This past Sunday I tried the Trio Toss game.  The parts and pieces, after one play session, were sturdy and worked well.  It’s pretty easy to set-up and take down.  Though getting all the pieces back in the box can be a challenge if the pieces are not placed back the same way they were taken out.  All three games are based on tossing and aiming and I found the ladder toss the most fun.  Flinging the little bouncy bolas and having them spin around the ladder steps is fun.  There is even a glow in the dark version if you just want to try the ladder toss game.  The bean bag toss brought back my Toss Across nostalgia.  I didn’t try the washer toss game portion as it was getting late and the mosquitoes were swarming.

Trio Toss at Amazon.com

Coincidentally, I was catching up with some Facebook friends and Trisha was talking about playing the ladder toss game recently and even some Twister. She told me that the “backyard twister” game was during her niece and father’s birthdays. Her niece loves to play twister and all the kids joined in.  Trisha said that they all like to play backyard games at their picnics and it was great watching the kids fall all over.

Trisha mentioned also liking Jarts and the ladder toss game.  I recently also tried the more modern version of Jarts with the more safety conscious rubber  tips rather than the metal spikes I remember as a kid. I actually liked the new large round weighted rubber tips as the metal tips never seemed to stick in the ground well if not tossed high enough.   Keep in mind they do tend to bounce a little if you toss them with a high arc.  So those used to the original darts may have to change their throw style.  To the left is a pic Trisha sent of her family and friends playing the ladder toss game.

What are some of your favorite backyard type games?  Feel free to leave a comment here and/or send your own pics.  Just let me know what they are in the email subject line.  If I get enough pics I can maybe put together another post about other backyard games people can try.

You may also find interesting : I did an article about over sized games that can be played outside at parties.  

It melts your heart with sugary sweetness and doesn’t melt your brain… or does it?

My guilty pleasure of following the progress of board game licensed movies continues. Last month on EW.com one of the new screenwriters for the Candy Land movie,  Jonathan Aibel who co-wrote Kung Fu Panda 1 & 2, said…

“We envision it as ‘Lord of the Rings’, but set in a world of candy… We don’t see it as a movie based on a board game, although it has characters from that world and takes the idea of people finding themselves in a world that happens to be made entirely of candy where there are huge battles going on. We are going for real comedy, real action, and real emotions at stake.”

Now this quote set off many giggles and scoffs across the internet.  I remember the original movie idea was similar to Jumanji where kids get sucked into a board game.  Now it seems more like a journey story like Narnia but with a candy theme.  The proposed board game to movie scripts seem to be trying to cash in on brand recognition but hopefully some creativity leaks in.  I guess we’ll have to wait to see how Battleship does.  It has a big budget and some star power with director Peter Berg and actors Liam Neeson, Alexander Skarsård and Rihanna.  Candy Land has not been green lit yet, as far as I know.  So the studio is probably waiting on the Battleship movie reception.

Most of those that know me, consider me a cynical type but if this movie ends up being a child friendly Lord of the Rings type of story, than maybe it’ll be a decent family movie that both kids and parents can enjoy together.  Like the smart child friendly movies with material that parents can enjoy, think Pixar movies.  Candy Land does have more of a background story than some of the other board game movie licenses in development too.  So it’s not like using the board game name and a loose connection to the name or idea in the game to tell a story.  For instance, not much story in the Battleship game source material.  I’ve also stated in one of my previous posts that I enjoyed the 1985 Clue movie… so I’m in the midst of a wait and see opinion.

Then again, another part of me remains skeptical and sarcastic and looks forward to the high rise tower catastrophe movie of Jenga and the Saturday night B SyFy channel horror movie of rabid Hungry Hungry Hippos.  Yep… that’s the Tim you all know 

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Board Game movie cheat sheet :

Battleship
Ouija – McG is on this one
Monopoly – Ridley Scott is attached to this one
Candyland
Monsterpocalypse – Looks like Tim Burton

Note : Yes, the name of the blog has been changed.  Yes, I’ve been away from the blog.  Yes, I will talk about this more in the near future.  Right now just fun game stuff.

It’s another fresh year with the promise of wonderfully wondrous things and the battle to keep our new year resolutions.  One of my resolutions is to game more and introduce more people to casual party games.  I want to regain focus on why I love gaming.

I’ve hosted many public game nights since I started the blog in 1997 but some of the best game nights I’ve been to were smaller game nights with friends or family at someone’s house.  I’ve also received emails from people leery to go out to a public game night with people they have never met before.  So this year I want to focus on the more intimate game night fun… show  people how easy, different and affordable, compared to a night at the movie theater, bar, etc,  it is to have a game night with friends.

For those interested in having a game night at their place with their friends, basically I’d bring a couple casual party games, a couple snacks and drinks and the host of the game night will be able to keep one of the games I bring to play whenever they want to spread the fun with even more people.  Think of it as game it forward… get it… like pay it forward but with games.  Ok… bad name… I will speak of it no more  lol.   The host and guests may also wish to bring additional snacks and drinks.  The games will be easy to learn and fun to play where it doesn’t matter who wins.

In March  I’ll post the specific details and how the host is chosen, but if you are in the Buffalo, NY area and are interested in hosting a game night, or even game afternoon, just leave a comment or send me an email.

It’s no secret I believe party games are a perfect ice breaker and there are many that can be enjoyed by family members of all ages.  Without adding a long list of games to probably an already long list of things you’ll be looking at this time of year, I’ll simply explain one game that has worked at many types of gatherings for me this past year.

Likewise is a game that I’ve played many times with all types and ages of people over the past couple years.  I’ve played Likewise with families at a retirement facility late last year and I was told that residents have played it many times since.  On the other end of the age spectrum, my nephew, who normally sits in front of a tv and plays video games, added it to his Christmas wish list after playing it once with family.  So that’s a huge accomplishment.

In the game, players are shown random pairings of Description and Subject Cards and try to match answers with words or doodles.  A fun part is writing and/or doodling your answer on the back of your own paddle with a dry erase marker.  A nice strategy is to answer what you think others will answer or just be silly and write or doodle something totally off the wall… I do that alot.  Buffalo Games has redesigned the box and paddle graphics recently with a clean design and a more mature look but the game play is still as silly as you want it to be

Likewise

Game Night House Call

Katie sent in a pic of herself from a game night playing Likewise while relaxing in a cozy couch.  Next year I plan on revisiting game night house calls and showing you how easy and fun it is to host your own game night in the comfort of your own home surrounded by the laughs of your friends and your own cozy couch.

Update : I’ve been receiving a bunch of emails from people with game night house calls questions and interest in hosting one… thank you!  Feel free to keep sending them, I’m making a list of those interested in hosting, But I won’t be posting the details until early next year.

Are you a new game or toy inventor looking for help? As a person who was in your place almost 20 years ago and now a resource to other inventors, I would like to share some advice when talking to people in the industry.

Advice #1

Do not say you have the next Monopoly or a game better than Monopoly or any variation therein. Monopoly breaks every rule in game design today and I’ve heard the people at Hasbro say even they wouldn’t license it today, if it had never existed. They jokingly say that we have a genetic disposition to Monopoly because our parents, aunts, uncles, etc. played it.

Advice #2

Do not say your mom, dad, husband, wife, kids, friends or anyone connected to you loves your game. Deal killer. You need to playtest it with strangers and then not mention who loves it. It should be assumed it has been playtested and passed the test.

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Advice #3

No long stories about how you got to the appointment or show, how much you love games or what you had for breakfast. Get to the point. Thank them for taking the time. Tell them the objective and an abbreviated version of how to play the game. Short and sweet.

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Advice #4

Smile and be enthusiastic. Nothing worse than Eeyore showing a game. If you can’t be excited, how can they be?

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Advice #5

Don’t reinvent the wheel. Talk to retailers or search the internet to see if your game has already been on the market.

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Advice #6

Companies aren’t going to buy your idea, they will license it if interested and it will generally be between 3 and 5% (lower if a brand license is involved).  It is called a royalty and you may get an advance on royalties..

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Advice #7

You will probably not make a million dollars your first year. That level of sales for a new game is very rare.

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Advice #8

Attend shows. Talk to people with new games at shows, but be respectful of their time. They are paying a lot of money to be there and get attention from companies, not you. Ask if they will talk to you later and get their contact info.

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Attend the Toy and Game Inventor Conference. It is an unique industry event where companies like Hasbro, Disney, Buffalo Games and others come to give back their time and knowledge to the industry and look at your games. For many of the companies, it is the only time all year they will look at unsolicited submissions.  It is November 18 and 19th, but if you miss it, there will always be next year.

The toy and game industry is one of the only industries that relies heavily on outside inventors. Almost every major toy or game was not invented in-house, an outside inventor brought it to the company. But, it is a tough business. It took the Trivial Pursuit guys three years to become overnight successes.

Do your research, believe in yourself, be persistent and good luck!

Mary Couzin is a maverick in the toy and game industry.  She is dedicated to helping board game inventors, promoting inventors, promoting play to the public, bringing play and games into the classroom and libraries, quality fundraising, and various newsletters to retailers, educators and game players reaching over 300,000 people.  Currently Mary acts as a Selection Committee Member of the National Toy Hall of Fame, is a prolific blogger for Global Toy News, and is the Executive Director and President of the Chicago Toy and Game Fair (Chi-Tag), the only non-hobby toy and game fair open to the public in the United States.

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WIN a Family Weekend Pass to Chicago’s Toy and Game Fair!
Just comment on this post to be entered into the drawing. The event is November 20th and 21st at Navy Pier’s Festival Hall and includes: toys and games from all around the world, inventor meet and greets, Star Wars breakfast, Radio Disney, tournaments, young inventor challenge, characters, carousel, stage events, prizes and more! This is also the same weekend as the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival! Valid comments for drawing must be posted before 9am EST on November 5th.

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