The Masonic Board Game

The Masonic Board Game is a perfect learning tool to learn about the secret ways of the Freemasons.

It’s available for everyone to purchase, which is strange since I thought the secrets of Freemasonry were, well, secret.

The Game of Clarity

The Game of Clarity is a mystical “everyone wins” game that purports to give you clarity about your life.

“The object of the Game is to get out of the Rat Race and into the Heart to complete your Journey around all Four Wings and land back in the Heart.”

And so on and on and on and on.

The designer was watching the fiasco of the Gore-Bush presidential election when she suddenly realized that she could create a game that would teach people how to deal with their uncnscious fears.

The game costs $150.

Ah. One thing is now perfectly clear.

Free Downloadable Board Game From NASA

Among the page full of games listed on NASA’s web site is one free print-and-play downloadable game, including board, pieces, cards, and rules.

It’s Fall Into a Black Hole, a roll-move-and-pick game where you need to collect 25 anti-gravity tokens so that you can visit the black hole without falling in.

Ultimate Spinner, 12 Games Made in Maine

Ultimate Spinner is a slew of safely-painted wooden spinners and tracks for children’s games and activities from Robbins Toys.

Games include dress-up, racing games, word games, and others.

It’s another in a series of companies founded in the U.S. in response to reports of unsafe games and paints from China. Robbins Toys are made in Maine and environmentally-friendly, according to the company.

(source)

Rolemaster Companion I

Iron Crown’s Guild Companion Publications has released Rolemaster Companion I for their Rolemaster line of RPG products. I never played, but I remember seeing the adverisements for the first editions of this system in Dragon Magazines back in the 1980s. Cool to see that they’re still around.

The companion includes 118 new spells, new professions, new rules for magic item construction, a condensed combat system, and numerous game aids.

(information)

Monty Python Fluxx

Looney Labs is planning to release a Monty Python edition on Fluxx. Silliness squared.

Help King Arthur and his Knights find the Holy Grail. Bring a Shrubbery to the Knights Who Say Ni! Lob the Holy Hand Grenade at the Killer Rabbit with Nasty Big Teeth!

(source)

What is Fantasy Flight Doing With BattleLore?

BattleLore Boxed Set

By now you’ve probably heard about Fantasy Flight Game’s announcement of a new FAQ for their newly acquired BattelLore game.  But have you had a chance to read it?  Here’s our breakdown of the most interesting bits:

• No new edition and no re-theming for quite a while
• The For Troll and Country and Heroes(!??!) expansion will be released as soon as they are in inventory
• Shipments to distributors should begin in 2-4 weeks
• FFG will announce their plans for the system sometime around Essen (late October)
• A new website will be up in September, though the scenario creator may not make it

The item that most caught our attention was the mention of the Heroes of BattleLore supplement.  For those who don’t know, this expansion has been eagerly awaited ever since it was mentioned last year by Days of Wonder and includes both heroes and magical items for use in the game.  Overall, this is outstanding news which should give a bit of confidence to the many BattleLore fans who are hoping the sale will result in a stronger product line (though we’ll have to wait until October to be sure!).

Chess in Space: Space Station vs Mission Control

NASA astronaut Greg Chamitoff and fellow crew are currently on their second game of Chess vs all the mission control centers that support the space station orbiting Earth at around five miles per second.

The centers take turns making moves against Greg as he comes within radio contact with them. Greg already won the first game, and it looks like he’s winning the second, too.

(source, interview, and pictures, NASA source)

Weekly Game Criminal Roundup

Delray Beach, FL: Several men robbed and one shot during a dominoes game at a warehouse. (source)

Chatanooga, TN: Man is burglarized. The next day he’s playing cards when a stranger comes in and asks to use the phone but then tries to rob him. The robber beats him with a piece of wood, but then runs away without getting anything. (source)

Chicago, IL: Man watching a dice game shot and robbed the winner. (source)

Norwalk, CT: Drunk man repeatedly stabs roomate over a game of dominoes. (source)

Mayfair Still on the Anti-Discounting Warpath

Last year, Mayfair Games, publishers of Settlers of Catan and other games, took advantage of new laws that allowed publishers to dictate to retailers the maximum discount that the retailers could offer for Mayfair’s games. Mayfair told all retailers that the retailers could not discount more than 20% off the retail price or the retailer would no longer receive games from Mayfair. Mayfair’s intention for doing this was to weaken online stores in favor of brick-and-mortar stores, which Mayfair believed were critical in terms of marketing their products to new customers.

At GenCon, VP of Sales Bob Carty claimed to be happy with the results, and promised to enforce the policy even more strictly:

We’ve gone from 113 retailers discounting product in November… when we started releasing Third Edition [of Settlers of Catan]; we now have between six and 11 in any given week. And I think that’s a big step. Six of them are habitual and on the blacklist but they’re still getting product, and we know where, and we’re going to deal with them very shortly.

(source)