He’s a gamer! The Boise teacher was recognized for his invention

Eric Olsen has taught high school math in Idaho since 2011.

“Teaching comes naturally to me,” Olsen said. “And I love working with students.”

But more recently, Olsen discovered something else that comes naturally to him: making games.

The first game he developed, Glyphics, was released in 2022.

“I’ve played games my whole life. I love games – board games, dice games, any kind of game, I love them,” Olsen said. “But I never thought about making a game. Glyphics came about while I was sitting at a messy kitchen table… and something clicked. It just unleashed a flood of ideas that have probably been floating around in my head for 30 years.”

Olsen used a few random objects on this kitchen table to create an image. Then he asked his children to guess what he had done. And voila! A game was in the making and Olsen had a new passion.

Glyphics was a surprise success, hitting the shelves of Target and other retail stores.

Building on this success and the fact that Olsen had developed other new games, he and a friend founded a small company called Messy Table Games. Three games were launched via Messy Table Games.

But another game developed by Olsen – Flip 7 – caught the interest of Usaopoloy (or The Op), a larger gaming company. With its marketing expertise and strong brand presence, The Op Games has made Flip 7 a real presence in the gaming world.

In early November, Flip 7 was named a finalist for Game of the Year by the Toy Foundation. This Toy of the Year (TOTY) nomination pits Flip 7 against games from companies like Mattel and Hasbro.

Olsen said that in the gaming world, it was the equivalent of an Oscar nomination for best picture.

“It’s nice to be nominated,” Olsen said. “It’s surreal. You don’t expect something like that to happen.”

Olsen plans to attend Toy Fair 2025, which will be held in New York in February, where the winner will be announced.

Win or lose, Olsen said Flip 7 is already a success and he believes there are big things to come.

“It will be in Canada and Europe,” he said. “It’s amazing how much this thing exploded.”

Is it possible that gaming fans will see it on shelves at Target and Walmart next year?

“I really hope that will be the case,” he said. “I would like to see it next to Uno.”

In the meantime, Olsen continues to work as a teacher and educator. In addition to teaching math at Idaho Technical Career Academy, Olsen also takes on the role of principal at the virtual school. He has also taught several economic accounting courses at Boise State as an adjunct professor.

When speaking to students, whether at Boise State University or his high school, about his experiences in the gaming world, he said the lesson is about desire and persistence.

“It wasn’t so much about the game, but more about having an idea, learning from it and implementing it,” Olsen said. “I didn’t really know anything, but I started approaching people and asking them questions. This is my biggest lesson for my students and everyone else. … If you want to do something, you can probably figure it out and make it happen.”