Someone must have filmed us playing.....

My net- and game-savvy sister points me to this must-watch video which I think must have been made about MY gaming group.  Very slick and very, very funny.

You know these people, I know you know these people....



(But I still hate Settlers....)

On The Horizon: another Wallace deck-builder...

One of the loveliest games for me this past year was Martin Wallace's A Few Acres of Snow.  The designer of one of my all-time favourites, Age of Steam, took on deck-building and Canadian history in a very dense 2-player strategy/war game.  Not one I get to play much but thrilling in its complexity.  Having said that, according to many gamers (including my friends who just borrowed it), AFAOS is broken and there is a strategy that will win for the British every time.  Guess I'm too dumb to have figured it out. 

In any case, good old Marty has been working on a more symmetrical multi-player version in a fantasy setting and I can't friggin' wait.  The new game Mythopia has been described as a cross between Risk and Dominion.  Fantastic.  Two suggestions if you're out there listening, Martin:

1)  Could you simplify the rules just a bit so I can play it with the hubby;  and

2)  Not so fond of the name Mythopia.  Maybe a new title?

By the way, if you've never heard the term "Halifax Hammer", I would highly recommend A Few Acres of Snow.  It's brilliant even if only for a few games until you get the above term.

Wesley Crusher explains Small World....

You may have seen this this already (possibly thanks to BGGNews) but I still think it's cool.  Glad he's moved on from Star Trek to far more serious and important endeavours...

How to choose a board game....

If you are like me you probably often find yourself staring at towers upon towers of games, feeling quite overwhelmed with the daunting task of determining what to play.  This graphic may help.

(Thanks to Petr for mentioning the original larger image...)

First play: Casa Grande...

This great little family game is a German-only import from Ravensburger that arrived last week.  I suppose I could describe Casa Grande in detail and explain how it plays and stuff - but I kinda think the pictures will tell you all need to know about this gorgeously produced, super-fun Spiel des Jahres shoe-in.  Total win.

On The Horizon: The Last Banquet...

One major issue that always seems to occur on games night is when there are too many people for the intended games.  My partner laughs at me when I invite a couple people over with a certain "4-player only" game in the back of mind.  And then they ask if they can bring a friend and I laugh nervously whilst in the back of my mind I'm racing through my good 5-player games.  And then he springs it on me that he's invited so and so whose bringing their partner and by then I can't hide my disappointment and anger...  "Stupid party game AGAIN!"

Once you hit 7+ people there aren't that many good strategy games you can play and the last thing you wanna do at someone's gathering is split in to two separate groups.  One recent find that we have pulled out a few times now is The Werewolves of Miller's Hollow, a game for 8 or more players where each player is given a secret identity card which may include a special power.  Most of the players are villagers but a few are werewolves.  The goal for the villagers is to lynch all the werewolves during the day (when everyone's eyes are open) and the werewolves are trying to off the villagers during the night (when everyone closes their eyes).  It's all very paranoid and thoroughly enjoyable, especially when you convince everyone to lynch your best friend who then turns out not to be a werewolf as they so vehemently proclaimed.

Well, another team game, The Last Banquet, looks to be released very soon and can be played with up to 24 people (the more, the merrier!)  In this game the players split into two teams who secretly elect one of the members to be the assassin.  One player is the King/moderator and everyone tries get their team's secret assassin to be seated beside the King by the end of the round.  If so, they kill the king and their team wins the game.  There's a few more rules than that, like the fact that every player has a special power to let them rearrange the players in some way, but in general it looks pretty lighthearted and a lot of fun.  And it's mean-spirited and murderous so I get the feeling my group of friends will eat it up.