In June,
Funnybone Toys released Disruptus, a card game that challenges players to come up with ways to disrupt, transform, improve, or create using one or two cards depicting a wide variety of everyday and not-so-everyday objects.
For example, if you roll "Create" on the die and draw a tire and a rope, a player could create a tire swing or a necklace made of rope thread and spokes. One little boy rolled "Transform" and thought a high-heeled shoe would make a great doorknocker, says Funnybone Founder Julien Sharp.
The game has quickly won a legion of fans, as well as numerous awards.
Sharp moved to Denver in 2010 and launched Funnybone Toys in 2012 with three card games: Array, Spectrix and Cubu. "We couldn't just have one game," says Sharp. "Sales reps don't want you."
And she kept the operation as lean as possible. "We outsource everything," Sharp explains. Denver's
MATTER handles graphic design, and most everything else is handled by contractors.
The strategy is working. Today Funnybone has 50 sales reps and 700 retail accounts, including the
Tattered Cover and the gift shop at the
Denver Art Museum.
Next up: Funnybone will release colorful construction toy Arrazzles in August, Disruptus will be available at Crate and Barrel by the fall and Sharp says she's "in negotiations" with distributors in the U.K.
Niche markets are all over the map. The autistic market has taken to the initial color-based card games, and advertisers and marketers are gobbling up Disruptus.
"Today I had six orders from creative agencies," says Sharp, adding that Funnybone now has "critical mass" -- as well as more than 30 game ideas in the pipeline.
Contact Confluence Denver Innovation & Jobs News Editor Eric Peterson with tips and leads for future stories at eric@confluence-denver.com.
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