cowgirlsCowgirls Ride the Trail of Truth from sggc Side Saddle is a female bonding board game. While lightly-themed with wild-west iconography, and superficially resembling Trivial Pursuit, the questions are all experiential sharing questions, such as “If you woke up as a man, what are the first three things you would do?” The game is noted for girls over 18, but may more likely appeal to the 12 to 18 year old crowd.

I would like to note the great number of accessories that are sold alongside the game in the shop, including mugs, spirit books, charm bracelets, aprons, bath soaks, and so on. In other words, the publisher tried to establish a brand, not just a game.

And yet, for great games like Catan, it takes third parties to produce game t-shirts and mugs. Why? Hasbro licensed a limited number of Monopoly items over the years, but only in the last year or so really seems to be branching out into movies and clothing. What took them so long?

Mind you, nobody needs ALL of these products, but making them available can’t hurt.