I disagree. Some small-box games are popular, too. Look at the new, slimmer boxes for Uno, or the pocket-size case for Pass the Pigs, or the minimalist-yet-goofy "bananagrams" case. I will admit that many of my own favorites are "big box" games, but they usually require a big box because of the complexity of the board or number of pieces. For example, the OOTS board game, Settlers of Catan, and Khet come in boxes that are
almost as tightly packed as possible, but still rather large in comparison to their simpler kin.
I guess the goal here is to further reinforce the formula "Icehouse ~ Playing Cards." Maybe make a cardstock sleeve that goes around the tubes, with a picture of a pyramid set on the front. This has the advantage of looking sort of like the way playing cards are packaged: tight cardboard case with a picture of the product on it. Of course, then you're not showing off the pyramids as well because they're hidden by the packaging. What's the trade-off?
Also, as far as the posters go, I like the way Andrew's rules diagrams work, like in Pink Treehouse, Ice-7, and 3House, with the little pictures and footnotes interspersed with the rules summary, and a conversational tone. Maybe we could do something like that for a color poster? It'd be like "Hey, what are these pyramid thingies?" under that is a picture of someone holding a handful of pyramids with a confused look over their head. And under that is the traditional "deck of cards" metaphor, with pictures to illustrate. Finally at the bottom, if the reader is still interested, they'll see some websites where they can learn more, a disclaimer about the copyright on the pyramids that ties them to looney labs, and maybe a "related products" list in case they've played a previous Looney Labs game and want assurance that this is the same fun-quality stuff.
~nupanick
On Thu, May 6, 2010 at 9:30 PM, Christopher Hickman
<tophu@xxxxxxx> wrote:
On May 5, 2010, at 11:40 AM, David L. Willson wrote:
I believe in the current minimal packaging (no trash) model of marketing. I don't need more crap to throw away, and I enjoy coming up with newer, better ways to carry my kit around.
Look at the bright side, though: More room for pretty artwork! :)
Topher