Children's toy idea

anto77

Hi there,

I have an idea for a boys action toy/game. I have no experience of the industry, no contacts and little of my own capital to invest. I also have a busy full time job so and young family so time is also a precious resource that I'm short on.

The game involves plastic pieces and I presume would have to be manufactured in China to have any worthwhile chance of success from a financial perspective. Then there are all the legal, quality standards and marketing considerations not forgetting competition versus the big boys for shelf space in retailers if it got to that stage...

So basically looking for advice/feedback from anyone in the toy industry - is the only viable route to market for someone in my situation via a toy design company with connections to the likes of Mattel, Hasbro, etc? I think if an idea is accepted then the royalties paid can be quite small (even though I'm aware the percentage that even get to this point is tiny).

Thanks

VincePP

I was in the business many years ago.

The bad news is most board games never get to market.

The good news is a huge number of board games are made in Ireland - including all the biggies such as monopoly, cluedo. Trivial pursuit etc etc. Cartamundi factory in Waterford does it all and they also do contract work. (it used to be owned by Hasbro but they sold it but many of their games are still made there)

Probably best to talk to an Irish board game company - gosling games would be my choice
http://goslinggames.ie/who-are-we/

Here's a good blog about bringing a game to market http://www.amherstlodge.com/games/reference/gameinvented.htm


At the end of the day there are literally hundreds of board games out there - you see a tiny fraction in the likes of Smyths, argos etc.

Finally have a look at http://www.esdeviumgames.com/# They are one of the largest suppliers of board games to the specialist and independent trade. What you will see on their site and catalogue is only about 25% of their full list but represents the more mainstream games in the market.

anto77

Thanks Vince, it's not a board game (closer to a subbuteo)but I will check those links for related info!

anto77

anto77 wrote: »

Thanks Vince, it's not a board game (closer to a subbuteo)but I will check those links for related info!

Avoid like the plague. Board games businesses and similar are a disaster, impossible to scale, small margins and a whole logistical nightmare

Kickstarter is the place for board games these days.

VincePP

anto77 wrote: »

Thanks Vince, it's not a board game (closer to a subbuteo)but I will check those links for related info!

"board game" is a wide category. Subuteo comes under the category.

Here's the old hasbro website http://www.hasbro.ie/contract_manufacturing.html.

Whilst the facility is now owned by cartamundi, its much the same with the same local Waterford staff. There's certainly no harm sending them an email - if anyone knows where to point you, it will be them.

Cianos

Why not start with a prototype and test the game out for yourself. Give a few kits away to friends/family and seek genuine unbiased feedback (you might need to go a bit further than friends/family to get honest, genuine feedback).

You could commission a 3D printer/designer to build you a prototype. It'd probably set you back the guts of a grand if not more, but you're likely saving yourself loads of hassle, time and money than getting to prototype stage any other way.

If prototype stage goes really well you could as someone above mentioned set up a kickstarter - this is great for gaining seed capital, an initial user base as well as the first instances of your marketing campaign.

Best of luck

tacofries

http://www.shapeways.com/?&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&gclid=CIr96eakq84CFaJQ2wodZR4FEA

The above company is pretty competitive for 3D printing which as Cianos said would help you to get a few prototypes together to test.