US Government Regulations and Children's Games |

Timothy Yordy

(substandardtim)

United States
Pennsylvania

I came to a very a disappointing realization today.

The children's game that I have been working on will likely never see the light of day thanks to government regulations that require products made for children under the age of 12 to be independently tested to ensure safety. This apparently costs thousands of dollars.

So self-publishing is out and any small publisher is also likely out. Leaving a very very narrow path to market which would have to go through the big publishers.

I am at a point where I have to face the realization that continued development will likely be a waste of time and I should focus on my other designs. I may explore the option of just making it a print and play game but people would need a lot of pieces in addition to the printed materials.

So...lesson learned: Don't try and develop games for kids unless you have a clear path to publication. It isn't a total loss, my kids enjoy it and that is probably the most important thing.

Last edited Sun Oct 27, 2013 3:17 am (Total Number of Edits: 1)
Posted Sun Oct 27, 2013 3:16 am
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Nicholas Vitek

(Nich)

United States
Houston
Texas

There are lots of exceptions. A recent release dealt with small companies.

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Timothy Yordy

(substandardtim)

United States
Pennsylvania

Nich wrote:

There are lots of exceptions. A recent release dealt with small companies.

Do you have a link to that? I was reading directly from the CPSIA FAQ website but if there are loopholes I would love to see them.

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Andrew Walters

(andreww)

United States
Hercules
California

CPSIA was a huge mistake. The gain in safety was tiny. It's a huge barrier to small operations but not to large companies. Handmade toys will go the way of the dodo, and everything from kids will have to come from big box stores. Yay.

Libraries across the country closed their children's sections until they got a waiver. The alternative was destroying all the books for which they couldn't either get the publisher's confirmation that the books were in compliance or test the books themselves, which essentially meant destroying all the books.

I, too, would love verifiable info on loopholes. In the meantime, you have to label your game "13 & Up" and let people figure out that it's really for six year olds.

I've heard some Chinese manufacturers will take care of the testing and certification for you along with the manufacturing, for an additional fee. I don't know how much that fee might be, but it's not going to be a hundred bucks.

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mike

(80sgamer)

United States
columbus
Ohio

Have you thought about submitting to a publisher who specializes in kids games?

http://www.playroomentertainment.com/Contact.html

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