Colors

The effects of color on the mind and how it shapes our reactions is a very large and deep topic. It does relate to games and gaming, and it is a topic that I think about as a hobbyist designer. A lot of research into the effects of color have been done, but I am not aware of any study that has linked the color red directly to the sales of party games.

That would make for some interesting research. Here are some articles to get you started on the psychological effects of color if you are interested:

http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00368/full

http://www.colorpsychology.org/red/

http://www.colour-affects.co.uk/psychological-properties-of-colours

I hope this helps,

@BHFuturist

It's pretty interesting the way color can influence peoples thoughts before they've even read or inspected a product or business.

From some of the topics on the psychology of color related to marketing;

Red – Creates a sense of urgency, which is good for clearance sales. Encourages appetite, thus is frequently used by fast-food chains. Physically stimulates the body, raising blood pressure and heart rate, associated with movement, excitement, and passion.

Blue – The preferred color of men. It’s associated with peace, water, tranquility, and reliability. Blue provides a sense of security, curbs appetite, and stimulates productivity. The most common color used by conservative brands looking to promote trust in their products.

Green – Associated with health, tranquility, power, and nature. Used in stores to relax customers and for promoting environmental issues. Green stimulates harmony in your brain and encourages a balance leading to decisiveness.

Purple – Commonly associated with royalty, wisdom, and respect. Stimulates problem solving as well as creativity. Frequently used to promote beauty and anti-aging products.

Orange & Yellow – Cheerful colors that promote optimism. Yellow can make babies cry, while orange can trigger a sense of caution. Used to create a sense of anxiety that can draw in impulsive buyers and window shoppers.

Black – Associated with authority, power, stability, and strength. Often a symbol of intelligence, but can become overwhelming if used to frequently.

Grey – Symbolizes feelings of practicality, old age, and solidarity. But too much grey can lead to feelings of nothingness and depression.

White – Associated with feelings of purity, cleanliness and safety. Can be used to project an absence of color or neutrality. White space helps spark creativity since it can be perceived as an unaltered, clean state.

Be aware, in different countries the "meaning" of colors can change quite a bit. US tends to associate "yellow" with cowardice. Not at all true in France, I understand.

In other words, color meaning is at least partly learned rather than inherent.

Yea false advertising is annoying, but for me its when a game has been incorrectly skinned (not themed). Not sure what the correct term is but it happened to me the other day with Santorini. It looked like an ok game but I found I wasn't that interested because it looks a little childish and I was looking for a more in depth game. Looking into it a bit more and its apparently a highly acclaimed abstract strategy game I am now really interested to play. Had it looked a bit more sophisticated I would have been interested sooner. I guess its a marketing thing but to me the type of game it is and the feel of it doesn't match...

Interesting thought, whats more important styling the game to be most attractive to the desired market or to best reflect the game itself?

It really doesn't matter what color you choose. It's whatever you think will look good for your game. Don't let people tell you what color to choose.

Good Luck ;)

-Tooned