A new idea about old-fashioned games has given two inquisitive inventors their big break. By Jane Searle Two Australian entrepreneurs have made successful inroads into the notoriously difficult board-game segment of the toy industry with a simple approach: dispensing with the idea that a puzzle has only one solution. Dr Mark Wood and Frank Dyksterhuis, through their Queensland company Mind Challenge, are selling their 18-month-old-game, Kaleidoscope Classic, in Australia, Britain, India and New Zealand.

Launched in May 2004, Kaleidoscope Classic was the second biggest seller in Coles Myer stores last Christmas, and in March this year Mind Challenge signed a $5.5-million, three-year distribution deal with wholesaler Braingym in Britain, which supplies stores including Harrods, Hamleys and Selfridges. The proliferation of electronic games in recent years has made the board-game market tough to crack; the few that succeed are usually sold to toy giants such as Mattel. Kaleidoscope Classic is innovative in combining a conventional puzzle with technology to create an internet community. The game is a chequerboard that can be broken into 18 pieces and reassembled to form various images in a square. Unlike puzzles that have one solution, the game allows players to form countless images. Wood and Dyksterhuis have created enough images or "challenges" to post one online every week for the next 100 years. The internet strategy also discourages copycats, as anyone who buys a replicated board will not receive new challenges or access to prizes.

Wood, a psychologist, developed the game with Dyksterhuis, a mathematician, when they met 13 years ago. Wood, who has lived in Australia since 1976, says: "My strength is creating fantasy figures, while Frank looks at the geometric relationships. I might want to create an image, and sometimes I can't. Frank can mathematically tell me if it is possible-being American I don't like being told anything's impossible". The Australian Toy Association's chief executive, Beverly Jenkin, says the toy and game industry makes $1.5 billion revenue each year and has grown by about 15% over the past four years. "Monopoly and Scrabble jostle for the top spot in board games. The industry sees thousands of new products every year, but most are rehashes of old products, like Star Wars Monopoly",Jenkin says.She says she cannot recall any recent Australian export successes. For Mind Challenge, heavy investment in manufacturing means the company is yet to turn a profit, and Wood will emerge from personal debt only this year, after spending a 'ferocious amount' on patents. To develop their idea, Wood and Dyksterhuis joined forces with businessman Vishal Mehrotra, who is now the company's chief executive, and acquired intellectual property rights over the puzzle.

In 2002 they pitched the concept to a former JBWere executive, who funded most of the $1.6-million seed capital. The company established a manufacturing base in western India, and conducted market tests in India during 2003. "The feedback meant we got the product mix right", Mehrotra says. "Pricing was an issue, as our game was priced at $36 compared with $10 for Scrabble, the best seller at the time". Mind Challenge released separate, cheaper versions of the internet and board game, and sales rocketed. Since the game was officially launched last June, Mehrotra says feedback from the Indian department stores Shopper's Stop and Lifestyle tell him that Kaleidoscope outsells Scrabble. Mind Challenge has 24 shareholders who have provided funding of $4 million. In its first year (2003-04) the company had revenue of $1.2 million, and this year revenue will be $3-5 million, Mehrotra says. The company expects to start making a profit in 2007, and is considering a stockmarket float once distribution is more widespread.