Alessandro Montingelli reveals the best way to pitch to him… And what AMIGO looks for in ideas

I’m not sure why we’ve not featured you in Mojo Nation interview before, Alessandro. I can only imagine it’s down to Billy’s incompetence…
Ha! No, Billy is amazing!

Yes, well… People keep telling me that. You’re seeing a side of him that’s well hidden from me. For those that don’t know you, what is your name? And what’s your role at AMIGO?
My name is Alessandro Montingelli. I’m a game developer here at AMIGO – and have been now for a little over two years.

Perfect! And what kind of games do you do at AMIGO?
At AMIGO, our DNA is about short, easy-to-learn card games – that’s our specialty. We focus on compact games that come in small boxes, are easy to take with you, simple to understand and grateful for families. Some notable titles of ours: Take 5, No Thanks, Halli Galli, Saboteur, Wizard… All those are classics. And every year, aim to create new classics here in our offices!

But all simple, quick and easy-to-learn dice and card games… In that respect, how do you know when something is a good card game or a good dice game?
There’s a lot on the market in this category already of course, so the way I tend to think of it is this… We’re specifically looking for something with an innovative twist; something I’ve not seen before, or maybe not seen in that form…

I’m not necessarily talking about the craziest idea ever – just a little out of the ordinary. Most importantly, a game should encourage interaction and create fun moments between people. If that’s a given, I think you already have the basis for a great game. If it’s something in which everyone just focuses on themselves, that’s not an AMIGO game.

You want a good deal of interaction – got it. Now, most years when I see you, you’re in a lovely big room at the end of the corridor at the Mojo Nation Pitch…
Yes. It’s the best room, I think! Do we get that through favouritism? Or because it’s alphabetical?

Um… Well, put it this way: if Aardvark Games ever sign up, you’re going to see some changes! In any case, I’ve marched many an inventor in to see you… When that happens, is there a particular structure you like inventors to follow when they pitch?
Mmm. Interesting question. I haven’t thought of a specific way I like to be pitched to. However, I can obviously tell the difference between someone who pitches in a structured, logical way and knows what they’re talking about and people that come in and kind of make it up on the spot. There’s normally a huge difference between a game designer that presents their own baby that they’ve worked on for the past five years and, for example, an agent that has a bag full of games that are not theirs…

Oh?
There are those – not necessarily at Mojo – that just read through the rules once, then take it out, and they’re like, “Oh, so there’s this game. It does things and – let me see… It also has a name.” Ha!

Ha! I sincerely hope that’s NOT at Mojo! But I take your point…
Other times, people come in and ask, “Do you do party games?” or “Do you do war games?” After I say no, they’re like, “oh, damn!” You know? And then it’s a very short meeting. So sometimes it just doesn’t match, but – to go back to the question – I don’t think there’s a right way to pitch as such…

No, but people should do their research…
Right. And then it can be anything… As long as the pitch is structured and understandable and short – because at your event, we only have 20 minutes. So don’t go all over the place! Get to what’s great about your game, and then we have a good pitch.

Perfect. And do you like a sizzle video? Or would you rather see games presented live?
Well… I’m a huge, huge fan of sizzles – but not in person! Because what sometimes happens is that someone walks in, flips an iPad open, clicks through four videos – and then that was the meeting! On the one hand, that might be more efficient than some other people, but – on the other hand – we could’ve done that with an email! Why fly all the way to the Mojo Pitch to sit in this beautiful, amazing room, sit on amazing chairs to meet amazing people just to look at an iPad?

I hear you! Why meet in person if your pitch is impersonal?
That’s a great way to put it! Yes, absolutely. So yes, I do think there’s a little socialisation and emotion that you can’t transmit through a sizzle. You might also miss something in a sizzle, just in the moment… Whereas – with a personal pitch – you have the possibility, since we only make short games, to quickly play one or two rounds! Give us a feeling for it; touch the material, have a look at it in a proper way! A sizzle just doesn’t let you do that.

It’s a little self selecting with you as well, I guess… If people have an idea that’s so complicated that they HAVE to pitch it by sizzle, they shouldn’t really be in your room pitching it.
Exactly. With all that said, I do like a sizzle! It has its place… I much prefer a sizzle to 36 pages of rules with no pictures. So maybe once people have pitched to me in person and made a connection and shown their games, and hopefully played a couple of rounds, it’s great to follow-up with a sizzle.

I agree with absolutely everything you’ve just said! Before we move on, is there anything else we need to know about pitching to you?
Only that – if you’re new to it, I do think it helps to practice a little at home. But no…. Just take advantage of the fact that you’re there, you’re at an event, and you have the opportunity to talk to a publisher. Don’t waste it! I do worry when some new inventors show up – maybe with a great game – but they sell it so badly, or they don’t sell it at all. That’s a shame; it’s really losing out on an opportunity. I think that’s valuable feedback to give to people.

And speaking of feedback, Alessandro, do you ever say, “I’d like to see this again, but maybe try this or that…”
Oh, absolutely. Of course, all this is from an AMIGO perspective. But I feel like 80% of my meetings are like that… The core idea is interesting, but it’s often buried behind 75,000 extra rules, parts or materials that overcomplicate it. You know, they include extravagant illustrations on the cards, or a dice tower made out of diamonds! All nice, but not what I’m looking for. I’m looking for that innovative core idea. Everything else comes in game development.

Just the core concept for you!
Right. After I give feedback, people very often get back to me with – in my personal view – a better version of the game. We then go on to playtest. So it helps when designers listen to feedback to improve their game. But as I say, all this is from an AMIGO perspective. You take it to another room down the corridor, or to another event, and maybe it fits that publisher better. So maybe don’t just try to squeeze your game inside the AMIGO box if it really doesn’t fit.

Fantastically useful, thank you. I would always urge people to read the wish lists but I do know some inventors want to try their luck! How did you come to be in the industry, Alessandro?
That’s a good question. I don’t know, to be honest, how I ended up here…

Erm… Okay. What’s caused that? Head injury? Substance abuse?
Ha! No… But it was, at the same time, a gradual process and a very spontaneous decision.

This is like a Dickens novel…
As a kid, I always liked to play board games. Monopoly, UNO and classics like that have always been part of my life… But even back then I sometimes started making the games better myself. I’d just sit in my room and redesign the Monopoly board in a certain way, say, or redesign some things to make them work better, you know? It was always, “Let’s fix this!” and “Let’s adjust that!”

Ha! Not at all precocious! Ha!
Ha! So I was like that as a child… Later, I studied product and industrial design for my bachelor’s. That helped me because I’ve always been creative; that just fed my ability to invent things. As a product designer, you’re pretty much an inventor… So at one time I was designing yachts and cars and stuff like that. But then, as you probably know, you can try to go towards a certain direction in your courses instead of doing everything.

You can specialise?
You can specialise. So I took a few courses; I did one with a little bit of video game design in it… There was also a bit of board game design! So I got interested in all that. When I did my Master’s – which was during COVID, unfortunately – it was in Innovation Design Management. But that was more about how companies are structured from the inside and how that can be improved…

Strewth! Sounds like you had a narrow escape!
Ha! Yes! I was on a path to becoming a corporate – uh, what’s the word? When you work for McKinsey and Accenture, you become a… A…

Drone?
…consultant!

Oh! Ha! Well… Tom-are-toe, tom-a-toe!
Ha! Drone! No, a consultant. That’s what I meant! Ha! I even had a job lined up. But then I saw a job advertised at Ravensburger! That was for a year to ‘get into the game industry’; sort of like an internship. And I thought it sounded amazing because I’d known Ravensburger my whole life. It’d been part of my childhood…

So I just went for it, got it and I loved it. And I suddenly started playing more and more board games. Fortunately, I tend to understand games very quickly. I understand the workings behind them and how you can combine mechanics to make good board games better. After Ravensburger, I decided to stay in the industry and came to AMIGO.

And yet you convey a sense of collectedness that suggests you’ve been at AMIGO forever! Alessandro, I’m sad to say we need to start wrapping it up! This has flown by, but what’s the most interesting object in your office or on your desk?
The most interesting object? Oh, I think it’s a Nerf gun!

Ah! Naturellement…
We all sit in our small, open office space here. We all like each other, we all talk to each other – but someone inevitably says something stupid at some point. When that happens… Well. You’ve got to shoot that person. Over the years, we have found it’s better to do it with a Nerf gun.

Ha!
So yes, if you say something, stupid, you get four or five shots from your colleagues.

Wow. Don’t suggest that to anyone else at Mojo… I’ll be black and blue all over! Alrighty… Thanks for making time for this, Allessandro – really interesting and great fun.

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