Contest : Win a copy of the game Likewise!
Likewise! party game
As I start organizing the locations for the next two game nights and games we will be playing at them I realized I had an extra copy of Likewise! I also realized I was not sure of the second game to play at the next game night so I figured I could bribe ask for your help in figuring out which game to play.
One of the next game nights will be at an assisted living community and the other should be at a game store. Just like we had the last game night at a library to show a different place to have game nights in public places the assisted living center offers that same idea. The location was suggested by one of the blog readers and it goes well with a post I did about 2 years ago about gaming with the elderly and to help prevent alzheimers. That post is still one of the most visited posts on the blog.
So one of the next game nights will allow the elderly there to try some fun games and I’ll even have a couple 300 piece puzzles to have people work on during the night together. This location allows for alot of people and the game night will be open to all of the people that live there, their family and friends and all of the readers of this blog. It’ll be a unique and fun evening.
The T-Shirt Game party game
However, I normally have two or three games at game nights and have figured out two that will be great for all ages but I’d like to bring a third game, a party game, and I will ask you to help pick that third game. Don’t worry… it’ll just be a choice between two games. All you have to do for the contest to win a copy of Likewise! is choose one of the games in the survey below and leave a comment in this post, even just one sentence, in this post for which game you chose and why. If you are unfamiliar with these two games just follow the links to their descriptions to give you an idea of them.
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You have until the end of the day at 11:59 pm EST on July the 26th to leave a comment. Remember to include your name and an e-mail address (email addresses are not made public) I can contact when the contest is over for the winner. Also, only one comment per e-mail, name and ISP address. This contest is only available to those in the continental United States. I’ll be shipping this myself so I don’t have the budget to ship the prize real far. The winner will be chosen randomly using a randomizer program.
If you already own the games or are not located in the continental united states or are not interested in entering the contest but still want to make a vote, feel free. You can vote in the survey without leaving a comment. Just remember, only those that leave a comment with their choice and why will be entered in the contest.
26 comments June 25, 2009
Board game night article (Lewiston, NY)
I was surprised to receive a copy of the Metro Retailer paper the other day from Valerie, a game fan and friend from Lewiston. So I did a quick scan of the article and picture, taken by Ronald Shaw from the Lewiston Library, showing a bunch of us gaming types from that night.
I’ll be posting details on the next game night soon. But tomorrow, Thursday, I’ll be posting about a contest surprise!
Add comment June 24, 2009
Board game T-Shirts (2009 edition)
Now that summer is upon us once again… it’s time to show off our board game pride. We all have it on the inside, it’s now time to show it on the outside. My annual board game tshirt guide is pretty full this year as I scoured the internet for alot of fun board game shirts. So I don’t want to waste too much time with all my talky words… so onto the shirts.
Game Ink
The Game Ink folks have some great graphic designs for their game related t-shirts. They also did the Werewolves design at the top of the post. Their t-shirts run the gamut of popular to obscure games. Just looking at the samples above you can see a retro look at a gamer dad, the old style Trouble bubble and even the board gamers’ rant of Monopoly taking too long.
Busted Tees
The Busted tees game section has some nice quality board game related shirts. These tend to be more mainstream or pop culture games like the Jenga shirt, a Twister inspired twister, and a hippo telling us the awful truth about the Hungry Hippo game.
Cafe Press
The board game section over at Cafe Press has some nice little board game related tshirt gems there. They also come in all different sizes, colors and styles. For Scrabble and other word game fans there is the creative Word Nerd. Many of us know a person perfect for the Dungeon Diva shirt. My childhood memories love the Dark Tower shirt.
There are many game related tshirts at Cafe Press so I just wanted to highlight a few more out of the thousands. Another shirt for the word lovers, I like the wanted shirt design for Settlers and another childhood favorite with Battleship. At the board game section there are a couple funny text tshirts that say things like “I can stop buying games anytime I want. I just need a few more to get free shipping” and “My mom is a board game geek“
Visit the board game section at Cafe Press
Uberbadger
Uberbadger has a large game tshirt store at Cafe Press. They even have a section dedicated to the Board Game Geek website. They have a nice design for the pro eurogamer in all of us just waiting to get out and even a tshirt for the kids, yes peekaboo is a filler game between the longer games 
Please note, the “sample” watermark does not appear on the tshirt design.
Think Geek
Rounding off this full board game tshirt lists is a nice simple design reminding us that, yes… sometimes the dice can be evil and are out to get us. We all have our dice superstitions, maybe this tshirt can keep the bad dice spirits away. Think Geek is a great place to find gifts for the geek in all of us or for our favorite geek friends and loved ones.
If you have a favorite board game related t-shirt website out there, let me know. Also, feel free to send in pics of you in your favorite board game related t-shirt or someone wearing one of the shirts from one of the stores above, preferably playing a game
And don’t forget you can play a board game AND create your own funny t-shirts with the party game The T-Shirt Game.
4 comments June 22, 2009
Buffalo Games has a new Facebook fan page
Click here to see the Facebook fan page for Buffalo Games
I’m a big fan of companies reaching out to the consumers and participating in social media. With the popularity of Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, etc I have heard and read articles of many companies taking customer service and consumer relations even more seriously these days. It’s always refreshing to see companies taking an active role in social networking websites.
So when I heard about Buffalo Games starting a fan page over at Facebook I clicked on over to it and became a fan. There are alot of fan pages on facebook for board game companies and their games but I was then surprised to see that Buffalo Games are actively using it to give a glimpse into the fun they have in and out of the offices, and game news. A recent post even teases at a new game coming soon. I used to love reading the Cranium blog that did similar things but since their site changed and Hasbro bought them, their blog disappeared. They do still have some fun stuff at their Cranium site though.
Almost all of the other board game related fan pages on Facebook I’ve seen have little to no activity so I applaud Buffalo Games for reaching out to us and I look forward to seeing their Facebook updates. I urge other Facebook users who are fans of iMAgiNiff…, Likewise!, The T-Shirt Game, Last Word, etc to join their fan page and take part in the conversations there and maybe other board game companies will take notice and do this too. Now in my Facebook wanderings I have not run across every board game company or game fan or group page so email me or leave a comment here about some other active board game company fan pages at Facebook. You can also send me a friend request at my Facebook page.
Buffalo Game’s Facebook Fan Page
Below are some fan and group pages at Facebook for a few other games I like. No activity on them, but they are there.
Beyond the great local game stores I’m liking the growing selection of games at retail outlets like Target and Barnes and Noble and many of my Facebook friends belong to the active Starbucks fan page. Maybe it’s all the caffeine that makes the page more active
Add comment June 19, 2009
Fun n’ Games : Crush the Castle
As I browse the ole’ internets for fun casual games I ran into a castle wall. Yeah, bad transition into the free Crush the Castle flash game over at Armor Games.
Crush castle after castle by wiping out all of it’s inhabitants with a powerful Trebuchet (seen in the image above). This ia a simple game to play, all you have to do is click once with the mouse on the screen to start the launch and click again to let the ammo fly toward the enemy castle. The loose physics are fun as the beams and castle inhabitants fall on each other. Just get the castle walls to fall on everyone and move onto the next castle.
The feel and sounds and look reminds me a bit of Monty Python for some reason. In the image above you can see a castle coming down on the people and one person having the poise and strength to delicately balance much of the castle on her head
A couple castles can take a few tries but it goes quick. You can go through a bunch of castles within a 15 minute work break. After a few castles you’ll realize that these castle architects need to be fired… quick.
You’ll need Flash 10 to play. If you don’t already have it, you can download it directly at Adobe’s website
3 comments June 3, 2009
Monopoly versus Settlers of Catan?
Settlers of Catan
Wired recently had a thorough (read: long article) about the differences between Settlers of Catan and Monopoly. The article also examines the popularity of more complex eurogames, game mechanics, and the growing popularity of board games in general. Settlers of Catan is not as complex as other eurogames and can be a good gateway game into more complex eurogames. Keep in mind the article focuses on Settlers of Catan, it’s history, game design and influence while looking at more of the game design quibbles the author sees in Monopoly and other more traditional games we may be used to. The article also mentions that Settlers of Catan influenced Derek Solko who cofounded the popular Boardgamegeek website. I found the article interesting to read and it brought up some nice discussion points with fellow board game fans. I reference it here as you may also want to talk about some of the points brought up within the article in your game groups. Feel free to comment below or email me as well.
“Monopoly has you grinding your opponents into dust. It’s a very negative experience. It’s all about cackling when your opponent lands on your space and you get to take all their money.” -Derek Solko
Settlers of Catan cake
As another way to show some unique game night snack foods I found a Settlers of Catan cake on The Budding Baker blog. You can see my post about delicious and easy to make Andes brownies as a way to add something new to your own game night snack table.
Settlers of Catan image (source)
3 comments June 1, 2009
Board games played on tv
Risk played on Lost
Last year I posted about games played on television. Recently I’ve been watching alot of shows on Hulu.com and other tv network sites and noticed a couple more shows with people playing board or party games in the story.
Connect 4 played on The Loop
Risk, an older version, has been shown many times on Lost. Connect 4 was played at the end of an episode of The Loop. You may recognize the lead actor from the show Reaper as well. The most recent game I saw played on tv was iMAgiNiff… on an episode of Beyond the Box. Yes, I do watch some HGTV shows Nice to see a wide variety of games played.
iMAgiNiff played on Beyond the Box
If you know of other shows where a board game is played, and not just as a prop on the set, let me know. If you don’t have a screen shot of it than I can try to track it down. Lets see if we can build a nice little collection. There’s also an older post collection at Board Game Geek.
5 comments May 26, 2009
Party Game Night April 28th 2009 : Recap
Game night at Lewiston Public Library
A new year, a new blog game night season. Easing into game nights again I wanted to have a nice little game night at a library in the area in Lewiston, NY. This year I want to highlight different places one can publicly gather for game nights outside of the home. So look for a new location or two this year to give you your own ideas of where to have a game night. The library has a great community room, as do most public libraries and the staff, especially Executive Director, Ronald Shaw was very helpful. Before and after the game night people were looking for books and asking questions.
Mystery bug sculpture by the library
An interesting sulpture greeted us as we drove down the road to the library. A bug type sculpture that resembles a cross between a spider and a wingless mosquito. When I asked about the sculpture Ronald explain it was part of the Seneca Bug Park. It’s a nice little area to relax and have the kids play and the bug benches, like the ladybug one above, are memorial benches and I was told that the dragonfly bench in the park is a memorial bench for a former trustee Gretchen Denk. If you have any additional info on the sculpture in the Seneca Bug Park, let me know. And stop by yourself if you’re in the area. Check out a book at the library, and sit in the park this summer.
game night snacks
Ok, onto the games… and snacks! Above is the little snack table with water, lemonade, tea and soft drinks and some cookies and yummy Andes brownies. I also brought some chex mix and pretzels to munch on at the tables. Snacks are a great addition to any game night, I’ll be highlighting some other unique and easy to make snacks for your own game night.
“What a good time i had thank you i will definitely be at the next one and awesome brownies!!” – Sharyl
One game night table and The T Shirt Game
For the first game night of this year I wanted to keep it easy and fun and play a couple games that have been hits at past game nights. The first of which is The T-Shirt Game. I also wrote a blog post taking a closer look at The TShirt Game. The T Shirt Game is a light game break breather between longer strategy type games too.
Another game night table with Likewise!
The second game of the evening was Likewise!. This is always a fun party game for new and old friends. I sat down and played a game of each and had a blast. People were laughing all night and I admit my face and stomach muscles were aching a bit from all the laughing… that’s a good game night
“I can’t wait for the next one. And when I told my girls they were jealous. I’ll bet they’ll make the next one though!“ -Lela
I want to again thank the library staff and those that came to play some games, eat some snacks and have many laughs. It was nice to see some familiar faces and some new ones. Next blog game night will be this summer, probably end of July or early August.
2 comments May 21, 2009
2009 board game sales are looking promising
As I catch-up with posts and news the first post I wanted to do was about board game sales looking good even in the current economic climate. Hasbro is the big company on the block so they are a good benchmark of overall board game sales. Their first quarter earnings are showing board game sales strong domestically.
“Star Wars, Playskool, Nerf and board game sales were strong in the U.S”
Overall, Hasbro’s sales were down, especially internationally, but the first quarter is never a strong one for retailers and toy and game sales. But it’s nice to know that their domestic board game sales helped to offset their losses. Good news for us board game players, maybe we’ll see more new and innovative board games as companies start developing board games more.
(source) via AP
Add comment May 14, 2009
Game night, casual games and insects?
With the recent game night fun and busyness behind, I wanted to find my way back to the blog… and start planning for the next game night But seriously, in the next few days and weeks I will be catching up on some board game related news, posting about some good news for board game sales, a new casual/family massively multiplayer online game, a couple game reviews, pics and talk about the game night and what exactly is that insect like sculpture? I’ll also have some nice little surprise posts coming up.
3 comments May 7, 2009
UB Con 2009 and Buffalo Games
For the more strategy and RPG readers of the blog, a large local gaming convention in Buffalo, NY is going on this weekend. It’s the UB Con on the 17th to the 19th. They will also have anime screenings, contests and lots more geeky goodness. I can’t make it this year but I remember going in past years to the UB Con and other gaming cons in the Rochester, NY area and late night gaming, or even all night gaming in the rooms was great. I always learned of new games, met new friends and had fun.
But anyway… I heard that John Leahy, from Buffalo Games, and some other Buffalo Games types, will be at the UB Con so if you run into them or have questions about Ruin or how they make their games or anything else game related or try to get juicy tidbits of gossip from them feel free. They’ll also have some game specials going on too… so add points to your haggling skills and role a natural 20 LOL (please forgive my lame attempt at roleplaying humor). Let John, or whoever you see there from Buffalo Games know that Tim, the blog guy, sent you… this way he can blame me. But seriously, we don’t want them getting bored…. right?
They’ll also have sporadic game demos, so if you, or your friends have not tried Ruin yet, the light strategy game, this is the chance. It takes like 45 minutes to play, and is, to me, like Sorry with movable tile pieces and strategy.
Add comment April 17, 2009
Casual game night : April 28th (Lewiston, NY)
Our next blog game night will take us to another new location around the Buffalo, NY area to spread the casual gaming fun. We will be playing in the community room at the Lewiston Public Library. Board games are a great economic entertainment for families and friends and libraries are also a great way to learn and have fun for any budget minded person. The Lewiston Public Library has books, magazines, internet access, newspapers, DVDs, audio books, music, and more. When looking for something to do, don’t forget your local library. Most libraries also have community rooms, so call and see if you wanted to have a group game night at your own library.
For the first game night of this year we will revisit the games we played at our first game night last year. We will play the games Likewise! and The T-Shirt Game. I will also provide some snacks and drinks there and a couple game giveaways. I want to thank the Lewiston Public Library for also staying open an hour after their normal closing time and Buffalo Games for the game giveaways.
Please RSVP in the Game Night RSVP page.
Tuesday, April 28th
7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Location:
Lewiston Public Library
305 South 8th Street
Lewiston, NY 14092
phone: 716-754-4720
Add comment April 1, 2009
Fun n’ Games : Gawpsters
Gawpsters is my pick for your new online addictive casual game. It is a free flash matching game. Yeah, there are alot of matching games out there these days, but Gawpsters is a unique matching game. The idea is to match the same color gawpsters together by drawing a line between them. Not as easy as it sounds as different color gawpsters will try to break your line and there are larger gawpsters that have to be caught. The game has a couple power ups but nothing complicated. The game has a great training mode, so do that first.
The music is not annoying, the characters are cute and the gameplay is simple to learn. So even if you are not a match puzzle fan this game will suck you in and suck away some of your free time. Note : when you follow the link there is a large add above the Play option. Just hit Play and then choose the Training mode. Let me know what you think.
1 comment April 1, 2009
April Fools prank free blog
Today is April Fools day and I want to assure you that this blog will be April Fools day prank free. The internet is notorious for April Fools jokes so just watch yourself and don’t believe what you read on the internet even more than usual.
April 1st is a day when that colorful mischief monkey in many off us wants to come out. We can either embrace it or try to avoid the monkey. For those that love playing pranks on friends and co-workers, or those that like to be prepared for a prank, there is an article from last April fools day over at Asylum.com that should give you some creative ideas and some foresight to avoid some pranks. Just like the toothpaste in Oreo cookies prank, as seen in the image below.
If you are leaning more toward the tech side of pranks. Then Lifehacker and Wired.com has some classic harmless computer and tech related pranks to try.
So enjoy your April 1st and watch out for that colorful mischief monkey.
Add comment April 1, 2009
Game Night snacks : Andes mint brownies
One of the more popular posts was the Halloween snack food post and I still see traffic of people reading that post. Talking with other game night types we seem to get into ruts with our game night snacking. So I will start to sporadically post about other game night snacks that are not too greasy or messy for the hands so we don’t get the games all slimy.
The first food is Andes brownies. There are several ways to make these, but I prefer having the Andes mint layer on the top of the brownies to give them a nice minty taste burst without being too strong. I will also be making an 8 x 8 pan version for the next blog game night at the end of April. I’ll post more of this soon… sorry for the tease
I will post lots of pictures along the way to help show how to make them and what’s needed. I’ll also include some tips I’ve learned along the way after making these a few times.
The pictures show a double batch of brownies made in a 13″ x 9″ pan. I usually make them in an 8″ x 8″ pan but more people were coming over so I tried my hand at thicker and more brownies. You can use any brownie mix brand, I just recommend a brownie mix that does not have alot of “stuff” inside the mix that would detract from the whole chocolate and mint taste. So I recommend avoiding brownie mix with chips in them already, turtle brownie mix with nuts, etc.
Ok.. down to the brownie details. This 24 thick brownie version calls for a double batch of brownies. So just double up the standard recipe for one batch. I used a Ghirardelli brand brownie mix and the box states the following needs. 1 Pouch Mix, 1/3 Cup Water, 1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil and 1 Egg. So I simply doubled these requirements, as seen in the image above. The only other standard things you’ll need are a large mixing bowl, something to stir all the ingredients, a measuring cup, 2 packs of Andes mints and cooking spray. Refer to the brownie mix box for their particular requirements. The Ghirardelli ones are below. Hold off on doing anything with the Andes mints for now.
1 PREHEAT oven to 325°F. Prepare baking pan by lightly greasing or spraying with non-stick cooking spray.
2 BLEND water, oil and egg(s) in mixing bowl. Add brownie mix and stir until moistened (about 40 strokes). Spoon batter into prepared pan and spread evenly.
3 BAKE for 45-50 minutes (for a double batch). For glass pan, add 5 minutes to the bake time. Cool completely in pan before cutting.
After placing the brownie mix in the oven I recommend unwrapping all the Andes mints while the brownies are baking. This way they are all ready to be placed on top right when you take the brownies out of the oven. For the 13″ x 9″ pan double batch I used 2 Andes mints packs. I use 1 Andes mint package for the 8″ X 8″ version. They are waiting in the bowl shown above to become all melty on the brownies.
You can see above that I then placed the Andes mints on top of the brownies right after taking them from the oven. Remember to check that the brownies are done by sticking a toothpick in the center and pulling it out to make sure the toothpick comes out clean, meaning the brownies are done. You can place the mints on in any arrangement you want. By the time you’ve placed the last mint the first ones will be halfway melted already. Wait another minute or so and then spread the mints around. I normally use the bottom part of a large spoon.
The picture above shows the mints now spread around on the top. Now you can let the brownies sit for a bit to cool and let the Andes start to harden. To speed the process up for hardening the Andes you can place it in the refrigerator, not the freezer. Also wait at least a half hour before placing a hot glass pan in a refrigerator. You can also cover the brownie pan too. One tip. Before the Andes hardens all the way, you can cut the brownies. Otherwise, if you wait till the Andes mint cover is fully hardened you can create cracking in the mint cover. Just be carefull not to cut them too soon and cause build up of mint as it’s pulled along with the knife. You can also use a real sharp knife and slowly cut them if you let them harden right away. Either way, if the mint cracks or builds up, they still taste great
Above are a few brownies left over to show the basic idea of what they look like. I cut larger pieces that evening and again, they are a thick double batch, so your brownies will look thinner if you use the 8″ x 8″ version.
The 8″ x 8″ pan version with one box of brownie mix are a bit thinner and, in my opinion, taste better just for the fact that the thicker chocolate amount doesn’t overwhelm the mint taste as much.
If you try these, or have tried them, feel free to leave a comment or email me. Also, if you have your own easy to make game night snack food, let me know of that as well.
2 comments March 19, 2009
