I once saw a child's bed frame in the sawed-off shape of an Octagon fence and thought that was the point of no return for mixed martial arts merchandising. Now comes news that a San Clemente, Calif., resident named Brett Siciliano has designed a board game based on the sport.
Siciliano, this industry's first and possibly only version of a Parker Brother, has an interesting background: roommates with Kimo Leopoldo, an idea funded via a sold-off Rolex and sibling jewelry, and facing foreclosure if the gamble doesn't pay off.
The game itself? Sounds pretty nondescript: Absent any licensing power, monotone fighters with names like "Mike" populate the game board. Even the name -- Extreme Fight Games -- has that four-alarm ring of unoriginal thinking.
But who knows? I was about to scold Siciliano for having an analog idea in a digital world, until several articles informed me of a steady climb in board game sales over the past few years. (Up 6 percent in 2008, according to one source.) If 2010's edition has a little Nate Quarry scrambling around the board, you'll know Siciliano is doing just fine.