OUR NZ

Why memory card games?

The game is age-old, simple, yet entertaining enough so all ages can play. We say ages 5-100 years.

We first got the idea for a New Zealand themed game when friends from Europe visited in 2014. They gave our family a small cube-shaped box containing memory cards with photographic images of Switzerland. I put my thinking cap on about making a game for Aotearoa/New Zealand. Until the Swiss game, I had only seen memory card games with stylised images, more suited to younger children.

NZ IN A BOX

Lightbulb Moment

Why not show New Zealand offmore maturely, appealing to young and old. The name NZ IN A BOX flicked on like a light bulb (lightbulb moment!). I set about sourcing photos from various photographers and stock photos. I also contacted a trademark lawyer to check if we could use the NZ IN A BOX name for our business. After checking it out, he exclaimed how very surprised he was that the name was still available!

NZ IN A BOX

BOOKS, GAMES & VALUE BUNDLES

That was 2014 – over the next couple of years while working part-time in our local primary school, I also worked on the game, and wrote my first children’s picture book Jin’s Great Escape’. I was passionate about finishing, even though sometimes the midnight oil was burning!

In 2016 the NZ IN A BOX® games were finally ready to print and the first run was for 10,000 games. Being a novice in retail, I had not envisaged how much effort would be involved to sell these numbers! During 2016 I created another game, ZOO IN A BOX® featuring the weird and wonderful critters of NZ. The new game was ready later that year – husband’s shed was full of games!

Fast forward to the present, and we now have the new 2nd edition games completed. Much to the husband’s relief, they are no longer stored in his shed! Now the games are all under the NZ IN A BOX® banner for brand consistency: Te Reo Māori, Animals of NZ, and Explore NZ (coming soon).

Maria Artho

FOUNDER