Robert Poole

Little did Robert Poole, creator of Rules of the Game, know 11 years ago
as he walked his mail route that today his board game would be poised to
take the nation by storm, or that it would challenge the sports savvy of
everyone who plays it. Rules of the Game is the only board game that
uses actual scenarios from baseball, basketball, football, and golf to
put players into a referee’s or umpire’s shoes to ‘make the call.’ It’s
for anyone who has ever argued a controversial call during a game or
enjoyed ‘you make the call’ questions during broadcasts of favorite
sporting events. Robert Poole is a self-described, ‘Army brat,’ was born
41 years ago at Fort Belvoir, VA. He traveled the world with his
parents, three brothers and sister. When his father, Chief Warrant
Officer Reginald Poole, retired after 22 years of service, he, his wife,
Mary, and the children settled in Clayton, N.C., 16 miles outside of
Raleigh. Mr. Poole loves sports. At Clayton High School, he earned 13
letters in four sports: four in baseball, four in track, three in
football and two in basketball. He was a member of the Clayton High
state championship basketball team. After Mr. Poole graduated high
school in 1976, he went to Pembroke (N.C.) State University on a
baseball scholarship. Mr. Poole graduated Pembroke in 1981 with a B.A.
degree in history. He began working for the U.S. Postal Service soon
after graduation. He continues to serve as a Staff Sergeant in the Air
Force Reserve stationed at Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina. Rules
of the Game began taking shape after he transferred to the Avent Ferry
Post Office in 1987. ‘A lot of guys knew I coached and gave me
challenging sports scenarios. They wanted to know the rule covering the
situation. If I didn’t know the answer, I’d look it up. It became a game
with us.’ It took several years for the Rules of the Game idea to take
shape. In 1993, he told his mother about the idea. Mary Poole said
‘Let’s get to work.’ They worked at the kitchen table developing the
questions and Mary would type the information into a computer. ‘We typed
questions from sunup to sundown,’ he said. His goal was to create a ‘fun
game,’ Mr. Poole said, but ‘also a game that’s a learning experience.
Kids can learn the rules of sports with this game.’ As the game
developed, Mary also helped raise money from friends and neighbors in
Clayton to make the dream a reality. Eighty percent of Mr. Poole’s
original investors are from his hometown. ‘I bump into my stockholders
everyday,’ Mr. Poole said. ‘They are my neighbors, co-workers or we
belong to the same church.’ He married his wife, Dee, 10 years ago and
they have three sons, Ryan, 6, Corey, 3 and Casey, 9 months. ‘I have
enough for an outfield now,’ he said. Rules of the Game is available at
retailers throughout the country including K-Mart.