Asmodee’s Kelli Schmitz on what she looks for in a party game

Kelli, it’s lovely to catch up. What set you on the path to a career in the board game industry? Was it always on the cards?
I went to school for Mass Communication and Print Journalism. My first job out of college was at a daily newspaper in central Wisconsin. I then started working in communications and marketing at a regional real estate company in the Twin Cities. I was there for 12 years – I loved it, however because they were small there wasn’t much room for progression.

I started looking for brand marketing jobs in the Twin Cities and there was a post for a role at CATAN Studio… I thought: ‘The CATAN? That game I played with my mom once?’ And it was – and I ended up there, where I was the Brand Director for five years. In that role, I learned so much about the industry through the lens of the CATAN brand. If you are going to start a career in games, there is no better game to start with!

Absolutely. So how did you jump from CATAN to your current role at Asmodee as Director of Sourcing and Innovation?
Julien Sharp – Country Manager for Asmodee USA – invited me to join her at the People of Play conference last year, where CATAN had a booth. I was able to shadow her at the inventor conference and had a great time meeting with so many talented folks. It was so interesting to me, and I fell in love with inventor relations. I didn’t even know it was a job before then! A few months later, Asmodee was looking for an inventor relations person for social games in the US market – and so I said: “I can do that!” And here I am!

Here you are! So what does your role entail?
My role concerns the Social Playtype vertical here at Asmodee. We have three studios in that vertical – Zygomatic, responsible for great family games like Spot It and Jungle Speed, and Bezzerwizzer Studio, who make Bezzerwizzer, Hint and ‘playing with knowledge’ games. We also have Dotted Games, our most recently established studio, that is dedicated to making games through Asmodee’s partnership with The LEGO Group.

I review designs that we would publish through these studios, with an eye specifically on the US mass market. Asmodee is interested in expanding our portfolio when it comes to US-focused party games. We are actively looking for those types of games and we work closely with our international studios on this initiative too.

So on my wish list right now is party games priced at $20 and under, fast-playing card games priced at $10 and under and light family strategy games priced at $30 and under. Those are my current targets, but our needs are always evolving. There are other folks at Asmodee who look at concepts suitable for our tabletop studios, but I have the exciting opportunity to exclusively look at social games.

Very useful insights there. Thank you for sharing. You mentioned having a US-focus there. What would you say are key differences between a US party game and a European party game?
I’d use Just One from Repos Production as a great example of a European party game. It was developed in France and won the 2019 Spiel des Jahres. It’s a fantastic game, but in the U.S., unless you’re hobby game player, you may not have heard of it yet, or it doesn’t fit what your understanding of what a party game is.

In the US, games like Cards Against Humanity were introduced and replicated often enough where this has become almost the go-to when you think of a party game. Whereas to me or you, games like Just One or So Clover might come to mind.

We are trying to find games that align more with the US mass market understanding of what a party game is. Now, that’s not to say I’m inviting inventors to bring me all their knock-offs! That’s not it… It must be unique, thematic, and speak to pop culture. It must be easy to pick up and play… And there will be a scoring element, but when you’re playing, you shouldn’t care about winning. Players should just be enjoying the social experience they are having in the moment. That’s what I’m looking for in a party game.

Priceless information there Kelli. Great to have that distinction made clear. This is a very competitive category. What’s key to breaking through and succeeding in this space?
That’s a big question and it’s the biggest challenge we have. Asmodee is special in that we have irons in both fires. We can be mass market, and we can be hobby. Finding things that resonate with both is going to be useful. The mass market games we launch may not always suit the hobby market, but if we find something that crosses both areas, that’s where the magic happens.

Our studios have a reputation for making games that people love. They’re good, high-quality games and our studios are super-dedicated. We also have a consumer researcher – Emmanuelle Marevery – who does consumer science for Asmodee. We’ll utilize Emmanuelle and her expertise to look at trends, what consumers want and what consumers perceive as value. Looking at what consumers need will drive a lot of our decisions.

What do you think is important to establishing successful relationships with inventors?
It is still something I’m learning to be honest. I have only been in the job since July! It involves telling a lot of people “no, that’s not for us” – and that is something I still struggle with… I struggle saying “no” to my own kid! I told my friend about this job and she said: “Wow, you get to make people’s dreams come true!” And that is true for 1% of people I’ll see – but I’ll try to make that happen as much as possible.

The biggest thing for me is honoring the process. Klaus Teuber – the inventor of CATAN – wrote a memoir a few years ago called My Journey to CATAN. I was lucky enough to be involved in the launch of that book. I looked back at it after his passing in April 2023, and there’s a chapter in there where he talks about pitching CATAN. He was getting rejections from publishers until one publisher said: ‘I can see how this could be good, but let’s make some changes’. They worked together and published it. The rest is history.

It reinforced to me that it is the bravest and toughest thing to put your heart and soul into something and then pitch it to someone else… It’s a vulnerable position to put yourself in… And then having to hear people say: “Sorry, it’s not right for us.” I want to honor the time, energy and passion that inventors put into their designs. Hopefully, that comes through in the discussions I have with inventors, regardless of whether we take it in or we pass on the idea. I want to be as communicative, honest, and open as possible.

The other thing is that I’d hate to have to explain to someone why I passed on the next CATAN! I don’t want to be that person!

Ha!
It’s been a huge learning curve. I’ve never done anything quite like this before.

Well, it sounds like a very empathetic approach. Before we wrap up, what fuels your creativity Kelli?
Listening to my daughter and her friends. She’s 14 and she’s very into trends and TikTok. She keeps me up to date on things that are trendy and cool. She is a great barometer for me to bounce things off of, like game ideas. I’ll play prototypes with her and she’s the best critic you can get. She helps me understand what’s actually resonating with kids, not what adults think is resonating with kids. And she loves party games!

She sounds like a true asset for Asmodee! As do you! Thanks again Kelli.

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