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BOARD GAMES 3: What’s in a name?

Overview

Shownote

Highlights

Transcript

Chapters

Pins

BOARD GAMES 3: What’s in a name?

Planet Money

Jan 22
Planet Money

Planet Money

Jan 22
OverviewShownoteHighlightsTranscriptChaptersPins

Shownote

Planet Money has teamed up with the company Exploding Kittens to make a board game inspired by the legendary economics paper The Market for Lemons. We’ve decided we want a mass-appeal party game that quietly sneaks in the economics, so that we can report f...

Highlights

Naming a board game might seem like a small detail, but it can determine whether it flies off shelves or gathers dust in obscurity. For the Planet Money team, stepping into the world of retail means grappling with a new challenge: crafting a name and theme that sell not just gameplay, but a feeling.
03:11
A game’s name and theme are half the product
14:29
Games have only three seconds to attract a customer in big-box stores
20:14
European teams may not know what a Sasquatch is, risking international sales
23:07
Different Exploding Kittens games have varying popularity in different countries.
28:57
They introduce the title 'Sell Me a Sasquatch' after pitching many other titles to the hosts and giant retailers.

Chapters

How a single word can make or break a game’s success
00:00
What makes a theme stick in a crowded marketplace?
11:55
Why 'Sell Me a Sasquatch' felt right—and why it might not travel
17:17
Can a game about American myths go global?
23:07
Making the call: committing to a name and a timeline
28:57
Calling all creatives: help design the game’s creatures
34:26

Transcript

Erika Beras: This is Planet Money from NPR. Kenny Malone: Legend has it, there was a Canadian couple in the 1950s who liked to play this game, called Yacht. They owned a yacht. They play the game on their yacht. But as far as I could tell, that is all the...