A Better Yahtzee Mousetrap

I am in awe of the game called Yahtzee Free for All (by Hasbro). It's a fresh take and successful line extension of a decades-old brand, and it's perhaps the best example of consumer packaging I have ever seen.

Yahtzee has always been a fun game...but let's face it, it was not interactive. All of the strategy and luck took place in your little scorecard. So you were doing something that you could do alone, but doing it in the presence of others...hmmmm.

BUT! Yahtzee Free For All has a great spin: you roll your dice (3 rolls as in the original) to earn cards based on the traditional combinations, but when you are successful you put the card in your "home" slot for one full round of turns. The other plays can steal your card by bettering your combination (e.g., if you had three 3's on a 3 card, they could roll four 3's; if you had a full house of three 1's and two fives (13 dice points) they could beat it with three 4's and two 3's (18 dice points).) When play makes it back to your turn, you get to "bank" the card, if it's not been stolen, and try for more.

There's more to it, of course....but the bottom-line is it's an interactive and slightly cutthroat way to enliven Yahtzee -- and it's faster pace than the traditional game. So, as an avid gamester, I like it!

As a MARKETER, I was blown away by how carefully the packaging was thought out. It's hard to explain how cleverly this game is designed.

First of all, the box bottom turns into the board (folding out in to a 6 player shape (sort of like a flower unfolding). Each players petal (if you will) has a place to display their final roll of dice and their home card. The chips (used to increase point value of cards if player has an unsuccessful turn) have a clever ripple design that makes them very easy to stack and less likely to scatter. The instruction booklet is shaped like a 2D die (which makes it 6 sided), and that also opens like a flower. The box cover is felted on the inside to use as a rolling surface...everything you touch is thoughtful and streamlined.

Even if you don't like games, check this out as an excellent example of taking even the simplest element to a clean, logic, and compelling execution. An inspirational idea for any marketing campaign or deliverable. : )