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Mar 12, 2010, Battling Tops – Retro cool
I love most of the old games still kicking about in closets and attics. And did you notice that most of those old addicting board games, such as battling tops from the 1960sare still around under a different name and a different look?
You just get lucky sometimes finding a old copy, but if you can’t and start doing a bit of research, you’ll find it under several different names, including:
- Battling gladiators game
- Beyblade Battle Tops
- Boscaiola (would I lie)
But this game was around way, way before the 60s...what’s that? How long ago you unwittingly ask?
Try back as far as Ancient Egypt! Yes, spinning toys back then were made from wood, bone, stones and even ceramics! And I’m betting that just as many adults tried them out as did kids. There’s just something about knocking your opponents out of the play area that is irresistible - no matter what age and...er...era...you’re from.
That’s because, as everyone knows, you just can’t ever get enough of a good thing, can you, and whether they’re string powered, push powered, pull powered, or finger powered, these battling tops are irresistible and very addicting! (Tho I still like the original Battling Tops version best, even if they’re just a tad slower and lighter than some of the mechanical ones about...they fly better when hit!) But if you can’t find this around, there’s lots of addicting games to choose from.
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Mar 10, 2010, The religious UnGame?
Are you feeling particularly humble…or perhaps more than a little repentant lately (especially in the aftermath of the drinking game from blogs past)? Perhaps its time for you and your friends/family to turn to a religious board game. Now I know that religion can be a little tricky, but this addicting board game comes in two different versions. Lets discuss the Catholic vs Christian versions:
- The Christian Ungame – this amazing ungame version is based on the Christian faith and it pretty much guarantees an improvement in your family relationships, communications, and helps you all get to know one another better through its thought provoking questions. Everyone is right in this non-competitive game, but I guess I’m just more righteous and thus I get more brownie points with mine answers than thou…and so me, I win…not that there’s anything wrong with losing…
- The Catholic Ungame – do you know your patron saint? (based on your name, dummy...er, I mean you wonderfully clueless person, you) Based, of course, on the Catholic faith, this fantastic ungame version is also non-competitive. Like the Christian version mentioned above (and remember, Catholicism was the original Christian faith…it just prays not only to god but also to various saints – just to be safe and cover all bases I’m thinking. Anyhoo, this great (dare I say addicting?) board game, er, ungame, like its Christian counterpart also covers all the regular philosophical questions, but it includes a card deck with – you guessed it - Catholic faith based questions
Now that I’ve discussed the taboo subject of religion and blasphemed (pretty sure now) either or all faiths in my comments above (maybe even the atheists) and quite probably have some of you frothing at the mouths…go grab yourself whichever version matches your faith…or maybe a different Bible game will catch your fancy while you’re browsing. Or better yet get both versions like I did so you can play both with friends and family members of both faiths. Anti-communicate and argue your little hearts out over the various questions…come on…you know you want to. Yeah. I’m probably going to H-E-double hockey sticks (to visit relatives)…but its so fun to argue and compete…and laugh…right?
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Mar 4, 2010, Beware the Red Dragon
OK, this one is for the college student in all of us. Or the boater.
Now, I’m talking the Red Dragon Inn board game (not the dizzyingly complicated Calculation program created specifically for the board game of Mahjong) I’m not talking the strangely weird Red Dragon Freeform Roleplaying Community (that one’s for the basement dwellers, I think).
While game rules say you can get the party started without ever touching a drop….riiight…this addicting...er, let me rephrase that…this ultra fun game comes complete with player mats, drink deck, fortitude markers, character decks, gold pieces, and of course, character decks so you can pretend you’re not you for the next few hours. Btw, if you’re giving it as a gift, you may want to tuck a free membership to AA inside. But I digress. This game has it all. Gambling, drinking, and….well, aren’t those to enough for a good time? You play, you gamble while trying to hang on to both your money and your consciousness. If you lose either, you lose and the others get to divide any of your loot. But if you manage to outlast all those other wimps, you get bragging rights (but possibly lose the next 24 hours or so). Not that anyone else will remember as they’ve all staggered off to the stable – or wherever – to sleep it off.
And if you get really good at this version, or gain more than the 4 players the first version is pretty much restricted to, you can go out and pick up the standalone expansion pack. Then you can attempt to outlast and out carouse up to 8 people while you all exercise your arms and staying power.
Good times, no? So go ahead, grab one or both versions of the Red Dragon Inn, and don’t waste any time thinking about all of the brain cells we (possibly permanently) pickle…just play…and Cheers, eh?!
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Mar 2, 2010, Axis & Allies – Got 2 to 10 hours?
OK, so maybe you can get away with completing a game in just a couple of hours, but truely, this one is for all you endurance players out there aged – oh – about teens and up. If you love strategy games, and World War II games, then you’ll not be able to resist Axis and Allies.
Grab a few friends, a few dozen snacks and few more energizers to keep you all going for the duration...and get playing. You can buy the board games, or you can play online. You can also play recreated historical battles and skirmishes with authentically detailed miniatures on a table top with the double sided hexagonal battle maps. Very cool.
This miniatures version is collectables, so be warned, buying them can become an addiction of their own. Yes, it’s oh so addicting, and uber fun, this WWII game has many versions, as previously mentioned, including:
- text Axis & Allies: Pacific, Pacific 1940 (square off against the backdrop of the Pacific ocean)
- Axis & Allies: Europe, Europe 1940 (destroyer and artillery strikes in the European Theater)
- Axis & Allies: D-Day (storm Normandy’s beaches)
- Axis & Allies: Guadalcanal (Second World War's Pacific Theater)
- Axis & Allies: Battle of the Bulge (indulge in Hitler's Offensive in the West)
- Axis & Allies Miniatures (collectible’s warfare to help visualize your goal)
So definitely > get your hands on one or all addicting Axis & Allies gaming versions...but remember, you have been warned!
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Feb 24, 2010, Would you survive in a Worst Case Scenario situation?
Live or Die? That is the question here…all 600 of them. If you – like me and mine - are a fan of the worst Case survivor books, then you will really enjoy this addicting game too.
I have to admit that I get more of a kick out of reading the cards, as does my spawn, so we often drift off into the land of what if hilarity and never finishing the current game, but then, isn’t that the point of a game? I mean, communicating with your alien spawn and both of you actually enjoying and engaging? If you would like to experience that mindset, then these games are for you also.
You can get the board game version, but don’t forget to grab the Trivia Challenge version for the pc while you’re at it. You’ll find a combination of survival situations and trivia in two different gameplay modes: short or full, both of which includes a round of ten multiple-choice questions with 4 possible answers. (The full game has an extra challenge round – but only if you’ve got the right answer more often than wrong in the previous round!
Both have the same multiple choice answers to a question that knowing the answer to could be the difference between life and death. Both have a lot of interesting and thought (or laughter) provoking scenarios to put forth. And both will be sure to get you debating (arguing) over the provided answer. I mean, do you think you could escape from the trunk of your car? This game will tell you how. Do you know how to survive a shark attack? I’m going to send a copy to my niece going to school in Australia…because she just may find herself needing to know how… insert deity here forbid!
How great is your survival instinct? Mine’s pretty top notch let me tell you…so why not put yours to the test with this addicting game.
Silly. Fun. Addicting. Somewhat random. Yup.
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Feb 23, 2010, Rule your own Dominion – or someone else will
This addicting medieval board game was selected by Mensa for a reason!
A bunch of reasons actually…its fun, its fast, it’s a strategy game that makes you think, and its always a different game each time you play. What more can you ask for really?
You, Mr. Monarch, start out with a ten card deck (which is your kingdom), and then build up your deck as you play. Now unlike other card games where you have to constantly buy and build new decks (think Yu-Gi-Oh, and Pokémon), Dominion is a standalone game where you use your deck’s cash cards to randomly purchase various cards from those available in the game piles and then reshuffle and discard as you attempt to build up your kingdom.
Just remember your ABCs of Dominion and you can’t loose, maybe:
Although Dominion has only been around for a couple of years, it’s already won numerous awards. There are also numerous expansion packs available to boost the variety of playing scenarios available to you and make the game last a bit longer than the usual 30 minutes or so it normally takes. I am especially excited about the Alchemy add-on that’s due out this year – I have the feeling that it’s going to be really fun trashing my opponents with use of the cards it will provide!
Lord over the minions, stock your treasury, fend off the competition, and above all, balance your deck!
So don’t forget to check out the Dominion board game, you’ll enjoy it!
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Feb 19, 2010, Buy Games Online | Games To Buy | Buy Cheap Games
Buy games online from DirectSource-Games.com and save money on all your favorites!
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Feb 19, 2010, Rummy – The game of conquistadors
Now when I say Rummy, I am not specifically talking about the addicting game of Gin Rummy…although now that I’ve mentioned it I’m itching to play!
But before I forget, I just want to say thank you to the Conquistadors for bringing Rummy to the rest of the world. Note that there is of course, the obligatory arguments over the history of rummy, but suffice it to say, this addicting game…in any of its variants, has been around for a long, long time and will be around for another few hundred years or more.
Gin rummy was a favourite growing up, but there was also different versions we’d play, like Indian Rummy, dummy rummy, Mah Jong (yup, it’s a variant of rummy), Ten pennies, Uno…there are so many different versions that I can’t name them all.
All you need to know is that there’s sure to be a variation of the card game that you’ll love. You can play with 2, 4, or 6 people and just pick the version that’s best with the number of people who want to be defeated by your awesome skills in Rummy.
If you aren’t familiar with Rummy, pick up a deck of cards, or better yet, pick up a game copy, and just start playing it. The rules of Rummy are found everywhere, but you can make up your own if you don’t like how its played. That way, you’re always sure to win. Kidding.
Although…there are so many different ways to play Rummy that you definitely could get away with it….
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