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For many people, hockey is simply unavailable.
It might be too expensive to play. Or, there might be a lack of community or cultural interest where they live. There could also be other challenges and barriers preventing them from discovering this awesome sport and becoming a player or a fan.
These challenges all culminate into accessibility being identified as a major barrier to growing hockey.
Hockey Hardware: The Original Game is on a mission to breakdown some of these barriers to bring more people closer to the sport in a different way and create new hockey fans.
While Hockey Hardware is made for the hockey fan, play testing has revealed that just about anyone can quickly learn how to play, have fun, and win this game. Regardless of a player's experience, knowledge, or familiarity with hockey.
Hockey Hardware was inspired by fantasy hockey. So naturally, it involves a variety of different hockey stats. These hockey stats include goals, assists, shots, hits, blocks and plus rating.
Game Cards also involve different hockey actions, including take aways, give aways, break aways, stick lifts, poke checks, turnovers and more.
And of course, there is Adversity, which is reflective of different challenges and setbacks players can face in a typical hockey season. Some examples include getting benched, being demoted down the line-up, suffering from road fatigue, receiving a suspension, trading conferences, or even getting bought out.
Beyond the dice and the cards, there are other hockey elements actively in play. Throughout the game, players move up and down a roster, either as a Forward or as a Defence. And depending where you are in the roster level, you will get more production opportunity (E.g., as a Forward on Line 1) or less (E.g., as a Forward on Line 4).
The game is also played in 15 Rounds, which are divided into 3 Periods and 2 Intermissions. This design was very intentional to reflect a typical game of hockey.
During the play testing process, it was always encouraging and deeply fulfilling to see someone apathetic to hockey starting to play Hockey Hardware, and leave when the game was over with a big smile on their face.
First, this was proof that Hockey Hardware is actually a fun game - which is critical to its future success.
And second, it was proof that Hockey Hardware could reach people who are not yet fans of the sport, and give them a favourable and positive impression about hockey, in addition to a better understanding of it for the next time they encounter it.
My hope is that the next time they encounter hockey, they will be able to better relate to it and even understand it more and they may take a stronger interest in it because Hockey Hardware brought them closer to the game.
While Hockey Hardware was made for the hockey fan, it's also a gateway to hockey for new fans.