Triple Threat Baseball
Page 1, 2, 3What were your goals when you started designing Triple Threat Baseball?
For me personally, it was to realize a childhood dream of inventing something that would bring enjoyment to other people. It was a challenge for me to try to go from ground zero to actually having something on a shelf that people (who don't know me) would buy! I also wanted to make something that was different, out of the ordinary, and of high quality. I felt there were too many non-enduring products out there.
What was the most difficult part of the design process?
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| Photo courtesy Triple Threat Baseball. |
(1) "Sticking to it" was a huge challenge. I must have spent thousands of hours on this project and most of it was arranged around my family time. That means getting up super early or working on it late at night after everyone was in bed. However, I also found that there was motivation out there if I kept my eyes open. Like the time I saw a beautiful new Louisville Slugger bat in a display case at a store. That inspired me to burn/brand my logo into the lid of the game's wood box container. And, like the time I toured The National Baseball Hall of Fame in New York. It is such a class act! That inspired me to keep with my "quality" approach to the game pieces and overall packaging.
(2) Another difficult part was selecting a name for the game. Our first name was rejected by the Trademark Office and that was an emotional setback. Even though our research indicated that the name was available, someone applied for it as we waited to prepare our submission.
(3) Deciding when to stop adding new elements to the game was hard. However, we eventually realized we would never finish it unless we could finally say, "OK, that's the game."
(4) Finding money to finance the project was very scary. Going to the bank for our first production run funding transcended this "fun hobby" to the real thing, real quick!
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We began the real work in November of 1994 and we officially debuted it at a citywide art show in Olympia, Washington, on October 1, 1999. Final answer? 5 years.
How much playtesting did the game undergo?
We had several playtest parties with adults at key times in the developmental phase. We conducted these as focus groups. We also played the game 100's of times with each other and a few selected friends. And, as I said before, we play-tested it with about 150 10-11 year olds in a classroom setting. Altogether these students played about 750 games.
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Yes, I would make constant changes. Several examples:
(1) A friend's son, Robbie, asked why he couldn't bunt to get on base. I added the Bunt Base Hit because of Robbie.
(2) At first the game did not have a playing field with players. My "visual" business partner said he needed to see players running around the field. I added a field photo as a playing board and included wood players for him. He was happy. I also decided to translate much of the playing instructions to the look of traditional baseball cards with full color action photos. He liked that too.
(3) My neighbor's sister invented a simple card game that came packaged in a very nice fabric covered wood container resembling a hat box. My neighbor told me that , even though her game was simple and fun, the expensive hat box added no value to the playing of the game. However, it did add to the cost quite a bit, resulting in minimal sales. From his advice, I decided to make sure the box container of Triple Threat Baseball! had more function than just looking nice. I integrated the field game board onto the removable lid and also designed a wood score board that inserted into the lid. The body of the box would keep everything else nice and tidy.
When did the game go on sale to the public?
October 1, 1999.
| NAVIGATE THIS BOARDGAMES ARTICLE | |
| Page 1 | "For 37 years I carried the rudiments of the game around in my head." |
| Page 2 | Why can't Robbie bunt to get on base? |
| Page 3 | "It can be a disappointing game -- but only if you lose!" |
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