A MAN his hoping his idea to market a simple pen and paper game he recalls from childhood will be a winner.

Keith Duff, 46, has taken out a patent for the grid game, which involves a series of dots that have to be joined up to form boxes.

The painter and decorator, from Newton Aycliffe, played the game as a child and wondered if anyone had thought of marketing it.

He contacted the Patent Office and found there was no similar game recorded, so he registered the design which is now his to market.

He has assembled a prototype package consisting of a pad of grids, with the rules printed on the back, and four coloured pens, all in a handy plastic wallet.

Mr Duff has called the game Initials, because the person who completes a box writes the initial letter of his or her name inside it.

He said: "I wondered if there could be a little niche for this.

"Certainly the kids I've tried it out on have loved it and wanted it for their school bags so they could challenge each other at lunchtime."

Mr Duff feels it would make an ideal travel game for children on long-haul flights, train or coach trips, or car journeys, or could even work well as a computer game.

He is hoping to persuade a games manufacturer to market the game, which he believes could spark a playground craze.

For further information, Mr Duff can be contacted on (01325) 321571 or 07930 209961.