We had the good fortune of connecting with Brad Boothe and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brad, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
When I started creating Fill in the Game, I didn’t have a plan for turning it into a business. It all started over 10 years ago while playing party games with my wife and our friends. We really enjoy party games, but found that they usually got repetitive after playing a few times. I had the idea to create a party game that had blanks in it so the challenges could be different every time you play. The initial design included a modular double-sided board, the goal to claim spaces which would result in other players having to perform a challenge if they landed on it, and cards that you could use to your advantage. It was way too complicated for the party game crowd! The challenges were fun, but all the other elements made it grueling at times. A friend of ours was part of a company, Foolish Media LLC, that had already made their own game and they initially gave me some tips on whittling it down to a more playable game. At the time, I didn’t have the expertise needed to make an end product, so I licensed it to Foolish Media LLC with the goal of getting it crowdfunded. We worked together to continue playtesting, refining the gameplay down to the core concept, and ending with a sellable game. Crowdfunding was successful, but it sold fewer copies than I was hoping, and then COVID happened. Since then, the licensing agreement has ended and I’ve released a new edition that I’ve got for sale on my website. I also travel for my main job, so I take copies with me in my carry-on to sell to game stores around the nation. It’s been slow going, but in the past year I’ve sold over 600 copies of the current edition and it’s in game stores in 15 states and counting!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m a US Navy Submarine Veteran and for over 11 years I’ve owned my own business as a Nuclear Quality Assurance Lead Auditor. Tabletop Game Designer might seem like quite the departure from that, but it’s all played a part in making Fill in the Game. My Submarine background gave me the ability to be a self-starter, and to recognize the importance of escapism and having a great time with friends. As a Lead Auditor, I have to be very detail oriented which was vital in the refinement of Fill in the Game. And as a business owner it makes it that much easier to set up an additional business, granted selling product is very different from consulting. It’s also been incredibly beneficial that almost 100% of my work involves travel. Visiting a few games stores once I’m off the clock has allowed me to get Fill in the Game into stores all over the US.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’m a University of Arizona graduate, but I currently live in Atlanta. For any of our friends or family visiting, a trip wouldn’t be complete without at least a healthy (or unhealthy) portion of: improv at Dad’s Garage, church organ karaoke at Sister Louisa’s Church of the Living Room and Ping Pong Emporium, comedy at Star Bar, eating/drinking/shopping in Little 5 Points, petting other people’s dogs at Fetch, pizza from JenChan’s, a walk through Krog Street Tunnel, Comfy Chicken at Home Grown, and walking along the Atlanta Beltline during the busiest part of the day for some excellent people watching.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Fill in the Game would not be the game it is today without all the playtesters that were involved during the entire process! My deepest gratitude goes out to our friends, family, game expo attendees, and especially my wife Candice who ended up playtesting the most of all. Some playtesters helped me realize that it was initially too complicated, some even managed to “break the game”, and they all helped me realize that the core concept of the game was the most important.

Website: https://www.fillinthegame.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fillinthegame/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FillintheGame

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChKByxZHRf5UjQVpBTh_IKw/featured

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@fillinthegame

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutArizona is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.