Board Game News

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!

After a 40-hour game-playing marathon, members of American Mensa named five new games as Mensa Select®. In alphabetical order, this year’s winners are:

• Deflexion – Players alternate turns moving Egyptian-themed pieces with mirrored surfaces. At the end of each turn, the player fires a built-in laser in hopes of illuminating the opponent’s pharaoh. (Deflexion, www.deflexion.biz)
• Hive – Nature’s chess game. The object is to surround the opponent’s queen bee. Each player gets 11 tiles of five different insects. Each insect’s move is different. (Smart Zone, www.smartzonegames.com)
• Keesdrow – Identify words within a maze of letters using three different colored pegs. Earn premium points by building on opponents’ words or by using a letter more than once within your own word. (Pywacket, www.pywacketgames.com)
• Pentago – Create a row of five marbles, any direction, on a game board that consists of four twistable game blocks. (Pentago, www.pentago.com)
• Wits & Wagers – A trivia game you can win without knowing any trivia. How? By betting on answers provided by your friends. (North Star Games, www.northstargames.com)

Mensa Select winners are chosen annually at the Mensa Mind Games® competition. During the competition, Mensa members play and rate new board and card games. The five games that rate the highest are named Mensa Select and may display the Mensa Select seal on their packaging.

“You don’t have to be a genius to enjoy these games — you just have to enjoy a challenge,” said Pam Donahoo, executive director of American Mensa. “This year’s winners include something for everyone — strategy games, a word game and a party/trivia game. They’ve earned the Mensa Select seal because they are well-designed, original and, best of all, fun to play!”

This year’s Mind Games competition was held April 21-23 in Portland, Ore. One hundred ninety-eight players from every corner of United States reviewed the 62 game entries. During the event, Mensa members also filled out thousands of comment cards, which will be returned to the manufacturers. Suggestions from the comment cards are often used to improve the games.

Based in Arlington, Texas, American Mensa is an organization open to anyone who scores in the top two percent on an accepted, standardized intelligence test. More information about the organization may be found at www.us.mensa.org. More information about Mind Games may be found at www.mindgames.us.mensa.org.

See Also: Mensa Select winners from previous years.

Source: American Mensa Names Mensa Select® Winners. Mensa Select®, Mensa Mind Games®, and the Mensa Mind Games logo are registered trademarks of American Mensa.

All of the mystery and intrigue of the famed Mona Lisa is captured for the first time in a board game. Would-be sleuths of all ages will enjoy seeking the answer to the big question: “Who has Da Vinci’s Masterpiece?”.

Become an art detective and travel back in time to 1911 when the real Mona Lisa painting was stolen in Florence, Italy. Now it’s up to the players to determine which painting is the real one and which are forgeries. Players bid to earn valuable appraisals from an interesting cast of art “experts.” Some experts are a little shady and may try to sabotage you. Precious gems are used to influence the market value of expert guild ratings. Players hire these “experts” to decode paint strokes, paint styles and more, to help them solve the Mona Lisa Mystery.

The beautifully crafted, cleverly playing Mona Lisa Mysteries captures the intrigue and suspense of the events surrounding the caper. The game features 5 Mona Lisa player-painting boards, hand illustrated bid and expert cards, glass gemstones and the history behind the real Mona Lisa heist.

Mona Lisa Mysteries is designed for the age group teens to adults and can be played with 3 to 5 players.

Mona Lisa Mysteries is produced by Winning Moves Games, a leading maker of classic card games, children’s and family games. Founded in 1995, Winning Moves makes special editions of many of the world’s most popular games and creates new, original game concepts for all ages to enjoy.

Mona Lisa Mysteries is available now at a list price of $25.95.

The popular board game Monopoly is getting a makeover and U.S. fans of all ages are deciding what the new layout will be. Hasbro is asking players to vote at monopoly.com for their favorite landmarks to be included in the new “Monopoly: Here & Now” edition, which will be available in Fall 2006.

You can vote for your favorite landmark in 22 major American cities. Your selections are going to end up as properties on the new board, Hasbro says. In addition to updated landmarks and sites, the 70-year-old rents will reflect 2006 rates and the railroads will be replaced by airports. The online poll will be open from April 24th through May 12th, with the final results remaining secret until the game hits store shelves, Hasbro said.

More than 250 million Monopoly sets have been sold in 80 countries and 26 languages since the game debuted in 1935. There are currently hundreds, if not thousands, of specialty Monopoly editions available. The “classic Monopoly” is the Atlantic City Edition, featuring such familiar landmarks as Park Place, Boardwalk, and Baltic Avenue, which will continue to be available.

Vote now!

NinjaLab Studios is proud to announce their latest game, Reversi Deluxe. Reversi is a classic board game for two players. While the origin of this old game of skill is unknown, the modern implementation of it has never been better than Reversi Deluxe. With multiple game modes and a variety of difficulty levels, Reversi Deluxe can challenge anyone from novice to master.

Being specially created for grown-ups, Reversi Deluxe challenges you to reveal your intelligence and logic to win. 4 levels of difficulties, 4 game modes and a dynamic rating system are available. An optional cooperative model lets two gamers play together in the game.

By selecting the difficulty level you can easily play against a computer opponent on equal footing. There are four game modes included with Reversi Deluxe, including a variety of tournaments and a time trial game. In the time trial there is only two minutes per game, making fast thinking as important as fast acting. Reversi Deluxe features a dynamic rating system to track player progress and indicate skill level of players.

Key Features at a Glance:

• 4 game modes
• 4 difficulty modes
• Dynamic rating system
• High level of intelligence

The game play is easy to learn, absorbing and highly addictive.

More information and free download of Reversi Deluxe

In addition to this site, here are some other blogs that cover board gamers and the board game industry. Most of these blogs are fairly hard-core, covering German games and strategy games, rather than the traditional abstract and family board games we tend to favor here, but they’re all very well done, and well worth your time to explore.

• Best of Board Games - A collection of interesting links to various board game resources in the web: blogs, BGG threads, whatever.
• Boardgame News - Hey, that name sounds familiar! Good Resource.
• Chris Farrell’s Gaming Blog - Board game reviews and information.
• Gameblog - Mikko Saari’s blog on all things boardgaming.
• Gamer’s Mind - Thoughts on boardgames, boardgaming, and other goodness.
• inconsequential ruminations - A minimalist blog, with a pretentious title, about strategy board games.
• Pawnstar - The irrelevant ramblings of a gamer who works in his spare time.
• Rick’s Boardgame Blog - A blog about boardgames, board games, card games, their playing, and the people who play them.
• The Game Table - Ward Batty’s weekly blog about boardgames and non-standard card games.

Many of these were mentioned in the Board Game Internet Award Nominations from Gone Gaming, a darn good gaming blog in its own right. There is also a comprehensive listing of board game blog feeds available from About.com.

On The Game Table blog, Ward Batty writes about Deflexion, the very unique chess-like board game played with lasers and mirrors, which we discussed a few weeks ago.

Ward interviewed Luke Hooper, one of the creators of the game, who shared a little about the origins of the game, as well as some very interesting information about the design and development process, as well as the logistics of manufacuring and self-publishing this very intricate and detailed game.

Links to additional info:

• The Deflexion web site, offers additional information about the game, as well as a forum where players can discuss strategy and tactics.
• BoardGameGeek
• RPGNet Review of Deflexion
• Tulane University Magazine article

You Haven’t Changed a Bit is a collaborative board game based on actual Golden Anniversary couples. The object is to match golden anniversary couples to their newlywed pictures. The game includes two sets of four game boards with newlywed photos, and two sets of 12 golden anniversary photos on individual cards. Stories on the backs of the photo cards provide a few clues and are real conversation starters: funny ways the couples met, how they have or haven’t changed over time, and their advice for achieving a long, happy marriage.

You Haven’t Changed a Bit provides a few laughs and sets expectations about what will and won’t change throughout marriage. It helps bridge the gap between young and old generations. It is an excellent game or gift idea for bridal showers, rehearsal dinners, engagement parties, anniversaries, or weddings.

You Haven’t Changed a Bit was created by Lisa and Erik Sebesta, and is published by their company, Sebesta Enterprises. You can read their story, and more about the game, and even learn how to share your own story, at youhaventchangedabit.com.

In an article in the Poughkeepsie Journal, Anthony Farmer writes about playing Candyland with his 3-year-old son, and the lessons that both he and his boy are learning from the time they spend together.

For generations, boys and girls have enjoyed Candyland as their first board game. The color-themed game requires no reading on the part of the players and is easy for even the youngest of children to follow. Players move their primary-colored gingerbread people around the rainbow path, moving through the Peppermint Stick Forest by matching the color spaces to the colors on the pick deck. The player who reaches the Candy Castle first wins.

As a primary learning game, Candyland fosters a child’s exposure to following directions, taking turns, color recognition and count skills. The game promotes thinking as well as patience in the form of waiting one’s turn to play.

If you have a young child that hasn’t yet played Candyland, take the time to introduce him or her to this enchanting board game. It’s a great way to spend time together, both of you will be richer for the experience, and you may just help to start someone on a lifetime journey of fun and discovery.

Screenlife, creators of the popular Scene It? DVD games, is planning to add more than a dozen new titles to its collection this year.

American Idol fans can relive unforgettable moments from one of TV’s hottest shows as the American Idol-All Star Challenge DVD Game hits store shelves this March. The game mixes traditional board game play with real clips, exciting challenges and questions related to the show. The living room is transformed into a stage as players scrutinize the best and worst performances from the first four seasons of American Idol.

Also new this year from Screenlife is DVD Blast! This fast-paced trivia game challenges individual players or teams with real clips and puzzlers from hot Hollywood properties. DVD Blast! will be available in three debut titles: Family Guy, Austin Powers and Survivor. Featuring on-screen scoring and played entirely with the remote control, it’s perfect for parties, travel or a few spontaneous rounds at home.

Another exciting fall arrival will be Banzai, a DVD game based on the hysterical television show that’s quickly become a cult classic. Who’s more capable of catching a squirrel in the park with a fishing pole? And how many chocolate pies can a man in a shopping cart jump over? Players will get plenty of laughs as they wager sushi pieces on these and other bizarre Banzai stunts, using only chopsticks to fill the betting bowl.

New from the Scene It? line are several fresh titles packed with real entertainment clips, hundreds of trivia questions and on-screen challenges. Players who need an immediate pop culture fix can transport themselves to the Central Perk with the Scene It? Friends Edition, which debuted in January. The game includes all 10 seasons of the hipsters’ memorable escapades, and challenges players to prove just how well they know their Friends. Trivia questions like, “Which of Phoebe’s songs is made into a music video?”, “What is Joey’s signature pick-up line?” and “Who was the only Friends star to direct several episodes?” bring the Emmy Award-winning show back to life.

Set to launch this fall is Scene It? Nickelodeon Edition, a game that will keep younger players amused for hours as their Grossology knowledge is put to the test. Favorite clips featuring SpongeBob, Cosmo and Wanda, Jimmy Neutron, Danny Phantom, Tommy Pickles, Aang and other beloved Nick characters will be paired with trivia questions and on-screen challenges such as “Grosser than Gross” and “Slime Bucket.”

Screenlife will also introduce four original Scene It? Super Game Packs in 2006, incorporating some of the hottest properties from movies, sports and TV. Scene It? Comedy, NFL, Disney and The OC Super Game Packs each contain a game DVD, trivia cards and other accessories that, when combined with any Scene It? game board, supply an entirely new playing experience.

In total in 2006, fourteen titles will join the ranks of Screenlife blockbusters such as the Scene It? Harry Potter Edition, the top-selling board game of the 2005 holiday season, and the Scene It? TV Edition, named 2005 Game of the Year by the Toy Industry Association.