July, 1997

The Living Room Floor

Most of the new stuff is scattered around the living room. After about four weeks, I'll pick stuff up and actually put it away in the Game Cabinet (give or take a bit depending on other demands on my time).

Gaming News & Commentary

• Letter from the Editor - notes and introduction to this month's issue (July)

• Spiel des Jahres 97 - Mississippi Queen takes the prize!

• Ramsdencon '97 - Annie Shillabeer reports on her gaming weekend

Conventions and Gatherings

• European GEN CON 1997 - August 28th-31st (Leicestershire, England)
• Northern Virginia Gamers - events for 1997 (Virginia, USA)
• 1st Mind Sports Olympiad - August 18th-24th, 1997 (London, England)

Stump the Net

• July's Queries - have you ever heard of these games?

• Hanafuda - Steve McNeil gets a lead on his Japanese card game
• Ludus Latrunculorum - W. J. Kowalski was searching for this Roman game
• Toblaro - Vera wanted to know about this gambling game gone to drink
• Wooden Games - Nicholas Brookins gets another lead on wooden games

Letter Box

• 10,000 - Kevin Messerschmidt with one more wrinkle on Farkle
• All The King's Men - Bruce Whitehill identifies another edition
• El Grande free promo cards - Milton Soong has the scoop on the US source
• Formula De - Dutch edition - J.M. Doumen responds about score sheets
• König & Intrigant - Helmut Wresnik comments on this game's absence from the SdJ list
• No 'dissenting opinion' - Mark Johnson spots a gaff
• Die Siedler Kartenspiel Turnier-Set - Lukas Kautzsch has rule clarifications and corrections
• Wildlife Adventure - Alan Moon clarifies the 'red spots'
• Word Games - Steffan O'Sullivan is assembling a list of these games

Game Reviews

• Abstract Games Roundup - mini-reviews of many games
  • Variance - a shifty twist on Billabong
  • Plateau - bluff, surprise, and hidden faces
  • Blockers - Football meets Chinese Checkers
  • Sea-Fleet - a blast from the past
• Beach Maze - navigate turtles through a beach full of drifting dunes
• König & Intrigant / King & Villain - the expansion for El Grande that is a whole new game
• Riddles & Riches - brain burning riddles abound in this board bound treasure hunt
• Shadowfist - how strong is your Kung Fu? Find out in this underrated CCG
• Throneworld - which, surprisingly enough, does not involve plumbing

• Sumo Rush by Mike Siggins
  • Lord of the Rings Tarot - just another struggle between the forces of darkness and light
  • Lowenherz / Lionheart - Teuber latest game of land grabbing power struggles
  • Meurtre à l'Abbaye / Murder at the Abbey - The Name of the Rose meets Clue!
  • Middle Earth: The Lidless Eye - marshall the forces of darkness to rid the world of short people!

• Dagger on the Rails by Stuart Dagger
  • Rail Baron & US Rails: A Retrospective, A Variant & A Review -
    what it was, what was wrong with it, and how to fix it
  • Tracks to Titicaca - building rail over mountain passes, with variations

• Now Playing at Plymouth with Steffan O'Sullivan
  • A la Carte - a very silly game of broth spoiling
  • Rheingold / Highlanders - review with variants on this game of castle combat
  • Sindbad - the eighth voyage?

Game Bits

Note that the PostScript files in the rules below should be downloaded to your hard disk and then printed using the appropriate application (lpr on Unix, BBedit or others on Mac, Ghostscript on Windows, etc.).

• Rheingold / Highlanders - review with variants on this game of castle combat
• Wadjet - a variant that takes us treasure hunting along the Nile
• Würmeln - variants and Live Action rules for this dicey worm game

Original Game Rules

• Two by Michael Petty
  • Hanga-Tanga - a positional game using dice and a small checker board
  • The Two Pipers - why did the piper cross the swamp?
• Lunar Smite - a Magic: The Gathering variant by Alan R Moon

English Game Translations

• Big Boss - corporate ladders are more fun with heavy people involved
• Bohnanza - voted most likely to be translated two months running
• Campanile - keeping up with the Joneses in terraced housing
• Das Grosse und das kleine / The Big and the little - the long and the short on this Old Maid variant
• Igel Ärgern / Hedgehogs in a Hurry - the ultimate hedgehog racing game
• Die Kette von Saba / The Sabine Necklace - pawn off jewelry to a rich sheikh
• König & Intrigant / King & Villain - another attempt at translating this El Grande expansion
• Mississippi - log hauling on the Mississippi
• Mare Mediterraneum / Mediterranean Sea - empire building in the great center of Western empire building
• Momox - another game whose plays are numbered
• Ogallala - aggressive canoeing fun
• Pharao - a modern game using ancient bits
• Ramses - a variant of the ancient Egyptian game of Tjau
• Schachjagd / Steeple Chess - a sharp race game
• Show Manager / Premiere - "never user your own money..."
  • Kurt Adam and Richard Dewsbery translation
  • Richard Ingram translation
• Das Spiel / The Game - more than 50 games with 281 dice
• Sticheln - a card game about sticking and being stuck
• Sunset Blvd. - are you ready for your close-up?
• Die Verboten Stadt / The Forbidden City - a frantic search for the emperor's underwear

• Railway Rivals / Dampfross - classic train game
  • The History of the Game - how it all started
  • Autobiography of David Watts - how he started
  • Guide to the Various Editions - list of editions, guide to maps

  • Bütehorn edition
  • Schmidt Spiele edition
  • Laurin edition - copious designer notes

French Game Translations

• Stonehenge - celui qui dominera le cercle de pierres sera le maître

Traditional Games

• Castle Rock Solitaire - a domino game from the Bergen family
• Hnefatafl: The Viking Game - a history and explanation of the game with variants

• British Go Association - another resource for Go players

Game Software

• Klondike Pro - duplicate solitaire (Windows)

Web Games Terminal

Note that you must have access to Telnet and/or Java in order to access most of these game sites. Contact your Internet service provider for details on Telnet access. Upgrade your browser to one that is Java enabled.

• Club 19 - an online Cribbage league
• igames - interactive versions of traditional games (Windows; graphics heavy)
• Magic: The Online Gathering - download additional decks for the PC version
• Senet - an ancient Egyptian game (Java)

The Front Door

• Impact 1 - the strategic, new, 3D space game
• McGartlin Motorsport Design - purveyors of fine auto racing games
• Shrink - from Bundex Games

Other Places

• bits and pieces - Ferdinand Koether games page (mostly German language)
• Doris & Frank - makers of many fine games - Mü, Hedgehogs in a Hurry, Banana Republic, etc.
• Flying Carpet Games - a good source of American RPGs, CCGs, and more
• Heroic Do-Gooders & Dastardly Deed-Doers - complete with a free sample download of this RPG
• Mr Games - Thomas Grant expounds upon gaming - including RPGs, wargames, and computer games
• West Bank Gamers - a New Orleans-based gaming group

The Game Cabinet - [email protected] - Ken Tidwell