Rude Awakening

So, I am currently reading "The Toy and Game Inventor's Handbook" which is very well written by two toy industry legends: Richard C. Levy and Ronald O. Weingarther. There is a section that I am reading that was a rude awakening for me and I felt was an important piece of information to share with you.


(Paraphrased) The authors comment on how the toy and game industry has changed so much for inventors that, in the future, inventors may no longer exist. This is because major toy companies have been primarily making their sales through attaching toys and games to popular TV shows and Hollywood films. This is known as entertainment licensing. New games are no longer made from scratch from the bottom up because they are too much of a risk. Instead, the major toy companies simply buy out smaller companies who have established sales on their own (i.e. "Cranium").


This seems to be true because all you ever see in retail chains such as Target, Walmart, and Toy-R-Us are re-hashed versions of "Monopoly," "Risk," "Clue," "UNO," "Trivia Pursuit," and "Scene It?" based on every major Hollywood film, Sci-Fi TV show, or popular cartoon. I understand that these companies have an obligation to please investors. However, the quality of most of the games in mainstream retail stores are the equivalent of he styrofoam "health" chips you find in grocery stores with zero calories and no flavor. The industry has become a watered-down, empty version of itself, just like most reality TV shows and a significant portion of films pumped out by major Hollywood studios.


I wish those of you that are into board games could experience some of the incredible inventions from independent companies and inventors you can only find in small hobby stores, boutique stores, and online communities such as www.BoardGameGeek.com. It's like comparing the bland fruit you often find in U.S. grocery stores and then experiencing the explosion of rich and luscious flavor you would find in organic fruits from Brazil. There is just no comparison.


I implore you to expand your mind and entertainment experiences beyond what the mainstream has to offer. As I find more fascinating games that I really enjoy, I will continue to try to post them here on this site. In the meantime, there's an entire new and more fulfilling world waiting for you to experience. Go find it!

~Luis
www.GlobalQuestGame.com