Caring Causes: SOS Card Game

 15-year-old Jackson Mann created SOS after falling in love with wildlife at a young age. It’s his way of helping raise awareness about wildlife and the dangers they face. There are currently 2,244 species of animals and plants threatened or endangered worldwide. SOS is crowdfunding currently to pay for production. All profits from SOS sales will then go to the World Wildlife Fund and other charities.

 Mann co-created SOS - Global Edition with WWF experts to ensure the facts are accurate and the combination of species and habitats represents the real world.

 “We really hope this game will show young people the wonders of nature, with amazing pictures of different habitats from around the world,” said Rachel Cox, Senior New Product Development Manager, WWF-UK. “We’ll also be helping them learn about the dangers some of these species are facing and what can be done to help.”

 So, how does it work? Each person picks up or discards cards until they’ve created a biome – a combination of matching species and habitat cards. There are event cards, which positively or negatively impact players and reflect real-life scenarios (habitats destroyed or National Parks created). At the end of the game, the player with the most surviving species wins. 

I had a chance to learn more in this interview.

How did you come up with the idea for this card game?

We were in Costa Rica (which is full of amazing animals) when I came up with the idea of a card game that would be both fun and raise awareness about endangered species and habitat destruction.  I was inspired by the wildlife corridors that we learned about in Costa Rica as well as their importance. I wanted to create a game that included the concept of corridors so people understand how crucial they are. I want kids to engage with wildlife cards instead of Pokemon or Match Attax. 

What makes this cause important?

Roughly one in four animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction. More than ever before in human history. We are at a crucial point in how we choose to try and tackle this. I believe the more children know about species and their habitats, the more they will care and could even get their parents to engage and listen. 

What has surprised you the most about the process of getting this game in production?

How long everything takes and how hard it is to get people to hear about it. But also how generous so many people have been with their time and expertise to help me. 

You can support the SOS campaign and learn more about the game.