Minneschlagen is a new game gaining popularity around the country that got its start in June thanks to the ingenuity of two couples with Crookston roots. The game features a log, a hammer, nails, and lots of fun.
Michael Nicholas, along with Matt and Allison (Bakken) Reck all of Crookston, and Michael’s wife Danielle launched the business with the help of a house party and a visit to happy hour. “It’s actually four friends,” said Nicholas. “My wife, who is not from Crookston; Allison Reck, maiden name was Bakken, and then Matt Reck. We hosted a party last summer and had a stump, a hammer, and some nails on the table. At the end of the night, everybody surrounded the table, were hooting and hollering and placing some side bets. That was where the Minneschlagen light bulb came about. Matt and I were at a happy hour not too long after that and were like, let’s start seeing what we can do to see if this can be a portable game for inside or outside at home or wherever you want to play. That’s when we created the box function, which is the unique part with the log inside.”
Nicholas said he thinks being shut-in due to COVID-19, along with support from their hometown helped Minneschlagen sell out of its original stock just days after launching. “I think a really big part of it was COVID,” said Nicholas. “In March, when we were all trapped indoors, had nights and weekends where we weren’t chasing around, it was like, let’s get this going and see if we can turn something into it. We did a soft launch in June. We had about 80 of them built and saw great support from Crookston. That was super exciting for us. Facebook was the only place we really announced it and sold out in six days.”
Following the initial success, Nicholas said they regrouped for a relaunch in October while still selling a small number of games in the months ahead. The recent relaunch sold out last week with sales in 21 states, including one rather well-known customer. “We sent one off to Jimmy Fallon,” said Nicholas. “Excited to see what that one turns into. It could be for the family. I know he has quite an eclectic home, and I think the Minneschlagen would be a great fit for the home. I’m not sure how many people tuned in (to The Tonight Show) during the pandemic, but you were in his home, in his garage, and out for walks. That could be the case, just a family set. But hoping it turns into a little more than that and gives us a call to tell us we can Zoom in to be on the show or something like that would be amazing.”
Currently, they have a plain Schlage and a version with the State of Minnesota outlined. However, Nicholas announced a new limited design that will likely be released sometime in mid-January or February. “Spoiler alert here, but I worked with Greg Garmen at the high school, and we’ll have a Pirate one coming out probably in mid-January (pictured below),” said Nicholas. “Going to do a program where we’re partnering with the high school and donating a portion of those proceeds to the Pirates Boosters. We also plan to do lake outlines, other state outlines, and other landmarks.”
In addition to giving back to Crookston, Minneschlagen also gives back to the environment by planting trees. “Every set that we sell, we do plant a tree,” said Nicholas. “We do use real trees to make these sets, but for every one that we do sell, we plant a tree. It’s through the DNR. We donate a portion of the profits through the organization, and they do the planting of the trees for us. We’ve talked about how we can get to a point where we’re planting the trees or some type of Arbor Day game. I’ve gone to NDSU games, where they hand out the tree to different folks. Who knows, perhaps it could be a Pirate game where we’re handing out the trees different folks to bring home and plant on their own.”
Nicholas said Crookston was the launching off point and gave a big thank you for getting this new small business off the ground. “A big thank you to Crookston and the surrounding community,” said Nicholas. “Back in June, it was really what lit the fire. The biggest support most certainly came from Crookston at that time. It was former classmates, business leaders, friends of our families – the Recks, Bakkens, and Nicholas – and that’s why we are where we’re at today. We had that glimmer of hope where Crookston loved it and poured the gas on the fire, no pun intended with the wood product we have here. That’s really where we got our start, and a big shout out to Crookston for that support.”
Minneschlagen holiday video –
