The Grub Deck

Dinner Just Got Interesting.

A 52-card game that gets your family talking, laughing, and actually looking at each other again.

 I Made This Because I Was Losing Their Attention

I’ve got three kids — 8, 11, and a 1-year-old.

The thing that scared me wasn’t a big dramatic moment. It was noticing that my 8 and 11 year old, couldn’t hold a conversation for more than about thirty seconds anymore without reaching for a screen.

Not because they’re rude. Not because they don’t love us. Because their attention has been trained — by apps built by people much smarter than me, designed specifically to be more interesting than whatever else is happening in the room. Including me.

And I did the maths on that.

My 11-year-old is seven years from potentially moving out. My 8-year-old, ten. If their attention span keeps shrinking and mine keeps competing with a device that never runs out of content, what does our relationship actually look like by then? Do they tell me things? Do we know each other? Or do we just live in the same house, politely, until they leave?

I didn’t want a “no phones at the table” rule. Those don’t fix attention — they just make dinner feel like a punishment and make the phone more appealing the second it’s allowed back.

I wanted to make the table genuinely more interesting than the screen. Not by force. By actually being better.

So I made one.

And the baby? She’s got no idea what a screen is yet. I’ve got about four years to figure this out before it’s her turn.

What The Grub Deck Actually Is

52 cards. You put them on the table. Someone draws one, reads it out loud, and everyone plays along.

That's it. No setup, no scoring, no reading a rulebook for twenty minutes while the food goes cold.

Four card types, colour-coded so you know what you're getting:

🔵 QUESTION — Real conversation starters. Not "how was school." Actual questions that get actual answers.

🔴 DARE — Get silly. Get loud. Perform a 30-second talent show act. Commit to the bit.

🟢 MINI-GAME — Quick games the whole table can join in seconds. No equipment, no teams, no waiting.

🟡 WILD CARD — Anything can happen. Dad becomes the youngest child at the table. Everyone gives a genuine compliment. The rules bend.

Every card also has:
- A HOUSE RULE to stop the loopholes kids will absolutely find
- A DAD SAYS line — because someone at this table has to have opinions

Made By A Dad. For Families.

I'm not a game designer. I'm a dad who got tired of quiet dinners and did something about it.

Every card in this deck got tested at my own dinner table first. If it didn't get a laugh, a real answer, or an argument about the rules — it got cut. What's left is the 52 that actually worked on real kids who had every opportunity to think their dad was being cringe.

The dare cards got the biggest reactions. The question cards got the answers I wasn't expecting. The mini-games got my youngest, who can barely sit still, staying at the table for another twenty minutes.

I'm not trying to be dramatic, but my kids aren't going to be this small forever. One day they're going to want nothing to do with me — and I don't want it to be because we were all too busy staring at our phones, missing out on the small opportunities of genuine connection. 

It's a card game. It's not going to fix everything.

But it's something.

Why Kickstarter

I've done everything I can on my own so far — designed it, tested it, trademarked it, got the prototype made and held it in my hands.

The last piece is the production run, and that's what this campaign funds. Backing this doesn't just pre-order a deck; it's what gets the first 500 made.

Every backer gets it before it goes on general sale, at a price that won't exist again after this campaign ends.

What You're Getting

•  54 cards total — 13 Question, 13 Dare, 13 Mini-Game, 13 Wild Card, plus a Welcome card and a Rules card
• Premium 350gsm cardstock with matte lamination both sides and rounded corners - built to survive spaghetti night
• Rigid telescope box with matte finish - the kind that doesn't fall apart after a month
• Ages 8+, 2 or more players, 20–40 minutes -or as long as dinner lasts

Timeline

Campaign ends - 6 October 2026
Production begins - Immediately after funding clears
Manufacturing - 3 weeks
Shipping to Australia - 7-9 weeks by sea
Estimated delivery to backers - February 2027
 

I've built buffer into that estimate on purpose. I'd rather tell you a date I can hit than a date that sounds impressive.

One Last Thing

If you're reading this, you've probably had the quiet dinner too.

You don't need a card game to fix your family. But if something as small as 52 cards can get everyone at the table laughing and actually talking for twenty minutes — that seems worth $25.

Let's make dinner interesting again.

Back The Grub Deck →