Mountain Moves Board Game

Overview.
Mountain Moves is an educational board game created for West Virginia Tourism to help students explore careers, destinations, and opportunities across the state. Through colorful illustration and an approachable game system, players move across West Virginia while learning about the people, places, and possibilities found along the way.

Project.
Working with DeepLocal, I developed the visual world of Mountain Moves from the ground up, including the illustrated game board, card system, icons, packaging, rules, and early custom game-piece concepts. The final game was produced in a small run specifically for use in West Virginia schools.

Team.
Illustration + Design – Kelly Nichols
Agency – DeepLocal
Client – West Virginia Tourism

A colorful board game called 'Mountain Moves' set outdoors on a grassy field, with game pieces, a rule book, and a careers card pack, featuring illustrations of nature and adventure.

Mountain Moves was created as an educational game for West Virginia schools, introducing students to tourism careers, destinations, and opportunities throughout the state. The goal was to turn career exploration into something playful, approachable, and distinctly rooted in West Virginia.

Two illustrated maps of a park or nature trail with various landmarks and paths, one with hand-drawn notes and the other detailed with icons, trees, water features, bridges, buildings, and labeled points of interest. The maps are formatted as winding

Working from the game structure, I began by mapping the journey across the board and finding ways to weave West Virginia landmarks into the path. The initial sketch evolved into a more structured wireframe, establishing the layout and hierarchy before moving into color and illustration.

Educational infographic about a visual system for learning about careers, destinations, and concepts. It shows different categories: 'Careers' with icons of tools and checklist, 'Bump in the Road' with a warning symbol and car, 'Trivia' with a light

From there, I built a visual system that could carry across the entire game. Color-coded card families, illustrated destinations, career icons, and recurring symbols help players quickly understand each part of the experience while keeping everything connected to the same playful world.

A colorful board game path with various landmarks, roads, bridges, parks, and natural features like lakes and waterfalls, leading to an end point, with labeled sections such as Harper Ferry National Historical Park, Blackwater Falls State Park, and S
Close-up of colorful cards on a board, featuring sections titled 'Card Deck' and 'Careers,' with icons and text related to travel, nature, and trivia games.
Illustrated open rule book for a journey game, with scenic outdoor background including mountains, trees, clouds, and a river. It features sections titled 'Your Adventure Begins Here' and 'Your Journey Starts Here' with colorful graphics of a bird an

Once the visual system was established, it extended across the board, card decks, rule book, and packaging. Each piece was designed to feel like part of one cohesive game while keeping the information clear and easy to navigate.

Two adventure board game boxes titled "Mountain Moves" with mountain and nature illustrations, including trees, lakes, and animals, designed for 2-6 players, promoting outdoor exploration and personal growth.
Close-up of a colorful board game with game pieces, dice, and a section labeled 'Green Bank Observatory' at Blackwater Falls State Park.

The finished game brings West Virginia’s landscapes, landmarks, and tourism careers together into a colorful, hands-on experience. Mountain Moves was produced in a small run specifically for West Virginia schools, turning the fully illustrated system into a real game students could play and explore.

Close-up of a colorful board game box with the title "A Game of Adventure & Opportunities" and game cards featuring various illustrations and colors.
A set of six color-coded care cards, including red, yellow, green, blue, purple, and gray, each with icons related to healthcare and caregiving.
Close-up of colorful cards from a board game, featuring the Golden Gate Bridge, buildings, and scenery of Charleston, with some text and icons visible.
A hand holding four colorful cards with icons related to careers against a green background.
Six illustrated Mountain Moves career cards featuring a social media marketer, chef, park ranger, event planner, museum curator, and hotel manager.
Close-up of a player moving a game piece along the illustrated Mountain Moves board through West Virginia destinations.
Mountain Moves thank-you graphic featuring a raft on the river beneath West Virginia’s New River Gorge Bridge.