Mr Curtis, who grew up at Yerong Creek and lived for 15 years in Albury before moving to the Gold Coast, has created his own board game, Spit It Out.

The game involves a team being given a word then having to reveal that word to others by spelling out associated words, but with conditions.

“One of the most important things is that it helps children understand that intelligence is not based on spelling, because you can spell words phonetically,” Mr Curtis said.

“It’s also great fun for adults, too.

“If they play they’re not just there to placate the kids, they get really involved.

“It brings everyone onto a level playing field.”

The years of development may pay off with one major TV network in advanced negotiations with Mr Curtis to turn Spit It Out into a TV game show.

His dream to make a board game came after the adrenaline of a board game cleared his lethargy after a long flight to Canada.

“I was so hyped up, I just wanted to create something that gave that experience,” he said.

Mr Curtis’s game will be on sale at the Australian Games Expo in Albury on the Queen’s Birthday long weekend and he will also be hosting a live version of the proposed TV show.

The game, which he has developed in “giant” and “table-top” form, will sell for $79.95 for the smaller version and is, so far, only available at Albury’s Mind Games in David Street.

l See tomorrow’s Pulse for story on board games revolution.