A Saint Mary’s student and Holy Cross alumnus are taking advantage of Kickstarter to launch their card game idea, “Top Dog,” June 1.
2018 Holy Cross alumnus Emmanuel Asencio designed the game in high school as a way to meet people, he said.
“I grew up having to move around to different schools,” Ascencio said. “I attended three different high schools and decided to develop a card game to bring people together and to find new friends. It was a way for me to interact with other students.”
Through playing the game in high school, he met Saint Mary’s senior Jessica Clark, who has also contributed to the game.
“I have aided in the development process, formatted the instructions of the game and have financially supported this game,” Clark said. “I pushed to continue bringing people together to play in a college environment.”
According to Ascencio, the game was originally robber-baron political themed. However, he switched it to dog-themed to be appealing to more players, he said. The website markets “Top Dog” as a game for everyone, but especially dog lovers.
“When determining rankings of this game, I wanted to make it seem like the players were living in a dog’s world,” Ascencio said.
After changing the theme, Ascencio said he decided to include his own dog in the game.
“The cover of ‘Top Dog’ is my Border Collie, Duff,” Ascencio said. “I wanted to incorporate Duff in the game somehow, so I decided he would be on the cover as a grown-up version and in the game as one of the cards as a puppy version.”
Official rules to this game will not be posted until the launch of the game on June 1, Ascencio said.
According to the “Top Dog” website, the game can be played by people who are 7 years old and older, with two to six players at a time. The game only takes around one minute to learn and 15 minutes to play, the website said.
“This is a game that is simple and can be played repetitively without boring the players over time,” Ascencio said. “This game can be played in quick rounds of two to five minutes, so there is no lengthy time commitment.”
The Kickstarter launch will last 60 days, with a goal of $5,000, the website said. The launch will include a promotional and instructional video along with different opportunities for backers to own “Top Dog.” While Ascencio and Clark hope for the success of this product, they said that more than anything, they want others to have the chance to play and experience this game.
“The goal of Top Dog is to bring people together with an interactive and competitive card game,” Clark said. “We ultimately want people to have fun. Now that Emmanuel has graduated, and I am about to, we have made this game into a product so others can enjoy.”
