Mushroom Mayhem started with a (theoretically) simple idea:

"Card games are fun. Mushrooms are fun. So why not combine the two?"

I wanted to create my own card game featuring real mushroom species, paired with fun facts and cute illustrations. Basically all the things I love working on. While finding game mechanics that were actually enjoyable took far more effort than expected, the project itself was always incredibly fun to make.

The first step came easily: designing little mushroom warriors, each with their own personality. The world of fungi is full of astonishing species, all wildly different and surprisingly adorable. I used photographs of real mushrooms as references and added small details to turn them into unique characters.

The very first version of Mushroom Mayhem looked quite different, though. Not every mushroom had a special ability, there were fewer characters overall, and I originally planned to include dice for extra randomness. During the first playtest, however, one thing became painfully clear: the game wasn’t fun. The balance was off, the rules were confusing, and it simply didn’t work. A sobering reminder that a first version is rarely the final one.

So I went back to the drawing board. Letting go of ideas is not my strong suit, and saying goodbye to the dice was especially hard. But simplifying the mechanics turned out to be the right decision. The game immediately became more enjoyable. I expanded the roster to 36 mushrooms and gave each one a special ability. The gameplay naturally evolved into something similar to a Quartett-style game, which also made the rules much easier to explain.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a natural game designer. But Mushroom Mayhem was a true passion project and that made it all the more rewarding when people started showing interest and sharing my love for these little “fun guys.”

The game is currently available in German, with an English version planned as the next step.