Meet Rob Angel – Creator Of The Best-Selling Board Game Pictionary

Podcast Host: Mark Sephton

Podcast Guest: Rob Angel

Listen to the full interview on Spotify!

In 1985, ROB ANGEL was a 26-year-old waiter from Seattle. Using a few simple tools, a Webster's paperback dictionary, a No.2 pencil, and a yellow legal pad, he created the phenomenally successful and iconic board game Pictionary®. With no manual to turn to, he made his own rules by relying on his intuition, hard work, and an unwavering entrepreneurial spirit to build Pictionary into a global powerhouse. Putting together the first 1000 games by hand in his tiny apartment, Angel mastered all the needed business skills including sales, marketing and distribution. For the next 17 years, Rob shepherded Pictionary to 38,000,000 Pictionary games sold worldwide in over 60 countries representing over $1Billion in sales.

Rob’s present and continuing journey is one of spiritual and business exploration and he continues to stay open to whatever adventure and plan the universe has in store for him next.

Tell us the story behind Pictionary?

While waiting table’s I came up with the idea for creating the International best-selling board game, Pictionary. When I played with my roommates we had so much fun. But It wasn't just a game, it was a positive emotional experience. I wanted to share that feeling with the world. I had no plan or dream. I also didn't overthink it, I just got started and put the first 1000 games together, by hand, in my tiny apartment.

There was no manual on how to produce, sell and market a game so my partners and I made our own. We used our intuition to move us forward. Challenges were constant but with focus, determination and holding to our shared vision we succeeded in not only creating a beloved game but a branding company and made Pictionary the biggest selling game in the world, spanning 60 countries and selling 38 million games until we sold it to Mattel in 2001.

Today I love speaking to entrepreneurs, college students, and businesses, sharing the many lessons I learned in business and life. I know through my message of being OPEN to grabbing all that life puts in front of you, you can find your passion, your dream and your most successful life.

I was also a waiter many moons ago, what do you feel the industry taught you about service and customer experience?

When you’re waiting tables, it's about getting the food out to your customers at an efficient time, you have to give people what they want and in a timely manner. So I know the essence of meeting the need and serving the marketplace in order to create that customer experience.

You talk about Pictionary being a positive emotional experience do you feel this came from your previous work history?

It came from the game, it was something we did as an activity with my buddies, we bottled that energy, we scaled that energy, everything is exciting, you remember the feeling, I really thought if we can bottle this feeling and package it in a way that resonated with others, then I knew we were onto something.

I love that you talk about the power of not overthinking. Why do you feel so many people overthink and how can you help those that do?

Stop it, hows that for brilliance, overthinking personally is a killer, I lose my creativity, I lose the ability for things to come to me. There is so much knowledge, you can overanalyze so much that it becomes debilitating, I try not to encourage the outside input, it blocks my creativity, so I turn my electronics off and get out in nature. You have to get outside of your own head.

In business what do you feel is most important, being logical or following your intuition?

Oh, it's Intuition without question. Period. We all have intuition, when you get too many facts it blocks your creativity,. It’s in our gut and in our heart, it then overrides logic, if you feel it's right go for it, that's what I did with Pictionary, there was no internet, it just felt right. 70% of our choices with Pictionary were purely based on intuition because there was no other evidence to support the decisions we were making at the time.

You sold Pictionary in 2001 to Mattel, do you regret that decision?

No, it had run its course, I spent 20 years in Pictionary, I ran with it for a long time, I had a different lifestyle and different needs, I had reached a point where I was tired and the timing was right. My intuition said “ get the hell out “ It was a balanced decision.

I asked Brian, Founder of Uggs, this question, but I think it’s an important question to ask you too. What is it like to sell something which has so many personal emotions associated with it?

It's tough, it's really tough, I was lost a little bit if I am honest with you, to not have that physical tie that was grounding me, so after I sold Pictionary I felt rudderless, took me a while to find my footing again. Everyone kept putting me in a box saying, “ Hey Rob you’ve got to launch another game “ I responded by taking some time out and I found myself gravitated to mentoring and traveling, it nourished my soul, I didn’t feel the need to do what other people were telling me, but at first it was hard.

I know you speak a lot, what do you love about speaking and what do you feel makes a great speaker?

A great speaker is authentic, really just themselves, you have to be so focused on how the audience will feel and is feeling during your talk. You have to think about the customer and the audience first, they will remember how you made them feel.

You’ve not so long ago written the book “ Game Changer “ What is the essence of the book and what’s next for you?.

The book is my journey, the hardships, the mental struggles I had and me creating Pictionary from inside my apartment to getting it out into the stores. My book “ Game Changer “ I would love to turn into a movie.

Who would you most like to meet living or dead and why?

Marcus Aurelius In the movie gladiator was the king, he had a philosophy, he said the facts don’t change, it's how you react to them which really matters. I had to figure out how the production of Pictionary would really work.

It’s all about how you think, how you see things and how you react.

Listen to the full interview with Rob here!