BGDF, long time no chat. Hope you are all well. I will be running our 2nd print run this year, but before I do I am thinking about a name change from:
Holiday Fever: A Family Tradition
to
Christmas Spirit: A Family Tradition
I have about 6 professional reviews online, and a "Rules School" tutorial done by Gameboy Geek all under the title "Holiday Fever" which I would need to have updated. I also have 9 reviews on BGG.
-Would I be able to update the BGG page, and keep the current reviews?
-Does anyone have any experience with a name Change after 3 years on the market?
-Do you like the name change or not?
Thank you for your time. Evan
Comments
Hmm... under the current circumstances...
I think "Holiday Fever" is something out of the Global Pandemic (COVID-19) and having COVID-19 during the Holidays. Don't laugh... It happened to close family. They had to spend 10 days in quarantine from Christmas Eve to New Years day. They weren't allowed to attend any of the festivities.
Then when they thought it was all okay... They all went skying and... Guess what?
That's right, they got sick again...!
So "Holiday Fever" sounds a bit nightmarish ATM with all that is going on. And it reminds me of another scenario: "Cabin Fever"... Another non-pleasant situation. Which many are claiming to be bad due to the restrictions in our neck-of-the-woods. Restaurants are closed for dining-in only Take-Out or Delivery (Skip-the-dishes or Uber Eats)... Malls are running limited capacity. For Quebecers, it is being recommended to STAY HOME.
"Christmas Spirit" sounds more appropriate. Notice that the "Holiday Fever" of collecting the best and most gifts may be a more accurate description. But the new name seems to imply deeper insight into what makes the holidays special for EVERYONE!
Cheers @Evan ... No way to help you other than saying you need to TRY and see what BGG says. We are not them and so I can't tell you what they might say. If you get a real "crummy" admin, you may need to create a VERSION with the NEW name. If you get lucky, maybe some admin may make the change for you... It's BGG... There's a lot of "personalities" in that website and some you wouldn't want to deal with too...
Just took a quick look and you can SPECIFY an "Alternate Name". This means that you can SWITCH things around: Edit the PRIMARY NAME to "Christmas Spirit" and specify "Holiday Fever" as the ALTERNATE NAME. Maybe something like that!
Here's what I mean
https://boardgamegeek.com/wiki/page/Versions_Guidelines
Take a read at that. It clearly says if there IS A NAME CHANGE this is a NEW "Version" of the game and should be treated this way.
Like I said, I checked and you could modify the name and specify an alternate name which could be the OLD one.
But the admin may not approve this change and you may need to get more familiar with the Versioning system as documented in the Link/URL provided above.
Cheers!
You may need to do BOTH... Let me explain
1st: You may need to create a NEW Version of the game with the NEW NAME.
2nd: You may need to add a ALTERNATE NAME which will be the NEW NAME.
I don't think you're going to be able to ignore all of the copies of the game that have already sold. With an ALTERNATE NAME, I believe the game name is still searchable.
I can't confirm this fact. But it may be harder to change since you have pictures of the BOX which say "Holiday Fever"... I doubt any BGG Admin will approve this request WITHOUT the proper versioning...
Sorry that's probably the best TRUTH I can tell you. Gonna be a hard battle. It took like 1 month for Facebook to change Tradewars to TradeWorlds... So imagine BGG 1000x harder.
Global Pandemic
Wow, that's the Worst Christmas of all time. I have realized over the past few years that Holiday Fever doesn't describe any aspect of the game. All the reviews of the game have in some way pointed to the experience that earning "Christmas Spirit" brings to the game. None have pointed out the deeper meaning I see in the game as the creator. Which was my desire to point out that "Holiday Fever" is not good in an ironic way.
When someone unfamiliar with the game is introduced to the game they have the wrong impression right from the get go. In fact one reviewer pointed that out.
BGG is definitely a tool, and a Giant network of board gamers, but I really don't think it's importance to my game amounts to much. The target market for may game will definitely not be the type of person who goes to BGG to find information about the game. Although some will, especially if I find them on BGG and tell them about my game. Thanks for all your input.
questccg wrote:1st: You may
2nd: You may need to add a ALTERNATE NAME which will be the NEW NAME.
I don't think you're going to be able to ignore all of the copies of the game that have already sold. With an ALTERNATE NAME, I believe the game name is still searchable.
I can't confirm this fact. But it may be harder to change since you have pictures of the BOX which say "Holiday Fever"... I doubt any BGG Admin will approve this request WITHOUT the proper versioning...
Sorry that's probably the best TRUTH I can tell you. Gonna be a hard battle. It took like 1 month for Facebook to change Tradewars to TradeWorlds... So imagine BGG 1000x harder.
I will email BGG and see what they say. The more difficult question is can I get the name Christmas Spirit: A Family Tradition and protect it with Copywrite and TM in the future.
I found this when searching BGG...
https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/86545/christmas-spirit
There is already a game called "Christmas Spirit". Your "A Family Tradition" will distinguish between that game and yours. But you should be okay with the entire name. I hate it when some PNP game with no circulation takes over a GREAT NAME and produces zero (0) to the published community of REAL GAMES out-there.
Yes, I know a PNP is a self-published game. But it sounds from what I read in the description more of a PROTOTYPE or a Game Idea. Something the dude wanted to pitch to publishers but nobody was interested! No images, no video, no files, etc. Nothing but a brief description. Really annoying when that happens.
You should have no problem dominating the name ... This tiny PNP production that is available "WHERE"(???) has little to no merit in terms of making it in the "market"!
So best of luck to you... I'd search BGG and Google to get more information on things like "BGG Versions" and such to bypass most of the RED TAPE. You might have a harder time if you can't do some of the EDITING work up-front yourself. What I mean is that ADMINS over at BGG may NOT help you... They may claim there is already a game with that name.
HONESTLY... If you want my opinion... I'd LEAVE THE NAME THE SAME. "Holiday Fever" is all about the RUSH to having the best possible Christmas. Don't fret too much on the name. It's GOOD as it is. I know I made poor taste with my lousy Family isolation... But that's between us. The world doesn't need to know.
Save yourself the TROUBLE TBH... That's what I would do. Cheers!
questccg
There is already a game called "Christmas Spirit". Your "A Family Tradition" will distinguish between that game and yours. But you should be okay with the entire name. I hate it when some PNP game with no circulation takes over a GREAT NAME and produces zero (0) to the published community of REAL GAMES out-there
Yeah I saw this too. If you search "White Elephant" in BGG there 5 games, and 3 with the exact same name. I've found the right person to talk to on BGG, now just waiting on their reply.
On the other note, I've been researching marketing, psychology, and habits which is what has made me start to consider this name change more deeply. You want your target customers to understand your product at a glance, and in the name. I'm almost certain I want to do it, but I just need to ponder other perspectives and stew on it a little longer.
It's a Christmas game. Full stop. Embrace, promote it.
Normally I'm wary of name changes the confusion they cause, but I don't see a business downside.
It's about Christmas shopping in the Christmas season for Christmas celebrations. Specifically mid-20th century+ American Christmas. No Dickens (now there's an approach to your Christmas Spirit... but again, not for this game) or Boxing day here. Or even Orthodox Christian calendar Christmas.
No Hannukah or Kwanza variants--or total reskins--are even conceivable. There's enough heart and tradition to keep it from sliding into Consumerist Christmas--but the core is what it is and your players and reviewers know they got something far better than an expected "Hey, let's slap a Christmas theme on boilerplate mechanics with no innovation" game. You did good.
It's a Christmas game, and more power to you for--aside from the current name--having such a clear vision completely saturating every aspect of the game. In fact, you might have lost sales/might gain more because of the "Holiday" [insert 500 words on people at Starbucks] so start playing with "Christmas"
Questccg has an excellent point about "Holiday Tradition". Keep that as it's wonderfully descriptive and accurate.
Play with alliteration, sounds. Christmas Countdown/Conundrum/Chaos/Chase/Challenge (all substandard but it's a start).
Pax
Good to hear from you
Pax, I got all the Trademark stuff back from my lawyer and there is a lot of Trademark and Intellectual property surrounding "Christmas Spirit". I really do think it will make the difference for my game. Thank you so much for your feedback as ALWAYS!!! I'll keep you all up to date as I figure this out.
Christmas Memories
The name "The Christmas Spirit" is Trademarked by Big Fish Games which is a large mobile game developer. My Lawyer told me not to use "Christmas Spirit". What about "Christmas Memories: A Family Tradition"??? Does that make you think its a memory game? I do like the ring of have you played Christmas Memories. Thanks for your feedback.
Like I said in the PM...
Save yourself the effort and troubles and KEEP the existing NAME. What I would TRY to do is go the Scythe-route: make custom player meeples and maybe each player chooses his meeple which indicates his/her JOB and when you go around the board you earn +$x.00 income. I'm just basing this off of Monopoly. I don't know if you have "income" or "Go Past Go and earn $200 as a Salary"...
Maybe mix is up a bit... IDK cool CUSTOM meeples would be a great EXTRA pack to BUY... If it came with various characters and professions, you could earn different amounts of "income". You don't have the "Go Past Go" corner square and I see spaces on the board that give you money ... But most force you to PAY money...
Where the HECK do you GET MONEY??? Or do you just go bust!
Note #1: Check-out Meeple Source, I saw an explorer and an engineer, maybe more selection to choose from, IDK:
https://www.meeplesource.com/products.php?cat=17
Note #2: If you can find enough professions at Meeple Source, well maybe you can ask them to BUNDLE a set for "Holiday Fever"! Meaning in one kit you could have:
1. Farmer Mom (Female)
2. Cheerleader (Female)
3. Train Conductor (Male)
4. Doctor (Female)
5. Engineer (Male)
6. Explorer (Male)
7. Scientist (Female)
8. Medic (Male)
9. Police Man (Male)
10. Teal Nurse (Female)
I did ALL the searching for you: 5 Males and 5 Females! I had FUN searching for all of these meeples... Glad I could find 10 to match what I had stated!
Note #3: I think Meeple Source SELL by quantities of 8 Meeples. In this case you would need to TRIM a couple Meeples. I would remove the Medic and the Cheerleader... And that would leave you with 8 meeples and you can maybe get a deal with BULK Wholesale discounts.
Best!
Money
You have Debts and Deposits on your score card. You earn money in several different ways.
If I sell 10,000 copies a year, I might think about making player tokens that match the 6 players which are Elfee's Jeweler, Cookie Cutters Salon, Toy Distribution Center, Santa Studios, Up North Medical Center, and Elf Candy Co-Op. Just in case you might be wondering Toy Distribution Center has a Pinewood Derby specialist on call 24 hours a day!!!! hahahaha
I just wanted to...
Uplift your "Spirits" in that unfortunately "Christmas Spirit" was taken by a fairly not insignificant Video Development Studio. Hehehe.
That's very cool that you have locations on the map which can link-up with the possibility of having Meeples corresponding. I just wanted to help you think about how you can "improve" the game and worry less about the "name"!
Going the Scythe route with premium meeples is cool. And I guess if you do decide to do this, you can have them made in China (I suppose). The honest reality is if people LIKE your game and play it often during the Christmas Season they might buy the meeples as a small not too expensive ADD-ON.
How about the Phrase "Season's Greetings"??? I think that would be an allowable name that you could use...?! If you like it.
To me this resonate something about the "Christmas Holidays". And to usher in the Festive/Holiday Season with the westernized culture. IDK just a thought. I don't know if the US Patent & Trademarks office has more entries for this. I did Google and notice a Trademark for the Wine Industry:
SEASON'S GREETINGS is a trademark of LNJ Vineyards LLC. Filed in April 26 (2012), the SEASON'S GREETINGS covers Wines.
So maybe that could be a cool name for your game. IDK, I'm just thinking OUTSIDE the box... Something more memorable that "Holiday Fever". But like I said, maybe leaving the name AS-IS is good too.
Just sharing with you some of my investigations and thoughts. Cheers @Evan.
Doing more searching ...
I found this DEAD Link/Reference as being the closets to the Gaming Industry by MATTEL:
https://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4803:y46zoe.2.19
This is a reference to Dolls and Doll Clothing. The rest of the TESS results show that there is NO ACTIVE "Trademark" and no DEAD "Trademark" for "Season's Greetings" in the category...
Anyways you can do more research by searching by using this link:
https://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=searchss&state=4803:y46zoe.1.1
Just put in "Season's Greetings" and you will get ONLY 26 results... It's not too OVERWHELMING and the MATTEL link is the closest I could find but it was "CANCELLED" in 2002.
Like I said, it's kind of COOL (as a name), the graphic I posted from Grammarly shows how you can design a funky and FUN lettering for the name (or just use this as inspiration).
Let me know what you think!
Note #1: You could register it for "Board Game" category and state that it is a reference to the "Christmas Spirit" everyone enjoys spreading during "Holiday Season". I think TESS is correct with only 26 Registered Trademarks. And BTW when I searched for "Holiday Fever" on TESS I get ZERO (0) RESULTS. Are you sure you trademarked that name???
Note #2: And I would DROP "A Family Tradition"... And use "Season's Greetings: A Holiday Tradition". Something like that! Cheers again.
Season's Greetings: A Holiday Tradition
Is more in-line with what you WANT your game to be about: the "Christmas Spirit" but at the same time the hustle and bustle of collecting gifts, decorating a Christmas Tree, Singing Songs, Giving Toasts, etc.
Not because I thought of it or anything. TO ME, it seems MORE representative than "Holiday Fever" and I changed "Family" to "Holiday" because it's sort of what you want people to do, right?
As Christmas nears, you want kids to start playing "Season's Greetings" as a way of SYMBOLIZING the start to the Holiday Season and all the GOOD & (some) BAD (like getting coal instead of a gift) but that it's all about having the most festive of holidays... And you want it to a be a regular Tradition that kids and families enjoy playing.
By NOT using Christmas, it makes the game more accessible. Will kids play in June or July(?) Probably not... But maybe September or October... The time leading up to the holidays... Much more probable.
Anyhow I don't want to go on-and-on about this name. Just felt like you should honestly consider it. Best!
Trademark
No, I do not have Holiday Fever: A Family Tradition Trademarked. I have a Copywrite for it. I don't want to spend the money on a TM until I get some traction in the market and start to build a Brand. I guess I'm lucky if I do change the name.
Quest, thank you for all the time and thought. I really think you are onto something with "A Holiday Tradition". It is much more in line with what I want people to do.
I want the game to represent spending more time with friends and family, getting to know them, creating memories with them, and less time Buying them Gifts, making elaborate meals that stress Mom's out, worried about what to get someone etc....The game is all about taking a break from the "Holiday Fever" and sit down and create a Family Tradition. But Holiday Tradition is way more accurate than Family Tradition.
Here is a list of "Holiday Traditions" when googled:
Decorate the tree.
Bake Christmas cookies.
Write a letter to Santa (and the reindeer!)
Look at the twinkly lights.
Build a gingerbread house.
Sing Christmas carols.
Exchange gifts.
Wear an ugly sweater.
I want my game to be on that list for everyone who loves Christmas. So "A Holiday Tradition" is absolutely Perfect.
Possible Names:
-Holiday Traditions. TM on this name for Christmas ornaments
-Season's Greeting: A Holiday Tradition.
-Holiday Traditions: Let the Christmas Spirit shine.
-Christmas Memories: A Holiday Tradition. I like this the best.
-Holiday Traditions: Let the Memories begin.
-Christmas Time: A Holiday Tradition.