Not another gadget but a long-lasting experience
From power banks to smart key rings and noise-cancelling headphones: promotional gifts have become increasingly technical in recent years. But a board game stands out for its simplicity. No Bluetooth. No app. No charging cable. Just the box, a stack of cards and your colleagues, friends or family around you. A board game takes you back to something most of us have almost forgotten: quality time without a goal, without rushing. Laughing together, challenging each other and making memories. And that's exactly why it works so well as a promotional gift or employer gift.
Brand experience in a box
A well-designed board game tells a story. One with a beginning, an end, rules and roles. That is precisely what makes it such a powerful canvas for your brand. Because if your brand has something to say – about who you are, how you work or what you find important – you can reflect that in a playful way in the course of the game. With a custom-made board game, you are giving more than just a gift: it is a tool that you can use in different ways, depending on your goal. For new employees, it's an original introduction to the company. For customers, it's a creative way to celebrate or deepen the relationship. And in campaigns or activations, you literally play with the message.
Monopoly: a classic game and a rock-solid brand ambassador
When you say board game, you immediately think of Monopoly. A classic among board games that transcends generations. With a custom-made Monopoly edition, you can fill the board with recognisable elements from your organisation. Sometimes as a joke, but mainly as an active and substantive translation of your brand: the squares on the board become services, departments or branches. Chance cards translate into recognisable dilemmas or inside jokes within the company. The pawns are given a shape or colour that matches your corporate identity. And the game box and instructions? They feel like an extension of your branding and tone of voice. Everyone knows the rules, everyone recognises the game. And that makes the positive effect all the greater: it feels familiar and surprising at the same time.
Through our licence partners, we can also work with titles such as Cluedo and Risk, as well as more modern formats such as Escape Room The Game or a music quiz like Name That Tune (the alternative to Hitster). Every year, new, well-known titles become available, such as The Traitors, Medical Mysteries or The Floor, which we can use as a basis for a corporate edition.
If you prefer complete freedom, full customisation allows you to choose your own theme, rules and format. Game mechanics such as rolling dice and moving, collecting cards, conquering territories, “who's the culprit” or trading and building can easily be translated into your own game without a licence. This workaround is all about content and form. No references to 30 Seconds, Pictionary or Trivial Pursuit, but the same fun in a world that is entirely yours. Think of a fast-paced describe-and-guess game about your projects (in the spirit of 30 Seconds), a draw-and-guess format with internal themes (à la Pictionary), or a knowledge quiz with categories from your business (think: Trivial Pursuit). The game techniques are often free to use; the name and recognisable design are not.
From idea to realisation
A custom-made game like this may seem complicated to create. But in practice, it's not that difficult, especially with a good plan of action. It always starts with an idea. What do you want to say? What do you want to engage people with? And what is the atmosphere, tone or feeling you want to convey? From there, we look at which game format is most suitable. Is it a licensed board game like Monopoly, a quiz, a memory variant or something completely new? Next, the content is written, the design is created and the layout is tailored to your corporate identity. Every element can be customised: from the box to the playing cards, from the pawns to the instructions. You will receive a trial version, we will fine-tune it, and then production will start.
You need to play to win…
Some ideas cannot be captured in a standard solution. They require attention, imagination and a different way of looking at things. A branded game is a good example of this. Whether it's employer branding, customer relations or creative activation, a board game is an unexpected and effective way to show who you are as an organisation. Curious to see what that would look like for your brand? We would be happy to help you explore the possibilities. Contact one of our specialists and we will tell you all about it.