Cork man delighted at success of boardgame 30 Seconds

WHEN Cork man Greg Dooley was playing board games in his younger years, he could never have imagined that he would bring one of the most popular board games in the country to the Irish market, but a roll of the dice has led to much success for the Glanmire local.

The idea for an Irish version of the popular South African board game 30 Seconds came during a phone call between Greg and Tipperary native, Liam Ryan who had worked together as teachers in South Africa in the late 80’s and early 90’s.

While Greg changed careers and returned to Ireland to work in banking, Liam Ryan stayed on and settled in South Africa.

“We used to just catch up every now and again and one day he was telling me about this game called 30 Seconds in South Africa and how massive it was.

“He said it was a household name over there,” Greg told The Echo.

With its popularity in South Africa, the two discussed the possibility of creating an Irish version of the game.

“At that stage, I had left the bank and I was working for myself, so I had a bit of freedom for looking at another project.

“At the start I kind of said, board games? Do people still play them? I played them in my teens and twenties in college… but I didn’t realise that they were still a mainstay of a toy store,” Greg said.

Under the company name of Woodland Games, the pair began planning and carrying out market research to see if the popularity of the game would translate to Irish consumers.

Just before Christmas in 2010, the game was launched in the two Smyths stores in Cork after much hard work.

“Those first years were like pulling teeth really but then in year six or year seven things started to change and it took on a kind of a life of its own,” Greg said.

30 Seconds, which sees players describing names on a card to their teammates without saying the actual word, is now stocked in about 170 different shops nationwide and has become a staple in many households.

Reflecting on the enduring success of the game, Greg said he believes it is down to the content of the game and its feel-good factor.

“There are 2,400 names in the game and five each on a card and the whole idea behind it is that you’re supposed to recognise the names on the cards, they’re supposed to be kind of familiar.

“It’s completely different to a question and answer game where you either know the answer and you look very clever or you don’t know the answer and you look pretty silly.

“The whole thing is when anybody picks up any card, there’s a feeling of ‘I can do this, I recognise this, I know this,” he said.

30 Seconds cards feature a wide range of both Irish and international celebrities, landmarks, television shows, films and more, with the variety of themes crucial to the game’s universal appeal.

“The inventor [Calie Esterhuyse] was saying to me, Greg when you’re doing the cards don’t get your own prejudices in the way because the easiest thing is to think well because I like this type of music or that movie, everyone does. So, you have to be very objective rather than subjective,” Greg explained.

New names are added in every year with plans for booster packs in the works for die-hard fans of the game.

For information on Irish stockists or to purchase 30 Seconds online see www.30seconds.ie.