about our founder & CEO
From newspapers & magazines!
My name is Mohammad Mahdi Ranjbar and for the past 25 years, my focus has been in the field of entertainment. My expertise lies in entertainment design, entertainment equipment manufacturing, entertainment equipment operation and supervision, as well as entertainment consulting. At the age of 18, I began my career designing crossword puzzles and other forms of entertainment for magazines and newspapers. However, I found the traditional and stereotypical atmosphere of these publications to be intolerable. I pushed for new ideas and creative approaches, convincing some editors and managers to take risks and introduce new entertainment concepts. I succeeded in making entertainment a two-way model in some publications, encouraging audiences to participate in the creation of content, which resulted in successful and popular entertainment pieces, including humorous items in Jame-Jam newspaper. I received numerous letters from readers with innovative ideas for comedy contests, even before email technology was widely available.
60,000 participants!
My efforts to change the direction of entertainment continued when I became the secretary of the first and largest Sudoku festival in Iran, which had 60,000 participants. The competitions lasted for six months in two stages, remote and in-person, culminating in a four-hour competition in front of an audience of 500 people. I also organized four Kidoku (Children’s Sudoku) festival, which was held for children under 12 years old in both 4×4 and 6×6 types, with approximately 4,000 participants. These competitions were taken seriously by the children and their parents, and I was proud to be a part of fostering their logical skills.
In addition to Sudoku and Kidoku competitions, I organized another logical competition called Battleships in the Khorasan newspaper. This competition attracted 12,000 participants and lasted for six months, culminating in a face-to-face competition where one person became the “hero of Navyab.” These competitions were taken seriously and their level of difficulty was on par with international Sudoku competitions and the World Puzzle Federation (WPF).
Looking for more useful entertainment
I have also authored and published three volumes of books for children and two volumes of books for adults in the field of entertainment. In the 20th Iranian Press Festival, I served as the secretary of the entertainment committee and was the chief judge to determine the best entertainment in the press. I am honored to say that the annual awards of this event are given in the presence of the president.
I designed and supervised the construction of short-term and long-term field games and entertainment in Tehran’s cultural centers outside of the press and magazine environment. Additionally, I produced successful board games and participated in television competitions. However, I felt that amusement parks were promoting “immobility” and “individualism” instead of true entertainment. To address this, I created a device called “Family Football” that promoted “mobility” and “teamwork” by combining digital and electromechanical attractions to create a new game.
Received an order
for 120 units
Despite the success of “Family Football,” it was too large, immovable, and expensive to reproduce. As a result, I investigated traditional games in some countries that could be made with wood, metal, and cloth without requiring electricity or batteries. I designed and produced new devices that were smaller, beautiful in design and material, and durable for long-term use. These devices had simple rules, were exciting for both individual and group use, and required no literacy or special knowledge to enjoy. Additionally, the devices allowed for record-keeping and comparison with others to encourage professionalism and could be rented or sold for profit.
The first devices were made of melamine MDF with medium design, and we opened an entertainment center called “Bazikhane” in Tehran’s Book Garden. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the center was unable to be introduced to fans and was eventually closed. However, the Tehran Municipality ordered 120 playhouse machines from us, and we redesigned the devices with 3D technology to make them more beautiful, efficient, and cost-effective. We also introduced a new brand name, “JIBAZ” which means “playing with energy” in Persian ( ژیباز ). The JIBAZ devices are made of wood-coated MDF, and we can produce them with rubber wood (finger joint) or solid wood as well.