After the success of his first board game, Word-Roulette, which won national awards and gained attention from Facebook users and board-game fans, Bend resident Tony Aceti decided to give game-making another go.

Aceti, owner of Famlee Fun Games LLC, will unveil and sell his second game, Lucky Farms, at the Deschutes County Fair, which runs from today through Sunday in Redmond.

Not wanting to show up to the Chicago Toy and Game Fair last fall empty-handed, Aceti came up with the concept for Lucky Farms just beforethe event. He thought creating another game with leftover roulette wheels made perfect sense. He began assembling Lucky Farms prototypes by hand, and within weeks had 50, which he sold and gave away to receive feedback.

“I made all the cards by hand,” said Aceti. ”It was a nightmare, but when you have a dream you do what it takes to follow through.”

After receiving positive feedback at the convention and in the community, Aceti began working closely with businesses such as Bend-based Driving Force Graphics and Portland-based Northwest Paper Box. Production sped up, and 500 units were created in the past two months.

Aceti, 56, hopes to gauge reaction at the fair to see whether he should begin producing more games.

The game allows players to build a farm. They select what type of farm they want to build (for example, dairy, vegetable or orchard, among other choices).

Players then spin a wheel, and four balls randomly select four farm essentials for each player that they can barter and trade.

There are different levels of difficulty in the game, beginning with a simple and introductory version. As players progress and become familiar with the game, eventually two farms can be played at one time.

The first player to complete a farm and accumulate all farm essentials, such as land, water or a barn, must then land on the farm truck icon to cash in the harvest and win.

The game ends with a first-, second- and third-place farmer and can be played by two to six players ages 6 and up.

“I like to keep it simple first and leave room for challenges as you progress and get better at the game,” Aceti said. “That’s the way I like to do things.”

Andrea Stra, a mother of three from Bend, let her children visit Aceti’s booth at the Sisters Quilt Show recently and play Lucky Farms for what seemed like hours.

“I was surprised. It takes a lot for kids’ interest to be held for long periods of time,” said Stra. “So I was impressed and think the concept of the game is fantastic.”

Aceti keeps costs down by selling his game at fairs and street shows only; this allows him to cover costs, which are usually $14 a game. The standard price for the board game is $27.95, but it can be bought at the fair for $22 if paying with credit, or $20 if paying with cash.

Aceti says he has not considered mass marketing and isn’t looking to get rich from his success in game development.

“This has been a fun adventure, and I have some ideas for more games,” he said. “My signature will be using the roulette wheel, and I just needed to do something fun and light, and the farm game filled all those niches that I have for now.”

— Reporter: 541-383-0325 vsmith@bendbulletin.com