Saturday 31 December 2011

Board / Card Games: Card Games for New Year's Eve

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Card Games for New Year's Eve
Dec 31st 2011, 14:04

If your New Year's Eve plans include some time when you need to entertain a group of children, just pull out a deck of cards and try one of my picks for the Top 5 Children's Card Games. The complete rules are available for all five, including Go Fish and Spoons.

If you're in need of something more challenging for adults, try one of my picks for the best trick-taking card games (like Euchre), Gin Rummy or Fan Tan.

Happy New Year!

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Board / Card Games: Nefarious - Game Review

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Nefarious - Game Review
Dec 31st 2011, 13:15

NefariousIn 2008, game designer Donald X. Vaccarino's first published game, Dominion, took the gaming world by storm. It won numerous major awards and inspired six expansions.

Nefarious, one of Vaccarino's follow-ups to Dominion (Kingdom Builder was also released in 2011, and Monster Factory is scheduled for 2012), stakes out some similar territory. Nefarious has more of a theme than Dominion (mad scientists! minions!) -- but like Dominion, it often ends with players saying, "Just one more game." Nefarious is a fun, fast-playing family strategy game.

Read more in my complete review of Nefarious.

Image courtesy of Ascora Games

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Board / Card Games: Nexus Ops - New Edition in 2012

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Nexus Ops - New Edition in 2012
Dec 31st 2011, 13:37

Nexus OpsA new edition of the sci-fi battle game Nexus Ops, originally published in 2005 by Avalon Hill / Hasbro, will be available in early 2012 from Fantasy Flight Games. The new edition will feature numerous optional rules and variants, including special board arrangements for two-player games.

I very much enjoyed the original Nexus Ops, so I'm glad it's getting a new lease on life. Fantasy Flight has posted four previews on its website: The Race for Rubium, Into the Vortex, Alien Terrain, and Lunar Domination.

Designed by Charlie Catino, Nexus Ops is for 2 to 4 players, ages 14 and up.

Image courtesy of Fantasy Flight Games

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Board / Card Games: What's Hot Now: Building Evenly in Monopoly

Board / Card Games: What's Hot Now
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Building Evenly in Monopoly
Dec 31st 2011, 11:03

Question: Do I have to build evenly?

Answer: Yes. In Monopoly, players must build evenly.

That means that you cannot have more than one house worth of difference between any two properties of a particular color. If you own all of a three-property color set, you must build one house on every property before adding a second house to any of them. Before you can build a hotel, you must have four houses on all the properties of the color you wish to build on.

This is important, because it is possible to run out of houses or hotels.

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Board / Card Games: What's Hot Now: Alan R. Moon Interview

Board / Card Games: What's Hot Now
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Alan R. Moon Interview
Dec 31st 2011, 11:03

In Ticket to Ride, an absolutely top-notch board game and one of the best published in recent years, players compete to build railroads across the United States and Canada.

Ticket to Ride's Wide Appeal

The game appeals to a wide variety of gamers -- parents and grandparents can play with young children just as easily as serious gamers can play against each other. With a playing time of less than an hour, Ticket to Ride provides a lot of gaming depth without being complicated. Players must make a variety of tactical choices and there are many viable strategies, giving the game considerable replay value.

Within eight months of being released in March 2004, Ticket to Ride sold more than 250,000 copies. It has spawned three major expansions and a minor one, with more in the works. By March 2006, more than 500,000 copies of the original game and the first two expansions (Ticket to Ride Europe and Ticket to Ride Marklin, which features a map of Germany) had been sold.

Game designer Alan R. Moon had no idea the game would be so successful. "People have often said that I must have known that Ticket to Ride was going to be a hit," he said. "But if I'd known that, I would have designed it 20 years ago. And I would have designed a dozen more hits since. It's impossible to know how popular a game will be."

Ticket to Ride's popularity can be attributed to a number of factors. Although unique, it draws on the set-collecting aspect of the classic card game Rummy and thus feels familiar to many players.

At the start of the game, players are dealt four train cards, which are used throughout the game to put their trains on the board. The map on the board features railroad tracks of various colors (e.g. green, blue, red, black) and various lengths (from one to seven spaces long). To play trains on a particular section of track, a player must collect a set of cards that matches the section. In other words, playing trains on a section of blue track five spaces long requires five blue train cards.

"I believe this greatly expands the number of people who will potentially enjoy the game because they will quickly understand the way the game is played," Moon said. "They can usually then incorporate the new element, the goals (Destination Tickets), and develop a basic strategy even during their first game."

Strategic Options in Ticket to Ride

Each player receives three Destination Tickets at the start of the game, and chooses to keep either two or all three. These Tickets determine the connections players try to make: Seattle to New York, for example, or Kansas City to Houston. To fulfill a Destination Ticket, a player must build a continuous line of his trains between the two listed cities. At the end of the game, you score points for each completed Destination Ticket; points are subtracted for incomplete Tickets.

The board allows for a variety of strategies. The connections between any two cities are limited, so you can either concentrate on your own building or try to disrupt your opponents' plans.

"There are multiple ways to play," Moon said. "You can hoard cards, you can build routes as quickly as possible, you can draw lots of Tickets, you can play for the longest route, you can block your opponents, etc. Basically, there is something for everyone."

The game's structure requires players to make a difficult decision almost every turn: you can only draw cards or play trains on the board, not both. "Every turn, I want to both draw cards and claim a route," Moon said. "But I can only do one or the other. I find that simple choice endlessly fascinating, and I feel the same tension when playing Ticket to Ride today that I did when I played the prototype for the first time back in 2003."

More Reasons for Ticket to Ride's Popularity

And the components are top-notch. The whimsical, early 1900s-style graphics and the brightly colored trains help the game appeal to players of diverse backgrounds.

Ticket to Ride's popularity is also due to how easy it is to explain: new players can be introduced to the basic elements in less than five minutes. And publisher Days of Wonder has established an excellent site for online games, www.ticket2ridegame.com. Online games of Ticket to Ride move quickly, often taking just 15 to 30 mintues.

Among the board game's achievements is the way it can appeal to both casual and serious gamers. Moon said he's been focusing on designing that type of game for the last half-decade. "To make a decent living as a game designer, you need to have at least one game that appeals to a larger audience," he said.

Ticket to Ride is now published in five editions (USA, Europe, Marklin/Germany and Switzerland, Nordic Countries), and a card game is on the way. Moon's favorite versions are Switzerland and Nordic Countries. "Both of these maps are only for two or three players," he said. "And while the bigger games can often be tense, the smaller games are always tense right from the start because there are less routes and some of the routes are so key."

Among Moon's other game designs is another railroad-themed game, Union Pacific (Rio Grande Games, 1999). "I love railroads," he said. "I always enjoy taking trains in Germany and other European countries. I also like games that have connections in them, which makes games with railroad themes a natural choice."

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Board / Card Games: What's Hot Now: Find Replacement Game Parts

Board / Card Games: What's Hot Now
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Find Replacement Game Parts
Dec 31st 2011, 11:03

Losing game parts can be a frustrating experience, especially when the part in question is vital to gameplay. These tips can get you playing again -- with all the parts you need.

Difficulty: Average

Time Required: Varies

Here's How:

  1. Prepare yourself -- depending on the game you need parts for, this can be a bit of a chore.
  2. Make an accurate list of the part(s) you need, making sure to include the color when appropriate.
  3. Some games -- Monopoly and Clue, for example -- have had different pieces through the years, so be sure you know what edition you need parts for.
  4. Email, call or write to the publisher of the game (the publisher's name and city are commonly found on the game box), assuming the company still exists.
  5. Hasbro owns Milton Bradley, Parker Brothers, Playskool, Tiger Electronics, Tonka, Avalon Hill and Wizards of the Coast, so if you need parts for games from those companies, contact Hasbro.
  6. Be sure to ask how much the part(s) you need will cost, including shipping. Companies generally don't supply replacement parts for free (although they should, and often will, if the game is new and came with a part or parts missing).
  7. If you can't contact the company directly, browse the Web for retailers specializing in game parts (see 'Related Resources' below). Scour their sites and send them email.
  8. Post a note in an online Forum, such as About's Board Games Forum (see 'Related Resources' below).
  9. Keep an eye on the online auction sites -- sometimes you can get an entire copy of the game for a reasonable price, giving you the part you need and plenty of other spare parts.
  10. Be persistent. If a game parts retailer doesn't have what you need this week, it's possible that they'll obtain it next week or next month.

Tips:

  1. Don't be afraid to buy an entire game to replace parts. Older used games often sell for $10 or less, and you could get a complete collection of replacement parts in case of future losses.
  2. Offer trades -- sometimes gamers will trade parts from one game for parts from another.
  3. Think about what other pieces can be used to substitute for the ones you need. For example, a chess pawn works just as well as any Monopoly piece.

What You Need:

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Friday 30 December 2011

Board / Card Games: What's Hot Now: Dominion: Starting Setup Strategies

Board / Card Games: What's Hot Now
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Dominion: Starting Setup Strategies
Dec 30th 2011, 11:02

Dominion is a game with literally millions of possible board layouts. However, if you're just learning the game, then the chances are good that you'll be playing the recommended starting setup, consisting of Cellar, Moat, Woodcutter, Workshop, Village, Smithy, Remodel, Militia, Market, and Mine. Here are some strategy tips for that layout.

1) Opening Options

Presuming you have a 3-4 split, you probably want to open with a Silver for your $3 buy, and one of the $4 action cards for your $4 buy. This starts you with only one action in your deck, guaranteeing you don't have a dead one in your next shuffle, but the silver will add some much-needed buying power.

All three of the $4 actions are reasonable opening buys. The Militia disrupts your opponent, Remodel will clean your deck, and Smithy can be the best raw buying power. Really, you can't go wrong with a first $4 buy on this board.

You can, however, easily go wrong with a $3 buy. Early on, Woodcutter's extra buy won't help you at all, making it inferior to a Silver. Likewise, Village is a great card later in the game, but won't help you at all on your first shuffle.

Silver is always a safe choice, although there's an argument to be made for Workshop, which can help you stock up on Silvers and/or Villages without taking your entire buy for the turn. But stick to one of those two.

2) Terminal Actions

Don't overbuy terminal actions. This is good general advice, but especially worth repeating for your opening layout. Village, Market, and Cellar are the only three non-terminal actions here. The other seven actions may be more attractive, but if you buy many of them without Villages, you WILL get stuck with unplayable actions in your hand.

If you do overbuy terminal actions here, you have two ways to fix it. The first and most obvious way is Villages. Villages will give you spare actions, so you can play your Militia and your Mine in the same hand.

A less obvious, but still useful fix, is Remodel. If Remodel is in your hand with dead actions that aren't working for you, you can remodel one of those actions into Gold, or a Market. Either of these reduces the number of terminal actions in your deck, while simultaneously giving you a powerful new card to increase your buying power.

3) Form a Strategy

While buying a lot of random cards can be fun, decks are most effective if you have a general plan for getting yourself up to the Province-buying level. Here are some of the plans this board offers:

  • Big Money -- Aside from a single Smithy, just load up on all the Silver you can get, and then Gold once you can afford it. This is a very boring strategy, both to play and play against, but it is effective.
  • Chained Smithys -- Lots of Smithys, Lots of Villages. You'll still need some Silver with this strategy, but you'll likely have tons of cards in your hand by the time your buy phase comes around. The multiple Villages also mean this strategy is easy to compliment by throwing in a few other actions.
  • Deck Improvement -- Mines and Remodels will let you get rid of the Copper and Estates your deck starts with, changing them into Silvers and more Remodels, respectively. A few Villages won't hurt this deck, and means that the occasional 2-Mine draw won't hurt you. Late in the game, you'll Mine Silvers and Remodel Remodels into Gold.

4) Individual Card Warnings

Moat may seem like a great defense against Militia, but it takes up space in your hand. If you have other terminal actions, and no villages, this may be a case where the cure is worse than the disease.

Cellar can be good early in the game to get to your powerful cards, but it becomes very weak once your opponent has played Militia on you. If your opponent opens with Militia in the first two buys, consider not getting a Cellar.

Don't buy Woodcutter. It's a shame to say this, since all of the Kingdom cards are supposed to be balanced, and each useful in their own way. But the only way Woodcutter is useful on the starting board is when your opponent buys it instead of something better.

Village may seem like the perfect card because you're never sad to have one in your deck, but often you'd be even happier to have drawn a Silver instead.

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Thursday 29 December 2011

Board / Card Games: 1st & Goal - Game Review

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1st & Goal - Game Review
Dec 29th 2011, 10:36

1st & GoalI've been a huge fan of American football for as long as I can remember. (My father grew up in Wisconsin, so I had little hope of growing up as a fan of any team other than the Green Bay Packers. Now, my wife and I are part owners of the team.) Naturally, I've also always had a soft spot for football-themed board games.

1st & Goal, new from designer Stephen Glenn and publisher R&R Games, has quickly become my favorite football game. It does an excellent job of recreating the decision-making, the excitement, and the overall feel of a football game. The 24 available expansion teams don't hurt, either.

Read more in my complete review of 1st & Goal.

Image courtesy of R&R Games

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Board / Card Games: What's Hot Now: Mancala - Basic Strategy

Board / Card Games: What's Hot Now
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Mancala - Basic Strategy
Dec 29th 2011, 11:02

Mancala is one of the world's oldest games, originally from Africa. Like many classic games, there are a number of variations, so players should be sure to agree on all rules ahead of time. Once that is taken care of, here are some basic strategies:

  • If you are going first, starting with your third hole is generally considered to be the best opening move. This will land your last piece in your mancala zone, not only scoring you a point, but immediately giving you a second move before your turn is over. (If you are not playing on the standard board with four stones per hole, simply start with whatever hold lands the last piece in your mancala.)
  • As a second move on your turn, when going first, a good move is to play from your rightmost or second-rightmost hole. Either of these moves will drop a stone into your opponent's third hole, preventing them from making the same good opening move you just made. The rightmost hole is the preferable move, because you want it empty.
  • Empty your rightmost hole early in the game. Because your rightmost hole is directly next to your mancala zone, whenever you pick up a single stone from that hole as your move, you will immediately score a point and get another move. For this reason, emptying that hole early is a powerful strategy. After you have emptied the hole, whenever a stone lands there, your immediate next move should be to drop that stone into your mancala zone for a free point, and then move again.
  • If playing with the capture rule, create empty holes on your side of the board. This will allow you more opportunities to capture your opponent's stones by ending a turn on one of them. Capturing a pile of stones can be very powerful.
  • If you are playing with the capture rule, be aware of whenever the opponent has an empty hole across from a lot of your stones. If a final pebble lands there, you can lose all of those stones. You can watch out for this by counting stones in the other holes, to make sure the opponent cannot land a final pebble in that spot. If one of your holes filled with stones is threatened, your next move could either be to fill the empty hole, or play the stones from your full hole as a defensive move.
  • If you are not playing with the capture rule, a simple strategy is to pick a hole on your side of the board and never play any stones from it. If you can make your opponent run out of stones first, this assures that every stone which lands on that spot will be yours at the end of the game.
  • Look for opportunities to score a quick mancala and then take an extra move. Unless it ruins your chance at a capture, it is often a good move to take a free point and then move again. If you always play from any hole that ends on your mancala, you will not only score lots of points and get extra moves, but you will also avoid having so many stones build up in a hole on your side that you have to play them onto your opponent's side.

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Board / Card Games: What's Hot Now: Clue: Secrets & Spies

Board / Card Games: What's Hot Now
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Clue: Secrets & Spies
Dec 29th 2011, 11:02

Gameplay in Brief:

In Clue: Secrets & Spies, "CLUE" stands for the Criminal League for Ultimate Espionage. Players are international spies trying to intercept Agent Black and stop CLUE's plan for world domination. Players' identities are kept secret (the characters keep the surnames of the classic game: Scarlet, Green, Plum, etc.) as they work to complete missions.

An optional feature allows players to get real-time tips via text messages. The player who completes the most missions before being discovered by Agent Black is the winner.

Basics:

For 2 to 6 players, ages 9 and up. About 60 minutes per game.

Designer:

The designer of Clue: Secrets & Spies was not credited.

Publisher:

Clue: Secrets & Spies was published by Hasbro in 2009.

Genre:

Clue: Secrets & Spies is a deduction game with a mystery theme.

Other Clue Games:

Other games in the Clue family include classic Clue (1948), Clue VCR Mystery Game (1985), Clue: The Great Museum Caper (1991), Clue FX (2003), Clue DVD Game (2006), and Clue Express (2008).

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Board / Card Games: What's Hot Now: Gin Rummy for Three Players

Board / Card Games: What's Hot Now
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Gin Rummy for Three Players
Dec 29th 2011, 11:02

This is a variation of Gin Rummy for three players. Other popular variations include Oklahoma Gin and Hollywood Gin.

Players

3 players

Deck

Use a standard 52-card deck. King is high; Ace is low.

NOTE: An Ace is always low card in Gin Rummy; it cannot be used as high card. Also, face cards are worth 10 points each; number cards are worth their face value; an Ace is worth one point.

Goal

Collect sets (three or four of a kind, or three or more consecutive cards of the same suit) to earn points. The game is played over several rounds.

Setup and Player Roles

Players each choose a card at random to determine their roles for the first hand.

The player drawing the highest card is "in the box" and will face the other two, who work together.

The player drawing the middle card is captain of the two-player team. He may get advice from the third player (who is said to be sitting out), but the captain has the final say on all decisions.

If the player in the box wins the hand, he retains his position and the other two switch. If the player in the box loses, he sits out the next hand, the captain goes into the box, and the player who was sitting out becomes the captain.

Deal

The player in the box deals each hand.

Shuffle the deck and deal 10 cards to each player. Players should look at and sort their cards.

The next card is turned face up in the middle of the table to start the discard pile. The remaining cards are placed face down next to the discard pile to form a draw pile.

Gameplay

Each normal turn consists of two parts.

First, you must take a card -- either the top card from the draw pile or the top card from the discard pile.

Second, you must discard a card (face up) onto the top of the discard pile.

NOTE: On the very first turn of each round, the non-dealer decides whether or not to take the first face up card. If that player declines, the dealer may take the card. If one of the players takes the card, that player completes his turn by discarding and then the other player takes a turn. If both players decline to take the card, the non-dealer starts the game by drawing the top card from the draw pile.

Knocking

The round ends when a player "knocks." This may be done on any turn (including the first turn) after drawing but before discarding. A player may knock when he has the ability to form sets, discard one card, and have 10 points or fewer remaining in his hand.

NOTE: A single card cannot belong to two sets.

After knocking and discarding, the player who knocked organizes and spreads all of his cards face up on the table.

The player who did not knock does the same. If the knocker did not go gin (see "Going Gin" below), the opponent is also allowed to lay off any unmatched cards by adding to the knocker's sets (e.g. adding a fourth card to a group of three of a kind, or adding further consecutive cards of the same suit to a sequence).

NOTE: You're never required to knock. You may continue playing in an effort to develop a better hand.

Scoring

Each player calculates the value of their unmatched cards. If the knocker's count is lower, he scores the difference between the two counts.

If the knocker did not go gin, and the values are equal -- or the knocker's value is greater than his opponent's -- then the knocker has been undercut. The knocker's opponent scores 10 points plus the difference between the values.

NOTE: The player who is sitting out does not score points under any circumstances.

Going Gin

If the knocker has no unmatched cards, it's known as "going gin" and he scores 25 bonus points (some sources say the bonus should be 20 points). Additionally, his opponent cannot score any points, even if his opponent also had no unmatched cards.

Draws

If only two cards remain in the draw pile after a player discards and neither player has knocked, the round ends in a draw. The same player deals again.

Winning

Additional rounds are played until one player's cumulative score reaches 100 points or more. That player is the winner.

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Wednesday 28 December 2011

Board / Card Games: Get Monopoly for Free on Kindle Fire

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Get Monopoly for Free on Kindle Fire
Dec 28th 2011, 10:10

MonopolyElectronic Arts has turned Monopoly, one of the most popular board games in the world, into apps for iOS and Android-based mobile devices. Today, EA's Monopoly app is free for users of Amazon's Kindle Fire. If you enjoy Monopoly, the app version is worth the regular price of $4.99, so don't miss the chance to get it for free.

Image courtesy of Hasbro

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Board / Card Games: What's Hot Now: Monopoly - Income Tax

Board / Card Games: What's Hot Now
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Monopoly - Income Tax
Dec 28th 2011, 11:02

Question: How do I calculate how much I owe for Income Tax?

Answer: A player who lands on Income Tax is required to pay (to the bank) either $200 or 10 percent of all of his or her assets -- cash, properties, houses and hotels.

If you have assets worth more than $2,000, you should go ahead and pay the $200. If you have assets worth less than $2,000, you should do the math.

To calculate the value of your assets in Monopoly, add all of the following:

  • Cash on hand
  • Purchase price of all property (mortgaged and unmortgaged)
  • Purchase price of all houses and hotels

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Board / Card Games: What's Hot Now: Hollywood Gin Rules

Board / Card Games: What's Hot Now
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Hollywood Gin Rules
Dec 28th 2011, 11:02

Hollywood Gin is a close relative of the card game Gin Rummy.

Players

2 players

Deck

Use a standard 52-card deck.

NOTE: An Ace is always low card in Hollywood Gin; it cannot be used as high card. Also, face cards are worth 10 points each; number cards are worth their face value; an Ace is worth one point.

Goal

Collect sets (three or four of a kind, or three or more consecutive cards of the same suit) to earn points. The game is played over several rounds.

Setup

Choose a dealer randomly to deal the first round; throughout the game, the winner of each round deals the next.

Shuffle the deck and deal 10 cards to each player. Players should look at and sort their cards.

The next card is turned face up in the middle of the table to start the discard pile. The remaining cards are placed face down next to the discard pile to form a draw pile.

Gameplay

Each normal turn consists of two parts.

First, you must take a card -- either the top card from the draw pile or the top card from the discard pile.

Second, you must discard a card (face up) onto the top of the discard pile.

NOTE: On the very first turn of each round, the non-dealer decides whether or not to take the first face up card. If that player declines, the dealer may take the card. If one of the players takes the card, that player completes his turn by discarding and then the other player takes a turn. If both players decline to take the card, the non-dealer starts the game by drawing the top card from the draw pile.

Knocking

The round ends when a player "knocks." This may be done on any turn (including the first turn) after drawing but before discarding. A player may knock when he has the ability to form sets, discard one card, and have 10 points or fewer remaining in his hand.

NOTE: A single card cannot belong to two sets.

After knocking and discarding, the player who knocked organizes and spreads all of his cards face up on the table.

The player who did not knock does the same. If the knocker did not go gin (see "Going Gin" below), the opponent is also allowed to lay off any unmatched cards by adding to the knocker's sets (e.g. adding a fourth card to a group of three of a kind, or adding further consecutive cards of the same suit to a sequence).

NOTE: You're never required to knock. You may continue playing in an effort to develop a better hand.

Basic Scoring

Each player calculates the value of their unmatched cards. If the knocker's count is lower, he scores the difference between the two counts.

If the knocker did not go gin, and the values are equal -- or the knocker's value is greater than his opponent's -- then the knocker has been undercut. The knocker's opponent scores 10 points plus the difference between the values.

Going Gin

If the knocker has no unmatched cards, it's known as going gin and he scores 25 bonus points (some sources say the bonus should be 20 points). Additionally, his opponent cannot score any points, even if his opponent also had no unmatched cards.

Hollywood Scoring

In effect, three games will be played simultaneously. When a player wins his first game, that score is credited to the first game. His second win is credited to the first and the second games; his third win and all subsequent wins are credited to all three games.

The three games are scored separately and they end separately. When the third game ends, a new series may begin.

Example:

Bob wins with 10 points. This is used as his first score in the first game.

Alexandra wins with 18 points. This is used as her first score in the first game.

Bob wins again, this time with 30 points. This is used twice: as his second score in the first game, and his first score in the second game.

Bob wins again, this time with 4 points. This is used three times: as his third score in the first game, his second score in the second game, and his first score in the third game.

At this point in the example, the scores over the three games would be:

Alexandra, 18 / 0 / 0
Bob, 44 / 34 / 4

Draws

If only two cards remain in the draw pile after a player discards and neither player has knocked, the round ends in a draw. The same player deals again.

Winning

Additional rounds are played until one player's cumulative score reaches 100 points or more in a game. That player is the winner of that game. The overall winner is the player who wins two of three games.

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Board / Card Games: Most Popular Articles: Checkers Rules (U.S. Rules)

Board / Card Games: Most Popular Articles
These articles are the most popular over the last month. // via fulltextrssfeed.com
Checkers Rules (U.S. Rules)
Dec 28th 2011, 11:15

Checkers, called Draughts in most countries, has been traced back to the 1300s, though it may indeed stretch further into history than that. These are the standard U.S. rules for Checkers.

Difficulty: Easy

Time Required: 15 minutes

Here's How:

  1. Checkers is played by two players. Each player begins the game with 12 colored discs. (Typically, one set of pieces is black and the other red.)
  2. The board consists of 64 squares, alternating between 32 dark and 32 light squares. It is positioned so that each player has a light square on the right side corner closest to him or her.
  3. Each player places his or her pieces on the 12 dark squares closest to him or her.
  4. Black moves first. Players then alternate moves.
  5. Moves are allowed only on the dark squares, so pieces always move diagonally. Single pieces are always limited to forward moves (toward the opponent).
  6. A piece making a non-capturing move (not involving a jump) may move only one square.
  7. A piece making a capturing move (a jump) leaps over one of the opponent's pieces, landing in a straight diagonal line on the other side. Only one piece may be captured in a single jump; however, multiple jumps are allowed on a single turn.
  8. When a piece is captured, it is removed from the board.
  9. If a player is able to make a capture, there is no option -- the jump must be made. If more than one capture is available, the player is free to choose whichever he or she prefers.
  10. When a piece reaches the furthest row from the player who controls that piece, it is crowned and becomes a king. One of the pieces which had been captured is placed on top of the king so that it is twice as high as a single piece.
  11. Kings are limited to moving diagonally, but may move both forward and backward. (Remember that single pieces, i.e. non-kings, are always limited to forward moves.)
  12. Kings may combine jumps in several directions -- forward and backward -- on the same turn. Single pieces may shift direction diagonally during a multiple capture turn, but must always jump forward (toward the opponent).
  13. A player wins the game when the opponent cannot make a move. In most cases, this is because all of the opponent's pieces have been captured, but it could also be because all of his pieces are blocked in.

Tips:

  1. Checkers (using the U.S. rules) uses the same board as Chess. Many sets comes with the pieces needed to play both games.
  2. Many different games can be played using the basic 8x8 Checkers board and pieces. In fact, it's not too hard to come up with your own variants. And here's a collection of free games for an 8x8 board that can be played with game pieces you probably already have.

What You Need

  • 8x8 game board
  • 24 discs (12 of 2 colors)

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Tuesday 27 December 2011

Board / Card Games: What's Hot Now: How to Play Clue (Cluedo)

Board / Card Games: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week // via fulltextrssfeed.com
How to Play Clue (Cluedo)
Dec 27th 2011, 11:02

Clue (or "Cluedo" in the UK, where it was invented) is a game where players try to figure out the three main facts of a murder: the murderer, the location of the murder, and the murder weapon. They do this by having their characters run around a mansion and gather evidence.

Here are the basic rules of Clue. (For some strategy tips, check out How to Win at Clue.)

Players: 3 to 6

Contents: Clue game board, six suspect tokens, six murder weapons, 21 cards, secret envelope, one die, pad of detective notebook sheets.

Goal: To correctly name the murderer, murder weapon, and murder location.

Setup

Sort the cards by type and shuffle each pile face-down. Without looking, take one suspect card, one weapon card, and one room card, and slide them into the secret envelope.

Shuffle the rest of the cards together, and deal them clockwise to the players until all cards are dealt.

Place the murder weapons in rooms randomly, no more than one per room. Some modern versions of Clue assign the weapons to specific rooms.

Place the suspect tokens on the assigned starting squares.

Each player takes the closest suspect token that has not already been chosen by another player, and the game begins.

Play

Miss Scarlett takes the first turn, and turns continue clockwise around the table.

On your turn, roll the die, and move your playing piece that many spaces on the yellow squares.

You can move only horizontally or vertically, never diagonally, and can't enter a space or doorway you have already entered this turn.

You can move through a doorway to enter a room, but this ends your movement.

You can't move through a yellow space occupied by another player, but multiple players can be in the same room.

If you start your turn in a room with a secret passage, you can use the secret passage instead of rolling the die. This will put your character in another room across the board, ending your movement.

Suggesting

If you end your movement in a room, you get to make a suggestion. To do this, name a suspect, a murder weapon, and the room you just entered. For example, if you just entered the lounge, you might say, "I suggest the crime was committed by Colonel Mustard, in the lounge, with a dagger." The named suspect and murder weapon are both moved into your current room.

The player to your left must, if able, disprove your suggestion by showing you one card from her hand that matches your suggestion. If that player can't do so, the player to her left must disprove your suggestion by showing you one card from his hand. This responsibility passes clockwise until someone shows you a card, or until all players have passed.

If someone shows you a card, you should cross it off on your detective notebook as a possibility. Any cards you hold should also be crossed off as possibilities. Don't let other players see your notebook.

Special Rule

Your piece might be moved into a room on another player's turn because your character is suggested as a suspect. If this happens, instead of rolling the die or taking the secret passage on your next turn, you can simply make a suggestion in your current room.

In all other cases, you must start your turn by rolling a die or taking a secret passage. You cannot stay in the same room to make suggestions.

Accusing

If you think you have solved the case by eliminating all the false possibilities, and have not just had your suggestion disproved this turn, you can end your turn by making an accusation. Announce that you are making an accusation, and state your final guess of the murderer, the murder weapon, and the murder location.

Once this is done, secretly look at the three cards in the murder envelope. If you are correct, lay the cards face-up on the table, proving to all players that you have won the game.

If you are wrong, you lose the game! Secretly replace the three cards back in the murder envelope without revealing them. Your turn is over, and you are now eliminated from the game. You no longer take any turns, but must stay at the table to disprove the suggestions of others. If your piece is blocking a doorway, it is moved into the room.

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Board / Card Games: What's Hot Now: Poker Chip Denominations

Board / Card Games: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week // via fulltextrssfeed.com
Poker Chip Denominations
Dec 27th 2011, 11:02

When playing Texas Hold 'Em Poker, Omaha Hold 'Em Poker, or any game that involves chips as currency, it's vital to know what each chip is worth.

The two lists here show the standard amounts assigned to each chip color. The first list includes only the five most common colors; the second list includes a total of 13 colors.

Basic Poker Chip Colors and Standard Values

White, $1
Red, $5
Blue, $10
Green, $25
Black, $100

Full Poker Chip Colors and Standard Values

White, $1
Yellow, $2
Red, $5
Blue, $10
Grey, $20
Green, $25
Orange, $50
Black, $100
Pink, $250
Purple, $500
Burgundy, $1000
Light Blue, $2000
Brown, $5000

There are some variations to these denominations (e.g. I've seen green played as $20 occasionally), but I believe this list fairly reflects the generally accepted value for each color of Poker chip.

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Board / Card Games: What's Hot Now: How to Win at Clue (Cluedo)

Board / Card Games: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week // via fulltextrssfeed.com
How to Win at Clue (Cluedo)
Dec 27th 2011, 11:02

Clue (also known as Cluedo) is a board game about deduction. The game is highly thematic, with characters running around different rooms in a mansion and looking at various tiny weapons.

However, if you're just focused on how to win at Clue, most of the thematic stuff doesn't really matter. The weapon minis are irrelevant, and your attention should just be on getting information. Here are some basic strategy tips on how to do that. (You should also review the basic rules of Clue.

DEDUCTION

Don't ask about cards you know your opponents are holding.

After you start by marking off all of your own cards, you'll want to learn about more cards you can mark off as soon as you can. When you make a suggestion, your goal is to get more information. If your opponents can show you the same card you've already seen, then you get no new information, and your turn has failed. The only cards that you have already marked off on your list that you should still ask about are your own cards, since nobody else will be able to disprove them.

Eliminate one possibility every turn.

This is, of course, not always possible. But given that eliminating all false possibilites is your ultimate goal, the player who does this fastest has a huge advantage over the other palyers. To this end, you should ideally be making a suggestion every turn. Any turn where you do not make a suggestion is, essentially, a wasted turn.

ROOMS

Spend your time in rooms.

You can only make suggestions in rooms, so travelling on a roll of the dice should be seen as a last resort. When you enter a room, make a suggestion. If someone suggests you and drags you to a new room, make a suggestion there on your next turn.

Use the secret passages.

This lets you move from a room to another room, guaranteed, without having to risk rolling the dice. That's two suggestions in a row that you get to make, without having to worry about bad luck stealing your opportunity.

If you haven't eliminated those two rooms after that, you can keep going back and forth between those two rooms until someone shows you one of those cards. Until they do, it's the most efficient way to gather information.

Try to learn about rooms whenever you can.

You can suggest any character or any weapon from anywhere on the board, but your room suggestions are limited by your location. For this reason, rooms can be the hardest thing to figure out, so you should learn about them whenever possible.

Spend time in any room you hold in your hand.

Not only will this let you learn more about the weapons and people, but you can use the unfair summons trick. If another player is about to reach a good room to make a suggestion (e.g. a corner room, or the likely murder room), you can make a suggestion about that player's character, which will drag their pawn back to your room. And if that player takes his next turn to make a suggestion in your room, you can simply show your room card.

COPIOUS NOTES

Before playing, ask yourself how much work you want to do.

Clue can be played as a simple deduction game with the above tips, but if you're willing to write everything down and put in a lot of effort, you can gain additional information.

If you're desperate to win, you can write down each suggestion made, who showed a card to each suggester, who showed you each card, and which cards you have showed to each player. Doing this will be a lot of extra work. But it can give you a lot of benefits.

Don't give away any new information.

If you know which cards you have shown to each player, you can show them the same cards repeatedly to avoid giving away extra information. Never reveal a new card when you don't have to.

Use your knowledge about other players' hands to make new deductions.

If you know that Bob has the wrench card, and you have the Colonel Mustard card, and someone else shows a card to disprove the suggestion of "Colonel Mustard, in the Library, with the Wrench," you know that card must be the library.

Figure out what your opponents know.

If an opponent repeatedly uses the same item in suggestions, whether it's a location, weapon, or character, it probably means nobody else can disprove that item. If Suzy has made three suggestions in a row about the Revolver, chances are very good that the Revolver is either the murder weapon, or in Suzy's hand.

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Board / Card Games: What's Hot Now: Monopoly: Rent in Jail?

Board / Card Games: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week // via fulltextrssfeed.com
Monopoly: Rent in Jail?
Dec 27th 2011, 11:02

Question: Can I collect rent from other players while I'm in Jail?

Answer: Yes.

In terms of rent collection, Monopoly players conduct business as usual while in jail.

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