Utah family launches AI-built game studio with debut card game

Gotta Play Games, a Spanish Fork family studio founded by Brandon and Elena Camp and their eight children, is launching Skip the Salad as a physical card game, web game and mobile app. The company says AI helped the family build a full entertainment brand in months while creating work for their twin sons on the autism spectrum.

Why it matters: - Gotta Play Games is positioning AI as a tool for small businesses to build products that once required a much larger studio. - The launch also creates paid work and day-to-day roles for the Camp family’s twin sons, who are on the autism spectrum. - The company is tying the game studio to a broader employment challenge. Drexel University’s National Autism Indicators Report says about 58% of young adults on the autism spectrum hold a paying job in their early twenties.

What happened: - Brandon and Elena Camp and their eight children founded Gotta Play Games in Spanish Fork, Utah. - The studio launched its first title, Skip the Salad, on July 2, 2026. - The family built a professionally manufactured card game, native mobile apps, a web platform, original artwork, branding, packaging and a marketing campaign in about four months. - The family says the twin sons now contribute through game testing, design feedback, operations and content creation.

The details: - Skip the Salad is a trick-avoidance card game. Players try not to take tricks instead of collecting them. - A modular “topping” system changes the rules and makes each game feel different. - The game is designed for families and experienced card players alike. - Skip the Salad is available as a physical card game and free to play on the App Store, Google Play, where it is under review, and on the web. - The digital version includes an optional one-time unlock for additional rounds and toppings for $4.99. - The physical card game retails for $19.99. - Skip the Salad supports 3 to 8 players, ages 8 and up, and plays in about 30 minutes. - Brandon Camp said AI accelerated execution, software development, artwork production, marketing assets and creative iteration. - Brandon Camp said AI helped the family create work that did not exist before and build a company they could not have built otherwise. - Elena Camp said the family wanted to build an environment that could change what is possible for people. - Elena Camp said the goal was to create a family business that could help other families spend more meaningful time together.

Between the lines: - The launch is a practical example of AI reducing the need for separate teams in design, software, marketing and manufacturing for early-stage businesses. - The company’s model keeps creative direction, judgment and ownership inside the family while using AI to speed production. - The studio’s tagline, “Gather up. Game on.” reinforces an inclusive brand message aimed at players with different ways of thinking. - Brandon Camp framed the launch as an early example of AI changing entrepreneurship by helping small businesses build products that once required entire companies.

What’s next: - The Camp family plans to show Skip the Salad in person this summer at Provo Freedom Days from July 2-4 and Spanish Fork Fiesta Days from July 22-25. - Visitors will be able to meet the family, play the game and buy a copy at the booth. - Gotta Play Games says it will keep developing original card games, board games and digital experiences from its Spanish Fork base.

The bottom line: - Gotta Play Games is using AI to turn a family idea into a full game business, while creating hands-on work for children who might otherwise face limited job options.