MetaFilter posts tagged with boardgame

Bless your weapons...

WinnipegDragon — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 06:39:36 -0800

In the grim darkness of the future, there is only war. Space Hulk returns. UK manufacturer Games Workshop has just announced a re-release of the classic board game Space Hulk. The original version is much loved by it's fans, at it remains an iconic portion of the Warhammer 40k mythos. It also spawned two separate PC adaptations. Burn the heretic! Kill the mutant! Purge the unclean!

Panzers and air raids and artillery, oh my

XMLicious — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 23:54:43 -0800

World Wars 2, sequel to the hex-wargame-inspired World Wars, has been released. One MochiAd upon first load. They also did an election-themed version Battleground States 2008.

Good Lord! Look at the Pieces!

GenjiandProust — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 12:30:08 -0800

Shogi (将棋), or "Japanese chess," has been described here before, but it's such a fascinating game that a little more exposure can't hurt. Specifically, shogi has spawned a lot of variants, many of them astonishingly large. Chu Shogi (中将棋) is pretty well known, only slightly larger (with a 12x12 board instead of the standard 9x9 and 46 pieces per side to shogi's 20), and seems to get played with some regularity today. Here's a video introduction. A step or two up in size is Maka Dai Dai Shogi (摩訶大大将棋), so large it needs two "bigs" in it's title (25x25 with nearly 100 pieces on a side). A time lapse video of a game gives a sense of the play, and here's another by the same guy with some commentary on the moves. The largest currently known version is four times the size of Maka Dai Dai Shogi (36x36 with roughly 400 pieces on each side) and is called Taikyouku Shogi (大局将棋). For those who want to experience a small taste of this huge game, here's a video showing a three-day match (skip the first 45 seconds or so, unless you enjoy Japanese game shows). Many of the large variants have more than one "king" on a side, making victory more difficult and strategy more complex. The situation is exacerbated by the number of pieces and different types of moves (and most pieces can "promote" and change their movement abilities). in the last video you see the shogi experts examining booklets of moves to try and figure it all out. Fortunately, the large variants don't allow shogi's option of dropping captured pieces back on the board (since they predate that mechanic), or the games might never end... So, why care? Well, the evolution of shogi variants seems to match the development of modern war games from relatively modest and simple beginnings to gigantic titles that seem more likely to be collected than played (Campaign for North Africa, anyone?). Also, who can resist a game with pieces called "Flying Cat," "Fragrant Elephant," "Free Pig," and "Great Tapir?"

You're paralyzed by adrenochrome. Lose a turn.

Joe Beese — Thu, 21 May 2009 07:13:51 -0800

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: The Board Game

Insert your own joke about zombie, pocket and "happy to see me" here

jbickers — Fri, 08 May 2009 17:54:34 -0800

FrugalWeekendFunFilter: Zombie In My Pocket is a free print-and-play solitaire boardgame that only uses three sheets of paper. Elegantly designed and well balanced, it has inspired a bunch of alternate versions, from Wolfenstein in my Pocket to the classic-dungeon-crawl-inspired Dungeonquest in my Pocket to Star Wars in my Pocket. (Complete list of variants and user-created scenarios - all are free.) There's also a cellphone version, if paper-and-ink isn't your thing.

For utter bankers

fay — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 14:46:52 -0800

From the team that previously brought you War on Terror, the board game, comes CRUNCH - the game for utter bankers.

The German-style game

Artw — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 22:47:34 -0800

Monopoly killer - how The Settlers of Catan redefined board games.

It is pronounced "uh-GRIK-oh-lah."

Shepherd — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 11:18:21 -0800

Vegetable farming! Boar breeding! All the maniac thrills of 17th century agriculture -- on your tabletop! Since its introduction two years ago, Agricola has grown from being a German hit to a runaway success worldwide -- at least among the niche market of serious board game fans. Generally recognized as the absolute apex of 17th-century farming simulation board games, it is -- in its base form -- a relatively simple game where two homesteaders attempt to build a thriving farm while increasing the size of both their homes and their families. But deep gameplay and an engaging theme have led to a passionate fanbase. It has inspired people to trick it out, buying "animeeples" and "vegimeeples" from-third-party suppliers (and even contraband animeeples) to upgrade their standard wooden-cubes-and-discs Agricola sets. Gamers have spent hundreds of hours analyzing board game farming strategies. Debates rage over whether the Wet Nurse is better than the Taste Tester, or if the Stone Oven eclipses the Hearth in cost-per-use terms. This has even resulted in cards being removed from the deck in tournament play. And now, the nail-biting drama of 17th-century agrarian life is no longer confined to the kitchen table or to sharing shelf space with Blood Bowl and Settlers of Catan! An Agricola fan has bought several copies of the game and ported it online, so those who cannot slake their thirst for farming through the medium of cardboard chits and wooden sheep can now do it virtually as well.

"Let's play Quintet!"

Joe Beese — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 21:22:51 -0800

Robert Altman's final film of the 1970s was Quintet - about a board game where the players kill each other. Here are the rules.

For Those Looking for a Little Boardom This Holiday Season

mrmojoflying — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 13:00:09 -0800

Play board games during the holidays? Try an updated version of an old classic. You can indulge in as much sex, drugs, crime, and rock and roll as your health will handle, just don't roll a 1 on your first turn or you'll be aborted before you get started. Or, if you are looking for something a little more fresh and less "serious gamish" why not try the new religious parody game in which you can play a chain gun wielding, cross toting Jesus? Other board games designed around (possibly exploitative) socio-cultural satire, like Ghettopoly and Redneckopoly (previously 1,2), have provoked strong reactions.

Be a ruthless banker in your pyjamas.

thread_makimaki — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 03:28:10 -0800

Snowed in this weekend? Done with your Christmas shopping? Perhaps you're in no mood to shop anymore. Gather your friends together for a low-tech round of The Economist's Credit Crunch Board Game.

Take a RISK

KevinSkomsvold — Tue, 08 Nov 2005 07:30:35 -0800

Play RISK using Google Maps. From the FAQ: For some reason I decided a bit after the API for Google Maps came out that it would be awesome to be able to play Risk on it... I've always been a gamer and thought this was the perfect step.

To the French, it is the flower that thinks; what do the English call it?

painquale — Sat, 04 Dec 2004 12:09:14 -0800

Etymology-wise, which hormone is an island? What word both denotes a prime and euphemizes Satan? What word denotes "the future" and abbreviates the unknown? Is urine pith? These are some of the questions from "Moot: The World's Toughest Language Game," a homemade and little-known board game for lovers of words. Some puzzles are available online; there are a few more available on a page detailing the interesting story behind the game's creation. You can sign up to have a new language puzzle e-mailed to you every week.

bondcliff — Wed, 20 Jun 2001 14:15:47 -0800

Go to jail. Go directly to jail. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200. - Jumpin on bandwagons since 1969.

starduck — Sun, 11 Jun 2000 19:37:22 -0800

For all of you who remember Cosmic Encounter, a java version of it has been released. Of course, this happened several years ago, I just forgot about it until now. It's a fun game, if you can find the people to play it with!