Spiel Des Jahres

The German Spiel des Jahres is perhaps the world's most prestigious game award. Founded in 1978 by a group of German game critics to promote awareness and to increase the cultural value of games, the award recognizes outstanding games based on originality, playability, and educational value of the game idea; organization, clarity and understandability of rules; packing and layout of the gameboard and the game rules; and functionality and overall quality of the game materials included.

Each year the journalists who compose the Jury cast ballots to select the honorees and to award the main prize, the Spiel des Jahres (Game of the Year). In past years, a list of Nominees was selected, then a few weeks later, the Spiel des Jahres was chosen from that list. Beginning in 2004, an initial list of Recommended games was published as well as five Nominees announced as finalists; and finally, the Game of the Year is announced a few weeks after that, in early summer.

ALHAMBRA $34.99

Winner of Game of the Year Award 2003 in Germany!

In Granada, the year 1278, one of the most interesting projects of the Middle Ages begins - the construction of Alhambra. Now you have a chance to take part in this amazing experience, and plot the fate of this Spanish wonder. Players must decide the best way to build their Alhambra and gain victory points in the process.

Contents of Alhambra:

60 building and start tiles

110 cards

6 summary boards

12 playing pieces

1 game board

1 scoretrack

1 rule booklet

BARBAROSSA $19.99

Barbarossa is a a modern classic that is great for family and friends! Enter the fantastic world of this casual riddle-solving game. Share laughs with your friends or family as you create and master riddles!

First, each player forms objects out of clay. Since the item is a riddle,your clay figure will only show rough contours. So there's no need to be an artist when you mold the rough shape of a dinosaur or a bug!

When you solve a riddle, you are rewarded with points. You can also earn points when your riddle gets solved, but only if it's not too easy and not too hard! You earn bonus points if your riddle is solved in the middle of the game, but you lose points if it is answered early (too easy) or late (too hard)! Earning points is the key to victory, so put your thinking cap on and mold your best riddles in the clay of Barbarossa!

Barbarossa was awarded with the prestigious "Spiel des Jahres" game award, but now it's even better! This revised version employs a more portable and intuitive format.

CARCASSONNE $24.99

In the game of Carcassonne, players develop the area around the southern French city of Caracassonne by placing land tiles. During each turn the area becomes larger as the players expand and add roads, fields, cities, and cloisters. The players may also deploy their followers as thieves, farmers, knights, and monks to control and score points for the land that they are able to claim. As each player only has a few followers, it pays to plan each move carefully and deploy followers when and where they can earn the most points. This clever game is beautifully designed on thick, elegant tiles.

Contents of Carcassonne:

84 land tiles

1 scoring track

40 wood followers

Instructions

CATAN: SEAFARERS EXPANSION - REVISED EDITION $42.00

In The Seafarers of Catan Game Expansion Revised Edition you control a group of seafaring settlers exploring and taming the uncharted Isles of Catan. Embark on a quest to settle the island, build ships, and chart the nearby waters. Guide your settlers to victory with clever trading, cunning development, and by establishing the most productive sea lanes. Acquire your resources through card play and the luck of the dice. Discover far-off mines and use gold and combinations of resources - grain, wool, ore, brick, and timber - to develop your ever-expanding empire.

This Revised Edition with art updated in 2007 is completely compatible with the original Settlers of Catan and the original Seafarers of Catan.

Please note: This is not a stand alone game. A copy of The Settlers of Catan is required for play.

Contents of Seafarers of Catan Game Expansion Revised Edition:

60 Wooden Ships

1 Pirate Ship

6 Frame Pieces

19 Sea Hexes

11 Unique Hexagonal Region Tiles

2 Gold Fields Tiles

2 Desert Tiles

1 Fields Tile

1 Forest Tile

1 Pasture Tile

2 Mountain Tiles

2 Hills Tiles

50 Catan Chits

10 Number Tokens

10 Harbor Tokens

Color Rules & Scenarios

CHICKEN CHA CHA CHA $37.99

There is chaos in the chicken yard! Today's practice for the Chicken Cha Cha Olympics is feather stealing. Each chicken Cha Chas to catch each of their opponents without being caught themselves. Their reward for catching another chicken is tail feathers. The first chicken to have all the tail feathers is the winner! But only a chicken who knows what is in the chicken yard will be able to catch the others and win the game. A chicken with a leaky memory will find himself standing bare-rumped and medal-less when the prizes are distributed!

Contents of Chicken Cha Cha Cha:

24 egg-shaped tiles 12 chicken yard tiles

4 chickens

4 tail feathers Rule book

RUMMIKUB - 60TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTOR'S EDITION $25.99

Rummikub is the fast moving rummy tile game that has been enjoyed by people everywhere for over half a century! Players make points by collecting sets or building runs in the same color. This Deluxe Anniversary Edition comes in a lined, leatherette carry case and features special anniversary joker tiles printed in metallic colors. A great combination of strategy and luck makes Rummikub the perfect game for all ages and this top quality set has been designed to give players hours of special Rummikub fun!

Contents of Rummikub 60th Anniversary Collector's Edition:

1 Lined, Leatherette Carry Case

106 Playing Tiles with 2 Special Anniversary Jokers

4 Sturdy 2-tier Racks with 8 Rack Holders

Regular and Tournament Rules

RUMMIKUB ORIGINAL $15.99

Rummikub is the fast moving rummy tile game! Players make points by collecting sets or building runs in the same color. Now featuring thicker playing tiles with an easy-grip contour, this classic game is better than ever! A great combination of strategy and luck makes Rummikub the perfect game for all ages.

Contents of Rummikub Original:

106 easy-grip tiles

4 one-piece playing racks

Illustrated instructions

HOITY TOITY $29.99

Hoity Toity is an exciting bluffing game with thieves, detectives, and eccentric collectors! As a member of the pretentious "Antique Club", you feel inexplicably compelled to outshine your other snobby friends. You are oddly convinced it is your destiny to become the antique collector with the most valuable collection - by any means necessary. Trickery, bluffing, and theft are all a part of the game as you battle your fellow snobs to become the most "Hoity Toity" of them all.

Features of Hoity Toity:

Designed by Klaus Teuber, of "Settlers of Catan" fame Winner of the German "Game of the Year" award in 1990

Sold over 1,000,000 copies in Germany

NIAGARA $44.95

Niagara is a rapid family strategy game that's exciting for both young and old! In the wild rapids of the Niagara River, fearless canoers battle the water and each other to collect gems along the riverbank. Of course, the most valuable gems are found furthest down river, close to the waterfall! Players must return collected gems to land in order to be counted. In the end, the player who collects the most value in gems is the winner! This game is a Spiel des Jahres 2005 nominee.

Contents of Niagara:

Gameboard

12 river disks

10 canoes

35 paddle cards

Rainmaker marker

Life preserver

40 gems

Rule booklet

SCOTLAND YARD $34.99

An international super-spy, so secretive that he is only known as Mr. X, is detected in London, and Scotland Yard is on the hunt. In the game Scotland Yard, one player takes the role of Mr. X and the others take the roles of the detectives on the chase. Mr. X leaves small clues to his whereabouts as he moves by bus, taxi, or underground. To deaden his trail, Mr. X can take advantage of his limited supply of "black tickets" and move in secret. The vigilant members of Scotland Yard must deduce the location of Mr. X by his mode of transportation and occasional sightings before he can escape the city. Contents of Scotland Yard:

1 game board

6 game pieces

18 start pieces

125 tickets (54 taxi, 43 bus, 23 underground and 5 black tickets)

2 double move piece (2x)

1 log book with paper as inlay

1 "eye screen"

$49.99

Shadows Over Camelot is a unique collaborative game featuring a malevolent twist! As the incarnation of the Knights of the Round Table, you join forces against the game itself in an attempt to protect Camelot. But beware, all is not as it seems among these noble Knights. One of your number might yet turn out to be a traitor-in-waiting, biding his time while sowing havoc and destruction from the shadows!

Featuring a richly illustrated gameboard of Camelot and its surroundings, finely carved miniatures of the Knights and their foes, and seven Quests to embark upon - Shadows Over Camelot is your gateway to many a memorable game night among friends!

Contents of Shadows Over Camelot:

Master gameboard

3 double-sided Quest boards

30 miniatures

168 character, event and loyalty cards

7 coats of Arms and 8 dice

16 swords of the Round Table

1 rules book

1 book of quests

THURN & TAXIS $32.99

In 1490, Kaiser Maximilian I awarded Franz von Taxis the contract to deliver mail between the Kaiser's residences in Innsbruck and Brussels. He did such a good job, that postal services in the country continue to be connected with the name Thurn and Taxis. With the introduction of postal carriages in the middle of the 17th century, members of the family were raised to Count status and given the hereditary title of Postmaster General. The game begins at this point in history.

Can you emulate the achievements of this family and build a successful postal network? Do you have the talent to connect the right cities to create an effective network and not lose sight of the need to acquire new carriages when they are needed? Plan your moves carefully and watch your opponents' moves carefully, so you are prepared to respond to them. The game takes you back in time and gives you challenges that will bring you back to the game over and over.

TICKET TO RIDE $39.99

All aboard for a great family game! Ticket to Ride is easy to learn but requires strategic thinking and quick decision making. Your goal is the collect cards of different types of train cars that you then use to lay claim to railway routes in North America. The longer your route, the more points you earn. You can also get more points by fulfilling "destination tickets" which are goal cards connecting distant cities (ex. New York to Salt Lake City). Each turn you draw more cards, clam a route or get more Destination Tickets. You have to balance greed with speed! Ticket to Ride won the prestigious "Speil des Jahres" (Game of the Year) award in Germany for 2004.

Contents of Ticket to Ride:

1 board map of North American train routes

240 colored train cars

110 train car cards

30 destination tickets

1 summary card

5 wooden scoring markers

1 rules booklet

1 Days of Wonder online access number

ZOOLORETTO $44.99

Families are going ape over Zooloretto, winner of the Spiel des Jahres 2007 Award! By displaying a combination of several types of animals and their young offspring, players must beckon as many guests as possible to their particular zoo and thereby securing points. This takes careful planning and consideration because overcrowding conditions can easily ensue. Fortunately, players have the advantage of expanding their zoos and subsequently escaping negative points (calculated by the spillage of animals housed in the barns for lack of room in the zoos). The person with the most points at the end of the game is the winner!

Components of Zooloretto:

5 Zoo Boards (Game Boards)

5 Expansion Boards

5 Delivery Trucks

30 Coins

1 Red Wooden Disk

5 Summary Cards

88 Square Animal Tiles

16 Round Offspring Tiles

12 Vending Stall Tiles

12 Coin Tiles

Instructions in English and French