John McDonough’s Rocket Ball games are ready to go into production after 3 years of development. (Photo/Nancy Hanson.)

Rocket Ball, easy to set up on a table. entertains Kloey Frye and grandpa Tom LittleOwl — fun without screens or wi-fi.

Nancy Edmonds Hanson 

Inventor John McDonough’s Rocket Ball games are finally going into production – just in time for Christmas orders.

Molds are being developed now to mass-produce the bright yellow controllers that define the fast-moving tabletop game. Players use them to snap a ball forward and back on the 2-by-3-foot playing surface, similar to a child-sized pool table. A bell dings with each swat as two players or teams zing the bright red ball past their opponents’ paddles. The lightning-fast action has been compared to a two-person version of pinball.

After four years of tinkering and assembling prototypes himself in his basement in south Moorhead, McDonough is ready to move into full production by Nov. 1. With the support of the Barnesville Economic Development Authority, his team will begin producing games in leased space there in coming days. Manufactured games should be ready to ship by mid-month, “in plenty of time,” he notes, “for Christmas.”

Some of McDonough’s first Rocket Ball orders have been on the books for several years. Seventy percent of players who tried out his prototype two years ago at Gen Con, the nation’s largest tabletop gaming convention,were ready to buy on the spot, McDonough says. Wherever area gamers have tried his prototypes, from Buffalo Wild Wings and local retirement facilities to the Moorhead Business Association and St. Joseph’s School, newly minted fans have asked about purchasing the units.

“People who’ve tried Rocket Ball love it,” the Moorhead man reports. “Kids love it. Parents and grandparents love it, too. It’s something fun to do together that doesn’t involve a screen and electronics.”

But getting the 14-pound, easy-to-set- up games into commercial production has been a challenge. “It’s been frustrating many, many times,” he reflects. “My wife Lois and I have put about $100,000 into its development so far, mostly for engineering.”

By day, McDonough works in maintenance at the Federal Courthouse in Fargo. Long an inventor, this is his second brainchild; the first, Rapid Rake, was sold by Menard’s and Ace Hardware a decade ago.

He has spent recent months looking for financing to finally get Rocket Ball to the markets that await it. He continues to pitch investment in his patent-pending device to accredited investors, the moneyed venture capitalists who are allowed to invest in unregistered securities, such as those offered by private companies like his. While his polished sales video has already generated some positive responses, he’s still on the hunt. “A Japanese investor was very, very interested,” he reports, “but was looking for a much larger opportunity.” Now he is pushing forward with the help of family and close friends as he negotiates with other prospects.

Meanwhile, potential Rocket Ball fans continue to get their chance to try their hands. Rocket Ball games are available for free play at the Silver Spike in Dilworth from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23. McDonough will invite visitors to try them at the Barnesville Events Center from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 26.

Here in Moorhead, mixed doubles leagues are being set up at Courts and Pints, 2605 Eighth St. S., the new pickleball center that opened this summer. League play will take place on Thursday nights.

For more information about Rocket Ball, contact McDonough at johnm@rocketball.fun; or visit Rocket Ball on Facebook and at www.rocketball.fun.