Game Critic

Having spent 26 years quietly (in the main) watching in the wings as the game I created (Jenga) became increasingly part of everyday life, I have decided to step into the limelight to tell its story, and to publicly claim authorship of my game. Why now? Because I have come to realize that,contrary to received wisdom, many people are fascinated by the history of the games they play. And in the case of Jenga, so fascinated that, for lack of information, a myriad myths have evolved to explain the game's origins. Myths such as; Jenga is 'a traditional African game', or 'ancient Chinese game', or was 'played by the Japanese for thousands of years'. Perhaps not as exciting as any of these myths, I still hope that the simple truth about Jenga, that it has a living and breathing author will be of enough interest for people to want to pick up and read a copy of 'About Jenga' Ironically, as this is my first book, not one of my forty game, this is the first thing I have published over 26 years that credits me, on its cover, as its author!

Here's another site to promote games, 101greatgames.com. Tim Walsh is writing a book again and using this site for research! As most of you know, he wrote the history of our inventors in a beautiful book called The Playmakers or Timesless Toys (depending on the print run you have). His site is ThePlaymakers.com

Kim Vandenbroucke, a frequent poster to this blog, recently debuted her website The Game Aisle. It is a terrific game review site with comments about our industry since she is also a recognized inventor insider. TheGameAisle.com Check it out!

I submitted a bunch of press releases to the Toy Fair electronic press kit online, and the one that had the most "legs" was one I did on our forthcoming abstract strategy game, Samsara. Some of the comments above have made me realize why. It had an interesting story angle about the game's theme, and the hook was current events (talking about games causing violence). I've talked to quite a few journalists from AP to a community newspaper in Queens, and other than holiday roundups, no one thinks games are mainstream enough to warrant a regular review space. The way to that place seems to be through news releases on games. They may be able to pave the way to general media reviews.

Our catalog has an Industry Feature section. We welcome submissions of games for reviews. We primarily serve independent retailers, who are an essential part of the chain necessary to get new games in the hands of the public. Recently, "Red Neck Life" was discussed on main stream TV. I think our catalog was one of the first places to review this game, which is a personal favorite of mine. Lisa Steenson is a very funny and creative game inventor. We would like more people in our industry to work with us. So I hope someone will read this and drop us a line. We do what we can.. Richard "Hart" Hartnett

It's not just games, you know. It's playgrounds. It's new, innovative sports. It's, in my considered opinion, fun itself that is getting a bad rap and a cold shoulder. People need to know about new, original, innovative ways to have fun, and, unless there are strong commercial tie-ins, the press seems to be uniform in its inability to perceive the value, the artistry, the social significance, the achievement, the public service of those who bring this world new ways to have fun. Good article. Great discussion. Thanks.

Mr. Roberts - There is a game, published by Z-Man Games, called Parthenon:Rise of the Aegean, which was originally created as a corporate tool for team building. It won the Origin's Game of the Year award in 2006 (if memory serves). Check with Z-Man's owner and founder, Zev Slashinger (very approachable) for further information. Oh, and by the way, there ARE game critics. We're out here scrambling for journals that need our work.

Richard I support getting games into the main stream. I agree that there need to be game critics and that the American people need to use games more. In fact, as a Professor of Management at Penn State, I use games to teach senior students about Leadership. I also run a corporate team building company (www.corporateteambuilding.com) in which I use big and small games to teach commuunication, team work, leadership and strategic planning. I am always looking for great games for team building. Any one who has a game that we could use should email us and we will see if we can use them. I hope this helps.

I think your blog brings up a great point. Why do we reviews things like books that are often read ONCE, when games are meant to be played OVER AND OVER? Maybe it's because there are truckloads of terrible books out there -- whereas I've never met a game I truly HATED. I'm sure it has something to do with fun people playing with me, or maybe games are just inherently fun but books can be sad, scary, depressing, etc. Still, I would love to open the Chicago Red Eye and see a weekly column on games – why not, they review everything else you could possibly think of doing over the weekend!

Tony, I don't think it is wishful thinking that board game sales will increase. Even though Video and PC gaming has increased a whopping 43% (according to the NPD Group, Inc) board game sales remained the same. With the right media nudge, maybe we can create a tipping point for our industry. Mary, I like your idea of an Inventor Celebration Event during Chitag. Maybe a "May I have the envelope please..." for game categories, graphic artists, etc. With the right media and support in attendance we can create quite a buzz. But, we'd need game critics. : ) I'd love to see inventors on the cover of Rolling Stone. I can think of quite a few who would look great. You know who you are. : )

It makes sense to me that the American game market catch up with what's been going on already in Germany and elsewhere.

Richard, Your comments lead me to think about how Literacy is taught in schools, and what “Game Literacy” might look like. Our society values Literacy because we value the benefits that we enjoy as literate individuals; benefits that are both tangible and intangible. Since games can convey many of the same benefits (nurturing cognitive and social development by learning and processing content, acquiring and practicing concepts and skills, etc.) then perhaps we should focus our efforts toward communicating those benefits. If the value of the game is recognized, won’t the brilliance of the designer shine through?

Richard, Your comments lead me to think about how Literacy is taught in schools, and what “Game Literacy” might look like. Our society values Literacy because we value the benefits that we enjoy as literate individuals; benefits that are both tangible and intangible. Since games can convey many of the same benefits (nurturing cognitive and social development by learning and processing content, acquiring and practicing concepts and skills, etc.) then perhaps we should focus our efforts toward communicating those benefits. If the value of the game is recognized, won’t the brilliance of the designer shine through?

A very good discussion topic, Richard. Thank you! If we cannot get the media to cover our worthy products, perhaps we must utilize other methods to communicate the values we recognize in board game play. As just an off-the-cuff idea, what about a TV program that shows people playing various games? Whether or not a direct review is given of a product, viewers witness the game played by real people (uh-oh, Reality TV?). I enjoy designing and playing games because I get to witness interesting social dynamics, especially with party games. Although I enjoy a victory now and then, being creative is a greater prize in game play for me. I believe we are about to experience a return to traditional board game play as a significant entertainment option - demand will suddenly outweigh supply. We are currently entering familiar economic and socio-dynamic trends that preceded surprising and unexpected growth for the board game category. Does anyone else sense this, or is it simply wishful thinking on my part?

Interesting post. To go back to the topic of acclaim for game inventors, I think the analogy between books and their authors and games and their designers is an excellent one. Many people look forward to the next book by Stephen King or John Grisham, but nobody can name a single game designer. Yet the work put in is often the same. My business partner and I are game designers and we run a game publishing company called North Star Games. Our company feels very strongly about this issue, as do many designers we know. In fact, I believe we may be the only company with a mass market game to credit the designers on the front of the box. In Germany, the quality and innovation of board games increased partly because of designer acclaim. If a designer's game won a prestigious award, the game would sell hundreds of thousands of copies. This gave designers a financial incentive to create better games and consumers began looking for the next game by a designer, similar to how consumers in the U.S. look for the next book by an author. Let's hope that greater acclaim for game designers in the U.S. will result in more people designing quality games and thus greater media coverage as well.

Thanks Richard ... I have always viewed our games as entertainment products, just like a movie or TV show or a great book. As such, I couldn't agree more. I have no doubt that if our products were reviewed as those other entertainment products are ... there would be alot more people that include playing games as one of their frequent social entertainment experiences.

As a self-titled game journalist, I applaud your thoughts on the issue of the need for increased coverage of games in the national media. I am particularly envious of Mr. Martin’s ability to place small, game-related items in the national publications he cited. I’ve done a little of this myself, but in general, I find a reluctance that borders on complete disinterest when it comes to approaching magazine editors with anything resembling a game review. In my work with both GAMES and Knucklebones Magazine, I have tended toward articulating a game’s ‘back story;’ highlighting a given game’s development, rather than drawing conclusions about its value (a review). We are battling a mind-set here; the same sort of mind-set that informed a persistent backlash created when television was first described as a ‘vast wasteland’ by the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Newton Minnow, in 1961. To this day, I hear people disdain television with variations on that almost-50-year-old theme. So, too, with board games. Adults of a certain age (many of them, periodical editors), perceive multi-player board games in the context of their youth, when much of what was available here in the US was driven by a single game mechanic – one throws a pair of dice (or spins a dial or turns over a card), moves a game piece the appropriate number of spaces on a board, at which point, something happens. This exercise is then repeated by all until one of the players reaches a stated goal first. The perception problem with games isn’t that of a ‘vast wasteland,’ in the way that Minnow characterized television, but that of a ‘narrow (and luck-driven) field,’ populated by limited choices. The fact that this narrow field has, in the last 20 years or so, morphed into its own vast wasteland has apparently escaped the attention of many, particularly people who make decisions about what does and does not constitute worthy subject matter for appearance in nationwide journals. It’s important to remember that while Minnow’s speech to the National Association of Broadcasters is remembered for its ‘vast wasteland’ quote, Minnow also noted in his speech that “when television is good, nothing--not the theater, not the magazines or newspapers--nothing is better.” Value and popularity have always tended to work at cross-purposes, with popularity and the consequent financial reward generally gaining the upper hand. Witness the popularity of reality television and persistent growth of gossip journalism, known as infotainment. Consider the ubiquitous nature of video games, which reward the instant gratification of practiced hand-eye coordination. Board games are a thoughtful exercise - push-ups for the brain – trying to exist in a society known for its obesity and aversion to anything that requires complex thinking. We don’t devote time to understanding issues or a presidential candidate’s view on such issues. We listen to sound bites, allow others to do our thinking for us and make choices accordingly. Presidential elections are popularity contests, governed by who spends more money hiring the cleverest spin doctor to tell us only as much as they think we need to know. Grim and cynical, to be sure, but it’s at least part of what informs the uphill struggle to get board games out onto family tables and into the pages of respected journals. It is also a grim and cynical fact that a lot more people will watch American Idol this week rather than Part Five of HBO’s John Adams or Masterpiece Theatre’s production of Sense and Sensibility. When it comes to board games, it’s a sad fact that a lot more people will be buying Betty Boop Monopoly games than 1960: The Making of the President or Puerto Rico, to name just two of the gems in the deep mine of available choices these days. This is not intended to malign (or review) the value of Monopoly (though tempted), merely an observation that media outlets in this country appear to be unaware of the alternatives. Published television schedules at least publish the availability of Masterpiece Theatre. All we ask for is a little balance, not just in the reporting itself, but in the hearts and mind of those who make the decisions about what gets reported.

Hi Richard, For years I have bben trying to get the folks at People Magazine to rate best selling games as they do TV shows, Movies, Books, DVD's etc. I guess I'll have to come up with a mega hit before they take my call,

Hi Richard, For years I have bben trying to get the folks at People Magazine to rate best selling games as they do TV shows, Movies, Books, DVD's etc. I guess I'll have to come up with a mega hit before they take my call,

My first impression -- "Aren't there enough celebrities in the world already - and, good lord, who would really want to be one?" But as to the games themselves gaining equal respect in the culture and having their reviews run with as much interest and importance as films, books, music and theater - to that I say hear, hear. The games in the end should be the stars. For me, it would be enough to have the respect of those around me in the industry, rather than media attention on me as a person. Though, I will say, that in the hobby game industry, the designers do get more recognition from the fans who will approach you with words of appreciation. That is gratifying - but no more so than to see people sitting and enjoying your creation, knowing that when they take a copy home you will have created lots of similar moments for that family. In the end, that is more important to me than a cover spread. And having games and their reviews elevated in the culture are a means to reaching more people and creating more moments with our products. So put my vote in for getting more gaming news and reviews in the press - but I'm okay with putting off my photo shoot for Rolling Stone for a while. Though, I agree with Mary that creating excitement around the industry is really important. Having a 'Harry Potter'-like game title to champion the industry in the hearts and minds of the population, with a great inventor/spokesperson attached to it would bring millions into the gaming culture. And, heck, if it has to be me... so be it I guess. ; ) -Curt

Richard, I'm a full-time freelance writer and editor of BoardgameNews.com. Over the past 18 months, I've sold a number of game-related news items and mini-reviews to Scuba Diving, Discover, The Bark, Coffee, Chile Pepper, Parenting NH, the New Haven Advocate, The Boston Globe and Grappling. The key to placement is finding some hook that relates to the publication: Reef Encounter for Scuba Diving, Walk the Dogs for The Bark, and so on. I've been surprised by the reluctance of many editors to run game reviews, especially publications like Entertainment Weekly, Parenting and Family Fun (which runs an annual article about games but does not include reviews alongside the monthly video game, computer game, book and movie reviews). I'm glad to have placed the items that I have because I'd love to create more game players, but there's still a long way to go before games are covered in every newspaper and magazine. W. Eric Martin Editor, BoardgameNews.com

Richard, I am passionate about this topic. Game inventors should be on the cover of Rolling Stone. Tim Walsh, game inventor and author of Timeless Toys (a complete and compelling history of toys and games) wrote in your Soul of the Industry blog, “ …If you create music which sells a million copies, you're on the cover of Rolling Stone. If you write a book that sells that amount you're on the New York Times best-seller list. But if you create a game or toy that sells over 100 times that amount, you're – "Who?" Kay Zufall, Merle Robbins, Eleanor Abbott - these people have touched countless lives through the toys they developed (Play-Doh, Uno, and Candy Land respectively), yet very few know who they are.” I have written to various print media through the years that they should include game reviews along with theater, movie, book, audio and book. The creative process is similar for a book, piece of music or a film as it is for a game. Game critics should get advance copies of games to review and excite consumers about new releases (can be applied to toys as well). In Europe consumers purchase games based on the designer as we purchase books by author here and they are excited about new releases. Hence the 160,000 or so people drawn to the Essen Game Fair each October. I think if we promote designers as spokespeople for the industry, it can go a long way to help the industry and our game designers would certainly be better role models than many of the film and music celebs. We are hosting an Inventor Celebration Dinner in November in-between our Inventor Forum and our Chicago Toy and Game Fair. We must honor the people who create the products in our industry just as the other entertainment industries (film, music, sports, literary, fashion, etc.) do and make them celebrities. We need to compete for the consumer’s leisure time and celebrities as promotional vehicles for products works. We need reviews. We need to generate excitement. Our industry is worth writing about and getting excited about and we must communicate that to consumers.