Destination (game)
Destination is a board game first published in 2004 by R.T.L Ltd. Players compete as taxi drivers to acquire play money by moving from destination to destination using dice.
Portsmouth entrepreneur Rachel Lowe invented the game while working as a taxi driver.[1] In September 2004 she appeared in the first series of Dragons' Den where her pitch for funding was rejected.[2] The first edition, Destination London was Hamleys' best-selling game when it was launched in 2004, outselling Monopoly and continues to be a best seller.[1]
Since then, at least twenty one versions of the game have been published, including:
- London
- New York
- Paris
- Birmingham
- Brighton & Hove
- Bournemouth & Poole
- Cardiff
- Dublin
- Norwich
- Portsmouth
- Sheffield
- South Africa
- Southampton
- Isle of Wight
- Scotland
- Hogwarts
- Animation
- London 2012
- Downton Abbey
A Harry Potter version of the game called Destination Hogwarts was delayed when funding from NatWest fell through, and the film Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince was delayed by six months, causing significant economic distress to the designer.[3] The game, inspired by J.K Rowling's Harry Potter books, takes you on a journey through Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and the surrounding grounds.
Destination Board Games since have released Destination Hogwarts, Destination London 2012 and London 2012 Sports, and Destination London Travel Edition. They have successfully signed deals with Warner Bros., Pixar and the London 2012 Olympics to release their licensed games.
Destination Board Games were re-acquired by Rachel Lowe's new company, She Who Dares UK Ltd in 2010, a company in which Lowe teamed up with Simon Dolan to create.
References
- Milne, Jamie (2005-01-30). "TV Show loser has last laugh". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2008-03-26.
- Heald, Claire (2007-02-07). "Pass go, collect £2m". BBC News Magazine. Retrieved 2008-03-26.
- "Bank breaks Harry Potter spell". BBC News. 2009-09-21. Retrieved 2010-05-01.