‘Betcha Can’t’ believe it: Alpine teenager develops game sold nationwide
Lily Brown, 13, poses for a portrait with the card game she helped co-create, "Betcha Can’t," on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020, at her family’s home in Alpine. Brown, a seventh grader at Timberline Middle School, co-created the game with twelve-year-old Tait Hansen, who’s living in Evanston, Illinois, and the game is currently being sold at Target stores nationwide. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald
Various cards from the card game "Betcha Can’t" are displayed Monday, Feb. 24, 2020, at the Brown family’s home in Alpine. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald
Lily Brown, 13, poses for a portrait with the card game she helped co-create, "Betcha Can’t," on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020, at her family’s home in Alpine. Brown, a seventh grader at Timberline Middle School, co-created the game with twelve-year-old Tait Hansen, who’s living in Evanston, Illinois, and the game is currently being sold at Target stores nationwide. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald
Various cards and the timer from the card game "Betcha Can’t" are displayed Monday, Feb. 24, 2020, at the Brown family’s home in Alpine. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald
The card game "Betcha Can’t" is displayed Monday, Feb. 24, 2020, at the brown family’s home in Alpine. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald
Lily Brown, 13, poses with her award from the Young Inventor Challenge on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020, at her family’s home in Alpine. Brown, a seventh grader at Timberline Middle School, co-created "Betcha Can’t" with twelve-year-old Tait Hansen, who’s living in Evanston, Illinois, and the card game is currently being sold at Target stores nationwide. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald
The timer from the card game "Betcha Can’t" is displayed Monday, Feb. 24, 2020, at the Brown family’s home in Alpine. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald
At 13 years old, an Alpine middle school student is breaking into the game industry with her debut exclusive at Target locations nationwide.
Lily Brown was 8 years old when she and her friend, now 12-year-old Tait Hansen, created the “Betcha Can’t” card game. The idea leapt from the mind of two girls living in Chicago and evolved into something more when Brown and Hansen saw an opportunity to compete in the Chicago Toy and Game Fair Young Inventors Challenge.
“We wanted to come up with a new idea, and then we remembered the game we created so long ago,” she said. “So then we decided, ‘let’s just build on that one.'”
The original concept was made with materials collected from around Brown’s house and involved an intricate board. The girls played it a handful of times before leaving it behind and almost forgetting about it completely. With the potential to introduce their game to the public, Brown and Hansen wanted to make some improvements.
When Brown was 11 years old, the pair entered the young inventors challenge with 300 other inventors, taking home the top prize, scholarship money and the opportunity to have their game professionally produced and sold as a Target exclusive, which sponsored the event.
Brown said the pair’s outgoing nature might have been one of the determining factors in their win.
“We were very confident that we were going to win,” she said. “I think they (the judges) appreciated that because the other (inventors) were super shy.”
As the game’s original creators, Brown and Hansen worked with marketing and development professionals to further evolve their concept.
Brown said one of the biggest lessons she learned was compromise.
“Making a new game can be really hard, especially when working with a big company,” she said. “They have an idea of what they want your game to be like, and you think your game is perfect already. Sometimes I didn’t approve of it (changes), but now it’s the best game it can be.”
Brown’s father said it was inspiring to watch his daughter collaborate with a friend and business partner her age with an over 1,400-mile distance between them. The communication and teamwork skills Brown was able to develop as a result of the partnership have been essential in their continued success.
Being the creator and consumer of the game, Brown said her favorite aspect of the experience is how different it is from others.
“There’s not very many new game ideas out today,” she said. “A lot of the games are similar, but I feel like our game that we made is a lot different from the other games.”
“Betcha Can’t” is a party game that takes 30 minutes or more to play, according to the Target website. Players sit in a circle before one person pulls a card with a prompt on it. Depending on the prompt, the players then take turns saying how many of the objects they can name off the top of their head within a certain time restraint.
If the person who pulled the card believes the player with the highest number lied about the amount they gave, they can say “Betcha Can’t” and the player has to prove it. If the player can name the amount of objects they said they could in the beginning, they earn the card. If they can’t, the player loses a card they have already collected.
It’s essentially a game of “bets and brags,” where players attempt to be the first to collect five cards to win the title of the “Better Bettor.”
Brown’s father said her aptitude for game design is in her genes. While living in Chicago, Brown’s family owned a game shop.
“During the time we owned those stores, she just grew up with games in our house because I was constantly bringing games in to try and test,” he said. “She learned a lot about what makes a great game.”
For other aspiring inventors, Brown has just one piece of advice: Create something you would buy.
“Start with a random idea and build on it,” Brown said.
Brown is the oldest of four children living in Alpine and attending seventh grade Timberline Middle School. After living in Chicago for almost 10 years, the family moved back to Utah in recent years. The 13-year-old Alpine student spends were free time brainstorming new inventions as well as playing lacrosse, soccer and basketball.
She has a handful of ideas she hopes to make a reality in the coming years but nothing she’s ready to announce just yet.
Betcha Can’t is currently being sold exclusively at Target and made its debut in January.
