The Brand Guidelines for
Sarah Bishop’s Tavern:
The Card Game
Tales from female tabletop gamers tell a story of feeling unwelcome and frustrated. Whether it’s a store clerk insisting you are shopping for a male in your life or having the rules to the game explained to you, again and again, women who play board games often feel the hobby is male-dominated. Sarah Bishop’s Tavern is a card game that revolves around women. It tells the story of the Salem Witch Trials, where the women of Salem, Massachusetts were called “witches” and sentenced to hang. But in this alternative history, witches are real. And they play board games.
The Real Story
Between March 1692 and May 1693 in Salem, Massachusetts twenty people were accused of being witches and were sentenced hang. Almost all the victims of the Salem Witch Trials were women. Some faced economic hardship while others were older women who had low social standings, which made them all easy targets.
In the 1700s taverns served multiple purposes for their towns. They could serve as boarding for travelers, or as a social bar for the locals (most of whom would be men), and at times would be used as a meeting house for the town to hold court in. Salem had a few secretive taverns that were not permitted by law, including the one run by Sarah Bishop and her husband out of their home. The neighbors hated the noise that would continue late into the night as patrons played cards and shuffleboard so they accused the Bishops of being witches. They were thrown into Salem jail and then moved to a prison in Boston where they managed to escape.
The Emblem
This emblem should be considered and used as a logo for the game. The emblem was inspired by the women’s embroidery which was a popular pastime. One element from each of the covens emblems plus Sarah Bishop’s initials incorporated into this emblem.
Typography
The typography was designed to resemble one of the first newspapers to be distributed in Britain. Published in 1665, The Oxford Gazette uses scale and rules for the majority of its type hierarchy. All text has adjusted tracking to mimic that of the older publications. There were little to no decorative elements add to the paper. The margins are large, and the leading was left wide to create the same white space. Text should be #000000, adjusting only the tint when citing. H1 and H2 headers should be center justified. The guide below includes suggested sizing for printed media.
Images
Images should be drawn to imitate 1600s illustrations, with densely hatched with a black pen. There should also be a The only oddity being to display the game.
Color Palette
The color palette reflects the natural muted tones that the women of Salem wore during the 1600s. Colorful dyes were expensive, and most of the people who lived in Salem were too poor to afford them.
Display of game pieces
To create this game, I researched many topics including game development, probability, life during the 1690s, the Salem Witch Trials, and Wicca. I also conducted play-testing to make sure the game was fun to play and the rules were easy to understand.
I wanted this game to feel like something that could have existed in the 1690s. I researched what life was like for the women of Salem and thought about the resources the witches would have to create this game. Most of the elements are made from wood, engraved using a laser printer and then stained with tea. The rule book is hand-stitched.
The game itself is helping tell its story. When you open the game, it appears to be empty. You have to remove the top tray to reveal the game underneath.
Wood, laser engraved with the coven seals.
