Where Nostalgia Meets Innovation
Kerry Addis, co-owner and chief operating officer of WS Game Company, discusses the organization’s history and unique approach to designing new versions of classic board games.
Tell us about yourself and your company:
I grew up in the board game business, learning the craft from my father, Dana Silva, who cofounded WS Game Company with Mike Doyle in 2000. They were both Parker Brothers and Milton Bradley employees until their office closed due to restructuring. They decided that instead of moving their families, they would use their forty years of combined experience to work as consultants for Hasbro Games to create premium games for their key national accounts.
The business earned a Hasbro licensee contract in 2009 and has collaborated with partners globally to bring board games into consumers’ homes as functional decor ever since. Today, I’m co-owner and COO and run the company with my brother, Jonathan Silva. I help oversee the creative process from start to finish for our growing product portfolio.
What sets WS Game Company’s products apart?
As kids, we always had the latest and greatest board games at our fingertips, but the sheer number of them in our house got to be a bit unwieldy. They wound up living on huge shelves in our basement—out of sight and often out of mind. But at WS Game Company, our goal is to keep games at the forefront of your mind, and that’s easiest when you see them every day.
Our Vintage Bookshelf collection is a perfect example of how games can live in your home as part of your decor. We have twenty-two in this line, including Risk, Boggle, and Trouble, that are packaged to look like fabric-wrapped, hardback books, blending nostalgic design with an upscale feel. They look amazing on a bookcase or shelf, and you can easily grab one to play anytime you want.
For all our games, we include storage for the parts so you can display the product without worrying about losing any pieces. The material choices and finishes are very important as well, and we offer products in a range of options—including wood, glass, metal, fabric, and vegan leather—so everyone can find something that matches their aesthetic. Many of our customers are looking to upgrade their gaming experience, so we thoughtfully design each one with these more premium materials while maintaining much of the original graphics from the games we all know and love.
Was there ever a turning point for your business?
The pandemic. During times of economic uncertainty, people tend to scale back on expenses on things like travel, eating out, and other luxuries, but our games can provide hours of entertainment and a lifetime of memories after a single purchase. So when the global economy was at a standstill and most people were staying close to home, we were fortunate to have a lot of inventory available domestically. Game sales increased dramatically, and we were able to support that higher demand. It also opened up some additional retail partnerships that we’ve been able to maintain, and those opportunities continue to grow.
What’s your most popular item?
Anything from the Vintage Bookshelf collection, really. Board games as decor are very popular right now, so those editions are flying off the shelves. The wide selection in this line has sparked viral treasure hunts among collectors looking to complete their sets. Social media is also filled with videos of people styling their games in various ways throughout their homes. It’s amazing to see how it’s getting more people to play games with their family and friends!
Would you walk us through the process of creating a new edition?
Each new project follows a slightly different path since it depends on whether we’re developing for our general trade line or collaborating with a retail partner. For our line, we start by taking a wider look at our overall offerings to determine what’s missing—whether it’s a certain aesthetic, functionality, or price point. Our design team then explores color trends, materials, and printing techniques while always keeping gameplay and storage in mind. Based on all those details, we create samples and refine the design until we feel we’ve developed the best product for people to enjoy.
As a Hasbro licensee, collaboration is a key part of the development process for nearly every game we produce. When we have a new concept, we present it to the Hasbro team, which gives them a chance to provide feedback before we get too far along. We also stay in touch throughout development to ensure that we incorporate all their latest brand guidelines and they’re able to approve every design component.
What about your retail collaborations?
Our collaborations with specialty retailers work a bit differently. We typically meet with the buyer, who gives us an idea of what products and price ranges they are considering. Many times, they’ll share color palettes or patterns that will be used throughout their store during an upcoming season, and we’ll work with them to incorporate some of those elements into our products. There can be a lot of back and forth until we land on the final design, but when we get to that point, we know that their customers will be thrilled with the result: a custom board game and home decor piece created with them in mind.
Do you have a favorite product?
It’s a hard choice because we’ve developed so many incredible products, but I think the Monopoly x Nike LeBron James Edition stands out above the rest. We partnered with the Nike team to tell the story of LeBron’s life and career, weaving personal elements into every single component of the game. The cabinet features a debossed vegan-leather rolling area, six oversized custom tokens, and a three-dimensional title deed holder shaped like a basketball court. It’s truly stunning, and I’m very proud of my team for bringing this product to life.
What challenges come with adapting classic games into high-end formats?
The most difficult thing is adding value without adding a lot of extra parts. The game of Sorry!, for example, only requires a board, a deck of cards, and sixteen movers, but we also included a card box so the cards can be neatly stored when not in play and swapped out the standard plastic movers for painted wood ones. In addition, we generally use more premium card stock and printing techniques, improving the overall quality. These subtle changes can make a major difference in your tactile experience of a game and how likely you are to play it again.
How do you balance maintaining the nostalgia of an original game while elevating the design?
The original versions of the games bring a sense of nostalgia and so many memories for people, and we think it’s important to maintain that connection when possible. Fortunately, the early editions of many Hasbro games are simple and elegant, so it’s not too difficult to incorporate their vintage looks into our premium designs. By switching up the materials, refining the color palette, and playing with scale, we can make something old feel modern but still classic.
For more info, visit wsgamecompany.com