thedrifter
06-21-09, 08:55 AM
ESCONDIDO: Marines roll the dice on board games
By RENEE RAMSEY - For the North County Times
ESCONDIDO ---- They met as U.S. Marine helicopter pilots, but being "kids at heart" is what led the three men to roll the dice on a fast-growing game company.
Their company is called GaZima Games.
Their first game, Zip!, is billed on the box as the "fastest dice game in the universe," and their latest game, Ratuki, is described as "the fast flippin', quick grabbin' card game."
Zip! can be found at Barnes & Noble Booksellers and at toy stores in the U.S. and Canada for $19.99, and Ratuki is headed for book, hobby and toy store shelves this summer. Ratuki will cost $12.95.
"We really got involved with this because of the friendships. We're all kids at heart," said Marine Maj. Greg Lane, who has served two tours in Iraq in the past three years.
"You're a Marine and working on a mission to defend the country, and then you take off the uniform and cut out blocks to fit a board. You find out what's fun. You ask, 'What is the "wow" factor?'"
Lane, who lives in Escondido, works with former Marines Greg Zima and Stefan Maroudis, both of San Diego, in designing and developing interactive family dice and board games they target at ages 7 and older.
The three men invent the games and then sell them to game companies that mass produce and market them, and they get a percentage of the profits.
The three men have also invented Gobsmacked, "the maniacal memory game," and the Battle of the Sixes dice game. Several more board games are in development, the three said.
Zima said that when he left the Marines in 2001, he began creating dice and board games as a hobby before asking Lane to join him in his home office when he's not on duty. The two met while attending the U.S. Naval Academy.
Zima said the three men follow the "four Ps" ---- prototyping, play testing, presenting and promoting ---- in developing and showing off their games at toy fairs around the country.
Their first game, Zip!, was licensed to Reveal Entertainment Inc. in 2006 and won coveted shelf space in Barnes & Noble and Borders bookstores in late 2007. Since then, 8,000 games have been sold.
Maroudis, who graduated from Miami University with a double major in botany and chemistry, began working with Zima and Lane in 2007. He joined GaZima Games full time after leaving the Marines last October.
Lane said the transition from Marine helicopter pilots to game developers was a matter of transferring a military work ethic to the business world.
"It's management-slash-leadership-slash-integrity," Lane said.
There's also the fun factor, when they're testing games to find out what works and what doesn't.
"We make sure before we market a game that it works well," Maroudis said.
Zima and Maroudis have dedicated their energies full time to GaZima Games, although Lane, a father of two, still has five years to go as a Marine.
"I would love to be part of a company when I get out," he said, so he keeps plenty of off-hours devoted to helping grow GaZima.
Zima said the three haven't considered developing video games, saying they prefer the unplugged nature of family board games.
"It's the time you spend playing with friends and family that's great," Zima said.
Visit www.GaZimaGames.com.
Ellie
By RENEE RAMSEY - For the North County Times
ESCONDIDO ---- They met as U.S. Marine helicopter pilots, but being "kids at heart" is what led the three men to roll the dice on a fast-growing game company.
Their company is called GaZima Games.
Their first game, Zip!, is billed on the box as the "fastest dice game in the universe," and their latest game, Ratuki, is described as "the fast flippin', quick grabbin' card game."
Zip! can be found at Barnes & Noble Booksellers and at toy stores in the U.S. and Canada for $19.99, and Ratuki is headed for book, hobby and toy store shelves this summer. Ratuki will cost $12.95.
"We really got involved with this because of the friendships. We're all kids at heart," said Marine Maj. Greg Lane, who has served two tours in Iraq in the past three years.
"You're a Marine and working on a mission to defend the country, and then you take off the uniform and cut out blocks to fit a board. You find out what's fun. You ask, 'What is the "wow" factor?'"
Lane, who lives in Escondido, works with former Marines Greg Zima and Stefan Maroudis, both of San Diego, in designing and developing interactive family dice and board games they target at ages 7 and older.
The three men invent the games and then sell them to game companies that mass produce and market them, and they get a percentage of the profits.
The three men have also invented Gobsmacked, "the maniacal memory game," and the Battle of the Sixes dice game. Several more board games are in development, the three said.
Zima said that when he left the Marines in 2001, he began creating dice and board games as a hobby before asking Lane to join him in his home office when he's not on duty. The two met while attending the U.S. Naval Academy.
Zima said the three men follow the "four Ps" ---- prototyping, play testing, presenting and promoting ---- in developing and showing off their games at toy fairs around the country.
Their first game, Zip!, was licensed to Reveal Entertainment Inc. in 2006 and won coveted shelf space in Barnes & Noble and Borders bookstores in late 2007. Since then, 8,000 games have been sold.
Maroudis, who graduated from Miami University with a double major in botany and chemistry, began working with Zima and Lane in 2007. He joined GaZima Games full time after leaving the Marines last October.
Lane said the transition from Marine helicopter pilots to game developers was a matter of transferring a military work ethic to the business world.
"It's management-slash-leadership-slash-integrity," Lane said.
There's also the fun factor, when they're testing games to find out what works and what doesn't.
"We make sure before we market a game that it works well," Maroudis said.
Zima and Maroudis have dedicated their energies full time to GaZima Games, although Lane, a father of two, still has five years to go as a Marine.
"I would love to be part of a company when I get out," he said, so he keeps plenty of off-hours devoted to helping grow GaZima.
Zima said the three haven't considered developing video games, saying they prefer the unplugged nature of family board games.
"It's the time you spend playing with friends and family that's great," Zima said.
Visit www.GaZimaGames.com.
Ellie