One summer night, our Media Cause Atlanta office spent an unreasonably late school night playing card games at a local bar with our co-founder. We laughed until we cried, we bonded, and we all were very, very tired the next day. It stuck with me how that night changed the dynamic of our team for the better.

When it came to the 2019 holidays, at first we wanted to focus on something surrounding climate change, but given the grab bag of chaos the year turned out to be, that just felt a little weak. Melting polar ice caps, the loss of animal species, educational inequality, childhood malnutrition, domestic violence, and the list goes on. It was a bit of a bummer to see the state of the world, and as someone who was working on how to celebrate with our clients, I was hurting for ideas.

I knew we were trying to convey a celebration, a reason to gather to build community, and a rallying cry that we can do great things in the world. And it would be a big bonus if we highlighted the incredible work our clients do day in and day out, as well as highlight the amazing culture Media Cause has created. 

On the client cards, the bottom of the cards highlight the clients and their work, a subtle way to brag about the people and causes we get to work with. It's not often an agency's client roster gets to learn about each other. This proved to be a subtle, but effective way to connect everyone. 

Part of what makes Cards Against Humanity so great is how in just about any pairings, the cards make sense. We wanted to ensure we were grammatically correct, and gameplay was still fun, despite the G-rated nature. We printed all card options from a spreadsheet, cut them into strips, and played a few rounds in the office to ensure our clients were the hero, people were having fun and we weren't offensive in any odd pairings.

We worked with a local printer to create the most sustainable version of the game possible, printing on recycled stock for the actual cards,  boxes, and notes to explain the game. 

The game arrived at our San Francisco office the same day I was wandering around Machu Picchu on my delayed honeymoon. I got a few kind pings from coworkers apologizing for the disruption but figured seeing my hard work pay off was worth it.

104 hours writing, editing, and finalizing 450 cards

28,120 potential card combinations

54 very happy clients