Whatever happened to Rainbow Flip & Slide?
Updated: Oct 27
Oh hai, friends!
If you've been following Rainbow Rabbits Games for a while, you might have noticed something: I've been quiet about Rainbow Flip & Slide. If you raised your hand to playtest my new tile game last year, first of all, thank you. You are exactly the kind of amazing human who makes independent game publishing worth it. Second of all: I owe you an update.
So here it is.
It started with a sound.
A few years ago I found myself obsessed with a sound. It started with the game Century Golem. I couldn't get enough of the satisfying clatter of gems. Then there was Hive's chunky clicky clack of the tiles. Oooh, and then that bag shuffle in Azul. And finally, the even chunkier clatter of Mahjong tiles. I kept coming back to these games because playing them felt good, in my hands and on the table.
It had been a minute since I designed a new game and I started asking myself: can I bring my Rainbow Bunnies and their buddies into that kind of experience? Could I design something tactile and cozy that still had the spirit of Rainbow Bunny Bop: portable, easy to learn, but challenging and still tickles your brain?
The clover patch comes to life.
The original game idea started more obstract and after several false starts (maybe I will write another blog about that later), the idea emerged that instead of "tile placement", the game would be tile discovery. I envisioned a meadow full of hidden color tiles, face down. Players take turns fliping them and sliding them to new positions to build a rainbow (red to violet) before anyone else does.
I knew from the start that the art needed to feel special. I've been working with the incredibly talented Leanne Markle (@leannemarkle on Instagram) to bring the vision to life.
Here's a bit of lore: I am an expert four-leaf clover finder. I find dozens every year. I have the videos and photos to prove it. When Leanne and I started working together we discovered something that felt like the universe winking at us. She was born on St. Patrick's Day. A four-leaf clover savant and a St. Patrick's Day baby. The meadow would HAVE to be a clover!
What happened next (aka: where I've been on this).
Last year I put out a call for playtesters. I honestly did not know what to expect. Over 50 people raised their hands. Fifty strangers welcomed a prototype of Rainbow Flip & Slide into their homes, sat down with their families and friends, and played. And then they wrote me the most thoughtful, generous, sometimes hilarious feedback.
(One playtester's husband tried to help her win. His suggestion accidentally won him the game instead. She said, and I quote, "now I know I can never trust him.")
I took all of that feedback seriously. I refined. I tweaked. I tested in person at events around Seattle. Rinse and repeat. And then I went quiet because I was doing the most important and least glamorous part of bringing an independent game to life: finding the right manufacturing partner to help make Rainbow Flip & Slide real.
That part took time. Way more time than my previous experience with card games. And it turns out I needed to call in extra reinforcements to help me out!
Here's where I am now.
I have a manufacturer. The game is moving forward. And there is something else but I can't share quite yet so you will have to stay tuned.
In the meantime: Rainbow Flip & Slide is real, it is coming, and I am building toward a launch later this year. If you want to be among the first to know when pre-orders open, you can join the waitlist.
I am so glad to be back. And I cannot wait to show you what's been growing in the clover patch.
With so much squee,
Becky & the Bunnies
Oh yeah, solo mode
I almost forgot the coolest part. My friend and game designer Molly from Flatout Games played an early version and told me the game had such cozy vibes that it needed a solo experience. She was right. The solo mode has become one of my favorite ways to play.
Rainbow Flip & Slide is a 1-6 player tile game for ages 8 and up. Illustrations by Leanne Markle. Join the waitlist →
