For Carson Einarsen, life after Staples was all in the cards.
The 2012 graduate always enjoyed art. High school teacher Camille Eskell helped him bring the “fun, cartoon images” in his head to life.
She taught him the foundations of observational drawing: drapery, reflected light, composition.
Carson got into film, but continued his art and illustration. His fACEs Project — for which he drew a portrait every day for a year — ended up in a solo gallery at the Westport Arts Center.
In 2020, he and his friend Phil Oxnard — a programmer — were living in Los Angeles. When COVID hit, Phil moved closer to his Boston home.
Carson Einarsen (right) and Phil Oxnard.
To stay in touch, they created a board game, “Here be Monsters.” Every Wednesday, they played it together via Zoom.
Over the years they fine-tuned it. The game feels like a ’90s Saturday morning cartoon, filled with fun adventures and strange characters: pirates who are calculators, frogs, popcorn, swordsmen, Pegasus with peglegs.
The main box (blue), and accessories.
There’s even a treasure hunt, with a prize that the designers will mail back. (Yes — kids will learn all about snail mail!)
Carson calls it “silly, fun, always sincere, and an exciting world for kids to explore.”
Now, Carson and Phil are unleashing Here be Monsters on the world.
Playing Here Be Monsters. (Photos/Pamela Einarsen)
The pirate-themed trading card game (TCG) is an outgrowth of the trend that began in the 1990s, and exploded in popularity with games like Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh.
By 2010, the TCG excitement died down. Then came the pandemic, and a desire to do something inside that did not involve a screen. People rediscovered their Pokémon cards, and the market exploded.
Carson and Phil were just having fun. But by allowing players to build a deck of their own favorite cards, they stumbled on something different, and fresh.
Carson created all the drawings, from his imagination (and the skills he learned from Eskell). That’s over 200 pieces of art, plus the box design and card layout.
Carson Einarsen’s clever design.
Two years ago, the creators took their game to PAX East, a huge game convention in Boston. Complete strangers loved it — even when they lost.
Excited, Carson and Phil contacted manufacturers and distributors. The next step: raising funds, via Kickstarter.
Carson says that one of the problems with TCGs has been “exclusivity and gatekeeping.” Users can open random packs, or purchase a full playset.
They’ve made sure it’s not too complex for new players.
But that it’s challenging, creative — and fun — for everyone.
Free demo decks are available (for a shipping charge); click here.
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