A designer from Ilkley has spent the duration of the pandemic creating a brand-new outdoor game that he came up with on holiday in Majorca with his friends 10 years ago.

Henry Marks, 34, a self-employed designer said the game called Canoff was created during a boozy trip away with his friends when they were in their early 20’s, but he had always promised that he would create the real thing.

Henry said: “Basically it was created with me and some friends on a summer holiday in 2010. Me and another guy got some broomsticks and some buckets and bricks and made this make-up assembly with beer cans”

I promised to everyone that I would eventually make it into a real product and 12 years down the line when covid hit it, it gave me the opportunity to finally work on it.”

When Henry’s job as a museum designer ‘fell flat on the floor' during the pandemic he took the opportunity to spend the past 18 months working on the game.

Henry said: “It gave me a reason and an incentive to get up and get going every morning. It stopped me being depressed during the lockdowns really.”

 He has been working on the project slowly for the past 10 years, but added that it was only over the “past couple of years that he has put a full amount of time into getting it developed.”

He said: “I was really passionate about it because we played it for consecutive years when we all went on holiday together, it was a lot of fun.”

The concept of the game involves two beer cans balanced on sticks, and a frisbee to knock off the opposing team's can, and was initially designed as a ‘drinking game’.

When asked what the future looked like, Henry said that he hopes that game design will be a new career path for him and that he has other games in mind if Canoff is a success.

The game was launched in the UK a couple of months ago, and Henry said that when he visited the warehouse and saw the game for the first time it was a ‘scary but amazing experience.’

He added: “Suddenly you realise you’ve been working on this product for years and years and you’re excited to see it and then you see all of this stock and you think what have I done, what have I got myself into. It’s a good fear, I don’t know how to explain the feeling.”

The game is suitable for anyone of any age as long as they can ‘throw a frisbee’ Henry added.

It is available to buy at https://www.canoff.co.uk/.

Crusade toy shop in Ilkley will also be stocking the game.