Beloit manufacturer is set to roll out new NASCAR board game this week
(Published Monday, October 1, 2007 11:48:21 AM CST)
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
By Jim Leute jleute@gazetteextra.com
BELOIT-Talk about being on the fast track.
The Beloit-based Patch Products is rolling out a new board game designed to capitalize on the popularity of auto racing.
"NASCAR Chase for the Nextel Cup 2007" is hitting store shelves this week. That's a little more than three weeks since the 12 drivers pictured on the game's cover qualified for chase for the cup, NASCAR's version of playoffs.
It should go without saying that Patch employees were as busy as a pit crew right after the field was cemented Sept. 8 at the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 at Richmond International Speedway in Virginia.
"We had to deal with NASCAR, six racing teams and 12 different drivers," said Lisa Wuennemann, Patch's director of marketing.
Paula Byerly places a lid on a finished 2007 Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup board game as it rolls down the assembly line at Patch Products in Beloit. The board game hits store shelves this week.
Dan Lassiter/Gazette Staff
That presented a variety of licensing and royalty hurdles, all of which were successfully cleared.
"They really all played nice together," she said, adding that Patch representatives laid the groundwork for the game and its licensing earlier this year.
In the game, players race around the game board, trying to be the first to cross the finish line for the 10 races that make up "The Chase." Along the way, they try to avoid dangerous spots such as Crash Road or land on areas such as Drafting Advantage, which pushes them quickly down the track.
Players collect chips for the races they win, and the player with the most at the end is the winner.
The 12 drivers highlighted in the game along with their cars are Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards, Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer.
NASCAR has a national following estimated at 75 million. It ranks first in per-event attendance and second in regular season television viewership, facts not lost on the folks in Patch's marketing department, who believe the game will have wide appeal.
The 2007 Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup board game features cardboard cutouts of 12 race car drivers as game pieces.
Dan Lassiter/Gazette Staff
The game is available at select Wal-Marts, including the one in Janesville, Blain's Farm & Fleets and Mills Fleet Farms. The suggested retail is between $34.99 and $39.99.
Patch, which was founded in 1985 by brothers Fran and Bryce Patch, is a leading manufacturer and marketer of family entertainment products, including board games, card games, puzzles and collegiate-licensed foam sports toys. As such, it's routinely swamped with ideas for new games and toys.
"Our main mission is family fun," Wuennemann said. "We won't take on games that are too adult or deal with guns or war."
The company, which employs about 65, screens about 100 new ideas every month. Most come from professional inventor groups, while others-such as the NASCAR game idea-come from independent inventors.
"Some are very well thought out, like this NASCAR game," Wuennemann said. "Others come in on one sheet of paper that says something like 'it would be really cool if you'd develop a game just like UNO.'"
Patch's games and toys end up on the shelves of mass retailers such as Wal-Mart, Kmart, Target and Toys "R" Us, but they show up at a wide variety other outlets, such as Menards, Borders or Cracker Barrel.
Patch makes about 350 different items, all of which have different life cycles. About 20 percent of the company's production is done in China.
"There's a need for us to manufacture in China to stay competitive," Wuennemann said.
While labor costs are less expensive in China, they're sometimes mitigated by higher shipping costs. Shipping times are also a factor.
"Every product we make is carefully weighed for production in the United States and China," she said.
The NASCAR game is being produced in Beloit.
"We feel comfortable offering this product in this price range, particularly when you consider that it could be a year-to-year collectible game and all the licensing and royalty costs involved."
Wuennemann said Patch is also comfortable with its products that come from China, which has been heavily scrutinized recently for the safety of the toys its companies are producing.
About 80 percent of all the toys on U.S. store shelves come from China.
"We've been fielding calls from consumers and retailers," she said. "It has not had a negative impact on us.
"As a result of this, many consumers have said they will only buy things produced in the United States. We'll see if they follow through with that. This will be an interesting Christmas season."
And like the chase for the cup, it will be here sooner than you think.
