Big Game Time: Out of the Box expands titles, distribution

By Lynn Welch
Capital Times
Madison,Wisconsin
February 24, 2006

They call themselves the fastest-growing game company in the U.S.

Considering recent developments for Madison-bred Out of the Box Publishing Inc., that's not hard to believe.

This month, Out of the Box, www.otb-games.com, added 130 titles to its catalog. It began distributing "European style" games from Rio Grande Games. The partnership has the potential to significantly increase sales for the company, now based in Richland Center with a new warehouse in Dodgeville.

Last week, the company's flagship game, Apples to Apples, received the toy industry's top honor. Apples to Apples won a Toy of the Year award in the games category at the American International Toy Fair in New York. It shared the award with Hullabaloo from Cranium.

"We're probably the fastest growing board game company in the country and we're doing it with non-electronic games," said Out of the Box President and founder Mark Osterhaus.

Rio Grande Games, www.riograndegames.com, specializes in bringing games popular in places like Germany, where board game playing is wildly popular, to the U.S. marketplace. Games from the small company based in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, have sold primarily in specialty game shops to hobbyists.

"Over the last several years, Out of the Box has developed a pretty large clientele in stores I typically do not sell to. This gives me access to those stores," said Jay Tummelson, Rio Grande Games president.

Apples to Apples, and other Out of the Box titles, have been available in large discount stores like Target and at national book chains including Barnes & Noble. Tummelson sees his games selling well in gift shops and specialty toy stores.

With this new distribution arrangement, Out of the Box aims to make this style of game more accessible in the U.S. The company also sees it as opening up new markets for their offerings.

"After eight years of doing this, we have seen that we've caught the interest of the public. They see games as a viable pastime," Osterhaus said. "I see this as a migration path. Now, people who have started playing games can get further into it."

Described as involving strategy with a little luck, European style games engage players. The focus is on playing the game, rather than just winning. Many of these games play in less than an hour and are not difficult to learn.

"You don't know who the winner will be until the last couple of turns," said Madison gamer Pete Hamon. "What makes them fun to me is you can do anything but you can't do everything."

Lory Aitken, co-owner of Pegasus Games in Madison, described these European, or German-style, games as having a "very unique playability." They also have cool graphics and pieces.

"It's not just roll your dice and move your pieces like Monopoly or Life," she said. "They spend a lot of time fine-tuning the mechanics of the game."

Osterhaus expects Rio Grande's best-selling title, Carcassonne, to sell well in this country. He calls it a good introduction to European games. Next to Apples to Apples, Carcassonne was the best selling game at Pegasus Games during its 2004 holiday season.

Carcassonne is also a good product for Out of the Box, having several versions and add-ons, much like Apples to Apples, which comes in four editions with additional decks.

Tummelson said these games may have broader appeal. But, ultimately, the game players will decide the success of games like Carcassonne and other European titles new to them.

Hamon, who with his wife Ann Hamon plays games weekly with a group in Madison, thinks people will enjoy European games. But there is a cultural divide people will have to cross.

"Essentially, you have to turn off the TV," Hamon said. "I think it's an active form of entertainment as opposed to a passive form of entertainment."

The NPD Group reported last week that family board game sales increased 18 percent in 2005 over the prior year. Sales of games and puzzles overall declined last year by 9 percent, and total toy industry sales declined just less than four percent to $21.3 billion.

NPD industry analyst Anita Frazier attributed the boost in board game sales primarily to one newer product: Scene It?, a DVD game for movie buffs with several other adaptations.

"Scene It? increased its sales in this category by more than 60 percent, fueled largely by new items such as the Harry Potter, Disney and TV versions," Frazier said.

The still-rising popularity of poker and a marketing push a few years ago by Hasbro, the world's largest board game producer, also have boosted a resurgence in board game playing, according to Jim Silver, editor and chief of the consumer publication Toy Wishes Magazine.

Even though electronic-based board games have boosted the category's profile recently, Silver believes that has helped non-electronic games.

"The whole point is to get people interested in playing games again," Silver said. "If you get them into the game aisle and a family enjoys playing a game, they'll return to the game aisle. It's reintroducing them to a play that's fun and everybody in the category benefits."

Out of the Box is optimistic about its future. With sales doubling for the past three years for the private company, Osterhaus sees the Rio Grande titles slowly adding sales. He expects a 50 percent sales increase this year.

Quality games and word-of-mouth advertising will increase demand for the new offerings in the next five years, Osterhaus said.

"It certainly beats sitting in front of the TV or the computer," he said. "It's also part of a cultural shift. Games are perfect for the void."