Inventing a Board Game is Not an Easy Path

Posted on December 3, 2011 by admin

Call me naïve, call me crazy but when I started out as a game inventor bursting full of creative ideas, I knew the journey would be rough but had no idea it would be REALLY rough AND convoluted.

I thought the distance from Point A to Point B (see diagram) would fluctuate from short to not-as-close-as-I-imagined.  Point A is my starting point and Point B is getting my game licensed with a reputable game company.  Sounds logical, right?  I honestly thought that path would be reasonably short if I did everything right.  I worked hard on the concept.  I spent a lot of time, effort and money getting objective and numerous play testers.  I sought their candid feedback and incorporated it (willingly!) into new versions.  But that path from Point A to Point B is supposed to be clear, direct and……short!

In reality, Point A and Point B are worlds apart.  In fact, you can’t see Point B from Point A.  I had hoped I was wrong but the following diagram is more realistic.

I recently attended the Toy and Game Inventors Conference in Chicago, which preceded the Chicago Toy Fair, ChiTAG.  What an adventure!  Am I glad I went?  Yes.  Am I full of new ideas?  Yes.  Did I learn a lot?  Yes.  Am I overwhelmed with feedback?  Yes!

Now I must sort through the feedback and evaluate whose opinion, including my own, carries more weight than others.  I say/write that because I heard a lot of contradictory opinions from experts who were kind enough to review my game.

I love Chicago, by the way.  The view from the cab just outside Midway Airport is not very pleasing to the eye but once the downtown area starts to present itself, the view was magnificent.  I don’t know who started it, but there are more good looking buildings in Chicago than any other city in the U.S.  And the food!  I had breakfast at one of the finest little spots.  It was called West Egg Café on N. Fairbanks Court. It’s just a quick walk from the Doubletree Magnificent Mile where I stayed.  I digress.

The other inventors I met were inspiring.  It’s fun to meet others who come from all points in North America and who have similar hopes and dreams.  We all are passionate about our toys and games and have an abundance of hope that others will feel as passionate about our invention.  It’s a journey.  It’s magnificent miles of a journey but a fun one nevertheless.

More about our board game later.  I wish I could share more of it with you but I am bound to show it to game company executives first.  They need to get the first scoop.  Once that happens, I’ll reveal our creation to you.  Can’t wait!

Posted in Board Games for Families, New Board Game for Families | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Board Game Research So Valuable

Posted on September 20, 2011 by admin

Our prototype family board games were distributed to play testers all across the U.S. this summer.  We thought our game was good but their feedback was so full of gold that our next prototypes will be smashing.  It was an experience I wouldn’t trade for anything.  The feedback was so positive and encouraging.

We believe in the research (it’s what we have done in our work lives) and know how important it is but, frankly, did not realize how helpful the play testers were.  Most of these fine souls don’t know us at all yet they played the game and completed our surveys giving us guidance to take the game to a much higher level.

Can you tell we are psyched!?!!

Our next step is to prepare for attendance at the Toy and Game Inventors Conference – T&GCon – and ChiTAG in November.  We will head to Chicago with prototypes under our arm to get the attention of a game company who will be thrilled to license our game.

This is a learning process but also invigorating.  It’s a testament to how exhilarating it feels when you follow your passion.  Sometimes that exhilaration does feel like terror!

Stay tuned.  We will keep you all updated as we progress with the development of our family board game.

Posted in Board Games for Families, Family Games, New Board Game for Families | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

New Family Board Game Ready for Testing

Posted on May 10, 2011 by admin

Prototypes for a brand new family board game have been produced and are now being tested by families across the United States.

Wow! Family Games is a board game design company and is now testing our new game in the marketplace before the larger game publishing companies can have an opportunity for licensing.

Beta testing or market research will give the inventor the insight needed to launch the game to the public.  “Tell us what you think about your experience playing our game” is the theme of this research. We want to know what works well, what elements thrill family game players and what can be improved.  The research phase will provide indicators of the strength the game will have on the open market.  If the family experience is positive and enthusiastic – and we hope it will be – the game will then be finalized.

Families who wish to volunteer to participate in this exciting research can find the orange box on this page and sign up.  Families will be required to play the game within 30 days of receipt.  After playing the game at least once, they will fill out a survey form and send it back to Wow! Family Games.  They also get to keep the game!

To date, here are a few comments from testers:

“We love this game!  My kids can’t wait to play it with us again.”

“I learned more about Uncle Craig than I never knew before.”

“I had never heard of black raspberry pie but that was what she said was the first pie she ever ate. I learned so much about her.”

“I had no idea he wanted to go to the Amazon.  All these years I had been planning trips to our favorite beaches!”

“We had so much fun playing this game and especially liked all the game pieces which supported the theme of reflections. Where did you find all these gems?”

To learn more about this family board game, read the descriptions on our article titled Family Board Game Has a New Name.

Posted in Board Games for Families, Family Games, New Board Game for Families | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Family Board Game Has a New Name

Posted on May 3, 2011 by admin

Yes, we have named our game. Unfortunately we can’t tell you what it is yet. We will let you know as soon as it is trademarked. That should be soon! There is so much going on and the excitement is building just before the release of this new fun game for families. Until we can finish the trademark process, we cannot reveal the name of our game. Don’t you love lawyers.

Here is more information about the game:

NEW FAMILY BOARD GAME is a timeless board game of family fun that allows family members to bond and learn about each other much more.   The results are an abundance of laughing, learning, and linking with family members.

How well do you really know your family?  You may be surprised.

Reality is what we make of the past. Imagination is what we can use to visualize a future.

Two to six players ages 6 through teens, adults and seniors can play and each will have fun at their own level.  This game is also appropriate for team play.

What do you think? Want to play?

Sign up to be one of our Test Families. Get a free game to play and provide feedback to the inventor.

Posted in Board Games for Families, New Board Game for Families | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Name This Family Board Game!

Posted on March 31, 2011 by admin

Here is a status report as of March 31, 2011.  We are making great progress to get our game available to the public.  You will only have to wait for a bit longer because all the pieces are coming together beautifully.  If you love playing family board games as much as we do, you will love this one.  It’s appropriate for ages 6 to adult.  Adults will get just as much out of it as the teens and kids will.  There are not many games that can make that claim.  In addition and of even greater benefit, this game helps to build great families.  Getting closer as a family is a subtle thing that happens by having fun around this game board.

Snippet of New Board Game

We have assembled quotes from a variety of manufacturers and suppliers and are close to being in actual production.  Once we give the okay to these resources, it will be just a week or two before our family board game is ready for distribution.

If you think you may be interested and want to know more about what this game is all about, please contact us and we’ll give you all the details you want.

Right now we must name our game!  This is a fun part of the board game development road and we need all the help we can get.  I have made a spreadsheet of the words that are applicable to our game.  It includes three columns of nouns and adjectives.  The fourth column contains names of other board games for sale in the marketplace just to give us an idea of how other companies have arrived at their name.  It’s fun!

If you want to participate in naming our game, let me know by sending us an email from the Contact Us page.  We will be gathering a focus group of creative and opinionated people who will provide their take on a perfect name for this fun new game.

Here are some suggestions so far:

  • GemShare
  • Family Airs
  • Virchoose

What do you think? I don’t think we have found the right name yet.  Stay tuned.

Posted in Board Games for Families, Family Games, New Board Game for Families | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

New Board Game Looking for a Publisher

Posted on February 11, 2011 by admin

We have created a new and interesting family board game!!!!

The game was first rolled out for my son and his family.  I had learned over the years how important it is to create bonds between siblings and between parents and siblings.   There is no better universal therapy than fun games.

My team and I have found what is missing in most board games that families play. The equation for the perfect family game is this:

Adults have a lot of fun

+

Children have a lot of fun

+

All members learn more about each other

+

Family experiences provide a greater foundation for learning

+

Family members bond in healthy ways

=

The Perfect Game!

My new perfect game is family-centric and incorporates solid human values and personal virtues. I took the capitalism out.  That means, there’s nothing the players have to buy or spend or steal.  There is no hidden treasure that will bring them riches.  Some of you may think we have stripped out all the fun but our tests have shown otherwise.  In fact, we are getting calls from strangers who have seen the game and are ecstatic about it.  They want to buy it and we can’t produce it fast enough.

This cross-generational game is appropriate for families from many cultural settings and is easily translatable into other languages without loss of intent. It is suited for a rather broad market for distribution.

The game can be played repeatedly without any loss in satisfaction of play.  The content of the play experience will be dynamic not static.  In other words, each time a family plays they will each have different experiences.

We are using many different methods to find publishers or manufacturers.  Whoever gets to us first with a reasonable offer will get a shot at branding a new generation of family board games that make a positive contribution to family health and stability.

In the revolutionary new book, Flash Foresight, the author, Daniel Burrus, offers his strategic insights about understanding what is certain in our future.  He forecasts that the “more high tech we become, the more high-touch we’ll need.  …The kids of Gen Y are more socially conscious, more concerned about their environment and other large-scale social issues…As we transform into a vastly more high-tech society, we will see our world become more human.”   He gives evidence that more face to face interactions will be taking place to keep us connected and to keep us human.  This “more human” behavior will impact our families in ways we have not seen before.

If you are a publisher, manufacturer or licensor looking for new ideas and revenue streams, please contact us.

Posted in Board Games for Families, New Board Game for Families | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Most Board Games for Families are No Fun for Parents!

Posted on February 11, 2011 by admin

When my kids were young, they wanted to play Candyland all the time.  Since I am a good mom and wanted my kids to be happy and have fun, I played with them.  Hundreds of times. Oh the pain.  After the first fifty games, it became punishment.  The seed was planted in me then to find a game that a six year old could play and grandma could play and we would all equally have fun.  That shouldn’t be too difficult!

I also wanted a game that would be good for us.  I love candy, but, hey, is that really what I want my kids doing?  Competing for candy?

Finding a game that everyone in the family can honestly enjoy was like looking for health food at Baskins & Robbins.  You REALLY want it to be there but it isn’t.

It wasn’t until the kids were much older that we could play Monopoly, The Game of Life, Rummikub and Chinese Checkers together.  And those games were such a commitment of time that we didn’t always have.  Monopoly and Life started to stay on the shelf.  Over time, our family drifted apart while the kids played games that made them happy and the adults played other games.  We could not find games that would bring us all around the table and be satisfying for our whole family.

Later, we discovered some great board games: Wits & Wagers Family and  Telestrations.  Telestrations makes for a better party game.  Wits & Wagers Family is clever but is still lacking substance.  Although both these are excellent games, they both had their limitations and neither of these two games help to create healthy bonds or growth within our family.  Fun yes, bonding no.

Our family game is Fun Yes, Bonding Yes.

Posted in Board Games for Families | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment