Game maker starting over

STERLING – Rock Falls native and entrepreneur Doug Arduini needs the public's help to reinvent his board game.

Arduini introduced a board game in March 2011 as Non-Trivial Quest. Hasbro, maker of Trivial Pursuit, objected to the use of the name. He received a cease-and-desist order from Hasbro and agreed to stop selling his game.

He changed its name to Non-Trivia Quest, and he's starting all over.

But he spent $130,000 of his own money dealing with the legal issues surrounding the previous game’s name, he said.

"I need a kick, a boost somehow," he said.

So he is using kickstarter.com to raise funds to redesign the artwork for Non-Trivia Quest and develop apps so it can be played online and on iPhones.

Kickstarter.com is intended to obtain funding for small-business owners. Business owners create a video and ask for the pledges of money from backers. Backers receive rewards tiered to their pledges.

In Arduini’s case, the rewards for Non-Trivia Quest pledges include limited editions of the original game, free apps, and limited editions of the new board game. Arduini must raise $20,000 to redesign his game, he said.

Go to http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/742244110/non-trivial-quest-game-apps by June 14 to help and get a reward.

The game helps children and adults learn history, geography, finance and math. It is intended to open up discussions, be interesting, improve memory and develop awareness. Arduini will produce the first 1,000 copies of the new game with the funds, he said.

He has raised less than $400 so far.

Arduini grew up in Rock Falls, and also has lived in Sterling. He now lives in San Ramon, Calif.