Inventors Story- Invention and manufacture of a new board game idea.

Instead of leaving it there, we started looking at various aspects of the games we were playing. With observations such as "it takes too long to play", "it’s too difficult for all the family", "it’s too simple for the older ones", we began to devise a new game of our own.

We reached a point where we were totally addicted to our own game and began to ask "Is this as good as we think it is?". After extensive market research the answer was a resounding "YES!" so we pushed ahead with the development."

At this stage our social life became something of a distant memory. On many occasions our commitment was tested to the limit yet we remained determined to make Blank a success. Sometimes the whole thing seemed totally impossible, but we adopted the old saying "Where there’s a will there’s a way!"

After almost 4 years, we held our first big play testing event at the Cambridge board game Olympics - a real baptism of fire. We were looking for feedback on the playability and presentation of the game to make any improvements. To our amazement and delight, the experts at the competition thought the game was perfect as it stood. At the end of this three day event the tournament players even bought up the demonstration copies!

The rest of the year 2002 was dedicated to further play testing events to make sure everything was still right. Volunteers checked that the rules were simple to read, tested the mechanical parts of the game and gave loads more valuable feedback.

UK INVENTION NEWS STORY

Blank was featured on Carlton Central TV news just before Christmas 2002 which gave us a huge boost in morale and sales!  Central were intrigued by the game; they even created a graphic to show the viewers how to play it.  They were keen to support local inventors.  We had done everything involved in the development so they wanted to chat with us about how the ideas came about and what they thought about each stage of the process.

The business is now ahead of plan. We intended to go into UK shops during the second half of this year, but due to demand we brought this forward. After all the time in development, it’s a fantastic feeling to walk into a shop and see someone buying Blank.  Our advice to anyone with an idea, even if it seems ridiculously simple, is to have a go. When you have a fresh look at something from the outside you can often see something that the industry insiders have missed.

BOARD GAME REVIVAL

There is a great revival in traditional board games at the moment.  Adults and children are returning to them because they offer social interaction, fun and development of the mind.  Parents and grandparents are keen to get kids away from computer screens onto something better for there education and eyesight!

INVENTOR AWARDS

If you are interested in British Inventions consider attending the British Inventions Show taking place at the Barbican, London from 6 - 9 November 2003.

PATENTS GRANTED

Due to it's unique design, innovation and play method Blank has been granted two UK patents.

HELP FOR INVENTORS

For British inventor help see our manufacturing page. Design ideas : FURTHER LINKS

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/innovation/ - Innovation Nation

http://www.nesta.org.uk - National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts

http://www.patent.gov.uk/ - The UK Patent Office

http://www.ideas21.co.uk - Inventor News

http://www.imcuk.org - Innovative Manufacturing Centre, Nottingham.  Rapid prototyping. Funded by European grant. Will keep down the costs for lone inventors.