Bere Vibes is a party-card game based solely on Jamaican culture. Two to six people gather around a deck of cards and do anything from acting out Jamaican idiosyncrasies, to completing classic Jamaican proverbs and racking up points against a timer.
The Creator
The hit game is the brainchild of Abigail Smith, a Jamaican-born educator, currently based in the United Arab Emirates. While studying in the United States, Smith felt alienated from the popular party games that defined campus life – taboo, charades, etc. “It’s always [USA] focused,” she explains. “Where are the Jamaican games? We’d know some American stuff because of the media, but it’s not us; it doesn’t speak to our culture.”
“Games like taboo speak to a presumed audience of Americans – a taboo card might ask you to ’impersonate the 32nd President of the United States,” a feat that’s all but impossible for any non-American. Smith identified this void as early as 2014. As a Jamaican, born and raised, she remembered playing on colorful ludo boards and slamming dominoes at parties and family get-togethers; she set out to bring the kind of interactive trivia made popular by taboo, to that fun-loving, competitive, Jamaican culture.
Addressing a Need in the Market
“I had a Google doc with how it was going to be in the beginning,” she recalls. “I printed out these cards on card stock and tested it one Christmas.” It was a hit. Even in the playtest. The combination of Jamaican pop culture with traditions resulted in a game that was accessible to all ages.
Smith formed a team to shore up her weaknesses. The sociology major and educator enlisted her high school classmate, Sidjay Slack, to help cement other factors when it comes to designing a consumable product – social media marketing, securing manufacturing deals, graphic design, etc.
Bere Vibes sold out its initial run in January, going clean off the shelves in both the United States and Jamaica. The only real complaint – people wanted more cards. Launching just in time for Christmas is a new pack with 220 new cards. When asked about the future of the game, Smith’s goals are lofty. “The long, long, long term goal,” she smiles, “is to expand Bere Vibes to other Caribbean countries.”
Find Bere Vibes online @berevibesja
