GAME MAY HELP TOURISM

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32819, 20 January 1972, Page 10

GAME MAY HELP TOURISM

A game of skill, which might promote tourism in New Zealand, was presented to the Minister of Tourism (Mr Walker) in Christchurch yesterday.

The game was invented by Mr R. J. Reynolds, a schoolteacher in Wanganui, almost 20 years ago while a boarder at school in Wanganui.

It started as a reaction against a monopoly set being confiscated by a master, because of its supposed association with gambling. Since then the game, known simply as Tourist Trade, has been refined and improved. Mr Reynolds formulated a set of rules, experimented with them, had the game played by adults

and children, and modified and altered it again. By a series of moves players work their way around’ the country from a given spot, earning “fun” points for the greatest number of places they visit before leaving New Zealand.

When he started work on the game again just over a year ago it was more cr less a pale imitation of monopoly, he said. “Now it is a brand new game, which can be adapted to the map of any country.” Mr Reynolds financed the production of the game himself and from a first printing of 5000 only two are unsold —one of which he presented to Mr Walker yesterday. Most were sold in the North Island, although a number of sets went to Australia and some, he believes, found their way to the United States.

He sees the game as something to attract tourists to New Zealand, provided it can be marketed overseas.

Mr Walker agreed with him and described the game as a novel way of assisting tourist promotion. Next week Mr Reynolds will meet the Minister in Wellington to see how he can get I the game marketed overseas. The photograph shows Mr Reynolds and Mr Walker trying their hand at the game at the office of “The Press” yesterday.