Joking Hazard’s Alex Murty and Fuzzballs creator Marc Sach discuss bringing the brand into games

Marc, let’s start with you. Why do you feel Fuzzballs is a great fit for the world of games?
Marc Sach, Creator, Fuzzballs: I could list a hundred reasons why Fuzzballs is an excellent choice for games, but the top reasons are:

1. High demand from both customers and retailers.
2. A diverse cast of characters.
3. An extensive story and world-building foundation.

Each Fuzzballs character comes with a well-developed backstory, bursting with imagination, relatability and cuteness, which makes them adaptable to a wide range of games. The Fuzzballs are all about friendship – and a little rivalry – so games make the perfect sense in their world, as well as ours.

At what point in the brand’s evolution did it become clear that there was board game potential here?
Marc: As Fuzzballs has grown over the years, we’ve expanded our product range to include everything from apparel to plush toys – and even soda drinks. With our ever-expanding fanbase and retailer demand, it became clear that Fuzzballs had significant potential for board and card games.

We noticed how deeply fans were connecting with the characters and stories we were creating, even suggesting the characters would make an awesome role-playing group. Fans wanted to share Fuzzballs with their friends and are often asking – or demanding! – card games and board games featuring all their favourite characters.

Last year, we capitalised on this enthusiasm by releasing a range of roleplaying-inspired merchandise, featuring the Fuzzballs dressing up as dungeon masters, warriors, mages and more, on shirts and gift items. This was met with tremendous success. We even appeared at the UK Games Expo earlier this year and had a sell-out show at our booth – despite not having a card or board game in sight!

Customers loved our range of characters and that proved they wanted interactive versions of all our Fuzzballs. Given this strong response, it made perfect sense to further expand our storytelling by introducing the interactive and strategic elements of card and board games to our world.

And what made Joking Hazard a good fit for this expansion for the brand?
Marc: When I was first introduced to Joking Hazard, I immediately recognised they would be a perfect fit. Like Fuzzballs, they originate from a background of online, viral-led comics created by the original artists – and have successfully transitioned into the gaming world. The similarities were clear, and I knew that this expertise would align perfectly with Fuzzballs. The team are also wonderful. They fully understand what matters, what works, what might not work and how to make the best games possible.

Alex, let’s bring you in! What appealed about partnering with the Fuzzballs brand?
Alex Murty, Head of Global Distribution & Licensing, Joking Hazard: Where to start! First off, we love cats! But other than a mutual love of real life fuzzballs, there were a few key elements that made this the perfect partnership.

Firstly, both brands share a similar history. As Marc said, we both started as comics but have since grown beyond that to become brands with multiple lines in mass retail. We share experiences and just get each other.

Also, have you seen Marc’s art?! It’s unbelievably cute and funny and lends itself perfectly to games and toys. As soon as I showed the team his brand deck and website, they instantly fell in love. I’m pretty sure my distribution partners will be happy too when I show them the long list of retailers that are already stocking Fuzzballs merch! Sometimes a partnership just makes sense on every level – this was one of those.

Terrific. Now, what should we expect from the first game in this line?
Alex: We have kept it pretty simple for our first project and created a card game together. We had a signed a game from a very talented designer called Laura Erwin that was about making tea. We loved the game mechanic but were still figuring out what to do with it when we signed the deal with Marc. When we were thinking about what to make with him, it seemed like the obvious choice to be our first project!

Marc then set to work re-theming it, adding his amazing art and editing the rules and card text into his own language. I’ll let Marc tell you about that… You won’t be surprised to hear that the theme of tea has changed to pizza – those little Fuzzballs do love their pizza!

Ha!
Marc: Yes! The Fuzzballs are throwing a pizza party and you’re invited! Get ready for a fast-paced, cuteness overload of excitement, where you’ll be outsmarting your friends and constantly craving just one more slice – I mean round!

Working on this first project was an absolute blast. One of the biggest challenges in any card game is nailing down the rules and gameplay loop. Get that wrong, and the fun disappears. Thankfully, I didn’t have to tackle that part. Laura Erwin did an incredible job crafting a game that’s not only super fun and easy to learn, but keeps you coming back for more.

My focus was on the other tough part: making sure the game looks amazing and is easy to understand. As a more casual player, I love games that are simple and accessible, but I’ve noticed that some games can get confusing when they don’t clearly communicate their mechanics. With this in mind, I made sure the game fit seamlessly into the Fuzzballs universe.

The game’s sneaky tactics revolve around figuring out how many slices the Fuzzballs need, while stopping your friends from doing the same. You can play to win in a friendly way or stir up a little drama – perfect for all ages.

To top it all off, I dedicated a lot of time to creating custom artwork for each and every card. No matter what hand you’re dealt, there’s always something cute, funny, or surprising to help you win the game. I always want to make our products look and be the best they possibly can be. With the help of the Joking Hazard team, we have achieved that!

Is this the first of many titles? Do we feel there’s broad potential for a whole line of games?
Alex: Oh yes… We have big plans. There will be a whole range coming! We are going to keep Marc very busy!

Ha! Brace yourself Marc!
Marc: Ha! I agree that there’s tremendous potential for a whole line of Fuzzballs games – in fact, I’m already at work on the next one! The charm and versatility of our characters, combined with the engaging stories and themes we’ve developed, create a rich foundation for a variety of game types. Do we create a role-playing adventure board game? What about a food matching game? How about a collectible card game? Maybe a Fuzzballs tarot-themed game? The Fuzzballs universe is ripe for expansion.

Exciting times. And Alex, you work regularly with game inventors. Do you welcome that community to come and pitch Fuzzball concepts?
Alex: Absolutely! In fact, we may have just signed something from your Mojo Pitch event earlier this year! Shout out to the Mojo team for putting on an amazing few days of panels, networking events and pitches. It was such a fun and productive time. If you are a publisher or an inventor and haven’t been, I highly recommend you go next year.

That’s very kind of you to say so! Guys, a huge thanks. Congrats on the partnership – I look forward to playing the games soon!