A RETIRED teacher has taken his hobby one step further so others can enjoy his favourite pastime.

Former classics teacher Phil Balmforth has used his specialist knowledge to add two new boardgames to the market.

Mr Balmforth, 60, of Linthorpe, Middlesbrough, was a sixth form teacher at Middlesbrough College for 25 years until retiring in 1997.

His passion for boardgames dates back to his childhood and he now boasts a huge collection of games.

Following his retirement, Mr Balmforth set to work on his own game, Pots, which took four years to create.

The game, set in Classical Athens, challenges players to bid against each other to get the biggest and best collection of Greek vases as they travel round key areas of the city.

The game was completed in May and Mr Balmforth immediately set to work on a second puzzle - Sudoku Dice - an idea which came to him in a dream one night and took 12 weeks to produce.

Fellow teacher Keith Thompson, who taught design and technology at the college, helped with the design of the games.

Mr Balmforth said: "My wife and I had lost a lot of money on the Stock Exchange and had a lot of misery out of it, so we thought we might as well put our money in something else.

"It is something I enjoy and is such a popular thing, so I just thought I have got to take a chance on this one.

"I have a life-long interest in boardgames - I have a collection of about 400 games.

"There is a big market for Pots and it is a very useful teaching aid.

"The response I have had has been very positive. I have now got plans for two more games."

To find out more or to buy one of Mr Balmforth's games, visit www.hanzogames.com