June 01, 2003Board Games Blog Archives | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Is Hell an Eternity of Candyland?Carole Moore, a staff writer for the Jacksonville (North Carolina) Daily News, recently wrote this: "A friend once said she believes Hell is whatever one fears the most in life. If that's true, then my own personal version would be passing eternity playing Candyland." So is hell really an eternity of playing Candyland? Read Carole's thoughts and then decide for yourself!06:56 PM Warcraft - Board Game VersionHumans, orcs, night elves and the undead compete in the popular computer game Warcraft III. Fantasy Flight Games has announced plans to publish a board game version of Warcraft in time for Christmas 2003. The company says it will be "a large, expandable board game that captures the richness and complexity of the hugely successful Warcraft real-time strategy computer games."11:16 AM Topps to Acquire WizKidsTopps, a company best known for publishing baseball cards, plans to acquire the game company WizKids, best known for Mage Knight, MechWarrior and HeroClix. Will we soon see Roger Clements hurling fastballs at the head of the Hulk? Only time will tell.11:09 AM Alhambra Wins Spiel des JahresAlhambra, a tile-laying game designed by Dirk Henn, has won the 2003 Spiel des Jahres award as Germany's Family Game of the Year. Alhambra is an interesting city-building game in which you have to decide each turn whether to buy a piece to add to your city or collect more money for future purchases. Players score for having a majority in any of the kinds of tile, and for their longest city wall.10:25 AM Cosmic Encounter Online Now OpenCosmic Encounter Online is up and running, attracting thousands of players since its debut. With 19 alien powers and more than 4,500 alien combinations, every game can be different. Players can compete against other humans or against computer-controlled aliens with artificial intelligence. Cosmic Encounter Online is based on the Adventure Gaming Hall of Fame board game Cosmic Encounter, most recently published by Hasbro / Avalon Hill in 2000. Cosmic Encounter has been published in seven languages around the world in 19 versions for over two decades. Cosmic Encounter Online features a free game and a subscription-based game. New players can play with any of six free aliens; members can choose from any of the available aliens. The browser-based game requires Macromedia Flash.10:15 AM Exodus War - Play by EmailA new, turn-based, play-by-email game known as Exodus War has debuted. All that's required to play is an email viewer that accepts HTML email. According to the web site, Exodus War is a "multiplayer tactical naval space combat game in a planetary systems crowded with moons and asteroids. Players can battle with gamma-ray lasers, fusion warhead missiles, and kinetic kill weapons across more than a million kilometers of contested space."09:59 AM Protospiel 2003 - Game Designer ConventionProtospiel is an annual convention for aspiring and established game designers. This year's event is scheduled for July 9-12 in Lansing, Michigan. The schedule for Protospiel 2003 includes seminars led by Spiel des Jahres-nominated game designer Stephen Glenn, owner of Black & White Games Mike Petty, and owner of Glastyn Games and the designer of HellRail, James Kyle.09:31 AM Can You Avoid Alzheimer's by Playing Games?Researchers say that playing board games, reading, and other brain-focused activities can help prevent the onset of dementia, including Alzheimer's Disease. According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, one activity once a week reduced the risk of dementia by 7 percent. Researchers aren't entirely certain why activities like playing board games help fight dementia, but they believe that engaging the brain keeps brain cells healthier.09:09 AM Poker Hands - Strongest to WeakestIf you can never remember whether a full house is better than a straight, this list of poker hands from strongest to weakest is what you need: a quick, easy-to-understand primer on the rank of each type of hand.09:08 PM The Games We PlayedThe Games We Played was first a terrific exhibit at the New York Historical Society. Now, it's also a wonderful book published by Princeton Architectural Press. If you're interested in American board games from the late 1800s and early 1900s, this book is an absolute must-read. Filled with photographs of the absolutely gorgeous game boards from "The Golden Age of Board and Table Games," as the book's subtitle refers to the time period, The Games We Played is an unparalleled look into our gaming past.06:13 PM Simon Charity AuctionTo mark the 25th anniversary of Simon, which was one of the very first electronic games, Hasbro will auction off Simon2 games signed by celebrity Simons. The famous Simons include American Idol Judge Simon Cowell, Duran Duran's Simon Le Bon, Playwright Neil Simon, Tennessee Titan John Simon and Philadelphia Eagle Corey Simon.06:29 AM Simon Turns 25In 1978, a round piece of black plastic with four colored lenses, some lights and electronic sound effects took America by storm. This year, Simon celebrates its 25th anniversary. Chris Byrne, known as The Toy Guy, says that Simon "became one of the first toys that the mass media kind of turned into a cultural thing."07:15 AM Icy Board Games for the Summer HeatWhen the hot, humid summer weather hits, the Norwegian blood that flows through my veins cries out for relief in the form of ice. And although my wife hasn't warmed up (pun intended) to the idea of moving to northern Norway, some board games do promise at least a mental respite from the heat.10:02 AM Poll: Which Ice-Themed Game is Best?Is it Don't Break the Ice? Or the hard-to-find Milton Bradley classic Ice Cube? Vote for your favorite ice-themed game in this new poll.09:59 AM Best Games for Family GatheringsWhen you get the whole family together, sometimes it can be difficult to choose a game to play. Sometimes it seems like you have too many people for a game, and sometimes everyone wants to play something different. Fret no more. Here are my picks for the best games to play at family gatherings.05:00 AM Harry Potter Halls of Hogwarts - Game ReviewPlayers race through an ever-changing maze of halls and classrooms to be the first to complete seven assignments in Harry Potter Halls of Hogwarts, the latest board game set in the Potter universe.05:00 AM American Idol Board Game - ReviewThe popular television show is turned into a board game, complete with an 11-song karaoke CD. Find out if the game is as entertaining as the show by reading this review.10:21 AM Best Horse Racing Board GamesFunny Cide didn't come through with the first Triple Crown victory in 25 years, but we can always look forward to next year when another horse will make a run at it. And in the meantime, any of the best horse racing board games is a good choice to recreate some of the track's excitement -- without the possibility of losing money, which makes it even better.09:54 PM Boardgame News UpdatesOur Boardgame News page has been updated to include previews of Mammoth Hunters, Lord of the Rings - the Duel, Circus Flohcati and more, in addition to a look at the August 2003 issue of Games magazine, the upcoming schedule for Rio Grande Games, and more.01:54 AM Poll of the WeekThis week's poll asks this question: Which of the three finalists for the 2003 Spiel des Jahres award would you vote for? Register your opinion in the About.com Board Games Forum -- and see what other gamers think -- today.01:52 AM 2003 International Gamers Award WinnersThe winners of the 2003 International Gamers Awards have been announced.09:35 PM Paris Paris Available for Online PlayThe Spiel des Jahres-nominated game Paris Paris is now available for online play.09:33 PM Twister Moves - a New Twister GameHasbro recently announced that Jive Recording artists Aaron Carter and Nick Carter will lend their voices and moves to the launch of Milton Bradley's new Twister Moves game. Twister Moves, a dance version of the classic Twister game, challenges players to get on their feet and move as they follow the more than 100 dance commands called out by two recorded DJs on three CDs.09:31 PM Shrek 2 and Sharkslayer Board GamesHasbro and DreamWorks SKG recently announced an agreement in principle to name Hasbro as the worldwide master toy and board game licensee for two of DreamWorks' upcoming animated feature films -- Shrek 2, the sequel to the Academy Award-winning film, scheduled for release in June of 2004, and Sharkslayer, slated for November of 2004.09:29 PM 2003 TOYchallengeOn June 14, 2003, girls and boys from across the United States will unveil their toys in the culmination of TOYchallenge, a national toy- and game-design competition designed to encourage students' interest in engineering, inspiring them to pursue careers in math and science. Top top 10 entries included six game designs.09:28 PM Nibelungenlied - Free Board Game of the WeekThis week's freebie is Nibelungenlied, which is -- by far -- the most uniquely named finalist in the 2003 Simultaneous Movement Board Game Design Competition. Designed for two players, and played with standard chess pieces on a triangle-based board, Nibelungenlied finds the forces of Tragic Destiny and Natural Order in opposition. (The Nibelungenlied is an epic poem written in Germany about 1200AD.)11:23 PM Finding Nemo - Board Game ReviewFinding Nemo topped the box office this weekend, taking in more than $70 million -- the largest opening weekend ever for an animated film. If you're among the many who enjoyed Nemo, be sure to check out the Finding Nemo board game, which holds fun for children and parents alike. You might also be interested in more reviews of family board games.12:30 AM | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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