Richard Borg (Apr '09)
Q - # of years in the industry, # of years as a game inventor?
A: 22 years. We licensed our first game Liars Dice to Milton Bradley in 1987, although I was creating games for personal play for some time before this date.

Q - About how many games have you had published? Which is/are your favorite(s)?
A: Over 60 games. Some of which include: Liar's Dice, X-Men Alert, Star Wars CCG, Battle Cry, Wyatt Earp, Pig Pile, Memoir '44, Commands & Colors, BattleLore, and lots of expansions!

Q - Favorite game that is not yours?
A: I really enjoy a variety of games, and cannot single out one or even a few games that are my favorites.

Q - What did you do before this? And how did you make the transition?
A: I worked for the JC Penney Company for 25 years in management prior to making the transition to full time game author. In 1993 'Liars Dice' went to Europe as 'Bluff' and won the German Prize 'Spiel des Jahres'. Winning this award gave us the opportunity to leave the Penney Company, move to Florida and work full time on game designs.

Q - In a typical year... how many game ideas do you prototype? how many presentations do you make? how many get licensed?
A: Recently I prototype around six items a year. Almost all of these are requested, so I do not have to make presentations to license these items.

Q - What is your process for getting games seen?
A: Being in the business for some time now, I am very fortunate that I just have to contact a company to set up an appointment to show a new design. For game lines that are already in place, like Memoir '44, Commands & Colors: Ancients and BattleLore, I am working closely with the manufactures to keep the expansions in the series fresh and timely.

Q - What is your favorite thing about the game/toy industry? Least favorite?
A: Favorite - having the opportunity to work on so many different genres for a variety of age groups keeps thing interesting.
Least favorite - recently I have not had the opportunity to experience as many new games as past years.

Q - Do you see any current trends in the industry?
A: The popularity of board games seems to be on the rise, both in hobby and mass market.

Q - What one thing that you know now, do you wish you had known when you were starting out?
A: Actually I am still learning every day, but if I could have the computer I now work on back in 1987, I could have been a real contender ;-)

Q - If you were to give beginning inventors one bit of advice, what would it be?
A: Don't quit your day job.
Design for yourself and have fun making and playing your games.
Be a good listener when making a presentation.