Planning a game night with friends but don't know which game to play? Joe Sequino, vice president of marketing for Winning Moves Games, has advice about finding the perfect party game. Sequino also shares insights about designing board games to give all board game enthusiasts deeper insights into the games you play.
Perfect Party Game Attributes
What makes the perfect party game? According to Sequino, "Different people look for different qualities in a game." However, he believes a great party game should:
- Accommodate at least 6 players.
- Have little to no downtime to make sure everyone is involved.
- Have relevant and witty content.
- Require players to "perform" in some sort of way.
"Laughter is essential to a great party game," Sequino notes. Friendly banter, acting silly and a lot of laughter make for a great game night.
Popular Games for Preteens and Teens
"The old classics will always be popular party favorites," says Sequino. He shares that teenagers still love playing Taboo, Scattergories, Pictionary, Uno, Pit, Cranium, and other well-known classics like Twister.
Perfect Games for Kids
Sequino shares that both adults and younger kids love playing Pass the Pigs, Have You Herd, and Crocodile Dentist. "If the gathering is all young girls, the Oppenheim Award-winning Princess & The Pea is a big hit," he adds.
Winning Moves Games
Sequino shares, "We proudly make and market best-selling titles like Monopoly®: The Mega Edition, Big Taboo®, Pass The Pigs®, Rubik's® Cube, Super Scrabble®, 25 Words or Less® and new hot sellers like Scrabble® Me, Power Yahtzee®, Parcheesi® Royal Edition, No Stress Chess?, and PayDay®.
Additionally, many timeless classics like Pit®, Mille Bornes®, and Flinch® are now exclusively made by Winning Moves. We also make Immortal Eyes Games, a new brand of Euro-styled designer games including TransAmerica?, Conquest of Pangea?, and Terra Nova®."
Board Game Design Process
Sequino says that "the most important decision when designing a board game is to pick an appealing theme (otherwise, sales prospects are dim)." He shares that the next criterion is an innovative method of play in harmony with the theme. The method of play should also have a complexity that is in line with the needs of the target players (very basic for children, more well-rounded for families, more intricate for devoted gamers).
After theme and play are tested and perfected, the final criterion is an appealing look and visual design for the game. "Graphics are vital, as they will communicate an impression, which will either bolster the appeal of the game or detract from it via confusion or 'the wrong message,'" says Sequino.
More About Joe Sequino
Sequino has an MBA from Northeastern University in Boston and a BA in English Literature from Nazareth College of Rochester, NY. His many hobbies include archery, hunting, fishing, gardening, the stock market, playing piano and guitar, and supporting the New York Mets. Sequino and his wife live out in the country of southern New Hampshire.
More on Winning Moves Games
"Winning Moves is a leading maker of classic card and board games, world renown puzzles, action games, and popular adult party games," states Sequino. Since their first year of operation in 1995, the company has forged a close relationship with the world's largest game company, Hasbro, Inc., owner of Parker Brothers and Milton Bradley. As a result, many long-lived Parker Brothers and Milton Bradley games are now made exclusively by Winning Moves Games.
Winning Moves Games was founded in 1995 by four highly esteemed game industry professionals:
- Tom Kremer: Europe's most successful game agent. Tom's greatest claim to fame is having found Erno Rubik in the early 1970s in Hungary. He then licensed the Rubik's Cube® and the rest is history.
- Phil E. Orbanes: The long-time head of research and development for Parker Brothers and the leading expert on the game of Monopoly®.
- Mike Meyers: The long-time head of research and development for Milton Bradley.
- Alex Randolph: One of Europe's most distinguished game inventors.
"With a talented group of game marketers and developers, our mission is to provide happiness in the lives of our consumers by offering classic, retro, cool, and fun games for play with friends and family," Sequino says.
Ready for Game Night
Joe Sequino's advice can help you find the right board game for a perfect night of fun with friends or family. Winning Moves games and puzzles can be found at Tru Kids (formerly Toys R Us), Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and many other specialty game and hobby retailers and catalogers in the US and Canada. Winning Moves does not sell to mass market discounters like Wal-Mart. To learn more about Winning Moves Games and their game titles, visit their website.
