Babafemi Fagbemi is the founder of One Chance Game, an educative and fun platform bent on changing the narrative. In this interview with REBECCA EJIFOMA, he revealed how he is using the platform to arm people with financial literacy tools while they are also having fun and making money. In the long run, it helps people make smarter decisions from their experiences after playing the game
What is the motivation for inventing the One Chance Game?
I am Babafemi Fagbemi and I am Nigerian and proud. Nigeria is truly a very special place, some of the things that take place here can’t happen anywhere in the world. We have communal joy and pain. I had the idea to create a game that reflects the true Nigerian experience – our shared joy and pain, turned into purpose. Something that feels like home, after all there’s really no place like home. There is hardly anyone who lives either in Lagos or any of the big cities that has not had One Chance experience and it doesn’t have to be a car robbery scenario but all our experiences both good and bad.
So, I felt why not recreate these experiences and see how we can entertain ourselves with it and most importantly learn life lessons from them. OneChance game is about the lessons, reinventing our minds and thinking about how we can change our negative stories for the better.
Do you have a One Chance story in Lagos and could this have motivated you?
One chance can happen anywhere, not only in Nigeria or Lagos. So even If you’re outside Nigeria better be on guard. One Chance is when you enter into a situation that only God can save you from. Yes, I have had a few one chance encounters in Lagos; I remember my phone getting stolen in computer village when I went to try and upgrade it, it wasn’t a funny day.
And then there are friends and relatives who have had very terrible and funny experiences. We recently had a Twitter Space conversation where many Nigerians shared their experiences, from car robberies to a newly arrived in Lagos who got scammed. There was even a tailor who nearly ruined a wedding because he did not make the groom’s suit on time, the day was saved because the groom is a ‘wiseguy”.
But from the discussions, you find that there were different layers of response to a one chance situation and that is what this game completely encapsulates, I believe from all experiences, we should come out better, those are the things we want people to learn when playing our game.
How long did this project take you to complete?
This project has been a labour of love, there was no concept of time when we started creating this game. Our goal was to create a game that Nigerians anywhere in the world can fall in love with and feel like they belong, while telling our true story – However it’s been over two years since I had the idea and started working on it. I’m pleased because after all this time and resources spent, the quality of work does speak for itself.
We did not leave any stone unturned in creating a genuine and complete experience in this game, we had the best brains putting it all together and you can see in the accolades the game has received since we launched online on March 3.
Could you tell the main features of the game?
In this game you must pass JAMB, Yes JAMB. I love seeing everyone’s reaction when they find out, it always brings back memories. There’s also traffic in the game, when you enter traffic, you will be stuck while everyone is moving. There’s Ajo (contribution) and even Tax in the game. As you play you earn Salary which you can chose to invest in the bank or market.
Then there’s One Chance which can either be good or bad for example you can win N1,000,000 or you can find out your land papers are fake. There are a lot of other parts to the game but you have to get yours to truly experience. So like I said it is a complete experience, this is what we go through daily and in our career, however, in the game, you can make mistakes and learn from them using the knowledge to improve your decision making in real life. Everyone who has played it loves it.
What lessons or messages are you trying to pass across with this?
One Chance is equally as educative as it is fun. I hope we can arm people with financial literacy tools while they are also having fun and making money. It mimics our real-life experiences and I hope people make smarter decisions from their experiences after playing.
There are financial and life lessons I learnt from my parents while growing up. Experiences like what and when to invest. I took some and discarded others, to my regrets really. But I want to pass on the same lessons to people especially those who are just making their way up in life.
It seems this game addresses Lagos only, was that deliberate and are you looking at adding other cities in future?
Lagos is the most popular state in Nigeria and the entertainment hub of the country, we thought it wise to start from Lagos because a lot of Nigerians have been to Lagos at one point or the other and the shared experiences will be similar. However, our One Chance Bus will be visiting other parts of Nigeria soon so look forward to future editions and hopefully even other countries – after all, Africa is one big village where our experiences are similar.
What do you plan for this game, are we looking at an upgrade anytime soon?
We are in the very early stages and honestly need every support we can get to build this brand into a global superpower that represents Nigeria positively, however I would like to think that the sky is the limit. We can see so many endless possibilities in our future, however we need helping hands to get there.
Where can people get this game and is it available outside Lagos?
Currently this game is only available via Pre-order, if you visit our website www.onechancegame.com you will be able to place your own order for your own copy between now and 24th of March. Doorstep delivery is free and will begin April first – April 14th to Nigeria, UK, USA and CANADA. However, we would love to be in popular retail outlets across Nigeria and the world as well and we are working towards that effect. I would like to end by saying thank you;
Thank you to my mom, whom without her support this project would not have been possible. I want to thank my siblings and my late dad as well for arming me with the tool to dream of a world where any dream is possible. I want to thank my teammates who listened to my crazy idea and decided to follow me on this crazy journey.
Lastly, I want to thank you for reading this piece and supporting us as we begin this journey. You are the most integral part of our story from this point on and we look forward to hearing your experiences with our game, and having you become a passenger. You can visit @onechancegame on Instagram to find out more and contact me here – babafemi@onehcancegame.com
Quote“I hope we can arm people with financial literacy tools while they are also having fun and making money. It mimics our real-life experiences and I hope people make smarter decisions from their experiences after playing”
