It started in a small New Zealand hostel in 2016, where a group of strangers were sharing beers, stories, and card games — including the classic game of Golf that I quickly fell in love with. I spent countless hours “playing” this game in my head while traveling solo across the country, eventually inventing so many new rules that I decided I had an entirely new game on my hands which I named Archduke, inspired by the name of a nearby glacier.
I brought Archduke back to my friends and family, playing it with a standard poker deck for almost 4 years, iterating and refining the rules as we went. The new rules added significant depth and replay value, but it became difficult to track the purpose of each card in the middle of such a fast paced game. I began to dream of a custom-designed deck that could help teach and inform the rules as a person played.
Then, in 2020, the world fell apart. In the first few months of lockdown, I decided to harness my restlessness into creativity and pursue the idea of bringing Archduke to life.
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It started in a small New Zealand hostel in 2016, where a group of strangers were sharing beers, stories, and card games — including the classic game of Golf that I quickly fell in love with. I spent countless hours “playing” this game in my head while traveling solo across the country, eventually inventing so many new rules that I decided I had an entirely new game on my hands which I named Archduke, inspired by the name of a nearby glacier.
I brought Archduke back to my friends and family, playing it with a standard poker deck for almost 4 years, iterating and refining the rules as we went. The new rules added significant depth and replay value, but it became difficult to track the purpose of each card in the middle of such a fast paced game. I began to dream of a custom-designed deck that could help teach and inform the rules as a person played.
Then, in 2020, the world fell apart. In the first few months of lockdown, I decided to harness my restlessness into creativity and pursue the idea of bringing Archduke to life.
Building a design system from scratch is no small task, so I started by defining a set of principles that my team and I could align to as we went. Our vision was to create a system that allowed the team to quickly handle repeatable tasks while leaving room for creative problem-solving.
Keep only what's necessary—each component must prove its value. A lean system is faster to design, easier to maintain, and ensures consistency from end to end.
Balance flexibility with repeatability, enabling designers to solve problems creatively, quickly, and confidently.
Design components that meet past, present, and future needs, supporting both legacy pages and new content.
Stay current with evolving methodologies and tools. A design system is never done—it's a living document and shouldn't gather dust.
I designed the game with a keen attention to the art and packaging, recreating the landscapes of my travel that inspired the game 4 years earlier. I printed an initial 20 copies of the game and gave them away to the friends and family that had been so helpful and patient in my years of playtesting.
Then, in early 2021, I took a chance on myself to order 50 more copies and set up a simple website just to see if I might be able to convince a few strangers to buy my game. On a whim, I also decided to post my story to Reddit r/boardgames, detailing my process of designing and self-producing my own card game.
In a matter of hours, the post went viral… at least by r/boardgame standards. People were immediately attracted to the colorful artwork that looked like nothing else on the shelves and connected with the DIY story of bringing a creative dream to life.
I had bought 50 decks thinking they would last me a couple of months. Instead, I had over 300 orders from 14 countries around the world. I sold out on day one.
I designed the game with a keen attention to the art and packaging, recreating the landscapes of my travel that inspired the game 4 years earlier. I printed an initial 20 copies of the game and gave them away to the friends and family that had been so helpful and patient in my years of playtesting.
Then, in early 2021, I took a chance on myself to order 50 more copies and set up a simple website just to see if I might be able to convince a few strangers to buy my game. On a whim, I also decided to post my story to Reddit r/boardgames, detailing my process of designing and self-producing my own card game.
In a matter of hours, the post went viral… at least by r/boardgame standards. People were immediately attracted to the colorful artwork that looked like nothing else on the shelves and connected with the DIY story of bringing a creative dream to life.
I had bought 50 decks thinking they would last me a couple of months. Instead, I had over 300 orders from 14 countries around the world. I sold out on day one.
Over the next two years, I sold over 3,000 copies of Archuke from my basement almost entirely by word-of-mouth. For a period, it was one of the highest rated games on Boardgamegeek.com with a rating of 9.2/10 and feedback such as:
The best card game you've never heard of"
It's not often a card game leaves a huge impact in the world of board gaming."
"I have to admit that stumbling upon Archduke has been one of the most satisfactory and rewarding experiences I’ve had in gaming."
"The game is absolutely beautiful. At least one person out of every group I play with ends up buying a copy for themselves.
Over the next two years, I sold over 3,000 copies of Archuke from my basement almost entirely by word-of-mouth. For a period, it was one of the highest rated games on Boardgamegeek.com with a rating of 9.2/10 and feedback such as:
The best card game you've never heard of"
It's not often a card game leaves a huge impact in the world of board gaming."
"I have to admit that stumbling upon Archduke has been one of the most satisfactory and rewarding experiences I’ve had in gaming."
"The game is absolutely beautiful. At least one person out of every group I play with ends up buying a copy for themselves.
In 2022, an indie game publishing company, Stellar Factory, reached out to me with an offer to license and sell the game alongside their catalog of critically acclaimed games. Working in collaboration, we revised the artwork and components with the goal of spreading the infection joy that this game creates as far and wide as possible.
The second edition of Archduke was released in November 2022 can now be found on Stellarfactory’s website, Amazon, and at over 275 brick-and-mortar retail stores around the world.
In a recent development, Archduke went "viral" within the Amish community, causing some surprise when hundreds of handwritten, cash orders arrived by mail.
To date, over 50,000 copies of Archduke have been sold worldwide.
In 2022, an indie game publishing company, Stellar Factory, reached out to me with an offer to license and sell the game alongside their catalog of critically acclaimed games. Working in collaboration, we revised the artwork and components with the goal of spreading the infection joy that this game creates as far and wide as possible.
The second edition of Archduke was released in November 2022 can now be found on Stellarfactory’s website, Amazon, and at over 275 brick-and-mortar retail stores around the world.
In a recent development, Archduke went "viral" within the Amish community, causing some surprise when hundreds of handwritten, cash orders arrived by mail.
To date, over 50,000 copies of Archduke have been sold worldwide.
The journey of bringing Archduke to life took over 6 years from its inception in the wilderness of New Zealand to licensing by a critically acclaimed publishing company. I learned plenty along the way, including how to design a physical product, how to run a profitable small business, and how to know when the time is right to move on.
Above all, I learned how incredibly rewarding it can be to hear that a family or group of friends halfway across the world could be brought to tears of joy and laughter playing a game that I had created.
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