With COVID-19 taking its toll across the world at the start of the year, Jermaine Slater began to do his research on how businesses were affected and those that were still operating. In doing so, Slater noticed that the sales for card games and board games were growing. It was not very long after that he came up with an idea for Jus Drink.
However, the game was not his doing alone as he mentioned the others who had a hand in its creation. Among them are his wife, Anesa; daughter, Janessa; graphics artist Kareem Thomas, who is responsible for the logo of the game; and his brother, Shamar Blackman, who also made the game a success through his critiques.
Jus Drink was launched on August 8th through his company, Slater’s Gaming Inc., which has since seen immense interest.
Slater shared that game was put for sale on the local market two days after it was launched on Monday, August 10th. Within a matter of two and a half weeks, only six of the one hundred games that were created were left.
He describes Jus Drink as a game that features Guyana’s history, riddles, as well as sound effects used in Guyanese terms.
“To begin the game, all players must race to drink a glass of their own beverage. Whoever wins gets to pick a card first and question the person on their right. The other players proceed in the same direction. Each person gets six seconds and one chance to answer. Failing to answer on time, the loser must drink…The person who wins the most rounds, wins the game.”
The game comes with ninety question cards, a rule card and a timer. Jus Drink, Slater said, was scheduled to be launched earlier but the importing of the game’s timers, which were manufactured overseas, saw a delay in shipping of almost a month.
Presently, Slater’s Gaming Inc. is currently awaiting another shipment. Eleven boxes of the board game were also sent abroad. The international market for the game, Slater said, is also expanding.
The businessman said that since the launching of the game, the feedback has been great. He noted that he was initially fearful that the game may not be a success but that has definitely changed.
A spin-off of the Jus Drink game will be a sports edition, featuring popular games played locally and internationally. In addition, the company is looking to create some educational board games. “We are also looking to rollout educational games for children. We are looking to create games that will keep children active in the various subject areas,” Slater explained.
Slater said he hopes that his gaming company will last a lifetime and hopes to create games that are meaningful to people all the while making a household name for himself locally and internationally.
Slater is also the owner and operator of tutoring service called ‘Tutors On Call’. This business, he said, has contracted qualified teachers to tutor children. Prior to the pandemic, these teachers would tutor children in a physical setting but since the pandemic, they have adapted to online teaching.
Tutors On Call provides one-on-one services as well as group sessions. Currently there are thirty-five children that are enrolled in the company’s online programme, which caters to children ranging from ages 6 to 11. For children in secondary school, only one-on-one sessions are provided. Slater noted that he intends to use the skills of these same teachers to create the educational board games. The educational board games are set to hit the local market by September month-end. All that’s left to do now, Slater had said, was to find titles for the games and set a date for them to be launched.
Meanwhile, with his tutoring company, he is currently working on getting accreditation for online teaching as the reopening of schools has been delayed. Classes provided at the primary level cater for all four core subjects while at the secondary level, they have teachers for Mathematics, English Language, Social Studies, Integrated Science, Physics, Principles of Business, Principles of Accounts, EDPM (Electronic Document Preparation and Management), Spanish and French.
