Two Okanagan men have made a career out of their love for board games and television shows.
Phelps and his longtime friend Derek Hodgins have created a board game based on the popular television show “Vikings.”
“It’s in our blood, really,” Hodgins said. “It’s what we know, it came very naturally to us.”
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The game is called “Vikings, raid and conquer.” Phelps and Hodgins approached the show’s production studio, MGM, and once they got approval, the pair got down to work.
“We showed them the early concept for the game to MGM, they liked it and that was huge,” Hodgins said. “We went right to work putting in tons of hours on it, a thousand hours.
“It’s definitely based on the show. You pillage and plunder, you attack other players, you go on raids, you collect treasures and the ultimate goal is to become the next legendary viking.”
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This is the second board game the pair has created. In 2013, the two released a game based on the television show “The Trailer Park Boys.” The game has since sold thousands of copies.
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The friends say creating games together works well because they can passionately debate the mechanics of the game without taking it personally.
“We kind of have the yin and yang because it is important for Derek to have a lot of depth, whereas I am thinking more as a fan to just try and make it feel more like the show and makes it easier for non-gamers to play, so it works well,” Phelps said.
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The game can be purchased online and the pair is currently working on getting it onto store shelves. They are already one step ahead in the game working on concepts for two other games.
“Oh yeah, we have a few irons in the fire for a few licences,” Hodgins said. “We will probably be revealing in a few months or so.”