Smart Dog

Smart Dog started as a connection game featuring houses, roads and cars, initially designed to fit inside a tin box similar to  Turtle Tactics or LogiBugs. But for several reasons we didn’t like it. It had too many (small) parts and if you didn’t position everything perfectly on the game board, it looked a bit chaotic. I believe it was my colleague Leighton who proposed a change in theme to a dog agility course (he owns a dog). I am more a cat person, so I don’t know anything at all about dogs (and I prefer to keep it that way), but Google provided ample inspiration. The interesting aspect of this theme, aside from the dog, is that it includes various colored obstacles, such as a bridge, tubes, and a hoop. This gave us enough elements to work with to make it a visually appealing game.

Once the theme was decided, the game's development proceeded smoothly. My boss liked it but he suggested a shift from a tin box format to a compact game akin Cats & Boxes. The fact that that game is a huge success might have something to do with it. But changing the format also resolved the chaotic look, because now the game board has a grid with grooves, keeping all the puzzle pieces perfectly aligned. 

Originally, the human figurine was pink, but we opted to change it to red in the final design to avoid a overly girlish appearance. We made the figurine neutral enough to represent either a boy or a girl. The design of the dog was not designed by Leighton but by Rein, who had previously created it for another project. Apparently it’s a corgi, like the dog of Queen Elisabeth. All fine for me, because it looked cute. Both figurines can rotate on their puzzle pieces to symbolize that they don’t have a specific orientation. A path can start in any horizontal or vertical direction from the dog. What distinguishes this game from most other connection games is that the path pieces don't need to be placed adjacent to each other. It’s like driving school: when no instructions are given, you need to continue straight ahead. This means that you often use empty parts of the game board to go from one obstacle to the next.  Sometimes you cross the same square on the grid twice, each time coming from a different angle. The yellow seesaw is the only obstacle with a specific direction; the dog must start at its low end. The seesaw automatically tilts to the front side because that part is slightly longer and heavier. But in case you don’t play the game on a perfectly horizontal surface, there is also a small triangle on the yellow path indicating the right direction for the dog. I particularly like the transparent tubes as they give the game some depth and make it look more expensive. The purple hoop and the light blue jump don’t alter the path’s direction, so their sole purpose in the game is to make things harder. You need to find enough empty space somewhere along the path to place these pieces. To prevent that people would cross these puzzle pieces in the wrong orientation, both obstacles have big supporting feet. 

While both games are connection games, Smart Dog differs from Horse Academy in several ways. Firstly, it features only one continuous path without any forks. Secondly, puzzle pieces do not need to be adjacent. Thirdly, players must use all obstacles in Smart Dog, but the order in which they are tackled doesn't matter. As always, determining the right name posed more challenges than any other aspect of product development. We considered "Doggo," "Max," "Obstacle Run," "Puzzle Paws," and many others. However, if consensus on a single name proves impossible, the final choice typically begins with "Smart…”. Now you also understand why the company I work for has so many products and brand names incorporating that word ;-). Smart Dog will be available in Spring 2024.