GUBS sold most of its decks online, first over eBay and then I started using Paypal. But I was also interested in getting it into local stores. By local I mean Lodi, CA (where I grew up) and Santa Cruz, CA (where I was living when GUBS was published.) Stores I approached were wary at first, not certain if their valuable counter space was worth such an unproven product.

I do not envy game store owners; they have a tough plight. They have to make the best use out of every inch in their store to stay alive, because many people who are really into board and card games (like myself) will often just order their games online. Game stores have it tough to compete with those prices, I think, and it makes me sad to think of those magical shops all shutting down because the internet can save people a few dollars.

But it was a glorious day when GUBS was accepted (on consignment) to sit on the shelf in stores I had lingered in through much of my youth. Comic Grapevine is Lodi has nearly legendary status with me, as it was where I bought my first Magic deck, and my first RPG sourcebook for Star Wars 2nd Edition Rules. In every store GUBS has only been on consignment, because I never had official distribution channels. But even on consignment, the decks seemed to fly off the shelf. I was getting calls for more decks all the time right up until they sold out.

There’s nothing risky about these business cards, I just thought it was a cute title.

Early in 2008 I started to put together business cards for GUBS so that I could better market my game. I was preparing to visit trade shows and other events, and it was nice to have something I could pull out and hand to who ever was interested in the card game. Now making a business card can be a tricky thing. Its hard to choose exactly what image suits you the best. The first attempt, while not bad, was too vague. It neglected to show off the stars of he game, the Gubs themselves.

The first Gubs business card.

I had it in my head that if you teased people with an idea but didn’t show them exactly what it was about, that they would be come curious and investigate themselves. The problem is that I think this only works if you have a huge advertising budget. My budget was pretty much zero. So I decided to be more blunt:

Front of the card.

Back of the card.

This card got a lot better attention because it showcased the game, and the back of the card served to show people that the game was a real card game, not a video game.

Did you know that GUBS was almost published in Taiwan?

About 2 years ago I was contacted by a great guy named Byron Roberts from a company called Kanga Games. He expressed interest in publishing a Chinese version of GUBS. To see if there would be an interest, he bought a few decks and tried it out with people in Taiwan. Apparently it was a big hit, even though the cards themselves had not yet been translated. Unfortunately we were not able to get the project to publish Chinese decks in full swing, but that doesn’t mean it might not happen in the future.

In the meantime, they were able to provide me with a version of the rule sheet translated into Chinese (which you can find in the Play section.) I love having the different translations. Its neat to think of GUBS in homes all over the world, especially since it started with such humble beginnings.

Check out Kanga Games if you have a chance. They have a great selection of games from all over the world.

One of my favorite things about working on GUBS all these years has been the collaborations I get to have with my brother and parents. When we were preparing for our first convention, my folks came up with some really creative crafty stuff to decorate our little booth. They picked up a few things from a hobby store and BAM, we’ve got a tiny mushroom city fit for Gub awesomeness.

I have always been really fascinated by the more extravagant aquarium decorations, and so we managed to make use of one of those as well. Add some fake moss and stones, you have yourself a themed GUBS deck holder.