What Makes a Great Game?

by Connie Gee
University Games

As University Games approaches its 20th Anniversary and reflects on the more than 150 games introduced, there seems to be several common characteristics of a University Games’ game. Most importantly, University Games strive to mix learning and fun. Below is a nice checklist of the characteristics of a great playing and great selling game.

People want to play right away. Our games are easy to learn. Start playing in five minutes!
People hate to wait. Our games keep all players involved, even when it is not their turn.
People love a challenge. Our games are different every time you play.
People want to win. Our games combine luck and skill so every player has a chance to win.
Parents want educational activities for their kids. Our games make learning fun.
Eye catching design.
Simple message and tag line which describes the game.
Interesting content.
Try to make one round of game play at 15 or 20 minutes.
Enough content to play a game at least 6 plus times without repeating questions.

University Games was founded on April Fool’s Day in 1985 by Bob Moog and Cris Lehman. Today, University Games stands strong, distributing more product in more outlets, in more markets than any other game company. University Games has become a major player in the international game industry (now in over 28 countries) through increased distribution, better marketing, experienced staff and strategic acquisitions such as Great Explorations®, Raintree Puzzles and Games™, Topline Toys®, Colorforms® and BePuzzled®, Spinner Books™, Great X™ and Learn at Home™.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 14th, 2010 at 3:25 am. It is filed under Toy Industry. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.