Bringing a card game to life

Master Thief is the flagship game of Sparr Games. The company was founded in Toledo, Ohio in the pursuit of creating a minimally stylized game that is precisely crafted and deviously fun. Sparr Games is a partnership between two worst enemies turned best friends, myself and Jake Spencer. Together we crafted the functionality of the game, and applied strict design rules to enforce it.

In designing Master Thief, it was crucial to create a visual language that was clever, fun, and clear. Iconography was essential to make the game intuitive. Selective use of color created emphasis against an almost entirely black and white scheme. Certain cards were designed with a holographic application to further emphasize their importance in the game.

We brought Master Thief to life in 2015 through a Kickstarter campaign that was fully funded in under 5 days. After artfully maneuvering a number of pitfalls in production (including a stolen prototype, a mysterious factory malfunction, and an impossible printing error), we had a final, albeit delayed, product delivered in 2017.