Letter carrier's job inspires son's game
Matt Kaminski has an undergraduate degree from MIT and master's degrees in secondary education and cognitive psychology, but it's a handmade board game that's got him excited.
Inspired by tales from his father, Frank, a retired letter carrier, Kaminski and his family decided a decade ago to create a board game around these government workers. It debuted last week at the National Association of Letter Carriers biennial convention, held at the Boston Convention Center.
With 8,000 letter carriers from across the United States expected to pass through, Kaminski couldn't have found a better place to peddle his product, "The Letter Carrier Game."
The object of the game is to optimize the delivery path and be the first to finish. The game board is printed on both sides, and each side is made up of 16 5-by-5 inch neighborhoods named after towns and cities across the United States. Since the sections of the board can be scrambled and flipped over, players can face a somewhat new game each time. Average playing time: 90 minutes.
"Dad really wanted to represent what it was like to be a letter carrier and was a champion at keeping the experience real," said Kaminski, a 38-year-old Cambridge resident. "My bias was in playability."
Chance cards include obstacles, incidents, and transportation. Players who draw a bicycle card, for example, improve their productivity; but another card can bring the obstacle of an angry dog into the game. There are also cards that add dangers, like falling ice - but any player holding a previously drawn helmet card would be immune.
Players can also accumulate cards that can be used to help or sabotage an opponent, so as the game comes to a close, a card can be used to upset a delivery.
"We produced 1,000 games between my family's home in Connecticut, my house in Cambridge, and the assembly, which took place at a friend's house in Arlington," said Matt Kaminski. They used Cambridge Offset Printing to create the boards, and spent an entire weekend hand-painting 36,000 game pieces. In addition to the board and instructions, each box contains 292 different pieces.
The game is priced at $40, which includes Massachusetts sales tax and can be bought online at lettercarriergame.com
"We're hoping that the game will attract families and bring them together," said Kaminski, a self-proclaimed game geek, who played Dungeons & Dragons as a kid and liked to change up the rules when playing chess. He now earns a living as a consultant, doing interactive media projects.
"My background is in education and human factors, so a lot of my projects end up being in the education or computer-based training domain," said Kaminski. While at MIT he studied in the Advanced Human Interface Group, which he described as a mecca for fun projects, and a convergence for many of his interests.
"I've always loved that point of contact between people and machine, which is one of the reasons that I work in interactive media," said Kaminski. "But I also love technology, and the way that people learn."
The Letter Carrier Game is his first foray into creating a board game for the public. The idea came from stories his father shared throughout the years about his route, like a monk parakeet nest that he'd look forward to seeing, and the unexpected challenges he encountered, from blocked off streets to the need to find a toilet.
"This idea of obstacles fed right into what we do in the games," said Kaminski. "When someone rolls a 7 or an 11 they draw a 'chance' card where incidents or obstacles come up, adding variability and irregular intervals of excitement that people like in games."
Kaminski said he feels the Letter Carrier Game creates pride, especially important, he said, because there have been a number of games that have showed disrespect for the profession.
"Letter carriers really connect the country," said Kaminski. "I think that's really pretty special."
Susan Chaityn Lebovits can be reached at lebovits@globe.com. 