I spend a lot of time thinking about Wall Drug. If you’ve ever had the pleasure of driving through the wastelands of South Dakota, you’ve almost certainly seen a sign for Wall Drug. It’s an American tourist trap with all the normal trappings: tchotchkes, mediocre food, and $.05 coffee. But this particular tourist trap sees…

I’m fascinated with finding ways to add game mechanics to real-world situations to drive changes and create new experiences for people. Marital Bliss is a good example of our first attempt to execute on that vision, and I hope we make many more games in the future that continue to refine and improve on that…

At the beginning of the June, we reached a huge milestone and sent the files for our next game (The Ultimate Baby Shower Game) off to the printer. That success led into a long weekend camping trip, which then bled into a week-long vacation with extended family, that leaked into a slow recovery week focused…

I recently watched Videogamedunkey’s “Best of 2022” video embedded below (warning, he knows his way around an f-bomb) and appreciated a masterful little promo/announcement he did at the beginning of the video for his game publishing company and their first game “Animal Well.” Since I’ve also been working on announcements and promotions for our Marital…

I know, I know. Last week I said I was going to publish about our Marital Bliss re-release, but… I started writing this for my own edification, and decided to publish it instead. The hordes of you eager for more Marital Bliss content will have to wait a week. Building a Community You don’t have…

Monopoly Man Meets Pip-Boy The original design inspiration for Marital Bliss was a mix of the classic monopoly man, and Pip-Boy cartoons from the Fallout game series. We  always wanted Martial Bliss to have a tongue-in-cheek, kitschy feel to it. Generally, I think when you hear “relationship game” the knee-jerk reaction is an eye-roll and…

This is Part 3 of our series about updating our game Marital Bliss. You can read the other posts here: Part 1 and Part 2. We’re excited to soon be launching a great new version of Marital Bliss with updates to resolve known issues and to broaden the gameplay experience. A large portion of the…

This is Part 2 of our series about updating our game Marital Bliss. You can start at the beginning with Part 1 here or jump forward to Part 3 here. A Problem of Our Own Design Not long after our Kickstarter launched way back in 2013, we got requests to make a same-gender version of…

After 10 years, it’s finally happening! In 2023 we’ll be releasing a completely overhauled version of Martial Bliss with some much-needed (and often requested) enhancements. It’s an exciting time because the updates are the perfect combination of personal convictions and business needs. You can read Part 2 and Part 3 of this series here. Personal…

Selling on Amazon is incredible. For small businesses started by independent and entrepreneurial-minded people, Amazon offers unparalleled opportunities. We get nearly complete control over the messaging, promotions, and advertising of our products, and Amazon handles the shipping and logistics for a nominal fee. When it works, it’s astounding. The ease at which anyone in the…

Dude, you just bought nine(!) copies of Marital Bliss. That’s insane. You are now the official current record-holder for most copies of Marital Bliss sold to one person on Amazon. All I know is your first name and the city where the games were shipped. It’s probably for the best that Amazon obfuscates your contact…

These days, the majority of our Marital Bliss sales come through Amazon, so I spend a fair bit of time tweaking the landing page and praying to Jeff Bezos to maximize our conversions. (I know, I know, Andy Jassy is the CEO of Amazon now, but what am I supposed to do with my basement…

This summer I’ve been working on redesign ideas for the next print run of Marital Bliss, and I have been using Reddit to crowdsource some feedback. Reddit can be a great way to gather market insights without breaking the bank. There are so many communities to leverage and great people you can reach. However, there’s…

The other day I came across some interesting information about a personality type I’d heard about, but never knew where it originated. You don’t have to work in a corporate environment for very long before you hear a humble-brag that usually starts something like this: “I’m such a Type A, that’s why I… (insert self-promotion…

I’ve played a lot of games with cards and dice, but dominoes have mostly eluded me. Even with their rise in popularity thanks to YouTube, they are more popular for their capacity to fall over, than they are as a game device. Our family tradition over the Memorial Day weekend is to go on the…

This post is for anyone who’s dreamed of starting their own business but didn’t know where to start, or doubted their odds of success. I know the feeling. Even with a published game under our belts, there’s so many times I don’t have the answers I’m looking for. It can be overwhelming. Today, I wanted…

Mix a pandemic with skyrocketing prices for everything, throw in a helping of social unrest, and shake aggressively with a burgeoning war. Simmer all that together for a few years, and you have a recipe for global mental health problems. May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and I’m dedicating this post to the fact that…

I have been rummaging through old Marital Bliss game reviews over the last couple weeks, and thought it would be fun to reshare them with a few of my thoughts about what it’s like on the receiving end, as a game creator. You can read part 1 here, and part 2 here. This week, I…

I’ve been rummaging through old Marital Bliss game reviews over the last couple weeks, and I thought it would be fun to re-share them with a few of my thoughts about what it’s like on the receiving end, as a game creator. This week’s review is from Bower’s Game Corner, in 2015. The best thing…

I was recently digging through some older Marital Bliss game reviews, and I thought it might be fun to share them over the next several posts, and discuss what it was like on the receiving end these reviews as a game creator. I’m kicking things off with my favorite review of all time. It’s from…

Earlier this month I set aside some time to reflect on our Q1 performance (January-March), and I ran into some familiar, nagging, questions: What are we doing? Where are we going? Why do we make games? How do I know what types of games I want to make? Are there other things I should be…

This week I’m taking a deep dive into a challenge I had while setting up Quickbooks earlier this year: managing and tracking basic inventory and cost of goods sold with the “simple start” plan of Quickbooks online (QBO) without having to upgrade to the “Plus” level. I know this post is a little different than…

Welcome to a super-special edition of the blog! Why is it so special? It’s a magical time that only occurs once a year. Today, half of Fink & Fink Games celebrates her birthday. I initially considered writing an entire blog post dedicated solely to Nicole Fink’s many amazing qualities, but soon realized that my public…

Hi everyone! I’m honored to have a guest on the blog today. Joe Slack is a renowned board game designer, a prolific writer, and the creator of the Board Game Design Course. He’s helped over 4,000 game designers get their ideas out of their heads and onto tables around the globe. Today he’s sharing some…

Last weekend we conducted the first prototype play-test of our next game. We didn’t kick a slam dunk in the end zone yet, but we didn’t expect to. That’s why we play-test. A friend recently commented that bringing a creative endeavor into the world is a lot like giving birth, a metaphor that feels especially…

If you could wake up every morning and do whatever you wanted, what would you do? How would you spend your precious time? Would you create something new? Would you relax? Would you spend more time with family?  If you wanted to start a business, would you have the tenacity to hold yourself accountable to…

Starting a business is about passion. It’s about planting a flag in the ground and declaring to the world that right here, in this little spot, is where you’re going to start your empire. It’s about working 25 hours a day, and #hustling, and all that  other stuff that sells on emotion. But… there’s also…

You can find today’s post over on the Pine Island Games blog. Click here to head on over. The article features some tips I’ve picked up over the years when working with artists. Here’s one trick you can start using today (if you use Windows): hit “Windows Key + Shift + S” to take screenshots…

So much time, and so little to do! Strike that, reverse it. I can’t believe it’s been five months already! Last September, feeling burned out and looking for new challenges, I walked away from my long-time corporate gig so I could spend a year wandering the Texas wilderness and consuming massive amounts of peyote in…

This week, we’re going deep on everyone’s favorite topic: NUMBERS! More specifically, PERCENTAGES. Most specificalliest, AMAZON ORDER ITEM SESSION PERCENTAGE RATES! Why the hell should an Amazon seller care about the Amazon Order Item Session Percentage Rate? Because it’s a measurement of your conversion rate. Sexy, huh? Let’s say 10 people checked out Marital Bliss…

This is the first post (of several I have planned for this year) where I’ll track our progress as we attempt to make our way to the top of Amazon search results for some key terms. Reinvigorating Marital Bliss Last week, I mentioned that one of our goals for 2022 is to reinvigorate Marital Bliss!…

I was recently inspired by Jamey Stegmaier’s recent post: “The 5-Year Plan for Stonemaier Games” and thought something similar would be a fitting topic for the first post on our new website. I’m already looking forward to an end-of-year wrap-up post to measure how we’ve done! If you’re not familiar with Fink & Fink games,…