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Guelph entrepreneurs bring FINISHIT to the board game table

New made-in-Guelph board game launched at Boardroom Cafe

A pair of Guelph entrepreneurs think they’ve brought a winner to the table in FINISHIT, a made-in-Guelph board game.

It got its official launch Saturday afternoon with a little help from Royal City Brewery and the Boardroom Café on Wyndham Street.

Through word of mouth and a web site, they’ve already sold 100 copies of the initial production run of 500 copies.

The concept for FINISHIT started about a year ago, as many good ideas are, with notes jotted down on scraps of paper.

“We tested it out on a group of friends at the cottage and we laughed for hours,” Doran said.

A couple of prototypes and a few months later, they were ready to get it made through a Chicago company.

FINISHIT is a game for ages 13 and up. The objective is to be the best or worst player at finishing short phrases.

Up to nine players take turns being a “scribe” (writing down a finishing phrase for a pre-selected starter sentence on a starter card), the “judge” (who rules on the best and worst completed phrase) or the “bomber” ( a scribe who modifies others’ responses, hopefully enhancing their own chance at winning the round).

The responses to be judged the best and the worst of the round earn cards. First player to win five cards wins.

A game typically takes an hour to 90 minutes to complete.

“The idea was a game that appealed to a large number of people,” Doran said. “It’s a fun game and it’s open to everybody.”

“We both do creative projects together and have been doing them for a long time,” from photo shoots and movies to games, said Doran. “We’ve been planning, at one point in our lives, to hopefully be able to make a living off doing creative things.”

Doran is the former CEO of Innovation Guelph Huber the former President of ENRIX Group. The two have formed toy and game company called Kyfak Inc., an outlet for a variety of creative ideas, Doran said.

Doran and Huber created, designed and published the game from start to finish, with the help of some friends and family who tested prototypes and helped guide some minor adjustments prior to production.

Guelph artist Cai Sepulis did the artwork.

In the New Year, Kyfak will take FINISHIT on the new game circuit in Canada, USA, and Europe to find a mass market distributor.

Doran says the notion of a board game “renaissance” is a bit false. The sales of board games have risen steadily over the years, he said.

For more infor on the game go to kyfak.com/FINISHIT.


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Tony Saxon

About the Author: Tony Saxon

Tony Saxon has had a rich and varied 30 year career as a journalist, an award winning correspondent, columnist, reporter, feature writer and photographer.
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