Re: [piecepack] Piecepack anyone?

["Mike Schoessow" <mikeschoessow@...>]

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Jorge Arroyo Gonzalez 
  To: piecepack@yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Wednesday, March 08, 2006 4:52 AM
  Subject: Re: [piecepack] Piecepack anyone?


  Hi



  >Here in Spain, the German-like boardgames are starting to get  
  >mainstream exposure. You can buy some (mostly Settlers and  
  >Carcassonne) in the toy section of most supermarkets. The problem is  
  >that they're not really advertised... but I guess they're getting  
  >decent sells...


  Well, yah, that's happening here too with those two games, and that's great, but it's very far from popular by modern business standards. Games that are terrible from a game-play point of view, often based on movie or tv show themes still typically outsell Settlers. But it's nice to see we're making progress :-)



  >>> Cards are still very popular, and while not everyone who likes
  >>> playing cards would have to like piecepack, a lot will... I think
  >>> it's all about getting people exposed...
  >>
  >>
  >> I agree with this only to a very limited extent. Keep in mind that  
  >> most card game players commonly play only one or two games, which  
  >> are well known and well established, in most cases for more than a  
  >> hundred years. It is a very rare instance when a new card game  
  >> joins this elite group. Popular (I mean nationally or  
  >> internationally popular) new card games don't arise overnight! And  
  >> card players seem, in my experience, to have a stong aversion to  
  >> any game bits other than playing cards sporting the traditional  
  >> four suits and ranks :-) So this is from different from the world  
  >> of German board games in which an SDJ winner can become very  
  >> popular within six months among a majority of players. Although I  
  >> love the idea, I don't see piecepack rapidly becoming popular with  
  >> traditional card players, even if there were a reasonably funded  
  >> advertising campaign behind it.
  >>

  >I think you're right about this one... I wasn't thinking so much  
  >about the "tradicinal" card player, but more about cards as a family  
  >game, but it's true most people play one or two games mostly... Maybe  
  >younger people (if they still play cards :) are more open to new  
  >games...

  >What I was thinking is if there would be more games that combine  
  >cards with piecepack, it could be a way...


  Yes, that would be great. I think piecepack could catch on eventually if it stays around long enough; I mean really long, like decades. What could really jump start it sooner is if there was a single piecepack game, that could only be played with a piecepack, and which became very popular with people in their 20's. I cringe (really cringe) to say this but I suspect that only some sort of gambling game would have a chance of doing this for piecepack today, and it truly would need to be a game that couldn't be easily converted to a card game. Once it gained major national exposure it's broad flexibility might then be able to get wide exposure.


  >>
  >>> I was thinking, maybe big companies don't like the concept of the
  >>> piecepack system because it means 1 sell for 150 games instead of 150
  >>> sells for 150 games... they'd probably rather release each piecepack
  >>> game on it's own with specially themed components :D
  >>
  >> Yah, that's a good bet!  :-)  Keep in mind too that piecepack is in  
  >> the public domain, which is another mark against it from the point  
  >> of view of the big companies.

  >But isn't that more a problem for the small publisher, that could get  
  >swallowed by a big one very easily?...


  That's a good point, although all big publishers could cash in if it started to take off. Still, I can't see large companies wanting to be first to take the chance.

  -Mike




  >>
  >> -Mike
  >>
  >>
  >>
  >>
  >>> -Jorge