About NewVenture Games

It began as a hobby among close friends and developed into an “art project.” When the big “Board Game Boom” started a couple of decades ago, I started to take the hobby more seriously. I looked at the possibility of bringing one or more of my designs to the world.

Then I met Scott Bultman, whose family had decades of experience in the toy business, mostly in manufacturing but also in retail, wholesale, and on-line sales. Scott specializes in toy and game products that are in the “hard-to-find” category, and is savvy about the balance between manufacturing and fulfillment. So several years ago he geared up to produce playing cards and I designed some packaging, and next thing you know we had a rack of games ready to sell.

Since then, we’ve assembled a modest manufacturing and assembly facility. With the help of a few select vendors, we have grown NewVenture Games into an inventory of nearly 50 games in just a few years’ time. Wherever possible, we get our materials and components locally, and ensure that they are environmentally safe. Creating our own tools and fixtures keeps costs down for our products and curtails the need for investing in (and storing) huge quantities of product. It increases labor, but decreases risk, and gives is more control over production. It the long run, this means better response and better prices to our customers.

Since I was old enough to hold a pencil, I’ve been creating art. I’ve utilized many media – paints, ink, airbrush, clay, paper, wood, leather – and then (like everyone else) digital media. I’ve been fortunate to make a living providing “creative services” to many diverse clients over the years. I specialize in technical illustrations (as found in how-to books and owner’s manuals, etc.) and working with writers and engineers to communicate clearly with their audience “how stuff works.”

Table-top Games is one of those creative arenas that combines a host of artistic and procedural disciplines. Just the kind of thing I like doing! With a few exceptions, all the graphic design and artwork used in NewVenture Games comes from my drawing board and my computer.

I design games from two perspectives:

First, as is typical of game designers, I design the games I would like to play and share with like-minded game players, family and friends. (Objective: Fun.)

Second, I like to find ways to apply and adapt traditional and historic and traditional game mechanics to different themes and contemporary playing styles.