On Jan 26, 2006, at 12:02 PM, Kristin Looney wrote:
was: Re: [Icehouse] Multiple Colors vs. Monochrome Treehouse
Thanks Brian for all these detailed thoughts and ideas... Andy let
you guys in on a lot of our inner plotting and scheming in this
message you replied to, and it's really helpful to be able to get a
glimpse inside the thoughts of a pyramid fan to see what you are
thinking.
Here is some feedback from a Kristin perspective...
Well, thank you for your detailed, informative reply. I have a much
better understanding of what the issues are now, and much more
appreciation for how much a single-stash game like Treehouse will
help. I've always known that a sub-$10 set would help, and that the
smaller form factor would be nice, but I didn't realize quite how
much the warehousing costs factored into that.
Anyway - I hope this message has given you some insight on the
complexity of our pyramids problems from a marketing/production
perspective!
Yes, this was very informative, thanks!
------------------
What can you, the pyramid fan do to help the pyramids?
1) When today's web site goes up (probably tomorrow) - take a close
look at Andy's new version of the Treehouse rules. Show it to your
dad or your sister or a friend who doesn't play games much, and see
if they can figure out the game from the rules. We want these
rules to be as accessible as possible to a much larger market than
the pyramid fans on this list - and we don't have a lot of time.
Yep, will do. I've been waiting for a couple of revisions to go by
before trying the rules cold on someone who doesn't do much gaming.
The first rules were just too confusing, the second rules were much
better but still needed some clarification, and by the time I see the
third set, I won't be a very good judge because I'll have some of the
details, so I think by then I'll try getting some non-gamer friends
to try and play straight from reading the rules.
2) Sign up as a rabbit if you have not already, and look for places
near you that you might help promote the pyramids. Go play
Treehouse at your local game store when it comes out - and help
make sure that your stores owner and customers learn about all the
other great stuff they can play with these wonderful little pyramids.
I'm wondering if we might want to to prerelease events. We can play
Treehouse with components we already have, and it would give people a
sense of being in on something new and cool. I know that lots of my
friends get really excited about Magic: The Gathering prereleases,
although admittedly that is a very different sort of thing, and they
are all Magic addicts already, rather than new customers.
3) Get involved with the Icehouse Wiki - and help us promote the
new way that pyramids are sold. When a new fan comes to the web
looking for more info about this Treehouse set they just picked up,
what will they find? Help them discover the amazing world the
pyramids have to offer them...
Yes! Please do get involved with the Icehouse Wiki. I try to work on
it as much as I can, although I wish I could do more. It's really
coming along nicely, though, and has some real potential, although we
are having to deal with spam a little more often than I'd like.
4) Promote Fluxx too. As much as we need to build the market for
the pyramids before we can make the new mold, it will still be
Fluxx sales that give us the cash we need to make that mold.
Promoting Fluxx will actually help the pyramids more in the long
run, odd as that might sound.
Yeah, I understand that. Luckily, I love Icehouse and like the card
games, and my girlfriend loves the card games, so together we get a
chance to play and demo all of them a lot.
Thanks to everyone for all the feedback on the rules!
Thanks to the Looneys for the great games, and the tireless work on
and promotion for the whole Icehouse system!