I had never done this before. By December 2023, it became certain that I would indeed participate in creating a theatrical production, as a game designer. The performance is a concert theater board game, which discusses the dangers of burnout and overload. The setting is a birthday party where the guests arrive only to find out that the birthday person has not been doing well lately. That's why Mom and Dad organized this surprise party. My task (together with Hanna Milovits) was to design board games that not only connect well with the mood but also deepen the message of the performance.

Our starting point given by the director was a textbook with exercises aimed at preventing burnout. However, we didn't want to create mere exercises, drama games, or training games, but specifically card and board games. Thematically, all this fits nicely into the birthday party setting. Thus, when the audience plays, they also play as the party guests according to the plot.

I think we came up with six game ideas, which we started to frame, test, and try out; we talked a lot about them and eventually kept two and came up with another one. The final result is thus three games: a warm-up, light rhythm game; a more immersive, values-focused longer game; and a concluding movement game.

Although I've designed many board games, I had never worked in theater before. The dress rehearsal, to which we invited a test audience, highlighted our mistakes. The theater worked well, the board games worked well, but they were very much separate from each other. We had three days to sort things out and integrate the elements. (The photos I share here were taken during this event by Zsófia Sivák.)

We rewrote the game rules, restructured the text, and better integrated the fiction into the game, or vice versa. Explaining game rules from within a role is not simple, and although the game designers will also be present as helpers, the burden will be on the actors. The most interesting aspect was understanding the relationship between the main character and the games. After all, we know the main character is not well and cannot participate in the games with great joy, even if it's their party. So, rebuilding this relationship was the most crucial task for the days leading up to the show.

I feel like we've succeeded, but the premiere will provide the real answer. Right now, my main excitement is that there will be three times as many people at the premiere as there were at the test, and from a gaming perspective, that makes a big difference. Of course, it's a huge joy to have a full house. For now, we are performing it twice, today and tomorrow, but we hope it will gain some traction, receive positive feedback, and there will be more opportunities to show the audience what a concert theater board game about overload and burnout really is.

It was a tremendous experience to discover a new world. I really grew fond of the staff, and although the rehearsal process was very exhausting, its intensity also added a lot. We rarely design games in a large collective. I come up with something, show it to the publisher, develop it with 2-3 people, and then during production, I also think a lot with the illustrator and the print manager, and new conversations arise during testing, but the creative process is still more of a solitary form for me. In contrast, here, for every idea and every thought, I had to understand and accept an entire scene and the work of many people. I really enjoyed it. I hope I will have more opportunities to make theater board games. (Of course, I'm still nervous about how the audience and critics will react.)

And a video clip was also made for the performance:

The crew:

Performed by: Rozi Kemény, Zoltán Mózes, Noémi Noya Szántusz
Game Designers: Hanna Milovits, Máté Lencse
Dramaturge: Tímea Éva Bogya
Lighting: Ferenc Payer
Scenography: Mihály Lukács
Costumes: Dominika Dömötör / Dezső Clothes
Poster, Visual Identity: László Poszovecz
Consultants: Imola Orsolya Benkő, Gábor Viktor Kozma
Production Manager: Balázs Erős
Assistant Director: Nikoleta Dimitrov
Directed by: Noémi noya Szántusz