(This blog entry is a summary of dailyTweets sent by @HoopCATGames marked with #boardgamesormovies between 11/26/12 and 12/1/12)
Over Thanksgiving break, we took our two sons to see a movie, complete with popcorn and drinks. We had a great time for that 90 minutes, but talk about sticker shock. Seeing a first-run movie with popcorn for a family of four has quite the price tag these days.
As game makers, we see customers who hesitate to spend $20-$25 for an innovative new game. Yet compared to a movie, it struck us that a good boardgame is a real bargain.
Here's our daily tweets, all in one list, for those who missed some of them.
Movie/w popcorn is $65 for family of 4 for 90 minutes of entertainment. Good Boardgame can cost $25 for HOURS of fun! (26 Nov)
Movie – family & friends stare at a screen. Good Boardgame – family & friends look at each other. (27 Nov)
Movie – same ending every time. Good Boardgame – different ending every time. (28 Nov)
Movie – put brain in idle. Good Boardgame – Engage brain! (29 Nov)
Movie- conversation discouraged with family & friends. Good Boardgame - family & friends talk to each other! (30 Nov)
Movie – be a spectator. Good Boardgame – everybody participates! (1 Dec)
Don't get us wrong. The HoopCATGames family loves good movies.
But next time you head to the cinema and open your wallet for a 90 minute experience, stop and think of the boardgames you could buy for that same amount of money that would give you hours of fun with family and friends.
Visit HoopCAT Games at www.hoopcatgames.com
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Christina's first blog
I am sitting here thinking what I would like to tell people
about – my thoughts lead me to write about how HoopCAT Games and Fill The Barn
has affected our family. Charlie and I have been married 25 years with two
awesome sons – Andrew (14) and Thomas (10). We live our lives like many of you
with high points, low points and those areas in-between.
The making of Fill The Barn started out with Charlie and his
ideas coming together with a home-made prototype he played with our younger son
Thomas. Thomas’ enthusiasm for the game led Charlie to “play test” Fill The Barn with the rest of
the family. I was hooked! Soon Fill The
Barn became a family favorite.
If you were a fly on the wall during game time at our house,
you would learn a lot about our personalities. First there’s Thomas, our
younger son. He looks for ways to make
money and doesn’t hesitate to make a move that would not be helpful to another
player – even his Mom! He never shows remorse when he “droughts” anyone’s crops
and even questioned me when I asked him not to drought someone the first time
they played. Then you have Andrew. Although he likes to do well, he will take
it easy on me, but not Dad or Thomas. Next is Charlie – he plays the same way
with everyone. There have been times
when he’s held back from playing a card to keep the family peace. This brings
me to Mom – the peacemaker. While I do
not hesitate playing any card with Dad, I tend to take it easy on the
boys. I have started playing more like
Dad, which surprises the boys, but it’s also good for them.
I love HoopCAT games.
I love that Charlie shared his idea with us as a family and welcomed our
input. I love that we are partners in this adventure with our sons ready to
take the reins when we are done. This is
more Thomas – Andrew will make a great silent partner. What I love most of all
is that we are in it together. We go to
game days/nights together to play Fill The Barn (as well as other games). We’ve met some interesting people along the
way. We look forward to the next store who will put Fill The Barn on their
shelves. We want to share Fill The Barn with other families who are looking for
a game they can become emotionally invested in playing. That’s when the fun
begins…
Friday, March 9, 2012
Domestic vs. Asian Production
Last month, HoopCAT Games took the plunge with our first order to manufacture Fill the Barn, our very first family board game.
While “Made in USA” sounds nice, purchase decisions often come down to who has the lowest price. That is when we all decide with our pocketbooks and wallets. We could have offered Fill the Barn for a few dollars less if we had made our game in China. Will families in these tight economic times be willing to pay that few dollars more for Fill the Barn because we chose US production? In a few weeks we will start to find out.
We had asked for quotes from different sources first, some American, some Asian. Not surprisingly, we learned that we could make Fill the Barn for a lower price if we chose a Chinese factory over an American factory.
Yet when we found a US company who could meet the price we needed to make our numbers work, we chose to go with Made in the USA.Like so many others, we know friends and family members who have found themselves unemployed as downsizing and the shift to overseas production leaves fewer jobs in our country. It breaks our hearts to see people who want to work, and yet there are not enough jobs to go around. So in some ways, it was an easy decision to choose a US company who was in our price range even when it wasn’t the lowest offer.
But will it prove to be a sound business decision for a fledgling new company? While “Made in USA” sounds nice, purchase decisions often come down to who has the lowest price. That is when we all decide with our pocketbooks and wallets. We could have offered Fill the Barn for a few dollars less if we had made our game in China. Will families in these tight economic times be willing to pay that few dollars more for Fill the Barn because we chose US production? In a few weeks we will start to find out.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Why We Started Making Family Board Games (Charlie's First-Ever Blog)
I’ve loved games all my life. As a child I started with classic board games, and even when I couldn’t find anybody to join me, I’d still pull a game out and play all sides. As a teen, I moved onto Avalon Hill strategy games, and would read the lengthy rulebooks over and over even after I had them memorized. As a young adult, I was thrilled by the advantages of computer strategy games – artificial intelligence opponents who were always available, no possibility of ever mistakenly misinterpreting a rule, and boards where the map or opponent’s pieces could truly remain hidden.
And then our two sons were born, and by a few years later, I found myself wondering what we used to do with all that time. Fortunately, both sons also love games, and needless to say, they have never had to twist Dad’s arm to join in a family game. Years later, I’ve returned to enjoying the same board games I fondly remember from my childhood. Every Christmas, every birthday, we’ve looked to build our family’s game library – yet after a few years found that while there are always hot new computer and console games lining the department store and toy store shelves, the board game shelves change little from year to year. (A very important disclaimer: There are fresh innovative family board games out there, and we’ve been very pleased with some new additions to our family’s game library - but you have to know where to go to find them).
So why did we start making family board games?
This past summer, our younger son (the “T” in HoopCAT) received a department store gift card for $25 from Grandma for his birthday. He marched to the game section, and after some looking, picked out a new game not already in the family collection. Looking over the box, it was not a game that Mom or I would have ever bought for him. We questioned the value for money of the purchase. But it was his $25 gift card, so in the end agreed to the purchase (figuring at worse it would make a good life lesson). We got home, he excitedly read the rules, put it together, and as father and son, we played the shiny new game he had proudly bought with his birthday gift card.
It was one of the worst games I ever played. Movement around the board was painfully slow, with little opportunity for anything to happen, and little to no opportunity for a player to affect the outcome. The game had a gimmick that wore off before we had finished it the first time. I kept my grown-up opinion to myself, thinking if my child likes it, that is all that matters. My son never asked to play it again, and two weeks later, he placed this new game on the pile of things to give to charity.
As a parent and consumer, I was mad. If my wife or I had been foolish enough to plunk down $25 for that game, I merely would have been annoyed. If my child had only spent $5-$10 of his money, I might not have been as steamed. But here was a game that never should have seen the shelf of a store priced at $25 and targeted to children. And in my indignation, I had that wild thought – “Even I could make a game better than that!”
It started as an idea of I’ll design and make two custom games (one for each son) as a memorable Christmas present. And then the game ideas kept coming, and the whole brainstorm continued to snowball. Before that summer had ended, my younger son and I sat down early one Saturday morning to play the very first game of Fill the Barn. His first feedback was the words any new game maker most wants to hear – can we play it again? My crude homemade prototype game with clip art on self-print business cards had just beat out the gift card game. Later that weekend, Mom and older son (the "A" in HoopCAT) joined us for the first-ever four-player game of Fill the Barn. Several days (and lots of prayers) later, my wife and I made the decision to form HoopCAT Games.
Will a new family board game company succeed in the era of electronic gaming? That’s for you to decide...
And then our two sons were born, and by a few years later, I found myself wondering what we used to do with all that time. Fortunately, both sons also love games, and needless to say, they have never had to twist Dad’s arm to join in a family game. Years later, I’ve returned to enjoying the same board games I fondly remember from my childhood. Every Christmas, every birthday, we’ve looked to build our family’s game library – yet after a few years found that while there are always hot new computer and console games lining the department store and toy store shelves, the board game shelves change little from year to year. (A very important disclaimer: There are fresh innovative family board games out there, and we’ve been very pleased with some new additions to our family’s game library - but you have to know where to go to find them).
So why did we start making family board games?
This past summer, our younger son (the “T” in HoopCAT) received a department store gift card for $25 from Grandma for his birthday. He marched to the game section, and after some looking, picked out a new game not already in the family collection. Looking over the box, it was not a game that Mom or I would have ever bought for him. We questioned the value for money of the purchase. But it was his $25 gift card, so in the end agreed to the purchase (figuring at worse it would make a good life lesson). We got home, he excitedly read the rules, put it together, and as father and son, we played the shiny new game he had proudly bought with his birthday gift card.
It was one of the worst games I ever played. Movement around the board was painfully slow, with little opportunity for anything to happen, and little to no opportunity for a player to affect the outcome. The game had a gimmick that wore off before we had finished it the first time. I kept my grown-up opinion to myself, thinking if my child likes it, that is all that matters. My son never asked to play it again, and two weeks later, he placed this new game on the pile of things to give to charity.
As a parent and consumer, I was mad. If my wife or I had been foolish enough to plunk down $25 for that game, I merely would have been annoyed. If my child had only spent $5-$10 of his money, I might not have been as steamed. But here was a game that never should have seen the shelf of a store priced at $25 and targeted to children. And in my indignation, I had that wild thought – “Even I could make a game better than that!”
It started as an idea of I’ll design and make two custom games (one for each son) as a memorable Christmas present. And then the game ideas kept coming, and the whole brainstorm continued to snowball. Before that summer had ended, my younger son and I sat down early one Saturday morning to play the very first game of Fill the Barn. His first feedback was the words any new game maker most wants to hear – can we play it again? My crude homemade prototype game with clip art on self-print business cards had just beat out the gift card game. Later that weekend, Mom and older son (the "A" in HoopCAT) joined us for the first-ever four-player game of Fill the Barn. Several days (and lots of prayers) later, my wife and I made the decision to form HoopCAT Games.
Will a new family board game company succeed in the era of electronic gaming? That’s for you to decide...
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