There are now two official Marmite board games: Love It or Hate It and Who Put the Marmite in the Fridge? and we were able to get an interview the creator.
Conducted via email, as Pants On Fire games are in France and I am not, I asked some hard hitting Marmitey questions...
At home, does the Marmite still end up in the Fridge?
No. I have finally got my family trained. However, they've not taken my word for it, it has taken a certain amount of national press coverage to convince them!
How long did the games take to develop, especially the Love it or Hate it game?
Not very long at all. The basic idea for Love It Or Hate It was developed during three days on our stand at London Toy Fair - in between seeing potential customers and suppliers. And the game was refined during a long dog walk shortly afterwards. We very quickly had a prototype made and played, which is more or less the finished product as we see it now.
What was the pressure like having to come up with a second game at short notice?
We didn't really have time to feel the pressure. The basic idea came almost instantly once we remembered what Marmite's slogan was. It's not always like that. Liar Liar, our first game, was ten years in development. Sometimes we have an idea for a theme, sometimes it's a mechanic. And sometimes it's a name that inspires the game - and Love It Or Hate It was exactly that.
Any tips for playing the games?
We love bluffing. And there is plenty of opportunity to bluff in both games. In Who Put The Marmite In The Fridge? you can push forward a certain card that your opponent is about to pick from your hand inferring that this is the Marmite Card. Then your opponent has to decide whether it's a bluff, double bluff or even triple bluff. In Love It Or Hate It, if the spinner lands on 'Unique', you have to come up with three unique items in the given category - say Flavours of crisps. As everyone is trying to think of really obscure flavours you could risk it by going for really obvious ones - and then no-one will match your answers.
Who wins the most at home?
It's never me. I tend to get ganged up against. It's as if everyone wants to beat the inventor.
Both Marmite board games are available from WHSmith, Waterstones, HMV, Amazon and John Lewis (online) and direct from Pants on Fire Pants on Fire Games is an independent games company which prides itself on creating interesting and entertaining board games for all ages. In August 2014, it became the first board game company to secure investment in the BBC Dragons' Den, with a joint offer of £50,000 from Peter Jones and Duncan Bannatyne.
