A new board game that could well end up beneath Christmas trees all over the world this year was launched at Preshute Primary School, Marlborough, on Friday.

Mildenhall-based inventor Tony Davis has said that, even before any marketing has been done on the new game Bookchase, he has had inquiries about stocking it from as far afield as the US and South Africa.

Mr Davis chose Preshute School to launch the game as his own children have attended the school and his ten-year-old son, Noah, who contributed questions for the game, is a pupil there.

Appropriately the launch coincided with the school's Book Week and most pupils were dressed up as their favourite story characters.

Mr Davis, who designed the Penguin range of mugs, pencils, tea towels and deckchairs, said that Bookchase is a game that all the family can play together.

He said: "It has elements of Trivial Pursuit and Monopoly, but its great benefit is that it can be played by all ages.

"Bookchase is about all sorts of books, important or trivial, classic works or fun. Everyone is qualified to play because the only skills you need are to roll the dice. You can win if you have never read a book and even if you've read all the books in the world, you could lose."

Players have to collect six categories of books and the first to reach home wins, but along the way they face hazards such as dropping a book in the bath.

Mr Davis has also been approached by the estates of Ian Fleming and Agatha Christie about making a themed version of the game.

It is available online at www.bookchase.info and, in Marlborough, it will shortly be on sale at the White Horse Bookshop and the Merchant's House.