Welcome to Clip Heroes

Hey, Dustin here.

I’m a dad of three and the creator of The Quest Kids series of board games. If you’ve played any of our games, you probably know I spend a lot of time thinking about how kids actually like to play, not just how games are supposed to work.

And that’s where Clip Heroes started.

The Idea

Like a lot of kids, mine have a lot of toys.

Dinosaurs, action figures, stuffed animals, and random things from who knows where.

They love all of them, but most of the time those toys don’t really interact in a meaningful way.

It’s usually:

• one toy at a time

• or completely unstructured chaos

• or a short burst of play that fizzles out

At some point, I started wondering:

What if there was a simple way to turn any toy into a hero and actually give them a way to battle?

That’s the core idea behind Clip Heroes.

A small clip-on device that gives toys:

• actions

• outcomes

• a shared system

So a dinosaur can battle a knight. A robot can take on a bear. Anything in the toy box can step into the arena.

Where It Is Right Now

Right now, Clip Heroes is very much in the prototype stage.

I’ve got early versions in hand, and they are rough. But they are also exciting.

The core mechanics are there:

• spinning for attacks

• spinning for defense

• simple health tracking

• a retractable string for movement and ranged attacks

It is starting to feel like something real, but there is still a lot to figure out.

What This Blog Is

This Development Blog is where I’m going to share the process as it happens.

Not the polished version. The real one.

That means:

• prototypes, good and bad

• ideas that work

• ideas that do not

• changes, tweaks, and pivots

• feedback from my kids

• and hopefully feedback from you

If you have thoughts, ideas, or even just reactions, I would genuinely love to hear them. This project will be better because of it.

What I’m Hoping to Build

My goal with Clip Heroes is not just to make a game.

It is to create something that:

• works with the toys kids already love

• encourages creativity and imagination

• adds just enough structure to make play more engaging

• and is simple enough that kids can jump in quickly

We will see where it goes, but that is the vision.

What’s Next

Next up, I will share a look at the first prototype. I will walk through what is working, what is not, and what I am already thinking about changing.

Spoiler: there is a lot to improve.

Thanks for being here early.

– Dustin