The COVID-19 pandemic and his brother’s new baby led Russell Witmer to return to Indiana in April 2021 from Los Angeles. That’s when he started working to create a game, Cancelled Club, which recently became available in local shops.
“It took me about two years to have it ready for print. First, I had to figure out what themes would make sense for the game and how each might play,” said Witmer, a Carmel resident. “Then I had to test, test, test, refine, and improve – all the while working on the fun images and presentation. Working with lawyers to apply for trademarks and building a website also took a lot of time.”
The idea for the game came from social media and was a response to having spent more than a year in lockdown because of the pandemic and not being able to go anywhere or do anything in Los Angeles.
“The city was tense, but social media was on fire. I wanted to see more laughs, less hate, and was more than ready to have small gatherings again by the time it was deemed safe to,” Witmer said. “I missed game nights with friends.”
Every day, Witmer would see themes permeate his social media feeds.
“A new celebrity that was being ‘cancelled,’ another ‘Karen’ going off at someone, another news story that turned out to be ‘fake news,’ social justice warriors all over the comments gaslighting, virtue signaling and morally posturing themselves over strangers,” he said. “I wanted to make fun of all of it, so I created a parody on cancel culture that is a fun party game. I used all of the things I was seeing around me, including toxic masculinity – which is an actionless, pointless card in my game.”
The premise of the game is to gain as many points as fast as you can before somebody is “cancelled.” Players battle it out using offensive cards such as Social Justice Warrior or Gaslight to steal cards from other players. Defensive cards like Conspiracy Theory or Defamation are used to protect cards from others trying to steal them. The winner is the player with the highest (social credit) score when the first player is ultimately Cancelled.
“It’s fast-paced, keeps everyone on their toes, and gets pretty wild sometimes,” Witmer said. “This is actually my second game, but the first one I’ve brought to market. The first game I am now giving away for free when people sign up for my email list on my website.”
Cancelled Club costs $19.99 and can be found at All Things Carmel, where Witmer will demonstrate the game Nov. 11 during the next Second Saturday Meet Me On Main event.
The game is also for sale at The Curious Squirrel Bookshop in Zionsville at cancelled.club.
