Washington D.C. – The tech startup GreaterPlaces and civic outreach group DoTankDC launched the card game Cards Against Urbanity on Kickstarter and met their funding goal within three days. The game, a take on Apples to Apples and Cards Against Humanity, tackles urban planning Q&A with a humorous take on cities and suburbs. The response hasbeen incredible – and reveals a pent up demand for learning how to shape the places we live, work and play.
Because most urban and community planning is really technical and not much fun, GreaterPlaces and DoTankDC decided to create Cards Against Urbanity on Kickstarter (www.kickstarter.com) . Like Apples to Apples & Cards Against Humanity, the game decks have question and answer cards. Players take turns judging a question round; he or she picks a card with a question about cities and neighborhoods. Players then try to appeal to the judge by throwing down “answer” cards from their hand.
The Backstory:
DC-based urban planners Lisa Nisenson and Sarah Lewis wanted to inject some fun into their otherwise technical work in urban planning, a field that all too often slights the very people who live in the communities being planned. The idea emerged at planning conferences where Cards Against Urbanity + Kickstarter came together.
The original goal: get 250 decks in the hands of our architect and planning friends in time for the holidays. The secondary goal: Get publicity for content and investment for Lisa’s tech startup (GreaterPlaces) and Sarah’s DC-based group DoTankDC.
What We Learned Two Weeks In:
• People love old school games – Twenty percent of our pledges have come from Kickstarter and we’ve discovered companies dedicated to printing Kickstarter card and board games.
• People love cities – Very few of the pledges are from architecture and urban planning “usual suspects.” Looking at Twitter profiles, young professionals in cities all over the world are signing up and talking with us about the game and cities.
• People love to join in – We are getting card ideas from social media blasts (@CardsAgainstUrb on Twitter and Cards Against Urbanity on Facebook
What’s Next Until the Oct 20:
• By request, we are holding Cards Against Urbanity card tournaments: Railvolution in Minneapolis (last week), Mobility Lab Happy Hour (October 8 at IOTA 6-8, 2832 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, VA), Coalition for Smarter Growth Smart Growth Social, (October 15 6:30-8:30, Eastern Market, Washington DC), Emerging Local Government Leaders conference (October 17 in Portland OR).
• Start thinking of holiday shopping for that architect, planner, engineer, game enthusiast, realtor, real estate developer, or city-lover in your life. If you have a gift shop, let us know and we’ll print extras.
Contact:
Cards Against Urbanity Facebook page & Twitter – @CardAgainstUrb
To profile the team and project, or for more information, contact Lisa Nisenson, lisa@greaterplaces.com and/or Sarah Lewis at sarah.a.lewis@gmail.com.
Featured Press:
ElevationDC (9/17) – “Cards Against Urbanity” is exactly as hilarious as you’d expect
Untapped Cities (9/18) Introducing Cards Against Urbanity: The Card Game for Horrible Places
The Guardian (9/19) – Mock the City
Tech Cocktail (9/19) – Cards Against Urbanity: Because City Planning Isn’t Bullshit
Washington Post (9/23) – Cards Against Urbanity: fun for urban planners and their fans
Architect Magazine (9/24) Cards Against Urbanity: Getting Snarky About Cities
About Us:
GreaterPlaces is a crowdsourced How-To manual for building great cities and a member of the start-up tech incubator 1776. Contact Lisa Nisenson (202-744-6854) for more information.
DoTankDC Not just a think tank – a DO tank, creating urban interventions in Washington, DC.
The team: The team: Emily Brown – Urbanist, Payton Chung – Writer and Urbanist, Sarah Lewis – architect and urban planner, Brian McLaren – Architect, Lisa Nisenson – Co-Founder tech start-up @GreaterPlaces, Abbey Oklak – Architect, urban designer and planner chewed up and rolled into one. Likes active spaces and day drinking, and Ben Scarbro – D.C. Designer collaborating with neighborhoods to shape their experiences through design.
FAQs
What is Urban Planning?
Urban (or community) planning is a big term that describes how cities, suburbs and rural areas are planned, funded and managed. This includes transportation, water and sewer, land uses, parks, economic development, public art, school design and other aspects of public areas.
Did you need to get permission from Cards Against Humanity?
Yes – we asked them and they said “You’re free to remix the game and make your own expansions – just make it clear it’s an unofficial expansion that we didn’t help with. Have fun!”
How many card packs do you need to have pledges for on Kickstarter?
Our goal is 500 decks pledged before October 20.
Can people get the card game after October 20?
NO. We are architects and planners, not a game factory.
Will they be ready in time for the Holiday gift-giving season?
Yes (we think, but all manufacturers have the Santa’s busy season disclaimer).
What are the reward tiers?
They are $30 which includes shipping within the continental U.S. Think $25 +$5 shipping. We also have 28 remaining limited edition cards+Backer t-shirts for $65. If you really want to back a good cause, there is a $500 category as well. On the other end of the spectrum, we are also taking small donations of $5 or more.
Will you be providing updates?
Yes – in fact we are mulling lots of requests for international shipping (Thank you Canada & Australia!)
