Marine Creates Kids’ Fitness Game After Toys for Tots Assignment

Timothy Gick admits he wasn’t excited about helping with Toys for Tots in 2022. The Marine reservist already had plenty to do while activated in the San Francisco Bay Area, and a trip to the toy warehouse meant more work. Once he got there, though, he began looking through the donations and wondering what he might make for kids himself.

“I hadn’t been around toys in years,” Gick told Military.com.

The result was Mission Match, a game product line from his company Adigeni LLC, under the brand Not A Very Good Teacher. The fitness-focused project, Mission Match: Hyperion, was tested as a prototype at the Quantico Youth Center on Aug. 14.

Gick is using feedback from the prototype test to improve the game, which is designed to incorporate exercise into play. Military families have been among the early participants.

Turning Exercise Into Play

According to materials supplied by the company, Hyperion uses illustrated “Power-Up” cards to guide children through exercises such as push-ups and burpees, with three difficulty levels.

Although the company’s initial publicity described the Quantico event as a launch, Gick characterized it as a prototype test. Development continued afterward, including plans to split the concept into two products suited to different age groups.

For first- and second-graders, he said, the emphasis should be on learning the fundamentals of movement. Older elementary school students could handle more involved challenges and greater emphasis on exercise performance.

Gick said movement is a key part of his approach to game design. Mission Match combines memory-based play with physical activity, allowing children to move before returning to the game.

The products also fall under what Gick calls Pathfinder Games: organized events that pair card play with activities offered by participating organizations.

At one elementary school event in Fairfax County, Virginia, he said children rotated among Mission Match, drone activities and 3D printing. Other events have emphasized leadership or fitness.

The game includes service-themed characters and uses QR codes to direct families to information about organizations such as Civil Air Patrol, the Girl Scouts and the Young Marines, according to Gick.

A Business Idea That Took Two Years to Start

Gick said he discussed the idea for about two years before starting development in November 2024.

Adigeni is Gick’s sixth company. He was nearing 19 years in the Marine Corps and completing an active-duty Reserve tour supporting the Defense Innovation Unit at the time of the interview.

Gick’s initial business plan involved organizations purchasing games in bulk for free distribution to families. He said Military OneSource had purchased games for this purpose. He added that direct-to-consumer sales would also be necessary due to the slow pace of institutional sales.

Gick said work on Hyperion is focused on product improvements following the Quantico test. Gick did not provide a consumer release date or price during the interview.

Where Military Themes Fit

Military.com asked Gick whether a military-themed game for children as young as 6 could function as recruitment.

Gick acknowledged the concern. He said he is working to frame the wider Mission Match line around service and helping children discover interests, while retaining its military connections.

“Yes, if they join the military, awesome,” he said. “But if they don’t, that’s OK too.”

Gick said his approach is similar to his upbringing in a family with relatives who served in several branches of the military. He said his father’s Navy service was discussed, but there was no expectation that he would follow the same path.

“The idea is just finding your pathway in life,” Gick said.