Board Game Buzz, July 29, 2013

Board Game Buzz



After a short summer hiatus, we're back, with the latest board games news and reviews, for the week of July 29th, 2013:


The 20 Most Valuable Vintage Board Games

This is a fun, and potentially lucrative, post from Purple Pawn :

Valuable Vintage Board GamesMake sure not to throw these away when clearing out the basement! Here are the top 20 most valuable vintage board games based on a survey of successfully completed eBay auctions. [link]

Games to watch out for at garage sales, estate sales, and thrift stores include: "Be a Manager", "Fortune", "War of the Ring Collector's Edition", "Swift Meats Major League Baseball Game", "Keywood", "Haunted House", "The Elvis Presley Game", "Settlers of Catan 3D Collector's Edition", "1933 Monopoly", "Lost in Space 3D Action Fun Game", and many more. Some of these sold for well over $1000!


Mobile Suburbia Announced

PocketGamer tells us about upcoming mobile versions of the board game Suburbia:

Suburbia Board GameBézier Games is bringing its 2013 Mensa-select winning city-builder Suburbia to iOS and Android soon. The latest cerebral board game to make its way to mobile is set to be unveiled at GenCon in August and will come out for iOS before it sees a release on Android. Suburbia plays a bit like a cross between Sim City and Settlers of Catan, as each player's goal is to transform a small city into a thriving metropolis using hex-shaped building tiles. [link]


No monkeying around: board game designer scores a success

The St. Louis Beacon shares the story of a local game designer's rise to prominence in the world of board games:

Spin MonkeysMark Sellmeyer, a 49-year-old graphic designer and St. Louis native, has earned international recognition as a board game designer. Inspired by childhood favorite RoboRally, Sellmeyer produced Spin Monkeys, a game that has proven successful, receiving international success. "After play testing it for a few years, I decided to enter it into the 2009 Rio Grande Games Design Contest," said Sellmeyer. Spin Monkeys, in which a monkey-driven bumper car drives around on a fruit-hunting expedition, beat out hundreds of competitors from across the country. [link]




Kickstarter-funded board game cancelled a year after raising over $100,000

A sad story from The Verge :

The Doom That Came to Atlantic City"The project is over. The game is cancelled." With those eight words, Erik Chevalier alerted his 1,246 Kickstarter backers that the board game they collectively funded – The Doom That Came to Atlantic City – will never see the light of day. Thirteen months after rounding up $122,874 in contributions, Chevalier has completely pulled the plug on the project, attributing the failure to his own "inexperience in board game publishing," "ego conflicts," and unspecified legal and technical challenges. [link]

Kickstarter requires that all investor funds be refunded for cancelled projects, so here's hoping that all the people that chipped in funds for this game's development get their monies back...


Lessons From Monopoly

The Board Game Family offers up a review of the new book "Monopoly, Money, and You: How to Profit from the Game's Secrets of Success":

Lessons From MonopolyWhile an interesting read, there isn't anything earth-shattering in it. All of the life parallels in the book can be learned a lot of different ways – including a myriad of other board games. It's easy to find parallels between life and particular games if you look for them. Pick your game and have fun. [link]




Notable Quote

"Success is almost totally dependent upon drive and persistence. The extra energy required to make another effort or try another approach is the secret of winning."
 ~ Denis Waitley


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Board Game BuzzBoard Game Buzz is a periodical roundup of news and notes from the board gaming blogosphere, featuring board game news, board game game releases, board game reviews, and opinion from the people who live and breathe board games and gaming!

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