OUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE BOROUGH OF KINGS
COURIER LIFE, OCTOBER 8-14, 2021 23
BY JADA CAMILLE
They’re bugging out!
Most Kings Countians cringe at the
concerning sight of cockroaches crawling
through cracks and crevices into
their cramped apartments, causing a
collection of chaotic cries from bugaverse
city dwellers and frantic efforts
to exterminate the six-legged intruders.
But for Brooklynites Olivier Miller
and Julie Feltman, an infestation of
cockroaches provided an interesting
opportunity — and a way to exit the rut
they’d found themselves in amid a particularly
trying year.
Thus, the duo created Cuddly Cockroaches,
a card game that pits players
against each other to send insect
armies to eliminate their opponents.
“In Cuddly Cockroaches, players
are neighbors in an apartment building
with a Cockroach problem,” the
game’s description reads. “Every turn
sees more cockroaches getting added
to the game as players try to eliminate
their neighbors and remain the last
apartment standing.”
An opportunity arises
Like the rest of New York City,
Miller and Feltman were quarantined
in March of 2020 to their Brooklyn
apartment. Shortly after beginning
their indefi nite isolation, the pair lost
their jobs on the same day.
Just when they thought they’d hit
rock bottom, their entire apartment
building was hit with an infestation of
cockroaches.
Determined to ameliorate their
lives, and to fi nd a hobby to spend their
freed-up time, Miller designed humorous
cartoon characters of the insects.
Soon the despaired duo turned the
sketch into a full-blown card game.
“It was a very personal experience
that was fun to kind of reproduce in
games,” said Miller. “I’m absolutely terrifi
ed of cockroaches. You can put a tarantula
in front of me, I won’t bat an eye
but a cockroach is just something that
will make me run away so it was kind
of a cathartic way to distance myself
from that relationship by making them
cute and cuddly.”
Card game of cockroaches
The game copies their real life struggles
as players try to send their army of
bugs into their opponent’s apartment,
“Some cockroaches have special
abilities that make them more desirable
roommates, while others will
make it harder to win,” the description
reads. “During their turns, players can
infest each other with their roaches, or
play supply cards like cleaning lady, or
bug spray to kill roaches or make infesting
easier.”
With Miller taking on the design
of the game and Feltman leading the
social media content, the duo started
a kickstarter campaign to bring their
project to fruition, allowing interested
individuals to contribute cash to the
making of their idea.
After just fi ve days, the pair met their
$11,000 goal, and soon surpassed their
target by raising a total of $18,080.
People who contribute to the fundraiser
will receive different benefi ts,
depending on the amount they give —
with prizes ranging from a copy of the
game, to Cuddly Cockroach keychains
and stickers.
Miller and Fletman have kept their
donors updated on the game’s production
via their kickstarter page. The latest
update says that they have paired
up with a larger game board company
to assist in the games printing and distribution.
“The licensing partner is called
‘Are You Game?’ which is a subsidiary
of a bigger company called University
Games…Cuddly Cockroaches was a
good fi t for one of their initial lineups,”
said Miller.
You can fi nd a full list of the rules and
stay updated on the game’s manufacturing
on their fundraising site.
Bugging!
Brooklyn duo creates ‘Cuddly
Cockroaches’ card game
Olivier Miller and Julie Feltman hide from the
bug infestation (top), and their new game
“Cuddly Cockroaches” (bottom).
Olivier Miller and Julie Feltman