When they’re not onstage, the Nerdologues can often be found collaborating at the 10,000-square-foot shared working space in Bucktown that serves as headquarters of Cards Against Humanity. In November, the Chicago sketch team will release its own unconventional card game that members have spent the last year and a half crafting.
Why would a seven-member sketch comedy group with no game-making experience try to compete with the Katnisses of the game-making world? “Why not?” says Nerdologues founding member Kevin Reader, who adds that the group approached the project as a way to stretch its creative legs, not make bank.
And just as timing is key in comedy, the Nerdologues have picked an opportune moment to release a card game. The North American hobby-game market has grown to an estimated $880 million last year, up 20 percent from 2013 according to a study commissioned by the culture Website ICv2. Part of the rise is due to crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter, which helped launch Cards Against Humanity in 2012. The Nerdologues’ successful Kickstarter campaign for Fisticuffs! ended in July, earning more than $13,000.
