We caught up with Richard Levy, co-inventor of Furby and designer of numerous games, including Men Are from Mars, Women are from Venus (Mattel), Adverteasing (Cadaco), Chicken Soup for the Soul (Cardinal), plus games for Endless Games, Pressman Games, and many others, at Gen Con to talk about Warstone (née Warball, see “Warball Launches in March,” and “Warstone Supplants Warball”), the new trading card/marble game from Duncan.   

How did this game end up with Duncan?

I was trying to find the right company to do it.  And for lots of companies today, if it’s not an established product, they don’t want it.  They really want to extend their existing brands. 

I was saying, “Ok, where do we go?”  I knew we had a hit game on our hands; I knew it was great, and  I have a long time relationship with Duncan (Flambeau), makers of yo-yos, Hackysacks.  One day I had an epiphany:  playground games—Duncan is the playground.  In fact they have a yo-yo program where they give yo-yos away to schools all over the country to play in the playgrounds. 

So I contacted them; and I pitched them; and they bought into it.  And it’s been great ever since.  I love Duncan.

It was really the marble connection?

It was the marble connection that got me to them.  I didn’t know the trading card game business well enough.  I knew the major brands, but this is so different.  At this show there are hundreds of games, each with a little twist.  I’m not knocking any of them, they’re all great, but they’re card games.  I’m a toy guy, and this has a toyetic twist to it. 

Bakugan is on that line between games and toys.

Of course, and Bakugan is very successful.  I did this before Bakugan.  Bakugan has helped us, because it has now sensitized people. 

But marbles is something I used to play as a kid.  My uncle was a marble champion in Scranton, Pennsylvania.  In fact, I’ve got a yellowed photograph from the newspaper of Uncle Jeff with his marbles.  So I was brought up on marbles.

I did this with my partner Trish Bell, and we’ve been delighted with Duncan.  It’s a new route for me because normally I do board games.