Nicholas Montesano and his latest game invention, ‘Influence Avenue: The Game.’ Photos courtesy of Nicholas Montesano

When afforded time, Joseph and Angela Ferraris of Cedar Knolls enjoy playing “Influence Avenue: The Game.”

Inspired by the world of social media and the digital era, “Influence Avenue: The Game” is a new spin of gameplay with social media and influence intertwined. Each player becomes their own influencer and gains Like’s, Hashtags, and Follower cash, ultimately winning the game when securing the most influence.

The Ferrarises like the challenge, but also love the game’s creator, their 22-year-old grandson, Nicholas Montesano. A recent graduate of William Paterson University with a bachelor’s degree in communications and public relations, Montesano also earned a minor in art and design, which is really his first love.

And oh, how he continues to embrace that love.

“Since they’re in their 80s,” Montesano said of his grandparents, “they find the ideas and topics of the game fascinating compared to their modern day and age in the 20th century where technology was very limited digitally.”

Montesano, who was born and raised in Roxbury, is proprietor of his own 4-year-old soon to be incorporated company, Monte Plays, where he designs and manufactures toy and game products for people with disabilities. And since 2020, he has mustered a creation per year while keeping up with his school workload.

Montesano’s latest creation is called Zenspin, which in his words “is a fidget inspired toy with sensory features on the 3D printed model to alleviate tics and stress from a disease called Tourette’s syndrome.”

Montesano himself suffers with the disease. “Tourette’s syndrome is a neurological disorder/disease that I myself and many others live with,” he said. “It involves a group of both verbal and motor tics — cursing, laughing, shoulder shrugging, eye blinking, jaw clenching, muscle spasms, anxiety — and it typically starts in early childhood. I was diagnosed with Tourette’s when I was 10 years old, and now I am 22, so I have been living with it for the past 12 years.”

Montesano designed Zenspin to be fidgeted with, touched, and able to be spun around in a circle for children and adults. “I always wanted to create and manufacture something that could help and benefit people with tics and other anxiety/neurological disorders, and when the mid 2010s hit toy, the Fidget Spinner, came out, it was easy to think of something relevant yet similar to help people with tic disorders and Tourette’s syndrome like me,” he said. “As of now, I am currently on the hunt and researching injection molding opportunities after successfully creating and receiving positive feedback and testimonials and 3D printed prototypes.”

Nicholas Montesano’s latest creation is called Zenspin, which in his words “is a fidget inspired toy with sensory features on the 3D printed model to alleviate tics and stress from a disorder called Tourette’s syndrome.

Monte Plays started with the idea to design and bring relevant, yet eye catching and life changing toys and games to the industry that could have a positive and lasting impact on all generations. In addition to Zenspin and “Influence Avenue: The Game,” Montesano also invented in 2020 a COVID-19 inspired chess set called “Quarantines Essentials,” and another board game called “Pandemic Panic.”  “Quarantine Essentials,” constructed in his parents’ backyard, is a chess set like no other that plays with a COVID twist: masks as pawns, Lysol as kings, and a checkered board inspired by first aid boxes.

“ ’Pandemic Panic’ is a follow up board game to my COVID chess set, designed and modeled to honor our health care heroes who worked in hospitals and facilities during the pandemic, with both a humorous twist and showing our appreciation for them. In the digital age, I wanted a board game inspired by the era of social media and influencers along with something that was on trend and will be here to stay for a while. With the new generations always on their phones, I thought it was something that could be relevant to phones and social media that could actually get young people to get off their phones and play an interactive game with friends and family.”

While the majority of people have found Montesano’s ideas current, relevant, and fascinating to play a potential game with, he has also received feedback and constructive criticism from toy industry experts and insiders, families, and children on how to improve the games, which he always welcomes.

The following link below provides more information about Zenspin, his attempted manufacturing of it thus far, and pictures of the toy and the project itself:

https://nicholaspmontesano.myportfolio.com/zenspin

This article originally appeared in the Spring  2025 issue of Jersey’s Best. Subscribe here for in-depth access to everything that makes the Garden State great.