Meet the Creator

It started with a bored 9-year-old and a stack of old card games.

Sam Meldrum was sitting at home, staring at his card games, and thinking: there has to be something better than this.

So instead of waiting for someone else to make it, he made his own.

He was 9 years old. That makes him Australia’s youngest-ever card game creator.

Sam imagined a world of mythical Dragons, daring Knights, fearless Queens, cunning Thieves, and mysterious Oracles. A world where strategy and luck collide, and where a single card can change everything.

Then he spent months making it real. Testing. Tweaking. Playing round after round with his family (who gave feedback that was sometimes helpful, and sometimes... not). His school friends became the ultimate playtest group, battling it out at lunch. Neighbourhood families piled in too, adding their ideas to the mix.

But there’s more to this story than a kid with a good idea. 

Sam is autistic. And for him, creating Dragon Odyssey wasn’t just about designing a great game. It was about building a bridge.

A way to connect with the people around him. A shared experience where everyone sits down together, plays by the same rules, and has fun — no matter who they are or how their brain works.

When families tell us their kids are laughing together over Dragon Odyssey, or that it’s become their Friday night ritual, or that it’s the one game everyone in the house actually wants to play — that’s exactly what Sam set out to create. Connection through play.

And families are loving it.

The first print run of 1,000 copies? Sold out.

Dragon Odyssey has been featured at the Australian Toy Fair 2026, and families across Australia are making it part of their game nights.