By Rory Reynolds
A FORMER undercover detective who left the force to develop a spy game for kids is on the verge of huge deal with a luxury US hotel chain.
David Goutcher, a former CID officer at Strathclyde Police, could hit the jackpot if the Four Seasons firm snap up his problem solving game.
The luxury group – which owns 80 hotels – got wind of the interactive game after a US businessman played it with his daughter at Gleneagles and recommended it the Four Seasons chain.
The interactive game involves youngsters carrying out spy missions by solving clues and finding items in the grounds of a country club or hotel.
David’s firm Polybius is already expected to hit a £500,000 turnover in the coming year.
But if the Four Seasons group agree to the deal he could be rivalling some of Scotland’s most successful game companies.
Exciting
David – who has already sold his game to five Center Parcs sites across the UK – is based in Eaglesham, just outside Glasgow.
He said: “I worked undercover for five years in the police.
“A lot of what I did was really exciting, but you could never tell anyone about it, so I wanted to use what I had learned in a game for children.”
He has also secured a deal with Macdonald Hotels to fit their hotels with the interactive game.
The game can be played wirelessly through a computer or mobile phone anywhere on the hotel’s grounds.
And David can even tailor make game for particular hotels, with one Macdonald’s site in East Kilbride buying a Rob Roy version of the adventure game.
The inventor has already flown to the US, funded by British Airways and Scottish Development International, as part of a scheme to showcase Scotland’s exports abroad and is now in talks with two other US leisure chains to supply them with the game.
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