About Us
Hey there! I'm Shawn, Owner/Designer at Impact Games, and this is my story.
I got my start as a graphic designer in high school. I made t-shirt designs for the football team I was on (Go Golden Bears!), and I made driver's licenses for my friends. A short conversation with local law enforcement later and I had decided to focus on t-shirts.
I tried college for a year, and, while I had a blast at the parties playing all sorts of games, I felt there was a better education available out in the world. I got a job in a t-shirt shop, learned everything I could, and then I moved on. I worked in embroidery, trophy design, traditional print shops, TV stations, newspapers, sign companies and even a tattoo studio for a while. Once I had gained a 20 year practical education in the application of graphic design I decided to pair that knowledge with my creative spirit and build my own future.
I created a line of blankets for kids, car window screens for parents, custom wall murals for high end homes, and a few other things...
A couple of years ago, while recalling my youth fondly, I had an idea to create the next big thing in the Beer Pong world. I attempted this by creating Drunken Sailors - a table game that plays like a mashup of Beer Pong and those naval war board games like Battleship. I built a prototype table with an awesome graphic, had naval ship game pieces 3D printed, and wrote a set of fun, easy-to-follow rules. I took my prototype to a few local bars and quickly found that, in addition to the price of the game, I was asking for around 40 sqft of floor space. That's a big ask under any circumstance, even more of an issue in the wake of a global pandemic. All that said, Drunken Sailors is still a totally sweet game, so, more on that in a bit.
Having accepted the shortcomings of my prototype, I decided that rather than sulk, I was going to be the type of person who sees failure as the process of whittling down possibilities until you're left with success. What I observed with my prototype taught me a couple of things. 1) People were very interested in new games, but they didn't want to just give up Beer Pong, and 2) There were a lot of tables that did nothing more for the bar owners than keep stuff off the floor.
I took my prototype back to the office, and I went back to the drawing board (I mean, really it's a tablet I use instead of a mouse, not an actual board, anyway...). The ideas just started to flow and became...
To address the first issue, I created a 6-in-1 Game Decal. This 3M High Performance Vinyl Decal with Matte Lamination is designed to resurface existing Beer Pong tables (or be applied to a table made with a 4'x8' top, or be applied to an unused Ping Pong table, or... you get the idea) in a way that keeps Beer Pong as a play option, but also incorporates my Drunken Sailors game, 4 Flipcups stations, 4 Quarters stations, 2 Higher/Lower stations, and one large group King's Cup table. This gives customers choices and can be used for variety in tournaments - Beer Pong Tournament one weekend, Flipcups Tournament the next weekend, and so on. These decals are customizable with custom backgrounds, coloring options, and the inclusion of your bar's logo. Also included in the decal are the rules for all six games so there less chance of arguments.
To take advantage of the second issue, I created over a dozen individual game decals designed to transform boring side tables and buddy bars into something fun and new to do at your favorite bar. These decals, made with the same 3M High Performance Vinyl with Lamination, are vibrant and colorful, include the game's rules, have a space for your bar's logo, and, wherever possible, are designed in such a way as to be minimally burdensome on the bars in terms of required peripherals - some games require a deck of cards, a Ping Pong ball, six sided dice, but some require nothing more than some loose change, friends, and drinks.
When I set out to design these games, the first thing I had to do was establish a boundary, so I created two standard size decals - 48"x16" and 34"x22". At these sizes, the games fit any standard 2'x4' table top. That said, not all bar tables are the same sizes, so the option to have custom sized decals certainly exists - a 2.5'x8' table would be a great size for one of my sports themed games, and 30" round tables are ideal for my board game themed games. Please Contact Us for a custom quote today!
Confident in my new idea, I produced a catalog, had some sample decals printed, and I hit the streets in my hometown. The response from local bar owners has been overwhelmingly positive, so I've decided to build and launch this website to offer these games to bar-tavern-taproom-brewery-nightclub owners around the country. More game ideas are constantly being worked on, so make sure to sign up for our newsletter, head over to our social media and help spread the word, and please feel free to Contact Us with any questions you might have.
I got my start as a graphic designer in high school. I made t-shirt designs for the football team I was on (Go Golden Bears!), and I made driver's licenses for my friends. A short conversation with local law enforcement later and I had decided to focus on t-shirts.
I tried college for a year, and, while I had a blast at the parties playing all sorts of games, I felt there was a better education available out in the world. I got a job in a t-shirt shop, learned everything I could, and then I moved on. I worked in embroidery, trophy design, traditional print shops, TV stations, newspapers, sign companies and even a tattoo studio for a while. Once I had gained a 20 year practical education in the application of graphic design I decided to pair that knowledge with my creative spirit and build my own future.
I created a line of blankets for kids, car window screens for parents, custom wall murals for high end homes, and a few other things...
A couple of years ago, while recalling my youth fondly, I had an idea to create the next big thing in the Beer Pong world. I attempted this by creating Drunken Sailors - a table game that plays like a mashup of Beer Pong and those naval war board games like Battleship. I built a prototype table with an awesome graphic, had naval ship game pieces 3D printed, and wrote a set of fun, easy-to-follow rules. I took my prototype to a few local bars and quickly found that, in addition to the price of the game, I was asking for around 40 sqft of floor space. That's a big ask under any circumstance, even more of an issue in the wake of a global pandemic. All that said, Drunken Sailors is still a totally sweet game, so, more on that in a bit.
Having accepted the shortcomings of my prototype, I decided that rather than sulk, I was going to be the type of person who sees failure as the process of whittling down possibilities until you're left with success. What I observed with my prototype taught me a couple of things. 1) People were very interested in new games, but they didn't want to just give up Beer Pong, and 2) There were a lot of tables that did nothing more for the bar owners than keep stuff off the floor.
I took my prototype back to the office, and I went back to the drawing board (I mean, really it's a tablet I use instead of a mouse, not an actual board, anyway...). The ideas just started to flow and became...
To address the first issue, I created a 6-in-1 Game Decal. This 3M High Performance Vinyl Decal with Matte Lamination is designed to resurface existing Beer Pong tables (or be applied to a table made with a 4'x8' top, or be applied to an unused Ping Pong table, or... you get the idea) in a way that keeps Beer Pong as a play option, but also incorporates my Drunken Sailors game, 4 Flipcups stations, 4 Quarters stations, 2 Higher/Lower stations, and one large group King's Cup table. This gives customers choices and can be used for variety in tournaments - Beer Pong Tournament one weekend, Flipcups Tournament the next weekend, and so on. These decals are customizable with custom backgrounds, coloring options, and the inclusion of your bar's logo. Also included in the decal are the rules for all six games so there less chance of arguments.
To take advantage of the second issue, I created over a dozen individual game decals designed to transform boring side tables and buddy bars into something fun and new to do at your favorite bar. These decals, made with the same 3M High Performance Vinyl with Lamination, are vibrant and colorful, include the game's rules, have a space for your bar's logo, and, wherever possible, are designed in such a way as to be minimally burdensome on the bars in terms of required peripherals - some games require a deck of cards, a Ping Pong ball, six sided dice, but some require nothing more than some loose change, friends, and drinks.
When I set out to design these games, the first thing I had to do was establish a boundary, so I created two standard size decals - 48"x16" and 34"x22". At these sizes, the games fit any standard 2'x4' table top. That said, not all bar tables are the same sizes, so the option to have custom sized decals certainly exists - a 2.5'x8' table would be a great size for one of my sports themed games, and 30" round tables are ideal for my board game themed games. Please Contact Us for a custom quote today!
Confident in my new idea, I produced a catalog, had some sample decals printed, and I hit the streets in my hometown. The response from local bar owners has been overwhelmingly positive, so I've decided to build and launch this website to offer these games to bar-tavern-taproom-brewery-