New Games!

Shipment #2 came in today and I got 14 new games!

Ghost Stories $39.99
Kingsburg $39.96
Fluxx 4.0 $12.80
Martian Fluxx $12.80
Say Anything $19.99
Mama Mia $11.96
Ra $27.96
Coloretto $11.96
Power Grid $35.96
Cartegena 2 $22.36
Ra Dice Game $23.96
Galaxy Trucker $59.96
Great Dalmuti $11.99
Saboteur $11.99

If there are any you are interested in let me know and I can get you more info. For the ones I haven't played I'm most excited about Galaxy Trucker, but they all look like great games. I should have most of them for the game sale on the 4th and 5th of December, but if you want the game for sure contact me as soon as you can. Thanks for reading and happy gaming!

Wits & Wagers

I'm not a big fan of party games. I know, I'm probably in the minority on this, but if I have the choice of a party game or a good strategy game, I'll choose the strategy game 10 times out of 10. And then I played Wits & Wagers...

Wits & Wagers is the first party game that I actually like and would request to play. It's the party game for those who don't like party games.

Wits & Wagers is a trivia game. I probably just lost everyone with horrible visions of Trivial Pursuit, but don't worry! You don't need to be good at trivia to play Wits & Wagers, you just need to be good at knowing who you think knows the answers.

To play Wits & Wagers you choose one of 7 small white boards, a dry erase marker, and two betting chips that are the same color as your white board. 7 trivia cards are then taken from the box and someone is designated as the "question reader". The game comes with a bunch of betting chips and before the game a banker is chosen. After writing you're team name on your white board you are ready to play.

The "question reader" then reads the first question and the timer is turned over. Everyone writes their answer on their white board and when the time is up everyone reveals their answer. All the questions in the game have answers that are numerical. The anwers are ordered from smallest to largest on the mat below:

Depending on the answer is what odds the answer has. Odds range from 5:1 to 2:1 with the lowest and the highest answers having the highest odds. The timer is turned over again and everyone takes their two betting tokens and places them on the answer that they think is closest to the correct answer without going over. Tokens can be placed on one answer or split up between two. If you have won tokens in previous rounds they can be played as well. When the time expires the correct answer is revealed and those who bet on the correct answer win! The banker pays out depending on the odds and how many chips were put on the answer. The person who guessed the right answer gets three additional chips. This continues for 7 rounds and the person with the most chips after the 7th round is the winner!


I haven't played a game of Wits & Wagers that hasn't been a blast. The only downfall I can see with the game is that we always seem to run out of chips, but this can easily be fixed. I highly recommend checking out Wits and Wagers, and if you can you should definately pick up a copy. Thanks for reading and happy gaming!

Gryphon Bookshelf Series - Incan Gold

The Gryphon Games bookshelf series is a numbered collection of book-sized games that are light-to-medium weight in strategy. There are currently 9 games in the series. Some of the games are reprints of older games and there are brand new games in the series as well. So far I've played two games in the series and both have been a lot of fun. One of these games is Incan Gold.

Incan Gold

The following is the flavor text from the game instructions and gives you a good taste of the theme of the game:

"You and your fellow adventurers explore the ruins of an ancient Incan temple, looking for turquoise, obsidian and gold. At every turn, you must decide whether to play it safe by returning to camp with the treasure you've gathered so far, or to be a truly intrepid adventurer and keep on exploring. Going farther into the ruins means risking your treasure should you fall victim to the many hazards...giant spiders, wandering mummies, fire spouts and venomous snakes. But priceless Incan artifacts are rumored to exist here...and you can be the one to discover them if you conquer your fears and forge ahead.

What is your threshold for danger? How much treasure is enough for you? Find out by exploring Incan Gold!"

Incan gold is a press your luck type of game. If you are a more daring player you have the chance to get more treasure, but you also have the chance to lose a lot of treasure as well. Incan Gold consist 30 quest cards, 15 treasure cards numbering anywhere from 1 to 17, and 15 hazard cards (3 each of 5 hazards). There are also 5 artifact cards, a whole bunch of treasure gems, torch and camp cards, tent cards, and 5 temple cards to make your game board.

To start the game you lay out the 5 temple cards and put an artifact under each one of them. This acts as your "game board". For the first round you flip over one of the temple cards and shuffle the artifact into the deck of treasure and hazard cards (an additional treasure card is shuffled into the deck for each of the five rounds). The first card is then turned over. If it is treasure card the amount on the treasure card is split between all players that are on the expedition. If the treasure can't be split evenly the remaining treasure is left on the card. If the card is a hazard card no treasure is found and the explorers are warned of impending danger. All players then decide whether or not they want to continue on and search for treasure, or return back to camp with any treasure that they have found. To do this all players secretly chose either the torch card or the camp card. The torch card means you're continuing, and the camp card means you're going back to camp with your treasure. For those that decide to stay, the next card is turned over and if it is a treasure card the treasure is again split between the players or a hazard card is revealed. If two of the same hazard cards are turned over all players that are still on the expedition are lost (for this round only) and the treasure that they found is lost with them. If you decide to leave early you get to keep all treasure found and take any treasure that has been left on the cards. If more than one person is leaving the extra treasure is split between the players. If you are the only one that is leaving and there are artifacts that have been turned over you get to take the artifacts. If there are others that are leaving as well the artifacts stay. Artifacts are worth points at the end of the game. The round is over when all of the players are lost or have left. The cards are then reshuffled and another round begins. This continues for 5 rounds and at the end of the 5 rounds the person with the most treasure wins!

I really like Incan Gold. I'm a fan of the press your luck type of games. It's fun to see the risk/reward of the decisions you make. It's also fun to see the personalities of the people playing. I have some friends that my wife and I play games with. One of them is very risk adverse, and his wife...well, she better not go to Vegas. She's a risk taker! At least in games that is. (that's right, I'm talking about you Chris and Nancy :)) It will be fun to play this one with them. Another good thing about this game is that it plays up to 8. There aren't a whole lot of good strategy games that you can play with a bigger group. The only potential downfall to this game is that you do have to have at least three to play, so this game might not be the best choice if you normally only play with two.

So if you're looking for a light strategy press your luck type game this one might be for you. Thanks for reading and happy gaming!

Two Player Games

The majority of my gaming at the moment is with my wife, so I'm always looking for great two player games. Three of my favorites are Dominion, Pandemic, and Can't Stop. The great thing about these games is that they are great with two, but can play up to four and in some cases more with expansions.

Dominion

Many of you know that Dominion is my favorite game. I was so excited when I got my first shipment of games mainly because the new Dominion expansion was part of it. My wife and I have played over 50 games of Dominion and I'm still not sick of it. The majority of the games have been with just us two, but we have also played many times with friends and have had one or two 6 player games with the Intrigue expansion. So why is it such a good two player game? The game is all about building the best deck of cards. You start out with 10 cards in your deck and throughout the game you add to the deck by buying new cards. With two players there is very little down time between turns so the game goes very quick. Most games are over in around 20 minutes. Another reason it scales to two so well is that the strategy for two is the same as the strategy with more players. It all about building your deck, and of course keeping your eye on what everyone else is buying to. If you don't have Dominion, you should definitely get it.

Pandemic



Pandemic is one of those rare multi player games that I would actually prefer to play with two as opposed to the full compliment of players. My shipment on Monday also included the new expansion Pandemic: On the Brink and I'm looking forward to breaking that one out as well. Pandemic is a cooperative game where all the players are working to cure four diseases before they take over the world. It's a very timely theme considering the H1N1. :) So why is this one such a good two player game? This game is very difficult to win on the hardest difficulty level. My wife and I have 20+ games played and we've only won the hardest level a few times. It is a little easier with two players, so that's one of the reasons I like playing with two. What can I say, I like to win. The difficulty of the game is also what makes it great. A good cooperative game is hard to win, but not too hard to where you get discouraged. This game has the perfect balance. This is another game where you can't just play once. When the game kicks your butt, you have to play again to show the game who's boss. :)

Can't Stop

Can't stop is a great filler. Filler games are those games you pull out when you want a quick light game before you wind up a game night, or if you're waiting for other players to come, or you want something quick to play between larger games. There's no setup to the game and it is very easy to explain. People who have never played can get a quick run down of the rules and be playing in minutes. This game really comes down to the luck of the dice, but there's some interesting strategy on when to stop rolling, and what numbers you should take. So why is this one a good two player game? For exactly the same reasons it's a good 3 or 4 player game. You really don't lose anything by playing with fewer players. It's quick, has some light strategy, and is a very lighthearted game where everyone always has a great time. Some of my best gaming moments have come with this game. My brother in law had an amazing string of luck and came from waaaaaaaay behind to win my wife and I. You're never completely out of this game and you never know whose going to win until the end.

So if you're looking for a great two player game, you can't go wrong with any of these. Thanks for reading and happy gaming!

The first shipment is here!

My first shipment of games is finally here! I arrived home from work to see 4 boxes of games waiting to be opened. It was like Christmas in October. :) Here's a list of the games that I currently have in stock. I am offering a 20% discount off of retail. The first price is full retail and the bold price is with my discount:

Citadels (Card Game) $24.95 $19.96
Settlers of Catan $42.00 $33.60
Seafarers of Catan Expansion $42.00 $33.60
Cities and Knights of Catan Expansion $42.00 $33.60
Catan: Traders and Barbarians $42.00 $33.60
Wits and Wagers 2nd Edition $29.99 $23.99
Wits and Wagers Expansion Pack 1 $14.99 $11.99
Mixup $19.99 $15.99
Alhambra $39.95 $31.96
Lost Cities $24.95 $19.96
Bohnanza $19.95 $15.96
Carcassonne $29.95 $23.96
Carcassonne: Big Box 2 $75.00 $60.00
Thurn and Taxis $32.95 $26.36
Stone Age $44.95 $35.96
Dominion $44.95 $35.96
Dominion: Intrigue $44.95 $35.96
Dominion: Seaside $44.95 $35.96
No Thanks! $10.00 $8.00
Archaeology: The Card Game $10.00 $8.00
Pandemic $34.99 $27.99
Pandemic: On the Brink $29.99 $23.99
Incan Gold $25.99 $20.79
Money $21.99 $17.59
Roll Through the Ages $34.99 $27.99
Birds on a Wire $25.99 $20.79
For Sale $25.99 $20.79
Looting London $25.99 $20.79
Gem Dealer $25.99 $20.79
Masters Gallery $25.99 $20.79
High Society $25.99 $20.79





If you're interested in a game and want to know more about it, let me know and I can help you find out of it's the game for you. I also have open copies of most of the games I have in stock. If you want to try a game before you buy it, you can host a game night and I'll come teach you any game you might be interested it. Thanks for reading and happy gaming from The Board Game Nut!

No Thanks

Card games are becoming a favorite of mine. They are usually very quick to play and many of them offer some fun strategy. One of my favorite card games is No Thanks!


No Thanks! consists of 33 cards numbered 3 ot 35 and 55 playing chips. To start the game each player takes 11 chips. 9 cards are then randomly taken from the deck and removed from the game. It's important that nobody knows which cards are removed. The remaining cards in the deck are put in the middle of the table and the first card is turned over. A starting player is chosen. The starting player then has a decision to make: Do I take the card, or do I pass on the card by puting one of my chips on it. If you take the card you now have the points equal to the value of the card at the end of the game, plus all the chips that have been put on the card. If you pass, the turn goes clockwise and the next person has the same decision to make: Do I take the card, or do I pass by puting a chip on it. When someone takes a card another one from the deck is turned over and play goes on until until all cards have found someone willing to accept them.

There are a few additional rules that add some interesting and really fun strategic decisions. The first is: If you run out of chips and don't want the card, you are forced to take it. Many times I've gotten stuck with a high card because I don't have any chips left. So if a 35 comes up that nobody wants, everyone will most likely pass until someone runs out of chips. It's fun to see who gets stuck with a crappy card. As long as it's not you though. :) Another rule is that chips are worth -1 points at the end of the game. This theoretically means that you could end up with negative points. I've only seen this once in over 40 plays. My wife had an amazing string of luck and got -13. She won that game pretty easily. The final rule is that if you have a run of cards, the point value of those cards for the end of the game is equal to the lowest card in the run. For example: If you have a run of the 10, 11, 12, and 13, all of those cards are only worth 10, the lowest card in the run. This makes for some fun decisions. If you have the 22 for example, and the 20 comes up, you can take the 20 but you run the risk of not getting the 21 to complete the run. You would then be stuck with 42 points at the end of the game for those two cards. If the 21 comes up later in the game you can link the run together and those three cards are only worth 20. The thing is, the 21 might never come up because it could be one of the nine cards randomly taken out of the game, or someone could see that you really need that card and take it before you can. At the end of the game you count up the value of all of your cards and subtract any chips that you still have. The winner is the one who has the least amount of points.

I really like this game. It's got fun strategic decision making, a short playing time, and it's very portable. I took it backpacking earlier this year and we played it over 30 times. If you haven't played I would highly recommend you checking it out.

It's Official...

Well...it's taken a little longer than I thought, but I am officially the owner of The Board Game Nut. For those of you who don't know, I will be selling board games and card games, as well as any other game accessories anyone might want. I'm excited to get going and start making some orders! I sent in my application to a game distributor today and am hoping (keeping my fingers crossed) that I hear back from them soon and can make my first order within the week. I'm planning on keeping my inventory updated on the blog...at least for now. I've reserved www.theboardgamenut.com for when I'm ready to get my website built, but that's a few months down the road. Once I get some games I'll post once a week (probably Sat or Sun) with the games I currently have available. Initially my inventory will be pretty small, but I'm planning on monthly orders to gradually build up my selection. Please let me know if you're interested in a specific game and I can make sure to get it on my first order, or any orders after that. If you want any recommendations I've got a ton of great games to recommend for anyone, whether you're a party gamer, a serious stategy gamer, or anyone in between. Here's a list of the games I'm thinking about ordering:

Alhambra: Big Box
Stone Age
Mixup
Dominion
Dominion: Intrigue
Pandemic
Pandemic on the Brink
Carcassonne: Big Box 2
Settlers of Catan
Seafarers of Catan Expansion
Cities & Knights of Catan Expansion
Catan: Traders and Barbarians
Carcassonne
Ubongo
Lost Cities
Formula D
Citadels (Card Game)
Wits & Wagers 2E
Wits & Wagers Expansion Pack 1
Say Anything
Archaeology: the card game
Fairy Tale
Bang
Cartagena 2
Ghost Stories
Race for the Galaxy
Ra: The Dice Game
Kingsburg
Wasabi
Ruins

This isn't a final list by any means. If you see a game on the list that you want let me know, or if there is a game that's not on the list let me know and I'll put it on the order. Contact me if you're interested an I'll get you the pricing info. I also have some games for rent. Details on that will be coming soon.