In 2009, Kate Ryan Reiling and some friends were waiting out a snowstorm in an Uptown apartment, and they quickly became bored by their game selections. That's when the fun really started.
The group put together flat glass beads, Jenga pieces, string, and a dictionary. One person would choose a word, then try to depict it using the game components. Although it was a simple way to pass the time, Reiling was struck by the level of creativity and enjoyment that emerged, and she used her business school background to turn a fun afternoon into a full-time avocation.
Using pieces she first cobbled together from surplus stores, Reiling created
Morphology, a game that lets players "morph" wooden sticks, cubes, glass beads, little wooden people, and other elements into a representation of certain words.
When Reiling brought a prototype to a major toy and game show in 2010, she knew she had a winner. She sold 400 games on the spot, and later that year began landing on lists like Time magazine's Toys of the Year. She says, "I began to get emails from around the world asking about the game. It's been really amazing to see the momentum and watch this catch on."
Reiling created a version for kids called Morphology Jr., and her ultimate goal is for Morphology Games to be acquired by one of the major game companies. Until that happens, though, she'll work on getting the game in more stores and expanding distribution. With so much buzz building in this holiday season, she's expecting strong growth in the next month and beyond.
"We see a real opportunity to keep expanding this and designing more games that encourage creativity, and maybe even move into the digital tablet space," she says.
Source: Kate Ryan Reiling, Morphology Games
Writer: Elizabeth Millard