TORONTO -- A man from Mississauga, Ont. is hoping to spark joy and provide some light entertainment amid the pandemic by hosting a virtual game show using his Youtube channel and an handmade giant cardboard game inside his home.
The concept is simple. Luanga “Lue” Nuwame and his seven-year-old daughter will play the game, which involves moving a player across 24 inch octagon tiles that are spread out on the floor.
To compete, subscribers on his Youtube channel can volunteer to be contestants.
"I made it simple where each space tells a player what to do, so when you see my daughter and I competing you'll see like a fitness challenge, so you'll do 10 jumping jacks and whoever does it first gets one point, or you do trivia and whoever gets to five or 10 points first is the winner,” he told CTV News Toronto.
Nuwame has been creating with cardboard since he was a teenager, using boxes from the grocery store. For him, there isn't much that can't be made out of cardboard.
"Cardboard is abundant- everyone has access to it" Nuwame said. "Years ago I just started making all kinds of weird things."
Those weird things have earned him a following on YouTube channel called 'Homemadegameguru.'
On it, users can watch as he builds some out-of-this world creations, including a working elliptical machine, a Muskoka chair, and a swimming pool—all out of cardboard. Nuwame describes them as "ostentatious cardboard crafts.”
"I know there's a lot of cardboard crafters out on YouTube, but I want to separate myself by just going big and crazy, and showing the extent to what you can do with cardboard."
Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, he was spending less time on his craft projects, and more time working and raising a family. Like many Canadians, he suddenly found himself with lots of time to work on his hobby.
"I was a truck driver for a major charity, and I got laid off like millions of Canadians. So I found myself with a lot of time. It's been great being home with my family, but that's when the idea hit me."
Nuwame said that he always wanted to host his own game show, and that’s where the idea for the board game came from.
"Using the cardboard I have and the skill set I have, I'll handmade a giant board game where each space tells you what to do. And then incorporate it to where I can get my viewers to be contestants, linked to the people playing to win prizes and just give out stuff for free, so I can help people feel good during this kind of depressing time."
The Mississauga man says the prizes are collectable items he has laying around his home.
The game was designed, created, and played with the help of his daughter Azura. She says the experience of building the game was "so much fun" and that when they finally got to play she "felt surprised and amazed.”
“The last time we played I felt happy for my dad for making it."
Nuwame says it's been a great experience to create something with his daughter while she's off school.
"It was nice to have something we could do together and have fun together."
He says the rest of his family doesn't mind the fact that the game takes up most of the floor space in the house.
"I designed it so it's modular and it comes apart" Nuwame said. "I made it that way so I can fill up the house and then when my wife gets tired of it I can put it away and it tucks away in a corner."
For now, the plans are to play the board game, and the game show, at least once a week during the pandemic. And then, when it's over, Nuwame says he'd like to take the game out of the house and maybe set it up at community centres for others to play.
