NHL Ice Breaker is a ‘Hot Toy’ for 2006!

NHL Ice Breaker: The Card Hockey Game listed as a ‘Hot Toy’ for Christmas 2006:

http://www.cdntoyassn.com/hottoys06_games.htm

Our interview on Card Football with Erik Arneson from About.com

Card Football Premiere Edition

From Erik Arneson, Your Guide to Board / Card Games.

Poker meets football in this game of strategy and bluffing
More than 100 different football board games have been published since 1925, when Parker Brothers released All-American Football, a simulation of college football. Today, football board games face stiff competition from video games like the uber-popular Madden series, but new ones are still being made. Two in particular, Card Football and Pizza Box Football, are worth your consideration.

Brothers Paolo and Fabio Del Rio started developing Card Football in late 2004; it was published in early 2006 and uses cards, not dice, to determine the outcome of plays. Paolo Del Rio answered some questions about the game.

Please tell us how Card Football originated and developed.

Fabio and I come from the sports collectibles industry, having both worked as editors of the trade magazine Canadian Sports Collector, and Fabio as vice-president of product development and production for In The Game, an NHL/NHLPA hockey-card licensee (at the time).

We’re both huge sports fans and collectors, and we never came across a sports game that really captured the sports fan’s attention. And, if done properly, we knew that there could be a real demand for such a product.

CSE Games was formed and began developing Card Football in late 2004. The idea was to create a football card game that would appeal to football fans, card players and gamers alike — not an easy task. However, the use of the standard 54-card deck as the backbone would provide an immediate sense of comfort in new players. As a result, the game is easy to learn, has a true football feel and, most importantly, is fun to play. We felt (and playtesting confirmed) that the game would not only appeal to gamers, but also to the average sports fan.

The game has come a long way from our initial versions, as we learned how to simplify elements of gameplay and design, especially limiting the amount of text on each card.

Poker and football don’t seem like an intuitive match. Why did you decide that the two would work together?

The whole process kind of happened naturally. When we started developing Card Football, the intention was not to create a combination Poker / football game. The 54-card deck simply provided a great foundation for a game that’s not reliant on dice play. Playing cards allow for a nice mix of chance (getting the best/right cards) and control (the ability to choose which of your cards to play in any given situation) — something that isn’t all that prevalent in the sports game market.

Initially, gameplay was based on “high card wins.” The player who played the highest card would execute their play, as indicated on the card. However, that concept eventually developed into “high hand wins,” as we found that increasing hand management made for a much deeper, more strategic game experience. No doubt that the Poker boom — and increased interest in card games in general — in recent years has really helped us.

Can you describe the basic mechanics of Card Football?

Using our specially designed deck, players start each down with five cards in hand. Opponents play a card or cards from their hand simultaneously and the player with the highest card or highest hand executes the play indicated on their card.

The offense’s goal is to gain as many yards and points as possible, while the defense tries to stop the offense and create turnovers. Once each down has been played, both players replenish to five cards. This ability to constantly refill the hands allows players to build on what they have. For instance, on any given down, cards can be played in pairs, two pair, three-of-a-kind, or five-card Poker-style “Power Hands.”

The key to successful play calling is effective hand management. Players must decide which cards to play and which to hang on to. Certainly, you need a little bit of luck, but the game is all about how you play your cards.

How has Card Football sold?

Sales of Card Football have increased steadily since the game’s official launch in January 2006. Given that Card Football was our first release, it was difficult to place realistic expectations on numbers, but suffice to say that we have been pleasantly surprised. We expect to sell over 5,000 copies in our first year.

What other games has CSE published? Do you have more planned?

NHL Ice Breaker: The Card Hockey Game came out in May 2006. It’s licensed by the National Hockey League and all 30 teams. Gameplay is similar in most respects to Card Football. However, we adjusted the style of play somewhat in order to capture the vastly different feel of the game of hockey — free-flowing with constant action, versus the start-and-stop nature of football.

NHL Ice Breaker has been well received on both sides of the border and will be available this Christmas at Canadian retailers including Calendar Club / Go! The Game Store and Shoppers Drug Mart, and virtually all NHL team stores.

We have several other sports game projects in the works. We expect to have at least a couple of new products in 2007.
 
 http://boardgames.about.com/od/cardfootball/a/interview.htm

NHL Ice Breaker review on InsideHockey.com

Read Inside Hockey’s Kevin Greestein’s review of NHL Ice Breaker:

http://insidehockey.com/columns/217

NHL Ice Breaker tournament, redemption program at Fall Expo!

CSE Games and SportFX are pleased to announce details of our first-ever NHL Ice Breaker Challenge tournament AND mini-stick redemption program at this fall’s Sportcard & Memorabilia Expo in Toronto, ON. The show runs from November 10 to 12 at the Toronto International Centre (6900 Airport Rd.)

NHL ICE BREAKER CHALLENGE
NHL Ice Breaker is the highly-acclaimed new card/board game that captures the action of “the greatest game on earth”. Each day at the Expo, attendees will have the opportunity to sign up and take part in the NHL Ice Breaker Challenge. Space in each day’s tournament will be limited, so be sure to sign up early (booth located in the corporate area at the back end of the show). Entrants will have the chance to win some great CSE Games and SportFX prizes.

MINI-STICK REDEMPTION
A select number of dealers at the Fall Expo will have copies of NHL Ice Breaker available for sale. Every show attendee that purchases a copy at the show, brings their unopened copy back to the CSE Games/SportFX booth and removes the shrink-wrap in front of one of our team members will receive a limited edition NHL Ice Breaker mini-stick! (while supplies last).

Be sure to visit www.sportcardexpo.com for more information on the show and to request your copy of the show program by mail (look for our ad!).

CSE Games team takes part in TGIF Con

It was a short but sweet stay in Orlando, FL, for CSE Games at the Toy & Game Industry Foundation conference (TGIF Con). The conference gives game inventors, entrepreneurs and industry veterans the opportunity to interact, share ideas and discuss the issues affecting the industry as a whole.

The conference includes useful round-table discussions, mini seminars run by the who’s-who of the industry, and a great lineup or keynote speakers that generously shared their experiences.

One of the key elements of the show is the one-on-one conferences that inventors and entrepreneurs are able to book with game company representatives and buyers to pitch their product or idea and gain insight as to what the bigger companies are looking for.

“It was an excellent opportunity for us to meet some experienced - and extremely gracious and helpfull - members of the toy and game community,” said Fabio Del Rio, President of CSE Games. “It is an event not to be missed.”

For more information on TGIF Con, check out www.tgifcon.com.

Gen Con Indy even better the second time!

It was a great return to Gen Con Indy for the CSE Games/SportFX team; A great opportunity to reacquaint ourselves with many of the gamers that we met in 2005, and the chance to show off Card Football Premiere Edition and NHL Ice Breaker - The Card Hockey Game to a new crop of excited gamers.

This was the first opportunity for Gen Con attendees to purchase CSE’s games, as CSE was still in the production-sample and prototype stages back in August ‘05.

“It’s always great to be able to make our games available to such a dedicated group of game players,” says Paolo Del Rio, VP of CSE Games. “But hearing stories of all-night NHL Ice Breaker sessions from the night before is what really tells us that the show was a success.”

For more information on Gen Con shows, check out www.gencon.com.

CSE Games featured in the ‘Brill Report’

The Brill Report
The On-Line News Magazine of the Collectibles/Hobby Industry
Vol. 2, No. 60

NEW SPORTS GAMES GRABBING ATTENTION

The world of sports board games has traditionally been an enigmatic category for players and retailers alike. And with all the competition from Internet-based Fantasy leagues, computer games, fantasy games, and just other sports-oriented products in general, the market is not getting any easier to decipher.

However, there is a Toronto-based company that has been making a substantial push toward breaking into the sports board game market. CSE Games, to date, have released both a football game (Card Football), and a hockey game (NHL Ice Breaker). Both have done well to date, with each game garnering multiple praises from fans and industry people alike at events such as Origins International Game Expo in Columbus, Ohio last month, the Las Vegas GAMA show, and the Canadian Toy & Hobby Fair.

A big part of the appeal of the games, according to Fabio Del Rio who works in sales and product development for the company, is the fact the games are built around a standard deck of playing cards.

“It makes a new player immediately comfortable,” says Del Rio, “since everyone is familiar with the playing card deck. It doesn’t feel like a brand new undertaking where you need to learn all kinds of rules in order to enjoy the game. Sure, our game has its nuances, but we worked real hard to keep it as straight forward and intuitive as possible.

“There have been lots of sports games over the years,” continues Del Rio, “but most have been either dice-based or trivia-based. Since our games our built on the deck of cards, game players can get a sense of the fact that there is strategy to be considered. Strategy and decision-making are really what allows the game to simulate the action of the sport. Not just the outcome of each play, but the action and the tension of sport. Players continuously comment to us that our games ‘feel’ like the sports they depict, and that is really the ultimate compliment.”

To date, the response all around has been overwhelmingly positive. The company knows it has a solid pair of products on its hands.

“Industry insiders have commented on the smoothness of game play and how accurately we have applied each sport to a card game,” explains Del Rio. “In addition, people are learning the games remarkably quickly – it usually takes less than five minutes. Watching first-time players catch on to the game and really enjoy it is so rewarding for us.”

Montreal-based Universal Distribution, one of the largest sports card and gaming distributors in North America, has handled the Ice Breaker game. And according to company salesman Oliver Lea, it has performed very well for their customers.

“The response has been positive,” says Lea. “It’s been a while since anybody has gone after gamers with a hockey product. We’re very pleased with the results because we know it’s hard to get crossover from gaming stores into sports collectibles. We’re getting stores that don’t normally carry sports stuff and games.”

Del Rio maintains that it is the sports fan to who the game is designed to appeal. If any gamers get caught up in the excitement, that’s icing on the cake.

“We know that there is a definite niche of sports fans out there that are also big gaming fans, and we’re happy to have a couple of new games to offer them,” he explains. “However, the idea behind our games is that by taking the playing card deck and using similar mechanics from popular classic card games, we could have a game that a sports fan – not necessarily a gamer – would play and enjoy.

“Being that we are huge sports fans ourselves, and through what we have learned over the years about the sports industry, we decided to come up with a game that we would play – a game that’s fun, easy to learn and has the feel of the sport.

“Obviously the poker craze of the last several years has only helped us. But really, it all comes down to game play. Our thinking has been that there is always a market for fun games. So, our games are always a balance of being accurate and true to the game on the field (or ice or floor) without compromising any of the fun of the game.”

Lea also indicates that the product has other factors in its favor, and they certainly have helped to break into the market.

“The game makes sense, so it’s easy for kids to play. It has a low SRP and the re-orders have been steady and that helps when it’s on a shelf against products twice the price.”

As for the immediate future, CSE Games will be set up at the Gen Con Indy in Indianapolis from August 10-13.

CSE Games has also re-packaged their Card Football game to coincide with the 2007 NFL campaign. The latest edition will be available later this month.

“We’ve gone to a standard closed-box format and updated artwork for Card Football Premiere Edition,” says Del Rio. “All in all, the changes allow us to more clearly convey how the game works and what is fun about it. Our new artwork has the playing cards themselves as the focal point, since it really is the cards that make the game.”

Del Rio also says plans are in the works involving new games for other sports, and they are pursuing additional licensing options. He hinted at the possibility of a new licensed game announcement within the next several months.

For full details on the product, visit www.csegames.com.

ORIGINS ‘Rookies’ make great debut in Columbus

It was a fantastic week in Buckeye Country for the CSE Games/SportFX team. Taking part in their first ORIGINS International Game Expo in Columbus, OH, the overwhelmingly positive and excited reactions of attendees to CSE’s games made the rookies feel like grizzled gaming veterans. “We had some great shows this year (Canadian Ty & Hobby Fair, International Toy Fair, GAMA), but this was our first opportunity to present our game products directly to consumers - to gamers,” said Fabio Del Rio, President of CSE Games. “To see just how much people are enjoying our games is really rewarding.”

The reviews on both Card Football Premiere Edition and NHL Ice Breaker were extremely positive among gamers of all ages. Gaming veteran Ken Whitesell of Shrewsbury, PA, called Card Football “the first truly new approach for a table-top football game in over 20 years.”

“One of the ‘Top Two’ new games at Origins, and the best two-player game,” was the praise heaped upon us by Ty Hansen of Washington, DC.

Sales at the show were brisk, especially on the limited quantities of NHL Ice Breaker that CSE Games had available. “Traffic at the booth was great,” said Paolo Del Rio, VP of CSE Games. “Though it was the return traffic that was most encouraging to us. After picking up a copy, we had folks coming back to the booth three and four times, sharing their experiences and results from playing the night before. That was pretty cool. That’s what makes these shows so fun.”

CSE Games/SportFX’s next consumer show appearance will be Gen Con Indy - August 10-13 (booth #1544).

Yellow Jackets stung with NHL Ice Breaker fever!

Through three games at the Minnesota Independent AAA Hockey tournament, the biggest hit - as far as the Chicago Yellow Jackets are concerned - is a new found love of NHL Ice Breaker - The Card Hockey Game.

Several Yellow Jacket teammates gathered for hours in a hotel room between their own games and played numerous NHL Ice Breaker contests, each one bringing more and more enthusiasm.

Alex Pleit, Yellow Jacket netminder, said “This is great! Where will I be able to buy one?” Joey Martin, a defenseman, who is as comfortable taking a slap shot from the blue line as he is crushing an opponent’s rush up ice, found the game to be quite entertaining and was able to pick up the games nuances within minutes.

Left Winger Philip Rubino was the game’s commentator, screaming “GOOOOAAAAALLLL!” after each goal was scored, in a voice that sounded part Mexican soccer announcer, part Foster Hewitt. Rubino’s wingmate Joey Bower served as moderator for the first few games, as he was also part of the initial testing team for NHL Ice Breaker.  It was in Bower’s room that the games took place, and plans are already in works to have a much larger NHL Ice Breaker tournament among the Yellow Jackets later this spring.

Yellow Jackets winger Brian Lichterman was the day’s biggest winner, going undefeated and hoping to soon find some competition to test his NHL Ice Breaker skills.

Brent Vuglar, the teams leading scorer, was a spectator for the majority of the games, saying “I was a little nervous that it was going to be complicated. But after watching a few minutes I could see it is a real easy game to play and looks really fun”.

The Chicago Yellow Jackets Hockey Club is managed by Casey Van Damme and Firewagon Hockey. Check out www.firewagonhockey.com for more information.

For more on NHL Ice Breaker, check out www.csegames.com.

NHL Ice Breaker unveiled at Sportcard Expo in Toronto

The Sportcard & Memorabilia Expo in Toronto, ON, was the scene of the official unveiling of NHL Ice Breaker – The Card Hockey Game. Held at the Toronto International Centre from May 5 to 7, the bi-annual Expo is North America’s premier hockey collectible show. And what a fitting event to introduce the Canadian hockey market to the most exciting, most realistic hockey board game ever produced.

The SportFX/CSE Games booth was littered with anxious game players all weekend long. Attendees had the opportunity to demo NHL Ice Breaker with game developers Fabio & Paolo Del Rio. However, as the weekend moved along, the brothers’ role shifted from demonstrators to spectators. “After a while, we had the first few kids that came by the booth teaching all the other kids,” said Paolo. “It was great to see how quickly they were all picking it up and how they were really getting into it. It was another very encouraging weekend for us.”

The Expo was also a great opportunity to introduce SportFX’s newest products – including Card Football Premiere Edition game, Super Star Micro Jerseys, Playoff Teammates Pucks and other playoff-specific product – to both retailers and the general public.

Everyone that stopped by for a demo was also entered into a daily draw for CSE Games/SportFX prizes. The winners were:

FRIDAY
Grand Prize: copy of NHL Ice Breaker – Dylan Barker of Guelph, ON
First Prize: SportFX Mini Stick Speed Playset – Danny Mornan of Bolton, ON

SATURDAY
Grand Prize: copy of NHL Ice Breaker – Nicholas Mauro of Niagara Falls, ON
First Prize: SportFX Mini Stick Speed Playset – M. Drew of Ajax, ON

SATURDAY
Grand Prize: copy of NHL Ice Breaker – Kayla Burden of Toronto, ON
First Prize 1: SportFX Mini Stick Speed Playset – Matthew Kompare of Brampton, ON
First Prize 2: SportFX Sidney Crosby Super Star Micro Jersey – Nick Goodwin of Milton, ON

The 2006 Fall Expo takes place Nov. 10-12. For more information on the Sportcard & Memorabilia Expo, check out www.sportcardexpo.com.