Thanks to Block Portrait Studios, Clothesline Laundromat, and Jameson’s Irish Bar for their support.
Minnesota may have duck duck gray duck, but now there’s a new version from West St. Paul—a card game known as Duck Duck Mousse. The idea comes from Paul John Rudoi, who is launching the game on Kickstarter (Update: See details below about relaunching in 2024).
While Rudoi is a professional musician, on the side he’s launching Yokay Games. “We specialize in family-friendly card games loosely based on non-card games we all used to play as children.”
Where did the idea come from: While fishing, Rudoi started thinking about simple play mechanics. “I kept thinking, ‘How hard can it be to make a simple card game?'” Rudoi said. “Turns out it’s not so simple, but it is a ton of fun.”
Why ducks and mousse: Rudoi’s idea’s focused on what he knew, including non-board games like tug of war, red rover, and duck duck goose. His first game is based on duck duck goose and that and other variations were taken, so Rudoi’s spouse Brittany suggested spelling it ‘mousse’ and giving the ducks bad hair.
First timer: This is Rudoi’s first game. He doesn’t have a history of making up games as a kid, though he’s dreamed of making video games.
How did he create it: “We live in an interesting time where there’s Canva (a very intuitive online graphic design tool) and OpenAI’s Dall-e tool which turns text into images,” Rudoi said. “I was in Dall-e’s beta last summer when the idea came about, and so I used my credits up making initial images.”
Favorite games: “My favorites are those that bring people together in collaboration, or the mechanics are so good that it’s fun even if someone isn’t competitive (aka me),” Rudoi said. “So the Pandemic Legacy games are incredible because you’re collaborating against the board and the story. Codenames is also brilliant. Simple card games like The Game, Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza, and Poo (yes, that’s correct, and yes, it’s very good) are also my favorites.”
Neighbor: Rudoi and his spouse have lived in West St. Paul since 2020 and love it (“So centralized but also a small community feel.”).
You can support Duck Duck Mousse on Kickstarter.
How to Play:
Aug. 14, 2023 Upate: Re-Launching in 2024
Duck, Duck, Mousse came so close to the goal, reaching 96% of support. Kickstarter is an all-or-nothing platform, so close doesn’t count. Rudoi plans to retool and relaunch in 2024. You can follow along on Kickstarter.
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