Hasbro invests in family card game design from Women Innovators of Play winner Ellie Dix

Toy and game giant Hasbro is developing a board game with Ellie Dix, one of three winners of the company’s inaugural Women Innovators of Play challenge.

Hasbro launched the challenge last September, tasking individual or team entrants to submit ideas to be judged on innovation, fun factor and playability, design and aesthetics, mass marketability and manufacturability.

British board game designer Dix, the owner of family board game publisher The Dark Imp, saw her as-yet-unrevealed design triumph in the contest in November, alongside a creation from London-based board and card game enthusiast Sandra Harewood and a co-design from Mandy Goddard and her six-year-old Maggie.

No details are available yet about Dix’s design beyond it being a “family card game”, although the entrants were judged on “innovation, mass marketability, fun factor and playability, design and aesthetics, and manufacturability”.

Dix has previously release a string of games through The Dark Imp, provides board game design and development consultancy services and is the author of the book The Board Game Family.

Kim Boyd, president of global brands and franchise management at Hasbro, said, “We are on a mission to attract more women and girls to the toy and game industry, and I could not be more inspired by the response to our Women Innovators of Play event and Challenge.

“As a true testament to the power of women inventors everywhere, Hasbro is thrilled to be investing in an incredible game by one of the challenge’s winning inventors, Ellie Dix, and we will be partnering with Ellie to further develop her game concept.

“We are making the 2024 program even bigger and better and can’t wait to share more details soon.”

Hasbro received 130 submissions from women innovators across the US and globally for last year’s contest, with the three winners each receiving $10,000, an all-expenses paid trip to Hasbro Headquarters in Rhode Island for “A Day in the Life” experience, and a mentorship session with one of Hasbro’s top women leaders.

The company will be running its second Women Innovators of Play Challenge event starting October 10 this year, as well as a Girl Innovators of Play “bootcamp” in August and awards later in the year.