Board Game Depicts Day-To-Day Lives of Truckers on the Road

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MONCTON, N.B. – On a long haul, drivers see it all – weigh scales and fines, construction and detours, snowstorms and the challenges of sharing the road. Now, a driver’s day-to-day life can be experienced on a tabletop thanks to Destination, a board game that simulates life on the road.

The board depicts a highway scene illustrating many of the variables that can interrupt a trucker’s daily routine. The goal is to be the first player to reach his destination before running out of money. Each player begins the game with $2,500. As you roll the dice and move your die-cast rig game piece around the board, you encounter the same situations that professional truck drivers do every day.

Destination can be played by up to six people. A game generally lasts an hour to an hour and a half.

Players’ resources rapidly deplete as they pay for meals, lodgings and fuel, truck repairs and fines when they violate regulations. They also encounter hazards such as snowstorms, detours and floods, inspection station and weigh scale stops.

“We were trying to make it as realistic as possible,” said Terry Henry, marketing director for Cyndal Productions Inc. – the production company behind Destination. “We wanted to try to get it across that these are the things drivers are dealing with on the road and this is what it is like behind the wheel. That was the goal behind the game.”

As players make their way around the board they also encounter random safety squares. If a player lands on one, and answers the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) endorsed True or False question correctly, he or she gets extra cash from the bank.

Examples of the safety questions are: “Studded snow tires may be used at any time of the year – true or false?” or “A disc wheel with two or more cracks any place on the wheel, regardless of length, will place a commercial vehicle out of service – true or false?”

The target audience is mainly family members of truckers, said Henry, but anybody who has an interest in trucking or is learning about the trucking industry would benefit from playing this game.

The game was conceived when Cyndal Productions president Randal Black decided it might be worthwhile to create a fun and enjoyable way to teach people about the ins and outs of the trucking industry.

As an owner/operator himself, Black found that information on regulations was hard to come by, even for someone already in the business.

The kitchen became his workshop. And with a sheet of Bristol board laid out on the table, Black created the foundations of Destination the Board Game. Many subsequent hours were spent developing the concept, artwork, board layout and game piece design.

“It was a daunting task finding suppliers to manufacture components to the quality we wanted,” said Black.

But it all came together thanks to Black’s business partner, Trevor Burgess, whose strong business background in the trucking industry added the necessary touches for production. Burgess created a business plan, and arranged production, financing and distribution arrangements.

Cyndal Productions recently redesigned its Destination Web site and has since taken many of its orders online. And Cyndal is currently looking at creating another edition of Destination specifically for the U.S. market.

Black and Burgess, who both work full time in the trucking industry, have only recently had time to focus on marketing the game. But Destination is now on the trade show circuit and is being sold in many of the Irving Big Stops in the Maritimes as well as Dysart’s Truck Stop in Bangor, Me. And Black and Burgess have big plans for the future. They hope to one day attract mainstream interest in the game.

For more information or to order Destination contact Cyndal Productions at www.destinationthegame.com or 506-432-1521.

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  • My nephew has Destination the board game but had lost the rules. Is it possible to get a new set of rules for the game? Any information would be greatly appreciated, he loves the game and trucks!!

    Thanks,

    Sonya Prosser

  • I have this game, haven’t played it in years, can barely find anything about it online anymore. Perhaps it’s gotten rather rare lately?