The Grape Escape
Board Game, Hasbro
© Hasbro
How do you give a ’90s game a fresh squeeze without losing its original flavor?
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Hasbro brought The Grape Escape back from the ’90s and gave it a fresh chance to shine. The game had plenty of quirky personality, but the experience needed to be updated for a new generation of players.
The refreshed game brought modern humor, playful wordplay, clearer gameplay, and a richer storytelling experience into the mix. From packaging and instructions to game components and play testing, the goal was to make The Grape Escape feel fresh and approachable while preserving the weird, wonderful charm that made it memorable in the first place.
DESIGN CHALLENGE
The challenge was to take a familiar game and make it easier to understand, more engaging to play, and relevant to today’s audience while maintaining its original sense of fun.
That meant simplifying the rules and packaging, refreshing the language, developing new names and storytelling for game components, and testing the experience with young players. Every change needed to make the game more accessible without losing the humor, personality, and playful spirit at the heart of The Grape Escape.
MY ROLE
Creative Leadership: Led the creative development for the game refresh, shaping the voice, storytelling, and overall player experience while keeping the updated game true to its playful roots.
Writing: Led the development of packaging copy and game rules, refining the language to make the experience clear, engaging, and easy to understand.
Play Tests: Guided play-test feedback and used observations from young players to identify opportunities to refine the gameplay, language, and overall experience.
Naming: Developed playful new names for the jam factory gizmos and the “wild” spot, using wordplay to give the game’s components more personality.
RESULTS
Gave a beloved ’90s game a fresh coat of paint, updating the experience for a new generation while preserving its quirky personality.
Simplified the packaging and instructions to make the game easier to understand and jump into.
Introduced unexpected gameplay moments that added surprise, humor, and replayability.
Expanded the game’s storytelling and personality, creating a richer experience for players to discover.
