Chat Transcript
On March 20, 2000, the topic of About.com's Board Games chat was "The State of Board Games," inspired by an article Greg Aleknevicus wrote for Counter magazine (titled "The Best of Times"). Greg's article expressed his belief that 2000 is a great time to be a fan of board games -- the best time ever, in fact.
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Following is an edited transcript of the night's discussion.
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....... boardgamesADM joined .......
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boardgamesADM
Hello, Mary! Welcome to chat. Thanks for stopping by.
Mary
Hi.
boardgamesADM
While we're waiting for others to stop by, tell me about Hollywood's Reel Schpeel -- what's the history of this game?
Mary
About 15 years ago, my husband's old college roomate worked at Western Publishing before they were bought out by Hasbro. He used to show us prototypes. I thought, "This couldn't be that hard." I tried to desgin a few and I thought, "Gee, this is harder than I thought."
So one day my assistant says a movie line and then someone else walks in and gives a movie line and I said -- movie game. Then my assistant and friend spent the next 2.5 years working on it -- watching a lot of movies. After attending a number of trade shows, many inventors would say that someone should pull us all together... so DiscoverGames.com was born.
boardgamesADM
When did DiscoverGames.com officially debut?
Mary
DiscoverGames.com debuted 2.5 years ago.
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Mary
Greg, how did you get started in the game business? That's what we have been discussing.
Greg A.
Hmmm, I'm not sure that I'm in the BUSINESS. I've enjoyed games most of my life. It was the Internet, ([the newsgroup] rec.games.board in particular) that facilitated my recent "re-introduction."
boardgamesADM
Mary -- to ask about the topic of the evening -- what do you think of the state of board games right now?
Questions or comments about this chat? Post them on the Board Games Forum. |
I think it's a fabulous market for independents right now. At Toy Fair I heard from many retailers that the big guys have gotten too conservative and games stale.
boardgamesADM
How many games did you see at Toy Fair that you would be excited enough to buy?
Mary
Well, to be honest, I never really left our booth. I didn't want to miss anyone.
Mary
Greg - what games have your reveiewed recently?
Greg A.
My latest review for Games, Games, Games is Refugium by Piatnik. Similar theme and mechanics as Auf Heller und Pfennig (if you're familiar with that.)
boardgamesADM
Greg, I read your article "The Best of Times?" with great enjoyment. I followed a similar pattern myself. I played games with my parents (Risk with dad -- although I remember using the little plastic rectangles from our old Risk game to build walls that I knocked down with my Matchbox more than actually playing with him) when I was very young, then got into the hobby a lot in college (more Risk than studying...) and have now rediscovered it -- with a vengeance!
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Greg S.
Hey, Greg... must be Greg Aleknevicus, right?
Greg A.
Hi Bayou Boy, it is indeed Big Greg from up north.
boardgamesADM
Greg S. -- did you read Greg A.'s article in Counter, "The Best of Times?"
Greg S.
Yes, I did. Ironically, I have an article which will be appearing on the Games Cafe which deals with essentially the same subject ... great minds think alike, right Greg?
Greg A.
Indeed!
Greg S.
The title of the Games Cafe article will be "On the Threshold of a Dream" (borrowing from the Moody Blues). I agree with you 100%, Greg .... I think this is the new golden age of board gaming.
This chat continues with comments about independent game designers, a perceived glut of games from German publishers, and more.
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