If you're reading this, you can see from the website that my board game company now has a name: Knapsack Games!

The name came after much internal debate, as well as help from you fine folks. Once I brainstormed about 30 unique names I liked, I thinned out the list and then posted a one-question survey on Twitter. Three hundred people responded. Here were the results:

After this, it was clear what the top three contenders were. In addition, I asked my friends and family in-person why they chose certain names over others.

Comments generally landed in one of four camps:

Spirit - When you read or hear the name, does it evoke the feeling of fun, fresh, approachable experiences?
Pronunciation/Spelling - Do you know how to pronounce the name if no one tells you how to? Could you spell the name yourself if you heard a friend say it?
Stickiness - Does the name stay in your mind after you see or hear it?
Popularity - I like all of the names, but what appeals to the most people?

Once I understood these were the pillars, it made it easy to eliminate names from the list. Here's how each name checked out:

The other consideration in all of this is what the logo would look like, but that's another story.

Many comments outside of the survey said "Knapsack Games" had a nice ring to it and I agreed with that in addition to the info above. It was clear that Knapsack Games reigned supreme over all others :)

In addition to all of that, I like that Knapsack Games reminds me of childhood - that feeling of packing up your toys and games and heading over to your best friend's house for the night. It's a simple, grounded feeling that doesn't try to be too much. And on a more serious note, the knapsack reminds me that we're all just travelers passing through this fleeting life - so make the most of your time and have fun!

Anyway, here we are. It's been great collaborating with my designer friend Mark Major on different tasks over the past month to get everything going:

Business formation - LLC, accounts, name, logo, etc.
Knee Jerk internal work - content curation, mechanic finalization, graphic design, etc.
Knee Jerk external considerations - manufacturing/shipping quotes, cost calculations for MSRP, etc.
Future projects - (more info to come in the future :)

That's about it. Thanks for reading! If you have any questions or comments, leave one below or feel free to contact me.