A FORMER policeman inspired by an idea that struck him one night has created a boardgame which has been hailed a hit by players.

Dave Atkinson, from Bolton, was lying in bed one night when a game concept popped into his mind "out of the blue" that he was convinced would be a hit.

Dad-of-two Dave, who is married to wife Janet, recalls the lightbulb moment before he went to work on AlphabeticZ, which has attracted rave reviews from players.

The Bolton News:

Dave, 66, who lives in Bradshaw, said: "When I retired I had no specific plans except for the usual decorating, gardening, holidays and leisure.

"But then one night I suddenly had a vision of creating a board game.

"Everything just seem to come to me out of the blue all at once; how the game would be played, the design of the board and even the name.

"When I woke up in the morning I told my wife and so began the journey that took AlphabeticZ from a pipe dream to reality.”

Dave has spent the last 10 months developing the game which, after numerous trials and errors, is now complete and on the market.

AlphabeticZ is a game of knowledge, strategy and luck of the dice – but unlike many other games, you could play over and over again and have an entirely new game each time.

In brief, the idea is to get your playing piece from start to finish before the other players or teams.

And as the name suggests, the game is played using all the letters of the alphabet and there is a pack of category cards.

Subject to what letter you land on, what you roll and what category you get, depends on how many answers of the category beginning with that letter you have to give before the timer runs out.

However, you may think the letter S should be an easy opportunity to move forward and give 10 answers – not so much if you get given an obscure category and have to provide 10 types of transport beginning with S or risk moving back your 10 places.

The basic concept of the game is relatively straight forward, but with additional elements such as amnesty cards, free play, power play and the dreaded "Go Back", the game is much more exciting than your standard rolling the dice and getting around the board.

Throw in the need for an appointed adjudicator to determine some of the questionable answers that players will attempt to have accepted, the game is billed as a sure family favourite.

The suggested age is 14+ and can be played by two to six players or alternatively as a team game.

The Bolton News:

Dave is also indebted to his friends and family who were guinea pigs in testing the game and whose help and suggestions assisted greatly to get the finished article.

The game has received glowing reviews from players.

It has been described as a "great game which is very addictive", an "amazing fun game" with one purring that there is "nothing else like this on the market".

Dave has also played the game with friends via Zoom.

Dave, who worked as a dog handler for Greater Manchester Police and served with the force for 30 years, added: "I've been dead chuffed to know that all the work I put in has paid off.

"It was exciting to see the games when they finally came.

“If the current pandemic has taught us anything, when staying in is the new going out, a good board game is all you really need!"

Dave believes the game would be a great present for Christmas.

If purchased through Shopify he is offering a 15 per cent discount of from today, Monday, up until midnight on Christmas Eve. Customers need to quote Festive15 when they order to qualify for the discount.

AlphabeticZ is available for £22.99. plus P&P. It is available to order at AlphabeticZ-board-game.myshopify.com.

For more information email AlphabeticZ@outlook.com.