Thursday, 28 March 2024


Miracle in a Box - A Trivia Board Game

The dice hit the board with a bang. The player to my right picked up the card and read “What team did the US defeat to win the gold medal in 1980?” I thought for a moment, then answered “Sweden.” With a grin of satisfaction, he bellowed “wrong, try again.” My “Miracle in a Box” was working. My project is a board game, modeled on trivia and includes the events of the famous hockey game between the US and the USSR.

My “Miracle in a Box” board game is designed to enable players to relive the excitement created by the United States Olympic Hockey Team’s victory in 1980. It provided me with a creative opportunity to portray the significant events of the ‘Miracle on Ice.’ It gave me a chance to utilize my research and design skills to create a unique piece that was both information and entertaining.

During the five months that I worked on this game, I learned several important lessons. They are:

- Sports can have a positive impact on life;
- The significance of the Olympic Movement;
- The genius of Coach Herb Brooks and his respect for the game;
- The importance of character development in Coach Brooks’s strategy;
- The importance of creativity in designing the miracle that brought America together.





















When I began this project I never dreamed that I would learn as much as I did about creativity, leadership, perspective, and goal setting. All of these were central to what is commonly referred to as the “Miracle on Ice.”

Perspective - I will try to incorporate this into my life by gaining a perspective and insight into any project I begin.

Creativity - This is important because I don’t think that we can grow as individuals if we don’t have the freedom to experiment and find out how creative we can be.

Leadership - I think that this is an important lesson to learn on both sides; how to be a good leader and how to recognize a good leader. At this stage in our lives we will be behind leaders before we grow to be leaders. Leading a group to the unknown and pushing for the same goal, is what makes a leader.

Goal Setting - Setting the bar high forces you to push harder and reach beyond those goals to achieve the unattainable. “If you don’t have goals you are going to be used by people who have them,” said Herb Brooks.