Last month I visited my 5th grade teacher’s current class to talk to them about board game invention as his students were assigned a project to invent a game that included facts about a famous American.  I talked about different types of games and game mechanics hoping to get them thinking about games that aren’t based on Monopoly or Candyland, which seem to be popular solutions.  I have to say that in the past couple months I’ve heard about a lot of school projects that are centered on creating a …

Just as there are people who are surprised to hear that there are professional game inventors, there are also people who are surprised to hear that there are professional game content writers.  And while, I know lots of inventors are also content writers (me, for example), I thought it would be fun to talk to someone who started their career in the industry as a content writer so I did a quick interview with Alice Langholt.  But before I get to the interview, I’m going to quickly explain the game …

Okay so you’ve got an idea for an awesome game or toy  — now what?!  Yea, I get that question ALL THE TIME and I have one answer….go to T&GCon.  But spending money on a conference isn’t what most people want to hear when they’re already considering self-manufacturing a new concept.  Which makes sense — BUT I can’t stress enough that starting off on the right foot is essential to success and the best way to make sure you’re doing that is by getting advice from people who have ” …

My father just moved from the home I spend the majority of my childhood in to a new house recently and as the dutiful daughter, of course I helped him pack.  In addition to packing up far too many sets of dishes, I was also in charge of packing up the game shelf and as much as I hate to admit it, some of the games from my childhood and my mother’s childhood aren’t in the best shape.  Some of the boxes (especially ones from the mid-1980s and early 1990s) …

Unfortunately I didn’t get to go to ASTRA this year, but my inventor friend Mary Jo Reutter (read about her games HERE) did and she was nice enough to share what’s great about the ASTRA show from an inventor’s perspective.  Quick background for anyone who doesn’t know ASTRA stands for American Specialty Toy Retailing Association and they’re the ones behind Neighborhood Toy Store Day which is Nov. 12th this year.  The ASTRA show is held in June every year, but unlike Toy Fair the location of the show bounces around …