I spoke with the creator of Oh Crap! Here are his answers to my questions:
Q: Please describe your trading card game!
A: Oh Crap! is a deck building game, similar to Pokémon or Magic, except all of the characters are poop related and all of the moves are some sort of poop joke.
Q: What inspired you to create your own TCG?
A: During the pandemic, I started making novelty items and a couple of my designs went viral. I opened up an Etsy store and it took off almost immediately. I had been toying with the idea of making a game for a while, but once I had the avenue to distribute it effectively, I decided to go for it and actively started working on it.
Q: What TCGs did you grow up playing as a kid?
A: I'm pretty old and TCG's didn't really hit big until I was about to graduate high school. My career path at the time didn't have much room for anything else, but I always enjoyed the artwork and collecting. I finally started playing Pokémon a few years ago with my son and really got interested in game design.
Q: What sets Oh Crap! apart from other TCGs?
A: I think there are a couple of things that set it apart. The obvious one is that it's basically a giant poop joke, but like hundreds of poop jokes. The second is that even if you don't play the game, the cards and art are funny and collectible. That was a big part of it when we started. We wanted a playable TCG, but still something kids would see in a store and pick up because it's gross/funny.
Q: How did you come up with the name Oh Crap?
A: Oh Crap! was actually the second name. We had made prototypes with a different parody type name of a bigger game and put some up for sale in my shop. When I filed for the federal trademark, I got a cease & desist from a very large video game company that threatened to sue me. My lawyer says I could've won, but the cost would have been so much it wouldn't have been worth it. It all worked out for the best and now Oh Crap! evolved from that into its own thing and I couldn't be happier about it.
Q: How long have you been working on the game?
A: I think we've been working on it for 15 months now. We were able to get everything rolling pretty quickly. We had the starter decks out within 7 months and we're about to take the booster decks to retail within the next 2 weeks. I wanted to make sure I had the channels to do it properly before we got started, so we were able to do most everything pretty efficiently. We had a few bumps in the road, but nothing we couldn't get past.
Q: What is the illustration/design process like?
A: There's me, Richie, and my partner Gavin. Gavin does all of the character art and does a great job of bringing the names to life. I do the backgrounds, card layout and game design. The plus side to that is that we're able to work on things simultaneously and once the character is completed, I can pop him into the card design and it's done.
Q: What are your future plans for Oh Crap?
A: With the launch of the booster packs, we are going to start focusing on retail and getting into stores. I mentioned earlier about what sets the game apart is the content. That has allowed us to get into places you wouldn't see any TCGs outside of the bigger ones; gas stations, convenience stores, candy shops, etc. The goal is to build the brand and spread out as far as we can.
Q: Will you be at any upcoming conventions?
A: Oh yes! Here's a list of what we have coming up. There are a bunch more that are coming, but these are confirmed.
Feb 11th DualCon Charleston, WV
April 30th Toyplaooza Pittsburgh, PA
June 9-11th Sci-Fi Con Altoona, PA
July 8-9th Youngstown Comic Con Youngstown, OH
Aug. 4-5th Momento Con Pittsburg, PA
Aug. 26-27th WV PopCon Morgantown, WV
Q: Do you have any advice for someone looking to make their own TCG?
A: Absolutely! Go for it, but be smart about it. Don't rush the creative process. If something doesn't come to you at first, give it time. It's ok to ask for help or advice, but always consider the source. Doing it properly can get really expensive. Make sure you have a well laid plan before throwing money into it. Most of all, have fun and make something amazing.
For more, follow @ohcraptcg on Instagram and check out https://www.etsy.com/listing/1262692771/oh-crap-the-trading-card-game-starter
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