TAX ATTACK!
A board game that teaches you everything you need to know about tax deductions in CA
The Situation
This is Tax Attack!, an informational board game designed to make learning about tax deductions in the State of California both fun and educational. The criteria for this project was that it must include information about tax deductions using icons across the game board track and by including information in the “trivia” and “chance” cards. The tasks at hand were to design game pieces for the players to navigate the board, illustrate the game board with icons pertaining to a specific color palette, and design chance cards.
The Rules
The game board is divided into various tax categories—homeownership, education, healthcare, and small business—each with its own set of cards within the chance and trivia piles explaining relevant deductions in a playful, easy-to-understand manner.
Players advance by answering trivia questions or solving deduction-related challenges, all while navigating vibrant, cartoonish visuals that represent different situations described on the board tiles, ultimately making a full revolution around the board. The game’s design blends retro board game colors with clear iconography, ensuring accessibility while maintaining a lighthearted tone. Tax Attack! serves as an interactive learning tool, turning a complex topic into an engaging experience, making it ideal for young individuals and families who want to better understand tax benefits in California.
The Process
One of the first things that was decided was the color palette, which was modeled after older, retro game boards from the 70’s and 80’s. Once that was settled, the track needed to be colored and positioned in a way that would allow for the most illustration space, which is why it’s titled at a 45 degree angle. After setting the track, the focus shifted toward illustrating the larger objects on the board such as the houses, skyscrapers, and cars. The smaller icons represent some of the game tiles listed on the board. For example; the “ root canal” tile has a tooth and a large syringe. Next comes the chance card and game piece designs, which are both fairly simple. The Chance cards are hand lettered and the game pieces are small, round business men in suits that I drew up.
The Solution
After finalizing the product, our team conducted market testing on some of the students at Cal Poly Pomona to gauge their interest. Many reviewers between the ages 18-24 claimed the game was both interesting enough to hold the player’s attention and informative. Most claimed they did not previously know any of the knowledge stated within the game. Ultimately, the game board objectively successful. As for the lessons learned, coated paper makes a game board much more tactile and interesting, but be sure to spray some type of coating or sealant over it because the ink will chip away over time from all the dice throwing and game pieces moving.
