Grand Rapids Press Terri Finch Hamilton December 2003 USA

Board games are big sellers, retailers report, and one of the hottest seems to be Apples to Apples, made by Out of the Box in Madison, Wis. Players select from their hand a card that they think best matches the card held by one player designated as the judge. If the judge's card says ‘dangerous' for example, you pick the card in your hand that you think is the most dangerous. A rhino? The measles? Arnold Schwarzenegger? "It's our best selling game," reports Janell Spindle, owner of Learning Express. We found the company's marketing director here in West Michigan. Matt Mariani markets the award-winning game from his office in Spring Lake and explains the allure: "Most games put you on the spot – you have to know trivia or draw a picture or make something out of clay. This one doesn't," Mariani says. "People hate to feel dumb, and Apples to Apples doesn't make you feel dumb." It's all subjective. He tells of an 8-year-old who picked "butter" from her hand to match the judges card that read "trustworthy." She said, ‘you can tell butter any secret in the world and it won't tell anybody,'" he says. "It's a lot of fun." There are several versions on the market, including junior editions for kids. The newest, biggest game, with 1,000 cards, costs $29.99 at Learning Express.

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