Developing a game can be a funny thing. Sure, you need to do lots of playtesting, but you also spend many hours working alone on concepts and graphics and manufacturing issues. After all that, it’s nice to actually get out and play the game with folks in the public!

To that end, we’ve created these demonstration & product display stands, and we’ve already had a team of demonstrators out in Auckland showing people how fast, fun and furious Five Men Standing is!

Last Friday I was in Lambton Key in Wellington showing it off with the able assistance of my son, and then Saturday was Queensgate Shopping Centre in Lower Hutt. While they both went well, Lambton Key was definitely the land of busy workers on their lunch-break, while Queensgate was more relaxed with shoppers out enjoying the weekend. Lots of positive response and good sales, and everybody quickly grasped the concept and so I played a LOT of games. It may have helped that there was a yummy jellybaby reward for anyone who beat me!

Still, one especially keen young girl came back three times before I said “No more jellybabies”… and still she played another five times! Lovely to have such an enthusiastic response.

We’ll be doing more Wellington and Auckland demos over the coming weeks, and I’ll also be showing off Five Men Standing  around the Wairarapa and at the “Made In Wairarapa” exhibition, so do pop by and say hi!

Cheers,
Minty Hunter
Five Men Standing co-inventor

Ps. If you can’t get to a demo, you can always find out how to play with this 60 second animated clip.

Back in January we ran a competition for Five Men Standing, calling on people to send in their most interesting photos of a Five Men Standing team.

One of the winners was Matt from Christchurch, who scored himself an extra Country Team Pack of his choice, two more of our sensational games, and a nice little stash of dollars to spend as he sees fit.

He’s just sent us this fantastic photo, which proves that much like your humble author, you can be smart enough to be great at games and also incredibly good looking (as well as overwhelmingly modest).

Five Men Standing competition winner Matt In Black

Nice one Matt- we trust you’re enjoying your prizes.

Everyone else will just have to keep an eye out: closer to RWC 2011 we’ll have more competitions!

From the Five Men Standing team, we bring you merry Christmas wishes and a big hurrah for 2011!

It’s been a frantic and exciting time leading up to December, racing to meet deadlines and ensure the game was in stores, but with the fabulous feedback we’ve been getting it’s all been worth it. Thanks to everyone who’s supported us! And it’s been brilliant to spend the last few days easing up and enjoying this time of year.

For my part, I saw the new year in (after the usual cheers and kisses) on top of a trampoline, tucked up under a duvet with 6 friends, chatting and laughing and watching for shooting stars and satellites passing overhead in the glorious Carterton night sky. We all felt like little kids- well, slightly cheeky kids perhaps, who stayed up for hours until the moreporks started complaining- and it was wonderful! Hope you greeted 2011 with similar zeal.

Continue reading “Hurrah for 2011!” »

The Wairarapa Midweek had a fabulous article on Five Men Standing, succinctly written by Kerri Bowling. We’ve been politely hassled by our friends for being featured on the front page- the joys of being world famous in Carterton!

Here’s the article, with text below:

As the world counts down to the 2011 Rugby World Cup, a Carterton couple is hoping to bring some of the action into homes. Kerri Bowling reports.

Minty Hunter and Bek Farr have teamed up with Andrew Baker, from Hawke’s Bay company IQ Ideas, to co-produce and co-invent a board game called Five Men Standing – the official game of the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

Continue reading “Local press coverage” »

Mainly Toys in Mount Eden are a speciality toy and game store that’s been voted Metro’s Best Game Store for 4 years running, so they obviously know good games.

You can imagine how delighted we were that they sold out of Five Men Standing in less than a week, and have zipped in another order to get stock back into store.

It’s good to see our master plan on track. It starts in Mount Eden, spreads out to sold-out stores around the country, before moving to the big western isle of Oz, and thence onto total world domination. And I for one welcome our plastic rugby-figure overlords:

Samoa Country Team Pack - just part of the planned world domination!

Join us by securing your copy of the Five Men Standing game or any of the 20 country team packs!