About Us

 

From left to right: Ludovic, Georgios and Romain.

Georgios, a physicist by training, spent most of his career in the laboratory, inventing new materials for various industrial applications. At the same time, he has always been sensitive to human issues, which led him in 2009 to found one of the first global fundraising platforms for humanitarian projects: www.fengarion.org.

Today, he is dedicated to marketing his board game and starting out as a self-employed mediation professional.

Around 2014, he discovered Marshall Rosenberg's Nonviolent Communication (NVC) method. This encounter marked a turning point in his life. After extensive training (43 days of training) and leading numerous workshops and conferences, he dreamed of sharing NVC concepts with a wider audience. This is where the idea for a board game was born.

But he didn't think he could create a game himself... until one day, in 2018, he discovered a documentary about the inventor of Monopoly, Elizabeth Magie. She designed this game to show that cooperation is preferable to the rampant capitalism of the early 20th century. Unfortunately, her game was hijacked, and its social message completely erased.

This story doubly inspired Georgios: first, it gave him the confidence that it is possible to create a game, even without being a professional in the field. Second, it made him understand the importance of how to convey a message. His own message is simple: learning to build peace is more interesting than winning wars. He therefore decided not to put this message in the foreground, but to integrate it subtly into the game's mechanics, through cooperation, strategy, suspense... and above all, NVC elements in the questions and answers of the mediation phase.

The idea for the game's basic mechanics was born around 2020, and the adventure began. A first prototype was cobbled together at home and tested with family and friends. Confident, Georgios even created his own company, Ultimediation Sàrl, to market the game. But everything changed the day he went to a "board games" event organized by the Espace de Vie Sociale de Saint-Genis-Pouilly and asked Romain, a passionate facilitator and co-founder of www.darxfantastiques.fr, to test his game. A month later, Romain tested the game and said: "Just because you have good meat doesn't mean you're a good chef!" A shock for Georgios, who realized he had launched his company too soon.

But this meeting became foundational: Romain offered to come every week for several months to improve the game. Georgios remembers an amusing moment: after a week of working on adjustments, he proudly presented the new rules... and Romain simply commented: "No interest." Thanks to this frank feedback, their collaboration bore fruit, and Romain played a major role in the final version of the game (even if he refused the title of co-author).

Another enthusiast then joined the team: Ludovic, a chess player, board game and escape game enthusiast. He brought a fresh perspective, ideas, and participated in countless hours of testing.

In 2023, at the Ludidarx fair in Gex, another decisive meeting took place. The Ultimediation stand was next to that of Paria. After some discussions, Alexandre and David agreed to test the game. After only 20 minutes, they made several remarks and suggestions, which would inspire months of modifications!

During these 4 years, the game has been tested in numerous clubs in France and Geneva, at professional fairs, and even in the laboratory where Georgios works.

The collaboration with Paria also proved valuable in other ways. It allowed Georgios to meet Coline from MACO, who would handle all the graphic design. Paria also helped him write the game rules and other written elements.

At the beginning of the development, Georgios was looking for an illustrator to represent benevolent, powerful but non-threatening extraterrestrials. After several unsuccessful attempts (the first proposals represented hostile aliens!), he met Nana, who immediately understood his vision.
Nana also did an excellent job illustrating the game board and attack cards, whose basic idea was to show the contrast between the richness and beauty of humanity's natural and cultural heritage, and the devastation caused by wars.

Today, the game is ready. It's your turn to play!