Newport Couple Puts a New Spin on an Old Game

In the age of Xbox 360, Wii and PS3 will anyone be interested in Jukem Football, a home-grown card game set to launch in specialty retail stores in mid-September?

Probably so because it’s easy to learn, affordable, secretly educational, and most importantly - fun! Even a person who has little-to-no knowledge about football can pick up this card game in a matter of minutes.

Jukem Football was created by husband and wife team Jeff and Michelle Spelman, Greater Cincinnati natives who now call Newport home. Jeff, who had a 20-year career in sports media, and developed the game changing Team One Baseball Showcase first created the game as a way to have fun while teaching his children to count.

In Jukem Football, with some variation, players score touchdowns and field goals by arranging "catch," "pass" and "run" cards in a way that adds up exactly to 100. The game ends once players get through the deck twice.

“This literally helped teach my children to count; they could count before they could read the cards,” Jeff said.

Jukem Football, in which Neyer Holdings is investing, had some success in its earlier carnation as Quick Count, which was sold in area specialty retail stores just before Christmas 2007. A recent retooling that included a card redesign, and game tweaks to make it move faster with added plays, resulted in Jukem Football. The game will be sold for $20 and includes two decks -one is a rookie deck for beginners.

When Jukem Football debuts later this month, it will be sold in 100 stores in 14 states, said Michelle, Jukem’s Sales Manager. Among the local shops that will carry it are: King Arthur’s Court in Oakley, Ted's Toys and Trains in Madeira, and Metronation downtown. The game soon should be available for online purchase on the company’s Web site and at Amazon.com.

Jukem Football was manufactured entirely in the U.S., with United States Playing Card Company in Erlanger manufacturing the game. The cards were designed locally by Fisher Design, with original artwork by local graphic artist Toby Lay. The accompanying rulebook was manufactured by a Michigan company.

“It’s amazing how much talent is here,” Jeff said.

The game’s appeal is that it’s relatively inexpensive and can play across generations and places.

“I could see a mother and son playing this at home, or some guys out at a tailgate party."

Once the game enteres the marketplace, the Spelmans plan to market it to schools, and the Big Dream is that a NFL licensing agreement could pan out. It’s not a far-fetched idea since the couple is working with Steve Boord, Managing Director of Merchant Banking at Neyer Holdings Co. who has a background in licensing, including the monster Star Wars agreements.

Writer: Feoshia Henderson
Sources: Jeff Spelman, Michelle Spelman co-creators of Jukem Football