Outdoor | Motivation | Game
Hymn for the Weekend
A game idea to plan and decide the outdoor activity for the day.
It’s Saturday morning. My husband and I are going through the list of options for the weekend whilst our children are busy playing, not necessarily the quiet kind of play.
“What shall we do today?”
Is the question that we repeatedly ask. Every weekend. And it feels like the start of groundhog day. Again.
Four people. Four different opinions, wishes and interests. And then there is the weather too. Wellies vs. sandals.
One thing is clear — we all want to go out and do something we all enjoy. Ideally, combined with a park or nature area.That’s where I feel I am a better mum. But where to go? And how to choose and come to an agreement?
- Something in close proximity nearby or with public transport or the car?
- How many hours in total until we are back?
- What’s our budget for the day?
- Are bikes or scooters an option and allowed?
- Are there food and drinks options available or do we need to pack?
- And how can we minimise the risk of a toddler or adult tantrum?
I cannot count how many times we had exactly the same conversations and it felt like a glitch in the matrix with the dejavu. The difference is, instead of a cat there is my child.
And I wondered what could be done to make this better and find a way to involve my children in the process and at the same time have control over the options depending on criteria like budget and weather for that day.
Here is the idea:
A family card game to decide on the activity for the day together.
It’s an early stage idea however, I want to share it for early feedback and input. Also, it helps me structure my thoughts around it.
This picture is a mockup of a card which could be part of a deck of cards for various locations. The symbols show the available options. For example to ask my 2 year old: Can you pick a card with the buggy symbol?
Another way of playing or using the deck could be:
“Can you pick up all the cards that have the symbols of food, buggy and dog footprint?”
Out of those, we choose one. For example, with a number or colour cube.
Or this way of using it:
The parent or adult selects five cards that match their liking for the day. These five cards are shown to the child to play a game with a cube, a counting-out-rhyme or, the child simply picks the favourite card and destination based on the image or symbols.
I have previously shared this article to encourage others and myself to share early ideas with a basic questionnaire and template to help ideation and feedback.
There are many parents and non-parents with an interest for outdoor activities amongst my friend and professional network and I would love to hear what you think.
Below is my first attempt using the template for the value proposition and questionnaire:
- How might we [Action] [What] for [Stakeholder] in order to [what change]?
How might we [help] [to decide what to do] for [families with small children] in order to [make a decision and find location or activity that fits for that day]
2. Which different customer segments or classes will be targeted?
Card players / customers:
- Parents of at least 2 or more children — with one in the age of 2–6.
- Children age 2–5 who like to get involved into a decision about what to do and where to go
Shops selling the card game
- Locations mentioned on the card game eg Museum
3. Who is the main target audience?
Parents of at least 2 or more children(by geography)
4. Through what channels does the target audience want to be reached?
- Social Media
- In shops (eg gardening centres book and game section)
- Local website for family activities
5. Which channels work best?
To be evaluated based on research and feedback.
6. Who are potential key partners?
- Content creators eg for family activities and events
- Local website and communities
- Local attractions or businesses mentioned on the cards
7. What are the motivations for the partnerships? What are their interests?
- Content creators — reuse of their content and get more visibility , recommendations — eg Instagramers and their IG guides, promotion of their pictures and quotes
- Local websites and communities — promote their websites and content. Eg cards will not have specific events but their website do like pumpkin picking in October. A goody for their subscribers, …
- Local attractions or businesses mentioned on the cards — promotion for new visitors, goody or product item in their shops, …
8. What key / regular activities does the idea require to be successful?
To be evaluated based on research and feedback.
9. What key resources does the project idea require? These are considered assets and they are needed to sustain and support the idea..
Social media content, recommendations, research for content and supporters, partners
10. What core value does the idea deliver to the target audience?
- An overview of well researched locations with facts, details and images
- Fast decision where to go that fits with the conditions and requirements for that day to make everyone feel involved and have a good time
- Family Day: Spending time and exploring new places
- Reduce the time to search for ideas / things to do
11. Which individual need(s) will be satisfied?
- Seeing smiles and no arguments
- Creating memories
- Get kids involved in the decision and plan for the day
12. How is it different from existing solutions / competitors?
- Provides details visible for children by using symbols compared to cards or books about things to do in XYZ which are targeted for parents / readers
- Cards are like a game and easy to look at and choose from compared to books or magazines
- No screen needed and engagement from child is higher — eg online platforms mean using the phone or laptop which can be distracting and disencouraging to get involved
13. What could be a potential revenue stream? What value are target users willing to pay? What and how do they recently pay?
To be evaluated based on research and feedback.
14. What are the main challenges to drive and execute the idea?
Finding test users and feedback from potential partners for a first prototype = time, skill, contacts
15. What are the main opportunities?
- Scale for additional regions, countries and geographical expansion can have local experts / ambassadors involved.
- Card sets by different themes or seasons
16. What are some potential threats or weaknesses?
- Content creation can require various review cycles and check for IP / owners for sign-off (pics etc)
- Regular updates of content and cards — worst case a location is closing / doesn’t exist anymore
17. What are the costs to bring the idea to the next phase?
To be evaluated — mainly time to produce a basic prototype with content for test audience.
There are so many incredible mums and dads to follow for tips and advice. Like Write at Home Mama for writing tips or Ruby Sengar for healthy living, and I like Lady Kezia and her stories about discovering a new home for her family. And the absolutely hilarious Laurel B. Miller and her honest and sweary articles about parenting, popsicles and more.
If you find this interesting, please comment or share it with someone else. I would like to hear thoughts from more people.
I am a German living in England. I am a specialist for stakeholder analysis and partner marketing. Here for collaboration, curiosity and creation. I also love being outdoors and exploring new places and activities. You can find me in the woods and on LinkedIN. Let’s see what happens when we share.
