Author: Drew

The top four posts from the week of Oct. 15-21: FIVE THINGS I LEARNED AT MY FIRST CONVENTION Paul Cosca @ All Us Geeks, 10/16 I didn’t go to Essen. I couldn’t have gone to Essen. But there are more gaming conventions around the world than you realize. And there are many things to experience at each one. Paul realized that he should start small for his first con, attending Great Falls Gaming Rendezvous (http://gfgr.org) in Montana. He obviously writes from a designer’s POV, but the lessons can be applied to any and all casual gamers looking for their first…

A mid-week recap of the best blog posts from the last 7 days. It’s been a slower week than normal, obviously. Essen Spiel Fest is upon us and most of the posts being generated focus on the granddaddy of EuroCons. Here are the top four posts from October 8-14: IN MEDIA RES – DESIGNING BEGINNINGS Filip Wiltgren @ Wiltgren Media, Oct. 13 Filip reveals a trick designers use and it’s changed my impression of game inventors. You see, practically nobody starts a game at the beginning. We all receive cards, money, resources; no one starts from scratch. This is…

A mid-week recap of the best blog posts from the last 7 days. The top 4 posts of the week are ON THE ROLE OF MEN IN RE-SHAPING GAMER CULTURE FOR THE BETTER, by Jason Beck @ The Board Gaymer, Oct. 1 MAKING BETTER USE OF DICE IN GAMES, by Matt M. Casey @ Boing Boing, Oct. 2 TO THEME OR NOT TO THEME, Damian Walker @ Traditional Games, Oct. 2 USING REVIEWS TO IMPROVE GAMES, Grant Rodiek @ Hyperbole Games Oct. 2 For my take on the top 4 posts of the week, and the check out 4 other…

Part 3 the “Sitting on 3000 Games” series is about one of the most unfortunate incidents in gaming history: the splitting up of Sid Sackson’s historic collection. Sid, the greatest game inventor of his generation, had amassed the largest collection in the world, simply because he loved games and was curious about them. For years he had wanted to organize his collection and donate to an institution which would preserve, be Sid never got around to it. His long illness forced his family to arrange an auction of his games to pay the mounting medical bills. His treasured collection was…

In our weekly rundown of the best in the boardgaming blogosphere, we look at posts from Every Man Needs a Shed, Patrick Rothfuss, Boardgames That Tell Stories, and Rolling for Initiative. Check out the Fab Four posts at our Board Game Geek page, and read about the pain of losing old gaming friends, the difficulty of raising children in a world free of subtle sexism (even in board games), why game stores are different from other retailers, and how social media can intrude on your gaming experience. To get in touch with Drew, write to Dr**@******************us.com.

Cones of Dunshire is Going Cardboard Kudos to Mayfair for taking the logical next step following their TV triumph on Parks and Recreation. The famous faux board game got a great write-up in Entrepreneur, “How Cones of Dunshire Became a Real Game.” The Onion’s AV Club geeks out on board games It wasn’t enough to publish “9 board game adaptations of vintage video games,” featuring Pac-Man, Tetris, and Donkey Kong board games. Then the AV Club topped themselves with “11 baffling TV-to-board-game adaptations” featuring: All in the Family (similar to Loaded Questions) Hogan’s Heroes (take turns helping fellow prisoners escape) Divorce…

(Please read Part One first.) “Games mean many things to many people; to me, they are an art form of great potential beauty.”—Sid Sackson The clouds never lifted all day, nor did the oppressive humidity that soaked his all-white lawn bowling togs. But John’s dark mood had lifted for the few hours he was rolling the wooden balls toward the jack. Among the staid regulars who filled the Central Park lawn bowling rink that Sunday, John stood out for his ebullient glee at a well-placed shot. He was having the time of his life! I had to dodge a street…

(A mid-week recap of the best blog posts from the last 7 days.) AT THE TOP OF THE CHARTS… THE WORST THAT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU… Boardgames That Tell Stories, 9/17, by Ignacy Trzewiczek Ignacy knows a good story when he plays it. And it tells a good story, too. This one is a touch sad, and has been repeated in many a gamer’s household.   So we get excited. We buy the game. It looks gorgeous. We set it up, we begin to play and…   We finish the game, we win, we look at our beloved wife to…

Essen Spiel is coming in October It’s to Europe what GenCon is the the U.S. Yeah, it’s that big. And it’s also that expensive to go, so stay home and prep by reading Board Game Geek’s Essen preview. Among the many releases at Essen is the much anticipated Pandemic: The Cure, which will also be made available to stores soon after. Scrabble World Record of 878 Scored by 9 Year Old Makes you feel sick, doesn’t it. My high score was in the low 300s…. The boy, from Pakistan, was playing in an International tournament held in Sri Lanka. The…

(Almanac of Games is a weekly feature, published every Sunday) It’s Double Down Day at the Almanac, with twice as many special events to tell you about! IT HAPPENED ON SEPTEMBER 21st in 1937, that “The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkien was published. Remember when The Hobbit was a children’s story? Remember when games based on The Hobbit were for children? Close on the heels of the Rankin/Bass production of The Hobbit came two board game adaptations, one from none other than Milton Bradley. The Hobbit Game was the quick knock-off from little known American Publishing. It did, however, have more…