CBU alum working to turn capstone project into reality
Museum Mixup is a card game that is similar to games such as Cards Against Humanity and Ransom Notes, Hill said. In Museum Mixup, players land a job at an art history museum when tragedy strikes. The head curator loses the event registry and all the name plaques along with it. It’s up to players to recall the titles of these pieces.
Hill produced the first prototype of Museum Mixup during her spring 2025 capstone course taught by Dirk Dallas, dean of CAVAD. During this course, students create a project of their choice with parameters such as a required number of deliverables, inclusion of a physical element and a product “launch.” The project has to be completed within a few months.
Hill grew up with a love for art history and had long desired to create a board game, so merging the two felt natural. She began conducting research to understand exactly how board game creation works.
“As someone who loves learning and problem-solving, I really enjoyed this process. I knew it was a large undertaking and that it would be hard to do in the span of a few months, but with persistence and many long nights, it all got done,” Hill said.
One of the biggest challenges was working with manufacturers to make Hill’s vision come to life.
“It was a balance between cost and quality of materials, ensuring everything was printed how I wanted it,” Hill said. “It took hundreds of emails and lots of revisions, but I learned a lot throughout the process.”
While in the capstone course, Hill received guidance from both Dallas and her mentor, Anne Sowers (’24).
“I critiqued her drafts, which improved every time,” Sowers said. “I created a board game in one of my classes, which is why she asked me to be her mentor, but she took hers to the next level.”
Toward the end of the semester, Hill held a playtest event where eight participants consisting of classmates, friends and Hill’s husband, Alex, tested out the game. During this, she gleaned feedback on the mechanics of Museum Mixup. She made a few small, but vital changes, including swapping out a few artwork images and changing some of the rules.
CAVAD’s 2025 Spring Show gave Hill the opportunity to showcase Museum Mixup to an even larger audience.
“At this event, Dean Dallas awarded a few seniors with Outstanding Capstone awards, and I was honored to be one of those few!” Hill said.
"Museum Mixup was far more than a clever idea,” Dallas said. “It was thoughtfully researched, strategically developed, beautifully crafted and intentionally designed to bring people together around art in a way that felt fun, fresh and genuinely educational.”
Along with the award, she received a gift of $300 to use toward the game’s production. Hill originally purchased five physical prototypes of the game to use for her capstone project. She gave one to Dallas and another to Sowers following the presentation. She used the award money to create an updated prototype of the game as she continues preparations for a Kickstarter launch on May 1.
This preparation process has included diving further into best practices for marketing the game, as well as creating add-ons like expansion packs, stickers, enamel pins and art prints.
Hill looks forward to bringing what was once a class assignment to a worldwide audience. She hopes to release Museum Mixup to the public in January 2027.
“I hope that Museum Mixup inspires a love and appreciation for art history in everyone who plays it,” Hill said. “In addition, my hope is that it encourages people and their families to slow down and enjoy intentional time together. I want this game to cultivate a love for art and a longing for connection.”