tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61214661360828984902024-02-18T22:16:19.657-08:00Out of the Box PublishingOut of the Box Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647685352510791552noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121466136082898490.post-16680069092412419082011-04-08T12:30:00.000-07:002011-04-08T13:03:03.271-07:00Building Your Faux●Cabulary!<p>Growing up, my favorite episodes of Sesame Street always involved visiting some sort of factory--shiny new crayons rolling down conveyor belts and dropping neatly into bright yellow boxes and molten batches of lipstick being stirred as the red and pink pigments are swirled in. The process of turning raw materials into products that I could hold, use, and even love was entrancing. Like behind the scenes shots from your favorite movie, seeing your favorite items being created can give you a connection to those products you can't get other ways. For that reason, I was really excited this morning when I opened my email to find pictures of our newest game Faux●Cabulary being created! These pictures are more assembly part of the process than production, but I think they are fun to see none-the-less. I hope you enjoy the mini tour! </p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 244px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5593300946960989218" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwfVQyjBGNPiSUGM-WYay5EP04vKXJ8u8qaEa2-6yfuKBGqZW1v64XC2DM5-MQ_wwO3S9xAmBBLBwQe4awFxbjECHcrviCuKGIki9pvRhzJIHT8OdyUZz__aQoE1vVe4wBTZ-jTPewygzx/s320/fullbox.jpg" /> <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5593301527251034834" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl76xvDzuQcqnsT68lS6-Xwu8Wce4qIO00T2kNEXLxzp_N5qzs2JBGh6ch2pqmMiSQk3tQAB5K-x2BA142tphdhNECgkDBp-MQUSC5ccusHuuJ95Xu11RKOjp1pdlltxST7fx9bxtFxo_c/s320/Instructions.jpg" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 221px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5593302882334610514" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX8a8dubOBbaoefuGc9Pldtk5UoburrwnW3d5FZOibJgQhtlKlNPCK2tl38aLHAXd0EhIUnFlWXKRRg6G1coEAg1RrsIo-dZ90e24HHUhzzYXsxhfHxaorptjD3MRV7fR1Ch-6hDAOSJHm/s320/games.jpg" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 190px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5593301249403461314" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSCKnU8gHlr52lOSRowlz2TdJuCOl0XxS4zD0TfOZ0Wm_p262Jo1WwzKBociE6gU5FEv5mG_8a43tvR_3tvD7rjKLPtExBxUug3kJCnOo9fw3_t5Yn7QSUa9uoQ1PbxzB-51aLIHy5IdjH/s320/lid.jpg" /> <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 180px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5593302585384379058" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig1B9zBlptXrQqKPoq7ZXNxUwyY-Ph72V866XWlvtVy_wckq2heNHng73RNCwCq9BGwpC0IODctHuHoiolWSfAb2ZLAMBXNJ2NlIQUsALi3MYpCgg4XtRylkiEVqBOPmxw6JZBVwG54mjP/s320/stacking.jpg" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 229px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5593302066773184434" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUihrIlgLfwoogNggRguO2odDi_jxfYwx3wRLeWTk3xeylB63NYusDslSSha712okonWgstX5YKrfnUDf5fr2arLu9MaN_hDjNKR5On5JtVOzaLuAwXi0ggVSZfAFW77TV-F1Z45wOC9nI/s320/sealing.jpg" /> <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 249px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5593304291494659778" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNa-jU5srQ4Dct7WA4ZWgz3hxXg8AL_1BZYy83XqLoIDtosWA7uRn6rMEiiJ8yWB3O8mmPzgQ8rJz3v4UUEvjClVU2b73uWALk1zcCLP0cW2ZsaI_lUxssnba79iIZDOtmwn8h-k2G5np4/s320/cover.jpg" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 238px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5593304005985575634" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAzVZxt5q8_30U9PfYnIJOfWyx97La0c0VMFlhqUf2QjOWmeSy9YKj3TdMr7BUPGREojAlX_1_fpmLYSN47T4l5V2Uh4rw3mSn6Rii5dKx-8Cu_9avMgVL5FTpzUw19qs5zYgU99GMK8dp/s320/case+copy.jpg" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5593303328749975378" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2QD13vIM4gC1Rvgdwe5HCTXcKwjnkImAg1k-B1UDXSmUsYulgvqZmU9VpNK5E3AlFmyltV4sgu0uBt8ifQZ3uVODgfXAzuwJ-eufg0YqhjUuAc0BTAbuMT9hWb63W2hrJ8fwhANy-TQoD/s320/stacks.jpg" />Out of the Box Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647685352510791552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121466136082898490.post-25052633444147554892011-02-22T14:06:00.001-08:002011-02-22T14:11:05.104-08:00Behind the Game<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ-5MyFR8IZ0V4xaLNiVcW_WeX6AWKU5w4wtTinvZgIUMzSDKxpPGGVhyphenhyphenD2Eu5KxN1P9wVJ4RuOlahjxqerPMWwVOz5VhKQLKGCACMPxoNl4cqB1nb-fRaRqiTQ9GQnetZZrDKvoXpH2yV/s1600/Matt+and+Faux.png"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 198px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576639128611436642" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ-5MyFR8IZ0V4xaLNiVcW_WeX6AWKU5w4wtTinvZgIUMzSDKxpPGGVhyphenhyphenD2Eu5KxN1P9wVJ4RuOlahjxqerPMWwVOz5VhKQLKGCACMPxoNl4cqB1nb-fRaRqiTQ9GQnetZZrDKvoXpH2yV/s320/Matt+and+Faux.png" /></a> By Matt Nuccio<br /><div></div><br />The origin of Faux●Cabulary goes back to a party that my wife (then girlfriend) and I had back in 2006. Unfortunately, I don't recall the party or what sparked the inspiration—I guess it was a rough night—I just remember waking up with a name that I wanted to build a game around. That name was not Faux●Cabulary (which would come later) but, "What the Bluff?" I had what I thought was a funny name and I wanted to create a solid party game around it.<br /><br />The first version of What the Bluff? was a card game. The game included ‘fake word’ cards and players bluffed their made-up definitions for these words. I spent a year showing it around the industry to great reaction, just no takers. I received a laundry list of reasons why people weren’t interested-- too many card games on the market, word games don't make good party games, the name was possibly offensive. So, I moved onto the next project and then the next. I had forgotten about the game all together.<br /><br />Then, sometime around 2009, two things happened that brought What the Bluff? back to life. The first was I met Al Waller, the owner of Out of the Box Publishing. The second was the creation of another game I did called "A Bee C Match Game" (Endless Games). When I meet Al, I immediately took to him and his team. I knew they had a keen sense of how to sell a party game—just look at their track record! I wanted to publish a game with Out of the Box. I went back to the studio and dug up a few concepts including What the Bluff? I play tested all of my old concepts again and found that What the Bluff? did not stand out the way I remembered it. I found the card game aspect to be too traditional-- yawn! I wanted to create something that didn't just play well, but felt different in your hands, too. This is where A Bee C Match Game came in. I had spent the previous year building a children's spelling game with letter dice. My testing showed that people loved the dice aspect. So, I ditched the cards and added dice for creating the fake words. I tested the game all over the country-- with friends, family, friends of family . . . whoever would play it!<br /><br />I presented the game to Al in October of 2009 at the Dallas Toy Preview. He immediately liked the game, but we felt it needed some polishing. Al took a copy of the game back to Out of the Box and played it with his team. With feedback from Out of the Box and my play test groups, I simplified the game by prewriting all the definitions and reversed the rules so that one person read the definitions and the other players came up with the fake words.<br /><br />We reconvened that February at the New York Toy Fair. This time, my cousin Chris and I met with the entire Out of the Box team for a few rounds of the new and improved What the Bluff?-- The game was a smash hit. A few weeks later we had a deal in place.<br /><br />Over the next few months my team and Out of the Box continually tested and fine-tuned the content. Some of the content was toned down (the original was a bit racier) and some of the dud word-parts and definitions were rewritten or replaced with better ones. The hardest part was the name. I always loved What the Bluff?, but the game had changed so much since its inception that it was no longer relevant. My team and I spent months going back and forth with Out of the Box with new name suggestions. There were hundreds of names thrown around; ultimately we all decided on Faux●Cabulary. It fit the game perfectly—Faux (pronounced Fo) from the French, meaning fake, and Cabulary from the word vocabulary. From there, my team and I did the artwork for the box and cards.Out of the Box Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647685352510791552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121466136082898490.post-21876282010818108162011-02-14T08:57:00.000-08:002011-02-14T09:21:58.185-08:00The United Americas of EurasicaCheck out this fun email we got from some totally excellent OTB gamers!<br /><div><div><div><div></div><div><br /></div><div>Hello OTB!</div><div><br /></div><div>My daughter Vicky and I (Ginny) play a lot of your games, especially the 10 Days series. Like many, we have combined the games for longer trips and really had a lot of fun playing all 4 - 40 Days in the United States of Eurasiaca. Later, I saw that you posted your own rules for 20/30/40 Days on your site. </div><div><br /></div><div>Now that the Americas is out, we have expanded our game to 50 Days in the United Americas of Eurasiaca! I have included a couple of pics below.</div><div><br /></div><div></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 179px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573593777628353762" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijk_IdNlWhb03wLM_JzbxL4Jhg016aaqV5-hMJptUFkJCXJrDlovwq5o_LSHKqp7xjKUfOwz0zo_kZD7tCOzRETLIH4emxs8fisv_IFiilI0U9fTxxivRQqxy57Kmnx12mnXR62zQr_R92/s320/New+Picture.jpg" /><br /><br /><div>Set up is you pick 10 cards from each game, then toss the rest in a big bowl. You mix the 50 cards that you picked, then randomly place your cards starting with the top row, left to right, then the next row, left to right, until all rows are filled. Use 4 or 5 discard piles instead of 3.</div><br /><div></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 179px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573594875527312498" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwIn3EWW4-QSEayu1oT9OQjNz3dQDXXJSzxoHEFa0S12TYZI-MJYCIUX4BmQUgdaMMXmMdb99GB-K9ZKzPdU_6DKP98vSbJVWokYjZ0QNiTEV123dDZFYZsb1wbiI62Zz5S_EezIlQ_Q2K/s320/New+Picture+%25281%2529.jpg" /></div><div> </div><div>Same play as the regular games but the draw pile is just too big! So instead you pick from the bowl! You can use cars, boats and planes interchangably, i.e., you can use any yellow plane to go between any two yellow countries all over the world. You can also use cars for games that dont usually have cars.</div><div> </div><div>You must have at least 7 cards from each game set to win.</div><div> <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 179px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573595462094754738" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhir3azzo7ILCF-4FFc4-i-quneUClIm0Tc_-E8ufGuZhlvItXZ7zvxyXZ9lqSw6hmiqCAt_TfVcg-npszMSZOo1MFLj4bl4tkdhzQdbVb6ufc7CiM-Qyc20U1fArNZlursNHHwd5Klllfl/s320/New+Picture+%25283%2529.jpg" /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div>Out of the Box Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647685352510791552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121466136082898490.post-86307169061053439152010-12-29T15:55:00.000-08:002010-12-29T16:13:34.782-08:00Interview with John KovalicJohn Kovalic, world famous game artist and cartoonist, sits down with us and discusses his past, his passions and his future.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnRQxgum28S4TEw2MYtXY7azNauuWlCLlLUrxVkKC2kfeXzFABUJ-iytdBMiRgT4TgYqKNgBEsgZbCoxs_zfaIQUOqApkHfAb956oxfKhiE-QO2AkbhRZHcYhXSC2UKlFuPXjKRdI2X2L3/s1600/John+Kovalic.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 150px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556257795127454850" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnRQxgum28S4TEw2MYtXY7azNauuWlCLlLUrxVkKC2kfeXzFABUJ-iytdBMiRgT4TgYqKNgBEsgZbCoxs_zfaIQUOqApkHfAb956oxfKhiE-QO2AkbhRZHcYhXSC2UKlFuPXjKRdI2X2L3/s200/John+Kovalic.JPG" /></a><br /><div><strong>HOW DID YOU GET INTO DOING ART FOR GAMES?</strong> </div><br /><div><br />It was actually a bit of a coincidence - or rather, a series of coincidences. I used to be an editorial cartoonist for the local (Madison, WI) newspaper. Steve Jackson, at Steve Jackson Games saw an editorial cartoon I had done, and asked me if I wanted to illustrate their comic feature "Murphy's Rules." I'd been a gamer since I discovered hobby games in the 1970s, so I leaped at the chance.<br /><br />This led to a few illustrations on a game of theirs that Out of the Box founder Mark Osterhaus collected and played. He met up with me, and had me sign some cards for him at a local (Madison, WI) convention. When Out of the Box was actually started, Mark asked me to be a co-founder and co-owner of the company. The rest, as they say, is history!<br /><br /><strong>HOW MANY TOTAL GAMES HAVE YOU WORKED ON?<br /></strong><br />Honestly, right now, I'm not sure. I stopped counting after it reached 100 games and game supplements. My best guess is it's around 125, at the moment. But I need to look back through my files. It's a lot, though.<br /><br /><strong>DO YOU PLAY GAMES YOURSELF?<br /></strong><br />I love games! I'm an across-the-board (pun intended) gamer. I do everything from party, board and card games to historical miniatures and collectible card games. And of course, I create the "gamer" comic book and comic strip "Dork Tower."<br /><br />The bitter irony, though, is that as I've worked on more and more games, I've less time for actual gaming! On the flip side, though, one of the great things about being part of Out of the Box is that there are games we're working on that I literally can not WAIT to get produced...so that I can have my own copy to play.<br /><br /><strong>WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE OUT OF THE BOX GAME TO WORK ON? DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE CHARACTER?<br /></strong><br />OK...THAT is a great question, and a hard one to answer. My "favorite game" is usually the one that I'm working on at the moment. There's an upcoming game called "Can of Words" I'm truly excited to start work on...and I've had a ton of fun creating the bugs for "Bug Out," a great new OTB game for 2011. I loved the characters in the game "Gold Digger" - there are some terrible puns in them thar cards! The "10 Days" series is always a blast, because it's so different from most of the other illustrations I do. But I have to say - I still have a very fond place in my heart for the old Apple from "Apples to Apples"...<br /><br /><strong>WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?</strong><br /><br />I *just* finished the last of 36 different bugs for "Bug Out," and I'm coming up with some characters for Out of the Box's "Word on the Street." That's proved an enormously popular game, and it's one of my very favorites. But I've definitely been thinking about "Can of Words": that will be some VERY different packaging for an Out of the Box game, and I'm really anxious to get started on it. It'll be amazing! </div>Out of the Box Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647685352510791552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121466136082898490.post-29001081717420551442010-11-30T13:57:00.000-08:002010-12-01T14:36:09.390-08:00Congratulations to Team Mike, winners of the Giant Word on the Street National Championship!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHZNUYdSAX2Q4yNJoKReMyNXT7Som2C9paidDgczcuqwixKoNpYP2xpnmi6veja2Nv171iDry1rk4Q1Gp1CgGROecsvDQBljZQWM_N9i-r4SGgFnN8oMM8oXZO6ttZr7ttha8I7bEbBEVh/s1600/IMG_0063.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 136px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHZNUYdSAX2Q4yNJoKReMyNXT7Som2C9paidDgczcuqwixKoNpYP2xpnmi6veja2Nv171iDry1rk4Q1Gp1CgGROecsvDQBljZQWM_N9i-r4SGgFnN8oMM8oXZO6ttZr7ttha8I7bEbBEVh/s200/IMG_0063.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545846159038914610" /></a><br />After a grueling day of match after match, Team Mike eeked out a win against the Dudkiewicz Family in the National Championship of the Giant Word on the Street.Out of the Box Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647685352510791552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121466136082898490.post-44595983274250035662010-07-13T13:43:00.001-07:002010-07-13T13:54:07.035-07:00Winners from the Word on the Street Party CaseThanks to everyone who entered the Word on the Street Party Case Contest! This month we had an overwhelming request for us to post the winners names and answers, so we are obliging. Here you go!<br /><br />"Something that a Person Plays"<br />The following letters are one lane from your side of the board. You already have 4 letters off the board. Can you get 4 more letters off the board to win the game? <br />C K L M N R T<br />Entries may only be one word in length, proper names and plurals are allowed only where appropriate to the category. <br />The 10 entries using the most designated letters will win a copy of Word on the Street Party Case. If there is a tie, winners will be chosen randomly from the tied entries.<br /><br />Randy, CA- Clarinet<br />Patrick, WI- Moonstruck<br />Michael, IL- Instrument<br />Tim, IL- Clarinet<br />Pat, WI- Racketball<br />Christine, OK- Clarinet<br />Raymond, WI- Moonstruck<br />Arthur, CA- Instrumental<br />Jonathan, OR- Clarinet<br />Doug, MA- RacketballOut of the Box Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647685352510791552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121466136082898490.post-6925022798683806912010-04-07T14:53:00.000-07:002010-04-07T14:53:59.970-07:00Join the Slow Entertainment Revolution!Lately I’ve been feeling like I’m always just trying to get somewhere. I rush from one place to the next, not stopping to think about the pieces of my life, and if I am taking full advantage of each moment. I think it is a product of our culture. I work at home, so I spend most of my time face to face with a computer monitor, not seeing my coworkers more than about five times a year. In the evenings, I’m often too exhausted to do anything but sit in front of the television. I’ve recently decided that I need to slow things down. Appreciate those things that make me truly happy and start taking advantage of all that life offers.<br /><br />That is why I have decided to join the Slow Entertainment Movement (okay, so it is more of a concept than a movement at this point, but we can dream, right?). The name is coined off of the ‘Slow Food Movement’; an Italian organization dedicated more mindful eating (also known as the opposite of fast food). Slow entertainment is the type of entertainment that challenges you mentally and/ or physically, allows you to become fully involved in the entertainment process and, helps you create long-term connections with other people, basically, active entertainment rather than passive. Yes, just like slow food, this will probably take more time and more effort on the front end, but the long- and short-term rewards will make it worth it. In fact, there are a lot of parallels between food and entertainment. They can both strongly affect your emotional health, they both offer opportunities to connect with other people and they have both changed dramatically in the last fifty years in this country.<br /><br />Taking time for more meaningful entertainment experiences, doesn’t have to be complicated or time consuming, in fact, some of the more simple things I am doing allow me and my friends to interject more of our personalities in to the experience. Play a game, join a sports team, go on a walk, take a class, these are all simple ideas that leave me more invigorated and more connected. You will also notice that there are other benefits to entertainment choices like these—they are cheaper, they are better for the environment and they exercise either your body or your mind.<br /><br />This isn’t to say that I will never watch another TV show or play on YouTube, but I will be more mindful of the time and costs when I do. I don’t know about you, despite the bit of extra work, I would take a homemade picnic and board game over a bag of fast food and a sitcom re-run any night!Out of the Box Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647685352510791552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121466136082898490.post-87813424137581030502009-12-18T15:45:00.000-08:002009-12-18T15:55:34.408-08:00Game Variations and House RulesLast month we held a contest asking our fans how they play Out of the Box Games. We got loads of responses with great game variations and house rules. Below I have pulled out a couple of my personal favorites. Thanks for playing everyone!<br /><br />"My six-year-old and I like to play games together, And he often asks to play "10 Days in Europe" or "10 Days in the USA". But since he is still learning what the countries/states are called and where they are, "10 Days in the Europe/USA" would be strongly tilted in my favor. He still wants to play it though, so I take a handicap; he follows the usual rules of placing the tiles one at a time to try to set up some starting connections, but I take ten tiles and put the in days 1-10 in order, without looking at them first."- Nate, IL<br /><br />"When my roommate and I sit down with our dates to play Backseat drawing, instead of forming teams, the four of us take turns playing with each of the other three players (once as the director, once as the artist) for a total of six rounds. We keep score for as individuals, so which ever pair wins a round, we give each of those players a point." -Erin, CA<br /><br />"40 DAYS IN THE U.S. OF EURASICA!<br />We lay out all 4 boards on a big table and pick 10 cards from each set randomly, shuffle the 40 cards in your "hand," stack them, then place the top card in slot 1, the next card in slot 2, etc. until all 40 slots are filled. You are not allowed to look at them or place them in relation to any cards - just shuffle and place.<br />We use all of the seas, oceans, and common countries, etc. to connect to each other. So for example, you can take the Pacific Ocean from Japan in the Asia game to California in the US game. You can take the Mediterranean Sea from Italy in the Europe game to Egypt in the African game. Turkey exists in both Asia and Europe so you can use those interchangeably. You can use any plane to fly to any other country of the same color and of course, in any order within any rack. You can use cars in Asia (not normally in this version). <br /> We do stipulate that you must have at least 7 cards of each game so that you don't just spend 40 days in Africa. One time, I needed to get another Europe card because I only had 6 so I just needed to swap out a yellow African plane for a yellow European plane but I didn't get the chance before my daughter Vicky beat me!" -Ginny, PA<br /><br />"A variation to Ciniplexity. For those who are movie experts, instead of using only two cards and be the forst person to name a movie, use three cards to make it much more challening."- Sara, MN<br /><br />"I use the following variants for "Harry's Grand Slam Baseball" (which I love):<br /> Take out one homer card, one triple card, and one Balk card. That leaves 1 homer and 1 triple card in the deck, and cuts down on scoring, making the game more tactical.<br /> Also, I use the following variant rules: a run can score from 2nd on a single with 2 out and from 1st on a 2-out double (assuming that with 2 outs the runners would be moving on the pitch). Also, with 2 out a runner can move from 1st to 3rd on a single.<br /> Finally, a sacrifice bunt card is treated as an infield out if it's not a sacrifice situation (e.g., nobody on base or men on base but 2 out)."- Richard, ILOut of the Box Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647685352510791552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121466136082898490.post-89664626202319418192009-12-16T11:08:00.000-08:002009-12-16T11:13:38.250-08:002010 New ReleasesCheck out this sneak preview of our 2010 new releases!<br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>Word on the Street™ Junior</strong><br /><em>The Wacky Tug of Words</em><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415914033979941506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 130px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2xM6ImrzNnsumErL2pPZzij203oDmSU3zmJ8MOr70zuJOwSdajhPCQzZPbIA-eUK6WwUClNGlb_W8Ve3tYFW1dthadTpLnY5p32ekrD5ZR68AzJK1sQXcCMORTSns4VC8xW8KFJoI330a/s200/1750boxnbord.jpg" border="0" />Word on the Street™ Junior brings the excitement of Word on the Street™ to the entire family! Each turn, one team flips over a category card and team members quickly brainstorm words that fit the category. The team agrees on a word before the time runs out and then pulls each letter in that word one lane closer to their side of the street. The first team to pull eight letters off the street wins! Word on the Street™ Junior encourages vocabulary development, creative thinking and teamwork—and it’s fun!<br />· Ages 8 to Adult<br />· 2-8 Players<br />· 20-30 Minutes per Game<br /><br /><strong>Bug Out!™<br /></strong><em>The Surprising Game of Getting the Bug’s Out!</em><br /><br />Bugs, Bugs, Everywhere! Each player starts with four leaves but only knows what’s under two of them. Players must draw leaf cards, swap them, and discard, in an effort to get the lowest total number of bugs under the four leaves. Think you have the lowest number of bug points? Shout Bug Out! If you’re right, your points are cut in half, but “bug out” too early and you get double the points!<br /><br />· Ages 6 to Adult<br />· 2-6 Players<br />· 15-20 Minutes per Game<br /><br /><strong>10 Days in the Americas™</strong><br /><em>The Unpredictable Game of Making Connections<br /></em><br />Gather your sunglasses, snowshoes and mosquito spray - it’s time to travel to new destinations with the 10 Days Series - the Americas!<br />Players use destination and transportation tiles to chart a course through North, Central and South America and the Caribbean — touring by airplane, cruise ship or on foot. With a little luck and clever planning, you just might outmaneuver your fellow travelers and be the first to make connections for a complete ten day journey!<br /><br />· Ages 10 to Adult<br />· 2-4 Players<br />· 20-30 Minutes per Game<br /><br /><strong>Pirate versus Pirate™</strong><br /><em>The Swashbuckling Game of Swords and Rewaaaards!</em><br /><br />Three bands of pirates have discovered an island brimming with treasure. Conquer the island by capturing the gold and silver, or by eliminating the enemy pirates. Position your pirates carefully, enemies are all around and they are hungry for treasure!<br /><br />· Ages 8 to Adult<br />· 2-3 Players<br />· 20-30 Minutes per Game<br /><br /><br /><strong>Shake n’ Take™</strong><br /><em>The Fast and Frantic Alien Adventure<br /></em><br />Aliens are on the loose and it’s up to you to capture them! Everybody’s got aliens, but there are only two capture markers. Catch as many aliens as you can, before the next player grabs the capture marker right out of your hand. Be the first to capture all of your Aliens and win!<br /><br />· Ages 8 to Adult<br />· 3-6 Players<br />· 20-30 Minutes per GameOut of the Box Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647685352510791552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121466136082898490.post-69012190042413475562009-11-12T12:31:00.000-08:002009-11-12T16:18:58.473-08:00PhD Candidate Uses 10 Days in Africa for Research on Planning and Decision MakingDr. Elizabeth Lerner of Wright State University is an expert at planning. I dont mean that she is good at putting together a to do list, I mean she is literally an expert in the field of planning and decision making.<br />Dr. Lerner recently completed her PhD dissertation at Wright State University's Human Factors in Psychology department. During the course of research for her dissertation, Dr. Lerner along with her advisor, Valerie Shalin, PhD, and software developer, James Garrett, MS, created a computer model of Out of the Box's 10 Days in Africa game in order to help them study collaborative planning proformances and processes. "[10 Days in Africa] is a highly credible example of a real-world planning task that is still accessible to novices. [It] is educational, engaging, and lends itself perfectly to research on planning and decision making with constrained resources," says Dr. Lerner. The team was excited by the results of their studies and hope to publish several shorter papers in peer reviewed publications. "[10 Days in Africa] helped us to understand the process of planning involving multiple individuals, which has real-world applications in designing representation for complex environments ranging from mission control to manufacturing," says Dr. Lerner<br /><br />To learn more about 10 Days in Africa, visit <a href="http://www.otb-games.com/africa">www.otb-games.com/africa</a><br />To learn more about Wright State University's Human Factors in Psychology Department, visit <a href="http://www.psych.wright.edu/hfhome.htm">http://www.psych.wright.edu/hfhome.htm</a>Out of the Box Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647685352510791552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121466136082898490.post-20991598048257444462009-11-05T15:02:00.000-08:002009-11-05T15:21:50.085-08:00Top Tips for a Great Game NightIn our October Ahead of the Game, we asked readers to send in their top tips for hosting a successful game night. Thanks to everyone for all of the great tips! Below is a sampling of our favorites--<br /><br />Beware of the snacks that are natural enemies of board games. Cheetos are a good example of a natural enemy of board games. Here’s a good rule of thumb: if you are tempted to lick your fingers after eating this snack then it has no place at game night.- Scott, PA<br /><br />Balloon on mailbox or sign on front door, so guests know where the games are being played!- Rosemarie, IN<br /><br />Turn nobody away. As long as the attendees want to play games of any kind, the group should adjust or be adjusted to meet the desires of the patrons. If the trend doesn’t seem to develop as the organizers envision, perhaps it will spawn a spin-off group.- David, MI<br /><br />Consider using a lazy Susan turntable to place the game board on top of so that everyone has the same view during his or her turn.- Chris, CA<br /><br />Tournament Prize for large groups! It doesn't matter what the prize is, everyone loves to win something! This works especially well with large game groups!- James, SC<br /><br />Mix invitees based on skill/experience - invite some regular game players, and also folks new to party/board games.- Patrick, OH<br /><br />Don't play a game that embarrasses anybody. Anything that puts undue pressure on any of the participants is not fun. Trivia games are fun, but games where one person ends up looking stupid is not fun. If somebody isn't going to like/be good at a trivia game, don't play them.- Liena, TN<br /><br />Invite your friends that you don't see often- Devon, KS<br /><br />Provide with the invitation a description of the game and its basic rules.- Robert, TX<br /><br />Set a theme for the evening (ie. Word Games, Games that take 3 hours to play, Games that we haven't played in over a year, Pirate games)- Anna, OH<br /><br />Consider getting silly colored hats or other colored costume pieces (boas, bandanas…) so to players can match their game color.- Erin, CA<br /><br />Keep it simple – then you can focus on the fun of the games rather than entertaining.- Marypat, OH<br /><br />Make sure pens work and sharpen pencils ahead of time- Ray, NJ<br /><br />Encourage participants to bring their favorite game to share.- Sherrie, CO<br /><br />Always announce the plans for the next game night during the middle of game night, after everyone has arrived, and before people have left.- Will, WA<br /><br />Music is great to welcome everyone together. If the games are quiet, background music can help keep the energy flowing. If the games are noisy or get rowdy, music may just get in the way, so turn it down or off. - Carrie, MI<br /><br />Invite your guests to "participate" in the planning of the event. Send them a list of games you have in mind and poll them to see which games they are interesed in.- Gary, TN<br /><br />If the people in the group don't all know each other, play a get- to-know-you game first to get them acquainted. Keep it short.- Sue, SC<br /><br />If you have house rules inform people. I know this sounds like common sense, but it is easy to forget. Do you a policy regarding shoes? Does the dog get people food?- Bruce, MI<br /><br />Take pictures when you can. We treasure our moments together and enjoy talking about past experiences/game nights.- Amy, TN<br /><br />If children are attending, make sure that you have age appropriate games for them and a separate table- Cecile<br /><br />Suggest making this event into a once a month or every other month event rotating the hosting house- Lori, IL<br /><br />If a "problem" arises, have a "Do Over" instead of insisting on one answer over another.- John<br /><br />Play - but no heavy competition. We set guests so that no partner (wife, etc) plays together.- Ellen<br /><br />Make sure the bathroom is not embarrassing!- Elliot, INOut of the Box Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647685352510791552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121466136082898490.post-8873601327319438812009-09-29T12:20:00.000-07:002009-09-29T12:25:56.768-07:00Designing Games with the Publisher in MindDesigning Games with the Publisher in Mind<br />By Max Osterhaus, Director of Product Development<br /><br />Unless you are planning to self publish your games, at some point you are going to have to work with a publishing company and it’s in your best interest to make that interaction as smooth as possible. Coming from the publisher’s perspective, I am going to give you some hints about how keep the publisher happy and why you should care! I am going to avoid talking about actual game design methods and focus on some of the meta-concepts that will assist you in making the transition from hobby to profession.<br /><br />Let’s start from the beginning. There are an infinite number of ways that you might go about designing your game, but if it is your goal to have your games published, it is important to keep your audience in mind. In this case your audience is twofold. First there are the players of your game and second there is your publisher. Whether you design a game with a particular publisher in mind or are trying to decide to which company you should submit, it is critical that you do your research before submitting. There are many game companies and each has different needs and procedures. To gauge what a publisher wants, it’s usually good to look at their current product line and what sorts of new things they are coming out with. If you have a three-hour economic simulation game, it’s unlikely that a company that specializes in family card games would be interested.<br /><br />Now let’s say you have a great, well-tested game that seems to be perfect for a certain company--what’s next? First, make sure that the company accepts submissions and find out exactly what procedure they prefer you follow. Put some time into making your correspondences professional, and most important of all, find a way of describing your game quickly and clearly. It is critical to be able to get the idea of the fun or interest of your game across quickly and clearly. Then, if the publisher is interested, you should have well-written, simple rules available upon request. Prototypes do not need to be beautiful, but they do have work pretty much flawlessly. Graphics and other sorts of content might help to make sure the testers have fun, although they are not technically necessary. Keep everything tidy, in bags, boxes, or rubber bands as necessary.<br /><br />If all of this sounds like a lot of kowtowing, that’s not the point. We, gatekeepers (the people who work with private designers) are not looking to be praised or flattered; we are looking for great games and we put a lot of time into this search. To that end, your presentation needs to be to-the-point and professional while still transferring what is so excellent about your game. If your game not accepted, do not waste your time trying to convince the gatekeeper, but do learn something about that company’s preferences.<br /><br />These are the sorts of things that separate those who design for a hobby with the professionals and by mastering this process, you’ll save time, save money, and increase your odds of getting your games published!<br /><br />For more information, I recommend Keith Meyers’s book “Paid to Play,” available on his website <a href="http://www.gamedesigncentral.com/">http://www.gamedesigncentral.com/</a>.Out of the Box Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647685352510791552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121466136082898490.post-86434863090001623742009-09-24T09:59:00.000-07:002009-09-24T10:11:44.076-07:00Interview with Jack Degnan<div><div>Jack Degnan, inventor of Word on the Street, sits down with OTB to give us the scoop on his life outside the games, and why he cant get enough of game inventing.</div><br /><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5385082417396596178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 152px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5bBQ4unWni9qeh8cB6dRMC85AKYo8Kodxc7JLoZYMym37Jgd8yIJwW8GM7oZQZrv42EEs-wARnlQHqdWTuhatUEmbkF7SJ99PkOneYuJQUPvhfT9-h3JL3ik5L__KifGCIRUcJ_QFxWSB/s200/Pic+WOTS.jpg" border="0" /> <div></div><div><strong></strong></div><div><strong>How long have you been inventing games?</strong> </div><br /><div>I've been inventing games for five years, still a newbie.<br /><br /><strong>How many published games have you invented?</strong> </div><br /><div>I have three games published, all within the past two years.<br /><br /><strong>What do you do when you are not inventing games?</strong> </div><br /><div>My day job is working in clinical research at UCSD Medical Center in San Diego. I have other hobbies too. I enjoy hiking. I also play the guitar and write music.<br /><br /><strong>How did you invent Word on the Street?</strong> </div><br /><div>Word on the Street is a game that I thought of when I first started thinking of designing games. I tried it as a card game. Players would turn over a category card and try spelling words that fit the category using the letters in their hand. When I tested it, I saw some potential, but it was missing something. About a year later, I dusted it off and tried making it a board game: players would race their letters to the end of the board by spelling words that fit the category. But it wasn't interactive enough. Then I got the idea of a tug-of-war of letters across a board. When I researched the name "Tug-of-Words", I saw there was already a game with that name so that's when I came up with the street theme.<br /><br /><strong>Do you have any role models whom you look up to?</strong><br /></div><div>Mhhh. In the board game world, I'd have to say my role model is Keith Meyers - a successful game designer who taught me how to design games. I don't think I'd be doing this if I hadn't taken his class. Outside of the boardgame world, I'd have to say Harvey Milk - a man who worked tirelessly to encourage people to be honest and true to themselves regardless of the consequences.<br /><br /><strong>What is the best piece of advice you ever got about inventing games?</strong><br /></div><div>To playtest A LOT.<br /><br /><strong>Why do you think that games are important?</strong><br /></div><div>Living in the digital age is wonderful for many reasons - but I think it has its drawbacks - and one is that it's causing humans to become more isolated. Board games are interactive. People have fun, laugh, learn, and get to know each other. Those are things we humans are supposed to do.<br /><br /><strong>What do you like most about being a game inventor?</strong><br /></div><div>I love watching people have fun with something I created. There is nothing like that feeling.<br /><strong><br />Who do you typically play games with?</strong><br /></div><div>My friends and my family. I belong to a couple of board game groups too and those are great. I used to play Scrabble with my Mother a lot; but I think Word on the Street is becoming her new favorite game. I have so many favorite games. There's just not enough time to play them all.<br /><br /><strong>How many games are in your personal collection?</strong><br /></div><div>I just went to count. 38.</div></div>Out of the Box Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647685352510791552noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121466136082898490.post-26709307210413018612009-07-31T12:37:00.000-07:002009-07-31T12:38:07.094-07:00Whoo Hoo! Some great award announcements just came in! Backseat Drawing won Education.com's A+ award. Backseat Drawing Junior got Platinum from the Oppenheim awards, and Backseat Drawing, Ninja versus Ninja and Backseat Drawing Junior won Creative Child Preferred Choice awards! Finally, Chain Game won the Creative Child Seal of Excellence!Out of the Box Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647685352510791552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121466136082898490.post-58452521985011986552009-07-20T08:01:00.000-07:002009-07-20T08:09:32.718-07:00Peggy Brown InterviewCheck out the below interview with Peggy Brown, inventor of Backseat Drawing-<br /><br /><em>How long have you been inventing games?</em><br />21 years<br /><br /><em>How many published games have you invented or worked on?</em><br />I honestly have no idea, but it's in the hundreds.<br /><br /><em>What do you do when you are not inventing games?<br /></em>I'm an author, designer, and artist. I have many creative endeavors in progress at any given time. I'm not inventing games all the time, but I am generally creative, even when I'm cooking! I like to invent new cookie recipes. Snapperdoodles, anyone?<br /><br /><em>How did you invent Backseat Drawing?<br /></em>My friend and I were waiting for our dinner in an Indian restaurant. As we would often do, we started doodling all over the paper placemats, and Backseat Drawing was born before the mulligatawny soup was served.<br /><br /><em>Do you have any role models that you look up to?<br /></em>My mom. She is extremely creative, and she has always showed me how to apply creative thinking and inject a dose of funinto any situation. As far as famous role models go, Jim Henson taught me how to make infinite worlds out of a little story, a couple ping pong balls, and some fuzz.<br /><br /><em>What is the best piece of advice you ever got about inventing toys and games?<br /></em>This piece of advice came from a teacher and was about creating stories, not games, but I find it helpful in games as well: Ask yourself two things... what's the point, and who cares? In other words,get right to the heart of the matter, and always always always remember your audience.<br /><br /><em>What is your biggest motivation for inventing toys and games?<br /></em>I like to take advantage of the opportunities I have to show others how to use their imaginations to enjoy themselves and spend fun times with their friends and families.<br /><br /><em>What do you like most about the toy industry?<br /></em>It's full of people with playful souls... and that's a very rare commodity.<br /><br /><em>What kinds of trends to you see coming in games?<br /></em>I hope this is really a trend and not just a wish of mine, but I see people taking more time to play with each other and forget their worries for a few hours. Play time is crucial for the development of kids, but it's important for adults too. When people are willing and able to concentrate a little harder on games, then games will get more interesting and more complex, and the wonderful things inventors create will not have to be boiled down so they're fast and simple.<br /><br /><em>How many games are in your personal collection?<br /></em>I honestly have no idea, but it's in the hundreds. Plus, I've saved one copy of every game I've developed, and my basement is really getting crowded!<br /><br />Learn more about Peggy Brown at <a href="http://www.peggybrown.net/">www.peggybrown.net</a> and learn more about Backseat Drawing at <a href="http://www.otb-games.com/backseatdrawing">www.otb-games.com/backseatdrawing</a>Out of the Box Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647685352510791552noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121466136082898490.post-80567371229131391342009-07-08T08:52:00.000-07:002009-07-08T08:53:33.810-07:00New AOTGNew AOTG with 7 Ate 9 contest and discount! <a href="http://www.otb-games.com/listmanager/index.html">http://www.otb-games.com/listmanager/index.html</a>Out of the Box Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647685352510791552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121466136082898490.post-83732267134508644352009-06-28T05:13:00.001-07:002009-07-24T10:41:33.285-07:00Origins Post #3Finally got the Origins Pics posted! Congratulations to Anna for winning the Out of the Box tournament!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL8J-DEh5mt6XG1ijcG1_aehO2bkeD1s6xjga8bzYyTbw986Mikv_hhq3QpZY1PHwGKy8khvUWvfB5z8oGa7s8CyIlA3NAtGpK9EsDznfqREWbB5-PopP5VHQd-vNVYWNhKRICJSCKU6_I/s1600-h/iphone+pics+247.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362082511019248754" style="WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL8J-DEh5mt6XG1ijcG1_aehO2bkeD1s6xjga8bzYyTbw986Mikv_hhq3QpZY1PHwGKy8khvUWvfB5z8oGa7s8CyIlA3NAtGpK9EsDznfqREWbB5-PopP5VHQd-vNVYWNhKRICJSCKU6_I/s200/iphone+pics+247.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIxzgZkMZTFAuZ23ZBsxAZ22OZw24YYYxtq6bednyQZ5RiIL-fR5p-BhzEkkIbZ4Ms4QoAd_KbMfniV_lJm5IyIZ5Bcj3GH-SvbG2Xf7jsDFQGlmPxsYdGI39AuqLDC2PnoN1bvDT2sUyz/s1600-h/iphone+pics+211.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362082321862627074" style="WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIxzgZkMZTFAuZ23ZBsxAZ22OZw24YYYxtq6bednyQZ5RiIL-fR5p-BhzEkkIbZ4Ms4QoAd_KbMfniV_lJm5IyIZ5Bcj3GH-SvbG2Xf7jsDFQGlmPxsYdGI39AuqLDC2PnoN1bvDT2sUyz/s200/iphone+pics+211.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJWqc38YeWd7joLbaxCkOa9gGjkT8ti1iy1z3OAdIek3xqidrCPoOy-sYbJpi4Z46Dwnd9Tmo3324zsHTTkxxK8Cu-TSwIN4uK-ombRnEu3k-UIin0hiLR3q5c1_jESBqceAhqbCedHVUO/s1600-h/iphone+pics+185.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362082212334117314" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJWqc38YeWd7joLbaxCkOa9gGjkT8ti1iy1z3OAdIek3xqidrCPoOy-sYbJpi4Z46Dwnd9Tmo3324zsHTTkxxK8Cu-TSwIN4uK-ombRnEu3k-UIin0hiLR3q5c1_jESBqceAhqbCedHVUO/s200/iphone+pics+185.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG5JL8C1RXhsdwHZo7z7QzzbDK9NOmJZ1THDcUDV3Yv5Bdledl8d6eqFjkyOkCrqOJKWZupCjLqVJ2Ocw2BFm1wJNhLTIGaQ53mGIuj8AHzdSPFR0OAR_hyphenhyphenjiZTQYswlYpWAvXyzCT_oos/s1600-h/iphone+pics+132.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362082010875224386" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG5JL8C1RXhsdwHZo7z7QzzbDK9NOmJZ1THDcUDV3Yv5Bdledl8d6eqFjkyOkCrqOJKWZupCjLqVJ2Ocw2BFm1wJNhLTIGaQ53mGIuj8AHzdSPFR0OAR_hyphenhyphenjiZTQYswlYpWAvXyzCT_oos/s200/iphone+pics+132.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYZPWhapY920jiIhVG2IE_oN_uYuJbbGl_XYWsUpjqkv-jziavAlg5CCQ_QvygGTPSBV7ly13oByddRlwROabNffYeoV1uvlqQEhyphenhyphenHqQ2Y8T-MpcZibAWA_ftoCt1wa4_x2NNPvOJ5dEzJ/s1600-h/iphone+pics+119.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362081844678879554" style="WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYZPWhapY920jiIhVG2IE_oN_uYuJbbGl_XYWsUpjqkv-jziavAlg5CCQ_QvygGTPSBV7ly13oByddRlwROabNffYeoV1uvlqQEhyphenhyphenHqQ2Y8T-MpcZibAWA_ftoCt1wa4_x2NNPvOJ5dEzJ/s200/iphone+pics+119.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgax4acOOMkwmubwIBA0Dhw3sMAYe6ObbKSqj19nQzWG0ySJtGKOORihvBc4l4SSzC7jGc0H9SSdLsHRQ5SFEOGKlEMCnOm0xv6F0ZlGaSNied1M1AEdL62PwinjWs9570XK82UNjQKLK_y/s1600-h/iphone+pics+048.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362081645545092610" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgax4acOOMkwmubwIBA0Dhw3sMAYe6ObbKSqj19nQzWG0ySJtGKOORihvBc4l4SSzC7jGc0H9SSdLsHRQ5SFEOGKlEMCnOm0xv6F0ZlGaSNied1M1AEdL62PwinjWs9570XK82UNjQKLK_y/s200/iphone+pics+048.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><div> </div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Out of the Box Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647685352510791552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121466136082898490.post-86542499722098879982009-06-27T05:10:00.000-07:002009-06-27T05:21:56.082-07:00Origins Day 2Oh my gosh!!! Yesterday was crazy busy!! Every table was full from about 10:30 on. I apologize to anyone who had to wait to play a game or who couldnt even get in to play the game they wanted. But, I love days like that. I get to go from one game to the next, and playing with Origins players is the best. They are quite bright and really fun!!<br />Well, we will be starting the day today with only 6 Word on the Streets left. I personally really want one, but because I know we will sell out first thing this morning, I think that Id better just wait until they actually come in. Ninja versus Ninja is getting down there too. I suspect that we will be out of those by the end of the day too.<br />I did a fun interview with John and Cody from <a href="http://gameonpodcast.libsyn.com/">Game On! Podcast</a> so keep an eye out for that. I also talked with Mary Prasad from boardgamenews.com, so there should be some info from her on there.<br />Tournaments seem to be going quite well. Lots of happy winners. The Chain Game tournament was the highlight with many very creative responses. We are really looking forward to the Ninja versus Ninja and Backseat Drawing Tournaments today. Also, if you go to the tournaments, you can get a sneek peek at our new games 7 ate 9 and Super Circles!!<br /><br />I promise, pictures tomorrow . . .Out of the Box Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647685352510791552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121466136082898490.post-67302577059626726802009-06-26T04:42:00.000-07:002009-06-26T05:08:15.490-07:00Origins Day 1Welcome to Out of the Box's first Origins post! First a little background . . . Origins is the second largest consumer gaming fair in the United States and one of the largest in the world. Attendees come from numerous states and even other countries. Gaming starts on Wednesday morning and lasts until Sunday evening with many gamers playing through the night. The types of games played run the gamut from childrens games to live action role playing games. Out of the Box has exhibited at Origins for more than 10 years.<br />Origins is one of my personal favorite conventions during the year. We get to hear multitudes of stories about the fun ways that people are using games, and how our games have brought families, friends and classrooms together. Besides, I get to play games all day . . . could it get better than that?<br />Origins 2009 started out on a high note yesterday with a rush shipment of Word on the Street arriving just in time for the start of the show. These games were literally shipped directly from the factory to Columbus! I was so happy to see that the graphics turned out beautifully and the components look fantastic!<br />While many gamers had been playing since Wednesday morning, the exhibits didnt open until Thursday morning. The opening bell for the exhibits is one of the most exciting parts of the show. Gamers run to their favorite publishers to find out about the newest of the new. We couldnt have been more pleased with the reception of Word on the Street, Letter Roll and Ninja versus Ninja, our three newest games. The tables stayed full and the laughter echoed through the convention hall.<br />Max, our tournament guru, had a great time running our multitude of tournaments, led by a rousing game of Cineplexity and an intense Basari competition. There is a lot of anticipation about who will be the 2009 Out of the Box Grand Champion, but it is too early to speculate.<br />More to come (including hopefully pictures) tomorrow!Out of the Box Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647685352510791552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121466136082898490.post-48709591586708009372009-06-18T09:44:00.000-07:002009-06-18T09:45:03.110-07:00New AOTGCheck out the June Ahead of the Game with Word on the Street Contest-<br /><a href="http://www.otb-games.com/listmanager/index.html">http://www.otb-games.com/listmanager/index.html</a>Out of the Box Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647685352510791552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121466136082898490.post-80021146713746393472009-06-18T09:43:00.000-07:002009-06-18T09:45:32.524-07:00Organize your games!Organize your game collection with these great tips!<br /><a href="http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/18412/organizing_board_games_playbyplay_plans.html?cat=6">http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/18412/organizing_board_games_playbyplay_plans.html?cat=6</a>Out of the Box Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647685352510791552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121466136082898490.post-78063191880853101072009-05-12T10:54:00.000-07:002009-05-12T10:56:15.071-07:00New Ahead of the Game!New Ahead of the Game with contest to win ANY OTB game! All you have to do is comment on this post with the name of your favorite current OTB game and your email address.<br /><a href="http://www.otb-games.com/listmanager/index.html">http://www.otb-games.com/listmanager/index.html</a>Out of the Box Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647685352510791552noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121466136082898490.post-3829236377054106802009-04-30T09:09:00.000-07:002009-04-30T09:11:51.702-07:00Dia Del NiñosHappy Dia Del Niños!<br />Celebrate with one of Casa de Carina's best games and toys for Latino families!<br /><a href="http://www.casadecarina.com/10BestToysandGames10MejoresJuegosyJuguetes.htm">http://www.casadecarina.com/10BestToysandGames10MejoresJuegosyJuguetes.htm</a>Out of the Box Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647685352510791552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121466136082898490.post-60078503055757760562009-04-22T14:25:00.000-07:002009-04-22T14:26:34.391-07:00National TV Turnoff week!This week is National TV Turnoff Week! For ideas on what to do to celebrate, check out <a href="http://www.tvturnoff.org/">http://www.tvturnoff.org/</a>Out of the Box Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647685352510791552noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6121466136082898490.post-47291873103099589892009-04-22T14:24:00.000-07:002009-04-22T14:25:38.571-07:00New Ahead of the Game with Letter Roll Contest! <a href="http://www.otb-games.com/listmanager/index.html">http://www.otb-games.com/listmanager/index.html</a>Out of the Box Gameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15647685352510791552noreply@blogger.com0