The man behind Southbank’s very own card game

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Throughout the COVID pandemic, repeated lockdowns changed the way we socialise. FaceTime and Zoom became the norm, and conversations tended to centre around the virus. 

However, during this time, Southbank resident Michael Smith found that the most interesting conversations often revolved around inane topics.

It was this epiphany, alongside the extra time provided by lockdowns, that led Michael to start the conversation card game Line Up, and after years of hard work in a two-bedroom apartment on Wells St, it has finally launched.

The intentionally low-tech game aims to bring people together in the age of high-tech start-ups.

“There isn’t a phone screen in sight,” Michael said.

 

We love the fact that people are coming together and having face-to-face conversations. In some cases, they’re losing track of time just talking.

 

Each player is dealt a secret number from one to 100, and a scenario card is selected – for example, “places to laugh out loud from least appropriate to most appropriate.” 

Players then have to provide an answer that correlates with the number they were given, and as a team, they must guess the order of everyone’s numbers from lowest to highest.

“I’ve been blown away by the response,” Michael said. “Everyone who plays it tends to purchase a copy. Some even buy two to give to friends.”

“It generates hilarious conversation and is a great insight into how people think,” he said. “We had a lot of fun testing it.”

“I remember once we had an in-depth discussion about whether [Barack] Obama or my sister was a better singer. The scenario was ‘singers from worst to best’. We decided Obama was better, and the Line Up was correct.”

There are 200 scenarios included most of which were thought up during laps around the Tan throughout lockdowns.

Michael is currently in the process of securing distribution for the game, but in the meantime, it’s available for sale on their website: lineupgame.com.au

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