News

Cobourg Daily Star, Wednesday, November 2, 2005

Local game inventors launch Theories Saturday

By Karen Lloyd

Photo: Richard Young

Cecilia Nasmith and Doug Montgomery are putting their Theories to the test when they launch the game on November 5.

Some people’s grandmas had a theory that chicken soup would cure the common cold.

Or was this kind of soup hatched to control the chicken population?

Or was it used as a means of birth control?

These are just some of the questions a player might be asked during a game of Theories — a new game invented by Northumberland County residents Cecilia Nasmith and Doug Montgomery (who happened to meet years ago while playing Trivial Pursuit).

They say Theories is guaranteed to encourage stimulating conversations, make players look smart in front of their friends, or perhaps just leave them scratching their heads.

“I still find the game funny,” Mr. Montgomery says.

It’s a good thing, because he and Mrs. Nasmith, a reporter for the Cobourg Daily Star, spent thousands of hours together working on Theories. Over the past three years they read theories, researched theories, verified theories, wrote theories, edited theories, rewrote theories, polished theories….

“Most people can’t understand how many hours we put into this,” Mr. Montgomery said, noting the duo had help from many friends, the editors of Trivial Pursuit, and the same people who put Balderdash and Pictionary on store shelves.

As a result, now even the most complex theories (new and ancient) can be easily understood. Each multiple-choice question in the game of Theories contains clues so that every player has a shot at getting the correct answer. They’re designed to be smart, fun and funny.”

The extra feature Theories provides is a website that can give more information about the theories and sourcing.

Each card has a reference number on it. Just go to www.theories-itsagame.com and type in that number to find out why, for example, people long ago brushed their teeth with urine. It was to whiten them, says Mrs. Nasmith, adding, “I wouldn’t recommend it.”

But by no means were the late nights and long hours either strenuous or boring.

“The work was fun,” Mr. Montgomery says.

“We laughed all the time.”

Because it doesn’t involve a board, just eight tokens, Mrs. Nasmith says Theories is a great party game where friends can just sit back and relax while they take a weird and wacky stroll through history with some of the great and eccentric thinkers (from Nostradamus to Forrest Gump’s mama).

The game is now available at Our House in Alderville and, in time for the Christmas season, Theories will be launched Nov. 5 at Coles in Cobourg’s Northumberland Mall, between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Negotiations are underway to have the game licensed and sold in Europe and Australia.

Mr. Montgomery says it’s his goal to have Theories licensed by good game companies in many different countries, and just to see people having fun with it.

Mrs. Nasmith says her hope is to break even with the game and possibly have some return for their shareholders.

“They’ve been very supportive,” she said.

Theories is recommended for players ages 14 and up because, as Mrs. Nasmith points out, “Some of the questions are a little risque.”

The Northumberland News, November 4, 2005

New game puts theory knowledge to the test

By Jeanne Beneteau

NORTHUMBERLAND - The 'seven-year itch,' a decline in marriage quality around the eight-year mark and 'blondes have more fun,' are just a couple of common, accepted-at-face-value theories that can pop up in the course of everyday conversation. A new game designed by two Northumberland residents explores the origins of these sometimes weird, wacky and scientific gems.

Tomorrow, Nov. 5, Doug Montgomery, a retired human resources trainer from Colborne and Cecilia Nasmith, an area writer, unveil their brainchild, 'Theories,' at Coles The Book People in Cobourg's Northumberland Mall between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. The game includes 300 theory-themed questions and answers on Trivial Pursuit-sized game cards. There is no playing board; rather, the game is designed for play while sitting around the family room with friends or family. For every correct answer, a player wins a credit and eight credits translate into a degree from 'Theories' University. The game's content and questions are geared to a 14-and-up audience, says Mr, Montgomery.

'Theories' has been five years in the making although the initial idea for the game took root back in 1990, he explains. In his former life as a human resources trainer, he often explored leadership-style theories with training participants. One in particular, a motivational theory based on conditioning, Pavlov's dog theory about repeatedly offering rewards to promote desired behaviour, always lead to interesting conversations among training participants.

"While my interest started with theories that applied to teaching, I realized there are billions of theories out there... theories are all around us," he notes. "And since my family has always played and enjoyed games, I decided to run with the idea of a fun, multiple-choice game with theories at its core."

At that point, he combed libraries, "computers were not commonly used for research in the early 90s," and amassed reams of information. But other business ventures drew him away from the job and when he decided to get back at it in 1991, Mr. Montgomery quickly realized the task was too big for one person to handle. After playing Trivial Pursuit with Ms. Nasmith, "and losing miserably," he asked her to join the venture.

"We have put in at least 3,000 hours into the writing and editing of 'Theories' questions," he explains. "Each multiple-choice question contains clues so a player has a shot at getting the correct answer. We've taken the most complex theories and made them understandable as well as funny."

'Theories' boasts an added bonus; although players may find some of the correct answers surprising and even unbelievable, the game offers a website, www.theories-itsagame.com that provides more in-depth information on every theory. Each card has a three digit reference number that links players up with interesting background information on every theory in the game, he adds.

So what's the origin of the 'seven-year itch' theory? Mr. Montgomery explains Dr. L.A. Kurdek, a Wright State University department of developmental psychology professor, noted a decline in the quality of many marriages around the eighth year in his study called 'The Nature and Predictors of the Trajectory of Change in Marital Quality for Husband and Wife Over the First Ten Years of Marriage.' This phenomenon has acquired the pop-culture name of the 'seven-year itch'. And although the theory, 'blondes have more fun,' has four possible answers - Clairol, Blondie, Marilyn Munroe or Rod Stewart - the winner is Clairol. The theory sprung to life in the 1950s, thanks to a very savvy female advertising executive at the Clairol company, he explains.

"Back in the 1950s, only 'loose' women of questionable character coloured their hair," says Mr. Montgomery. "Thanks to the cleverly designed Clairol ad using an average 1950s housewife and mother, hair dying soon became an acceptable practice for everyday women."

The game sells for $29.99 plus tax and is available at 'Our House' in Colborne and the Alderville First Nations Craft and Convenience Store as well as Coles in Northumberland Mall. In addition, there will soon be a link on the game website, www.theories-itsagame.com which will allow people to purchase the game on-line. For additional information, contact Mr. Montgomery at 905-355-2773 or Ms. Nasmith at cecile_nasmith@yahoo.com.