New Game

There is so much of this creativity out there, but so little of it becomes marketable because so few of us are marketers.

Postgazette.com
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Hampton Preschool Teacher Creates a Game, Starts a Company and Wins National Toy Award

Thursday, November 17, 2005
By Alisha Hipwell

Kathleen Zang isn't creative in a crafty kind of a way, but the preschool teacher sure knows how to play.

After years of making up games, songs and stories for her preschool pupils and her own children, Mrs. Zang, of Hampton, launched a company with her sister that scored a hit with its very first product.

The Healthy Habits Preschool Game, produced by Zang Games LLC, has been selected as one of 100 Best Children's Products of 2005 by Dr. Toy, aka Stevanne Auerbach, a child development specialist and director of the Institute for Childhood Resources in San Francisco.

Mrs. Zang, 47, created the Healthy Habits game four years ago while writing lesson plans for Dental Health Month.

"If you give me scissors and glue and tell me to make something, I'm all thumbs. But I enjoy making up games and songs and plays," she said.

The game consists of 8-inch-by-14-inch laminated game cards that are placed on the floor. Players act as game pieces by rolling a die and moving forward or backward, depending upon the healthiness of the directive on each card. For example, a card might say, "Sneeze on a friend. Move back two spaces."

Healthy Habits, which addresses topics including daily hygiene, proper nutrition and healthy sleep habits, was an instant hit with Mrs. Zang's pupils at St. Catherine of Sweden School in Hampton.

"They loved it. After they played it once, they asked to play it everyday," she said.

It wasn't until last year that Mrs. Zang, whose four children range in age from 14 to 21, felt the time was right to market her game. She turned to her sister, Janet Dietz, of Austin, Texas.

"She asked if I could help her sell it to a toy company," said Mrs. Dietz, who has worked in marketing and sales for years. "I said she should just do it herself."

With a $7,000 investment, the two formed Zang Games LLC and set about preparing the game for market. That meant doing everything from manufacturing professional-looking game cards to finding a box company.

"It's been a bit overwhelming. We're both still moms and living the same life we were before, but now we're trying to launch this company on top of it," Mrs. Dietz said.

Mrs. Dietz saw a notice about the Dr. Toy contest on the Dr. Toy Web site, www.drtoy.com.

"She e-mailed me and said the deadline is in August. Let's go for it," Mrs. Zang said.

She packaged a Healthy Habits game and sent it to Dr. Toy for review but didn't expect anything to come of it. A month later, she pulled a package out of her mailbox bearing a sticker that said "100 Best Products Winner."

"I was sitting in the car on the phone with my sister screaming. It was just so exciting to be validated, even though I already knew the kids loved it," Mrs. Zang said.

Dr. Toy divides her list of 100 best toys into eight categories. Healthy Habits was a winner in the category for 10 best active products. A description on the Dr. Toy Web site describes it as "a fantastic game for preschool children who like to move."

Each product is reviewed using criteria that Dr. Toy has developed over the years, including safety, age-appropriateness, design, durability, lasting play value, cultural and ethnic diversity, educational value, learning skills, creativity and fun.

The game sells for $25 plus $8 shipping and handling and can be purchased through the Zang Web site. A Spanish version will be available in time for the holidays.

Mrs. Zang has ideas for other games, including a manners game called "That's Just Rude." For now, she is concentrating on promoting the Healthy Habits game in the hope it will be picked up by toy stores and catalogs.

"It's been a real learning experience," she said. "We'll see where it takes us."