Father, son create thought-provoking board game 'Earth Encounters'

PLAYA VISTA, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A father and son created a board game called Earth Encounters, which is garnering national attention.

Lawrence Walker, 69, came up with the idea for the game in 1989, around the time his business partner and son, Taylor, was born.

"I wanted to create a platform to provide meaningful conversation between families and friends," Lawrence said.

Now, Taylor, 25, has made his father's game his focus as part of his graduate degree at Loyola Marymount University. His classmates, professor and dean are behind him 100 percent.

"I'm always interested in what's going to help children learn and to be engaged in ideas. I could see schools using this game. I could see families and parents using this game," said Shane Martin, dean of LMU's school of education.

The board game features questions that players ask each other, but not like those on Trivial Pursuit. The questions in Earth Encounters are much more thought provoking. One question is "Which changed the world more Facebook or Google? Why?"

The player who answers enough questions correctly and completes challenges wins the game. The Walkers said Barnes & Noble is interested in putting their game on its shelves.

"We're actually ready to go into production. We're conducting a Kickstarter through my son," Lawrence said.

Taylor hopes to provide the board game to a larger audience.

"My goal is to bring this game to fruition because I know it means a lot to my father," he said.