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Jun 08, 2023

Locals invent fitness board game

Players gather around the board to roll the die for their next workout. Orange challenge cards stop play so everyone can compete head-to-head. Fit N Fun Games, founded by two Hudson locals, launches

Players gather around the board to roll the die for their next workout. Orange challenge cards stop play so everyone can compete head-to-head.

Fit N Fun Games, founded by two Hudson locals, launches their first board game this fall.

Founders — and workout buddies — Michelle Caron and Sherry Rasmussen attended Bootcamp, an unconventional workout program, at the Hudson YMCA regularly. But the COVID-19 pandemic threw a wrench in their routine, shutting down the gym. Fit N Fun games grew out of a desire to maintain the familiar, fun-yet-challenging workouts from Bootcamp.

They started by recreating the modified versions of popular board games their instructor Angie Moudry created. The two played the games with their children during lockdown to help their children earn their gym credits.

The idea for a new board game began as many entrepreneurial pursuits begin — boredom and a problem to solve.

“We got bored with them, frankly,” Caron said. “And then, we thought of this idea, and we just made it for ourselves to play.”

Caron and Rasmussen brought their idea to the Small Business Development Center at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls which gave them some assignments and advice to help bring their concept to life.

Bringing a product to market, however, was not an easy process. Caron found out that the board game industry is not very accessible to newcomers.

Few companies exist to create custom board games. Those that do have a small selection of templates that did not fit their concept due to the uniqueness of their idea, according to Caron.

Eventually, they asked a friend with business experience for help. With his contacts in Asia, they were able to find a manufacturer that will allow them to release the game at a cost that is palatable for consumers. Although they wanted to manufacture the game in the United States, Caron said the cost would be too great.

The game board sits empty as players speed through their workouts, taking turns independent of the other players in a race to the finish.

Now that the game boards have been finalized, Caron and Rasmussen have begun to share the game with family and friends. On Aug. 14, Caron hosted enough players to have four concurrent games at a time, giving them a chance to try the game ahead of its launch.

Because the game is intended to be a workout, players do not take turns as is usual in many board games. Instead, play does not stop as each player — or team of players — rolls a die to move along the board and select the next workout.

“The magic sauce of it is we have some challenge cards in there that make it really fun and unique and different from any other fitness workout,” Caron said.

Co-founder Michelle Caron explains Fit N Fun to players ready to test the game.

When a player lands on a challenge square, they must read the challenge card, and every player stops what they are doing to compete in that challenge. At the trial run of the game, winners of the challenges continued to play as everyone else ran a lap around Caron’s house.

“That’s what makes it a fun yet challenging workout, I would say,” Caron said. “Because it kind of pushes people … to achieve their highest fitness level.”

Orange challenge cards pit players against each other, often giving the winner a competitive edge.

At the same time, Caron and Rasmussen have designed the game to be inclusive of people with varying abilities, skill levels and ages. Caron estimates the game can be played by those ages eight and up. On the website, Moudry provides demonstrations for each of the workouts featured in the board game, complete with modifications for those who need them.

Caron said the two have more plans for an elementary school edition with some changes to better accommodate children in first through sixth grade. It would be a perfect match for a gym teacher to have for elementary school students, she said.

Players smile as they compete. While only one will win the game, Caron said everyone is a winner because they exercised.

One of the major changes would be the replacement of challenge cards with team-building cards. That way there will not be a winner or a loser. This edition may become available about half a year after the launch of the Bootcamp Edition.

Readers can learn more about Fit N Fun Games at their website, fitnfungames.com, and subscribe to their mailing list for a discount when the board game launches.

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