Confessions of a Serial Entrepreneur

I guess you could say that I'm an idea guy.
I like to think about things. I think about things that I need,
I think about things that others need,
and I think about things that people might want.
And sometimes I think 'you know I actually like that idea.'

So sometimes when I like an idea, and things start to come together I just go with it. Last fall I had one such idea. I decided our community could use a good game store. So I started the process of thinking it through. I was not really in position to do anything about it, but I thought it would be interesting to explore anyway.  Yes I know that game stores come and go. Yes I even knew that some had failed, but naturally I assumed they were doing it wrong. Not all wrong through, I know they got a few things right.

Well I approached a few business, and gave them my plan.
They seemed interested, but no one was really in a position to do anything,
and as they pointed out, they didn't really know much about the market for games.

Time passed, and circumstances changed.
I earned a little money, and I lost my day-job.
So with all my free time, and some of my spare change I started exploring my idea a bit more.

To make a not-so-long story short. I found a way that I thought I could make work.
I found a partner, and I ordered some board games. 

Yep I started a business called Brilliant Boardgames.
And presently I have 5 games for sale at Braun Books in Cedar City.

Right now my games are all from one company (Rio Grande Games)
which I think is a great company, and they have some amazing game.

Many of their games have won the Spiel des Jahres and other great awards.
I decided to start with five games that I thought would give us a good variety.

1) Dominion Intrigue -- Dominion was the 2009 Spiel des Jahres. Dominion Intrigue is an expansion to this game that can be played by itself, or with the original game. I honestly didn't think I would like this game... until I got addicted to it. It's surprisingly fun, and I see now why it was the game of the year.

2) Coloretto -- Is another great game.  It was the card game precursor to the 2007 S-d-J.  It looks likes it's just a good quick game, that adds a fun twist to liven things up.


3) Bohnanza  -- Bohnanza, or 'The Bean Game' as it is often called, was a 1997 S-d-J Recommended title. It's a whole lot of fun, and you can play it with a group.

4) Space Beans -- is a Bohnanza derivative. Conceptually this game is quite similar to Bohnanza, but you always give your left over cards to the person on your right (If your games get a little heated, this is a nice little mechanism that can temper the tempers. Ü).

And

5) TransEuropa -- You've probably never heard of this game, but if you've played "The train game" with me, we may have played a version inspired by it.  TransEuropa is the European version of the award-winning TransAmerica game (I know you've probably never heard of it either).  It's sort of like Ticket to Ride, but it plays a lot faster, because you don't have to pick cards. It's surprisingly fun, and much to my surprise it came with an expansion pack - SWEET!

So there ye have it. I'm now in the board game biz.  And if you know someone who is looking for something to do... there might be something new at Braun Books that would catch their eye.

Honestly the part that surprises me most : how much I enjoy this.
(yeah I still have moments when I think this is crazy (like when I'm working on my logo)) but I like how the projects all come together and I'm excited to see how it all plays out.

So wish me luck. And have a great day.