HOW A BOARD GAME INVENTOR CELEBRATES A MID-LIFE CRISIS
HELLO. I'M ERIC.
I’m turning 50 this October. Yay? I’m happily married with two great kids and a loving extended family. I have owned and operated my one-man game company, All Things Equal, for more than half my life…and I still find passion inventing games. Despite my appearance and my love for tacos and Bailey’s & coffee, I’m still in decent shape. (My work requires me to stay...well..."youthful".)
And as I face the number ambitiously synonymous with “mid-life”, I do not find myself wanting sports cars or a younger woman or any of the other usual compensations people consider when they approach 50.
I have my own idea for dealing with mid-life crisis.
It’s a nod to my youth...when I drove around the country for 16 weeks selling my first game invention, Loaded Questions®, out of the trunk of my car. I was a hungry entrepreneur with no business education, no smart phone, and only a slightly better hairstyle.
Today, with 3,000,000+ games sold and a new Loaded Questions® Greatest Hits game (celebrating the brand’s 26th Anniversary) trickling into stores, I have decided to hit the road again (this September) with an itinerary that proves this trip is as much about selling games as it is a personal journey to reconnect with my younger, hungrier self.
The All Things Equal Sprinter van / mobile billboard will take me on a 20-state solo tour for appearances and prize-filled game events at retailers, breweries, restaurants, game cafes, colleges, and the New York Toy Fair (9/30-10/3).
Along the way, I plan to play Loaded Questions® Greatest Hits with thousands of people- all of whom will be offered this new/awesome, custom puzzle I created as a fun giveaway that also shamelessly promotes my other games.
The trip will also see me visit some of my heroes, with planned stops at The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum, The Muhammad Ali Center and The Kurt Vonnegut Museum. Hiking and biking in national parks, visits to bucket list landmarks, and quality time with friends, family and colleagues will round out my 6+ weeks on the road.
My stops include: