South Amboy co. hopes to score with Password

'The Price Is Right." "The Newlywed Game." "Family Feud." What do these game shows all have in common? One, they're classics, and two, they have been created into popular board games by a business located right in South Amboy.

Endless Games, a boutique game company led by Mike Gasser, Brian Turtle and Kevin McNulty, is located at 131 N. Broadway. And though its corporate office staff numbers about a half dozen, Endless Games goes head to head with all the major board game manufacturers. The company's catalog includes preschool games, card games, DVD games and even inspirational games.

"They do have great games," said Rosanne Zappoli, manager of Toymasters, a specialty toy store in Red Bank. "I sell them as well as I sell Hasbro or Matel."

And now Endless Games has a new board game to sell: Million Dollar Password. The game is making its debut alongside the start of the second season of the eponymous television game show on CBS. The TV version, which is hosted by Regis Philbin, has featured guest stars such as Aisha Tyler and William Shatner. "Million Dollar Password" actually got its start in the 1960s, when it was known simply as "Password." And now a new generation of viewers, and players, are embracing it.

"People know it; they know how to play it," McNulty said, adding that the game's original format hasn't changed: Players on twoman teams give each other one-word clues in the hope their teammate will guess the hidden "password." The more words guessed, the bigger the payoff.

"Game show games really do translate well to a board game format," McNulty said. And he hopes the new television show will help drive demand. "We have a great lead-in. 'Password' is an industry icon. It would be very tough to fail with this one."

Though McNulty and his partners have been in the gaming business for decades, Endless Games only launched in 1996, when the trio partnered on The Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon game. And while the company, which has been in its South Amboy location for about two years, has had remarkable success with its releases, like many other businesses it is attempting to gain as much market share as possible in a troubled economy.

"We're fighting for our lives just like everyone else out there today," McNulty said.

But the current economy might actually work in the company's favor, he added. That's because board games traditionally carry a lower price point than their primary competition: video games. "Board games are an especially good purchase in times like these," he said. Million Dollar Password retails for about $24.99, and is currently being shipped to retail outlets like Target and Wal-Mart. Local toy stores should have it in the coming months, Zappoli said, as should Toys "R" Us. A spokesman there said the popular toy store chain does not carry the game at the moment, but has plans to do so "early next year."

And that's good news for McNulty, and Million Dollar Password.

"Any game counter would be amiss without this," McNulty said.

To learn more about Endless Games, visit www.endlessgames.com.