Time's Up for Frank DiLorenzo

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How did the idea develop for Time's Up!?

I called Peter Sarrett and said, hey, I like your version of the game better than my version, let's do yours!

Money. I basically pointed out that it could make better money doing parties. Originally, it had a little street act with its heart set on making it on Broadway, but I could see it wasn't cut out for that. So it started working the party scene and the rest is history...

Time's Up! recently won a Mensa Select Award. Were you surprised?

Not in the least. It's a phenomenal game. Easy to pick up, hilarious to play.

Which of your published games was the most difficult to design?

Riddles & Riches. It took a few years actually. First I had to find a way to put a big house into a little game. I found a couple with an incredible miniatures collection who were willing to let us photograph the rooms for the game. Then we had to pick out the best photographs from the hundreds taken during the photo shoot. This was followed by my having to write hundreds of riddles followed by hundreds of hints. Then these had to be edited and re-edited and so on... It was a great deal of work. Ironically, we're finally finished with the first expansion set for this game (new riddles and hints) which we hope to have out by the end of summer.

Which was the easiest to design?

Sold!. It was a simple idea. The game isn't very complex at all, very basic actually. The fun comes from the negotiation and bartering that the players go through. The toughest part was picking through the thousands of photographs (submitted to us by antique dealers) to choose the ones shown on the cards.

Sold!: The Antique Dealer Game was one of the first available from R&R Games. Graphic courtesy R&R Games.

I think there's a great surge right now of creativity in certain genres. Lots of great games out there. The market for games is still fairly strong so that's always a good sign.

Tell us a little about your custom-designed live treasure hunts.

They're a blast. They're a lot of fun to design and always different. I grew up doing an annual one for my family and friends. They just kept getting bigger and more elaborate over the years.

Riddles & Riches was my first attempt to bring my treasure hunts to the public. Now, as R&R, we set up live hunts ranging from the simple basic follow-the-clues and locate the hidden treasure to elaborate deluxe versions that include actors and special props. Each hunt is custom designed to the specific location and venue.

So far the response has been incredible. We had one company compare our hunt to one that had been done for them by a prominent Florida theme park and they said ours blew it away. Another one was located at an old Victorian bed and breakfast that had its own secret passages and compartments hidden throughout the house. A perfect setting!

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