last October,” Patrick Nickell said. “It’s been a story or a legend that I’ve been interested in since moving to Arizona six years ago.
“I thought it was funny that in today’s modern age that people were disappearing and turning up dead looking for treasure. You gotta be pretty committed and pretty intense about it to wander off in the Superstitions to try to find it.”
The group tried to create an interesting, fun game, but instead decided to let it marinate for several months. In the beginning of 2012, Nickell’s wife approached him about the creation of a game.
“That was music to my ears and she asked if I would help her,” he said. “So we sat down to make the game and it was a pretty good foundation but that’s all it was, was a foundation. There wasn’t enough meat on the bone.
“I thought about the idea and theme of legend of the Lost Dutchman. We married the two. That’s when Michael and I began developing the game as a team.”
In “Legend of the Lost Dutchman,” players take on the role of prospectors trying to mine for gold and find the Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine while encountering fierce creatures like the Javelina and perilous disasters like the Haboob.
Now that it has the firm idea, the quartet needs to raise about $24,000 through Kickstarter.com to fund the project. As of Friday, June 15, they have raised $6,084 of the needed $30,000 from 101 backers. For more information, visit www.crashgamefrom Game, A-1saz.com or www.kickstarter.com/projects/crashgames/legend-of-the-lost-dutchman.
Crash Games LLC used Kickstarter to fund its flagship game, “Rise!” Coe, an actor who appeared in “Urban Legends” and “Everwood,” said he and Nickell are meeting with Apache Junction Chamber of Commerce officials on Tuesday, June 19, to discuss the city’s involvement in helping get the project off the ground.
“In this time of economic craziness, Michael and I are trying to raise and nurture a small business,” said Nickell, whose background is in radio broadcasting and journalism.
“Board games bring communities together. They bring husbands and wives together. They unite families.
“What Michael and I are doing there is a real positive community-based thing. We are not making a profit at this point. Even when we do, the profit is minimal. We’re in it because we love what we do. And we love to see the impact that it has on people.
For some reason we’re the only culture that stops playing games when we’re adults. Over in Europe and Germany, it’s a way of life.” Nickell said his target audience are residents of Apache Junction, Gold Canyon and the Goldfield area.
“It’s particularly families,” Coe said. “It’s for two to five players and it plays real light and fun.”
By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski
