Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
Join us as we dive deep into the inspiring story behind That's Spot On!, a board game created by friends Linda Pelnik and Sue Dohm. Discover how their shared love for family game nights led to the creation of a game that captured hearts at the New York Toy Fair. Linda and Sue discuss the origins of their friendship, the challenges of manufacturing, securing spots in mom-and-pop stores, and navigating the complexities of the game industry. Don't miss their fascinating journey filled with highs, lows, and plenty of laughs as they bring their creative visions to life.
00:00 Meet the Inventors
02:48 From School Friends to Co-Founders
04:15 Fixing Liar's Dicexsxw
05:09 New Mechanics and Game Board
07:11 Learning Manufacturing from Scratch
08:17 Designers and Industry Help
10:19 Marketing and Grassroots Sales
13:32 New York Toy Fair Breakthrough
16:57 Working with a Friend
18:09 Shipping Delays and Tariffs
19:42 Canals and Shipping Chaos
20:16 Founders' Backgrounds and Skills
21:36 Toy Fair to Warehousing
22:37 Box Size and Shelf Space
23:41 Next Game Spot and Snap
24:36 Trade Shows and Cutting Costs
26:03 Creative Process and Advice
27:45 Family Playtesting Support
28:49 Lightning Round Game Night
31:18 Where to Find That's Spot On!
32:12 Shoutouts and Wrap Up
Creators and Guests
What is What’s Up, Wake?
What’s Up, Wake covers the people, places, restaurants, and events of Wake County, North Carolina. Through conversations with local personalities from business owners to town staff and influencers to volunteers, we’ll take a closer look at what makes Wake County an outstanding place to live. Presented by Cherokee Media Group, the publishers of local lifestyle magazines Cary Magazine, Wake Living, and Main & Broad, What’s Up, Wake covers news and happenings in Raleigh, Cary, Morrisville, Apex, Holly Springs, Fuquay-Varina, and Wake Forest.
52 Whats Up Wake - Board Game
===
Melissa: Today's episode is gonna be spot on, and that's not just the name of the game. We're talking to two friends who didn't just roll the dice on an idea. They turned it into a game called That's spot on from family game nights to early prototypes.
We're getting into how this game came to be, what it took to make it to the shelves, and what makes their game a winner. Please [00:02:00] welcome two inventors. Who hope to put a monopoly on the game industry. Co-founders of Spot on Games, Linda Pel, Nick and Sue Dom. Hi ladies. I was telling you when you came in, I've never interviewed inventors.
I mean, did you think that one day you might be inventors of something? No, that's crazy to me.
Linda: Yeah,
Sue: no.
Melissa: Yeah. Is it as crazy to you now that you can kind of take a step back and think, whoa, we actually did that? For sure.
Linda: Yeah.
Sue: I mean, I mean, there's been moments where. We were definitely in a altered reality.
Yeah, yeah. You know, going to the New York Toy Fair and Yes. Being there with Hasbro and Mattel and, and, and just feeling like
Melissa: we, and you're
Sue: just
Melissa: Lyn
Sue: here. We're with our game
Melissa: from North Carolina. Yeah. So tell us how this even came to be, how you two met, you two were friends, how you met and how this friendship turned into inventing a new game.
Linda: Well, I mean, we met when our daughters started at Carey Academy in sixth grade.
Melissa: Okay. [00:03:00]
Linda: They became fast friends and then we got together, our families were big, um, gameplay families, so we bonded over that. Linda had started a Wednesday breakfast club. Um, so that continued for years. Mm-hmm. So that's, that's certainly how we met.
Yeah, the game idea was Linda's
Sue: okay. It started that way. Um, I bought a Game Liar's Dice, which has been around since the Incas forever for my son for Christmas, one year. Really not because I wanted to play Liar's Dice so much, but because it fit in his stocking, I needed stocking stuffers. Oh,
Melissa: okay.
Sue: And when we played it Christmas morning, um, it a fun game, but it had a problem and we fixed it.
And we, we offer, our family always played it differently. We called it spot on. Um, and so when I talked to Sue about it, I said, I have this game that I'd love to manufacture and, and send out in the world, and my family thinks it's hilarious and ridiculous, and that mom would do such a thing, and she didn't think that.
[00:04:00] She said, that sounds like a lot of fun. So it's
Melissa: a sign of a good friend right there.
Sue: Yeah, for sure. I said, well, let's go into business. And she said, okay. That's how really it started.
Melissa: So you mentioned Liar's Dice. When I was researching for this episode, I had never heard of Liar's Dice before, so I went into a deep dive of Inca Games, Inca Empire Games.
And um, I want to know how you, you mentioned that you changed it and you called it spot on. What is different about the original Liar's Dice? For those of us who. Didn't know about it. Yeah. Those of us who, who do know about it.
Sue: So in Liar's Dice you can, you're bidding on what's under everyone's cup, even though you can't see what's under everyone's cup.
Mm-hmm. So there's bluffing and that kind of thing. And you can raise the bid and you can challenge the bid, but if you think the bid is spot on or Exactly right, there was nothing to do. And I thought that all the time you and you do in the game, you, you, you think, you know, I don't think that's too much.
I don't [00:05:00] think that's, I think that's exactly right. Ah,
Melissa: okay.
Sue: So we added that. To it. And then when Sue got on board, we added a whole bunch of other things to it to make it even more fun and more different.
Linda: Yep. So we added, um, the concept of the, um, skip. The reverse tokens.
Melissa: Okay.
Linda: Um, and a game board. And the game board was really important because Liar's Dice mostly is a four person game.
When we play tested to see if it worked with six people, um, it helped to have a place where we could track the number of dice that had been lost so that we know how many are still in play. That helps to inform the bid. So there, that's part of the game board. And then we decided it was helpful to keep track of, um, the tokens that had been used.
So those are on the game board as well. And then the five things that you can do when it's your turn. So we keep that on the board as well.
Melissa: So you really took a, a dice game that was small enough to fit in a [00:06:00] stocking. Yeah. Um. And turned it into a, a legit board game. Um, I, I watched a video last night and everybody can see there's right Beyond.
Sue is a a, a copy of the game and, um. So it really is more involved, more user friendly. Yeah. I would say
Sue: also in Liar's Dice, you couldn't get dice back, so once you lost your dice, you're out.
Melissa: Oh yes. Yeah, yeah,
Sue: yeah. In ours, once you lose your dice, you're out too. But in, in ours, you can call spot on and if you're right about spot on, you can get a lost dice back.
Which is very fun. Yeah. So you're still
Melissa: in it, it extends the game too. Yeah.
Sue: Yeah. Yeah.
Melissa: And it's, it kind of reminded me with the reverse and the skip reminded me of Uno, it, it kind of has a little bit of elements of, of several different games. It does rolled into one, no pun intended, with the, and then the, the other
Linda: very important and fun thing is anyone can yell spot on at any time, even out of turn.
Melissa: Okay.
Linda: So. If you're very low on dice and it's not even your turn and you think it's [00:07:00] spot on, you can yell spot on if you get it right and get a
Melissa: dice back. And when, when it back. Yes. Yeah. Okay,
Sue: that's fine.
Melissa: I think I know the answer to this question. Um, and it's did you have any experience in manufacturing anything whatsoever?
So, no, I think that's a no no, not at all. That would be a resounding no for me too. No. So that's where my mind went though. I, I feel like people get ideas for things and, and especially a creative mind might have an idea for something, but the idea of getting it made. The business side, the manufacturing, um, dealing with factories, that is so overwhelming.
Where did you even start
Sue: Google? I mean, that's what we did. We absolutely did. And we were, we're looking Google, where's the place where we can go that somebody's gonna help us? Mm-hmm. Figure all this out. Um, and we looked for companies in the us. Because most [00:08:00] games, I think 70 to 90% of games are manufactured in China.
Melissa: Mm-hmm.
Sue: And we just felt like we needed somebody to help us bridge that gap and to lead a hold our hands Really all along the way.
Melissa: Yeah.
Sue: Um, and so we Googled and looked, and then we had to pitch our idea. So we, we had a meeting with our first one and, and they liked it right away.
Melissa: So your first what? Like a manufacturer?
Sue: A designer.
Melissa: Oh, a designer,
Sue: okay. Who, who works with manufacturers in China.
Melissa: Oh.
Sue: So they would help us to do the graphic design of the box and the board and all of that. 'cause what we had was very much a craft project, you know, a cut and paste. Okay. We went to, um, Amazon or Walmart and we got pieces of different things and put them together.
Yeah. That kind of thing. Um, we also called up some other games that we liked and, and just to see if they would talk to us, and surprisingly everyone did.
Melissa: Oh, really? Yeah.
Sue: It was amazing.
Melissa: So people weren't harboring their, their secrets.
Sue: No. [00:09:00]
Melissa: That's interesting. It
Sue: was
Melissa: okay. We were,
Sue: we were shocked by that.
Melissa: And that's very
Sue: kind.
It was great.
Melissa: Yeah. Yeah.
Linda: Yeah. I think what was interesting is. There was a very simple game that I really liked and we happened to find a podcast that they had done and they talked about the whole process and we liked their approach. So we reached out to them and it was a couple guys that owned this company.
Mm-hmm. And, um, they were really willing to talk with us to share their manufacturer, their process. Um, so I mean, that was, that was extremely helpful.
Melissa: Well, and you wouldn't think that it would be like that because everybody's so competitive. But on the flip side, I have found in talking to so many people through this podcast and, and other avenues that when you're passionate about something, you really do wanna share it and talk about it.
Yeah. With like-minded people. Yeah. With similar interests.
Linda: I mean, it is a very crowded market, the game industry. Mm-hmm. But it doesn't, it's not that super [00:10:00] competitive. Um, people are really willing to talk to you, and there's enough deviation in the market that, you know, chances are you're creating something that isn't that much like someone else.
Mm-hmm. Um, so yeah, it's, it's been, it's been a great experience. Yeah.
Melissa: What has been the most challenging or difficult part of this whole process, would you say?
Linda: Probably marketing and getting Yes, getting it, getting it sold is a, that's, I think one of, that's a challenge.
Melissa: Yeah. Because like you said, it, it is an a, a saturated market for, for games.
Yeah. Okay. And I'm picturing a, a good old fashioned toy store. We, we'll get to this. Mm-hmm. You did, you did start in science safari store here in Cary. Um. But when, when you think about those stores, um. There's, there's only but so much space, so you really do have to sell them and your idea and your product and, and why you should [00:11:00] earn this space in their store, right?
Linda: Yeah, absolutely. For sure.
Sue: And we, I mean, it was part and partly from those guys, the 10 Z guys, we call 'em 10 Z game. Um, we got, we kind of felt the same way they did about stores. Um, and wanting to be in the mom and pop stores, the local stores. Yes. Where we took our kids when they were little. We didn't wanna go to the big, you know, the big box stores.
Mm-hmm. We really wanted it to be more of a, a. Um, store to store grassroots, you know? Yeah. Get where we can go in and do demonstrations and things like that and really teach the game to people. Um, so that was a conscious decision, but it's not an easy decision because it really, it takes time and you've gotta really teach the game to every single person that you meet.
Melissa: Yeah.
Sue: Um, which we love to play it, so that's fun.
Melissa: Well, and I would think that that would be super helpful though, because I'm the type of person. I can, I can read instructions and it's like, it just blur my eyes blur, yes. [00:12:00] I start thinking about my grocery list and everything else I need to do, and then by the time I get to the end of the instructions, I'm like, wait a second, how do I play this game?
I really have to get in and play. Absolutely. Play around before I can understand
Sue: and you for, and you know, sometimes you play it and you, but you don't. You forget one of the rules. Maybe it's the call. Spot on, out of turn rule.
Melissa: Yeah.
Sue: You know, makes the game so much better. Mm-hmm. So it's fun to teach it and it's fun to go to the shows and, and teach all the people how to play.
And we really haven't met anybody that hasn't,
Linda: hasn't loved
Sue: it, loved it. So that's been great. That's, you know, that feels good.
[00:13:00] . You mentioned at the, at the top of the interview about, um, [00:14:00] going to the, the biggest is, that's the biggest toy show right in, in the Western Hemisphere.
Sue: It's
Melissa: huge. The one in New York? Yeah. It's called what the.
Sue: New York Toy Fair.
Melissa: New York toy. Yes. Okay. So tell us about that experience. That was last spring, is that right?
Linda: It was in March.
Melissa: Okay.
Linda: Before the game was in our warehouse, but we had a couple cases, um, air shipped so we could, we could bring it to the toy Fair.
And that was, and that was an incredible experience.
Melissa: How, how, go to the very beginning of that. How did you even get to be a part of the Toy Fair? Is that like a application process?
Linda: It is.
Sue: You have to send in pictures of the game and descriptions of it and all that kind of thing. And, you know, really tell about your company and your yourself.
And um, and you
Melissa: mentioned you're with Giant Corporations, Mattel, Hasbro, big
Sue: names. I mean, when you walk in, Lego had a. Life-sized car made out of Legos. Wow. I mean that's, that's how you walk in. I mean, that's when the crying started, I think.
Melissa: Oh, yeah. I
Sue: mean it was just, yeah, it was [00:15:00] overwhelming and amazing.
Mm-hmm. We were the first people there every morning and there was like, you know, 10 city blocks. The Javit Center, I think is in New York City. Wow. And the two of us were the first people. Mm-hmm. Every morning we were so excited and just to. It's like a giant toy store,
Melissa: which is very fun. Yeah. It's like walking into a, a, a big candy store for you guys.
You know, it's, that's, you've, you must have felt like you walk in you. I made it.
Sue: We did.
Melissa: Yeah. I
Sue: mean, for sure. And the, can I tell a story about the first day? Yes, of course. So I think it's a four day event. And after day one we were walking back to our hotel. We were exhausted and we were, it was cold, you know, it's in March in New York, and trying to get there as quick as we can.
And the sidewalk was crowded with this other group in front of us and we tried to go around them and they stopped us and said, are you guys coming from the toy fair? And we said, we are. And they said, do you have a new game? We said We do. And, and they said, what kind of game? He said, it's a dice game.
Tired of talking about it at that point though. Mm-hmm. And they said, wait. Um, one of our best friends said they saw a DICE game [00:16:00] and they said it was the best game of the whole toy Fair.
Melissa: No
Sue: way. And we were like, um, do you know what it was called? Mm-hmm. Because sure, there were other dice games there. And they said, wait a minute, we have a picture of it on our phone.
He gave us a picture of it. And so we all gathered around and um, they showed us a picture of that spot on and of course there was hugging aw and crying and picture taking and Aw. It, I mean it was amazing the whole experience.
Melissa: Yeah. I mean that's validating right there for sure.
Sue: Yeah.
Linda: You know, and we did bring, um, some people to help us.
We brought our good friend Dan Tam Burrow, and then, um, Linda's daughter and her husband Yeah. Um, came to help. 'cause it was a lot. I'm sure. Yeah. We were playing the game constantly and you know, Dan was especially good about just bringing anyone that walked by into play.
Melissa: Mm-hmm.
Linda: Um, so it
Melissa: really does take a special type of personality to draw and especially when there's so many things to look at.
Linda: Yes.
Melissa: A 10 city block. Radius of, of games and [00:17:00] toys.
Linda: Yes.
Sue: Well, we won an award.
Linda: Yes.
Melissa: Did you? We
Sue: did. We won the um, oh shoot. Warm, warm. Welcome award. Warm, warm welcome award.
Melissa: Okay.
Sue: Yeah. Because we were dragging everybody into play. Okay. And yelling spot on. And Uhhuh having really fun time with everyone. So that was exciting.
Linda: And we were very loud.
Sue: Very loud.
Linda: Especially Dan. Very loud, which was good.
Melissa: Yeah.
Sue: Yeah. That was really fun.
Melissa: Um, what. Is it like working with a friend? I've, I've interviewed several people that work with family members, but I think you guys are my first friend duo. What is it like working with a friend? Are there times that you don't, that you don't agree and you might fight like sisters?
Or do you, um, do you just, are, are you the creative and you're the business mind? Do you balance each other out? How does this work?
Linda: I mean, I think we do balance each other out. Yeah. Mm-hmm. With different skill sets. There's definitely times we don't agree on things, but it's colors. Colors.
Melissa: Colors mostly.
Linda: Really? [00:18:00]
Sue: Yeah.
Linda: Yeah. Just some funny, yeah. Just some funny, odd things, but mm-hmm. I mean, it's, it's all worked out. It's been great. It's been a very good experience.
Sue: Yeah. Right. And right from the beginning we, um, set the tone that, you know, anytime this goes bad, we're just gonna walk away. We're just not, we're doing it for fun.
Yeah. And when it's not fun anymore, we'll stop doing it. So, um. I think it's been, we've had a lot of fun. We laugh a lot. Good.
Linda: Yes.
Sue: Interrupt. I mean, I waste time all day when we're supposed to be doing things and Sue brings us back on track. I mean, we definitely have different personalities that compliment each other.
Linda: Yeah.
Melissa: I read that you guys had a hiccup from the you. You had the games all made, they're on the ship. Tell us what happened at that point. Ship coming from China.
Sue: Yes.
Linda: Right. And it was, we were kind of racing against time because. It was at that time that the tariffs were being introduced, and so it was really important that we [00:19:00] get it, um, to our port in Norfolk as quickly as possible.
But they, the ship left, um, it was supposed to go in one direction around the world. Through the
Sue: Panama Canal.
Linda: Through the Panama Canal,
Sue: yeah.
Linda: But there were issues with things being backed up in the Panama Canal, so then it was gonna go through. The Suez Canal.
Sue: Yes.
Linda: Um, and then, um, all of a sudden there was, it got rerouted to the southern part of Africa.
Sue: Yeah.
Melissa: Oh
Linda: no. And it did get delayed enough where we
Sue: came and we were watching it all on. Yes. You know, on the internet, you're these little dots of all these ships. Yeah. It's amazing how many ships are going around the world at one time. It's absolutely amazing.
Melissa: Yeah, I'm sure that's, that's mind blowing.
Linda: Yeah. And even, and it just
Sue: kept changing.
Linda: It kept changing even the ports, um, once it reached the US. Um, it was supposed to go to this port, then that port, but instead it went all over the place until it got to Norfolk. So we did get hit with tariffs that we weren't
Melissa: expecting.
Sue: Oh, we, yeah,
Linda: by a few days,
Sue: 20% tariffs by a few days.
There's a lot for a small
Melissa: company. Wow. [00:20:00] Wow. That is, that's very much that, was Ammer affecting you? I'm, yeah. I'm sure,
Linda: yes. Okay.
Melissa: They, they finally make it to the port. First of all, I, I think it is crazy that we're sitting here and even talking about Panama Canal and Suez Canal, and I'm, my, my geography mind is went, wait, where's Suez Canal?
Sue: Right, right.
Melissa: Wait, what?
Sue: There was middle, there was unrest in the Middle East and our ship couldn't go through and we're like, what is happening?
Melissa: Yeah. And it's things like you don't even think about. Until you're inventing a game and then all of a sudden you're going, I've gotta learn where all these canals are.
And it's
Sue: like, we got an MBA on the job. Really?
Melissa: Yeah. On the job training, I'm sure. I'm sure. Yeah. Because what was, what was your past before this? I didn't even think about that.
Linda: Right. I, so I. Um, was in software development. I
Melissa: Okay.
Linda: Developed and supported, um, airline cargo software.
Melissa: Oh, so you do have, you're, you're, you're the might be, no offense, the brains of the operation [00:21:00] For sure.
For me too. I've been readily say that you have outsmarted me. Me.
Default_2026-02-06_1: Yep,
Sue: that's true.
Melissa: Just saying what you did. You're already smarter than me. Just name it. Go ahead. Yeah.
Sue: Anyone says logistics. I'm like, woo.
Melissa: Yeah. Like what?
Sue: And I was a English teacher and then a
Melissa: stay at home mom. See, this is mom. This is adding up now.
Okay. Yes. So we do have the creative for sure. And we do have the brains. This is, yeah, this, but
Linda: the franchise experience.
Sue: Well my family has some franchise ownership, so I start Oh, okay. And I worked with my daughter and actually working with my daughter, um, and a club Pilates franchise in Pinehurst.
Melissa: Oh, neat.
Sue: Gave me really love Pilates, by the way, to do it.
Melissa: Yeah. I love athletic. Yeah.
Sue: Yeah.
Default_2026-02-06_1: I'm
Sue: a, so she helped me a lot. It's
Melissa: the one membership I have.
Sue: I know. It's a good one, right? It's
Melissa: a good one, yes. Yeah.
Sue: Yeah. So that, that, you know, I had a little bit of business experience, not a lot.
Melissa: Yeah.
Sue: Sales tax and things like that I knew about.
Melissa: You have enough of the creative side that you can like deny that, you know, any business stuff, you know? Exactly. Yeah. You can just [00:22:00] give that to her.
Sue: Yeah.
Melissa: Okay, so now you've got it in port. What happens next? Do you go to, you've already been to places like Science Safari and, and met with them and, and sold your product or?
Linda: So the, the New York Toy Fair is where we sold to a lot of retailers.
Melissa: Oh, gotcha. Okay.
Linda: So, um. Throughout the country.
Melissa: Mm-hmm.
Linda: Um, but once we got the games into our warehouse and it was important for us to find a warehouse that was close enough that we could drive there. So we found a great one in Tarboro, North Carolina.
Melissa: Mm.
Linda: Just
Sue: tech.
Melissa: Yeah. You don't even think about warehouses too. I mean, you just got, you guys keep on adding layers.
Linda: Yep. We interviewed a bunch in the area. Um, we really liked them and. We, um, then were able to pick up, we loaded up our cars with as many cases as would, as would fit in, and then we went, um, directly to stores in the area, um, to, to sell the game, and that went [00:23:00] really well.
Melissa: Yeah. I also read something that you guys said about the size of the box making a difference in terms of being able to sell the product. How did that come into play?
Linda: I don't know if it was so much in terms of selling the product, but it was important. Um, we, you know, we wanted the box as small as possible just for the footprint on the shelves, and you can probably talk more.
Sue: Well, and, and
Melissa: because it's not gonna fit in a stocking No.
Sue: Like,
Melissa: like the liar's dice game.
Sue: But there's, but it's
Melissa: also not a big box either.
Sue: No, there's a whole I, I guess. Industry that, and people that work on just those things and how big it should be. And, and a lot of the de design people we worked with helped us with that and gave us good advice on that.
Yeah. 'cause they would already
Melissa: know, I guess the ins and outs of that.
Sue: Yeah.
Melissa: Okay.
Linda: But as far as store shelves too, you know, they only have so much space, so,
Sue: and things can't be so high or so it, so, yeah. I mean, we're learning all this stuff as we go. Yeah. Our next game that's coming out sooner is gonna [00:24:00] be smaller.
Melissa: Okay. Yeah. I, I do have that question coming up, so let's go ahead and get to that. What is, what is next? Are you, are, is your brain constantly turning and coming up with other games?
Sue: Absolutely. We've got a bunch in the, in the. Shoot, I guess. I don't know what the word is. Yeah. Um, yeah. And the next one that's coming out, we wanted to do one with that could have more family, include more of the younger kids in it.
Melissa: Mm-hmm.
Sue: Too. So it's called Spot and Snap Safari. It's a fun game where your players are going around the board and collecting pictures of the big animals and putting 'em in their oh, fun photo albums, and it's really fun. It's really neat. So
Melissa: I would like that one. My family and I are planning a trip to Africa.
We're going on safari. And so that sounds like a really fun game. I might have to get that. It's
Sue: bucket
Melissa: list for Yeah, it's been on my bucket list and we've, we've set it for 20 years that we're gonna do it, and it's, um, it's finally happening.
Sue: Well, I, I wanna hear all about it. I
Melissa: know. So now that it's finally happening, I'm like, am I really going to Africa?
Sue: That's [00:25:00] awesome. That's awesome. Yeah.
Melissa: So when does that game come out?
Sue: So, um,
Melissa: and where are you in the process, I guess?
Sue: Yeah, we hoped we wanted to get it for the toy fair this year, but we, it just wasn't gonna happen. So we, there's another big toy trade show, um, called Astra, and that is in June. So hopefully we'll have it by then.
Melissa: So at this point, are you just waiting for the, the, the prototype or, or, you know, or a legit box With the actual game, we're Okay.
Linda: Yeah. I mean, we're finalizing the designs right now.
Melissa: Okay.
Linda: Um, and that would be then the next step, getting the manufacturer to produce the, the prototype.
Melissa: Okay.
Sue: And because we've been through it once we feel a little more, um.
Comfortable going more direct to China so that, okay, we're taking out some of the middle men, women, um mm-hmm. That, that raised the price a lot. So that has helped us. Oh, okay. And, you know, the learning curve has [00:26:00] helped us a lot on this
Default_2026-02-06_1: next
Melissa: game, I'm sure. Yeah. I mean, you, you really have had to learn through this whole process.
Yeah. So maybe you can cut out what's not necessary or. Yeah, pick up what you find would be mm-hmm. More necessary next go round. And is it easier to get into these trade shows now that you've been through it once before? Like your name is becoming
Sue: more familiar? Well, we're member members of all the groups now.
Melissa: Okay.
Sue: So we're, yeah, we're part of the Toy association and part of Astra. So
Melissa: fun.
Sue: Yeah. Yeah. So I think So
Melissa: what would you say is your very favorite part of this whole experience so far?
Linda: Probably coming up with the concept of the game.
Sue: Yeah. I mean, playing the games and trying to work out all the kinks and it's really fun.
The creative process of doing that and doing it together is really fun.
Melissa: Mm-hmm.
Sue: Yeah. I, I couldn't, I wouldn't wanna do it by myself.
Melissa: Yeah, I mean, I, I would think that anything like this, you really have to have somebody to bounce all the ideas off of. Yeah, absolutely. And, and again, the [00:27:00] different type of mindsets that you each have to be able to work out the kinks.
Sue: Well, it's amazing too. Sometimes you think. A certain idea that you have is so perfect and so wonderful and so great, and you can't imagine changing it. And through the process of bouncing it back and forth, it evolves so much. You think, gosh, that was terrible. What was I thinking? Oh, you know, and you really, it, it is so great to be able to get through that process and not put out something stinky because you thought it was so great yourself.
Melissa: Yeah.
Sue: You know,
Melissa: so. That brings up a good question though. If you could go back and talk to yourself at the very beginning of this whole process, go back in time, what kind of advice would you give
or anything that you might change? I
Sue: mean, I think what, what I was just saying, I wouldn't be so stuck on things. I realize that, you know, that that process is gonna yield good results.
Melissa: Mm-hmm.
Sue: Not be afraid of that and not be so stubborn about. You know, your own ideas and that it's really is a group event.
Mm-hmm. A group [00:28:00] process, a team effort, um, and that that product is gonna be so much better than anything that you're doing on your own.
Melissa: Yeah.
Sue: I think is what I would tell myself.
Linda: Yeah, you should also mention your family 'cause they've helped a lot in creating, especially,
Melissa: I was gonna say the
Linda: second game
Sue: too.
Melissa: Yeah. This is a lot of people whose, whose hands have been in this at some point. Yeah. Because you have to test the ideas and, and play and have family game nights and
Sue: Yeah.
Linda: And we've done that a lot with, with family and friends. We've had some great game nights and a lot of. Constructive things have come out of them.
That's important, I'm sure. Yeah.
Sue: Yeah. My daughter, Katie's been a big part of the science safari or science safari on Sweat and Zap Safari game, so, oh, it's been fun doing that with her.
Melissa: That sounds like a really fun game. I'm excited to play that one. Yeah. So when will I be able to play that? Will that, will that be on shelves by Christmas?
Maybe. Hopefully June. Oh, okay. So even sooner. Okay, good, good.
Sue: Yeah.
Melissa: Yeah. That'll be, um. Maybe in time for my trip. We'll see.
Sue: And my husband drag. We drag him to every [00:29:00] show. He's a great sport. He loves to Oh good. To teach the game and play and he plays at work every day.
Melissa: Yeah. With
Sue: his coworkers.
Melissa: You've gotta have supportive family.
Yeah. To, to be able to do anything like this. I can only imagine.
Sue: Yeah. Yep. They've been great.
Melissa: Well, it is time. We're gonna have a very special edition. To roll the dice and play a round of what's up Wake.
Sue: Okay. Okay.
Melissa: Where I ask a lightning round series of questions before we go, Linda, I'm gonna start with you.
Okay. What is the first board game you ever loved?
Sue: Sorry.
Melissa: Ah,
Sue: okay. For sure. I love sending my sisters to back to the home. Loved it. Definitely. That was my favorite.
Melissa: Sue, what is your favorite game night snack?
Linda: Ah, I mean, if it's just light snacks, we always have pretzels and m and ms. Mm-hmm. Um, if it's, if it's a bigger game night that's more organized, you know, we'll do all kinds of appetizers, you [00:30:00] know, from, you know, interesting cheeses and, um, dips.
Yeah. We do all kinds of things, but yes, always pretzels and m and mss.
Melissa: Okay. Linda? Person you play against on game night, that's you secretly or not so secretly love to beat. You already said you're sisters.
Sue: I mean, it's my husband.
Melissa: Oh
Sue: yeah, because you
Melissa: gotta be the husband.
Sue: He's, I mean, he's the, oh,
Melissa: what's going
Sue: on on, and they're the on about the, yeah.
He's winning everything. They brag.
Melissa: Yeah. Oh, it's
Sue: brutal.
Melissa: They are fun to beat.
Sue: Absolutely.
Melissa: Yeah. I'm with you on that, Sue, who is most likely to flip the board when playing a game? You or Linda?
Sue: Be nice. Be nice.
Linda: I, I mean that's, I don't think either of us.
Melissa: Okay.
Linda: Yeah.
Sue: No
Melissa: board flippers here?
Linda: No, no, no. I don't think so.
Melissa: I've got a board flipper in my family. I'm not
Default_2026-02-06_1: gonna
Linda: name names. I mean, it's my son and my family. Oh,
Default_2026-02-06_1: for
Melissa: sure. Oh, it's just not one of you two? No,
Linda: every family
Sue: does have
Linda: one for
Sue: sure.
Melissa: Yeah.
Default_2026-02-06_1: It's,
Linda: it's Ian with Monopoly for sure.
Melissa: Yeah. [00:31:00] Yeah. I'm, I'm with you on that. It is def I'm, this is one of my sons. I'm not gonna name names. And this question is for both of you. What is a favorite board game you wish you had invented?
Linda: I mean, for me it's Scrabble. I mean, I've, I played Scrabble at an early age and and play every day still.
So for me it's Scrabble.
Melissa: Okay.
Sue: Oh my gosh, there's so many I wish I invented. I mean, I love sequin. I love Rocco. I like the classic games Yeah.
Melissa: That
Sue: all families have and love. I love Clue, but nobody will play with me.
Melissa: Oh, I like clue.
Sue: All right, we'll have a game night.
Melissa: Yeah. I would love to be invited to your next game night.
Sue: We would love that.
Melissa: Tell us where to find out more about Spot on Games and especially so we can keep an eye out on the the new upcoming Safari game.
Linda: So our website, um, spot on games.com. We also have a great instructional video right up top [00:32:00] for that spot on, um, which was actually a very important part of the process as well.
It is a good video. I watched it
Melissa: yesterday.
Linda: Yes. Um, but that's where we have all the information, the news, the events. Ing
Melissa: and you're smart to do a video. 'cause like I said, I read instructions and it's just, it might as well be written in Chinese because I have it, it, I just always go black out. I always go to the video.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Sue: Lucky whisker, um, productions was the, was who did that in Indiana. That was really fun to go and. Oh, so you
Melissa: went there to do it. Oh, fun. Okay.
Sue: They were great. Yeah. Chris and Katie from Lucky Whisker.
Melissa: You guys are really getting to experience all sorts of things. Yes. With this venture.
Linda: Yes.
Sue: Yeah. You know, one thing I wanted to mention, give a shout out to is our artist who's doing Spot and Snap Safari. Yes. Christina, Brit. She local call. She's amazing. She just does beautiful, beautiful artwork. So I'm
Melissa: glad you're mentioning that. Yes.
Sue: And say
Melissa: her name again?
Sue: Christina Britt.
Melissa: Okay. Yeah. She's also, she's a local.
Who else? What else has she designed or, or done?
Sue: Artwise. This is her first [00:33:00] game,
Melissa: is it?
Sue: Yeah.
Melissa: Okay.
Sue: We found her at the Junior League of Raleigh Christmas. Forget the name of that. It was a show that we went to that
Linda: was
Sue: a
Linda: direct to consumer sales event. Okay. And she was there with her artwork and jewelry.
Melissa: Oh,
Linda: okay.
So she goes to a lot of these popup things as well.
Melissa: Her name does sound familiar to me. Yeah, she's great. So maybe I've been to one of her booths and shows before. Great. So that's, that's
Sue: beautiful. So we're, that's one thing we're really excited about this game, how pretty it's gonna.
Melissa: Good. I cannot wait to see it and to find out more about Spot on Games.
You guys are gonna be in a story in our March issue of Care Magazine, so everybody. Everybody go check that out. Sure. Thank you guys so much for being here today. Thank you. Thanks having us for being my first inventors.
Sue: We loved it.
Melissa: Thank you.
Sue: Thanks. [00:34:00]