A hand-crafted board game is the latest project for a York brickie.

Keith Mulhearn with his Sl board game

Keith Mulhearn, a bricklayer by trade, has just finished work on his latest hobby, a Viking board-game named Sl.

The game is a cross between pool, Subbuteo and tiddlywinks, and is played on an octagonal board with four corner pockets.

Sl is to be marketed as a Viking game to be sold at craft fairs and similar events in and around York.

The aim of the game is to flick all your pieces into the pockets before your opponent, and then as with the black eight-ball in pool, sink the final neutral piece.

The two sets of counters represent Viking deities Odin and Thor, and using the 'earth counter', you sink these pieces in the leather-lined pockets before attempting to knock out the 'sun piece'.

Sl, a Viking word meaning to hit or strike, is a very simple game and can be played by adults or children and seems very easy to pick-up.

Mr Mulhearn has had a good response when playing against friends: "They seem to like the game.

"It is very easy to get started, but when you get going there are a range of tactics and techniques you can employ.

"It is very similar to pool in the sense that you can get a variety of different situations arising after the break, and every game is different. It is a matter of learning the angles."

He continued: "It is a Viking-based game and all the materials are wooden or leather. I have tried to avoid using plastics.

"I originally approached commercial manufacturers, but as the game has developed I have realised that it is better to market it as a hand-crafted game and limit it to York, or at least visitors to York."

The Flaxton-based 32-year-old has also written a walking guide to York and is working on a similar one for Whitby.

The hand-made game will you set you back £60 and will be available at craft fairs and markets around York.

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