America Monopoly Greatest Cities Collector's Edition USAopoly.
Take the trip you’ve always dreamed of- travel America! The MONOPOLY®: America’s Greatest Cities Edition . Now you can experience the joy of traveling while playing America’s favorite board game. Players can buy, sell, and trade 22 of America’s most visited cities from New York City and Philadelphia to Seattle and San Diego. The game also includes six custom pewter tokens. Reminisce about all of the American cities you have seen and the places you may still have yet to visit.
New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia... now you can own them all! America's favorite board game brings you the chance to wheel and deal the USA's greatest cities, from Chicago to San Francisco, Atlanta to Las Vegas. Celebrate "Capitalism" as you buy, sell, and trade American travel destinations from sea to shining sea. Statue of Liberty and Lincoln Memorial Cards replace Chance and Community Chest, and the 6 custom pewter tokens are: the Statue of Liberty, the US Capitol Building, the Liberty Bell, Mount Rushmore, an Apple Pie, and a Bald Eagle. Game comes with Game Board, Title Deed Cards, Custom USA Greatest Cities Money and Banker's Tray, 16 Statue of Liberty Cards, 16 Lincoln Memorial Cards, 32 Motels (Houses), 12 Spas (Hotels), 6 Pewter Tokens, 2 Dice and Game Instructions.
Guide Review - Monopoly - America Edition
Monopoly has been an American classic since 1935. The America Edition of Monopoly makes several changes to the original, giving it an even more American feel.
Boardwalk and Park Place are replaced by the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial; Chance and Community Chest have become American Places and American People; the pewter tokens include the Liberty Bell, the space shuttle, and apple pie.
The four corner squares are given new optional rules. For example, on Go To Jail you can try "the American legal system" by paying $20 to hire a lawyer; on Go you can forgo your $200 salary to travel to any non-corner square on the board. The America Edition is a worthwhile addition to the universe of Monopoly games.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
America Monopoly Greatest Cities Collector's Edition USAopoly
Friday, May 23, 2008
Risk Board Game Strategy. How To Win Playing Risk
Risk Board Game Strategy.
Risk is a classic board game that introduced many players to the genre of wargames. The roll of the dice means a lot in Risk, but so do strategy and intelligent tactical decisions.
Here's How To Win Risk:
Know what rules you're using. There are various editions and versions of Risk, so be sure that you're not playing one game while everyone else is playing another.
Australia is a good continent to control at the beginning of the game, since it's easy to hold (it only has one point of attack from outside the continent) and get the continent bonus. South America, with only two points of attack, is almost as good.
When you control a continent, position your armies to protect the points of attack much more so than the less vulnerable interior countries.
Don't bother conquering an entire continent unless you think you can hold it for at least a full turn, because controlling a continent makes you an attractive target for other players to attack.
Try not to let other players control continents, but don't weaken yourself too much in the process.
Whenever possible, attack with a large group or armies rather than a medium-sized one.
If you're playing with mission cards, it's generally better to start by going after a full continent. Once you have armies to work with, go after your mission.
When trying to complete a mission, take steps to make sure that you don't make it obvious what your goal is. If you don't mask your intentions, your opponents will catch on.
If you're playing with increasing card redemption values (the standard rule in most versions), hold on to your cards as long as possible. This is particularly true near the beginning of the game.
Hold on to wild cards as long as possible at any point in the game.
If you're defending a country, and you have an option of how many dice to roll, always roll as many as possible. This increases your chances of a successful defense.
Tips:
Risk is not a team game. Alliances, if they exist at all, are always temporary.
Don't spread yourself too thin. Other players could sweep through and capture all of your one-army countries quite easily.
Your country ownership and turn position are key factors when starting the game of Risk and the strategies you employ. Playing out of position is a sure-fire way to get blown out and put in a crippling predicament within the first couple turns. For the examples discussed, assume a three-person game.
Placing your additional armies is influenced by your turn position. If you are first, which is considered an advantage in general, you can afford to take a more aggressive starting position. Since you are opening, the other players will probably get three reinforcements instead of four because they will lose countries before their turn. In addition, you can establish your stronghold before your opponents have a chance to undermine your game plan.
Regardless of the turn order, Risk is simply game of math. Your best chances at battle victories with in a 3-1 dice situation. Establishing your stronghold in a location where you can gain an early continent and your opponents have weak positions is vital. This maximizes your chances with take over the most countries with the fewest casualties. In that same line, if you are third to act, you must be more conservative in your first-turn expectations. Most of your 1-army countries will be gone and taking over a continent on your first turn (besides Australia, if you have a chance), may not be possible.
Other than preventing an opponent from getting a continent bonus on their second turn, acting third doesn't required being really aggressive. Fortifying your position and branching out slower will be better in the long run. Find a location, like North America, where you can hold an area with few access points (it has three), so you can easily defend it. A place like Asia would be difficult to defend and fortify from third position because of its sheer size and accessibility.
A main way to get ahead early in Risk, regardless of position, is to stay out of the way. The more you can avoid being attacked, the better. Saving your armies for when you are attacking and expanding is the only way to grow at a fast rate with enough protection to defend yourself. Placing your armies in territories where the opponent has 1-army territories sounds elementary, but, like I said before, it's simple math. 2 vs. 2 and 3 vs. 2 battles aren't a big advantage for the attacker, but a 3-1 battle gives you a 2-1 advantage in terms of odds. Part of Risk is the chance of the dice, but you minimize your risk (no pun intended) by finding as many 3-1's as possible early in the game.
Funny Friend Game. Funny Friends Board Game Review
Funny Friends Board Game Review
Because of some graphic content in the game, it is not recommended for players under 18.
The Game of Life has been a standard on toy store shelves since the 1960s, when Art Linkletter’s endorsement and smiling face were emblazoned on the ugly oversized box. In the 21st century, The Game of Life has been superficially updated through media tie-ins with the Simpsons and Star Wars, but in terms of game play, Life still has little to offer beyond a wicked cool spinner and...well, the buzzily-entrancing spinner is really all it has.
Where Life fails as a game is that it offers players almost no meaningful choices. Near the start of the game, you decide whether to go to college or attend an occupational school, but after that, you’re simply spinning your way to death. Every player gets married, regardless of desire or state law; children appear whenever you land on the right space (so lifelike!); you randomly receive or pay money; then you die and your assets are tallied to determine how large your obituary will be relative to your peers.
That’s not the kind of life I live, and I imagine your existence is similarly complicated with daily choices over who to meet, what to ingest, where to go, and why to believe. Luckily for us, a game has appeared that truly deserves the title The Game of Life—but to avoid inevitable trademark complications, it is instead called Funny Friends.
Designers Friese and Merkle reasonably avoid the entire debate about whether life begins at birth or at some earlier point and instead start the game with players just entering puberty, that time when you leave behind generic childhood mushiness and start becoming the person you will be in adulthood, that time when you have weird urges and take risks that seem foolish in hindsight, that time you meet other wild youngsters who introduce you to new activities and get you in trouble.
Lucky you—that entire experience is replicated in the game! Puberty cards are displayed on the table, and players can either choose an experience (e.g., Pass a Joint, Nobody Loves Me, Color Hair Green) or pass and receive some number of time counters, which serve as the game’s currency.
With each card you choose, your adult character takes shape; choosing “Nobody Loves Me” gives you fat and sadness, for example, while “Pass a Joint” gives you drug use and a friend. Each player tracks nine characteristics on an individual player board, and the sum of those characteristics defines you; each board also has space for friends, relationships, broken relationships, and sexual encounters, which you’re sure to use later in the game if you don’t happen to indulge in “Heavy Petting” while still in puberty.
Once everyone passes puberty and becomes an adult, you enter life rounds in which players bid to have life experiences. As with life itself, only players with the right characteristics can participate in certain experiences; without friends, after all, how will you ever have “Pity Sex”? (Some life cards also have bidding restrictions; if you’re in a relationship, for instance, you can’t learn Esperanto.) Whoever wins the bid pays in time and adjusts his player board with the results of this event. Once all the life experiences have been claimed or all players have passed, you deal out a new set of experiences and start another bidding round.
So what are you trying to do? Why experience anything in the first place? Well, unlike Beckett novels and life itself, Funny Friends gives you five goals that you must achieve to win. At the start of the game, each player receives a spirit, relationship, career, life, and friend goal—each unique and each requiring a different set of characteristics to achieve. One player might aspire to become a game designer (requirements: three friends and three instances of wisdom) while another wants to become an Elvis imitator (fat, two drinks, and a broken relationship); whenever your characteristics let you achieve a goal, you can play the goal card and receive the payoff for all that hard work. (Game designers get sex, while Elvis imitators start to do drugs.)
As you might imagine, the life goals are often contradictory. Coming out as gay, for example, requires you to be irreligious, while having religion is a prerequisite for starting a cult. To fulfill your goals, you want to treat them like a giant puzzle in which you achieve goal A first so that you get money to fulfill goal B, which will break up your marriage to push you towards goal C, and so on.
Since life and games don’t always go as planned, Funny Friends gives you two ways to reset a characteristic: through various life experiences (e.g., starting a new relationship eliminates all your sadness) or maxing out one of the other characteristics. If you smoke too much, you lose all your fat; drinking a lot knocks out wisdom; and with tons of money in hand, you can’t be sad.
Game play in Funny Friends is incredibly intuitive, and the game is a blast to play—assuming that you have the right group. Not everyone will appreciate being told that they need to take drugs and have sex with multiple strangers and someone else’s spouse to succeed at life. Funny Friends works well with three, four, or five players, but the playing time jumps dramatically with six players, so I’d avoid playing with that many unless everybody at the table is a speedy Sue or quick Quentin.
More importantly, the rules for breaking up relationships and meeting people through a cell call are confusing, but you can avoid quandaries by applying the lessons of life to the game. If you’re not in a secure relationship, for example, another player can woo you away from a boyfriend or girlfriend against your will; if you’re in a stable relationship, though, you have to agree to be unfaithful. If you call someone on your cellphone, they have to pay attention to you and either become your friend or take you to the event with them—unless they call someone else themselves.
The best part about Funny Friends might be the stories created during the game. You can look through your stack of cards and recreate your life, from that first skateboarding accident and the crush in Bible class to the time you started a book club, became a workaholic, and developed a smoking-related illness. You’ll never forget the day that Adam left you for Jim, leaving you a little bit sadder, but a winner in the long run.
Apples to Apples Party Box. Apples to Apples Game Review
Apples to Apples Party Box Expansion 1
Apples to Apples - Party Box Expansion 1 contains an additional 576 cards to add to your Party Box edition! The laughter will continue late into the night as the Party Box Expansion 1 generates thousands of outrageous new combinations!
Please note: This set contains every card from expansion set 3 and 4 from the original Apples to Apples core game. This set also contains the same cards as the Party Crate Expansion 1.
Contents of Apples to Apples - Party Box Expansion 1:
432 red apple cards
144 green apple cards
Deluxe card tray
Game play variations card
Apples to Apples is a great game, that I play with a wide variety of people. It gets played a lot and Ive picked up the expansions as they have become available. I wanted to like this expansion (#4), but its a disappointment. I just got finished removing about half of this expansion from my set.
Expansion #4 is the Pairs edition. All the cards have a pair of words: like Ice & snow or cat & mouse. About half of the expansion had pairs that worked for me: whips & chains, Calvin & Hobbs, and Beavis & Butt-Head. They must have just run out of ideas for the rest Pail & Shovel, Phone & Fax, and Lock & Key. And then there are the duplicates. Ive already got Apples and Oranges do I need Apples & Oranges and Lemon & Lime. Ive got Batman do I need Batman & Robin. Ive got Fred Flintstone do I need Fred & Wilma and Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm. And my favorite duplicate Rock and Roll and Rock & Roll
Apple Turnovers Variation - For a change of taste, start by dealing five GREEN apple cards to each player. The judge turns over a RED apple card from the top of the stack. Players choose the GREEN apple card from their hand that they think is most like the word on the RED apple card. The judge then selects the GREEN apple card that he or she thinks is best, and awards the RED apple card to the person who played the selected GREEN apple card.
Crab Apples Variation - For a tart twist, choose and judge red apple cards that are least like, or the opposite of, the word on the green apple card. For example, you might choose Charging Rhinos when the word Dainty is played.
Baked Apples Variation - For a more leisurely and thoughful game, allow everyone, except the judge, to play a red apple card in each round. You may wish to set a time limit for each round to prevent a player from taking too much time.
Apples to Apples Testimonial
Apples to Apples is just way too fun. Whether you are playing it with kids, adults, or both, you will enjoy it.
The thing I like the most about the game is that it's fast paced, never boring, and doesn't take an hour or two to play most games only last 20-30 minutes TOPS!
On a side note about the expansion sets that are available for the game, the original "Core Game" and its expansions have been retired and replaced by the "Party Box". The "Party Box" contains the entire collection of cards from the original "Core Game" plus the "Core" expansion sets 1 & 2.
The "Party Box Expansion 1" contains cards from the third and fourth "Core" expansions, and a "Party Box Expansion 2" contains all new cards.
I know I had a hard time trying to figure out all of the different versions and expansions, so hopefully this will help somebody out there.
Apples to Apples Testimonial
We have great fun playing this game.
We had so much fun playing this game. We had ages between 10 and 55 playing this game and we all had fun
Apples to Apples Testimonial
Wow. This game is an ingenius idea! Why didn't I think of it? For those who love a good, fun, educational, durable, perfect game, try Apples to Apples! It doesn't matter if you get the Junior edition or Party Box expansion - they're all great editions of my favorite game. If you haven't played Apples to Apples, you need to play NOW. The game play is basic and simple - you don't have to be the smartest person in class to figure out how to play! For anyone any age, try Apples to Apples - I've even seen a three year old play!
Basically, the judge, which everyone gets a chance to be, hands everyone five cards. Then, the judge lays a green card down in the center. Each player looks through their cards, which they don't show to anyone, and lays down one card of theirs facedown that fits the adjective of the green card. The judge doesn't lay a card down. Then, the judge turns the cards up and chooses the most creative card that fits the adjective. At the end of the game, whoever has the most green cards wins.
Qwirkle Board Game. Family Board Game Qwirkle
Qwirkle Board Game.
Number of Players: 2 3 4
Age Range: Teen Family Adult 6-up
Here’s how to play Qwirkle: The box holds 108 chunky black wooden tiles, each with a colored symbol on one face; there are six symbols in six colors, and each of the 36 color/symbol combinations is repeated three times. Players shuffle the tiles face-down, draw six randomly, then take turns placing the tiles in a grid that develops throughout the game.
To place tiles, you must choose one or more tiles that all share a color or symbol, then place them in a single line in the grid so that at least one of these tiles is adjacent to an already placed tile with the same color or symbol. (See the image below for examples.) You can’t place a duplicate color or symbol in a row, which means that at most six tiles will make up one line. Once a line of green tiles includes a starburst, for example, then no other starburst can be placed in this line. Tiles needn’t be placed be placed adjacent to one another, but they must be placed in the same line.
The rules terminology is a bit awkward because “line” doesn’t mean “entire horizontal or vertical row of tiles and gaps” as you might suspect, but only a linear grouping of up to six tiles that share a characteristic. Thankfully, the examples included clarify the meaning of “line” in the rules.
When you place tiles, you score one point for each tile in a line that you created or added to that turn. If you have a row of three red tiles, for instance, and add a red tile with a different symbol, you score four points; if you placed a row of three squares perpendicular to these red tiles, with a red square meeting up with this red row—akin to adding an “S” to a word in Scrabble while forming a new word—you would score seven points: three for the new row of squares and four for the row of red tiles that you enlarged.
Placing the sixth tile in a line nets you six points for the line as well as six bonus points, which means that opponents need to be wary of placing the fifth or even the fourth tile in a line since the average points per turn is far below the 12 scored from a complete line. Due to the placement restrictions—matching colors or shapes, but not having repeated colors or shapes—you can cut off rows that threaten to max out by boxing them in with other rows.
Instead of placing tiles on a turn, a player can choose to hand in some or all of her tiles and draw new ones, mixing the discarded tiles back into the reserves. This move is typically one of sheer desperation or blind hope, with the player hoping for a tile that will let her complete a line, but scoring 12 on a subsequent turn is rarely worth forfeiting your ability to score anything this turn. Still, the move can pay off depending on the board situation.
Tiles in the grid are visible, so you can track which tiles remain to be played and plan your moves accordingly. Initially, the game seems to be determined by luck, that is, whoever draws tiles that complete a line or add to multiple lines will win. After a few games, though, you learn how to play defensively, cutting off opportunities to complete a line by sandwiching the ends of an open line with off-color or off-symbol tiles that render spaces unplayable. You pay more attention to the order in which you place tiles to create opportunities for future plays. You leave a symbol or color dangling open on a line to lure an opponent into adding to it, thereby setting you up for a future play.
Managing the endgame also becomes clearer with repeated play. Once the reserve of tiles runs out, players keep taking turns until someone plays her final tile. This player scores six bonus points, then the player with the highest score wins.
In my first game or two, I played the end the same as the beginning—laying out whichever tiles scored the most points each turn—but with experience I’ve changed my approach to turns from start to finish. I pay more attention each turn to what I can set up for myself in future turns and play more defense. Moreover, I might sacrifice a point or two if I can play more tiles and therefore increase my odds of drawing a tile I really need.
As for the endgame, you ideally want the player to your right to take the last tiles in the reserve as that increases your odds of going out first. You might even keep pairs or triplets of matching tiles in reserve as the endgame nears so that you can rocket out quickly and grab those final bonus points.
Qwirkle resembles Ingenious/Einfach Genial, both in looks and game play, but the similarities should be seen in a positive light rather than a reason to dismiss this new game as more of the same. Just as my playing style in Ingenious has advanced through multiple stages—from making big pools of color to playing defense against opponents to sabotaging a color to monopolize it—I can see the same progression already taking place with Qwirkle. You can make skillful plays if you know what to look for.
That said, players can approach the game with different frames of mind and still have a fun time. You can play semi-cooperatively with family members young and old, not worrying about the risk of someone else completing a line, or you can be more cutthroat and think through each play. Luck will still play a role in determining who wins; drawing duplicate tiles or drawing a tile that you just played (which feels even worse than a duplicate) can hamper your play possibilities. This mix of luck and skill, along with the easy-to-learn rules and clear examples of play, creates a fabulous abstract game that should win over almost anyone who plays games.
Monopoly Game Strategies. How To Win At Monopoly
Monopoly Game Strategies
Here's How To Win At Monopoly:
Know the odds. For example, most players make a complete lap around the board in five turns; you're likely to roll doubles once in those five turns (doubles happen about 17 percent of the time).
Buy smart. Always pick up available properties if: (1) no other player owns one of the same group; (2) the purchase would give you two or three of the same group; or (3) it blocks someone else from completing a set.
Remember that Illinois Avenue is the square most often landed on (not including Jail). The B&O Railroad also is among those most landed on; Go rounds out the top three.
Railroads are better to own than utilities, but utilities should be purchased if the opportunity arises (especially if you can get both of them). Short Line is the least useful railroad to own, because it is visited least often.
Get out of jail quickly early in the game, even if you have to pay the $50. Later on, when moving around the board is more dangerous, stay in jail as long as you can.
When you build, get to three houses as quickly as possible. The rent raises significantly between two and three houses. For example, rent on Illinois Avenue jumps from $300 to $750.
If you're stuck with low-income properties, build to four houses quickly to create a building shortage, hurting other players' chances to build. 24 of 32 houses (or 6 of 12 hotels) could be tied up on just six properties.
Avoid mortgaging properties where you own two or more of the properties. If one property in a group is mortgaged, you cannot build on any of the properties in that group.
The second set of properties on all four sides of the board is a better investment. One reason: houses and hotels cost the same to build as for the first set of properties, but the rent is higher.
The trio of orange properties is an excellent monopoly to own because of their relationship to Jail. A roll of 6 or 8 (two of the most common rolls) from Jail lands you on an orange.
Monopoly Tips:
Show no mercy. If a player is down, eliminate him from the game. Luck plays too big a roll in Monopoly to risk a comeback.
Don't forget that you can buy houses, make trades, etc., on your turn or between the turns of any other players.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Boochie Family Game Review. Boochie Outdoor Family Game
Boochie Family Game Review. Boochie Outdoor Family Game
Now that the weather’s warming up again, it’s time to head to the backyard or the neighborhood park and enjoy some outdoor games—like Boochie.
Loosely based on the classic Italian game, bocce, Boochie is a wacky family game that will have your whole family throwing, bowling, kicking, and spinning in the yard.
Players: 2-4 (ages 8+) Playing Time: 10-15 minutes
Before the game begins, each player selects a color and receives three color-coded items: a ball, a hoop, and a wrist tracker—which acts as both score-keeper and game guide. To start the game, one player tosses the 12-sided Boochie ball. Players then take turns tossing their balls and hoops at the Boochie ball. The players whose items land the closest and the second closest to the ball earn points at the end of the round. Players then tally their points on their wrist trackers and begin the next round. Play continues until one player reaches 11 points and wins the game.
But hold on—there’s a catch. With each turn of your wrist tracker, there are new rules. If, for instance, you’re using the red tracker and you have four points, you have toss your items at the Boochie ball while facing backwards. Or maybe you’ll have to toss while sitting on the ground…or with one hand touching the ground…or while spinning around. It’s an added little twist that makes the game more challenging—and a whole lot sillier.
Boochie is another one of those games that are easy to play—but not so easy to play well. Throwing the ball might be easy, but throwing the hoop definitely isn’t. You can try to aim all you want, but the hoop has a mind of its own. And when you throw in the added challenge of throwing a hoop from between your legs, well…it’s pretty much anybody’s game. And the more players you have, the harder it is to win—because you could easily end up stuck on the same challenge while everyone else earns points.
While some of the challenges are a bit frustrating (my husband still hasn’t figured out how he’s supposed to throw stuff while lying on his stomach), they do make the game interesting. And they’re sure to keep the kids giggling.
Outburst Game Review. Outburst Adult Board Game Information
Outburst Game Review. Ultimate Outburst Board Game Information
Game includes: Deck of 800 topic cards, score card, card viewer, two scoring glides, plastic tray six pass chips, 10-sided die, sand time and instructions.
For 2 or more adult players in teams
The Game of Verbal Explosions!
Race the clock to come up with the 10 answers on each card!
For 2 or more players in teams.
Ages: Adult.
Outburst is the uproariously funny adult game of common knowledge tha tpeople have been shouting about for years.
Since one good Outburst deserves another, we've updated the yopics and answers - for hours of non-stop fun. Quick!
You've got 60 seconds to shot out your answers!
Outburst Game Reviews
The great thing about this game is it makes you think but isn't too hard that only smart people can play (like trivial pursuit not that I don't love trivial pursuit). The Ultimate version is as good as the original. The cards and the answers are quite as good as in the original edition but the new innovations of reverse outburst where you try to guess the title from the answers more than makes up for it. Great for parties when you have people who don't enjoy charade like games.
New Outburst - BIG improvements on a Great Game
Durability: Fun: Educational:
The new Ultimate Outburst was even better than expected. The game play has a lot more going for it because they added several new ways to play. This game always created a lot of excitement, shouting, laughing, and carrying-on.
Now it is even better.
I absolutely love this game. It's easy to learn and easy to play, but challenging enough to be played over and over again. (Parker Brothers, we need some refill cards!!) It's great to take on family vacations and it gets everyone involved at the same time. Good for kids or adults. Categories broad enough that it targets expertise of everyone.
Carcassonne Board Game Review
Carcassonne Board Game
The southern French city of Carcassonne was founded on an important trade route between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. Because of its strategic location, the city was often conquered and has known many rulers. As a result of this varied history, the city is famous for its unique mixture of Roman and Medieval fortifications. The players develop the area around Carcassonne by placing land tiles. Each turn the area becomes larger as the players expand and add roads, fields, cities, and cloisters. The players may also deploy their followers as thieves, farmers, knights, and monks to control and score points for the roads, farms, cities, and cloisters. As the players have only a few followers, the wise player will plan his moves carefully and deploy followers when and where he can earn the most points. Carcassonne is a simple, clever tile laying game that brings new challenges with every turn.
# of Players: 2 - 5
Mfg Suggested Ages: 8 and up
Category: Medieval
Carcassonne is an excellent family game, because the rules are simple, no one is eliminated, and the play is fast. A typical game takes only 45 - 60 minutes to play
Other Names:
Carcassonne Limited Edition
Carcassonne Big Box
In this fairly light tile-laying offering, players pull a tile from the pool and place it against one of the previously played tiles. If you start a new object (city, road, farm, or monastery), you can place one of your control markers on the tile to denote your control. Markers (called Followers by the publisher and called Meeples by us) cannot directly compete when placed, so to achieve some gains, you must place your marker and use later tiles to connect up to it.
As subsequent tiles are arrayed on the board, objects get bigger or even merge. When roads or cities are completed, or a monastery is surrounded, the control marker is returned to you and you score the points. However, farmers are not returned and will score points at the game end (there are several rules variations for the farmer scoring).
Therefore, it's possible to have all of your control markers locked on the board on incomplete objects, and not be able to convert them into farmers later in the game. You must balance the need to score points during the game with the need to score farmer points at game end.
The goal is to have the most points at the end, which can be tricky to control considering your choice for each turn isn't the tile itself, but rather the placement of the tile that you drew. Think of a more strategic version of Metro's tile placement, with some of the scoring methods from El Caballero or even the Very Clever Pipe Game.
The Carcassonne game board is a medieval landscape built by the players as the game progresses.
The game of Carcassonne, winner of the prestigious Spiel des Jahres award in 2001 (German game of the year), was inspired by the medieval town of Carcassonne in Southern France, which is famous for its formidable city walls. Likewise, in this addictive game, players lay tiles to build a landscape of walled cities, roads, and farmland dotted with the occasional church. Rather than use a game board, players simply pick a tile at random, and place it into the existing landscape in such a way that it matches correctly on all sides. Players score points as the landscape grows by placing their followers in cities, on roads, in fields, or in cloisters.
Carcassonne succeeds because of its simplicity. The game is easy to learn, very fun to play, yet still requires a high level of strategic thinking to master. It is rare to find a game that plays just as well with two players as it does with three, four, or five. It is also rare to find a game that appeals so well to beginners as well as serious gamers. That is why I give Carcassonne my highest recommendation
User Reviews:
I love this game ! so easy to play and fun to play for a 2-6 players[(6)first expansion]more you are more fun you have . I buy all the expansions for more playing time in the game and more strategic moves ! all i can say if you dont have it you miss something good !!! excellent game !!!by Fred (Mar 23 2008)
I am so addicted to this game. by eric (Feb 06 2008)
I did not have fun the first time I played, however, once you figure out the strategy of the game it is enjoyable to play. One thing I like is that no two games are ever the same. by Tyler (Dec 08 2007)
I purchased this game for Christmas 2006. We finally got around to reading the directions and playing it over Thanksgiving weekend 2007. It was so different and loads of fun that I immediately bought two expansion packs to have for this Christmas break. Hats off to family game time! by Sandy (Nov 26 2007)
It was fantastic, but played even better when in pairs. As teams try to beat each other, the battle heats up and it gets even more exciting when each try to sabotage the other. A great game through and through...by Sue (Nov 13 2007)
I like strategy games, especially Settler's of Catan, but this game bores me to tears. Perhaps I'm missing something? by bella (Nov 09 2007)
Saturday, May 10, 2008
USA Greatest Cities Collector's Edition Monopoly
USA Greatest Cities Collector's Edition Monopoly
America Monopoly Greatest Cities Collector's Edition USAopoly.
Take the trip you’ve always dreamed of- travel America! The MONOPOLY®: America’s Greatest Cities Edition is finally here. Now you can experience the joy of traveling while playing America’s favorite board game. Players can buy, sell, and trade 22 of America’s most visited cities from New York City and Philadelphia to Seattle and San Diego. The game also includes six custom pewter tokens. Reminisce about all of the American cities you have seen and the places you may still have yet to visit.
* Beautiful photography showcasing America's 22 city vacation destinations.
* Custom red, white, and blue sparkly dice.
* Custom pewter tokens.
* An educational U.S. map, trivia questions about American history, and City nicknames.
* Recommended Age Range 8 to 11 Years
Product Description
The Big Apple, the City of Angels, the Golden Gate City, Beantown¿ America's favorite board game brings you the chance of a lifetime to buy, sell, and trade the USA's greatest cities from coast to coast. Celebrate life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and¿ capitalism as you wheel and deal San Diego, Honolulu, Miami and more. Amass wealth and increase your net worth by creating the most vacation destination monopolies. Includes six collectible pewter tokens: Apple Pie, Mount Rushmore, Capitol Building, Liberty Bell, Bald Eagle & Statue of Liberty. Advance to GO and experience the thrill of bankrupting your opponents. Become the wealthiest player as you vie to fulfill the true American dream- owning it all!
Comments
It's a fun version of the classic Monopoly game that uses major cities instead of random streets as property, and allows players to buy motels and spa resorts instead of houses and motels. An unexpected bonus: when trying to decide where to vacation with my son this spring, I decided to use the board as a reference point. If we make it to all the featured cities, we will be well-travelled indeed!
USA Greatest Cities Collector's Edition Monopoly
America Monopoly Greatest Cities Collector's Edition USAopoly
Monopoly: Here and Now Edition
Monopoly: Here and Now Edition
Product Description
Monopoly: Here and Now Edition is a whole new twist on the classic property trading game. Move around the board, collect money, and punish your siblings financially as you have good clean family fun. This updated version includes modern day rents and all-new contemporary game tokens and airports. The 22 new properties salute America's greatest modern destinations from New York City to Honolulu. For the first time ever, Monopoly fans helped design the new board by voting on their favorite landmarks from selected cities.
# Play America's favorite game Monopoly: Here and Now Edition as if it were invented TODAY!
# Move with cool tokens that are iconic to life here & now.
# Own popular destinations from across the United States
# Buy and sell at values reflecting current market prices.
# Own it all to win! # 2 to 6 players
Comments
The up-dated Monopoly had to come some time, and this made a great game still great to play. I am still a fan of the original, but I enjoy this version too.
I have to agree with some comments about the money being harder to use, and that is true. However, I think it is a minor problem. The extra zeros on all the denominations make things a bit tough to work out, but this is something one gets used to when they play it a few times. The modern highrise buildings, (rather than houses and hotels), are a great little touch, allowing you to build "up" rather than across.
The new locations are great, and the new up-dated pieces are fun. Being made of metal, they are very durable too. The board folds in quarters, which is pretty common these days, (rather than in half with some of the older designs).
Overall, this is a great version of Monopoly and adds something to the experience. Although I would not abandon the original version for it, it is a great game.
* It's a whole new twist on the classic property trading game!
* The four railroads are now airports, including LAX, JFK and Chicago's O'Hare!
* Hot property includes Times Square in New York City, Boston's Fenway Park, Las Vegas Blvd., Houston's Johnson Space Center, Nashville's Grand Ole Opry, and Minneapolis' Mall of America!
* New tokens include the Toyota Prius, New Balance Shoe, McDonald's French Fries, Labradoodle, Motorola RAZR Mobile Headset, and a Laptop Computer
* The goal still remains the same: buy, sell and trade well-known U.S. properties to win the game!
The back of the box poses the question, "What would the Monopoly game be like if it were invented today?" One could sum up most of the difference in one word: inflation. If you're used to playing the traditional game, you might feel a little woozy handling Monopoly money denominations that start at $100k and top out at $5 million.
Players are no longer vying for control of Atlantic city but now the entire U.S., from sea to shining sea. Entry level properties like Baltic and Mediterranean Avenues, which sold for $60 back in the day, have been replaced by Texas Stadium in Dallas and Cleveland's Jacobs Field, each selling for $600,000.
The most disturbing piece of property for sale in this game is the White House--one can only assume it's someone's subtle political humor. Railroads have been replaced by airports like O'Hare and JFK. Utilities have been supplanted by cell phone and Internet service. And, of course, the game pieces have all been updated: laptop, cell phone, hybrid car, commuter coffee mug, jumbo jet, super size fries. Gameplay, however, is still the same.
The idea is to buy properties, build houses and hotels, and charge other players rent when they land on your land. Thankfully, transactions are still handled in cash and not by some convoluted electronic banking scheme. There's a lot of changes here that will make cynics and traditionalists sour. That's okay. The original game is still available to them. What's interesting about this edition is that it brings back a kind of jaw-dropping thrill--one that made this game a household word in the middle of the Great Depression, when people dreamt of becoming a millionaires. This game will let you dream of becoming a billionaire.
Monopoly: Here and Now Edition
Atari Retro Comercial
Atari Retro Commercial
The original Atari Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in arcade games, home video game consoles, and home computers. The company's products, such as Pong and the Atari 2600, helped define the computer entertainment industry from the 1970s to the mid 1980s.
Mush Mouth Retro Commercial
Mush Mouth Retro Commercial
Germophobes, look away! This will make the skin on your overly sanitized hands crawl. It's a little known '70s board game called MushMouth. Someone shoves their grimy fingers in a player's mouth while everyone else tries to guess what the eff the player is saying. It's like talking with your mouth full at the dinner table, but this ain't dinner. It's "fun" time. And everyone is laughing but you, cuz if you did, you just might choke and then — game over!
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Best Selling Board Game.
What is the best-selling board game in the world?
If you grew up in the 1930s or ‘40s — before games required batteries or computers to operate — you’re almost certain to know the answer.
It’s Monopoly, the game that lets players buy, rent and trade properties, using play money and taking turns moving around the board at the roll of the dice.
I hadn’t thought about the game in ages until I wandered through a book/entertainment store a few weeks ago. There, to my surprise, were several shelves of Monopoly games, and not just the standard, conventional model.
Game fans today can buy Monopoly games with themes like The Simpsons, Spider-Man, Shrek, Family Guy, the Red Sox, the U.S. Marines and the film “A Christmas Story.”
The method of playing all these new versions is apparently the same, but the names on the board spaces are not the ones we were accustomed to, such as Illinois Avenue, Park Place and Baltic Avenue, all named after locations in Atlantic City, N.J.
Player tokens to move around the board in the original game were metal figures such as a dog, horse, shoe, iron and race car, but not in the theme games. The version based on “A Christmas Story,” for example, includes tokens of Ralphie’s broken glasses, his pink bunny suit and the infamous leg lamp which his father put in the front window.
Facts surrounding the origin of the Monopoly game are controversial. In one version, the game was brought to Parker Brothers in 1935 by Charles B. Darrow of Germantown, Pa., who had invented it. The game company was not interested at first, and so Darrow proceeded on his own. When reports of the game’s success got back to Parker, the company officials changed their minds and purchased the rights. Darrow eventually became a millionaire through royalties.
In another version of the story, Lizzie J. Magie, a Quaker woman from Virginia, invented and patented a strikingly similar game which she called “The Landlord’s Game.” The big difference was that in Magie’s game, the properties were rented, while in Monopoly, they are bought and sold.
It soon became evident to Parker Brothers, that their game was a classic, and, on discovering the existence of Magie’s and other Monopoly-like games, the company secured the patents and copyrights.
Those who supported Magie’s claim of origin, insist that Darrow was first influenced by her brainstorm to invent his own game. This story of corporate intrigue has even been documented in several books. After lengthy court battles and appeals, the legal status of Parker Brothers’ trademarks on the game was settled in the mid-1980s, according to an Internet story. Parker Brothers, incidentally, is now a subsidiary of Hasbro.
When I was a child, my parents bought my brother and me Big Business, another Monopoly-like game, which the four of us often played on winter evenings.
Not until I was married, with children of my own, did I actually play the real Monopoly game. During the summer months while the kids were home from school, we often set up the Monopoly board in the middle of the living room floor and played for hours until someone went broke or fell asleep or I decided it was time to fix dinner.
Monopoly is still popular with adults, and I have it on good authority that one of the area’s most skillful players is attorney Holly Gotcher.
In researching this column, I learned that the longest playing Monopoly game on record was 1,680 hours — 70 straight days.
Some other interesting tidbits:
Monopoly is published in 26 languages. One of the most recent, the Thai edition, was introduced at Toys R Us in Bangkok in December 2005.
• The game was very popular in Cuba until Fidel Castro took power and all known sets were destroyed.
• The total amount of money in a standard Monopoly game is $15,140.
• Escape maps, compasses and files were inserted into Monopoly game boards smuggled into POW camps inside Germany during World War II. Real money for escapees was slipped into the packs of play money.
• In the 1970s, a Braille edition was brought out for the blind.
• In the 1978 Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog, a full-size chocolate version of the game was offered at $600.
• The students at Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pa., once turned part of their campus into a giant Monopoly board, with huge foam cubes used as dice and bicycle-messengers with walkie-talkies keeping players informed of the moves.
• In 1972, the Atlantic City Commissioner of Public Works threatened to change the names of the real Baltic and Mediterranean Avenues, but public outcry killed the bill.
• The game so impressed one young man that he later named his cat Marvin Gardens after one of the properties on the board..
Actually, you won’t find the latter bit of information on any Web site. The player was one of our sons.
It could have been worse though. Imagine a cat named Free Parking or B&O Railroad.
Source: Rockwallhearld
Monopoly Games History
Monopoly Game History
It didn’t take long for Parker Bros. to get production going and in May the first 10,000 "Trade-Mark" sets went to market. The biggest difference with these new sets was the inclusion of metal tokens (Darrow's games did not include any tokens). 2 sets were released A regular edition #7 set with a small red, white and black box and a deluxe #9 edition in a large white box that copied Darrow’s early graphics. Parker had Darrow apply for a Patent on the game and soon a "Patent Pending" version of the #7 was released. Soon after Parker purchased the revised 1924 patent from Lizzie Magie and put this patent number on both the white and black boxes
The black box stated:
REG .U.S. PATENT OFFICE
U. S. PATENT 1,509,312
The white box had the following:
Trade Mark
U. S. PATENT 1,509,312
One other edition was made in 1935, the #10 Fine edition. This set had a brown box and board. At this time I do not have a picture, but it was similar to the 1936 Fine edition.
All Chance and Community Chest cards in 1935 were plain text. Sets up to and including early single patent sets included "Go back to Baltic" and "Pay your insurance premium $50.00". Community Chest cards. These two cards were replaced in later 1935 sets with "Advance to the nearest Railroad" cards (see Chance/CC card page for more information on these cards.
Dating Notes
All 1935 sets will be TM, PP, Single Patent (1,509,312), or TM single patent (#9)
All 1935 sets have plain text Chance/CC cards
There are no race car tokens in any 1935 #7 sets
Blank back Title Deeds are in all 1935 sets until the single patent sets
Wooden and composite tokens are found in some 1935 sets
Round houses and octagon hotels are found in some 1935 sets
Tokens in the #7 included: thimble (for a good girl), shoe, ship, top hat, cannon, and iron
Tokens in the #9 included those from the #7 plus: purse, lantern, race car, and rocking horse
Short hotels are in all sets up to and including some early single patent sets
Darrow style money used through some PP sets. Parker style "Copyright 1935 " money used from later PP sets on
Salmon $100 bills and gray $50 bills in these sets
Prices added to the board on later PP sets
Monopoly 1935 Deluxe Wood Edition. Monopoly Games.
Monopoly Games. Monopoly 1935 Deluxe Wood Edition
This Wood Monopoly Game 1935 Deluxe Edition is housed in luxurious wood and brass giving ultimate style to the classic Monopoly board game. The wood lid conveniently slides off to reveal a beautiful, fully functional bankers tray. Monopoly....as it looked and felt in 1935. The ultimate Monopoly game for a Monopoly fans!
A Reproduction based on the 1935 Deluxe First Edition Monopoly. Features heavyweight wooden hinged box with game board with original artwork, original illustrated Chance and Community Chest cards (not used since 1935), original Title Deeds and property colors, original metal tokens, double pack of money, and wooden houses and hotels. Special Bonus 16 page book that takes you back to 1935, reveals little known facts about the game and its early versions, and contains complete enhanced rules. Ages 8 to Adult 3 to 8 Players
This board game is expensive....you can find it for $70 dollars and up.
