Get Involved: Fuel Your Passion

Success Story: Terrance Thomas and Forbidden Plates

Terrance Thomas, creator of the innovative game “Forbidden Plates” and LEC Startup Challenge participant, has a unique journey that began during the pandemic lockdown.

The Inspiration

“What inspired me to start Forbidden Plates was license plate letters and missing my friends during the pandemic lockdown. I would always look at license plate letters of cars around me and come up with random words. One day, I thought, ‘If I base it off a topic, this could be a game.’ So, I based it around how my friends would enjoy that type of game.”

Prototyping and Testing

“It was mainly based on the input device. Probably about four times, I had to come up with a new version. My first Minimum Viable Product was sticky notes, which was popular, but instead of a deck of cards, I used sticky notes for my game. I had a point card with three-letter acronyms and a topic card. From there, the sticky notes turned into basic blank cards, then dry erase index cards and markers, and eventually LCD writing tablets.”

The Breakthrough

“I believe my nieces, or someone had an LCD writing tablet, but it was for kids and too big. I thought it would be cool if they had this in a smaller size. I did a bunch of searching and found one that’s like the perfect size for the game. This is my second one; the first one had a bunch of issues, but I learned to talk with the supplier, and the second iteration of the tablet hasn’t had any issues.”

Lubar Entrepreneurship Center Support

“I was just in the student union for lunch, and I came across one of the LEC [Lubar Entrepreneurship Center] staff members who had a setup advertising the Startup Challenge. I was really excited and then that’s how I kind of joined. It was the beginning, actually. So, it really kind of shaped everything. It was like the foundation. I was part of the Expo [Annual UWM Innovators Expo], and my idea was still a good one, but it was too big and broad.”

Overcoming Challenges

“Kyle Jansson [UWM Prototyping Center Director] connected me with Jane, who creates kid products for a living. She looked over both my game and other similar ones and said it’s different enough and targets a different audience. She helped me understand the card game market and the different routes I could take – either doing it myself, which is a longer and harder process, or creating a prototype and pitching it to game-making companies.”

Current Success

“The game does have drinking game rules too, which are optional. It’s been a journey, but I’m happy with where it is now. The LEC was really good for me. Before I came back to school, I was working a job and just kind of jotting down ideas in a notebook. But when I started school at UWM and joined the Startup Challenge, I learned all the basics, especially that first year.”