It all started with Moth Man and a Tudor’s Biscuit World biscuit for local board game developer Lonely Hero Games’ second project.
Lonely Hero Games is the brainchild of West Virginia natives Christopher Kincaid and Jared Kaplan, and so far, has produced two successful board games — Bank Heist and Hungry for Humans, the second of which has been especially popular among West Virginians due to its uniquely Appalachian references to regional foods and folklore.
“In Hungry for Humans, you have a monster friend who really, really wants to eat you,” begins the board game’s narrative. Each player’s monster can be satiated with the delightful food of our region. “Luckily, you’ve discovered the scenic hills of West Virginia — the one place in the world where the food is delicious enough, the people are friendly enough, and the landscape is majestic enough to take the edge off any monster’s human hunger.”
Hungry for Humans is a “push your luck” type of 2-to-5-player board game in which players pull a number between 1-5 without revealing it to themselves or others, play a positive or negative food card in hopes of helping themselves score more points or sabotaging other players, after which the player that pulled the highest number adds or subtracts the total food points. Game cards themed after West Virginia cryptids like Moth Man and the Flatwoods Monster provide special actions. If your monster’s points drop below zero they starve and eat you; if it exceeds 20, the monster overeats and explodes. The player with the highest score wins.
In conceptualizing Hungry for Humans, Kincaid and Kaplan knew that food would be a vital aspect of the game. After deciding on West Virginia-inspired foods, however, they discovered a perfect opportunity to collaborate with the community and feature meals from local restaurants that most West Virginians will recognize. Positive food cards feature dishes from 19 different restaurants across West Virginia, including Morgantown favorites like the Caesar Reprise from Black Bear Burritos, Cowboy Ranch Wings from Mario’s Fishbowl, Salmon Omega Club from Terra Cafe, Char-Grilled Hot Wings from Pies & Pints, and, of course, the Mary B and Ron biscuits from Tudor’s Biscuit World. Beyond restaurant-inspired cards, it wouldn’t be a West Virginia board game without additional cards titled “West Virginia Pepperoni Roll” and “West Virginia Hot Dog.”
“We came up with a list of restaurants that we liked and we knew were popular, and what was very surprising to me was just how willing they were,” said Kaplan. “They were very receptive to it, they were immediately on board. It made us feel really positively about the entire experience, and I think that just speaks to the state and the people.”
Continuing the West Virginia theme, the board game’s box and game boards also feature the New River Gorge Bridge, Summersville Lake, Glade Creek Grist Mill and Seneca Rocks.
With a game inspired by cryptids and Appalachian culture, it was clear which artist should collaborate on this project — Liz Pavlovic, AKA Keep On Creepin’ On. They’re best known for their artwork inspired by West Virginia cryptids, with an online store of Mothman T-shirts and bumper stickers stating, “Not a bad driver, just thinking about pepperoni rolls” or “I brake for Braxxie.”
“Someone suggested that I reach out to Liz and she was all about it. Obviously her cryptid artwork is super-popular across the state, and it was just a perfect match,” said Kaplan. “We also got a significant amount of people interested in the game just because Liz did the artwork, and we’re incredibly grateful for that because I feel like it wouldn’t be what it is without her.”
Hungry for Human’s launch last year was funded in part by a successful KickStarter crowdfunding project, raising $15,000 within 30 days and achieving nearly three times the original funding goal. Kaplan attributes the game’s success in part to the immeasurable support of West Virginians.
“We just already had this feeling that we were incredibly grateful to the community, local people in the state, who supported our first game just because we were West Virginia creators. I feel like in West Virginia, people have a lot of pride and really want the world to see that we’re doing things here, too, we have artists and we have creatives and all these sorts of things,” said Kaplan. “And so when people saw that we were trying to do something different being a board game publisher born out of West Virginia, I think a lot of people kind of latched on to that. And even if they didn’t play games, they wanted to support what we were doing.”
Last weekend, Lonely Hero Games brought together a community of tabletop and immersive gaming enthusiasts for their first-ever Glade Gaming Getaway — a convention of board games, laser tag, bowling, cosplay, trivia, escape rooms and more held at The Resort at Glade Springs. With the success of the event, there’s great potential for an annual recurrence.
Attendees had the opportunity to enjoy an extensive schedule of themed activities, including a murder mystery dinner, an art show, an excursion to New River Gorge National Park, a Fright Nights West Virginia haunted attraction at the resort, a Halloween party and more. The event was inspired by the large-scale gaming and pop culture conventions across the United States, but a smaller, more-relaxed interpretation set in the peaceful nature of West Virginia.
“I personally work at The Resort at Glade Springs and seeing the facilities that we have here, it just sort of started to naturally come together. We could do something like [gaming conventions] on a smaller scale. I think it’d be a great way to take all these great people and bring them together for a weekend of fun, and do it in a way where we create something that brings people that have never had the opportunity to visit West Virginia, but also create a bunch of activities and events for people who live here.”
Stay updated on Lonely Hero Games’ future plans on Facebook, Facebook.com/LonelyHeroGames, or at LonelyHeroGames.com. The board games, including Hungry for Humans, can be purchased on the website or from Morgantown retailers like Four Horsemen Comics and Gaming, Comic Paradise Plus 2, and Cryptid Mountain Miniature Golf.
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