This week’s business in the Spotlight is Flick Fingerboards in the United Kingdom.

Originally from South, Africa, my husband and I have been living in the UK for the last 16+ years.

Living in the UK, one of the things I missed from back in South Africa is the much loved game called “Vingerbord” (Fingerboard). This is a game we played back in the 80s as children. The thing I remember most is that not all families owned such a game, and our family didn’t have one either. So, whenever we visited a family that had a board (we knew who did), we always asked them to bring out the “Vingerbord” so that we could play. And play we did!

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been trying to buy a proper “Vingerbord” – made like those we played on as children. We started by making our own by doing research, through trial and error and fine-tuning it into a board we would like to buy. After we made our own board, we had so much interest and requests from friends to make this available commercially and just like that, Flick was born. We wanted to make this accessible to families in the UK and Europe.

For those who don’t know the game, the premise of “Vingerbord” is simple, making this a game that even the youngest family members can enjoy. This board game resembles the game of pool. Just like a pool table the board has pockets. Your shooter discs are used in similar way to a cue ball. Players take turns flicking a shooter disc to sink their team’s colour discs. The first player/team to sink all of their colour discs and then the blue disc, wins the game.

My husband and I make these boards in our free time, building it from scratch with love. So, this is by no means a mass-produced board. We put a lot of time, care and attention into each and every board, using only the best materials we can find. As it is handmade, each board feels organic and is completely unique with character. We even make the playing pieces by hand as this is not something you are able to buy in the UK.

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What boardgames remind you of home? Do you and your family still play boardgames? Let us know at wereldwyd@afriforum.co.za.