General
Specialty Monopoly Board Games
January 10th, 2012I was recently introduced to the amazing line of specialty monopoly games that is available. Everyone loves the classic monopoly board game, in fact it seems to be the board game that almost everyone remembers from their childhood.
Specialty monopoly games are very enticing because it is the classic board game that you loved as a child, now themed with some of the more memorable movies and entertainment ideas.
I have a friend that loves the nightmare before christmas. In fact his home and office are both littered with memorabilia and now there is a monopoly game made just for him. Check out the Night Mare before Christmas Monopoly Game.
The list goes on and on as to all the different options when it comes to picking the coolest monopoly games. All the games play the same the just have elements from your favorite things. A few of the most popular specialty monopoly board games are fishing monopoly, star trek klingon monopoly, coca cola monoply, john wayne monopoly, family guy monopoly, las vegas monopoly and new york monopoly. This is not a comprehensive list, but it gives you a good idea of what kind of variety there is when it comes to specialty monopoly games.
This year the star trek lovers have rallied to the star trek monopoly board game. Check it out:
If you are interested in the specialty monopoly simply click this link, or go to our home page and search for monopoly.
Metropolys Board Game Strategy
August 23rd, 2011Metropolys board game has quickly become one of my favorite board games. We like it because there is a fair amount of strategy in every bid and the game can be played through pretty quickly once everyone understands the rules. I noticed that it took me a few times playing through the game before i really felt like i understood how i needed to use each turn to accumulate the most points and win the game.
This article is just an hightlight of a few strategic tips. If you want a more thorough review please look at our Metropolys Board Game Review.
I thought it would be helpful to share some of my strategies to help new players have a better idea of what they can do before they fully understand how all the components of Metropolys work together.
A few strategic guidelines
1. If a piece does not score there is no reason to use that piece. Make sure that if you are going to win that the realestate either helps you accomplish your goal, or set you up for your next move. There is a feeling early on that you win metropolys by getting rid of your pieces the fastest. In reality the first person done is rarely the person who wins.
2. Your initial goal should be to claim the realestate that is both your assigned color and has high points on it, for example a 3 point chip and your designated color should be the highest priority.
3. Your assigned task should be important to you, but you must remember that often times one player making a realestate purchase can ruin your strategy. Focus first on your color and the positive point chips and then on your assined point goal.
4. If you do get out to a nice lead start claiming spots that give you landlocked bid realestate that can be purchased cheaply.
Best Board games July 2011
July 6th, 2011The list of best board games is constantly evlolving. I have decided to do a top ten list for each of the next few months to illistrate how much movement a player can have in his or her top board games. I personally have games that move on and off of the list depending on the gaming group that you are playing with and the amount of time that you have to play.
Here is my top ten list of board games for july 2011
1. Metropolys
2. Acquire
3. PowerGrid
4. Ticket to Ride Nordic Countries
5. The Farming Game
6. Settlers of Catan
7. Atlantis
8. Incan Gold
9. Ingenious
10. Puerto Rico
I try to play these games at least once a month, but with all the other demands on time it is very challenging to get them in. I will keep playing and update the blog as the list changes.
Metropolys Board Game
July 6th, 2011Metropolys is a board game where players take turn bidding on spots on the board. As is customer is auction style board games, each player gets an opportunity to bid each round, the player that places the highest bid wins the spot. The game is unique because you are not bidding on the same spot, but on any of the open spots in the surrounding available plots. Each round takes the bidding and the flow and direction of the board in a unique diretion. Metropolys is fast moving board game that will take about 40 minutes to play. Because the board and the bids move differently every turn, Metropolys has high replayability.
Metropolys has two game play modes, an expert for experienced gamers, or anyone who can manage multiple scoring options at the same time. My recommendation is that if you are experienced in strategy games at all, that you play the expert or advanced mode. The family, or easy mode is very basic and only has one, much more simple scoring element to it.
In the expert setting of metropolys each player has a color that they are trying to build on, they also have a building objective. Each player has a different color and different building objective. Although you may be completing for similar spots at times during the game, you will all be working to complete different objectives.
Metropolys is very straight forward and you will quickly get the hang of this very fun board game. It is unique in its design and play and is a great game to add to your board game collection.
Ticket to Ride Board Game
June 24th, 2011Ticket to Ride continues to be one of the top board games. It seems to be the game that resonates with players and gets people excited to share with their friends. Recently days of wonder released a ticket to ride game app for the IPOD/IPADS that is outstanding.
When you are playing against the computer you can play through an entire game in about 7 minutes. You can also play online with other players, but those games move considerable slower and woudl play more like the real game. It has been so easy to find 10 minutes here of there to get a quick game in. The only weakness in the app is that the computers are not particularly challenging and it does not appear that you can up the difficulty. Winning is relatively easy, I now play to try and go over 200 points.
Anytime i am talking to a new customer, or new gamer that wants a good recommendation it is always ticket to ride. It is easy to learn and fun to play. I know that it is a little soft for the hard core gamers, but it is always a great board game to come back to and a great game to recommend.
Planning a Board Game Night
June 10th, 2010People love to play board games. They especially love to play them with their friends. This article will be geared towards helping you plan a successful board game night that everyone will enjoy and rememeber.
1. Pick that game that you are going to play ahead of time. Make sure that you understand the rules and can easily teach the game to those that that have not played the board game before. Also look at the maximum number of players allowed, you will do this for two reasons. First, You do not want to have more players than the game allows. It is clearly no fun to be invited to a board game party, only to sit around and watch everyone else play. Second, board games are usually the most fun when they are played with the maximum number of players. Your goal should be able to have as many players as the board game will support.
2. Select you guest list and ask for commitments. You want everything to go off as planned. If you treat the invitation to the board game night people are less likely to show up. You may actually want to make invitations and send them out. Don’t be afraid to as the board game night invitee’s to RSVP. You also want to select you guest list based on the board game that you will be playing. Some people just don’t fit the personalitly of some of hte board games that are out there. Make sure that the people that you invite match the dynamic of the board game and that it will be a fun and dynamic meeting.
3. Have the game rules readily available so that if at any point in the game on of the players has a question they can reference the rules without having to stop and ask you. This will allow everyone to feel confident in their decisions without having to reveal their strategy.
4. Have people sit next to people they don’t know, or next to people that they are not as familiar with. You want to keep everyone focused on the game. Lots of side bar conversations can be disctracting. Make sure that the game is the focus of everyones interest.
5. Throw some snacks out on the table, or in a convenient location near by. Gamers get hungry while they play. If the are doing poorly they may need some comfort food. You can even ask some of the guests to bring a treat to help them feel more involved and increase their commitment to the evening.
6. This is specifically for the host. When the game starts, stop doing everything else and focus on the game. You don’t have anything else to worry about. If you are distracted, everyone else will be to. Make sure that you guests and the board game that you have selected to play have your complete attention.
If you follow these steps you will off to a great start with you board game night. They can be a lot of fun and will help build friendships and memories.
The Livingstone Board Game
June 9th, 2010The Livingstone board game is based on the adventures of Dr. Livingstones as he safaried through africa. He was commissioned by queen Victoria to explore parts of africa that were previously unknown to England.
This past week i finally had the chance to play livingstone. The game has been out for a year and since its release i had not heard much about it. I really enjoyed learning the game and then playing it with my wife. The game is fairly simply in its play, but has good elements of strategy. Livingstone board game is a great choice if you want to play a victory point driven strategy game, but don’t have a lot of time to sit down and play.
Livingstone will accomodate 2-5 players and will last 35-45 minutes. As usually your first time through will last a little longer as everyone gets a feel for the game. I spent about ten minutes learning the rules and then the first time we played took about 35 minutes with two people. I expect the next time i play it will only take about 25 with two players.
The point of livingstone board game is to score as many vitory points as possible, while still making financial contributions to queen Victoria. Initially it is a little challenging to discover the balance between building tents and using your money to progress the game while still making contributions so that you aren’t left behind. The player or players who have the least amount of tribute at the end of the 12th round automaticallty lose regardless of how many victory points they have scored.
The game play allows players to take two actions on most turns. This actions are used to attain more money, and to gain victory points through expeditions, or through mining. The game consists of twelve rounds where players rotate who goes first. It is a fun game with lots of elements that make it exciting and challenging. Because you are dependant on other players to leave you with what you need, you never get quite what you expect.
Niagara Board Game Versus Incan Gold Board Game
May 25th, 2010Niagara board game versus Incan Gold is one of the most interesteding head to head comparisions that i have done. They have incredible similarities, they are just set on different stages. There is a little more to Niagara, but you pay more for it as well.
Here is my break down of these two Board Games.
The other debate between niagara and incan gold is an interesting one. Incan gold received a geek rating of 6.64 and Niagara received a rating of 6.63. Incan Gold has a slightly larger following, but it is not significant. In both games you are working to collect jewels. Niagara has fewer jewels in the game, i believe the first person who collects 5 wins. In incan gold you are collecting and placing jewels every turn and the winning player usually has about 35-50 jewels at the end of the game. The playing time is quite different. Incan gold is a 15-20 minute game and Niagara is a 45 minute game. Niagara appears to be a little more strategy based and a little more involved while incan gold is mostly chance and risk tolerance. In incan gold a game goes very quickly and is quite suspensful and frustrating at times. As far as board display goes they are very different. Incan Gold is entirely a card game that uses a bag ful of jewels that you place on the card and in front of each player. Niagara actually has a game board and a stronger table presence. The biggest difference in these games is the price point. Incan gold is a $30 retail game that i can get for 20. Niagara is a $50 game that is going to be around 35. I have played incan gold and really get a kick out of it. Niagara looks like a lot of fun, but i have no exprience playing it.
Caylus Board Game or Pillars of The Earth Board Game
May 25th, 2010I had a friend ask about Caylus and Pillars of the Earth. They games have some strong similarities and he wanted a break down on the games. I sent him the following information and thought that it might be useful for our other customers.
Caylus
Rating 7.98 ( Boardgamegeek ) This is an extremely high user rating
Retail Price is 54.95, much lower on the Gamzu website.
Description
Once upon a time …
1289. To strengthen the borders of the Kingdom of France, King Philip the Fair decided to have a new castle built. For the time being, Caylus is but a humble village, but soon, workers and craftsmen will be flocking by the cartload, attracted by the great prospects. Around the building site, a city is slowly rising up.
The players embody master builders. By building the King’s castle and developing the city around it, they earn prestige points and gain the King’s favor. When the castle is finished, the player who has earned the most prestige wins the game.
Pillars of the Earth ( this is the one that John said was spun off of Caylus)
Rating 7.38
Retail Price 49.00, again, better priced on Gamzugames.com
Description
At the beginning of the 13th century, construction of the greatest and most beautiful cathedral in England begins. Players are builders who try to contribute the most to this cathedral’s construction and, in so doing, score the most victory points. Gameplay roughly consists of using workers to produce raw materials, and then using craftsmen to convert the materials into victory points. Workers may also be used to produce gold, the currency of the game. Players are also given three master builders each turn, each of which can do a variety of tasks, including recruiting more workers, buying or selling goods, or just obtaining victory points. Getting early choices with a master builder costs gold, as does purchasing better craftsmen. Players must strike a balance between earning gold to fund their purchases and earning victory points.
A closer look at Weekend Farmer
May 24th, 2010
The Farming Game Board Game
Weekend farmer has 9 games available now, but the farming game continues to be their most well known game. They have added the farming game card game, the farming game kids and the construction game to the products that they offer. These games are all built around the original premise of the farming game, but have slight variations to adapt them to their target audience.
New titles from Weekend Farmer inlcude:
1. Fix the fence game
2. Racing n Rodeo Game
3. Hay is for Horses
4. Redneck Life
5. Trailer Park Wars
While these additional games are not nearly as well known as the farming game and the farming games kids, they still contain original elements that make them a lot of fun. Weekend farmer tries to provide games that are fun for the whole family. I am excited to see what new games they release and appreciate their efforts to develop the farming game and bring it to market.
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