The Elliott family: Milo, Scott, front, Ruby and Hannah back, holding their board game creation.. (Photo by Dan Brannan)

EDWARDSVILLE - A rainy day in Seattle led an Edwardsville family on a journey of board game development and now it has sparked something that may hit the national market.

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Scott Elliott and his kids – Milo and Ruby – have developed a new board game that is drawing raves called DragonStone Mine.

Milo is in middle school at Edwardsville, while Ruby is in elementary school. Their sister, Hannah, an Edwardsville High School student, has worked in the creative development and in the marketing portion for the board game.

Milo, now 13, said the family indeed put the game together on a rainy day in Seattle when he and his sister, Ruby, were looking for something to do with their father, Scott, who does work professionally in the board game world.

Dowels and hex nuts were primary components used in the beginning to build the game with a small piece of wood.

“After we felt like we made the rules, we started making up the cards,” Ruby said.

Scott Elliott, a table-top game industry veteran, works in the organized games worldwide from youth soccer to card games and has a background on the marketing side. Scott's background makes him a natural to lead the project.

However, the board game started simply as a way for Scott to enjoy something fun with his children.

“It was a great afternoon the day we started the development of the game,” he said. “One of the key things is to get it to the fun part right away and we knew the way we designed it any ages could play together. Ruby was six years old when we started. We have different rules at different age levels and that helps to involve all ages.”

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DragonStone Mine can be played with two to four players and has a basic rules level that allows play with children as young as 5.

Elliott took the kids to the hardware store with a little cash as they developed the game and they bought supplies that they thought they could use. They came home with some nuts, some dowel rods and spray paint. A few hours later, their original game “Tower Battles” was born.

“I’ve played this game and it’s great!,” Peter Adkison said. “I highly recommend you support the Kickstarter and buy several copies for yourself and all your friends. It is designed by my good friend, Scott Elliott, and his kids. At least go watch the video, it’s cute as can be.”

“This is the first Kickstarter game I’ve backed live on the podcast,” said Mike Selinker of Lone Shark Games.

A Kickstarter program has been established to help the Elliott family further develop DragonStone Mine. Already, the Kickstarter program is well on its way to the $10,000-goal, but other donations would help, Scott Elliott said.

Links concerning the game are listed below:

 

http://www.Dragonstonemine.com

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1410499285/dragonstone-mine-a-family-friendly-board-game

https://www.facebook.com/dragonstonemine

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If you have a news, human interest or sports idea, e-mail Danbrannan@riverbender.com or call or text 618-623-5930. Follow Dan Brannan on Facebook and on Twitter.

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