Some of you may be wondering, and indeed some have asked, why we decided to change the artwork for Corporate Breakfast. Well, over the past several months as I’ve been demoing the game I’ve had a number of people ask if the art would be changed; making various suggestions like making the box art more colorful or adding artwork to the individual cards. I typically put a lot of consideration into suggestions people have on my games before I make a decision. Sometimes it takes me years to come to a conclusion.

Corporate Breakfast doesn’t have years right now.

So I had to ask myself, “why should I keep the original artwork?” There are a couple of reasons. First, I made it myself. I’m quite proud of what I accomplished as I don’t consider myself to be much of an artist. Second, as cheesy as my artwork was, I felt it fit the theme of the game. I thought it gave the exact vibe of sitting in a boring meeting watching a power point presentation. Third, and probably most importantly, it was cheaper. I’m not trying to cut corners here, I want to offer a good product, but hiring an artist wasn’t really planned out in the original budget and being as the game is really all about using your imagination I didn’t think it would be necessary.

But still the thought bopped around in my head and the question would come up from time to time and so I tried to find ways to address it. I started drawing little art snippets of cereal ideas that I came up with to better represent the imaginative aspect of the game. I tried using those to reimagine the box art and make it stand out more. I think I was somewhat successful too! In that endeavor I also reached out to Sam Mameli for guidance. He even sketched the idea we’re now using and suggested I just draw it myself. LAUGHABLE! I mean, maybe I could’ve made it happen. But I was still stubbornly holding onto my older art.

Meanwhile, the Kickstarter launch date loomed over Tastefully Done Games.

I had to make some decisions and, at the time, I decided to stick with our slightly updated artwork. It seemed to be doing a better job of pulling attention our way than the original art. However, about a week into the campaign, we realized that we were stagnating. I don’t think this is only because of the art, but I had to face the first of many facts. People are generally visually oriented. We talk about not judging a book by its cover, but many board games initially catch peoples’ attention with their artwork. I’m no different in that way. I can’t tell you how many games I gave a go just because they looked visually interesting. So I finally felt I had to put aside my pride and hired Sam to come in and clean up our work.

And, frankly, I think he’s done an amazing job! I have been trying to describe the atmosphere of working at a soul-sucking corporate job, but having this weirdly imaginative task of coming up with fantastical breakfast cereals and I think he’s really captured that vibe.

Plus, it’s going to look amazing on your shelf!