About the Games
South of the Sahara is a set of three storybook board games that combine math, history, and literacy in a highly connected experience. The three games were each inspired by different African countries – Achi (Ghana), Gulugufe (Mozambique), and Fanorona (Madagascar). Instead of an instruction booklet, each game was explained through a beautifully illustrated story that engages the player as they learn about the game and its history.
Throughout the design process, our team assisted in leading play testing sessions and focus groups with participants of all ages. This gave us insight into the game design itself, but also helped highlight any pain points or confusion caused by visual elements or design.
Final packaging design for South of the Sahara, including storybooks, game boards and pieces.
Building the Microsite
From the start, we knew South of the Sahara was just the first collection of games in a larger series of storybook board games. Several of the other games were already in the development and testing phases. We kept that in mind while building the SotS landing page, which enabled us to leverage the same components once design began for the full microsite.
Our new Games page would feature all released collections and games. We continued our use of parallax to emphasize the illustrative artwork and enhance immersion. I also designed and implemented a card-flip interaction to further connect the site to its physical board game counterpart.
The Games page for the full website experience showcasing all games.
Equitable Access
One of our core values at MIND was to provide equitable access to education for everyone. This goal of this project was to craft fun, hands-on learning tools for learners of all ages to enjoy. So while some game collection purchases were from individuals, the majority of games produced went directly to schools or after school programs with the help of our donors!
Today, we have 3 game collections with 11 total games available on the site. We understand that not everyone can afford to buy new board games. That's why, in addition to physical versions, it was important to us that all games were available in digital formats for free. We host all Storyooks and even provide printable versions of game boards and pieces. We even began working with our Engineering team to build out browser-based versions of some of the games. You can explore those below.
Visit: MathMINDs Games
