In the Papers!

As our game was about to be launched, we were interviewed by the Senet Magazine and got a neat page spread on what our It's Not Cricket game is all about. It was such an exciting opportunity to share our budding ideas with true board game enthusiasts who really understood the ethos behind what we are doing with the game.

Article below:

It's Not Cricket

Cricket on the tabletop?

That takes balls...

As one of the most stat-friendly sports, it's surprising there haven't been many rewarding tabletop adaptations of cricket. Now, father-kid team Paul and Zoë Jozsa are hoping to change that with It's Not Cricket. "Cricket isn't just a sport, but a strategic game with a lot of risk," Paul explains. "It's also not that inclusive, so we worked on a format that retains the essence of the game with a view of bringing it to a new audience".

To make the game more accessible, the Jozsas created their own vocabulary, for example referring to bowlers and batsmen as "Rowlers" and "Willows", respectively. "This is how we get people who don't know cricket, by showing them an equitable, energised alternative," says Zoë.

In terms of gameplay, It's Not Cricket uses dice to determine how each Willow scores and whether the Rowler they're facing gets them out. The biggest choice for players is picking which team members face off against each other. "We added numerical values to each character which change the scores as the game is played," Zoë explains. "Both the Willows and Rowlers have moments in the game to strategise and change the impact that the dice rolls have."

Unusually, the game follows its inspiration by including a role for a third participant: the Umpire.This isn't strictly necessary, but the designers recommend it for two reasons. "The first is to pick up the pace, so you don't have to stop and mark the scoresheet for each die? says Zoe. "We also feel it's good to have someone be a peacemaker as things get more exciting!"

"Could be the new: Armchair Cricket"

Matt Thrower