Those scratching their heads for what to get the football fan in their life from Newcastle's Christmas Market have an option that hasn't been seen in the city before.
The team behind Pundit, a Danish board game which aims to combine football nostalgia and trivia, has a stall on the green at Old Eldon Square. With the aim of getting it to your striker and scoring a goal by answering one of 900 questions, they are hoping to capitalise on World Cup fever, even though Denmark fell at the group stage.
And though it's available to buy online, there are a few reasons that Newcastle has been chosen to promote the game further. The first is that Aodhan Brownlee, the UK manager who helped translate the game from Danish, is from the region - even though he doesn't speak the language.
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Aodhan said: "I don't speak Danish, it was already translated really well but it didn't have the contextual flow or humorous tone, which is what we've tried to do to make the game more enjoyable. The game is meant to be a cross-generational trip down memory lane, so you've got young kids answering questions from nowadays but then their grandad gets a go and you might see his eyes light up."
The other reason is the passion for football that is rarely seen as clearly as a city like Newcastle. Aodhan continued: "What's going on with Newcastle at the moment seems to be all good news but it hasn't always been like that.
"We want fans to rack their brains to take them back to the good times, the bad times, and those in between - there's a question in there about Peter Beardsley that's stumped all the Geordies we've spoken to. Everything to do with Newcastle historically has been around nostalgia and the fans encapsulate that, and it's really to go somewhere that's a one club city rather than somewhere like Manchester where the game might not resonate as much as we think it would with the community here."
And despite there having not been any Premier League games since the Christmas Markets began, the stall had a busy day when Newcastle United Women beat Barnsley Women 2-1 in front of a record breaking crowd at St James' Park last Sunday. Aodhan said: "We had loads of people stopping by the stall.
"Sadly no footballers, but lots of Newcastle fans and a lot of interest. So far, Dominic Matteo and Matt Jarvis (former Liverpool and Wolves players respectively) have enjoyed it but we'd love to see either a current or former NUFC player stop by!"
Denmark may have been knocked out of the World Cup, but Pundit is being sold at the Newcastle Christmas Markets until December 16. You can find out more about the game on Pundit Games website.
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