More Than Just Making Games

At The Bored Games Studio, we’ve never wanted to simply build games that live on your phone.

We want to create reasons for people to put their phones in the middle of the group, look up at each other and actually have fun together.

For us, the game is only the starting point.

The real product is the moment when someone gives an answer that makes absolutely no sense. It’s everyone laughing before they can even explain themselves. It’s the arguments about who is Way Off, the inside jokes created during a round and the stories people remember afterwards.

That’s what we mean when we say we’re creating unforgettable experiences.

Way Off is designed to fit naturally into birthdays, game nights, road trips, family gatherings, house parties, braais or even those random evenings where everyone is sitting around asking:

It’s Not Really a South African Gathering Without a Braai

And of course, no proper South African gathering would feel complete without a braai somewhere in the mix.

While the games were getting competitive, the fire was going, the meat was on the grill and everyone had something to snack on between rounds.

There’s something about a braai that brings people together in a way that feels completely natural. Nobody needs a complicated plan. You have good food, good music, a few drinks, friends or family and enough time for the conversations to go in completely unexpected directions.

That also happens to be the perfect environment for Way Off.

One minute someone is checking the meat.

The next minute they’re being asked to write down their answer to a ridiculous question while everyone else is trying to decide whether they’re telling the truth, overthinking it or simply received a completely different question.

And somehow, even the person standing at the braai eventually gets pulled into the game.

That combination of food, laughter, competition and conversation is a big part of what inspired the type of experience we want our games to create.

Because sometimes the best game nights don’t really feel like “game nights” at all.

They just feel like a great gathering where a game happens to make everything even better.

Watching Way Off Come to Life

Testing Way Off outside of development has been one of the most exciting parts of building the game.

When you’re designing a party game, there are things you simply can’t learn from looking at a screen.

You need to see people hesitate before writing an answer.

You need to hear everyone shout when somebody gives themselves away.

You need to watch people defend an answer that clearly makes no sense.

And most importantly, you need to see whether people genuinely want another round.

During this teaser game night, that was exactly what happened.

The reactions, conversations and chaos gave us an even clearer picture of what works and what can still be improved before Way Off officially makes its way to more players.

A Small Teaser of What’s Coming

This was only a glimpse.

Way Off is being built with different categories, hundreds of questions and plenty of opportunities for every group to create their own hilarious moments.

Whether you’re playing with close friends, family, colleagues or people you’ve only just met, every group brings something different to the game.

And that’s what makes it interesting.

The questions might come from us.

But the funniest part of Way Off will always come from the people playing it.

We can’t wait to see what happens when even more people get their hands on the game.

Way Off is coming soon.

Until then, consider this your first little glimpse into the chaos.