Family creates card game based on Yarmouth's chip-grabbing gulls
Chris Parker, with his daughters Jasmine and Summer, created a card game based on Great Yarmouth's seagulls. - Credit: Chris Parker
A family spent lockdown creating a card game based on the famous chip-grabbing seagulls of Great Yarmouth.
Chris Parker, 43, and his daughters Jasmine, 12, and Summer, 10, are now hoping to raise £1,700 to produce the game so that people will be able to play it while on holiday over the coming months.
The family lives in Spixworth but spends a lot of time on the coast and it was while feeding the birds at Venetian Waterways on Yarmouth's seafront they were inspired to create the card game.
The gulls in Great Yarmouth are famous for taking people's chips. - Credit: PA
Mr Parker said: "We always go to Yarmouth, since they were kids, and we were feeding the birds at the Waterways. It was quite pleasant there. There were seagulls sitting on the roof of the hut, ducks in the water and pigeons.
"We were watching how the birds held or dropped the chips and on the journey home we started to share ideas on a chip-grabbing card game inspired by what we'd seen."
The Parker family testing their new card game 'Chip and Collect' at their home in Spixworth. - Credit: Chris Parker
Over the third lockdown, when homework got too dull, they sat around the kitchen table and started designing the cards and creating the rules.
Mr Parker said: "We were able to bring the game to life. First with the bird illustrations, then basic rules and box design.
An example of the one of the cards in the game 'Chip and Collect'. The image shows the original hand-drawn design and the digital reproduction. - Credit: Chris Parker
"Other playing cards followed including a seaside 'golden doughnut', 'rough rock', 'horrid honeycomb' and many seaside chips.
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"We play tested lots until we realised we had something very special."
Jasmine, 12, designing a card game based on the chip-grabbing birds of Great Yarmouth. - Credit: Chris Parker
The family then got in touch with a digital illustrator who designed layouts and text for the cards.
"We've got everything ready to go," Mr Parker said.
"We're hoping to get it out for the summer so people can play it during the summer holidays."
Summer, 10, designing a card game based on the chip-grabbing birds of Great Yarmouth. - Credit: Chris Parker
He described the game as bright and sunny simple card game for kids - and big kids.
Mr Parker said: "We play lots of games ourselves, we have a cupboard full at home.
"I am an ex arts students, I studied sculpture. The girls have always drawn, I've always encouraged it."
If the family reaches the funding goal of £1,700 via Kickstarter with people buying or backing Chip & Collect, they will be able to produce it professionally and all backers will receive a copy.
To chip in, visit the project's Kickstarter page at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/goldendoughnutgames/chip-and-collect
The deadline for potential backers is July 6.
