BY Chidi Chima
Babafemi Fagbemi and Division.africa are bringing the complete Lagos experience to all gamers in a new board game called OneChance.
The game, which is currently available to pre-order from the company’s website, starts with the popular JAMB exams in Nigeria, and has the Lagos traffic experience built in.
In this interview, Fagbemi said the game is not just to relive your Lagos experience, but to arm you with some financial and lifesaving skills.
What is the motivation for inventing the OneChance Game?
Fagbemi: Nigeria is truly a very special place, some of the things that take place here can’t happen anywhere in the world. We have communal joy and pain. I had the idea to create a game that reflects the true Nigerian experience – our shared joy and pain, turned into purpose. Something that feels like home, after all there’s really no place like home. There is hardly anyone who lives either in Lagos or any of the big cities that has not had OneChance experience and it doesn’t have to be a car robbery scenario but all our experiences both good and bad can be something to learn from.
So, I felt why not recreate these experiences and see how we can entertain ourselves with it and most importantly learn life lessons from them. OneChance game is about the lessons, reinventing our minds and thinking about how we can change our negative stories for the better.
Do you have a personal One Chance experience in Lagos and could this have motivated you?
Fagbemi: One chance can happen anywhere, not only in Nigeria or Lagos. So even if you’re outside Nigeria better be on guard. There are instances of people whose travel documents were stolen at the airport while on transit. Some lost their wallets, cash and even got cocaine dropped in their luggage at international airports outside Nigeria. Ideally, one chance is when you enter a situation that only God can save you from. Yes, I have had a few one chance encounters in Lagos; I remember my phone getting stolen in computer village when I went to upgrade it, it wasn’t a funny day.
And then there are friends and relatives who have had very terrible and funny experiences. We recently had a Twitter Space conversation where many Nigerians shared their experiences, from car robberies to those who newly arrived in Lagos and got scammed. There was even a tailor who nearly ruined a wedding because he did not make the groom’s suit on time, the day was saved because the groom is a ‘wiseguy”.
But from the discussions, you find that there were different layers of responses to a one chance situation and that is what this game completely encapsulates. I believe from all the experiences, we should come out better, those are the things we want people to learn when playing our game.
How long did this project take you to complete?
Fagbemi: This project has been a labour of love. There was no concept of time when we started creating this game. Our goal was to create a game that Nigerians, anywhere in the world, can fall in love with and feel like they belong, while telling our true story. However, it’s been over two years since I had the idea and started working on it. I’m pleased because after all this time and resources spent, the quality of work does speak for itself.
We did not leave any stone unturned in creating a genuine and complete experience in this game, we had the best brains putting it all together and you can see in the accolades the game has received since we launched online on March 3.
Could you tell the main features of the game?
Fagbemi: In this game you must pass JAMB. Yes JAMB! I love seeing everyone’s reaction when they find out it starts with JAMB, it always brings back memories. There’s also traffic in the game. When you enter traffic, you will be stuck while everyone is moving. There’s Ajo (contribution) and even Tax in the game. As you play, you also earn Salary which you can chose to invest in the bank or take to the market. Then there’s One Chance which can either be good or bad for example you can win N1,000,000 or you can find out your land papers are fake. There are a lot of other parts to the game, but you have to get yours to truly experience the game. So, like I said it is a complete experience, this is what we go through daily and in our career, however, in the game, you can make mistakes and learn from them using the knowledge to improve your decision making in real life. Everyone who has played it loves it.
What lessons or messages are you trying to pass across with this?
Fagbemi: One Chance is equally as educative as it is fun. It hopes to arm people with financial literacy tools while they are also having fun and making money. It mimics our real-life experiences and I hope people make smarter decisions from their experiences after playing.
There are financial and life lessons I learnt from my parents while growing up. Experiences like what and when to invest. I took some and discarded others, to my regrets really. But I want to pass on the same lessons to people especially those who are just making their way up in life.
It seems this game addresses Lagos only, was that deliberate and are you looking at adding other cities in future?
Fagbemi: Lagos is the most popular state in Nigeria and the entertainment hub of the country, we thought it wise to start from Lagos because a lot of Nigerians have been to Lagos at one point or the other and the shared experiences will be similar. However, our One Chance Bus will be visiting other parts of Nigeria soon so look forward to future editions and hopefully even other countries – after all, Africa is one big village where our experiences are similar.
What do you plan for this game, are we looking at an upgrade anytime soon?
Fagbemi: We are in the very early stages and honestly need every support we can get to build this brand into a global superpower that represents Nigeria positively. However, I would like to think that the sky is the limit. We can see so many endless possibilities in our future. That said, we need helping hands to get there.
Where can people get this game and is it available outside Lagos?
Fagbemi: Currently this game is only available via Pre-order, if you visit our website www.onechancegame.com you will be able to place your own order for your own copy between now and March ending. Doorstep delivery is free and will begin April 1ST – April 14th to Nigeria, UK, USA & Canada. However, we are willing and open to being in popular retail outlets across Nigeria and the world as well and we are working towards that.
I would like to end by saying, thank you: Thank you to my mom, whom without her support this project would not have been possible. I want to thank my siblings and my late dad as well for arming me with the tool to dream of a world where any dream is possible. I want to thank my teammates who listened to my crazy idea and decided to follow me on this crazy journey. Lastly, I want to thank you for reading this piece and supporting us as we begin this journey. You are the most integral part of our story from this point on and we look forward to hearing your experiences with our game, and having you become a Passenger.
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