An art lover who gave up his mundane job as a shoe shop assistant to pursue his unusual passion for novelty boardgames has had his craftwork praised by former Liverpool FC striker Peter Crouch.
Jay Reavy, 35, from Wallasey, is the creator of "Guess Youniverse", a spin on the "Guess Who?" game which includes hand-drawn caricatures of customers' friends, family or workmates.
A lifelong Liverpool FC fan, he sent a specially made version of his boardgame to the producers of That Peter Crouch Podcast after painstakingly recreating the likenesses of all the famous faces who appeared on the show, from hosts Peter Crouch and Chris Stark to Ant McPartlin and Martine McCutcheon.
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Jay said: "I started listening to the podcast a couple of years ago, early 2020, and they spoke of so many characters in the footballing world and beyond, I thought it would make a good game, and I'd love to create one and present it to him as a gift. I started making it - but the project got shelved because of Covid-19, and I couldn't quite finish it when the pandemic was at its peak.
"Fast forward to the present day, I shipped it off last year to the producer of the podcast, and out of the blue a couple of days ago I saw a tweet from Peter Crouch himself playing the game. It was really great to see it was being enjoyed as intended."
Jay came up with the idea of starting his own boardgame business back in 2019 - but when Covid-19 hit, he was forced to put his plans on hold. Still working part-time as a delivery man for a baking company, he hopes to someday make boardgame-making his full-time profession.
He said: "Illustrating has always been a hobby of mine. I like drawing and I was always trying to get a bit of freelance illustation work in. A friend of mine had knowledge on laser cutting, and from her I learned the basics of laser cutting my own boardgames.
"It all came from working in retail. I worked for Shuh for about five and a half years, and because I'd been there so long, when it came to leaving the job I wanted to give them a special gift. I don't know how it came to me, but I had the idea of a personalised Guess Who? with my colleagues' faces, and it went down so well I thought I couldn't leave it there. It was such a great reaction and the feedback was so positive."
Each Guess Youniverse game is one-of-a-kind, and can be made from one of hundreds of kinds of wood, from exotic breeds to standard cherry oak. Each board holds enough space for 24 caricatures, though customers can order as many pictures as they like to mix and match however they want.
Peter Crouch said the game was "possibly the best podcast gift we’ve ever received from a listener".
Jay said: "The point of me making it is for people to enjoy it - it's an experience, and when it's personalised it means so much more. To see someone enjoying it is a fantastic feeling.
"It's a big focus and I would love it to be my 100% full-time work, but I have got a part-time job to keep myself afloat. I've always been interested in art and drawing, that's part of my jam. It might be a niche product, but I do genuinely believe there is a market for it. I've believed in it since I started, and to do it full-time would be fantastic."
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