My Focus Groups Pay Me!
Yes, I have found a way to gather public reactions to the “Figure This Out” Party Game and get paid for it.
So, before committing to creating this game, I wanted honest opinions from a diverse group of people. I found a clever way to find out whether people get the concept and, what’s more, are willing to spend $27 (plus shipping) for 110 puzzle cards.
How?
Gig Driving (HopSkipDrive, UBER, Lyft, etc.)
Yes, I do some gig-driving during the week. I have consulting work, but I qualified for a service called HopSkipDrive (not easy) where I transport students to and from schools. Enjoyable short drives that help schools and students with a decent per-ride payout (far more than Uber or Lyft, over $8/mile vs. $2/mile. The funds help finance my work on Figure This Out (printing samples, sample boxes, videos, etc.).
I sometimes Uber, typically coming back from the student drives or when I’m driving somewhere by myself, and I want to get paid for it.
So the “Focus Group” thing. I’d say that on one out of five UBER/Lyft rides, I may end up showing a puzzle card as part of a conversation on why I am driving in the first place.
I describe the game, and if they are interested, I show them a puzzle, I typically start with this one:
(This puzzle garnered over 300,000 views on Reddit)
It’s fun to observe the reaction to this puzzle. Some people get it right away. Others need one of the hints on the back of the card, for example, “Swiss cheese plus tools and soldiers hint at a versatile pocket item.” Most really enjoy the fun and challenge of solving it.
I have an envelope with three of the 5” x 3.5” cards. Maybe I’ll show one or two more. But sometimes …
Figure This Out hijacks the ride!
Yeah, I end up with a group of people in my car, and they DEMAND to play more cards! This has happened on several rides.
Here’s an example from last Saturday.
I had driven my wife Leah to a concert in downtown San Diego. The idea was to avoid having to park and to get some UBER rides in.
So at one point I picked up a rider named Carter and his two friends. I welcomed him as “Mr. President,” and we exchanged some jokes and interesting stories. Then it leads to me showing the cheesy puzzle above, and before I knew it, we were playing through 15 or so cards. Big fun for all. The riders all participated. Much laughter and joy at solving them. When this happens, I feel like the main character in this classic commercial:
You see, I have pitched this game to traditional tabletop publishers. They don’t really get the market for this. It’s not the people playing “Settlers of Catan”, which is a great game; Figure This Out is 100+ puzzle cards that you take to a party or other gathering, with no rules to explain, and create fun interactions. Yes, it gets people to stop staring at their phones.
Sometimes I need to be reminded of that. These “Rolling Focus Groups” remind me of this and keep me motivated.
