Bringing Families Together: The Story Of Hootenanny Games

Discover how Hootenanny Games is redefining family game night with a Southern twist! Join us as we chat about their journey, values, and creating joy through play

by Esme Addison

As someone who has recently developed a love for board games, I’m thrilled to spotlight Alex and Whitney, the husband-and-wife team behind Hootenanny Games. Their story feels like it was meant for our readers—rooted in family, Southern traditions, and a passion for bringing people together.

I was especially drawn to their journey because they combine their Tennessee-based business with their love of family game nights, a subject we love to cover at Due South Magazine.

Four Ways To Begin A Weekly Family Game Night

Hootenanny Games isn’t just about entertainment, it’s about creating meaningful moments for families, a sentiment that hits home for anyone trying to balance screen-free time with busy schedules. In this interview, Alex and Whitney share how they’ve infused Southern charm, innovative design, and their own family dynamics into their growing board game business.

Whether you’re a seasoned gamer or just looking to start a new family tradition, their story is sure to inspire you.!

Esme: First things first, what were each of your favorite board games as kids?

Whitney:  I had so many! We played a lot of games in our house growing up, but if I had to pick top three, I would say Pretty Pretty Princess, Mall Madness, and Monster Mash.

Alex:  I have to go with the classics – Chess or Rook, both of which my grandfathers taught me.

Frequency Of Family: Seven Tips For Improving Family Relationships

Esme: Alex and Whitney, I know you’re both based in Tennessee, but is that where you’re from? If not, please share a bit about your backgrounds.

Whitney:  I grew up in a small town in Tennessee, and I moved to Nashville for college.

Alex:  I am originally from Birmingham, Alabama, and I had the great fortune to meet Whitney thanks to our time at Vanderbilt!

Esme: Has game playing always been a part of your couples and or family time together?

Alex:  We love game nights in our house.  We have two 2^nd grade boys, and playing games is a great way for us to spend quality time together as a family, even before we started Hootenanny Games.

Esme: I love the southern name of your company and the southernisms found on your website. Why is it important to you both to root your business in southern culture? What do you want game players to take away from your company’s values and image?

Whitney:  Thank you so much.  We really wanted to embrace who we are and where we come from so that could shine through our brand.  Obviously, we love to entertain in the south, and having friends over for games and laughs is such a fun way spend time together.  We hope that when people think of Hootenanny Games they think of memorable times with family and friends.

An Introduction To Cozy Board Games

Esme: Alex, creating board games sounds like a fun career. How did you get into that career?

Alex:  This certainly is not a career path that I could have predicted for myself.  My background is in mechanical engineering.  I got my MBA and worked in a few start-up companies.  I worked for another game publisher focusing on finance and operations. 

A lot of people in this field do not have a linear progression toward the toy and game world.  Ultimately, what draws people in is the idea knowing that if we do our jobs right, people have fun.

Esme: Starting a board game company is a big leap, especially coming from different career backgrounds. Can you share what motivated you both to leave your previous careers and fully dive into the world of board games?

Whitney:  It was certainly a big step for both of us, and for me, coming from a totally different career field, it was a total shift.  We have always wanted to work together, and the timing was right for us to say it’s now or never.  We both realized it was time to stop talking about it and just do it.

Esme: Whitney, I read that during the pandemic you were both working remote and you saw Alex playtesting a game. Did you literally realize how much fun he was having and decide you wanted to change careers? Or how did it happen?

Whitney:  Well, like many of us, the pandemic was a wake up call for me.  I was a partner in a law firm, focusing on product liability litigation, so I represented manufacturers in pretty heavy situations.  Working from home, I got to see the stark contrast of Alex’s job versus mine.  His Zoom calls were full of laughter, and I think it goes without saying that mine were not.  Playtesting games over Zoom? 

It seemed like such a refreshing way to earn a living.  Of course, not everything in this industry is all fun and games, but bringing joy into the world and helping friends and family connect and make memories is what motivated me to make the change.

Esme: Alex, with your extensive background in the gaming industry, what key lessons did you bring to Hootenanny Games? How did those experiences shape the games you decided to launch first?

Alex:  I wanted to create games that have real staying power, appeal to a wide audience, and stand the test of time.  I came into this knowing that to do so, we needed to focus on a balanced lineup.  I also knew that we needed to build a presence in specialty stores across the country.  Family-run businesses like ours are so important to communities, and that’s where we wanted our roots to be. 

We brought on an incredible sales team to cover neighborhood and local stores, and we have added over 600 specialty stores to our retail partner list since January.  We see this as the very foundation of Hootenanny Games.

Esme: Hootenanny Games has a unique lineup that caters to both kids and adults. How do you ensure that your games appeal to such a wide audience while maintaining the fun and challenge for everyone? Do your children have input in the types of games or concepts?

Alex:  Well, the stage of life we are in with two elementary-aged kids certainly helps with this!  Whitney and I both have different likes and dislikes, so honestly, if there is a game pitch that speaks to both of us, we know it is going to have broader appeal.  Then, the first thing we do before any official playtesting is that we play the game with our kids.  If our kids aren’t immediately asking to play again, we usually don’t move forward with the game. 

Esme: Whitney, in a previous interview you mentioned the importance of creating games that are easy to teach and learn, especially for busy parents. Can you talk about how you incorporated this idea into your game designs?

Whitney:  We’ve all been there – reading the rules while your kids are impatient and asking 1,000 questions.  Before you know it, you’ve read the same paragraph three times, and you still don’t know how to play.  We combat that by having how-to-play videos for each of our games.  If you don’t want to read the instructions, scan the QR code, and it takes you right to a video that tells you everything you need to know.  As a bonus, it entertains your kids, so it starts game night off on a fun note.

Esme: Alex, playtesting seems to be a crucial part of your development process. What are you looking for during playtesting? Could you share some insights or surprises you encountered during playtesting that significantly influenced the final versions of your games?

Alex:  As I mentioned, we are always looking for those magic words – “Let’s play it again!” – at the end of a playtest.  That’s the biggest thing.  Beyond that, we use this as a way to really refine rules to make them as clear and concise as possible, and we look for anything that confuses players.  This gives us a chance to tweak that part of the game play or rules so that by the time the game ends up on your table, it’s nothing but pure fun.

Esme: You are parents of young children and understand the challenges parents face with screen time and keeping kids entertained. What suggestions do you have for parents who want their children to play more games and have less screen time?

Whitney:  Embrace the chaos that can come with game night!  Know that your kids are going to be sad when they lose (yes, there will even be some thrown game pieces at some ages).  Learning how to win and lose is such an important skill, and games are a great way to teach it in a low-risk environment.  Know that your kids aren’t always going to love the same games, so try rotating which kid gets to pick the game for game night. 

Also, if a particular rule in a game doesn’t work for you or your kids, change it! We are big fans of “house rules” where we tweak a game to make it more fun or less complicated for us.  Ultimately, our kids want connection and time with us away from our screens, too.  If everyone puts away the screens and you start game night as a new tradition, I think you’ll find that it will quickly become everyone’s favorite night of the week.

Esme: Southern charm and lifestyle play a significant role in your games. How do you infuse these elements into your products, and why is it important for you to reflect your Southern roots in your games?

Alex:  My parents are incredibly gracious and welcoming, so growing up, we always had company at our house and people stopping by to visit.  I think people have moved away from that easy feeling of community and random visits with friends – something we all know and love in the south.  We want our games to provide opportunities for people to get together, connect, laugh, and have fun.

Esme: The partnership with Sour Patch Kids for the special edition of SIXEM is an awesome opportunity. First share a little about the original SIXEM. And then, how did the Sour Patch Kids collaboration develop?

Alex:  SIXEM is fast-paced dice bingo with a little bit of sabotage.  It’s easy to explain and enjoyed by everyone.  When we first evaluated this game, with all the bright colored dice, it seemed like a no-brainer to pair with a candy license.  Now, if you’ve played SIXEM, you know that sabotage comes into play because you can erase Xs from other players’ boards, so it has this mischievous element. 

And Sour Patch Kids is a mischievous, colorful candy.  It was a match made in heaven!  We’ve loved seeing this come to life.

Esme: Designing elements like the stackable goats in Floats McGoats and the shiny foils in Snarkas adds a special touch. Walk me through how you design a game. How do you take a concept and adapt it into a game? How do you balance creativity with practicality in the design process?

Whitney:  Working through the design of the games is my favorite part.  When an inventor comes to us with game concepts, they are usually in varying degrees of completeness.  We’ve seen prototypes made from popsicle sticks and air-dried clay, and we’ve seen prototypes that are so fully baked that they look like they should already be on the shelves at stores. 

My favorite type of game pitch to hear is one that is still in rough prototype form so that we can run with really outside the box thinking on design.  For example, the air-dried clay I mentioned ended up turning into the goats you see today in Floats McGoats. 

Esme: As a husband-and-wife team, how do you navigate the dynamics of running a business together? What advice would you give other couples looking to start a business? How do you manage couples time, and family time with running a business?

Whitney:  It’s funny because when people find out we work together, the reactions are always either “I could never work with my spouse” or “Gosh, I would love to work with my partner” – there’s no in between.  Working together isn’t for everyone!  I think the reason it works for us is that we have different strengths, so we have our own definitive roles. 

Alex:  We do find ourselves talking about work more than we care to admit though.  It’s hard to turn it off because your brain is always thinking about new ideas!  We have to be intentional about setting boundaries and turning off shop talk both when the two of us have time together and when we are with our kids. 

We want our kids to understand what we do, as well as the good parts (and sometimes no-so-good parts) of running your own business, so we try to walk a line of involving them in what’s going on at Hootenanny and setting boundaries so that they have mom and dad time without hearing about work.

Esme: Looking ahead, what are your goals for Hootenanny Games? Are there any upcoming projects or ideas that you’re particularly excited about?

Whitney:  We want to build a brand that’s known for games that pull double duty in your game cabinet – games that are equally fun for kids and adults.  We want people to walk into a store, pick up a Hootenanny Game, and know they will love it because they trust us to publish quality games.

Alex:  We’ve got some great new games coming out in 2025 that we cannot wait for you to see!  There will be some quirky themes, shiny packaging, and loads of cute animals that we think you’ll love.

Esme: Lastly, what’s some advice you’d like to share with aspiring game creators?

Alex:  Playtest, playtest, playtest.  Whatever your concept is, put it through the wringer before you present it to a company.  It will always help refine your game and your pitch!

Esme: Thank you for your time! Learning about the family behind the game makes me want to play it even more.

Learn more about Hootenanny Games.

Buy The Game