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Idea Overview:
At Inclusive Imagination, we believe that everyone, regardless of abilities, should be able to play. That’s why we’re always innovating to ensure the world of gaming is open to all. Join in as we change the way we game. There’s always room at our table.
Our mission is to include and invite gamers with both sensory and physical diversity to enjoy and share in the same beautiful game experiences, engaging social exchanges, and fantastical transportive stories as their peers through our inclusive universe.
In addition, Inclusive Imagination has become a chief innovator with accessible, inclusive packaging! Due to our commitment to inclusion, our packaging, inserts, directions, web tools, are all fully inclusive for all. As a B2B service, we offer graphic design and support to make beautifully accessible printed goods--including RGB braille!
Who might use it/where it might be used?:
Our products are meant to be used universally! With our different products for different age ranges, we offer our ideas to the private and public sectors. If there's a table, our products can be played! Nevertheless, our target audiences are in the education field where our games and accessories can be easily embedded into learning new learning media (e.g. braille, adaptive switches, and other forms of assistive technology) and also the family table where families can play with their friends and/or relatives with disabilities and both share the same experiences.
The Market (B2B, B2C or Both):
Both
Sector the idea belongs to:
Manufacturing
Is there a similar idea to be found?:
American Printing House for the Blind (APH) offers similar ideas; however, their ideas are for individuals with blindness/visual impairment only. Although some products can be used universally, they are engineered specifically for a specific population. Companies like Blizzard, and Wizards produce similar products but do not engineer for accessibility or inclusion.
Why you think there is a demand for your idea?:
There is a world-wide push for inclusion and normalcy of disabilities. In the last 5 years, there's been an astronomical push for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) especially in public sectors and accessibility in private sector businesses. Inclusive Imagination is connecting this (amazing) trend with tabletop games and accessories to increase self-determination and recreation to all gamers.
Who would be the ideal customers?:
Education Sector: Inclusive Imagination's idea customers would be the general education and special education classroom and services (e.g. Vision, OT, PT, Speech) where educational skills and standards can be embedded into games designed for this specific population. More specifically, our audience would be the unified, peer-inclusion classroom where peers with and without disabilities can learn, play, and socialize, using the same game. In addition, another ideal customer would be families that want to help promote inclusion or those with a family member with a disability.
Consumer Toys and Games Sector: Anyone like to game? Any Inclusive Imagination products are fun for everyone--that's our mission! Whether you're questing with dice or battling in our card arena, our lineup of products is inclusive for everyone.
What ideas do you have to reach these customers?:
As a special education teacher, myself, we have multiple streams to reach customers using different listservs and push-out advertising with professional associations, parent-support groups, and assistive technology forums. I imagine products like this would travel by word-of-mouth and shares via social media.
How far have you developed this idea?:
I have developed this idea and have prototypes of several games and accessories. We also have partner agencies and manufacturers that are ready to mass-produce gaming accessories and games.
What – if any – feedback have you had for this idea so far?:
There's been massive support with my ideas for creating aesthetically-pleasing, universal-designed, and plain-fun toys and games. Some feedback is to ensure that the games are indeed designed for everyone and not just for certain populations.
What supporting material – if any - would you like to add to your proposal?:
www.inclusiveimagination.co
12 comments to “Inclusive Imagination LLC”
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Giang Nguyen - June 26, 2023 at 1:20 pm
Hi Garret,
This is an amazing idea! I think you have a very good shot, many tabletop games don’t offer inclusivity so this niche is not yet filled. One thing though, I went to your website and it looks a little bit under developed, I was looking through your products and find that I can’t shop yet. Maybe communicate this clearly instead of having a default landing page.
Best,
Giang
Garrett Whitmyre - June 27, 2023 at 1:57 am
Hi Giang!
Thank you so much for your support and feedback. I appreciate your encouragement as well! You’re totally right about the website being underdeveloped–it’s top priority on my to-do list (aside from product/prototype development). I think my steepest learning curve has been backend website design (even compared to the recommended Accrual Accounting course!). But, I think I found a great WordPress plugin (vision-based site building) that will make my life much easier, and, hopefully, the site remains accessible for those using assistive technology (as there would be some irony in that).
Cheers!
Garrett
tm strege - June 27, 2023 at 5:44 pm
Garrett, what a great idea for inclusion of those with and without disabilities! Now you need to have a pilot project to test, improve and validate this idea into the marketplace. With your connections in the field of education, hopefully you will have one or more pilots to demonstrate its usefulness. You might be able to obtain early-stage talent that invest time (vs. money) to assist with pilot projects. It will be critical to have “success stories” that illustrate this inclusive approach to both education and fun.
Garrett Whitmyre - June 29, 2023 at 9:13 pm
Thank you, tm!
A pilot project is a great idea, and probably the official term I was searching for. I also think “Success Stories” would be a great addition and illustration for supporting this endeavor in the educational and recreational realms. I really appreciate the feedback!
Cheers!
Garrett
Christopher Norris - July 11, 2023 at 7:20 pm
This sounds intuitively like a promising niche with plenty of opportunities to solve problems for your target customers. However, when planning your first products to launch into the market, you will need to decide whether to focus on generic games that cater to a wide range of disadvantage and disability or whether to drill down into a smaller, more tangible niche (say, a game that optimises the experience for people with a specific disability). You will need to conduct loads of primary research and field testing of prototypes to discover your most promising games with the optimal number of customers. Once you are fully up and running you can expand the brand to cover many different kinds of needs.
Garrett Whitmyre - July 11, 2023 at 9:30 pm
Hi Christopher!
Thank you so much for your feedback! I truly appreciate your time and energy. This is great advice, and you’ll be pleased to know that we are indeed specializing in one area and then spreading out from there. Since my primary work is with teaching students with visual impairments/blindness, my focus is inherently in that category. My first problem I wanted to solve was how to engineer and include games and accessories within the context of that population that is both appealing to the general public and accessible to more ability groups as the business (hopefully) grows. Your words about research and field testing are totally spot on, and I hope to achieve that level of data-driven thoroughness.
Thanks again!
Garrett
Simon Krystman - July 29, 2023 at 2:00 pm
Have you thought of building a waitlist for the games to test your different routes to market and customer segments?
Garrett Whitmyre - August 2, 2023 at 2:00 pm
Hi Simon! Thank you for the reply. This is a great idea! I’m right on the cusp of making a waitlist a reality. One of my main consumer segments is education (as my speciality), so I’m confident about that avenue when the time comes. However, getting to a more common game by marketplace may be more difficult with its deluge of products every day! The waitlist (especially with digital email marketing) is my go-to route; however, I’m still waiting on game art development and approving first prints/prototypes of standalone gaming accessories.
Marc Duke - December 5, 2023 at 11:54 am
Love the idea, I would look to work with charities/associations helping the neurodiverse community as this is a segment that for some tabletop games can make a big difference with social inclusion.
Benjamin Dimowo - December 5, 2023 at 2:13 pm
Feedback from Artificial Intelligence
Positive Aspects:
1. Social Impact: The idea of Inclusive Imagination aligns with the global push for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), contributing to the social impact and inclusivity in the tabletop gaming industry.
2. Diverse Audience: Your identified target audience, including both general and special education classrooms, as well as families promoting inclusion, demonstrates a broad and inclusive approach.
3. Prototype Development: Having prototypes of several games and accessories, along with established partnerships for mass production, showcases a tangible progress in the development of your idea.
Areas for Consideration:
1. Clarify Inclusivity: Address the feedback about ensuring that the games are designed for everyone. Clearly articulate how the games and accessories cater to individuals with various sensory and physical disabilities, ensuring universal appeal.
2. Marketing and Awareness: Consider expanding your marketing strategy beyond listservs and forums. Leverage social media platforms actively to showcase your products, share success stories, and engage with potential customers directly.
3. Education Collaboration: Strengthen partnerships with educational institutions and collaborate closely with educators to integrate your games into curricula effectively. Highlight the educational benefits and align with learning standards.
4. Accessible Website: Ensure that your website (www.inclusiveimagination.co) is fully accessible to individuals with disabilities, aligning with the inclusivity theme of your brand.
5. Testimonials and Success Stories: Collect testimonials and success stories from educators, families, and individuals with disabilities who have benefited from your games. These stories can be powerful tools for marketing and building credibility.
Conclusion:
Inclusive Imagination is positioned to make a positive impact on the tabletop gaming industry by fostering inclusivity. As you move forward, address feedback, broaden your marketing efforts, strengthen educational collaborations, and continue to showcase the positive impact through testimonials. The tangible progress with prototypes and manufacturing partnerships is promising, and with a strategic approach, Inclusive Imagination can reach its full potential. Best of luck with the continued development and success of your venture!
Bill Murray - April 22, 2024 at 12:20 am
Hello, Garrett! Great ideas and understanding of the market. WOM can be agonizingly slow; how could you engage influencers and others with a wider reach to help you? How could your products make a PT/OTs job easier? Think in terms of emotional value propositions like that. Could you test locally with a few and better understand that market. Key here is to get really good at a single narrow market before trying to be everything to everyone. Master one market at a time and use what you learn to jump to the next! Happy to discuss– Bill Murray, https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-murray-mentor/
Garrett Whitmyre - April 22, 2024 at 1:58 pm
Hi Bill! It’s great to connect again. I think you’re totally correct in a narrow market. Currently, I’m focused on professionals like me who serve Adults/Students/Learners with Blindness or Low Vision. So far, most (if not all) have validated the dice/game ideas at in-person conferences. Once I have some provision inventory in hand (e.g. MOQ with all products), I’m planning on a more vigorous G2M strategy involving marketing to everyone in my field through our collective listservs/associations. I would love to chat! I’ll send a LinkedIn DM soon!