Jersey entrepreneur on a quest to bring magic to the table

Thursday 21 June 2018

A Jerseyman has successfully crowdfunded over £3,500 to bring his new adventure-based card game to life.

Alex Farnham is the brain behind CastQuest, a mythical party game which involves casting spells and describing encounters with monsters.

The 28-year-old, who now lives in Chichester as a commercial scriptwriter and content developer for a radio station, sees his new venture as a way of making the gaming world more inclusive. Alex said: “The tabletop gaming community has always been friendly and welcoming to anyone who wants to join, but I feel there has always been a bit of a divide between casual gaming and more serious tabletop gaming. 

“What I wanted to do with CastQuest was create a more all-round experience that appealed to both parties - something to bridge the gap and open more doors for more people into the world of gaming.”

Pictured: Alex (left) is the creator of description-based party game CastQuest.

The premise of the game involves players having to describe a combination of words which make up a phrase, without saying exactly what is on the cards. Players’ ability to describe their cards may be helped or hindered by spell cards which can be cast throughout the game.

Alex added: “The most important thing, obviously, is fun. The element of strategy involved only works if everyone is enjoying themselves. Being able to put silly curses on friends and family and laugh at them trying to describe a Goblin in a Swimming Cap carrying a Frying Pan is what the game’s all about.”

Video: 'How to Play CastQuest'

Son of Minister for Economic Development, Tourism, Sport and Culture, Senator Lyndon Farnham, Alex is heartened by the rise of table top gaming in an increasingly digital world: “It’s so encouraging to see the table top gaming industry growing so rapidly in a world that’s otherwise populated by technology. It’s heart-warming to know that people will always enjoy gathering round a table, turning off the TV and just having fun.”

The project achieved over 40% funding in the first 24 hours of being live on Kickstarter and has since been backed by more than 100 people to reach its initial target of £3,500.

Pictured: CastQuest comes with 220 cards and an A3 instructional leaflet.

Commenting on the project’s success on Kickstarter, Alex told Express: “To see a project that’s been in the works for over a year and a half come to fruition is overwhelming. The support has been outstanding from friends and family to turn this from an idea into something real and tangible.”

Any further funding achieved by the project in the final week of the campaign will go towards various ‘stretch goals’ including illustrated cards and a magnetic box.