Around four years ago, then-radio announcer Brad Riter decided to take a chance.
As a man with over 20 years of experience in Buffalo sports radio, Riter decided to make a game that people from his hometown in upstate New York would enjoy. The whole point behind the game was to put something together that “would bring back nostalgia” for his hometown, he said. This game, which became “You Gotta Know Buffalo Sports,” involved hundreds of trivia questions about Buffalo sports and was first released for sale in 2014.
While designing his first game, Riter was cautiously optimistic that his company would grow to expand into further cities.
“I remember while I was working on the first game that I could envision a world in which I was in charge of a staff of writers that could crank out games for people in their own communities,” Riter said. “I had a hunch this would become my life, but you had to have some success before expanding to more markets.”
After his first game was successful, Riter’s newly founded company, “You Gotta Know Games,” began to expand its reach. Since then, the company has released 21 additional trivia games, each focusing on a unique city — including South Bend.
Early on, expansion was primarily focused on cities with multiple professional sports teams, such as Philadelphia, New York City and Pittsburgh. However, Riter said, as time progressed, the company decided to expand into cities with major college sports teams.
“Our first foray into college sports was ‘You Gotta Know Columbus,’” he said. “It was our first attempt to reach outside of a pro city. We were trying to connect with the Ohio State Buckeyes fans. We knew it was going to be a challenge and that it was going to be different. I’m a Buckeyes fan, so it made sense that it would be the first market we would do.”
After the release of the trivia game targeting Columbus, Riter decided to expand his company’s markets to include what he saw as the two most feasible audiences — Michigan fans and Notre Dame fans, noting that they were both incredibly passionate fanbases. In particular, Riter described Notre Dame’s national influence as a reason to release “You Gotta Know South Bend Sports.”
“There’s not a city in America where you can’t find a core of Notre Dame fans,” Riter said. “There’s a sort of ‘America’s Team’ sense around Notre Dame.”
“You Gotta Know South Bend Sports” is available through the company’s website and is available on Amazon Prime for $19.95. Riter noted those who play the game should not feel limited by the rules included on the box, as the intention of the game is to provide fun trivia.
“We have a set of rules on the back of the box,” Riter said. “The rules on the back state that you race to 21 — there’s no dice, no board, nothing like that, there’s only the information that’s in the box. People buy the game, don’t read the rules, and start digging into it as if it is a book. Make your own rules — have fun. Ask your questions to your friends. It’s a conversation starter, really. Delve into it, do what you want and bring up what’s already on your hearts and minds. It’s about nostalgia and camaraderie that comes along with being a fan.”
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