By Chris Bavender
It’s a game with a silly name but a simple goal: Unite people through the power of conversation. Poobah – the Conversation Game is the brainchild of brothers Brent, Brad and Ryan Rockwood.
“Each of us has a pretty unique personality, and we wanted a unique name. Something that stood out and was catchy, but also silly,” said Brad, a Carmel resident. “Game play requires that a person lead each conversation and then select a winner. And at the end of the game, the person receiving the most votes is crowned the winner. But really, the game is about the journey, not the destination, so we wanted to select a name that was a light-hearted take on ‘winner.’ We came across ‘The Grand Poobah’ and it fit like a glove.”
The idea for the game was sparked when Zionsville resident Brent and his wife, Angie, created a game called High-Low-Silly-Smart to play with their kids. During the game, each person shared a high and low point of their day as well as something silly and something learned that day. That led to a prototype game with friends providing positive feedback.
The Poobah game has 250 cards in five categories relevant for ages 7 and older. It is designed to encourage sharing personal stories to deepen relationships, improve confidence and decision-making, voice opinions and listen to different perspectives, showcase creativity and role-play situations and spark laughter and make the most of family time.
“Our parents, who have been married over 40 years, found themselves discovering new things about each other when playing Poobah, like when our dad said the worst movie ever made was ‘Reefer Madness,’” Brad said. “It’s a great conversation starter outside of the house as well. We’ve seen Poobah used as an icebreaker at corporate functions, in small groups at church, in the classrooms.”
Poobah – the Conversation Game is $22. A 30-day project campaign is to be launched on Kickstarter Nov. 13 and end Dec. 14. All contributions will allow the brothers to buy additional inventory while helping publicize the game. A “buy one, donate one” also will be offered with games donated to eligible organizations.
“It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when there are so many competing priorities – careers, households, children’s education, and the list goes on and on,” Brad said. “But there’s a simple solution right in front of us. Start talking with our children about the things that matter.”
Learn more at playpoobah.com.
