Tag Archives: Subbuteo

Boardgames in the News: Connect 4 on 5 Live

Board games pop up in all sorts of unusual places—who would have expected them to feature, for example, on BBC Radio 5 Live‘s post Christmas World Football Phone-in?  Presenter Dotun Adebayo and editor Adam Rosser played Connect 4 live on Radio and used it to lead into discussion about other games.  Unfortunately, the program somewhat perpetuated the stereotype of games being complicated even though Connect 4 is not a exactly a complex game.  The other presenters also claimed to have no idea what was happening in the game and one asked if it was anything like the 3D Chess (sic) played on Star Trek.  That said, after winning, Dotun commented that the game was addictive and went on to compare it to Subbuteo with later discussion including Crazy Golf and Tiddley Winks (which also needed an explanation).

– from twitter.com

There was discussion throughout the program, with the game of Connect 4 starting at 17.30 mins in, with most game related discussion at 1 hr 19 mins (Crazy Golf and Tiddley Winks) and 1 hr 41 mins (extensive chat about Subbuteo).  The full episode is available on iPlayer until 25th January 2023.

Boardgames in the News: Harshad Gothankar’s Flicking Amazing Feet

Harshad Gothankar from Mumbai was born without arms, so he does everything with his feet—including playing Carrom.  Carom is a flicking game played in south Asia that is similar to the north American/Canadian game Crokinole and more modern descendents like Flick ’em Up!, ICECOOL, Subbuteo and PitchCar (or Carabande).

Harshad Gothankar
– Image by Mumbai Games on facebook.com

Harshad Gothankar has always been a remarkable young man with a passion for playing the national sport of cricket and is now also a state Carrom champion.  He recently became an internet phenomenon, however, when cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar highlighted his determination in a post on his social media feed.

– From twitter.com