This article is based on an interview with Karen Nguyen and David Carmona, founders of the studio Unfriendly Games. They tell us how a meeting in Nepal, a dream about viruses and a lot of perseverance gave birth to their first board game: Virus War.
A love story that will give birth to viruses… 😱
Once upon a time, more than 4,000 meters above sea level on the Annapurna trails in Nepal, two solo travelers crossed paths, got to know each other, and shared a two-week trek between sky and summits.
Their names? Karen and David
After this trip, each one went their own way. David returned to France. As for Karen, she decided to cut her journey short to join him. What had begun as a chance meeting became a love story, and soon a story about games…
The dream, literally
Back in France, David was on cloud nine. And one night, he dreamed — literally this time — of a game whose goal was to contaminate yourself with viruses. When he woke up, with the ideas still fresh, he told Karen everything. The mechanics, the atmosphere, the rules: it was all there, as if the game had designed itself while he slept.
The idea was too good to let slip away. Together, they put the rules down on paper and put together a first prototype:
The very first prototype of Virus War, October 2019
Then came the moment of truth: THE TEST by friends, family, loved ones. The verdict? People had fun and, even better, they wanted to buy the game. So Karen and David looked at each other and said: “Why not put it on the market?”
Forming the “Unfriendly Games” team
The idea was there, the game too, the desire was strong. But to go from a prototype to an actual product, you need visuals. Karen and David called on a friend — and to come full circle, a friend they had also met in Nepal: Dorian Selosse.
Dorian, a craftsman-jeweler and illustrator, was new to game publishing. No matter: he accepted the challenge and produced all the visuals for Virus War. The Unfriendly Games team was born. Dorian would stay in the adventure for a year before devoting himself to other projects, but his graphic style would leave a lasting mark on the game’s identity.
To validate their creation beyond their circle, our two adventurers took the prototype on a road trip across Eastern Europe. And there, surprise: despite cultural differences, the game was just as well received. That was the confirmation they had been waiting for!
Without really realizing it, Karen and David did everything themselves: development, creation, publishing. Not as a strategic choice, but because they knew nothing about the board game industry. Self-publishing came naturally.
An adventure without a hitch? Not quite…
It must be said: Karen and David were starting from very far back. Their gaming culture at the time? Monopoly and La Bonne Paye. Their distribution plan? Touring shops across France with the game under their arm. Today they laugh about it, but at the time, everything still had to be learned. And the lessons would not be long in coming:
Covid, the worst possible timing
The Virus War prototype was born in autumn 2019. A game about viruses… you can see where this is going. When the pandemic hit, the game’s theme became a sensitive subject. Disparaging comments came pouring in because people thought the theme was inspired by that terrible period. A shock for Karen and David, whose game obviously had nothing to do with Covid. Motivation took a hit, doubts set in. But with hindsight, the support of their loved ones and a good dose of determination, the decision was made: keep going!
A technical trap: RGB vs CMYK 🤯
First lesson from the publishing world: the colors that shine on a screen don’t necessarily shine in print. All of Dorian’s illustrations had been done in RGB (screen colors) instead of CMYK (print colors). The result: everything had to be redone to preserve the vibrant colors that make up the game’s identity. A significant amount of work, but indispensable.
Two distributors, two bankruptcies
When Karen and David realized that you don’t sell a board game by going door-to-door to shops, they turned to professional distributors: Paille Éditions for France and Momentum Éditions for Canada. Unfortunately, both companies went bankrupt. Another tough blow. But from this ordeal, Karen and David mostly remember one thing: the trust placed in them by Gaël Morron, director of Paille Éditions, who believed in Virus War and contributed greatly to the success of this project.
With every obstacle, our two creators took the hits, learned and bounced back. As self-taught entrepreneurs, they trained themselves in the realities of board game publishing.
November 2021 — The game is out!
Two years after the first prototype, Virus War finally landed in players’ hands. And the first time Karen and David held the finished box? Photos were a must.
Since then, it’s always a huge pleasure to see people playing Virus War. It’s not a worldwide success, and that’s okay. It’s their success. The game that started it all, the one they look at today with nostalgia and affection. Their only regret? Not having communicated more about it. At the time, no one had told them that game festivals existed…
The adventure continues for Unfriendly Games
But the story doesn’t end there. Strengthened by this experience, by these struggles and by everything they had learned, Karen and David launched into a second game: Nekojima. This time, they knew the rules of the game… well, maybe…
