With Crowdfunding, Game Inventors Advance to Go - The New York Times

Barry McLaughlin and Jason Lautenschleger know games.

They met in college 23 years ago and bonded over a love of comedy and tabletop games. Since then, they have performed game-related skits in comedy clubs around Los Angeles, hosted game nights at bars and competed on game shows like “Jeopardy!” and “The Price Is Right.”

When they started a business together, Barry & Jason Games and Entertainment, their first product was Game Night in a Can, a play-at-home version of their club act. Like other entrepreneurs, Mr. McLaughlin and Mr. Lautenschleger turned to crowdfunding to raise money.

Platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo give inventors the opportunity to introduce their creations to backers looking to fund new ventures. And retailers and toymakers are often waiting in the wings with their sights on the next big trend.

Game Night in a Can had a successful Kickstarter campaign, raising $21,000. It is now sold in more than 100 mom-and-pop stores and by major companies like Urban Outfitters.

Entrepreneurs like Mr. McLaughlin and Mr. Lautenschleger are helping to counter the narrative that traditional toys are not relevant in the age of mobile devices and digital entertainment.

“Technology isn’t killing toys,” said Gerrick Johnson, a BMO Capital Markets analyst who has covered the industry for 18 years. “There’s the idea ‘Let’s slow down.’ It’s all about getting everyone together.”

The interest in games has also spurred the rise of board game cafes.

“There’s a pushback against digital and into analog,” said Greg May, who opened the Uncommons board game cafe in New York in 2013 and will soon open his fourth such cafe. “What’s great about board games is it appeals to all demographics.”

Sales of games and puzzles jumped 39 percent in the United States from 2013 to 2018, outpacing the 16 percent average for the traditional toy industry, according to data from Euromonitor, a market research company.

Hasbro had a 30 percent share of the games and puzzles market in the United States in 2018, thanks to its Magic: The Gathering collectible card game, followed by Mattel at almost 9 percent, according to Euromonitor.

“We are in a golden age of games,” said Jonathan Berkowitz, president of Hasbro Brands, a unit of the toy company that includes Monopoly and other games. “Digital and devices are crucial, but there’s also the awareness that being on your phones and tablets can pull you away from your family and friends.”

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Mr. McLaughlin and Mr. Lautenschleger created Dr. Biscuits' Radical Road Trip and Game Night in a Can.CreditAndrew Cullen for The New York Times

Crowdfunding sites are a key driver for inventors, said Adrienne Appell, a trends specialist at the Toy Association, a trade group. “It’s a lot easier for someone with an idea to be an entrepreneur,” she said. “There’s a game for everybody.”

Tabletop games were the biggest subcategory on Kickstarter in 2018, when funders pledged $172 million, or 28 percent of the total amount promised on the platform, to a record 3,700 tabletop games, including board games. More than 60 percent of those were successfully funded, compared with the site’s overall average of 37 percent. So far this year, more than 2,500 tabletop projects have been introduced to the platform.

In another sign of growing interest from consumers, Gen Con, a tabletop gaming convention in Indianapolis, recently reported a record of nearly 70,000 attendees.

“Innovation is at an all-time high,” said Mary Couzin, the founder of Chicago Toy & Game Week, an annual gathering that includes conferences for inventors and entrepreneurs. “I talk to people every year. Their goal is to become an independent inventor and quit their job.”

The stakes are high when it comes to hunting for the next hit, and big toy companies often scout crowdsourcing platforms and social media sites for games made by inventors.

“Most game ideas don’t come from the basement of Hasbro,” said Mr. Johnson, the BMO analyst. “A lot of the toy industry is very inventor driven, but games especially.”

Pie Face, for example, became one of Hasbro’s top-selling games in recent years after the company saw a viral video of the game and bought the distribution rights from an independent toymaker in Britain, Mr. Berkowitz said. “We really got to that market leader position by partnering with everybody in the world.”

And Mattel snapped up Escape Room in a Box after spotting it on Kickstarter. “We want to look under every nook and cranny,” said Ray Adler, Mattel’s global head of games.

Retailers are in on it, too. “We’ve always believed in emerging companies, individuals and artists,” said Gabrielle Conforti, the chief merchandising officer for Urban Outfitters, which sells Game Night in a Can.

Crowdfunding and 3-D printing “put everybody on the same level-playing field,” said Rena Nathanson, chief executive and co-founder of the game company Bananagrams. “It enables people with very limited budget to get prototypes made and seen.”

Board games do not require molding and other tooling needed for toys like action figures, which helps keep the manufacturing costs down for small businesses, Mr. Johnson said.

But the category is not without challenges. Most games imported to the United States are made in China, meaning the tariff war between the two countries is a big concern. President Trump said last month that the United States would increase taxes on all Chinese goods, including toys.

And despite the growth of online retailers like Amazon.com, entrepreneurs find themselves fighting for shelf space at major stores.

“The marketplace is very crowded,” Ms. Nathanson said. “Prospecting for new ideas is increasingly important.”

In years when licensed properties like “Avengers: Endgame" and “Spider-Man: Far From Home” are hot, independent game makers get pushed aside. “It’s a constant challenge,” she said.

But small businesses are often more nimble than larger companies and can respond to market demands faster.

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The office of Barry & Jason Games and Entertainment, in the garage of Mr. Lautenschleger’s Los Angeles home. CreditAndrew Cullen for The New York Times

When Jochem van Rijn and Thijmen de Schipper decided to start their toy business, Yulu, after finishing graduate school in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, they moved to Hong Kong to more easily combine manufacturing, development and sales in one location. Plus, Walmart and Target buyers visit the city regularly, Mr. van Rijn said.

Their strategy paid off. After initially relying on toymakers like Hasbro to distribute their products, they landed an exclusive deal with Target to introduce their Spy Code line of games in the United States in 2017.

“We can make decisions much faster,” Mr. van Rijn said. “Every day, our team is in the factories.”

Differentiating in an increasingly competitive field also requires out-of-the-box thinking.

Mr. McLaughlin has a background in advertising, and Mr. Lautenschleger works in TV development. The combination of their skills makes it easier for them to pitch ideas to other companies and to perform live events, like a recent game-themed brainstorm session for Marriott executives, which can bring in revenue and inspire game ideas.

“That’s what set us apart,” Mr. Lautenschleger said. “It’s Barry’s advertising experience and my TV experience and our shared comedy experience.”

They have also learned to adapt. To attract customers like Urban Outfitters, they changed the packaging for Game Night in a Can from a dark can to a bright and colorful can that looks like a circus.

Flush with ideas, Mr. McLaughlin and Mr. Lautenschleger are formulating their next goal: building a game and entertainment powerhouse.

They are developing game shows for TV and are working with Viacom and Paramount to turn movie and TV properties into licensed games, they said.

“We want to create an empire of play,” Mr. McLaughlin said. “Getting people off phones and devices and being creative. It’s a big catalyst for us.”

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/02/business/crowdfunding-board-game-inventors.html

2019-09-02 09:00:00Z
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