Chad Ballew
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Personal Project  ·  Board Game

Beerpocalypse

A Kickstarter-funded board game conceived, designed, illustrated, and written from scratch. Every character, every card, every rule, every word: one complete original IP.

Project Type
Personal Project
My Role
Creator · Designer · Illustrator · Writer
Scope
Game Design · Illustration · Packaging · Copy
Funding
Kickstarter

One creator.
One complete IP.

Beerpocalypse started as a concept and became a fully realized tabletop experience. I owned every creative facet of the project from the ground up: world-building, gameplay mechanics, character development, illustration, packaging design, rulebook writing, and narrative copy.

The visual style was built to feel bold, irreverent, and distinctly hand-crafted. Each character was developed with a full backstory and illustrated from scratch. The rulebook and in-game copy were written to match the tone of the world: strategic enough to be taken seriously, funny enough to keep the beer flowing.

The project was successfully funded on Kickstarter and picked up coverage across both board game and beer enthusiast media, landing it in front of exactly the audience it was built for.

What I Built

  • Complete world-building: lore, setting, and narrative voice established from concept
  • Gameplay mechanics design: rules, card systems, and player experience architecture
  • 50+ original character and monster illustrations, each with distinct visual identity and backstory
  • Full packaging design: game box, inserts, card backs, and print-ready production files
  • All copywriting: rulebook, in-game text, flavor copy, and Kickstarter campaign
KS
Kickstarter Campaign
50+
Characters & Monsters
100%
Self-Directed
2×
Press Categories
The Game

Built to
be played.

From box to board to hand, a cohesive visual system that holds up under the full scrutiny of a game night.

Beerpocalypse box hero shot
Beerpocalypse tabletop setup
Beerpocalypse game board
Packaging

Box art that
sells the world.

The packaging needed to communicate the tone of the game in a single glance: bold, funny, and worth picking up off the shelf.

Beerpocalypse box art
Beerpocalypse box art detail

A world full
of survivors.

Beerpocalypse is populated by a sprawling cast of post-apocalyptic characters. These are a few from the full roster, each one designed with a distinct visual identity, personality, and role in the world they are trying to survive.

Beerpocalypse character 1
Beerpocalypse character 2
Beerpocalypse character 3
Beerpocalypse character 4
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