A new board game aims to capture the essence of Sanibel’s barrier islands and bring it to living rooms worldwide by next spring. WINK News had the exclusive opportunity to explore the creation of this exciting game.
Elizabeth Hargrave, a game designer for Hasbro, shared her inspiration for the game, which stemmed from her childhood memories of visiting Sanibel.
“I grew up in Gainesville, Florida, so Sanibel was a bit of a drive for us, but it was a ‘one day, when we were collecting shells’ my dad said there should be a game about collecting shells on the beach. And I couldn’t believe that there wasn’t already a game about that,” said Hargrave.
This sparked the creation of “Sanibel – The Board Game.”
“So I really started thinking about how I could translate that into a game,” said Hargrave.
The game is designed to transport players from their tabletops to the shores of Lighthouse Beach, featuring game pieces and pictures inspired by the real location.
“This game mimics a real Sanibel shell hunt — gathering treasures, moving down the beach, and finishing right here at the lighthouse,” said WINK News reporter Haley Zarcone during her visit to Lighthouse Beach.
Hargrave explained the game’s mechanics.
“The turn order is just that whoever’s in back goes next, and you pick the next footprint that you want to move to, and there are little numbers printed next to them, and that’s how many tiles you get to pick up off of the beach,” said Hargrave. “It’s all about each type of shell has a different way that it scores.”
The game pieces are inspired by the common and special shells found on Sanibel’s shores.
“I really tried to look into like, what are some of the most common ones? And then also some of the really special shells here,” said Hargrave.
Hargrave’s goal was to create a game accessible to everyone, reflecting the universal appeal of shelling.
“My family are not huge strategy gamers, and one of the things that I was really trying to do with this game was to make it something that would be accessible to everybody, because shelling is so universal. So it was really great to be able to see my parents pick it up and have no problem playing,” said Hargrave.