Facebook Wetherspoons game founder visits Newcastle to help feed homeless in the city

Chris Illman (right), started the Facebook group 'Wetherspoons: The Game', which now has 770,000 members
-Credit:Chris Illman


The founder of a viral online Wetherspoons game where people get free food and drinks from strangers is heading to Newcastle for the first-ever time this weekend to help homeless people.

Wetherspoons The Game, the hugely popular phenomenon, was founded by Chris Illman, who lives near Portsmouth, and his Facebook group now has nearly 770,000 members worldwide.

Chris, 43, explained to ChronicleLive why he decided to start the group: "I started the group in 2018. I had a really rough year. I was diagnosed with cancer, I split from my wife and was made temporarily homeless.

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"So I was looking for a way to pay back the help I was receiving, and Wetherspoons The Game, came along. People post on Facebook what pub they are in and their table number, and then anyone can send whatever they want through the Wetherspoons app. It was massively successful."

Chris plays the game for charity on the first Sunday of every month and has played staged events all over the United Kingdom. He said food has been sent from Australia, Brazil and Puerto Rico, while the group has also made the front page of the Wall Street Journal and Chris has also appeared on German TV.

He said: "We have played the game in Belfast, Swansea, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Norwich, Brighton and Bournemouth to name but a few." This Sunday (February 2), the game is heading to The Mile Castle Wetherspoons in Newcastle, the first time it has been held in the city. It is also the most Northern city that the game has been played in.

When Chris plays the game for charity he posts his table number and the pub he is at so people can donate food for the homeless: "What we plan, with the Wetherspoons knowing in advance, is that we are going to have 200 orders of a burger meal come through. We post it on the group at 6pm, with instructions on where we are and how you can order the burger.

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"And then people order it through the app, it comes to us in takeaway boxes or bags and then local charities collect it. The meal consists of a burger, drink and a soft drink. It is always a soft drink included."

The order on meals is limited to 200 on every game, as there have been times when too much food has been ordered. Chris said: "We went to Liverpool and got sent £6,000 worth of pizzas, so that was too much. We now ask Wetherspoons to limit the number of orders on the till to 200. As soon as 200 is hit, it stops. But we also ask for snacks such as crisps, nuts and biscuits. We have no limit on that. We had over 5,000 sent in Liverpool, in Derby we had 2,500. We usually get around 1-2,000 snacks sent."

The food is then picked up by a local charity or non-profit organisation, and Chris reached out to Newcastle Helping Street Friends about collecting the food that will be donated on Sunday, February 2. Nicole Engleby founded Newcastle Helping Street Friends, a non-profit organisation, with Tom Young around five years ago, but both have helped out the homeless in the city for much longer.

Chris at a previous event of Wetherspoons: The Game!
Chris at a previous event of Wetherspoons: The Game! -Credit:Chris Illman

Nicole said: "I had never heard of the game before. Chris posted something on our group's Facebook page to ask if he could hand out 200 burgers. I just thought, ‘what?’. I sent a message back and he explained what he was doing, because I did not realise how it worked. I told him it was definitely doable if it is a Sunday, and we can get a lot of the other volunteers and meet up in town. We have got a few people coming to help out. It was Chris who reached out, otherwise I would have been none the wiser."

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With being a non-profit, Nicole, Tom and the volunteers use their own money to provide for the homeless. She added: "People do fundraising events and then buy items that we need such as sleeping bags and tents.

"We do our outreach most Fridays - myself, Tom and some volunteers go around Newcastle handing out hot drinks, food, toiletries, hats, gloves, Greggs gift cards. Tom goes out most nights anyway as there are some people in tents we keep an eye on, so we will take some food for them."

And Nicole believes what Chris is doing on Sunday is great for raising awareness of homelessness. She said: "I feel quite privileged at the fact he has chosen our organisation. You do hear negative things about people being homeless and that it is their own fault. It is not the case. I have been doing this for quite a few years now and everyone has a story.

"I think something like this is really nice. I can see by our page, and the amount of people who want to do things to help, that it will be brilliant. I think it is really good for raising awareness and giving people an understanding. It makes you appreciate what you have got."

Wetherspoons The Game is supported by billychip.com, which is a safe and secure currency for the homeless. Chris explained how it works: "You buy a billy chip for £2 and you give it to a homeless person. They then take it to one of the registered outlets, hand the chip over, and then the outlet will exchange it for a hot drink or a piece of food. Instead of giving homeless people cash, you can give them a billy chip instead. It is a really good concept."

Wetherspoons The Game is taking place in The Mile Castle Wetherspoons in Newcastle on Sunday, February 2 at 6pm. You can find out more about Wetherspoons The Game, on Facebook here. You can also find out more about Newcastle Helping Street Friends here.