Join Our Kickstarter Journey: Bringing Capital Punishment: Public Defender Edition to Life

The State of Party Games Before Capital Punishment

Picture your typical game night: friends gathered around the table, shuffling cards, picking prompts, and playing quietly while someone decides what’s funny. It’s fun—but it’s missing something.

Being from the East Coast, we don’t do quiet. We love to argue over anything and everything. We love witty banter, turning phrases, and committing to the bit. But where was the game that let us live loud, laugh big, and let our inner comedian shine? There wasn’t one.

That’s why we created Capital Punishment: The Party Argument Game. We wanted a game that broke through social awkwardness, encouraged inside jokes, and left people talking long after the game ended. We knew there was a gap in the market for a game that gave people permission to engage in bold, hilarious conversations—without fear of judgment.

The Spark of Inspiration: From Bar Banter to Game Night Essential

The idea for Capital Punishment wasn’t born at a desk—it was born in a bar.

My friends and I had just watched some documentaries, and we found ourselves in a heated, hilarious debate: Who was the worst dictator in history—Stalin or Hitler? Next thing you know, random people in the bar joined in the conversation, turning it into a full-on roast session. People we’d never met were laughing, arguing, and making the most ridiculous points.

That’s when it hit me: this needs to be a game.

We wanted to create something that encouraged this kind of interaction—a game where people could shed social norms, be loud, and embrace their inner comedian. A game where the most ridiculous argument could win the day.

Overcoming Doubts and Challenges

Bringing Capital Punishment to life wasn’t easy. We had no idea where to start.

How do you make a game? Where do you get it manufactured? How do you make sure it’s high quality without paying a fortune? We faced obstacle after obstacle, but we pushed through with sheer grit, determination, and a whole lot of deep dives on Reddit.

There were moments of doubt—especially when people told us, “How is arguing fun?” But every time we played the game, we saw smiles, heard laughter, and felt the energy shift. That kept us going, even on the darkest days.

The Community That Kept Us Going

We didn’t get here alone. Along the way, we’ve had incredible mentors who believed in us and our mission.

We were part of the SBA SCORE mentorship program and Amazon’s Black Business Accelerator. My mentor, Will Lucas—a board member of Black in Tech and host of Black Tech Green Money—helped me grow as a business owner and a person. And Alex Morales deserves a special shoutout as one of our earliest advocates. He introduced our game to others and became a vocal supporter.

There have been many more “Alexes” along the way, and now we’re building a community of people who believe in what we’re doing.

Lessons from Our First Edition

The first edition of Capital Punishment taught us a lot. We listened to player feedback and learned:

• People didn’t know who some of the characters were.
• They didn’t like the 0-point cards or duplicate punishments.
• They found the rules confusing.

We also heard a great idea: a Public Defender card that allows players to defend their card from punishment and still get points. So we’re including all of these improvements in the new edition, aptly named Public Defender Edition.

This Kickstarter is our way of making the game even better, hand-in-hand with the community that has supported us since 2021.

What You’ll Help Us Achieve

By supporting our Kickstarter, you’re not just backing a game—you’re backing a mission to foster empathy, meaningful conversations, and human connection.

We’re:

• Creating 30 new punishment cards with original art
• Updating the rules to make gameplay simpler and more engaging
• Expanding the main deck to feature celebrities and stars from every generation
• Offering Kickstarter-exclusive packs with custom punishments for backers
• Launching a community Discord channel so you can continuously give input on the game’s development

This is a community-driven project, and we want you to be part of it.

Why Now Is the Time to Launch

Larger publishers dominate the space with advertising budgets we can’t compete with. We’ve managed to hang on—but now is the time to grow in a meaningful way.

Supporting this Kickstarter means:

• Helping a Black-owned business bridge the funding gap and compete with larger companies
• Fostering real conversations that can break down social barriers
• Becoming an agent of change by promoting empathy and understanding through playful debate

Exclusive Rewards for Backers

We want to thank our early supporters with some exclusive perks:

• Kickstarter-exclusive packs with custom, high-quality punishment cards
• Access to our community Discord to provide input and shape the future of the game
• Custom punishments for certain backer levels

Join Us. Be Part of the Story.

You’re not just backing a game—you’re joining a movement to remove the taboo from political and cultural conversations. You’re helping us remove artificial barriers that separate us and create space for empathy, laughter, and human connection.

If you care about the state of the world, you know that change starts with a conversation. Capital Punishment is that conversation starter.

Be the hero we need. Back our Kickstarter and help us create a game that could have a cascading effect on society at large.

The world needs more conversations. The world needs more connection. And we need you to help us bring that to life.