Category Archives: News

Essen 2013

Although Essen is a small German city in the industrial heartland on the River Ruhr, it is used by gamers to refer to the largest games fair in Europe and, arguably, the world, The Internationale Spieltage (which is held in Essen of course).  The fair runs for four days every year and everyone who is anyone goes.   As in most years, a lot of new and exciting games are released at the Fair.  This year, amongst other things, this includes an expansion for one of our favourite games, Keyflower.  The expansion is called Keyflower:  The Farmers and introduces animals to the game.  There are also expansions being released for Snowdonia and Tzolk’in:  The Mayan Calendar, both of which are excellent games and have been enjoyed by members of the group.  In addition to expansions to known games, there are (of course) lots of exciting new games, including Rockwell, Glass Road, Expedition: Northwest Passage, Amerigo and loads of others!  Those of us that are lucky enough to be going are sure to bring back some exciting new toys to play with over the next few weeks.

Essen

boardGOATS Get Thirsty!

So, we still haven’t been able to arrange our special group outing to the Oxford’s first boardgame café, the Thirsty Meeples.  However, individually, we’ve been unable to resist its lure and one by one, we have been visiting. One of the GOATS went along for during their “Week of Wonder”, and managed to snag a game of Relic Runners with its designer Matthew Dunstan.  Actually, he enjoyed it so much that he managed a sneak a second game…

Another couple of GOATS made it on Saturday evening and played Mr. Jack in New York and Carcassonne:  The Castle.  This was also a memorable event thanks to a power cut that closed all the other businesses in central Oxford, including the Cinema.  It left only the Thirsty Meeples open in the whole of Gloucester Green, thanks to its particularly effective emergency lighting.

All visitors were very impressed and resolved to visit again soon.

Thirsty Meeples

Week of Wonder at Thirsty Meeples

The shiny new Oxford Games Cafe, Thirsty Meeples, which opened over the Summer, is holding a “Week of Wonder”.  To mark the imminent release of Relic Runners from Days of Wonder, Thirsty Meeples will be showcasing previous releases from Days of Wonder, with a different game each day.  Then, over the weekend, visitors to the café will have the first opportunity to play Days of Wonder’s new game, Relic Runners, ahead of its worldwide launch.

Relic Runners

The English designer, Matthew Dunstan, will be at Thirsty Meeples on Saturday and Sunday to introduce people to his game and teach them how to play. On Sunday morning Matthew will also be giving a talk on Relic Runners, the design process and working with Days of Wonder, plus there will be more promotions and giveaways, including a limited number of signed copies of Relic Runners.

Thirsty Meeples in Oxford

A couple of weeks ago a brand new games café opened in Oxford, called Thirsty Meeples.  Everyone is talking about it and even non-gamers have commented that it looks “really cool”. This week Thirsty Meeples has featured in the Oxford Mail, on BBC Oxford News and BBC Radio Oxford.

BBC Oxford News

The BoardGOATS are planning a visit very soon, however, at the moment it seems so popular we don’t think we’d get a table!

Very Sad News

As has been widely reported, there was a serious fire at the Horse and Jockey pub at 9 pm on Saturday night.  Fortunately, nobody was hurt, but although the building appears to be structurally sound, there is extensive smoke, fire and water damage and it will undoubtedly be some time before the pub reopens.

Fire at the Jockey

Fire at the Jockey

Fire at the Jockey

Undeterred, boardGOATS will continue, for the time being in people’s homes.  So, if you want to come along, get in touch to find out where we will be meeting.

Stanford-in-the-Vale Summer Festival

This year, in order to raise our profile in the village, we will have a stall at the Summer Festival on Sunday (weather permitting).  We are planning to have a “Dobble Against the Clock” competition, Turf Horse Racing and a small table with people playing Army of Frogs.

We will be starting at 2pm on Sunday afternoon, hopefully on the village green in front of the church, as long as it’s not raining…

Stanford-in-the-Vale

Stanford-in-the-Vale Summer Festival

This year, in order to raise our profile in the village, we will have a stall at the Summer Festival on Sunday (weather permitting).  We are planning to have a “Dobble Against the Clock” competition, Turf Horse Racing and a small table with people playing Army of Frogs.

We will be starting at 2pm on Sunday afternoon, hopefully on the village green in front of the church, as long as it’s not raining…

Stanford-in-the-Vale
– Image from holisticvetmed.co.uk

We Play “Second Generation Games”

The BBC really seems to have picked up on boardgaming recently:  in January, BBC Breakfast reported a rise in game sales over the Christmas period and now You and Yours on BBC Radio 4 are getting in on the act.  The report interviewed Joe Jaques (from Jaques of London) and Steve Buckmaster (from Esdevium Games).  It is a nice article that explains the rise of “Second Generation Games” including Carcassonne, Settlers of Catan and Ticket to Ride and discusses their origin and how many of these games have iOS versions that have led to increased interest in the real thing.  The 5 minute article starts 22 minutes and 45 seconds into the program and is available from the BBC website.  There is also an online write up in the business section of the BBC Website.

BBC Radio 4