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Adella – The Game of Crimps on Kickstarter!

Press Release of the Game

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“What is the game of the captains of old? What did they play in their rolling cabins in the storms? Well there wasn’t such a thing but it would have been Adella if only it had been born earlier. It is the game of strategians to exercise their mind’s wit to that of the enemy. And to display their evident tastefulness. Wherever it rests a humming will encircle. This is the sound of whispers of intrigue and desire filling the room with adoration as you lay out the pieces. People ask, on the street, at the pub, every day, what is that object you carry? They will tell you they have never seen anything like it. Their eyes are drawn to it’s shapes and a beam of light enters their imagination.” Legendary sculptural boardgame on kickstarter campaign ending soon Only a few weeks are left to get your hands on Adella – The Game of Crimps. This game, straight out of the minds of two artists is the stuff of dreams. A hinged board that brings us immediately to older times, unravels as a gift. The piece is here to revolutionize both aesthetics and ways of thinking: a completely new and unique abstract gameplay that has been developed for six years and has been referred to as
the “maritime chess”. The game was released on the 16th of July on kickstarter, the same date as it’s exhibition at Newlyn Art Gallery.

This campaign, which ends the 15th of August might be the last chance to get your hands on this luxurious first edition that takes over a week to make as the creators plan on producing it on a mass scale, which will make this version a sought-after relic in times to come. Magnificent sculptural design that can only be truly appreciated with personal possession. This is not your standard board game. It plays like and refers to classical games yet supplants them by having two levels of strategic gameplay. One encircles the game and happens in the outer ring of the board (the firmament) and is where the players decide the winds. The other happens in the central board (the seas) and is where a maritime battle commences: the players sail their ships, board and broadside until there is only one player left to rule the seas.

These two planes are not separate, rather connected by the souls (pegs) that circle around the firmament and are simultaneously captured (crimped) by the ships on the sea. These little
wooden dowels are the circulation of the game, that bind it together making it a whole. The game in it’s entirety acts as a metaphor of the world and it’s natural forces. The modern artifact of a new tradition. This first edition of the game is entirely 3D printed in wood-infused PLA. But the work does not end here: the whole piece is assembled by hand, sanded, deburred and stained to perfection. The piece, conceived about six years ago by Cornwall-born Ben Reader and Portuguese artist Ana da Palma Kennerly, has gone through many iterations before arriving at its final 3D printed form.

Originally Adella: the Game of Crimps was loosely inspired by the Mancala game and consisted in shifting beans around an hexagonal board. The version you see today takes from piracy,  specially the act of crimping. It incorporates aesthetic elements like the flower of life, and follows an etiquette that could be compared to the one in the game of GO. The first version of the game was a cardboard hexagon with fabric hinges sailed by origami junk ships. A wooden version followed which was laser-cut from different layers of plywood. The advent of 3D printing meant and wood-based filament has enabled the creators to retain the traditional wood aesthetic that fits with the maritime-inspired game while also allowing for a complex and sculptural structure that could have never been made otherwise.

The quintessential compliment to the household Adella, the game of friends and family, lovers and arch-enemies. A strategic game that is also a design piece, making it the quintessential compliment to the household that emanates intrigue and curiosity. Both an artefact of seemingly ancient origin and a boast of state of the art craftsmanship, It is the ultimate conversation-starter and focal point of the living space. Whether it is displayed at home or played in a café, people will be bemused or amused for its dual purposes. Unlike other boardgames, it is made to be displayed and appreciated even when closed. When open the arabesque patterns swirl into Celtic conjurations which dance around the flower of life.

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