Here it is. From top to bottom. The journey of developing the Pharmacy Trumps card game.
Having an idea is great. Humans are constantly coming up with new ones. An idea for that. An idea for this. If only I could…
Turning ideas into something tangible is a whole different ball game. How many times have you had a wonderful, world-beating, something new under the sun idea and done a total of nothing about it?
The Pharmacy Trumps Card Game
Our latest product, Pharmacy Trumps, a fun card game for people interested in medicines, is unlikely to be one of those wonderful world-beating, something new under the sun ideas but it is pretty awesome if you do happen to have a fondness for medicines and want to think about them when you are relaxing. Learn more about Pharmacy Trumps and how you play here.
It started a few years ago. The precise moment is lost to history but it was most likely when playing yet another game of this trumps or that trumps with my son and or daughter. They were pretty keen on them and it was a good way to spend some time together. As usual most things that enter my brain end up passing through the ‘pharmacy filter’ and this one came out with ‘I wonder if anyone has produced a pharmacy version of this?’
Some research later and without being able to find the kind of thing I had in mind the idea gained momentum so I started asking myself questions. Would people be interested in this? Was anyone else out there geeky enough about medicines to want to play a trumps style card game about them? Could I gather decent data that would work? Which medicines should I choose?
Questions led to answers led to actions and before I knew it I had roped in some people who are far cleverer than I to work on the data with me. The choice of medicines wasn’t too difficult – The top 32 medicines by prescribing volume in primary care (UK – NHS) seemed obvious. These are the ones prescribers prescribe, pharmacists dispense and patients take in good faith every day. They are part of our lives. We spent what seemed like forever gathering it and checking it and swopping categories in and out and then back again. When we finally decided to say it was done it was a good moment. We made every effort to pull together data that was accurate allowing learning while playing, but it is a card game so it’s about gameplay too. Selecting the categories was interesting and we wanted to include a range of category types: annual prescribing volume, annual prescribing cost, molecular weight, plasma protein binding, half-life and number needed to treat. There is also info about body system, class of drug and year of origin. A wealth of information allowing direct comparison.
Sourcing print suppliers at a sensible price that then allows a sensible price for customers was a key job and producing a quality product that warrants the retail price an important consideration. That meant working hard with our illustration and design to produce something smart that represents the profession well and promotes the role of pharmacy and the pharmacist. A set of bespoke body system illustrations were produced with another set of chemical structures to peek the curiosity of even the most jaded player. All in the DOSE Publishing house style.
It was a labour of love. It was. It took an inordinate amount of time considering what was involved and I got to know the 32 most common medicines in a whole new way, appreciating the beauty of their molecules. Metformin Hydrochloride, Gabapentin and Mirtazipine are my favourites. Fumarate is particularly pleasing. Who knew? However it was exciting to see the test pack arrive in the post and even better to hold the cards in my hands. The print and production quality were great. Result.
Testing the gameplay was pretty important and luckily I had the same son and daughter who started this whole thing at my mercy. Along with my wife, who is astute at spotting errors, omissions and improvements we set to with the first game ever of Pharmacy Trumps. Some time, much giggling, learning and mispronunciation later we had all learnt something, stopped staring at screens for a bit and had a list of amends.
Amends were made. Orders were placed. Packaging (there is always nice packaging from DOSE Publishing!) was sorted. Website pages were built and here we are. Pharmacy Trumps lives. Idea made flesh. Well, not flesh but 305gsm Heretic black cored playing card board. Ready for you to join in and play Pharmacy Trumps!
Buy yourself a pack. Buy a couple and give one to a friend. Buys lots and give them to your colleagues. Test each other with them and see who knows best. Use them to have a rest from revising for your MPharm finals while still, errr, revising for your finals. Build a card tower. Do some card tricks. It’s up to you.
Buy your Pharmacy Trumps Card Game today – A snip at the price
£10.00 exc VAT
Postage and packaging | Delivery details | £2.50 UK | £10.00 Overseas
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