March 15, 2004

By: Sandy Bergman
Website: http://www.1st-in-games.com

ScandalMonger, The Exciting New Board Game That Gives Players The Chance To Make The Headlines

America is obsessed with Scandals. Important news stories take a back seat to the newest and most heated scandals in our media. And as we create people’s 15 minutes of fame, 32-year-old entrepreneur Tim Graf of Pittsburgh, Pa has collected the nations juiciest scandals of the last half-decade and created the ScandalMonger™ board game.

A cross between the National Enquirer and Trivial Pursuit®, ScandalMonger’s 2000 questions about politicians, rock stars, actors, and ordinary people will keep players guessing who-done-it as they try to collect the next days front page spread for the popular ScandalMonger tabloid. The first to fill their page and make it back to the newsroom wins the game. But watch out! Your nosey opponent could steal your hot scoop and beat you to it.

Q. What TV sex kitten made headlines in 1999 by announcing she removed her breast implants? A. Pamela Anderson.

Q. Farmers balked when President Bush announced that he had banned what vegetable from his meals? A. Broccoli

The idea for the game began with the belief that people would enjoy answering trivia questions about scandals. Take a look at media coverage today. Even the straight-laced traditional print and television news outlets are fascinated by scandals as evidenced by the 24/7 coverage of O.J., Jon-Benet, Monica and Kobe, explains Graf.

So Tim Graf found himself leaving his job as a tax consultant to redefine his career and ultimately his life’s path and become an entrepreneur to invent a new board game, a longstanding dream. Graf was already equipped for his new challenge having earned a Master’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz School of Business in 1998. His interest in our need for seedy information led him to pair the two together in hopes of creating a successful board game.

For six months Graf leafed through almanacs and combed the Internet for questions. We tried to make it challenging enough that people who consider themselves news junkies or news buffs are stumped from time to time, but not so much that people who are more casual observers feel excluded, says Graf. Ten months and 45,000 dollars later, ScandalMonger was a reality.

With the first run of 5000 games, it was now time to find retailers before the holiday season ended. Unfortunately, most buyers had already decided on their holiday lineup. Graf slaved away trying to get small contracts in the Pittsburgh area. He hunted down press and made inventor appearances all over the Pittsburgh area. Three months later Graf took ScandalMonger to the International Toy Fair in New York City and made a big splash with the retailers and press. To his surprise, the game was supporting itself. The design attracted retailers and press to the booth and the questions were keeping them entertained long enough that Graf went home with a few leads in the media and a handful of contracts. Over the next three months, Graf received orders from Amazon.com, Toys-R-Us.com; Wizards of the Coast and popular Puzzle and Game catalog Spilsbury, along with other notable chains and single store retailers.

Later, Graf signed with Pezzano Incorporated, the PR/Marketing firm that successfully promoted Trivial Pursuit and Pictionary® to market ScandalMonger. The game business is such a niche market with so much competition and everyone is always trying to invent the next Trivial Pursuit. What is frustrating is that many inventors are so far from the components that are the make up of a good game that we end up turning a lot of inventors away. On the other hand, Tim found the perfect mix of playability, entertainment and competition for ScandalMonger, that we pursued him to work with us, stated Brad Mackenzie, president of Pezzano Incorporated.

Recently, ScandalMonger was featured in the New York Daily News, The Oregonian, The Plain Dealer and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Recently, ScandalMonger was a gift bag giveaway for the Newswomen's Club of New York’s Award Ceremony going out to over 200 of the top women in the media in New York City. ScandalMonger shared bag space with Starbucks, Cover Girl, Max Factor and The New York Sun. MTV booked ScandalMonger for the Real World 14, not as a contestant but for set dressing for their upcoming season and possibly an on-air play or two.

About The Author:

Sandy Bergman is a successful author and regular contributor to http://www.1st-in-games.com.  Great games for the entire family for hours of fun or competition. We feature all your favorites.