Pizza Express
Designing a digital game that enhances family dining
How can cheeky Doughballs spark real-life connection at the dinner table? Let’s find out…
Family mealtimes used to be a highlight – a time for catching up, telling stories and maybe even tossing a breadstick or two. But PizzaExpress noticed that digital distractions were starting to creep in. Phones, tablets, glazed-over stares… the dinner table just wasn’t the same.
So, they asked us to help. The goal? Find a playful way to bring families back together, encouraging conversation without adding to screen time.
Our answer? Getting to Dough You – a mobile-first game where the iconic PizzaExpress Doughball became the ultimate dinner table host. Mmmmmmm, Doughballs.
Creating a digital game that brought real-world bonding
In Italian culture, it’s the people around the table that matter as much as the food on it. So, we leaned into that tradition and created a digital experience that kick-started conversation and invited every family member to join in.
Getting to Dough You was created for Piccolo Corner, the brand’s kid-focused hub, and was designed to be picked up and played in seconds. Each player tapped a Doughball to reveal a fun, thoughtful or totally silly question or conversation starters. Some sparked big debates. Others simply caused giggles. But they all got people talking.
We carefully wrote questions that worked across generations – from five-year-olds to grandparents – and included prompts like “show everyone your silliest face, then see if they can copy it!” to encourage everyone around the table to join in.
The result was a game that used just enough screen time to get families off their screens and properly connecting, whether they were in the restaurant or at home.
Designed to work all year round
The game needed to be evergreen, but also feel fresh throughout the year. So, we designed it to adapt easily to seasonal campaigns and menu moments.
At Christmas, for example, the Doughballs donned Santa hats and the questions got a festive twist. These updates helped keep the experience aligned with the brand’s campaigns – without needing to rebuild the whole thing.
From concept to content, character design to UX, our team delivered a fully responsive game that matched the visual identity of Piccolo Corner and could live happily alongside existing content.
Bringing families closer together
32%
of diners are eating with kids
8
animated dough balls
32
family-friendly questions
1
Christmas-themed seasonal update
There’s no I in family. Oh… wait
The goal was never just to entertain – it was to bring people together. And that’s exactly what Getting to Dough You did.
The game quickly became popular on Piccolo Corner, sparking family debates, storytelling sessions and the kind of giggles that make a mealtime feel truly special.
For PizzaExpress, it supported their wider mission of reconnecting people over food – especially in a post-lockdown world where shared time had never felt more valuable.
And for us at Creature & Co.? It was the perfect recipe: smart strategy, playful design and, well, Doughballs. Mm, we’re getting peckish just thinking about it…
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