BïGU ¡Dale la vuelta a las asombrosas plantas de Canarias!

Did you know that...?

The Canary Islands host more than half of the plant species that are native to Spain. 😮

BïGU brings together a selection of the most representative ones. Some grow on the land, others in the sea... and even others which came from abroad. BïGU has total 36 cards with drawings of these plants. You place them randomly, and the aim of this game is to find a pair using your memory. Shall we start?

Get to know and appreciate the natural richness of a unique environment with BïGU

With more than 14,000 wild species and some 4,000 marine species, the Canary Islands are one of the most biologically diverse places in the world. In addition, many of these species are endemic, meaning that they only occur naturally on these islands.

The aim of BïGU is to bring the richness of this biodiversity to the homes, not only of the Canary Islands, but of all the fans of this marvelous archipelago. A board game that helps you intuitively value this unique natural heritage, can also be very helpful for children in their intellectual development as well as their their perception of nature.

BïGU is suitable for 4+ years old, and can be played by simply differentiating the shapes of each plant, or by distinguishing between marine and terrestrial species with the help of their symbols and colours. You can increase difficulty depending on the profile and age of the players by introducing more and more specific information about the 18 species in the game. For example, whether they are endemic or introduced, or what their natural environment is.

How to play BïGU?

• BïGU is a board game designed to be played by 2 to 4 people or teams.

• Shuffle the cards and lay them out face down.

• In turn, each player flips over two cards face up so that everyone can see the drawings on the cards.

• If the cards don’t match, the player has to turn them face down again in the same position and give the turn to the next player.

• If the cards form a pair, the player can flip over two more cards and so on.

*The easiest way to play would be to lay out the cards in rows, the more difficult way to play would be to lay them out randomly.

*The cards have different colours and symbols, allowing you to easily differentiate terrestrial and endemic plants from the marine and introduced species.

If challenges are your thing, try saying the name of each plant as you find the match. Then look up the solution on the accompanying sheet (only in Spanish available).

But wait, because there's more...

A game that continues to challenge you online

Do you want to increase the challenge of BïGU? Then try exploring more about the plants by scanning the QR code on the back of the cards. You can learn the details of plants, getting to know their common names and botanical names, their environment, and the vegetation zones they grow. (This part exist actually only in Spanish language.)

Can you tell whether the Canary Island palm (Palmera canaria) grows in the bosque termófilo or in the cardonal-tabaibal zone? Have you ever wondered which region of the world the common prickly pear cactus (Tunera común) comes from? Activate the interactive part of BïGU and get extra points by choosing the zones where these species occur or where they come from.

Get these extra points and turn the game around!

How many points in total can you score in the game?

• 1 BïGU for each pair of cards collected

• 1 extra BïGU for each correctly marked vegetation zone

Why is BïGU a responsible game?

BïGU is responsible in its content, production and use. Its aim is to generate a responsible awareness of the natural environment from a very early age.

It is produced with long-lasting sustainable materials, such as wood and fabric. Developed with companies from the Canary Islands and manufactured by suppliers from mainland Spain, it is committed to an eco-design by using the minimum necessary resources.

BïGU is certified by the technological institute for children's products and leisure Aiju in accordance with Directive 2009/48/EC and standard on the safety of toys EN 71-1+2.

It is also educationally responsible. It can be played 100% analogically or with the digital part depending on the age of the players (online contents are recommended for 9+ years old), free of advertisements and the privacy of the players is protected.

Imagine a board game that can be passed on from generation to generation...

The story behind (who we are)

The story behind BïGU has been written by many hands. It all started many years ago during an excursion with friends in Tenerife. It was there that Isabel (BïGU's inventor) came up with the idea of creating a memory game about Canary plants. After several more excursions to pull up shrubs of crimson foutaingrass (rabo de gato), an invasive species in the Canary Islands, together with other people in spectacular places in La Gomera (Matorrisco collective), La Palma (SinRaboGato collective) and Tenerife (Desaplatánate association and ATAN), the idea of doing something to promote the biodiversity of the islands reached the list of priorities of Isabel’s little company Taller de Futuro, which is part of the business community of the World Biosphere Reserve La Palma "[Empresa Amiga Reserva Mundial de la Biosfera La Palma]" (https://lapalmabiosfera.es/empresas-amigas/).

Thanks to the Canary biodiversity database Biota and Exos, and the exchange with experts on Canary flora from the Biosphere Reserve La Palma and further biologists, we chose 18 examples of representative plants from each vegetation zone (terrestrial/marine, endemic/introduced). And "choosing just 18 from among the thousands of species that make up the great biodiversity of the Canary Islands was not an easy task", according to Isabel.

Creation of this game would not have been possible without the work of this tremendous team:

Sara Berruezo, from Gran Canaria, joined the project to breathe graphic life into the game. The project lives from her great commitment and experience in children's work. Its design is creative, childlike and sustainable.

The digital part has been made by David González, from Tenerife. A web and application designer and developer to whom we are very grateful for his commitment to the interactive part of the game and his unlimited patience.

The name BïGU and these lines have been written by Alejandro Fernández, a creative copywriter and publicist based in Gran Canaria.

The heart of the project, the handmade production of the cards, we owe to Marta and Jorge from Fizz Ideas in Castilla La Mancha. We trust 100% in their experience and quality work of screen printing the wooden cards.

Last but not least, the appreciated Karo Rösner (video editing), the beloved Jezabel Mejías and Karolina Bazydlo (camera) are voluntarily part of this great team. Likewise their adorable protagonists: Daniella (pre-campaign video) as well as Matilde, Leila and Aurelio Acevedo (photos/videos). And of course, Valentina for contributing her wonderful voice to the videos. A big thank you to all their parents.

We also like to thank the various photographers from Gran Canaria, La Palma, La Gomera and Tenerife for allowing us to use their photos of the plants in the digital part.

Thank you very much to all contributors for making the creation of BïGU possible.

What will the contributions be used for?

The money raised will be used entirely to materialise the idea of this game, investing in the future of the biodiversity of the Canary Islands with the production of the first 500 games.

In addition, we collect altruistic contributions in order to donate BïGU games to municipal libraries and the educational activities of Red Cross throughout the Canary Islands. We want to facilitate the access to this educational game for all interested people and its responsible use in order to be able to borrow it instead of owning it.

Why pick-up points?

In order to contribute to responsible consumption and reduce the ecological footprint of this game, we organise central pick-up points in all the Canary Islands. We recommend you to pick up your game there. For the same reason we do not ship games outside of Spain.

Pick-up points

Fuerteventura: Galería de Recuerdos (Antigua)

Gran Canaria: Kiss the world (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria)

Lanzarote: Biomeco (San Bartolomé), Emporio Canario (La Santa)

La Gomera: Librería Junonia (San Sebastián de La Gomera)

La Palma: Librería La Trasera (Santa Cruz de La Palma), Tienda de ISONORTE (Los Llanos de Aridane)

Tenerife: DAGOBAH COMICS (La Laguna), BIOPOMPAS (Puerto de la Cruz)

Planned calendar

The artisanal production of 18,000 cards for 500 games in mainland Spain needs 1 month from the closing of the campaign (mid-June 2021) plus 2 weeks to arrive in the Canary Islands, pack and distribute them to the pick-up points or send the game to your home. We expect the games to arrive at the end of July/beginning of August on your tables.

+ Infos

About BïGU & TALLER DE FUTURO

• web Taller de Futuro

• Instagram Taller de Futuro

• Facebook BïGU

References of the content

• database BIOTA

• database EXOS

• Guía de Biodiversidad Marina de Canarias, F. Espino, A. Boyra, C. Fernández-Gil, F. Tuya

Groups & associations with activities protecting/maintaining the Canary biodiversity

• Asociación Abeque (Tenerife)

• ACBC, Asociación para la Conservación de la Biodiversidad Canaria

• Asociación La Palma Isla Azul

• ATAN, Asociación Tinerfeña Amigos de la Naturaleza

• BenMagec-Ecologistas en acción

• Desaplatánate (Tenerife)

• Matorrisco (La Gomera)

• SinRabogato La Palma