Changing the Board Game Market

RIO GRANDE PROFILE > Page 1, 2, 3

When did you decide that the need existed for a company like Rio Grande?

When the Bromleys decided to leave Mayfair. I wanted to continue what I started and doing it with my own company seemed to be the best way.

When did you actually start the company?

March 1998.

What was the first game you sold as Rio Grande Games? How did it do?

Gamers Speak About Jay Tummelson "He has an amazing knowledge of how to present rules, and explain them to other folks. He is so good at sucking folks into a game, teaching it, and getting them to enjoy it that I sacrificed a 4-day weekend to try and see if I could learn anything. I did. On top of which he is always doing little stuff for everyone he knows (which is a list of people that probably covers half the planet.) like picking up really obscure games at Essen, or providing translations for folks with German games (sometimes for games that are not Rio Grande games). His only deep character flaw is that he hates Carabande..." --Frank Branham The Gaming Dumpster Add your thoughts about Rio Grande Games in the Board Games Forum.

I released 6 games in May and June of 1998: Fossil, Löwenherz, Mississippi Queen, The Black Rose, IDO, and Edison & Co. All have done very well except Löwenherz. Although the game gets very positive comments everywhere, it has not sold as well as I expected. Fossil was chosen by Games Magazine as Game of the Year for 1999. It did so well that I had to reprint it early in 1999.

When was that first game sent to retailers? How did you find stores to sell it?

The games were first released in the UK because it was closer to my printer in Germany. A few weeks later, the games were released in the US and Canada. Most of my games are sold through hobby game distributors in the US, Canada, Australia, and Europe. Their initial sales were to stores familiar with German-style games because of the games I was involved in publishing at Mayfair Games.

How many games are currently being sold by Rio Grande?

We have 45 games listed in our catalog. 36 of these carry the Rio Grande Games logo. 7 are international games (in several languages including English) distributed by Rio Grande Games in English-speaking countries, and two are English language games distributed by Rio Grande Games.

How do you choose the games for Rio Grande?

Gamers Speak About Jay Tummelson "Rio Grande Games has certainly been a big help for gamers in Denmark. The market for games was almost reduced to private imports, but is now slowly climbing in sales due to the availability of English editions. Thanks Jay!" --Mik Svellov Brett and Board Add your thoughts about Rio Grande Games in the Board Games Forum.

I work with several German publishers. They show me the games they're planning to publish in the future and I choose the ones I feel will do well in my market. Then, we work together to finish and print the games so they can be released together in both languages. In many cases, we are also working with 999 Games from The Netherlands, who publish many of the same games in Dutch.

How many new games does Rio Grande pick up each year?

Well, the math should be easy: in 20 months, I have published 36 games. So that works out to just over 20 games per year. I expect that rate may slow a bit in the next year or two to 12-15 games per year. A lot depends on what games are being published in Germany, although I have begun to work on two titles of my own.

How much of your time is spent trying out new games?

I spend a lot of time in Europe visiting with the German companies looking at their new games. That is where my games have come from so far. I do occasionally get designs from American designers and have introduced some of those designs to my German partners. I hope we will soon see some of these games published (in both German and English, of course).

Next page > Jay Tummelson's Favorite Games > Page 1, 2, 3

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