INPEX, America's Largest Invention Trade Show and Inventors Conference, recently announced that Phil Wolkis, a resident of Plainview, recently invented a board game that fosters interaction among players while teaching them about the electoral process.

When playing Úquot;The Candidates' TrailÚquot;, players act as presidential candidates, trying to accumulate popular votes in each state, which can later be converted into electoral votes. Each player develops strategies to fund their own candidate as they also try to prevent opponents from obtaining funds and votes. The game demonstrates the unique relationship between popular and electoral votes and it can be played and enjoyed by all ages.

Wolkis and his two sons Edward and Steven, who have been working on the game for approximately three years, came up with the idea for the game while working on a website to facilitate communication between voters and elected representatives. Úquot;We wound up analyzing the value of the popular vote and we discovered that one person's vote can be worth more or less toward an electoral vote than another person's depending on the population of the states in which those two people live,Úquot; said Phil.

Wolkis and his sons are exhibiting at INPEX May 14-17 in Pittsburgh with the hopes of finding a manufacturer or licensee.

Úquot;It is a peculiar method Americans use to elect their president,Úquot; said Phil. Úquot;Under this method, Wyoming is entitled to one vote for every 165,000 residents while California is entitled to one vote for every 616,000 residents. As the game progresses, alliances are formed between candidates for obtaining votes and funds to block the advances of other candidates.Úquot;

Phil said that he, along with his sons, tried to create a game with all of the twists, turns and convolutions of the Electoral College and make it fun to play. Úquot;The Candidates' Trail follows the convoluted rules of the Electoral College system with some poetic license and without editorial comment,Úquot; he said. Úquot;The game is fun and it is mind boggling that we elect our presidents by these same rules. The game will instruct you about the intricacies of the Electoral College such as winner take all rule. Under this rule, the winner of more than 50 percent of a state's popular votes receives 100 percent of that state's electoral votes. Under this rule it is possible for the candidate with the least amount of popular votes to acquire the most electoral votes and win the Presidency.Úquot;

INPEX, the Invention Show, is a unique trade show that showcases new products and innovations that are available to business and industry. As part of the trade show, the Invention Show sponsors INPEX Inventors University, a series of seminars, presentations and panel discussions designed to educate inventors, entrepreneurs and business attendees.