Board Game News

In a really cool series of articles at The Simple Dollar, Trent gives his picks for the best money-related board games of all time.

#1		Puerto Rico by Rio Grande Games Many of you have probably never heard of it, and that’s a true shame, because it may be the most elegant board game ever created. It is a complete simulation of a nation’s economy packed into an incredibly fun and easy to play game that takes about an hour or so to play. Read complete review …
#2		Acquire by Avalon Hill Acquire is deliriously fun and a great abstraction of how the real market works. If you want the challenges and the joys of stock investing in a board game form, Acquire is a wonderful choice. Read complete review …
#3		Modern Art by Mayfair Games This is the best version of an open market I’ve ever seen in a game - plus it’s incredibly fun to play. If you want to teach (and learn about) the open market to someone, this is easily the most enjoyable way to do it. Read complete review …
#4		Monopoly by Milton Bradley For many of us, Monopoly is the game that pops in our heads when the phrase “board game” is mentioned. Rainy afternoons and marathon games of Monopoly were rites of passage when I was growing up. Read complete review …
#5		The Game of Life by Milton Bradley The Game of Life is a simple game that can be played in an hour and provides great insight into many of the financial issues that an average life can have. Throughout the game, there are countless opportunities to learn about and teach key personal finance issues. Read complete review …

That’s a really fun and informative list, and by the way, The Simple Dollar is a very good blog that covers the world of personal finance. Most of us can certainly use some help in that area, and Trent offers a huge amount of very useful information, all presented from a uniquely personal perspective.

SCRABBLE Cubes is a new game from WorldWinner, and has quickly become one of the most popular games on the site.

SCRABBLE Cubes is a 3-D word game based on Hasbro’s classic crossword board game, in which players achieve high scores by connecting letters to find as many words as possible across the surface of an ever-changing arrangement of cubes. The game features SCRABBLE tiles with corresponding point values, giving wordsmiths everywhere the opportunity to compete in a modern version of their favorite word game for cash and prizes. Adding to the challenge, players are tempted with bonus cubes containing special values, such as “double word score” or “double letter score,” as in the popular SCRABBLE board game.

The games plays as sort of a three-dimensional Boggle, except that it uses SCRABBLE point values and bonuses. This is not just a straight conversion of SCRABBLE to online play. This is actually a game that could never exist in the real world, but it’s a perfect fit for the computer and online play.

You can play for free in practice mode as long as you want, or you can play in one of the many ongoing live competitions against real people from around the world.

SCRABBLE Cubes is a terribly addictive new diversion, and should please any word lover.

Play SCRABBLE Cubes Now

America has voted. No, not that overblown political thing on November 7th. We’re talking serious fun here. Board games. Specifically: Monopoly!

Earlier in the year, Hasbro asked players to vote for their favorite landmarks to be included in a new “Monopoly: Here & Now” edition. Americans cast more than 3 million online votes to shape the new edition’s game board and determine which landmarks from 22 cities made it onto the board, as well as the location of those landmarks on the board.

Now, the votes have been tallied, and here are the results:

• America has elected New York City’s Times Square to occupy the highest rent property space (traditionally home to Boardwalk) on the game board of the new edition. The Big Apple shares the coveted blue property color group with its northern neighbor Boston, which landed its Fenway ballpark on the space traditionally occupied by Park Place.
• The rest of the high-rent district (which includes the green color group) features the White House (representing Washington, D.C.), Chicago’s Wrigley’s Field, and the neon-glittering Las Vegas Blvd (aka “The Strip”).
• Orlando’s Disney World occupies the red space traditionally known as Illinois Avenue, which has proven to be the most landed-upon property space on the board during a game.
• Cleveland’s Jacobs Field and Dallas’ Texas Stadium are the most affordable properties for real estate moguls to purchase, occupying the dark purple spaces.
• Beyond the new property landmarks, the new game has newly appraised property values and rents (players who land on Times Square with a hotel will pay $20 million), larger currency denominations, and airports replacing the railroad spaces.
• The game tokens have also been updated, and now include an environmentally-friendly hybrid Toyota Prius, a New Balance running shoe, McDonald’s French Fries, a Motorola RAZR cell phone, an airplane, and a laptop computer.
• The Chance and Community Chest cards, too, have received updated scenarios. For example, winning $10 in a beauty contest has changed to winning $100,000 in a reality TV show, and players are sent directly to jail (without passing GO) for such misdeeds as identity theft and insider trading.

View all Monopoly editions

In A Matter of Style, Mario Lanza discusses the unique collection of skills he uses in the various board games he plays, and how this personal gaming style defines who he is as a gamer, and the types of games he enjoys playing. Some of the elements he details include:

• Valuation - No single skill is more central to good decision making and winning games than the ability to rightly assess value
• Economy - Many games require great skill in managing resources, actions, and progressions
• Eliminate Vulnerabilities - Be aware of your weaknesses and do your best to keep your opponents from exploiting them
• Exploit Vulnerabilities - The converse of defending against your own weaknesses is taking advantage of your opponents blind spots

Check out the full article for a thought-provoking read.

Legacy Interactive has announced its first downloadable game based on a television franchise, Law & Order Criminal Intent: The Vengeful Heart.

The world of the hit television show Law & Order: Criminal Intent comes to life on the PC as players take on the role of Detective Robert Goren to investigate a murder case. In The Vengeful Heart, the first episode of a four-part series, players scour the crime scenes for evidence, interview witnesses and interrogate suspects in hopes of tracking down the elusive killer. With beautifully rendered graphics and voices and likeness from members of the show’s cast, this thrilling third-person mystery/adventure game will have players feeling like they’ve stepped into an actual episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. And while players may think they have solved the first case, this dark and sinister tale isn’t completely solved until the fourth and final murder.

The game features celebrity voiceovers from Law & Order: Criminal Intent stars Vincent D’Onofrio (Det. Goren) and Jamey Sheridan (Capt. Deakins). You control Det. Goren’s movements throughout the highly detailed environments as well as direct his unique and psychological interrogation techniques. Creative and innovative puzzles are fully integrated into the storylines.

The Vengeful Heart is the first of four episodes to be released by Legacy Interactive.

About Law & Order: Criminal Intent

Law & Order: Criminal Intent, currently in its fifth season, takes viewers into the minds of its criminals while following the psychological approaches the Major Case Squad uses to solve the crimes. In addition to Detective Logan and his partner, Detective Barek (Annabella Sciorra), the Major Case Squad follows Detectives Robert Goren (Vincent D’Onofrio) and Alexandra Eames (Kathryn Erbe). Courtney B. Vance and Jamey Sheridan also star.

Law & Order: Criminal Intent is a Wolf Films production in association with NBC Universal Television Studio and is Dick Wolf’s third installment of the Law & Order brand, the second-longest running drama series in the history of television. Wolf, Rene Balcer, Fred Berner and Peter Jankowski are executive producers. The game is developed through a licensing agreement with Universal Studios Consumer Products Group.

Source: Legacy Interactive Announces First Episodic Game Based On Hit TV Franchise.

Download Law & Order Criminal Intent: The Vengeful Heart (99MB)

Each year, the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design (AAGAD) presents the Origins Awards recognizing the gaming industry’s top achievements and products released during the previous year. 2005’s nominee list included games from both large and small companies across the industry. Winners of the 32nd Annual Origins Awards have been announced and include the following:

Board Game of the Year

Parthenon: Rise of the Aegean - Immerse yourself in an exciting, competitive world filled with aggressive trading, perilous voyages, and the construction of grand monuments. Parthenon is a game of commerce for 3 to 6 players set in the islands of the Aegean Sea. The time is 600 B.C. and mainland Greece stands on the threshold of glory. The Aegean attempt to share in that glory and to thrive in an increasingly profitable (and dangerous!) world.

Gamer’s Choice Best Board Game of the Year

Shadows Over Camelot - A unique collaborative game featuring a malevolent twist! As the incarnation of the Knights of the Round Table, you join forces against the game itself in an attempt to protect Camelot. Your victory hinges on the successful completion of legendary Quests, such as the search for Excalibur, the Holy Grail, or Lancelot’s Armor; the tournament against the Black Knight; and numerous wars against the Saxons and Picts. But beware … all is not as it seems among these noble Knights. One of your number might yet turn out to be a traitor-in-waiting, biding his time while sowing havoc and destruction from the Shadows!

Read the entire list of award-winners in categories including Collectable Card Games, Traditional Card Game, Role-Playing Games, Miniatures Games, Historical Games, and many more.

Think you know your Settlers of Catan stuff? Prove it by taking the Settlers of Catan Trivia Quiz at About.com.

Winning Moves Games, known for award-winning, high-quality new and classic games for all ages, has recently introduced a number of new games:

• 25 Words or Less: People, Places and Things Edition - The award-winning 25 Words or Less is back with an all-new People, Places and Things edition to celebrate the game’s 10th anniversary. Players have just one minute and 25 words or less to get their teammates to guess the five words on their card – and every word counts. It’s a fast-paced, fun game that makes any party or get-together a hit!
• Across Words - Across Words™ brings the fun of Scrabble and crosswords together with the excitement of a game show – complete with an electronic talking host. One-on-one players or teams of players try to solve crossword-type clues and drop the correct letter-tile in place before their opponents do. If players are stuck, the electronic host is there to help with more clues.
• Beat The Count - In this new, fast-paced, easy-to-learn card game, players compete to “Beat the Count!” Cards are numbered from 1-10 with “Go For It” and “Knockout” cards to shake things up during game play. Players can bluff their way through each round and be the first to play all of their cards to win the game.
• Easy Money -“Buy it, build it, get rich quick!” This new rendition of the classic Easy Money board game, originally released in the 1930s, will transport your whole family back to the future. Players buy and sell properties, collect rent, build houses, and mortgage their properties when extra cash is needed. The player with the most money in cash and property value in the end wins the game.
• Rubik’s Sudoku -
  It’s Sudoku without all the erasing! Players try to fill a nine-by-nine grid so that each row and each column contain the numbers 1 through 9, and also that each three-by-three grid contains each of these numbers. Instead of a pen, moveable pieces with numbers and in nine different colors are set on the board and the number finding process can begin! A storage tray and a 40-page booklet with 100 starter puzzles makes this a take-anywhere, play-anytime puzzle.
• Stay Alive - The classic skill and action game is now available to go – in a fun travel size version! Players try to keep their five marbles from falling through the grid to “Stay Alive” and be the “last man standing.”

Board Game Central is pleased to offer a new online Mahjong game, Mahjong Time.

Mahjong Time is an online version of the traditional Chinese game of Mahjong. This is not the solitaire type of mahjong, in which a player tries to take pair of tiles away from the board. Traditional mahjong is played by 4 players, where the objective is to assemble a hand of certain combinations. At Mahjong Time, You can play against other players 24/7, no download required. Compete in tournaments (or create your own!) and win money + prizes! You’ll receive $20 in free game credits to get you started.

MahjongTime.com is the first online mahjong club where the worldwide community of mahjong players can play mahjong anytime, anywhere without downloading any software! MahjongTime.com also offers a state-of-the-art, live multi-player mahjong tournaments where members can play this skill-based game against other members to win cash and prizes.

You can play for fun (no cash & prizes) for FREE or you can participate in tournaments with entry fees starting at $1.00 and win cash and prizes!

Play Mahjong Now

Global warming has melted the great ice sheets. No Polar caps remain. The oceans are free. Icebergs are only a memory. The waters have risen more than 80 meters. Gone are the magnificent harbours that once dotted the shores of every land.

But land is everything! Millions are starving. Fertile plains are no more. The great grain belts of the world have been tightened. Tension runs high yet there is hope. There is a new continent to explore and cultivate. But who will lay claim to this new land?

Four rallying hosts prepare in haste. One dominion can save but a few … the race is on. Armies are raised with every man coming forth. Unite and fight … conquer or be lost. Combine your forces, assemble your fleets and breach the storms. Clouds clear for one last stand. The prize is yours … Antarctica!

Antarctica Global WARming is a new game from the father and son team of Peter and Frank Zuuring, at Savita Games.

This futuristic game of global survival features an innovative rotating weather map, which allows storms to move around the game board affecting game pieces with a roll of a dice. (see illustration).

If you’re a fan of strategy games such as Risk, or are interested in the possible effects of global warming, you’ll probably enjoy this game. Now that Antarctica is free of the ice that has trapped it for millions of years, it’s a whole new world to explore and conquer!