Farm life inspired new game

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This article was published 22/02/2016 (3693 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Visting his grandfather’s farm near Portage la Prairie gave Trevor Lehmann an appreciation for agriculture, which he has now turned into a card game.

The St. Vital resident is the owner of Convergent Games and the creator of Crop Cycle — a family card game that focuses on farming in the Prairies.

“My grandpa was a classic farmer in Portage la Prairie. He had a house he lived in his whole life and was a salt-of-the-earth farmer. I spent quite a bit of time on the farm growing up during the summer holidays,” Lehmann, 26, said.

“The goal of the game is to move through the four seasons trying to plant crops and protect them until harvest,” Lehmann said.

“You’re also trying to stop your opponents doing the same. For example, you can play worms to wipe out one of their specific crops.”

“It’s about portraying the conditions in farming and the ecstasy when things work out and the frustrations when things don’t,” he added.

As the game progresses, players pick up cards that represent specific crops and certain cards are appropriate for specific times of the year, Lehmann said. Players don’t have to know anything about farming or agriculture to take part.

Lehmann, a student advisor at the University of Manitoba, ran two Kickstarter campaigns to crowdfund the project. After one failed campaign and one successful one, he raised the funds through pre-orders from around the world to fund production of the game. To celebrate the arrival of the game’s shipment, Lehmann spent the weekend of Jan. 23 and 24 personally delivering all Winnipeg pre-orders of Crop Cycle to area residents.

During these two days of deliveries, Lehmann was able to connect with members of the gaming community and thank his supporters in person. He hopes the successful delivery of his project will counter the bad publicity crowdfunding receives from other projects. He said Kickstarter is built on trust and open communication.

As well as his more local supporters, Lehmann has also shipped games to places such as China, Singapore, Russia, Norway, Spain and France.

Moving forward, Lehmann is hoping to attend some rural fairs during the summer to give his game some grass-roots exposure.

“I’m looking for people with shops or booths to consider me,” he said.

Crop Cycle is available at Winnipeg locations such as GameKnight and Toad Hall Toys, as well as online.

Visit www.convergentgames.com for more information.