Lee Carnihan – otherwise known as Mr C – is the inventor of ‘gloriously inappropriate’ card game Not Safe Four Words. Here, Lee explains how finding the right words was not as easy as first thought!
Who are you and what do you do?
I’m Mr C – no, not the house music DJ, producer, rapper and frontman for The Shamen in the 1990s – the other Mr C, as in me, Lee Carnihan, but all my friends just call me Mr C. I’m a digital product designer / manager / marketer, but I wonder if that sounds a bit vanilla. I’m just a creative and curious person. I invent things. I write and illustrate children’s stories (The Fire and The Fox). I invent games and Not Safe Four Words is my commercial debut.
Are you Norwich born and raised? What do you love about living and/or working in the city?
I’m from the West Country originally, which is a lot like Norfolk and Norwich, but with hills. I moved here 14 years ago when we had children. My wife is from Norwich, born and bred, so it was the natural choice for us. Norwich is probably one of the best places I’ve lived because I find the people here to be friendly and supportive and creative. There’s a lot going on here and it isn’t all happening at a hundred miles an hour either. There’s time to breathe here and live life at a more enjoyable pace. The history of the place is fascinating, and the arts, culture and creative scene is first class. This city has everything. Green spaces. Walkable streets. Good culture. It’s a very liveable city. That the beach, Broads and seals are only 30-minutes’ drive is awesome too, although I always have to remember to take a coat. The North Sea wind still catches me out from time to time. That’s how people know I’m not a born and bred local. I haven’t toughened up enough yet!
When did you first have the idea for Not Safe Four Words and what’s the thinking behind it?
It came to me about a year ago. I listen to a podcast called Three Bean Salad. I love it. It’s full of amusing and slightly obscure but very observational anecdotes and a handful of middle-aged dad references. Each episode is about a different topic a listener has sent in and the three guys wax lyrical about it. I noticed how often they came up with short, funny phrases, sometimes rude, sometimes not. Like “sexy monk” for example, and the “Flightless Bird Zone” and “Beef Cake Journey” and the “Sean Bean Lounge”. I wrote them all down. After a while I started to think about how they could turn that into a game. Making phrases by connecting them to other words. It was just a daydream at first. Something I enjoy doing. After about six months of daydreaming, I decided enough was enough and bought some blank playing cards and wrote a lot of rude words on them in a vain attempt to mimic what the Beans were doing. It snowballed from there.
Was it easy coming up with the words to include?
Yes, at first. English has a lot of rude words thankfully. But then, it got harder. I needed to pair those words with other normal words. But to make it enjoyable, each word needed to pair with at least two or three other words. Otherwise, it got boring. You’d be waiting forever for the one word to come along. So, I had to mix and match a lot or words to make sure they all went with a lot of other words in the deck. It’s a bit like Lego in that respect, there are a lot of combinations so you can be really creative, which adds to the anticipation and excitement – you never quite know which word will come up and if you ca use it or not – but it’s definitely not for children!
What do you do when you’re not creating inappropriate card games?
I play dad taxi for my kids and feed the cats and birds (but not to each other). I read a lot too. Non-fiction mainly and I try to catch up with my mates whenever I can. Nothing too unusual, or at least nothing I’m prepared to admit to online!
How have you funded the game and how has the game been received so far?
I started a crowd funder campaign and posted about it on social media. It was a bit of a punt to be honest. I had no idea if anyone would support it, but it turns out that a lot of people like swearing and rude words! I raised enough to get it made and now it’s being delivered to
people across the country. I still can’t believe it. From a daydream a year ago to a real-life thing you can hold in your hands.
Where can people get hold of it/find out more?
You can find out more and buy the game on the official website: notsafefourwords.com and use the voucher code FOLKFREE to get free shipping. You can post your winning phrases on Instagram too and tag me: instagram.com/not_safe_four_words
What’s next? Do you have another card game up your sleeve?
I do. I started daydreaming again! I’ve got another idea for a different card game but first I will create the expansion packs for Not Safe Four Words. There are lots of new words out there that will make the game even more enjoyable for everyone (well, maybe not everyone…). That’s the beauty of language, I guess. It evolves and changes and I’d like the game to reflect that.
Visit notsafefourwords.com and use the voucher code FOLKFREE to get free shipping
Featured images – supplied
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