Introducing Bedtime Board Game, the Denver-based founders are nominated for the Colorado Biz Magazine’s 2023 Entrepreneurs of the Year award!
Before I became a mother, I sometimes daydreamed about what it would be like. In those visions, my child’s bedtime was the sweetest part of the day. Cute pajamas. Learning how to brush teeth with that sparkly blue toothpaste. Cherished bedtime stories and songs. Soft blankets enveloped whispers and snuggles that faded into sweet dreams.
Then I became a mother. And bedtime was… not that.
Bedtime was arguing about who would pick up toys. And a hundred delays on the way to pajamas. And tears about teeth brushing. And “Do I need to set a timer?” And “If you don’t get moving, we’re going to run out of time to read books.” By the time my 4-year-old daughter made it to bed, no one was whispering or feeling relaxed.
Then, a solution actually arrived in a box tied up with a bow. Bedtime Board Game was officially a gift for my preschool daughter. But, really, it was a gift for my husband and me.
It’s a simple and thoughtful game that allows kids to move cute animal characters around a colorful game board and earn gem rewards for completing real-world tasks like picking up toys, bathing, putting pajamas on and brushing their teeth. The game ends with the kids and their characters both getting tucked into bed.
In between the game board’s routine activities are Cloud Card Stops, where children draw from a deck of conversation topics and answer questions like, “Tell me something that made you laugh today?” or “What would you like to dream about tonight?” (The Cloud Cards are my favorite part. My whole family answers them, and it adds just a few moments of the daily connection I dreamed my child’s bedtime would hold.)
Part of what makes Bedtime Board Game so special is their heartfelt origin story. Denver couple Kelly Mason and Michael Bergman launched the game this year after creating a homemade version for their own son 17 years ago. They resurrected the concept to help the new generation of exhausted parents in their family and then began getting requests for the game from other parents in their circles.
Kelly is an attorney, and Michael spent most of his career in tech sales in Silicon Valley. Neither planned to start a children’s game company. But now that the opportunity has presented itself, they are loving the daily chance to be creative, play, and share their own parenting wisdom with today’s strong-willed children and loving (but weary!) caregivers.
It’s not just tired parents who are taking notice of Bedtime Board Game. A senior parenting editor from Good Housekeeping invited Kelly and Michael to submit the game for the magazine’s 2023 Toy Awards. It’s currently being reviewed by a panel of toy experts, parents and (of course!) kids. Good Housekeeping will reveal the award winners in October.
Bedtime Board Game debuted in Denver, so the company is proud to partner with the community at Mile High Mamas for a hometown game giveaway. (Just in time for kids to give dad the Father’s Day gift of more peaceful evenings!)
And, until Father’s Day, all Mile High Mamas readers are invited to get 20% off their Bedtime Board Game purchase using the code GIFT4DAD.
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