Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniel Cono.
Daniel, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
When I lived in North Park with friends, about seven years ago, they would always have other friends come over to play card games on a frequent basis. Now I wasn’t really ever much of a game player, whether video games or table top games, but I’ve always had a keen interest in watching others play and trying to understand their motivations for wanting to play certain games & and how they choose to play them. So after a long hard day of cleaning pools, throughout San Diego County, I would often come home with a cheap bottle of red wine, go shower, and prepare for the raucous fun of heated competition with simple card games among friends. It wasn’t until after about a year of engaging with these card games, plus watching all the reactions to and by others during game play, I drunkenly made a bold claim to my friends “that I could design a better card game than any game they’ve brought around!” – which was answered with a chorus of obnoxious mocking laughter… Three months later, I ended up having to serve a month of house arrest (DUI charges, unfortunately) and with that I had a lot of free time to consider how I could make good on my prior inebriated claim of being able to create a better card game… Cut to the chase: During that time I was a self-taught, starving, graphic artist trying to find my niche with design work on the side. I was freelance designing art and trying to make a name/brand for myself which was going nowhere fast, at least fast enough at that time.
When I ended up under house arrest, I started watching “Inside the American Mob” on TV and began a refresher course of what I already knew about the Mafia – then it clicked – I was going to make a gangster-styled card game, so that players wouldn’t have to feel bad when they were being ruthless in trying to win! I began studying card game concepts and to see what would work best with my theme and eventually settled on a format that is essentially like a mix of the board game Monopoly and the original Grand Theft Auto video game series all smashed into a custom deck of 150 poker-sized cards… My Sicilian father, is the one who came up with the name of the game, when he finally would allow me to teach him and the rest of my family, to learn to play the game. Upon experiencing how competitive the game play is, he plainly stated: “it’s Just Business” and the name stuck after that. So over the years, the process of getting JustBusiness to market has been quite a journey: From learning how not to attempt a crowdfunding campaign, to what it’s like dealing with companies licensing your product, to getting anyone interested to even play the game, to losing bad relationships and gaining great ones, to getting financial backers to start independently manufacturing the game and begin selling on Amazon, as well as so much more. It’s all been for the reactions of those who learn the game, love it, and then become addicted to the ruthless game play. This game isn’t for everyone, but for those who experience it and become infatuated are the reason I’ve been putting my all into getting this game into a wider audience’s reach…
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There were many struggles in the beginning and throughout the process of developing my game and even currently with the all the potential ways it can be marketed to a wider audience, though I will say I am proud that it has been a rocky road with many learning curves experienced, rather than smooth sailing with no knowledge gained. The way I see it has been very similar to many emerging artists knowing their craft and doing what can be done to build an audience partial to their creations…though having someone listen to a song or look at a piece of art to me seems way more simple than getting people to sit down and learn a new card game that they haven’t experienced before. Many of those who love the game today were forced to sit down and play to eradicate their doubts. I have redesigned rule sheets, the playing cards’ design format, the box design and much more in order to get the game into the state that it is in now.
Giving the game the proper rules and information, plus how it is presented, on all those game attributes has been a long series of what has been the game’s evolution. I learned a lot from being signed with two different publishers, at different times before (R&R Games and Bicycle Card Games), and what caused those publishers to go from being ecstatic about the game to getting cold feet due to different reasons on how to sell the game. All in all, I have appreciated every challenge that has faced the publication of JustBusiness, and it has made the game smoother to learn and play…which is the whole reason why I’ve worked tirelessly: to give people a game they can truly enjoy and share with their families, friends, & communities.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am an independent graphic artist. I do custom design work for myself and for others, when requested. Now, due to the past half a decade, I have found that I specialize in card games, though I only have my one game: “Just Business” currently fully developed and for sale. It is my most proud accomplishment. Much like other artists, musicians, etc., I love that I have created something that can be experienced by others and can shared among family and friends, as well as other social groups. What sets my card game apart from others, is the very blatant principle of not taking things in the game to harshly, because it’s “Just Business”. Luck and strategy both play very strongly in the game play, and it’s up to each player to decide how/when they play the cards they receive. It’s an adult game, due to the potential stratagems one can employ based on the cards they receive, but it’s not like a dirty party game one wouldn’t want younger teens to be playing. The game is based on the Mafia’s golden years in America where they ran so many different illicit businesses and legal business fronts, a.k.a. “rackets” and allows each player to work whatever angles they can in order to win.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I’ve come to find out that sometimes “bad luck” ends up being “good luck”. There are paths I tried to take my game down that didn’t end up how I wanted it to at those times, though I am grateful that things ended up how they are now. Patience has been my greatest attribute I’ve been forced to adhere to and develop, which I believe has led, and continues to lead to, more good luck.
Contact Info:
- Email: dan@justbusinesscardgame.com
- Website: justbusinesscardgame.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justbusiness.cardgame/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/justbiz.cg
- Youtube: http://justbusinesscardgame.com/youtube/
- Other: https://www.amazon.com/Just-Business-Card-Game/
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