KickShot Soccer Board Game Developed from Epiphany into Reality

1/28/2013

Moscow-Based Sports Cards and Games company launches new product designed to develop communication skills, enhance knowledge of game of soccer   

   BOISE, Idaho—Monday, January 28, 2013—What started out as an epiphany late one night in the spring of 2012 now has turned into a commercially viable entry product.  A product of Sports Cards and Games – a Moscow, Idaho based company founded by Aziz Makhani, a certified soccer referee and entrepreneur – KickShot is designed to educate, engage and entertain soccer players and students, board game enthusiasts, and families about the nuances of soccer.  KickShot also will benefit soccer clubs, schools, scout groups and youth non-profits by contributing 25 percent of its proceeds to the organizations for each game they sell through their fundraising drives.   

Makhani’s creation of KickShot was motivated by the deep desire to instill the interpersonal communication skills in children that commonly result from playing board games versus games played in the wired world.  He also sought to improve common but highly technical soccer skills in young players, including the bicycle kick, throw-in and slide tackle.  

KickShot is now being evaluated by a few selected retailers in the local test market; several people also were able to review the game during its development phases over the past nine months.  Sales representatives have been set up in the Pacific Northwest and southwest Texas regions as well.  First-edition production games, priced at $24, will deliver this Spring in time for the soccer club season.  Makhani is also making presentations at local high schools and libraries to share with the community the process of developing a creative product and bringing it to market. 

"The goal of KickShot and subsequent products is to motivate and engage young people while they are having fun,” said Makhani.  The startup is working on expansion cards of different characters, including dinosaurs, robots and people, as well as creating a KickShot HattrickTM product line.  The first of several Hattrick products consists of three items in one: a motivational poster, a jigsaw puzzle and a memory game, all featuring the KickShot characters.   

Also on the horizon are foreign language versions of the board game, since soccer – known outside the United States as football – is the world’s most popular sport.  The manufacturer of KickShot, Kuo Kau Paper Products of Taipei showcased the game at the Hong Kong Toys and Games Fair on January 7-10, with the objective of soliciting new business internationally.    

Additionally, KickShot will debut at Paperworld 2013 in Frankfurt on January 26-29, Toy Fair 2013 in Nuremberg on January 30-February 4 and ICE Totally Gaming in London on February 5-7.   

For more information on KickShot, visit the company’s website or Facebook page.   

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Contact:  Aziz Makhani
KickShot
509.432.1650
email 

Contact: Megan Ronk
Idaho Commerce
208.334.2470
email

News tag(s): Business Communities Startup Moscow Boardgame Soccer