Or in the case of the classic 1970s board game "Mastermind" to the companies which produce them. The UK-based Invicta Plastics (Leicester) seems to be on the verge of going belly up having made eleven employees redundant and leaving the remaining 24 jobs hanging in the balance. The 68-year-old engineering company, with an established reputation on the contract moulding market, sold millions of the code-breaking game to households since it was introduced some 40 years ago. The game is still being sold in various forms such as wooden boards in addition to the traditional brown plastic ones – at least seen as such on Amazon – not to mention as a download suitable for playing on computers, which is a bit of irony considering that it is most likely computer games which have played an indirect role in the insolvency filings of many a board game company. Or have they?

Financial data reported by the latest industry media for computer games, suggest otherwise indicating that what with families tightening their belts while others simply wait out the next generation of game consoles to be unveiled, the sales of video games has been down by as much as 10% over last year with board games having a bit of a renaissance.

That is good news for those who can still appreciate looking for missing pieces after a heated battle of "Sorry!" or "Risk" but it does not help the good people of Invicta as they wait to hear what is to happen to their once-proud employer, known especially for the educational products it made.

In the words of joint administrator David Bennett, from the accountancy firm Grant Thornton, "We are currently in the process of considering our strategy for realising value in the business and assets of the company."

...perhaps there is a game to help them determine that?