When Life Imitates "The Game of Life": An Open Invitation to Hasbro
Posted by David Fluker on Jun 18th 2025
So here's something deliciously ironic: My nephew Blake was playing Hasbro's "Game of Life" with his family when he drew a card that nearly made him fall out of his tiny plastic car. The card read: "Start a cricket farm! Insects are the protein of the future. Pay 30k to the bank." Blake immediately texted me a photo with the message: "I can't make this up."
Oh, the beautiful absurdity of it all. While Blake was handing over his play money for his hypothetical insect empire, I was busy running the actual cricket farm my family has operated for over half a century. Talk about life imitating... well, "Life."
Reality Check: $30K Doesn't Quite Cover It:
Hasbro, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your economic model might need some tweaking. Our journey from humble bait supplier in the Louisiana bayou to international insect powerhouse required slightly more investment than your card suggests.
We didn't just build a cricket farm – we helped pioneer an entire industry. Today, Fluker Farms raises nine different insect species, from classic crickets to dubias and superworms, supplying the dietary needs of reptiles, amphibians, and other exotic pets across the country. It turns out the "protein of the future" is also the lunch of today for a whole lot of geckos, bearded dragons, and frogs. We've developed hundreds of products, from nutritionally complete diets for the creatures that eat our bugs to specialized habitats for reptiles.
And because being a "Cricket Farmer" wasn't enough of a conversation starter at parties, we launched Soldier Fly Technologies. This subsidiary transforms organic waste into valuable resources using Black Soldier Flies – nature's remarkable recyclers that convert food scraps into high-quality protein and fertilizer. Basically, we're turning yesterday's leftovers into tomorrow's resources. Put that on a game card.
An Official Invitation to Hasbro's PR Team
Dear Hasbro PR Team,
This is where things get interesting. We're formally inviting you to visit the real-life version of your game card. Come down to South Louisiana and let us show you what "Start a cricket farm" actually looks like when it's not squeezed between "Have twins!" and "Buy vacation home!" We'll pour you a proper cup of Southern coffee (or something stronger, depending on how you feel about millions of chirping insects), and give you the grand tour of our operation.
See firsthand how we're raising the protein of the future, both with our established cricket business and our innovative waste bioconversion technology. Talk with our team about the fascinating intersection between your fictional game card and our very real family legacy.
The Co-Promotion Potential Is Too Good to Miss
Think about the content we could create together:
* Behind-the-scenes videos: "From Game Card to Reality:
* Inside a Real Cricket Farm
* "Social media challenges: "The Real Game of Life: Fluker Farms Edition"
Your audience gets an entertaining look at how your game card exists in real life, while our followers enjoy the delightful coincidence of finding our life's work in America's favorite board game.
Southern Hospitality Awaits!
We're serious about hosting you. No plastic spinner required to make this decision, just say yes, and we'll get the crawfish boiling. We'll show you around the farms, introduce you to our chirping workforce (the humans who manage them), and demonstrate why insects truly are a sustainable protein source for the future.
So what do you say, Hasbro PR team? Ready to see what happens when someone takes your game card seriously for 50+ years? We've got bugs, innovation, and stories that no game spinner could ever land on. The invitation stands. The coffee's hot. The crickets are chirping.
Your move, Hasbro.
David Fluker
*P.S. We promise not to charge you $30K to start your cricket farm. The tour's on us.