It’s hard these days for game designers to compete with online gaming and the mainstream selection of major retail toy stores.  However, two private school arts and media students are heading in the right direction, as they will be featured on the box of their new game at a popular Chicago retail store.

Colubmia College juniors Chrissy Quinlan and Brad Hoffman, who both call Chicago home, created a game they titled, “Colorfill,” that challenges players to follow diagrams in a paint-by-numbers-like style to set up tiles in certain positions.  The 250 tiles are made up of 10 different colors, with the purpose being to create any of five designs, including a sailboat, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and, in honor of their hometown, the Picasso statue at Chicago’s premier Daley Center.

We’d like to see people create their own designs, too,” Quinlan said. “We really wanted to emulate a Lego or Crayola so that it’s ‘open play.’”

The pair of college students won a contest put on by Marbles: The Brain Store for a group of Columbia students interested in creative game designing.  Marbles funded the students with a total of $2,000 for materials needed and used.  Marbles has stated a high interest in the college mind when it comes to ideas for future games.

“The games had to be fun, original and mentally stimulating, since Marbles doesn’t carry Monopoly or Scrabble,” Hoffman said.

Marbles: The Brain Store has beaten the dull economy by appealing to the dull mind; in short, their store’s message is, “You need to keep your mind sharp.”  The store stresses innovation that takes advantage of the steady demand of traditional board games.

Scott Brown, Marbles’ Chief Merchant and co-founder states, “We like taking traditional games and putting a twist on them.  We look for games like chess that take seconds to learn and years to master. And we like to see games that offer multiple levels of learning.”

Quinlan and Hoffman are marketing Colorfall as a game that allows people to exercise their creative muscles, visual perception, and small motor coordination.  Having now joined forces with Marbles after winning their contest, Colorfall lis expected to start development in March and appear in stores by early Fall. The estimated selling price is $40.

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