LIKE JACK Nicklaus and
Arnold Palmer, local duffers
will soon be designing golf
courses,

By Kate Zimmerman
News Reporter

And though the water hazard
may look like the family sprinkler
‘and the sand trap might bear a
striking resemblance to a child's

” sand-box, with a litle imagination
and a locally designed game called
Putt-o-Rama, ordinary hackers can
fancy themselves on a par with the
big buoys.

Freelance graphic designer Joe
Marcotte came up with the idea for
the game with his partners Perry
and Peter Madaisky. The trio,
which cails its company Mirth &
Merriment, spent two years devel-
oping the game from conception to
its current stage of limited distribu-
tion.

Mirth & Merriment had already
developed several games, including
a communication game called
Depiction, went as far as the
national market for one year.

Depiction didn't catch on as
hoped and currently seems destined
for the special education market.

But this time Mirth &
Merriment’s market research, focus
groups, iegal consultation, copy-
righting and endless playing of its
new game seem to have paid off.
Putt-o-Rama has already sold out
its first run, the partners have an
order for t00 more and still more
are available through Marcotte.

“It’s a good game for the whole
family,” said Marcotte, a currently
childless cub scout leader who has
tried Putt-o-Rama out on his pack
and at a church picnic.

“That's one of our goals when
we design games — to make sure

designer games

Local entrepreneuts ° “putt” their best game forward i in creative lawn game

a see

Ge

NEWS photo Mike Waketiold

JGE MARCOTTE poses with Putt-o-Rama, the game he and his partners invented. it allows peo-
ple to design their own golf or croquet courses, including their own hazards.

the whole family can enjoy it.”

Marcotte is a long-time games
enthusiast who has always tried to
figure out what makes certain
games work. He was working at
North Vancouver's City Scene
Display, a sign shop, when he
began picking up ideas about
screen printing. He ended up using
the process on the wickets, the first
of which were produced by City
Scene.

The virtue of Putt-o-Rama is
that it can actually be employed by
enthusiasts of both golf and cro-

COST LESS
at CARTER'S

\OVER 200 quaity usep cars
AND TRUCKS NOW AVAILABLE!
IEVERY SIZE AND PRICE RANGE.

quet, and can be played on virtually
any size of lawn, by everyone from
preschoolers to seniors.

The game consists of nine solid,
illustrated plasti-card wickets with
barnyard images decorated by
Marcotte. Each wicket is equipped
with its own height-adjustable
numbered flag.

Putt-o-Rama also comes with

-5ix color-coded wiffle balls and

rules; players must supply their
own mallets or clubs.

One of the joys of the game,
Marcotte said, is that players can

STARTING AS
LOW AS

HERE ARE JUST A FEW EXAMPLES

"fle
299-01 23

4550 LOUGHEED HV/y, AT WILLINGDON (ACROSS FROM BRENTWOOD)
HOURS: MON.-FRI. 9 AM ¥ PM - SAT. 9 AM.6 Pag > SUN. 11 AM: adel

GENERAL MOTORS
ee CANADA

cgnvertible.:.
¥.L AT, Ine ‘

set the links up to be more, or less,
challenging for themselves or their
children. It's an ideal embellish-
ment for a barbecue party or com-
pany picnic.

In fact, he added, he is consider-
ing changing the designs on the
wickets to fit different themes, such

as a carnival, or imprinting compa-
ny logos on the backs of the wick-
ets for corporations,

Mirth & Merriment maintains
that Putt-o-Rama, which is manu-
factured in Port Coquitlam, is casi-
ly set up on private property or in
public parks and was designed to
withstand the rigors of Vancouver
rain. and sun.

No matter how successful Putt-
o-Rama turns out to be, Mirth &
Merriment won't be cashing in its
chips. “We have a lot of games that
are on the back-bumer right now,”
said Marcotte.

He went to a games convention
in Toronto two yeurs ago and was
startled to discover that many of
the games he and his partners
thought they had invented and were
mulling over producing were
already on the market.

The trio may not ever achieve
the success of the entrepreneurs
behind the most famous game of
the 1980s, Trivial Pursuit.

But, Marcotte said, cocooning
should mean a market for games: “I
think with the economy people are
finding different ways of entertain-
ing themselves.”

In addition, he noted, “The golf-
ing industry is quite largé.”

Riverside Golf has ordered
some of the games and will try to
distribute them for Mirth &
Merriment.

“It can be just as fun as real golf
or real croquet,” said Marcotte,
though, of course, he is hardly an
unbiased observer.

The $39.95 game is available by
calling Marcotte at 987-0093.

a oe
Thurs. : 7 July 9: 30: 9 pin.
i. ‘8 July. 9: 30- Spm.
‘Sat. 9 duly 9:30- 5:30:

~ Specializing: in Blinds and Draperies for over 95 years

117-949 W. 3RD STREET
NORTH VANCOUVER
(Behind Capilano Mall)

gi

s