Fareham man's Wetherspoon's The Game Facebook group gains 300,000 members in a month

Chris Illman started Wetherspoons The Game in 2018 following a spell of hard luck in which he went through a separation, cancer treatment and ended up homeless. The game was one of the many groups he set up to help him establish a positive mindset but it has taken off more than he envisioned.

Chris said: “I knew it was going to be popular but I just didn’t realise how popular it was going to be.” The game works so that members will go to a Wetherspoon’s and take a picture of themselves to share on the group, other members will then buy them food and drink. The expectation is that members will then do this for other members around the country so it builds a community of pub goers who will buy each other rounds of drinks and food. It is a community which has helped Chris recover from a difficult time: “Its very important, it brought me back back from a dark place and seeing all this positivity is amazing.”

While the group did receive initial popularity, the arrival of COVID and the subsequent lockdowns saw it drop off. However, this November has seen the number of members sky-rocket to over 400,000 with people joining from all over the country and attracting national media attention. Chris said: “It’s been a bit surreal to be honest. I’m knackered but its exciting.”

Chris is hoping the increase in membership and attention will allow them to conduct more frequent charity events, having used the game to help feed the homeless in the past. He said: "We go up and down the country, pick a city and upload a game asking for people send meals and soft drinks. The meals then get picked up by a local charity and distributed amongst the homeless and vulnerable community. We are hoping to do that more often and get as many people fed as possible.”

Chris has twice held the charity events in Portsmouth before as well as numerous cities across the country. The next event is scheduled for Brighton this month.