An Unforgettable Marriage Proposal

Me and my friends have a tradition of tabletop gaming whenever we get a chance. So when one of my friends told me about his intention of asking another one of my friends to marry him via a custom, one of a kind tabletop game, there was no chance I was going to say no.

I hail from the capital city of South Africa, I am an illustrator and designer by profession and I have a special interest in engaging and interactive illustration and design. The opportunity to design a board game was a perfect fit.

The Story of Us
The game was designed to evoke happy and meaningful memories which the couple shared for the years leading up to there engagement as well as reference to things that bring them joy. See if you can find some easter eggs which we put in there as added geek joy generators or recognize any of the books they have read.

The Packaging
The packaging was not only meant to hold the game and keep it safe, but also as a way to display the game as an artwork. Then when hung up on a wall, all the cards and pieces are beautifully displayed.

Game Board
Each area of the game board represents a significant time in the couple’s history together. The details of which I will not share, but they represent happy times and tough times. The journey through their tale together ends in the middle of the board at the Spider King’s mountain lair.

Cards and Game Pieces
The Action/Distraction cards, are references to the couple’s idiosyncrasies; things like her inability to escape the charms of any and every puppy that crosses her path, her fondness for sour worms and her passion for creativity. Other cards reference inside jokes and intimate details that would mean nothing to anyone else but them. The game pieces represent objects or events particularly significant to the couple. The characters are the couple themselves as if they were real weapon wielding fantasy folk. A drum-playing, axe-wielding bard and his hopefully soon to be fiancé, the fierce archer warrior woman. She also got her very own spirit animal, the Llama.

The Proposal
Right at the end of the game she had to battle the Spider King and rescue the Bard, who had been
kidnapped earlier in the game. Upon her arrival at his mountain lair she realized she had just moments to defeat the evil King using the arsenal of magical objects she had collected on the way. And as she stood outside the mountain lair with her trusty spirit animal by her side, the Bard, having witnessed her bravery and triumph over all the obstacles, had only one question to ask. She lifted the little mountain peak and there it was…

Will you marry me?
She said yes of course, and now I get to design the couple’s wedding stationery! Yay!
Thanks for looking.

You can find the rest of Megan’s work at https://www.meganbird.com, and on Instagram @meganthebird.

Photo credits: Nicole Oh photography / Used with permission.

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