The name Red Herring speaks of deception, possibly taking a wrong pathway. It is set on Te Pataka o Rakaihautu Horomaka / Banks Peninsula, a landscape formed by volcanoes that last erupted 15 to 20 million years ago.

The area is a geological masterpiece of volcanic rock formations, steep cliffs, many harbours, and deep gullies covered in bush. There are six jetties located in Te Whakaraupō (Lyttelton Harbour). In 2011, an earthquake severely damaged the 300-metre-long jetty in Governors Bay, inspiring this game to help raise funds to rebuild the jetty.

The plank is the fuel that drives the game, with the goal being to build your jetty. Players receive planks at the beginning of the game, and when they complete a circuit of the board or land on certain locations.

Sometimes, you can take planks from other players and you can use the different coloured planks strategically. Will you strive to be the first to build your jetty? Or will you maximise points by waiting for “your colour” planks to place on your jetty? The game becomes increasingly competitive as the number of planks dwindle.

You are also playing against the clock, with a maximum game time of one hour (depending on the number of players).

Red Herring was invented by Simon Mortlock MNZM and the boards designed by Russ Harris.

Only 100 of these handmade games will ever be made - the printing board has been sold as an artwork.

Not just a game, this is a piece of jetty history that is likely to become a collectors’ piece in the future.

It was lovingly hand-crafted by the members of Ferrymead Printing Society in Christchurch, to whom we are indebted. The playing pieces and wooden planks are made using timber locally sourced and used as actual planks in the jetty rebuild.

For more information, see ferrymeadprint.org.nz.

This version was printed locally by Caxton Press and is affordable for the budget conscious.

Rather than wooden planks (which you get in the handmade game, made from the wood used to build the jetty), the planks are high quality printed cards.

Included in the box is a board, 120 plank cards, 6 playing pieces, dice, and instructions.