HISTORY:
The board game industry has been in existence from ever since. Prominent games such as dominoes, backgammon, chess and checkers have been played for centuries. Evidence has the Hindus playing chess as early as 1474 AD. Backgammon was traced to the early Sumerian civilization of Mesopotamia as far back as 3000 BC. According to the Complete Book of Indoor Games, Morris Games layouts have been found on articles, manuscripts and in tombs from various times in ancient history including one cut into the roofing slabs at Kurna dating back to 1400BC. In Lane’s Modern Egyptians, written while he was living in Egypt in the 1830’s, is a description of Mankala’h, a popular board game in the coffee shops. R.C Bell in his Board and Table Games From Many Civilizations dates the modern 6-sided dice, as we know it with all the opposite sides adding to seven; 1:6, 2:5, 3:4 back to 900 BC and attributes it to the Etruscans who occupied Rome at the time. He adds that other similar dice were found in Britain in prehistoric earth-works of Maiden Castle.
More popular and family oriented board games such as monopoly have been in play since the 1930s when Parker Brothers bought the rights to the game and went into mass production thus revolutionizing the board game industry. Pictionary and the more recent Fortune and Donald Trump The Game, have also become household names in the industry. There are several different kinds of board games available in the market today, one just needs to pay a visit to the toy stores such as Toys R Us or the department stores such as Wal~Mart and Target to see whole aisles and sections of the departments allotted to board games.
Along with other items produced by local innovators, Save Mart supermarket Stores, though a grocery chain, is currently playing a major role in distributing our board games. The gaming industry is developing and growing in leaps and bounds especially with the introduction of new reality and game shows where the game developers are successfully mimicking the TV shows on the board games; The Price is Right, Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, and the more recent Donald Trump the game are good examples of board games that were developed from TV shows and achieved tremendous success in the market. The sales and demand for the games are relatively comparable to the TV ratings of the shows they compliment. Lately, Realty Shows ratings have sky rocketed and so have the merchandise associated with them; Board Games are no exception.
Founded in 2004 Modesto Gamers is focused on its mission statement, “Quality time through fun & games”. As the company grows, I, Mutunga Maithya, owner and founder of Modesto Gamers, and the inventor of “Terminated”, intend to provide the typical family with games that are both entertaining and educative, but above all, games that will bring together those who play them.
THE GAME:
The board game Terminated was the brainchild of the experiences of its creator. After more than a decade of employment in different companies and industries, different departments and sectors of the businesses, from agriculture to software production, I realized that at the end of the day, one common factor was evident; the desire for career advancement and the fruits and privileges that accompanied the advancement. To me, everything seemed to revolve around this common factor, Advancement; the economy, lifestyle and life in general all seemed to be a game where the rules were already written and I had to follow them.
With this understanding in mind, I embarked on the arduous task of arranging it all on paper and it wasn’t long before I had a complete and playable game. The circular design of the game was chosen to emphasize the revolving aspect of the game. I had four gas stations to remind us of both the need for gas and the high gas prices. I included childcare; a common denominator in our families and most other successful and complete families. Since we all have to pay taxes, I included a slot for the IRS on the game. It was abundantly clear that since I got paid once every pay period, then one complete revolution around the board was equivalent to one complete pay period. Domestic utilities were also included in the game for this was an everyday necessity.
There were several things I could have included in the game such as food and health insurance but I ran out of room. However, I did include vacation, a common phenomenon at work, whether earned or incidental such as sick time or penalty (suspensions). The Superior Court was included to provide a platform for one to forward his/ her grievances and concerns and to provide a platform for one to mount their best defense whenever the circumstance arose.
For disciplinary purpose and as an instrument of the constant penalty awaiting the lawbreakers, I included the jail slot on the game. I also included the INS slot on the game due to the fact that there are numerous undocumented immigrants who masquerade as legal entities hence the need for consistently proving ones eligibility for employment. As much as I despise paying the high insurance premiums, the state law requires that we maintain auto insurance at all times. In an effort to keep the game fun and entertaining, I included the mailbox and email as tools to deliver messages, promotions, bonus, and even penalties.
The eight departments, Shipping and Receiving, Production, Assembly, Customer Service, Packaging, Maintenance, Quality Assurance and Management were chosen because I had personal experience in them and I felt that they were crucial to any manufacturing enterprise. Other departments such as accounting, advertising and marketing though important to a company were not included because I figured that some companies were able to operate profitably by either doubling or outsourcing these departments.
After designing the board and digitally recreating it, I embarked on a thorough research to find the best and most cost effective way to mass-produce the game for the public. I visited with some local firms here in Modesto to find the best prices as far as printing was concerned for 80% of our game would require printed material e.g. the Game box, Game board, the playing cards, the money and the rules. The remaining 20% would be the tokens and the dice. After consulting with the local plastic companies, I quickly realized that it was very expensive to manufacture our own individual plastic components for small runs; the molds would cost approximately $5000 each to create for the buildings, cars and dice. Therefore we ordered our tokens from Rolco in Minnesota. Willey Printing by far offered us the best printing quotes. The initial quantity of 2000 units was arrived after carefully reviewing the bids I had received from the various prospective game manufacturers and the capital in hand.
The initial prototype trial runs were very successful and the volunteers seemed genuinely impressed to the point of preordering advance units. I contacted a few convenient stores and even paid a visit to some of the toys and miscellaneous stores at the Vintage Mall such as Kay Bee Toys and John T’s, who all expressed an interest in the game and its possible distribution. Further research revealed that the game would be most appealing to those over 17 and below 40 years of age, however it could be played by anyone who could read.
MARKETING:
Allow me to elaborate on the marketing strategy and advertising; With all the news of tainted and or toxic toys recalls circulating both the mainstream media and online blogs, I intend to promote our Products as American Made and Safe, at game conventions, where all the prominent toys and games manufacturers and retailers, such as Milton Bradley, Hasbro, Parker Brothers, Fisher Price, WalMart and Toys R Us, just to mention a few, will convene to discuss and explore all the new games in the market today. I will make a greater effort to effectively and consistently meet with the smaller stores to promote and market our products through them. The internet might ultimately prove to be the best outlet for our games so I will tirelessly promote online sales in addition to the other outlets we will explore. Given that it is a family oriented game, I believe that it will make an excellent gift for this years and future holiday seasons.
I have well over a dozen years experience in both manufacturing including production and quality assurance and retailing and customer service. I have worked for several companies such as the giant retailers Target and WalMart where I got extensive experience in both marketing strategies and customer service. I have also worked in several production facilities such as Americ Disc, TMI, Racor, and Orchard Valley just to mention a few where I experienced first hand what it takes to manufacture a product from scratch to the finished item. I also understand fully well what it takes to work at the bottom of the barrel to the top. I have experience in all aspects of manufacturing I.e. from the floor worker to supervisor, to production manager, to owner of this business.
In our continuous efforts to develop new games, we encourage those with game ideas to submit them to us for review and devlopment. If we can not produce the games, we will attempt to point them in the right direction and help them out with as much logistical support as we can. Remember you have to believe in yourself before we can belief in you.
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