Summary
Overview
Planet Money chronicles the high-stakes process of naming and theming their economics-inspired board game, partnering with Exploding Kittens to create a mass-market party game based on the Nobel Prize-winning 'Market for Lemons' paper. The team navigates the surprisingly unscientific world of big-box retail, where a game's success can hinge on three feet and three seconds of shelf appeal, ultimately landing on 'Sell Me a Sasquatch' as their final name despite international market concerns.
The Critical Importance of Game Naming
Game consultant Jamie Wolanski delivers a stark warning to the Planet Money team: naming and theming could make or break their otherwise excellent game. The episode opens with the cautionary tale of how Yacht became Yahtzee, establishing that even great games need great names. With their game mechanics solidified after thousands of hours of playtesting, the team now faces what Exploding Kittens considers the other 50% of the challenge: creating a sellable product for big-box retail shelves.
- A Canadian couple's dice game called Yacht was renamed Yahtzee before publication, demonstrating the power of a good title
- Game consultant Jamie Wolanski warns that picking the right theme is critical to making the game work in retail
- The Planet Money game mechanics are complete, representing 50% of the work, but now they must figure out how to sell it
" A good title or a bad title will just absolutely sink a really great game. "
Three Initial Theme Concepts Emerge
Exploding Kittens' art team presents three potential themes for the game, each building on the core emotion of trading and deal-making. The team explains their creative process: play the game to understand the emotions, identify what creates tension and excitement, then find themes that amplify those feelings. The options range from misfit mascots and cryptid creatures to cats working as salesmen, each designed to stand out on crowded retail shelves.
- The art team plays prototypes to understand core emotions before choosing themes, focusing on the trading and tension aspects
- First option: Misfit Mascots - players trade silly product mascots like King Ketchup and Liverwurst Lad
- Second option: Sell Me a Sasquatch - players collect and trade adorable cryptids like Bigfoot, Loch Ness Monster, and Chupacabra
- Third option: Cats working various sales jobs, playing into Exploding Kittens' signature animal theme
" We really wanted to jump off of that feeling, those cards and the excitement of like trading something that could be really funny, but also really exciting to have. "
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