Interviews by an Optimist #101 - Tom Powers

Interviewed by Tom Vasel
Edited by Tom Vasel and Laura Vasel
May 1, 2006

Tom says this about himself…

“I was born in Seattle, and except for 1 year and a couple of weeks, I’ve lived here my entire life. I was brought up playing games like Yahtzee, Monopoly, Careers, Cribbage, Pinochle, etc.

In high school I took a computer programming class and never looked back. I was a business programmer for about 15 years. Around that time I got married and took a year off from working. When my wife got sick of supporting me, I went looking for work, where I found a job programming Gameboy/Gamegear handhelds. I was a game programmer for about 10 years, until a little over a year ago.

Several years ago I stumbled onto a thrift store and found some cheap games. I started grabbing every different one I could find thinking that it might help my game programming. I was up to a couple of hundred games when a friend of mine that knew I was into games introduced me to Peter Sarrett. After Peter introduced me to Euros I was hooked. I started picking up every different euro I could find. I haven’t counted recently, but I’m probably between 2500 and 3000 different titles.

About 4 years ago, I found a group of guys that had just started to get into German games, and I had’em and knew how to get’em. I started picking up extras and passing them on. A friend and I decided to put up a website and go into online retail (yes, we started in my garage). It never got off the ground, but I ended up with the inventory. So I started Boards & Bits. With the help of my next partner (my brother-in-law) we had a site up in about a month. Things have been growing strong ever since. Several times I considered quitting the business to keep programming (and make a good living), but last year I had to make the decision to go one way or the other. I chose to give B&B my full attention, and so far it’s worked out great!”

Tom Vasel: How does an online store compete with the rather fierce competition on the ‘net these days? Are there too many online retailers?

Tom Powers: As long as I’m not the *only* online retailer, there are too many :) Seriously, I agree with most of the comments that there is natural attrition and if/when there are too many, some will naturally migrate away.

When I see someone ask about how to start an online retail board game shop, I cringe and know that they probably have no idea what they’re getting into, just like me when I started.

But I got into it early enough, and with a consistently large catalog, hard work and a personal touch, it’s allowed B&B to grow even with great competition. Customers have been surprised when I’ve told them it’s just me (or me and one other person) running the store because of the great service they’ve received. I’m very proud of that, and word of mouth advertising plays a big role!

Tom Vasel: What is your take on the online stores vs. local gaming stores debate?

Tom Powers: Lol! I’ve probably weighed in enough on BGG that everyone knows my thoughts on this, but here’s my take.

With Funagain being the biggest exception, B&M and online stores really serve different purposes and attract different customers.

Most B&M stores are not counting on board games for the bulk of their income. B&M stores make most of their money in CCG’s and minis, where they can charge full price with much less competition. B&M stores really cannot compete on board game selection with online retailers, and online retailers can’t compete in minis (thanks to manufacturers helping keep us out of the market).

B&M stores are great at bringing new customers to the board game hobby by selling a couple dozen of the best selling gateway titles. When their customers have exhausted their options at the B&M, they start looking around and find places like BoardgameGeek.com and are introduced to the dark side of retail...online discount retailers. Here they can find games that they never dreamed existed at prices that allow them to build a nice sized collection.

I feel like these two business models really complement each other, and there will be room for both for a long time.

Now ask me about hobby B&M’s and Wal-mart! (Okay, please don’t)

Tom Vasel: Tell us about a normal day in the life of an online store…

Tom Powers: I wish it were a little more interesting, but it goes about like this:

(1) Wake up in the morning and check emails (looking for the tone of the day...are things going to go smoothly, or will I have a bunch of fires to put out?)

(2) Go through the new orders and approve them for shipping. This sounds easy, but, as most things in very small business, it’s very time intensive. About 1/2 of the orders that come in are not ready for one reason or another...problems during payment processing, wrong shipping option selected, changed their mind, etc. So there’s a lot of follow-up that needs to be done.

(3) From now until the end of the day (around Midnight :) it’s pretty random. Lots of accounting, web site updating, receiving from suppliers, answering customer emails, processing international orders, looking for and buying new products, reordering, ordering shipping supplies, etc.

(4) After 3 years, I finally have some help, so Dan packs and ships while I’m doing.

Totally unglamorous, but it can be rewarding. And being in charge has good and bad points (mostly good). If you’re not careful, this can take all of your time. But so can a wife and two small children. So it’s all about balancing, and I’m still trying to get it right!

Tom Vasel: How do you determine what games to stock? Do you ever have to sadly not stock a game because of space and/or other limitations?

Tom Powers: I made the decision early on to just carry about everything I could get my hands on. Since I’m a collector, I like to get 1 of (almost) everything for myself. I’m not into war games, so I don’t feel the same need to stock everything.

It can be challenging trying to keep up with all of the new games, especially when you stock items that aren’t available through normal distribution channels.

Space has been a small issue in the past, but I’ve never let it get in the way of carrying something my customers may be interested in. And now that I’m in a good-sized warehouse, it’s really not an issue.

I have been burned a couple of times by manufacturers of a new game contacting me and talking me into buying something new, and then it does nothing as far as sales. Now I make sure it’s on Boardgame Geek and that people are showing an interest in it. Or at least I have an interest in getting one for my collection, so I may as well grab a couple extra.

Tom Vasel: How do you find out about games? Do you actively seek them out, or let them come to you?

Tom Powers: With bigger publishers and distributors I can usually rely on their information for new games. For the lesser known publishers and games (new & old) I rely mostly on customers and/or my own desire for a game, and of course I read the buzz on the newsgroups and The Geek.

I’m very responsive to customers’ requests for items we don’t carry. For example, about 2 weeks ago a customer asked about the game Prophecy, which was designed and manufactured in Czechoslovakia. With the help of the customer I was able to contact the distributor and have the game here in about a week.

Tom Vasel: Can you tell us about your biggest sellers? And have any games ever surprised you at how poorly they sold, or the opposite?

Tom Powers: Our best sellers tend to be items that are harder to find, such as Diamant, Geschenkt/No Merci, and Gemblo.

My worst selling items have been collectibles, such as “Pirates of the ...” and Clout. These items look great and are fun to play with, but the games just don’t seem to appeal to our customers.

Then there are the games that would probably be best sellers, if we could keep them in stock (Caylus, PitchCar, anything from Splotter). You never know what will end up being a big hit.

Tom Vasel: Can you tell us any interesting stories that have happened over the years?

Tom Powers: I had been friends with Peter Sarrett for a few years, but had mostly stopped going to game nights at his place (he lives about 40 minutes away, and I was playing closer to home). One evening he sent out an email saying we might want to make sure we’re at games that week. It turned out that Alan Moon and Aaron Weissblum were in town, and Peter knew them well from the Gathering of Friends, so I made sure to be there. They were a lot of fun to meet and play games with - very nice guys.

Then, about 2 weeks later we received an email from Peter. Alan had invited everyone that played games that night to come to The Gathering. So three years ago I spent 10 days playing games with tons of great people. This year I finally get to go back!

As for an interesting story from my life (if anyone cares :)

In 2001 I was working as a PC game developer. That summer we found out that my wife was pregnant with our second (and last!), and we’d just shipped our product (Casino Tycoon). The developer didn’t have another project in the pipeline, so I was given the bad news. Shortly after that, my wife was put on bed rest, having a little tougher time with this pregnancy than the first. So for the next 2.5 months, we were worried about the baby, getting a job, paying bills, etc. To take our mind off things, we planned to go out for a nice dinner for our anniversary. That same day, my wife was scheduled to go in for a checkup to make sure everything was ok.

The morning of our anniversary, I received (and accepted) an offer for a job as a developer on Microsoft’s Combat Flight Sim. I was very excited and called to tell my wife the great news, when she gave me some news of her own...apparently her water had broken and we had no choice but to induce and deliver that day. Before the end of the day, our daughter was born (she was early, but perfect!) So after a few months of everything going wrong and downhill with no end in site, that one anniversary day changed everything for the better.

Tom Vasel: Since you’ve worked so much with computer games, how do board games compare to them, in your opinion? Do you enjoy either one more?

Tom Powers: I don’t believe the medium on which a game is played makes the difference, but the game design certainly does. In my opinion, Brettspielwelt is just
another way to play my favorite games (ok, I haven’t played there in years, but you know what I mean).

Being a developer, my solution to any game with lots of calculations and many regulated steps is to program it, so I can focus on playing and tactics rather than setup, bit manipulation, and clean-up and storage. I can’t wait until there’s an affordable electronic gaming table!

My favorite computer games are the ones that make you think, solve puzzles. I used to love the Sierra games, Kings Quest, Leisure Suit Larry, etc. Now that the biggest games are FPS’s and MMORPG’s, I find my interest lagging. 3D isn’t necessary for the games I like, so the big production games are not geared toward games I like.

One reason I am where I am today is that I used a game I had learned as a teenager (Careers) to design a kids’ game based on Rugrats for the N64. From that point on I figured the more I knew about board games, the more it would help me design computer games (and other board games). This was when I started collecting and eventually led me to euro-games.

Tom Vasel: What are your favorite board games, and why?

Tom Powers: My favorite games have always been those that are straight-forward and usually less than 90 minutes. I especially like games that are tactical, where you make the best decision for the current situation. I’ve never been good at long-term strategic planning, mostly because I have so many games that I never get to play them more than a couple of times.

Auction games hold a special place in my heart: Medici, Traumfabrik, Merchants of Amsterdam, Geschenkt, RA, etc. I’ve always had a good feel for the value of items in these games. There are few newer games that I’ll play any time like those classics. As much as I like auction games, one game that I really don’t care for is Modern Art. I’ve never been able to tell (or at least agree with the other players) what the value of the paintings are. I usually get creamed!

Some longer games that I’ve played and enjoyed, but due to the play time will see little play from me are: Die Macher, Indonesia, Age of Steam and Liberte.

I’ve enjoyed some of the more popular games; but since I don’t replay games that much, others get into them much more than I do, and I end up not really being competitive with them. These are Puerto Rico, Caylus, Princes of Florence and Saint Petersburg. 

I also enjoy playing new games with wild mechanics. I appreciate most games (even “bad” ones) for their originality and risk-taking...games such as Monkeys on the Moon and Penguin Ultimatum.

I generally like abstract games...I usually care more about mechanics than theme, but we rarely play 2-player games in my group, so I don’t play them often. Yinsh is my favorite, even though I’ve only played twice, followed closely by Gemblo.

When I play new games, I consider the game half full and can usually find something I like about any game (except Yucata!)

Tom Vasel: As a retailer, what would be your advice to an aspiring board game designer?

Tom Powers: From what I’ve seen over the years, the most important piece of advice I have is to lead with your brain, not your heart. If you get too emotionally involved without keeping your head, you can take a bath.

A great game will sell itself. If you find yourself having to convince people why your game is fun, it probably isn’t. On the other hand, if people truly enjoy playing your game, and they come back to you asking for more, you can be sure it will do well in the market.

I’ve been watching America’s Greatest Inventor, and it amazes me how much money, time and emotion people have put into some of those inventions. But you can tell immediately if something should be there or not. Just like AGI, you should have someone in the industry give you their feedback, and take it seriously, because they will definitely know better than you!

Tom Vasel: Again, as a retailer, what would be your advice for a publisher?

Tom Powers: The biggest mistakes I’ve seen are poor marketing support for your products, and release dates that are too optimistic.

The best thing a publisher can do for their product is to supply all of the information necessary for everyone to market their games. Long description, short description, specs (players, time, age), and great pictures, all available for any retailer to copy and place on their site or in their catalog. Too many times I have to copy text off of the box and scan my own pictures. Of course this is especially true for imports, where an English description is usually not available. Google translator is my friend :)

As for release dates, no need to mention names. But several publishers give very optimistic release dates, and then push the dates back multiple times. This is frustrating for customers and retailers alike. I understand that the publisher had expectations as well, but letting down customers is never a good marketing tactic.

Lastly, I would say communicating your plans with the retail/distribution community is a good thing. Keeping us informed with the facts about current stock levels, reprints, and future releases really helps us support our customers. And that can only help publishers! There’s nothing worse (especially during the holidays) than running out of a great selling title and not knowing when it may be back in stock.

I would think it would be the publishers that would keep us informed about their products, rather than boardgamenews.com :)

Tom Vasel: Do you think many retailers underestimate the importance of the internet?

Tom Powers: I believe that everyone needs to focus on their own goals, and the internet can be a big part of that.

Of course the internet is all-important to me. But not all facets of the internet help me reach my current goals. I could spend way more money on advertising and pay-per-click, which would probably increase my sales, but it would also increase my costs. So I could end up doing a lot more work and making about the same amount of money.

Same goes for B&M retailers. They could spend a lot of money on a great looking website, but if they don’t do internet sales, then it’s basically the same as an ad in the local phone book. Or if they do internet sales, they are now competing in a completely different market with a different set of target customers, which may move business from their current customer base.

Just using the internet isn’t enough...it has to be used correctly and with the proper business goals in mind.

So I believe the internet can be very important to any business when used correctly.

Tom Vasel: Thanks for the interview, Tom! Do you have any final thoughts for our readers?

Tom Powers: I’d like to thank everyone that has been so kind to me over the past 3 years. I’ve been given a special opportunity to work in the game industry, something I’ve always wanted to do. I get so much satisfaction out of bringing fun and enjoyment into people’s lives. Here’s to the future.

I’d also like to thank you, Tom, for dedicating your time to bringing gamers these interesting interviews and game reviews. Reviewers and reporters like yourself help broaden interest and excitement in the wonderful world of board games.

Lastly, I’d like to thank Aldie and Derk for BoardgameGeek, without which I would still be programming computers for some big corporation. Keep up the most excellent work, guys!

© 2006 Tom Vasel

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