Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 29, 1993 TAG: 9308270399
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: F4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JAN NORMAN ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
DATELINE: BREA, CALIF. LENGTH: Long
Why, he is up to his warehouse rafters in games. Board games, that is.
Herndon is president of Talicor Inc., the Brea manufacturer of the Ungame, Antsy, the I Love Lucy Game and more. He may not have a Monopoly on the industry, but it's by no means a Trivial Pursuit for him.
In the early '70s, Talicor wasn't such a fun company. It made audiotapes to train people how to read and write basic medical terminology. Not exactly the excitement of Pictionary.
Talicor's head of product development told Herndon that one of her Garden Grove, Calif., neighbors, Rhea Zakich, had developed a noncompetitive board game to help people communicate and was manufacturing it in her home. Could Talicor help?
"I fell in love with the concept," Herndon said. "Medical education is a form of communication. We thought we could sell the Ungame into nursing schools and also thought it had consumer applications."
He was right. So right that it became a case of the tail wagging the dog. Talicor sold the medical-education part of the business and became serious about games.
The $3 billion game industry is tough on newcomers, says Winston Hamilton, executive director of the Iowa-based Game Manufacturers Association. More than half the industry has been gobbled up by electronic games that beep and flash and give 10-year-olds carpal tunnel syndrome.
Chances of getting a new board game onto toy-store shelves is "one half of one half of one percent," Hamilton said. "It's easier to write a hit novel."
Talicor has done it 40 times. And in a market where the average board game survives perhaps two years, the Ungame enjoys rare longevity.
In addition, Talicor has manufactured board games for about 40 inventors.
"After 20 years of creating games, we decided we had made most of the mistakes, so we could help others," Herndon said.
Generally, Talicor isn't interested in buying rights and marketing these games, although Herndon probably gets one inquiry a day. The company offers a turnkey manufacturing package for inventors who want to market their own products.
The inventor must have a prototype and investors lined up before Talicor will accept the job.
"We always recommend they contact an attorney or the Library of Congress to get information about copyrighting or trademarking the game," he said. "If it's unique, it might be patentable, but in most cases, that is not feasible."
"I avoid conversations about whether a game will be a success," Herndon said. "I don't think anyone can predict successes."
Game Manufacturers' Hamilton agrees, pointing to the history of Trivial Pursuit, one of the most recent board-game superhits.
"No one believed in it; no one understood the demographics. So it was left to the designers to take it to malls, home demonstrations, store-to-store sales to create demand. It took nine years."
Herndon says a good idea is just the beginning of a marketable board game.
"You must make a long-range commitment. You must be prepared to pay for a short run of 2,000 to 5,000 units for salesmen and customer samples."
Herndon recommends that inventors do a lot of test-playing before spending $20,000 to $40,000 - the typical cost to manufacture and market a new board game.
"The more they test the game, take criticisms about their game and refine it, the better off they are," he said.
Don't confine the test to your mom and best friend, either. Ask a bunch of strangers to play it. Many times. If they want to play it again, you're on the right track.
Herndon says the test players often suggest refinements. If it's a card game, have players rate their reaction to the design of each card on a scale of 1 to 10. Throw out every card that scores lower than 8.
Talicor's experience may also suggest ways to improve a game or lower its cost of production. If the proposed game uses an elaborate spinner, a less costly deck of cards might work just as well.
Some seemingly good ideas never get to market because they cost far more to make than the $15 average price of a board game.
"Over the years I have observed that our games typically cost about the same as a couple going to the movies," Herndon said.
The biggest eliminator in the industry is financing, Herndon says. "They can't raise the money, and they don't have enough confidence in the idea to put up their own money.
"The second factor is they don't get a feeling that it will be a success when they test-play the game. In every case, including my own, people have been surprised at how much work and dedication it takes to bring a new product to market."
\ TIPS FOR BOARD-GAME INVENTORS
Advice from Talicor Inc., Game Manufacturers Association
Make a long-range commitment. The creators of Trivial Pursuit spent nine years building consumer interest in their game.
Successful board games are fun or entertaining and based on topics of broad appeal.
A new concept is more likely to sell than a better version of an old concept.
Develop a prototype of your idea.
Have consumers test-play the game, then modify the game based on their suggested improvements.
Save or find investors willing to put up $20,000 to $40,000 to produce and market the game.
Be prepared for hard work and long hours to market the game.
Get legal advice on copyrights, trademarks and patents for the game.
by CNB