Two game nights for TAST!EZ at Hex & Co in New York. Almost no technology, just a deep read of what gamers care about and how the brand could fit their table. The venue said it was exactly the way a real gamer would have it.
Game night already belonged to the people playing it. We didn't take it over. We turned it up: a spinner full of new rules, snacks hot at the table, an MC who knew when to step back. You never saw the plan. You just felt the room get louder. The biggest cheer of the night went to someone who hadn't said a word until turn six. The shy one gets a turn too.
Board game cafes were full, and staying in with friends had become the night out. TAST!EZ makes frozen snacks for exactly that table. The ask was to show up where game night already lives, without getting in the way of the game.
Gamers can smell a brand that doesn't get it from across the room. So before anything else, we spent the time to understand them: why they play, what makes a great night, and what ruins one.
What we heard was simple. Don't interrupt the game. Don't make anyone get up. Respect the table. So we treated the brand like an expansion pack: something that makes a game you already love a little louder. New rules from a spinner. Snacks arriving at the table mid-game. A floor that sorts you into Cool Kids, Double Dippers, Try-Hards or Snack Hackers.
No screens, no apps, almost no technology. Just gamers, the brand, and a clear idea of how each could be good for the other.
Gamers notice everything, so every detail had to come from their world: a proper gaming mat, real dice, cards worth keeping, coasters for the table. The brand's game night loungewear went home with a few lucky players too.
Two Thursdays, four hours each, at Hex & Co on Broadway. An MC worked the tables ("That reaction sounded serious. Was that a power move, or a power fail?") and a DJ kept it at apartment game night with better speakers. Snacks came to the table hot, mid-game.
That's what the venue told us: "From the gaming mat to the dice, it's exactly the way a real gamer would have it." From the people who host game night every night of the week, there's no higher praise.
And the people came: 67% more players than planned.
We worked on this project before founding TinyRobot.
