When I started in board game publishing, I was clear on the importance of themes and package graphics to attract customers. The package art on 4th Corner wasn’t spectacular, but the size of the package gets attention. It gets played more and creates more word of mouth therefore because it’s easier to carry places. I found a really great illustrator who produced the slightly twisted Disneyesque art for the Zombie Attack and Deer Hunter 2050 boxes that communicate that they are simple, humorous games mainly for kids. When I’ve exhibited them at consumer shows like the Chicago International Toy and Game Fair and Dreamation, kids 8 to 12 are drawn to the themes and art like magnets. “I want to play that one now,” they tell me before I can tell them anything about the game.
My sales staff has to keep making excuses for the art inside the boxes, and it appears to be holding back our sales, so we are planning to upgrade the components on those three games soon. We are making the tiles in 4th Corner more colorful and offering a larger box, for example. It will weigh about the same as the original game in the smaller box, but the larger box is less likely to be stolen and has a perception of greater value. (Dominion and Race for the Galaxy are just decks of cards, but the boxes are huge.) The pawns, card decks, rule books, and boards for the other two games are getting new, more colorful art.
I have a friend who also publishes games, but she is an illustrator and designer, so the look of her packaging and components is top notch. I had one of her games out playing at a game meetup last month, and a player at another table asked what the name of the game was because she loved how colorful the board and the pieces were and wanted to know where she could buy it — knowing nothing of how the game played!
We all know, however, kids who get drawn to the new and flashy are often disinterested in it when the newer and flashier appear for sale. But the uniqueness of even my minimalist games has enough appeal to keep customers pulling them out to play for years now. My nieces, for example, have had my games since they came out almost three years ago, and they keep playing Deer Hunter 2050 and 4th Corner. One 12-year-old girl I played 4th Corner with last year at a game convention got a signed copy of it for her birthday, and in the months since then, she has introduced it to her friends, and she now manages to win even against adults who play lots of games!
If you’re curious of other examples of games with more flash and more fun, check out for flash appeal Last Night on Earth and Dominion, and simple games for enduring fun The A-maze-ing Labyrinth and Taluva.
I am sold on the need for eye-catching art and solid, unique game mechanics. Our forthcoming game, Star Hopper got a lot of attention on boardgamegeek.com when we posted the colorful game board there, and adults and kids who have played the prototype have declared it one of the funnest games they’ve ever played.
Mark Salzwedel
Tags: 4th Corner, Chi-Tag, Deer Hunter 2050, Dreamation, games, Star Hopper, strategic space, Zombie Attack