NHS nurse launches adventure board game with help of his 'brilliant' eight-year-old daughter

Dan Hughes, 44, and Cora began developing CoraQuest during the first lockdown in Spring and have now fine-tuned it to the point they’re looking to launch it commercially.

The family game, inspired by Cora’s incredible imagination, sees players work together to get through a spooky dungeon while finding treasure and fighting monsters.

Incredibly, a majority of the actual artwork was drawn by Cora. Mr Hughes has officially launched the game today by announcing a crowdfunding campaign which he hopes will raise enough cash to put them into full production.

Cora said: “I’m so excited about having my own game. I’m really happy that so many of my ideas are now real and that maybe other people might be able to play the game I invented.

“It was so fun making it with my dad.”

Mr Highes said the idea to create a game came to him and Cora during the first lockdown when children were off school and learning from home.

He said: “Cora was doing the same worksheets over and over and we just felt a bit bored and uninspired. We both really enjoy board games and I wanted to get creative so we went for it.

“It was all just a bit of fun at the start but as time went on we developed it more and more to the point now that, we think, it’s really good. The whole process has been great, it’s been a great bonding experience for Cora and me.

“She’s loved it and I have too, it’s been really nice to get the creative juices flowing. It’s given us some laughs and joy in what has otherwise been a dreary time for everyone. I’m really proud of Cora, she’s a star.”

Mr Hughes, of Huddersfield, and works as a psychiatric nurse for the NHS, said he enjoys all types of games and has played since he was a child.

He counts Dungeons & Dragons, a fantasy tabletop role-playing game, among his favourite of all time.

Cora has followed in his footsteps and spends countless hours playing a variety of games, including all-time classic Guess Who.

She said: “I play lots of games so the idea to make one of my own sounded great.”

Some of her wonderful CoraQuest characters include Wizard Woman and Crossbow Dude as well as a host of grumpy goblins, gremlins and orcs.

A majority of the artwork was drawn by Cora but the father-daughter duo also sought help from more than 20 other children around the world.

Children from Britain, the USA, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Canada and Australia all contributed.

The crowdfunding page has been launched today on Kickstarter and anyone who donates £30 will get a copy of the game once production begins.

Dan said he needs 400 people to invest £30 each to reach his target. Donate here.