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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Our View: Three elections that matter right now ... The Concord launches ... Mail Tribune 100: Oct. 20, 1915 ... Our View: Three elections that matter right now ... The Concord launches ... Mail Tribune 100: Oct. 20, 1915 ... DEADLY GAME Rogue Valley pair hope supporters will breathe life into 'Don't Die' Board fans create their own game and ask for help to launch it Comment By Nick Morgan Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Nick Morgan Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 19, 2015 at 12:01 AM By Nick Morgan Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 19, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News As Alex Williams of Medford and Patrick James of Grants Pass opened their boxes of "Don't Die!," it was easy to forget that their copies of the fast-paced tabletop card game were the only two in existence. Williams and James held a launch party for the game on Oct. 10 at Astral Games in downtown Medford, locally announcing the start of their campaign on crowdfunding site Kickstarter.com . The site gives the duo a firm deadline of 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, to raise $16,000 to manufacture, distribute and market their game. If Williams and James don't reach their goal by the deadline, supporters get their money back. As of Saturday afternoon, $5,138 from 134 backers have been raised toward their goal. With its irreverent imagery drawn from warning signs, caution tape and popular culture, "Don't Die" is a game of drawing cards and avoiding obscure demises — or at least having fewer demises than other players at the table. "Whoever has the fewest deaths is the winner," Williams said. Players each take turns drawing cards from the center of the table. The game features 104 "hazard" cards that can be avoided with a roll of the die, and 12 different "death" cards that mean an instant death, sometimes for the player drawing the card and other times for an opponent. James and Williams staged a "play test" of the game with Chrysi and Dave Thomson and Justin Sams. "I thought it was really creative how they integrated pop culture," play tester Justin Sams said. The game took about 15 minutes to play, but the gameplay got lively early on. "These are prototype cards. Be nice to them," James said over laughs after a player drew a "death transfer" card. "We're tied, honey," Dave Thomson said to his wife. "I think you're dead. You're dead to me," Chrysi joked to her husband in the heat of the competition. The idea for the game first struck James after watching a video on YouTube chronicling the more than 100 ways Bruce Willis' character cheats death in the "Die Hard" film series. "There no way anybody could live after that," James said. He shared the idea with Williams, and the pair quickly went back and forth on ideas for the game. "We were up until 6 a.m.," James said. In their day jobs, the duo both work with Photoshop and graphic design software. Together in their free time they developed simple illustrations for the game's hazard cards. Some of those are direct, such as "Unforgivable Curse," drawing Voldemort's curse in the Harry Potter series. Others went through rewrites in the hopes of staying on the good side of copyright holders. Williams showed an "Eaten by Space Bears" hazard card, as an example. "I don't know if I want to include Ewoks," Williams said, concerned about infringing on "Star Wars." While they each designed cards, Williams researched ways to produce it. In addition to Google, Williams reached out to games he's supported on Kickstarter for tips. The prototype boxes came from a website called Gamecrafter.com , and each cost about $40 to manufacture. The Kickstarter campaign will allow them to produce the game in volumes large enough to sell it profitably at $25 a box through a different supplier. The final version of the game will include a plastic tray for cards, turn marker, instructions and die. "The game should look the same but a little bit cleaner," James said. Chrysi Thompson said she's been checking Kickstarter regularly, in anticipation of getting her own copy. "I've been watching because I need this game," she told James and Williams. For more on the game, see www.dontdiegame.com or www.kickstarter.com/projects/RandomAxe/dont-die . Reach newsroom assistant Nick Morgan at 541-776-4477 or [email protected]. By Nick Morgan Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Nick Morgan Mail Tribune Posted Oct. 19, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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