Category Archives: News

Boardgames in the News: International Games Day 2016

Saturday 19th November is International Games Day. This event is to highlight the fact that modern libraries are about much more than books. The annual event was started nine years ago by the American Library Association (ALA) in collaboration with the Nordic Libraries “Nordic Game Day”. Over a thousand libraries world-wide will be showcasing games, so if there is a an event at your local library why not go along? This year there isn’t an event in Oxfordshire, however, we have contacted Oxfordshire Library Service (part of Oxfordshire County Council) and suggested they organise something for next year. The more people that ask, the more likely they are do something for 2017, so please join us and let them know if you think Oxfordshire should participate too.

– Image from igd.ala.org

Autumn 2016 Oxford Meeples Big DoG

On Saturday, Movember 12^th, Oxford Meeples is again opening the doors of Wolvercote Village Hall to the general public once more and inviting people to join them for another Big Day of Gaming. As usual, the Oxford Meeples will be bringing a large number of their games, but everyone is welcome to bring their own too. The hall opens at 10 am with gaming starts from about 10.30 am and continuing ’til late. Entry is free, although donations towards rent of the hall and refreshments will be appreciated. Children are welcome when accompanied by an adult. Several of the GOATS are hoping to attend, but that will depend on weather and other commitments as usual.

– Image from oxfordmeeples.org

Boardgames in the News: Asmodee Take Over Canada

The Canadian company, F2Z Entertainment, own Filosofia Éditions (who bought Z-Man Games in 2011) and are also the parent of company of Pretzel Games and U.S. company Plaid Hat Games. Given the rate that Asmodee have been gobbling up games companies, it seemed only a matter of time before they turned their attention to F2Z Entertainment. It seems their enticing range of games, which include Pandemic, Dead of Winter and Carcassonne, was just too much and in July, Asmodee announced that it had entered into exclusive discussions to acquire F2Z Entertainment. These discussions are now concluded and, as of today, F2Z Entertainment, will be known as Asmodée Canada.

– Image from trictrac.net

So, who will be next? Rio Grande Games perhaps? Or maybe Czech Games Edition or Pegasus Spiele will be their target following their recent successes in the Spiel des Jahres and Deutscher Spiele Preis? Time will tell.

Boardgames in the News: When is Amazon Packaging not Packaging?

Answer: When it’s a game box…

– Image by reddit contributor Zepheus

It is not unknown for games bought in online auctions to be shipped in a bin bag, or worse, with just a sticky label stuck to the box. While ignorance is no defence, it is arguable that caveat emptor could apply in such cases. Nobody would expect such treatment from a reputable seller and yet there has been a trend of such behaviour in the USA for some time from Amazon.com. There are now reports of the same happening with parcels shipped by Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.de. With Amazon.com/Amazon.de it seems that the thing to look out for is a comment on the item page that says, “This item’s packaging will indicate what is inside and cannot be hidden“. Examples are very hard to find on Amazon.co.uk, but most games on Amazon.com and many on Amazon.de exhibit this text. The Prodigals Club is one example and in such a case case, a box can be added for no extra charge when selecting delivery options. It is possible that this trend is a result of the new “same day shipping” which has now made it to Europe, so in time it may affect more items. With Christmas approaching and the inevitable last minute purchases, buyers beware – it may be that items other than games are affected too…

– Image by boardGOATS

Goats in the News: What if Goats Voted for the US president?

With the US election the subject of every other media article, the silly season is definitely here. A recent email to Republican supporters sent by Eric Trump included the state division map which apparently showed an overwhelming majority for his father, Donald Trump. The map was calculated from numbers published on FiveThirtyEight.com, a statistics-driven news website. Unfortunately, the map he used showed who would win the US election if only men could vote (the report also included a similar map depicting the situation if only women voted). Inevitably, these were followed swiftly by other maps prepared by the Twitterati, including one calculating showing what would happen if goats voted…

– Image from twitter.com

Essen 2016

It is that time of year when, the leaves fall from the trees and gamers visit Germany. No, Oktoberfest isn’t the draw (that happens in September anyhow), this is an altogether different annual German “festival” – The Internationale Spieltage, which is held in Essen. To Gamers worldwide, Essen is synonymous with the largest games fair in Europe and, arguably, the world. The fair runs Thursday to Sunday in mid-October every year and is the one of the largest and most significant of all the boardgame conventions. As such, many of the manufacturers plan their biggest releases for October with their debut at the Fair.

– Image from merz-verlag.com

Last year there was a bit of a paucity of new games and it seemed to be all about expansions. This year, while there are still plenty of expansions for well-loved games like Istanbul, Colt Express, Orléans and Ca$h ‘n Guns etc., there are also a lot of new games based on old favourites. For example, there is Key to the City – London (which has a lot of elements of one of our favourite games, Keyflower), Jórvík (an update and re-theme of Die Speicherstadt), X Nimmt! (a variant on the popular but chaotic 6 Nimmt!), and the latest incarnation of the Ticket to Ride series, Ticket to Ride: Rails & Sails. There will be plenty of other interesting original games too though, including The Oracle of Delphi, A Feast for Odin, Cottage Garden and The Colonists. Several members of the group are going this year, and they’ll no doubt bring back lots of exciting new toys to share with everyone.

– Image used with permission of BGG contributor Gonzaga

Boardgames in the News: The V&A on TODAY

With the increasing interest in modern boardgames and boardgame cafés, it is inevitable that the established media will take more of an interest. So far we’ve had the articles in the scientific journal Nature, BBC Radio Oxford, The Guardian, BBC Radio 2, and Channel 4’s “What Britain Buys”. Today the BBC’s flagship radio news program, “TODAY” joined the fray together with a report on the new games exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum. The interview with Catherine Howell (of the V&A) and Leslie Scott (designer of Jenga) is available to listen to on iPlayer and starts at starts 2hrs 46 mins in. It is an interesting article that covers changes in games from Senet to modern games as well as explaining the four different types of games as presented at the exhibition (race, chase, displace and space). The “Game Plan” exhibition opens this weekend at the V&A Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green and will include over a hundred objects as well as an “interactive game”.^† The event is at least in part inspired by the boardgame café Draughts who are holding a “Gaming in the Galleries” event at the museum later this month.

– Image by boardGOATS

^† Aren’t all games interactive?

Boardgames in the News: The Monthly Game Guardian

In recent years it has become increasingly acceptable to play boardgames, so much so that there are now regular articles in the national press – in particular The Guardian who have had a dedicated boardgames area in their “Lifestyle” section for some time. They now also have a regular monthly guide designed to help people “find the best games” and “steer clear of disappointing duds”. This is written by Owen Duffy who writes for the Guardian on a range of subjects and until recently ran the tabletop gaming blog Cardboard Sandwich. The first article showcases four games that even some dedicated gamers might not be aware of: Ice Cool, Ticket to Ride: Rails & Sails, Mystic Vale and Sneaky Cards. Owen has a real love of playing boardgames and is genuinely knowledgable about them, so the “Boarders Hoard” is definitely worth keeping an eye out for.

– Image used with permission of BGG contributor punkin312

Four Today – Happy Birthday to Us!

Let's Party!

BoardGOATS is Four Years Old Today!

At times it has been tough, but we are still here – the group is now bigger than it has every been, yet still has a lovely, friendly, social feeling. Thanks to everyone who has come along in the past and in particular, all those travel from further afield to make it the success it is – we really appreciate it.

Games Night at the Beacon, Wantage

Toy Planet Collectors of Wantage buy and sell toys, comics, and collectables from 1950 to the present. They are currently holding a monthly games night at The Beacon in Wantage. To date, the games have mostly been traditional fare. However, last time one of the gamers from the Didcot Games Club went with some local friends and some good, quick-to-learn-and-play games and began the battle for hearts and minds. There is a general acceptance of people bringing their own games, and one of the organisers joined in with others and expressed an interest in our sort of games. This time some of the GOATS are planning to go along and continue the “Good Fight” with a range of light-and-fun games.

– Image from beaconwantage.co.uk

The next Games Night will be Friday 23rd September from 7.30pm until 11pm (note that the Beacon Website has the times wrong). There is plenty of parking and the postcode is OX12 9BX; entry is free and the bar will be open. The coffee shop will also be open serving tea, coffee, soft-drinks, cake and snacks, though they ask that only food purchased on the premises should be consumed there.