Bob Moog always loved playing games with his family and grew up thinking that fun and learning were a part of everyday life. As an adult, he recognised a developing niche in social interaction and learning games for adults and children, and that is how University Games began on April 1, 1985. The Toy Universe had the opportunity to speak to Bob about the journey to 40 Years of Play!
Bob, I guess we should begin with how you managed to make your way into the Toy Business. There must be a story.
I always knew that I wanted to start and run my own company. When I was 18, I met Cris Lehman, and we became quick friends. For years we talked about starting a company together some day. In 1985 he suggested that the time was right, and he quit his job as an accountant at Price Waterhouse. I was developing some trivia games for Nolan Bushnell (father of video games and Atari). We kicked around some ideas and settled on board games. Then with $20,000 our life savings we just jumped into it and founded University Games on April 1, 1985. We were 28 at the time and neither of us really had any background in the toy industry.
So back in the beginning in 1985 what was the industry like then?
Throughout the world the Toy Industry was an exciting innovative place in 1985. Toy leaders from Hasbro, Mattel, Tonka and other companies provided business leadership to the world. New York toy fair was 13 days long with dozens of appointments each day and parties every night. There were more than twice as many manufacturers and hundreds more retailers. While some consolidation had taken place such as Hasbro’s acquisition of Milton Bradley and the unification of Kenner, Parker Brothers and Tonka—the big consolidation of the 1990s hadn’t happened yet. Most importantly, the toy industry was fun with many family-owned companies in US, UK and Australia leading the industry vs the corporate concentration we now see. In Australia, retail chains and cooperative retail brands like Toy Kingdom and Toy World were as important as chains like Target and Big W for launching new products and new companies.
Bob, thinking back over the years, what has been the most challenging time in building University Games?
It is hard to resist saying that the past five years with the pandemic, the supply chain crisis and now US tariffs is the most difficult time for University Games. However, I think that our most challenging time was from 1985-1990, our first five years. That is when we had to learn how to run a company and how to manage a team and manage our cash flow. Those lessons have led to our 40 years of success.
We all love the toy business, it gets in your blood, from your perspective what is the most rewarding achievement of your company?
That’s easy. Expanding outside of the US to open subsidiaries in Australia, United Kingdom and the Netherlands is my proudest achievement. I am also proud of our retail ecommerce business, AreYouGame.com. I love learning about international toy markets, and it is such a great feeling to travel to other countries and see that the games and puzzles that we create are being enjoyed by children and their families around the world.
Can you tell me how University Games moved to expand outside the US market and become a global proposition?
In 1985 when we started, Cris and I agreed that we wanted to create products that would appeal to families both inside the US and outside the US. That is very unusual in the US where most companies go decades without expanding outside of the US borders. I went to my first international show in London in 1987 and then we did our first international deals with Paul Lamond Games in the UK and with Ventura Games in Australia. The license was for a Batman game that we designed. The game sold great and our relationship with Paul Lamond Games continued with us ultimately acquiring the company in 2017. Unfortunately we ended up not being able to work with Ventura Games and Nick Farago. A few years later we launched U. Games Australia in order to best serve the Australia market.
In 1985 when we started, Cris and I agreed that we wanted to create products that would appeal to families both inside the US and outside the US.
One of the things that you have been very good at is identifying acquisition opportunities and there have been multiple buy outs along the way. Can you tell us about who they have been with, and how they have impacted your growth model?
Like international expansion, acquisitions have been a major part of our strategy since 1985. We are currently working on our 17th acquisition which should be finished by December 2025. Our first major acquisition was Great Explorations in 1994. It put us into the science field as we became the US leader in glow-in-the-dark stars. We look for acquisitions where the businesses are top market leaders in their subcategories, where margins will increase our overall margin and where we can expand distribution either internationally or to mass market in the US. We love established brand names, and we like to work with the current owners. Colorforms was our best-known acquisition. Bepuzzled put us in the puzzle business. Our key acquisitions in the past 5 years include Lagoon Games, The Learning Journey International, and Forbidden Games.
I know that you love Australia Bob, can you please tell us a little about your journey with U. Games Australia.
Our first international subsidiary was U. Games Australia, and you are part of that story, Tony. In 1994 John Herbert and you started Toy Marketing Services. That eventually led to John Herbert visiting me in San Francisco and suggesting the idea of U. Games Australia. I loved the idea. I had never been to Australia and the idea of expanding University Games to Australia and getting to visit regularly was exciting to me. It was a very special time for the toy industry. John and I sat at a table in the food concession area at the Melbourne show and John stopped key toy buyers from the entire industry.
Can you imagine having Neil Kerry and Steve Williams (Big W), John Redenbach and Ram Gopal (TRU), Nick Rimmer (Kmart), Lindsay Hopkins (Toy Kingdom), and Robert Smith (Toy World) all in a 3-day period. It was amazing. Then they all bought games from us in year one. John introduced me to more industry influencers while we sat and ate meat pies in Melbourne. In 3 days, I had met more key toy retailers than I had in 10 years in the UK. After that we felt we had a formula and proceeded to open up subsidiaries and joint ventures in other markets around the world. Our strategy was to expand both through international expansion and by acquisition. Today we have subsidiaries covering the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. In addition, we cover more than 30 other international markets through distribution agreements.
Our strategy was to expand both through international expansion and by acquisition. Today we have subsidiaries covering the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
Bob, 40 years on how do you see the Toy Industry today?
In 2025 I see most of the toy industry as a little lost and lacking in leadership in the US and throughout the world. I don’t want us to get back to the “good old days” but rather focus on how to have “good new days.” I try to use my voice to convince retailers to take chances, to get our Asian suppliers to be more innovative, to get our internal team to be more creative, to get our sales team to think more about where our consumer shops rather than where toys are sold and to get our marketing team to think of effective ways to reach today’s Gen Z customer where they live. George Bernard Shaw said, “activity is the only road to knowledge”. I believe that and I am trying to get the toy industry to understand that we must keep pushing with new ways of doing things if we want to find the knowledge to succeed.
As technology continues to become an even greater part of our lives, how have games held up in terms of their appeal and what is the typical demographic who love them?
We have two distinct groups of people who love University Games products. While our Australian product line covers all ages and all families, we really specialise in travel games for young children and party game for Gen Z and Millennial young adults. I started out with Murder Mystery Party games to launch products that I could play with my friends. Then when I started having kids and we built our pre-school business. We have kept our commitment to these two groups since the 1980s.
I started out with Murder Mystery Party games to launch products that I could play with my friends. Then when I started having kids and we built our pre-school business. We have kept our commitment to these two groups since the 1980s.
After 40 years in the Business, would you mind highlighting just a few of the defining moments you have had with UG and how they have impacted on your outlook?
I think the best way to discuss our highlights is with a list:
- The Murder Mystery Train: In 1986 we leased an old train car and took the Murder Mystery Train from Oakland, CA to Chicago Il (More than 2000 miles). It was our first big marketing push across the USA we met with press and played Murder Mystery Party for three days straight.
- 20 Questions Licensing: My dream as a child was to someday invent a game that I licensed to Milton Bradley. In 1987, 20 Questions (a game I co-invented) was licensed to Hasbro for all of Europe. I achieved my dream when the MB was carried on 20 Questions in the UK, France, Germany and several other countries.
- Getting the License for Dr. Seuss and Blue’s Clues: These licenses gave us our first million game sales and led us to be a global player in licensing.
- Meeting John Herbert: While we were just learning as we went, John launched our first subsidiary and provided decades of experience in the toy industry with Milton Bradley and Golden Books. He became a mentor for the University Games team and continues in that role as chairman of U. Games Australia.
- Starting AreYouGame.com: In 1998 we started AreYouGame.com an ecommerce retailer. Most manufacturers never get to see the industry from the point of view of a retailer, but we have had that lens to look through for nearly 30 years. This allowed me to better understand both my competitors and our customers.
- Winning a TOTY Award: In 2010 we won the US TOTY Award for the Australian designed, Sort it Out. It further proved that our games are among the best playing and selling games in the world.
- Acquiring The Learning Journey in 2023: We kept the team resulting in our expansion into more pre-school categories and proving that we could add strong staff through an acquisition.
Bob, what’s coming up for you and UG in the immediate future, are you planning to push on with your plans?
Yes, after 40 years I am looking forward to continuing our efforts to put out great games that encourage learning and fun for families. I want to make it to 50 Years!
Our attitude toward the tariffs, industry consolidation, and changing consumer appetites is to keep moving and trying new strategies and tactics. It is exciting to create ways to reach people with our new games and established favorites when everything is changing. Many companies are treading water and waiting to see “what will happen” while University Games continues to look at new ways to do the same old things; bring games to market, expand our reach to families and improve our supply chain.
So Bob, how will you and your company celebrate your 40th year in the business of Games and Toys?
Alright, a fun question. We are having a year of celebrations. In January in the UK, in March in Melbourne and New York. Our big international party celebration is June 12. We are inviting all our stakeholders, employees, former employees, inventors, customers, sales agents and suppliers. It is going to be a humdinger of a party. Our entertainment is Motown legend, Smokey Robinson.
Aside from the parties we are also celebrating by putting out a new outdoor game, Sling It and expanding The Learning Journey into Europe. Wow, I never thought we would be celebrating 40 years of University Games and soon 30 years in Australia. I thought we would be lucky to make it 5 years.
Bob, thanks for sharing your journey in the toy business and the remarkable story of University Games over the last 40 years. Your insights and experiences have been truly valuable, and your passion for the industry is inspiring. We wish you and UG continued success for the future!
This article originally appeared in Edition 16 of The Toy Universe Magazine
