A FAMILY of board game lovers from York have created their own game which they say helps people with learning difficulties join in.

The Sellars, from Acomb, regularly meet up to play board games and spend time as a family.

But they often found Kieron, 14, who has autism, and Shauna, 16, who has dyslexia, could not join in .

They they started playing a new game – Quadblox – created by their 42-year-old uncle Stuart Sellars.

Stuart said: “It began last Christmas when I had very severe stomach pains. I ended up in hospital, and to take my mind off the pain I started to come up with this concept for a game.”

When he recovered, Stuart and his father Brian got to work building a prototype. Stuart described Quadblox as a strategy game where the aim is to create patterns across the board in coloured blocks while trying to stop other players completing their patterns.

The family, including Stuart’s sister Sharon and their parents Kath and Brian, have all helped test and refine the game, and they have been surprised by how much Kieron and Shauna love to play it.

Stuart said: “Our expectation was that my sister Sharon’s children wouldn’t join in – that’s what had happened with board games in the past. But they absolutely loved it. They’ve become its biggest advocates and play it loads.”

Sharon said: “I think it is the ordering and sequencing in the game which is very calming for my son.”

It has already been tested out by groups like Special Autism Services, Limetrees, Mind and Mencap, and now the family want other groups to help them by giving it a try before they contact toy manufacturers about getting the game into production.

They have two prototypes which they are happy to lend out, and would like to hear from individuals as well as groups.

Contact the Sellars via email enquiries@quadblox.com, Twitter @quadblox, or Facebook.com/quadblox.