By D.A. Reed
WKTV Contributing Writer
After years of inventing his own board games and card games, Wyoming resident Roger Munyon’s lifelong dream became reality when his card game “Trashed” was accepted for distribution by Winning Moves Games while also claiming a Toy Insider Winner award for being one of the top holiday toys in 2021.
Inspired by the classic card game “Garbage,” Munyon’s game “Trashed” features custom cards and unique twists to gameplay that brings the old-time favorite to a new level for players while still being easy to play.
“It’s a basic, simple game,” Munyon said. “Considering our current economic situation here, people are going to be really looking for a value—a game that is fun to play and easy to play that doesn’t break the bank.”
Munyon attributes the success of “Trashed” to the game’s similarity to “Garbage.” “That’s one the things that made it potentially attractive to a company, because it has a touch of the familiar,” said Munyon. After playing Garbage with a friend, Munyon found himself driving home and wondering, “How can I make this game a little bit different and a little more exciting?” The ability to steal cards from other players, as well as bonus cards, are just a few of the ideas Munyon incorporated into Trashed.
The secret to game invention, Munyon said, is expansion. “When you think about it, there are really only four or five basic games in the world. The first person to reach a finish line, or you end the game when you have more of something than somebody else, or you’re the last man standing. Every game is a takeoff on one of those ideas.”
How the inventor presents those changes is what creates something unique out of an original concept.
Munyon’s love for games began as a child. “When all the kids were glued around the (television) screen, I found that the shows I liked most were the game shows. Back then, you could turn the dial on from ten in the morning until four-thirty in the afternoon and find a game show.”
At five-years-old, Munyon’s grandmother asked if he would like a copy of the board game “Beat the Clock,” a popular television game show in the 1950s, for Christmas. “She bought me my first game,” said Munyon. “As time went on, I started collecting other board games.”
Munyon’s personal collection includes several copies of board games based on popular television shows such as “Perry Mason” and “Twilight Zone.” It was not unusual for classmates and teachers to see Munyon in school with a game in hand.
It wasn’t long before Munyon began dreaming of creating his own board game. “I’d go to second-hand stores and buy old games and tear them apart and use the parts for something else,” Munyon said. The game inventor learned how to cover over game boards with craft paper and do his own designs. Munyon does most of his designs by hand: “I do very little with computers, even now.”
But Munyon admits that it is not an easy process and takes dedication and hard work. “People who like to invent things…we’re dreamers. We have this desire to communicate and show our talents to the world—and entertain the world. (But) there’s a lot of competition out there…and only so much shelf space. There are 10 new games released a day—thousands of games are competing for a spot.”
It’s a wonderful feeling when that hard work and patience is recognized, says Munyon. “It’s exciting to have professionals look at an idea of yours and say, ‘Hey, I like this. This might work.’ Then you hope the public follows along.”
Munyon says that creating anything is a gift, but that part of talent is deciding what to do with that gift and how to make it work. “I could paper my walls with rejection letters,” Munyon admits. Looking back now, the inventor sees why he received so many of those rejection letters. “You’ve got to be able to take that talent…and put your best foot forward and make it as appealing as possible. It’s taking a gift and refining it.”
“Trashed” went through its own refining process, the original name and design changing before being released.
When asked what advice he would give other “dreamers,” Munyon said, “Learn as much as you can about the business. Take advice from people in the field. Play test an idea to death until you get the bugs out. Be willing to allow changes. Keep hope alive and keep swinging.”
A testament to his own advice, Munyon’s home sports several shelves lined with approximately 50 to 100 games of his own invention.
Munyon is currently hard at work fine-tuning a card game of his own invention in the hopes of submitting it for distribution.
Trashed can be purchased on Amazon and the Winning Moves website.
