Page 24 - AVN Intimate Fall 2015

COVER STORY
Games People Play Ball & Chain is ready to party at ANE
Expo—slated for January 20-22,
Already, space at the AVN Novelty
2016, at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
in Las Vegas—is filling up. Familiar
companies and brands are returning to the
high-profile pleasure products expo, while
new faces are making sure they don’t miss
out on the biggest event of the year.
First-time exhibitor Ball & Chain is ready
to wow the crowds with its large catalog of
items, ranging from card games to foreplay
dice to adult-themed board games.
Founded in 2003 in Auburn, Washington,
Ball & Chain is the brainchild of Dawn
Goodman, who already had some experience
in the adult industry under her belt when
she created the new company.
“It had always been a dream to own and
operate a business but I didn’t act on it until
after I was let go from my job as a lingerie
store manager and corporate trainer,” said
Goodman. “Ball & Chain introduced its
first eight products at the 2003 ILS show.
The show served as a springboard as I
landed several large distributors, including
Eldorado Trading Company. Having my own
business and being able to work from home
is a dream come true. With each passing
year, the offerings expand. At present, I
manufacture close to 100 products. Ball &
Chain remains home based but I maintain a
large warehouse a few miles away.”
Goodman said she has always been
drawn to games, and wanted to provide
more options for retailers looking to fill
their shelves with entertaining and different
adult gifts. In the late 1980s, she worked for
a Washington-based adult retail chain and
noticed at the time there were relatively few
games customers could choose from.
A great way to add on sales
would be to make one display
that has several items that
can be purchased together
to create the ultimate eve-
ning of romance.
—Dawn Goodman, BallAndChainFun.com
“I found myself thinking about the
different kinds of games I would make if I
were to design them,” she said. “As it turns
out, years later I would go on to create the
very games I preconceived years earlier.”
Today, Ball & Chain offers a variety of
games in various categories: bachelorette
and girls’ night out games and novelties,
foreplay games, and also an edibles category.
“Inspiration can come to me any time
of day or night—in a dream or just all of a
sudden thinking of a unique idea for a game
that no one else has done before—like with
Foreplay Football and Bedroom Baseball
board games. Some games were inspired
from popular mainstream games, like my
Foreplay in a Row, and others just popped
into my head,” Goodman said.
Most of her games are geared toward
women, especially those who are celebrating
special nights out or bachelorette parties, but
there are plenty aimed at helping couples
spice things up and strengthen intimacy. In
most cases, the text for the couples games
are gender-neutral, she said, so they can be
played and enjoyed by all types of couples.
“Whether you’re getting to know someone
new more intimately, setting the mood for
a special occasion, or trying to spice up or rediscover
each other after being in a long-term relationship,
romance games provide the perfect opportunity to
make that all possible in a fun, romantic, and relaxed
atmosphere,” she said.
Goodman will meet with retailers at ANE, and
help show them how games won’t compete with their
existing stock, but complement them.
“Most retail stores have designated separate sections
for romance games, lingerie, toys, and edible items.
However, a great way to add on sales would be to
make one display that has several items that can be
purchased together to create the ultimate evening
of romance, such as a foreplay game, sex toy, edible,
candle, etc.,” she said. “Most activity cards contained
within the foreplay games recommend the use of other
intimate products such as edibles, blindfolds and
arousing objects which in turn allows the sales staff
to suggest and add on many other products for the
consumer to purchase during their store visit. You see,
games not only sell ... they sell additional items, too.”
Retail pricing for items runs between $5.99 and
$14.99. For a complete list, visit BallAndChainFun.com.
—Sherri L. Shaulis
24 | INTIMATE | FALL ‘15