Apr 2005 Catalog

MNG-AJM Games and Collectibles

Apr 2005 Catalog

While I don’t publish my latest catalog on the internet, this older catalog is available for you to look through to get an idea of the sort of thing I generally have. Please be aware that many of the games in this catalog will have already sold, and if they haven’t then the prices are not necessarily still valid – the prices are only valid in the month the catalog comes out! However, if you do see something of interest email me and I’ll let you know if I still have it. Also getting the monthly catalog by email is free and without obligation, so why not just ask to be added to my subscription list, or ask me to send you the latest catalog by email?

1835, published by Hans-Im-Gluck. 1990. Box. Box good, contents unpunched. £32. Desc. by Andy.

Country: German, Duration: 5 hrs, 18XX series train game.

The basic mechanics of Francis Tresham's renowned business game 1829 are used and several new elements added: minor rail companies which get bought out and layered stock offerings. The game is played on a hex gridded map of Germany, and hex track tiles are laid onto the board as the game progresses. Shares are bought and sold in the various train companies, using an excellent mechanism to control the prices. The companies are controlled by the majority shareholder. The objective is to have the most personal assets come the end of the game.

221B Baker Street, published by Gibsons. 1981. Several copies available:

1) Squarish Box. Good. £5. Overall condition is good, but the box lid is indented due to stacking.

2) Long box. Good, but box corners taped. £4.

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2-6. Country: British version, Desc. by Eamon.

40 cases to solve. The game involves moving around the board visiting various sites and gathering clues which will eventually allow you to answer the questions posed to the players at the start of the case. A good family detective game.

3 Or More, published by Spear's Games. 1981. Box. Box shows wear. £4

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2-4. Country: British, Duration: 20 mins, Desc. by Andy.

Tile laying game using long thin tiles each with 3 coloured circles on it. These are placed adjacent to those already on the table in rows of up to eleven. The objective is to score points by making lines of circles of the same colour - the longer the line the higher the score and diagonal lines count double. When all the tiles have been played the highest scorer wins. Could be considered a sort of colour dominoes, but with three colours per domino rather than just two.

800 Metres, published by Lambourne. 1992. Packet. Good. £8

Excellent race game, based on real athletes, and using a variation of the system the designer first developed for his classic Metric Mile. While the game is in some sense statistical (the characteristics of the athletes have been well researched), it is also designed as a multiplayer game rather than just a replay system. The idea is that athletes can push themselves to keep up with the pacesetter or push the pace faster, but won't know exactly what they have left for their final sprint until the time comes.

A Question Of Sport - Rugby, published by Games Team. 1992. Box. Good. £3

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2-6. Country: British, Desc. by Eamon.

TV related trivia game, with all the questions based on rugby in one form or another. Some cards even include photographs so that you can play the ‘Picture Round’ as on the TV show.

Age Of Steam, published by Warfrog. 2002. Box. In shrink. £27. Special notes: 2nd printing

Designed by Martin Wallace. No. players: 3-6. Country: British, Duration: 2 hrs, Desc. by Andy. Railway game. This is a further development of Martin Wallace's Early Rails system. Players build track between cities and then ship goods for profit. All the systems have been honed wonderfully to ensure you always have difficult decisions to make. The board and tiles have been very nicely produced too making this a very substantial and attractive game. Track is laid by placing hex tiles onto the board, and each round players bid for a role which gives a special ability as well as taking the standard actions each turn. The objective is to build up a profitable network without spending too much money and shipping goods using your tracks. Highly recommended.

Age Of Steam - Expansion Set 2, published by Warfrog. 2004. Box. In shrink. £9.50

Expansion set for Age of Steam. This consists of a double sided board and some rules to change the game slightly for each board. The maps are Western United States (best with 4 or 6) and Germany (4+).

Age Of Steam - Expansion Set 3, published by Warfrog. 2004. Box. In shrink. £9.50

Expansion set for Age of Steam. This consists of a double sided board and some rules to change the game slightly for each map. The maps are Scandinavia and Korea (4-5 players).

Amoeba, published by Louis Marx & Co Ltd. ca.1974. Box. Good but 1 box corner taped. £9

Unusual game played on a 7x7 grid of tiles. Each plastic tile shows two quarter circles which join onto adjacent tiles, and has a handle to make it easy to lift it, rotate it and put it back down. These tiles form various amoeba-like patterns on the board when rotated. Each player has a hand of Amoeba pattern cards and the players take turns rotating a tile trying to form one of the patterns on their cards. When successful the card is scored, a new card drawn and another turn taken. Nice item.

Barbarian Prince, published by Dwarfstar. 1981. Box. Good. £17

Special notes: Includes additional options for town adventures from a magazine.

Solo fantasy adventure game which was inspired by the Fighting Fantasy style paragraph books. However, the adventure in this game is much less rigid. The player must guide exiled Prince Cal Arath through the wilderness and many adventures in towns, cities and the wilds to obtain a small fortune in gold so he can hire an army and return to reclaim his throne. Play involves deciding where to move on the map and using dice combined with an event chart sectioned by terrain to determine what happens that day. There are many different events and the game uses a paragraph system. Includes a metal miniature of Prince Cal Arath. Now quite sought after.

Baseball Strategy, published by Avalon Hill. 1984. Box. Excellent. £8

Third edition. Head-to-head strategy baseball game. Players must choose their 9 man team and make decisions at every play - to hit, to bunt, to sacrifice, if you are pitching rather than batting, to throw a curve ball, a fast ball or perhaps make the batsman walk. These are only a selection of the decisions to be made. Very clever, and easy to learn. This edition of the game also includes a section on converting player statistics into player cards for this game and so being able to play a statistical version of the game (but where you still make strategic decisions). The game also has solitaire rules which still get you to make important decisions.

Bermuda Triangle, published by Milton Bradley. 1975. Box. Good. £14

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2-4. Country: American, Duration: 75 mins, Desc. by Andy.

Business game with a twist! Players run a freight ship operation in the seas north of Bermuda, and try to get their ships from one port to another delivering needed goods for profit. Prices for the various goods change throughout the game, so ideally a delivery should be made when the price is highest. There is scope for blocking opposing ships, but in addition there is a large rotating cloud which moves around the board and has magnets on its underside, and should these swing above a ship as the cloud moves the ship will most likely be moved or even sucked up and away and destroyed! Good fun and a wonderful mechanism.

Blackbeard, published by Avalon Hill. 1991. Box. Excellent. £20

Each player controls a pirate and a King's Commissioner hunting other pirates. Pirates attempt to gain notoriety and treasure while hampering the other pirates' attempts to do the same. Pirates start in a small ship but can take over larger ships they capture at sea. Ports can be sacked and pirate bases set up, as well as the traditional attack on merchant vessels at sea. Highly suitable for solitaire play too. Playing time varies according to the number of players, from 1-3 hrs – longer with more players.

Boarding Party, published by Task Force Games. 1982. Packet. Good. £9

Man-to-man war game set in an assault on a robot held spaceship. One player is the marine force assigned to destroy the ship, and the other player (or the game if played solitaire) controls the enemy robots and computer-controlled defences. This is one of Task Force's microgame series.

Bounty Hunter: Shootout At The Saloon, published by Nova. 1982. Box. Good, but box edge taped. £12

Wild west game which uses the picture book system created for Ace of Aces and later Lost Worlds. One player takes the Lawman and the other an Outlaw, and they seek each other out inside and outside the town's saloon. Moves involve deciding which direction to walk, or whether to just turn or even just track your opponent, and a clever matrix system then determines whether you can see and shoot at your opponent. Shots are resolved using silhouettes which depend on distance and stance of your opponent and hitting is easier the closer you are. The game also includes advanced rules for robbing non player characters and character advancement over several games. Nice item.

Butterfly, published by Hungry Owl Games. 1987. Box. Box good, contents still sealed. £5

Children's game (age 6+) in which players attempt to collect one each of 5 different colour flower tokens. The game is driven by dice roll, and in some cases a flower token will have to be given back. What makes the game unusual is that it comes with a 'Super Big Dice', which is constructed from sturdy cardboard and 'pops' up into a neat octahedron, and can be popped back down again to put it back in the box at the end of the game.

Candidate, published by Avalon Hill. 1991. Box. Good. £18

American presidential election game in which the players are the various party candidates hoping for nomination. The play is card based, and players visit as many states as possible hoping to win as many primaries as possible, playing cards for each. Money cards help your position, Problems can help you or hinder others and Rumors are sure to cause problems for someone! Once through the primaries the climax of the game comes in as the candidates drop out one by one, until one of those remaining is left with a majority.

Celebrity Monstars, published by Paul Lamond Games. 1989. Box. 1 box corners damaged and taped up. £2

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2-6. Country: British, Duration: 30 mins, Desc. by Andy.

Special notes: There are several patches on the cover where labels have been removed.

Players attempt to construct their own Frankenstein from the body parts of a variety of (generally British) celebrities. The body parts are very much caricatures, and the celebrities include royalty, pop stars, TV stars etc. The body parts are put together on a slab each player has, and the winner is the first to get a complete body and have Igor turn on the electricity. Play is by drawing and playing cards and also by dice roll.

Conquest 4-Player, published by Quest Game Co. Inc.. 1988. 2 copies available:

1) 3 Box corners split. £18. Also includes Conquest Puzzle Book No. 1.

2) Good. £17 (Does not include Conquest Puzzle Book No. 1.)

One of the best 4 player board wargames ever designed, with terrific pieces (Elephants, boats, chariots, etc). The reason why it is so good is that the designer has realised that in games of this type, if two of the players have a ‘war’ it can only help the other two, with even the winner of the war being depleted in pieces. Donald has addressed this by having 4 different ways to win, so any tactic has a valid and logical reason to be employed.

Der Weisse Lotus, published by TM Spiele. 2000. Box. Excellent. £12

Very nicely produced game set in feudal China. Each player is a provincial ruler, who wants to claim valuable areas for his province. As players vie for control of the fortresses, temples, villages, palaces and rice-fields, the rebel peasants (led by the White Lotus), are ganging up against the Emperor and players must decide whose side they are on - for or against the White Lotus. Game play involves deciding which regions to commit your men to and voting on what should happen in the various revolts.

Dominator, published by Capri. 1975. Box. Box shows wear. £4

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2. Country: British, Desc. by Andy.

Special notes: Two of the smallest craft missing, but replaced by alternative pieces which look different but still stack adequately.

Somewhat abstract space wargame. The game is played on a square grid and the two forces start at opposite corners. The various warcraft have different movement capabilities, and the ability to destroy other ships varies as well. The two least powerful craft can also combine into one larger craft. and this craft can also combine with another large craft to form an extra powerful ship. Game play is much more like chess than a wargame, with single craft on either side being moved alternately. The objective is to eliminate your opponent's flagship.

Drachenfels, published by Schmidt Spiele. ca.1995. Box. Goodish!. £11

Designed by Alex Randolph, Leo Colovini. No. players: 2-4. Country: German, Duration: 60 mins, Desc. by Andy. Special notes: Missing original German rules, although an English translation is supplied. The box is whole but one side is discoloured, and there is a 5cm slice into the lid.

Fantasy board game with some astoundingly good bits, which include a large plastic castle and 4 sets of dragon cliffs, 4 wooden dragons, 4 wooden princesses, 4 wooden knights with attachable sword and shield and 4 large bendable rainbows! The idea is that each player has a knight and must first get to the King's castle using a rainbow bridge, and once equipped seeks out his princess who has been abducted by a dragon. Game play involves playing cards to move around the board and also playing various magic spells to manipulate the bridges and rainbows or hinder other players. Little known game by these two popular authors.

Dungeons & Dragons Adventure Game, published by TSR / WotC. 2000. Box. 2 copies available:

1) Excellent - unpunched. £6

2) Good, but box indented due to stacking. £4. Missing the polyhedral dice, but for £1 extra I can provide a set.

No. players: 2+. Country: American. Desc. by Andy.

Introductory set for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying game. This set includes: Set of 6 polyhedral dice; 48 page adventure; 32 page rule book (for players and GM); Free mini adventure, Caves of Shadow; A set of character sheets for predefined characters all in colour; cardboard chits and a foldout map for use with the adventure included.

Elefantenparade, published by Ravensburger. 1988. Box. Good. £13

Players each own two elephants which all move along a track. On various spaces there are logs which the elephants collect for points. However, there are also water spaces where elephants' movement is substantially restricted. Each turn a player can either move any three elephants 1, 2 and 3 spaces or move all of a connected group of elephants forward one space. At the end of the track there are spaces with more logs to reward the elephants who get to the end first, Nicely produced game with Indian graphics and nice wooden playing pieces.

Fortune Telling Cards, published by Muller & Cie. 1970. Box. Good. £2

Card item - a deck of fortune telling cards. Beautifully illustrated. A guide in how to use them is included. The cards are also numbered 1-36 in the top left hand corner, so you could also use them for any game which requires such a set of numbered cards.

Fun In The Jungle, published by BMI. 1992. Box. Good. £2

Children’s race game, with an attractive jungle themed board. Missing a poster that was in it (for children to colour) but the game is complete. Game play is roll the dice and move along a track with some spaces having instructions which must be carried out.

Game Of Life, published by Milton Bradley. 1976. Box. Good. £4

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2-8. Country: British, Duration: 1 hr, Desc. by Andy.

The original British version of this classic game. The game involves moving random amounts along a track, but with some choices to be made on what strategy to go for, but a great deal of luck in the dice and cards. The board has 3-D elements adding to its attractiveness. Players start having just left school and get jobs or take further education, and will get married and have children, buy shares and advance their careers, trying to achieve most before retirement.

Games Gazette - Batch of 14, published by Chris Baylis. ca.. Booklet. Good. £4.50

Issue numbers 97,99,101,103-104,107-108,111-112,114-116,118,120 of this privately produced magazine which is still going strong even now. Games Gazette covers board games, role playing games and some computer games, giving news and reviews. Each issue is generally about 36 pages long. These issues date from 1997-2001.

Games Gazette - Batch of 9, published by Chris Baylis. ca.. Booklet. Good. £3.50

Issue numbers 6,8,9,10,15,16,21,22,39 of this privately produced magazine which is still going strong even now. Games Gazette covers board games, role playing games and some computer games, giving news and reviews. The earlier issues also included some RPG adventures as well. These issues date from 1988-1994.

Go For Broke, two copies available:

1) Published by Invicta. 1965. Box. Good. £5. Original British version. No. players: 2-5.

2) Published by Milton Bradley. 1985. Box. Good. £4. No. players: 2-4..

Designer Unknown. Country: British, Duration: 1 hr, Desc. by Eamon.

Family game with the twist that you must spend all your money to win. Of course, there is nothing like the irony of winning at the races, in the casino, on the lottery, etc., all things you cannot do in real life but inevitably do in this game, and which here are setbacks!

Go To The Head Of The Class, published by Milton Bradley. 1962. Box. Two copies available:

1) Good. £4.50

2) Fair. £3. 3 box corners split and one of the 8 player markers is missing.

Quiz game in which players advance up the board advancing from grade to grade in a one classroom school as questions are answered correctly. Special questions allow a grade to be skipped and luck cards can prove beneficial or not. One nice idea is that there are three sets of questions for different age ranges meaning the whole family can play the game together and all have a fair chance.

Golden Compendium, published by Merit. 1969. Box. Good. £7

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2+. Country: British, Desc. by Andy.

Old fashioned compendium of games but including some other games from the Merit range as well as the usual classic games. Rules to 44 games provided, with games like Solitaire, Pick-Up Sticks, Ludo, Spin Quiz, Dominoes, Draughts, Tiddlywinks, Tic Tac Toe, Word Games, Chinese Chequers, Colour Bingo, Snakes & ladders, Mouse Game and Nine Men’s Morris. There really is loads of stuff in this set - which is absolutely packed full of games equipment, so it may well be worth buying for the bits even if you aren't interested in the standard games.

Het Spel Magazine, publisher unknown. Magazine. Good. £0.80

Edited by Gejus van Diggele. Country: Dutch, Desc. by Eamon.

With English summary provided by the publisher. Published by a game collector, but doomed to failure because the production values were so high. Lavishly illustrated. It looked at old and current games, but really aimed at collectors I believe.

Issue 1: 1993. Good. £0.80. Games & Puzzles from WW2, New games and books, Game of the Year 1993, Roman dice and dice games, The Changeable dice, Fairs.

Issue 2: 1994. Good. £0.80. Games & jigsaws with comics, The trickiest playing cards and dice, 30+ new games jigsaws and books, 17th century card maker Jacob Gole, Making a fortune with a new game, Fairs.

Issue 3: 1994. Good £0.80. Aviation history of cards, games and puzzles; Magic The Gathering rares; 50 new games, jigsaws and books; 13 beautiful chess queens, The Deadly Double mystery; 50 interesting Jokers; Fairs.

Hitler’s War, published by Metagaming. 1981. Box. Good. £10

First edition of this simulation of WWII on a very strategic scale of one turn per four months of the war. The map shows Europe, the Mediterranean, the Baltic and Russia. Units are armies, army groups, fleets and airforces. Several scenarios of different sizes are included ranging from 1.5-5 hours in length. Operation Barabossa concentrates on the ground struggle waged between Stalingrad and Berlin. The Fall of Germany begins as the Nomandy beaches are attacked by allied forces. The War for Europe is a full campaign covering all six years of war. Players can put resources into research as well as troops, airpower and naval forces.

Illuminati Deluxe Edition, published by Steve Jackson. 1987. Box. Excellent. £14

Card game, with players forming their own network of conspirators, in an attempt to found a new world order. Very nice mechanics can lead to, for example, the Boy Scouts controlling the Mafia! Won Best Science Fiction Game in 1982, and on the Games 100 from 1983 to 1986. Great atmosphere. Game play involves choosing which neutral groups to control in your secret network, gathering money for future power struggles and making take-over attempts on parts of opposing secret networks. Each player has their own secret goals to aim for.

Image, Box. 2 copies available:

1) Published by 3M. 1972. Good. £9

2) Published by Avalon Hill. 1979. Box. Good. £7

Card game. Players think of a historical or fictional character, and by playing cards the other players build up information about that person, with the cards providing clues to the identity. Cards might include the country the person lived in, the century, the activity they were famous for, fictional / non fictional etc. Points are scored for successfully playing cards and it is also possible to challenge a player if you think they have noone in mind who fits the cards.

Inclination, published by Wiggins Teape. ca.1978. Box. Good. £5

A sort of ludo / parcheesi played on a board with indentations to hold balls which are used as the pieces but also with slides which act as short cuts or long cuts depending on how the board is tilting. You get to tilt the board at various points too, which affects all the balls in slides. The winner is the first to get their pieces home. Nicely produced.

Intrigue, published by Wiggins Teape. ca.1980. Box. Good. £9

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2-4. Country: British, Duration: 30 mins, Desc. by Andy.

The game consists of a 'stadium' with 7 concentric rings which can be rotated independently. These rings have slots which accept marbles and when they are lined up a marble can roll towards the centre. The objective is to get all your marbles into the centre before anyone else. The components are all very nicely made and it plays a bit like a sort of more sophisticated Downfall.

ITV Seven Race Card Game, published by Bison. ca.1975. Box. Box shows wear. £4

Designer Unknown. No. players: 3+. Country: British, Desc. by Eamon.

TV related, named after a special combination of televised horse-races which were linked in a special wager for Saturday afternoon gamblers. A variation of the playing card game Racing Aces, where you bet on a ‘suit’ likely to win a ‘race’, armed with the information that some cards of each suit are missing from the playing deck. Cloth board.

James Clavell's Shogun Card Game, published by Shipps Ltd. 1983. Box. Excellent - unused. £8

Unusual set collecting game with an ancient Japanese theme. There is an unusual card distribution mechanism which allows players to refuse cards by using up favours, and there are wild cards and action cards to add to the flavour too. Basic and advanced versions of the game are provided.

Journey Through Britain, published by Ravensburger. 1988. Box. Good. £5

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2-6. Country: British, Desc. by Andy.

Travel game which includes 143 attractive cards for major towns and cities around Britain. Players race using dice rolls to a randomly drawn target town, and the first to get there gets some points and the chance to answer a question about the town to score a bonus point. Players then head for a different town. After the twelfth town players race back to the starting point for another bonus.

Junta, published by West End. 1985. Box. Excellent. £25

Excellent political game. Players vie for jobs in a Third World government. One player is elected President and he appoints other players jobs. This can involve offers of high wages, bribes or threats, but at the end of the day he

hopes to pocket as much money as he can in his Swiss bank account. Coups regularly take place as players distrust each other. The winner is not the one with the most power or money, but the one who has stashed more money in Switzerland than any other player.

King of Kings, published by Good Industries. 1990. Box. Good. £12

Players take the role of kings of the ancient world. While many of the mechanics are those of a wargame, there are several ways to win and the use of trade and economic advancement is as likely to be as successful as military conquest. Includes 15 scenarios set from 1700 BC to 1200 AD. Each is quite different and all play with from 1 to 5 players, with clever rules to deal with unowned countries. Suitable for solitaire play too. The game is played in Seasons, and each season has its own problems to overcome, and the game includes rules for royal marriages and even divine intervention!

Lancashire Railways, published by Winsome Games. 1998. Tube. Excellent. £11

Excellent railway game in which the players struggle with cash flow while building up networks of railways across mainland Britain. These networks are used to deliver goods using a very clever system. The general system was later developed into Age of Steam, but Lancashire Rails has its own attractions and feel and is worth playing even if you have its newer and more developed brother. A fine game which I can highly recommend to train gamers and business game players alike.

Little Big Horn, published by International Team. ca.1980. Box. Good. £12

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2. Country: Italian, Desc. by Andy.

Special notes: 1 box corner taped, the board shows slight discolouration.

Simulation of the afternoon of the 25th June 1876, known to history as Custer's Last Stand. Three different scenarios can be played reconstructing this most famous battle between the U.S. Army and the redskins. The solid board has raised sections to represent the high ground, making the game rather attractive in play. The rules come in various languages and the English rules cover 7 pages.

London's Burning, published by Cast Games. ca.1995. Box. Still shrinkwrapped. £4

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2-4. Country: British, Desc. by Eamon.

TV related, based on the London Weekend Television drama series set in Blackwall Fire Station. Each player is a member of Blue Watch, the main characters in the series, and race against time to rescue Nurse Nightingale from the inferno at St Mary's General Hospital.

Lord Of The Rings, published by Parker. 2000. Box. Excellent. £16

Great game based on the Tolkien novel. The players must cooperate with the others to get the ring to the Crack of Doom. Some may well fall by the wayside. If all fail, then the game is lost. If successful, the game is won by all players (even those who sacrificed themselves for the greater good). Game play involves card play and deciding how to focus the group's resources. Players can discuss options but not actually show each other their cards. It is possible to play with different difficulty levels to ensure that your group will have a tense time as Sauron tries to get his hand on the One Ring. Illustrations by celebrated Tolkien artist, John Howe. Recommended.

Maloney's Inheritance, published by Ravensburger. 1988. Box. 2 copies available:

1) Box good, contents unpunched. £15 2) Good. £14

Old Maloney the gangster has died and the players as his underlings want to take over his position. To do this Maloney set up a challenge. Players vie to collect as much as possible from various cities where Maloney has interests, but there is only one car available. Players bid to be able to tell the driver where to go, but may well decide to let others get their way if it isn't too bad for you and the bidding is getting high. A player's cards show how much can be collected in each place. There is an interesting bidding system which forces you to think quickly, and I have a house rule which I think improves it further too - please do ask me for it. Good game and works especially well with 6 which is always useful. Recommended.

Manhattan 3-D Dominoes, published by Bear, Bear & Bear Ltd. 1992. Box. Good. £6

Unusual dominoes variant. The set consists of 42 'cube dominoes'. These are black plastic cubes with 0-6 yellow pips on the sides. The top and bottom are designed to interlink with other cubes so they stack up, and opposite sides are the same. Play involves either playing any domino on top of any other or placing one side by side such that the adjacent sides match. If you manage to place a domino so that two of its sides are adjacent to others and both match, then you gain an extra turn, which is very powerful, as you are trying to empty your hand of dominoes. As the game builds up it looks like a series of skyscrapers at night, with lights in some of the windows - very attractive, and hence its name.

Mask, published by Parker. 1985. Box. Good. £2

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2-4. Country: American, Duration: 30 mins, Desc. by Eamon.

Based on the award winning cartoon series and subsequent range of toys. Mask are the good guys, against the evil Venom. Players drive vehicles around the board and collect cards, hoping to collect pairs. When a pair is obtained it can be displayed to gain a bonus, but then it can potentially be taken by opponents, unless you have a suitable defence card. First player to accumulate a fixed number of pairs wins.

Middle Earth The Wizards - The Dragons Boosters, published by ICE. 1996. Box. Unopened. £1.50

Designer Unknown. No. players: 1-5. Country: American, Desc. by Andy.

Booster packs for ICE's excellent Middle Earth - The Wizards CCG. This was in my opinion one of the very best CCGs. I have a small stack of these boosters available, but you will need to already own starter decks / a starter set to play. I.C.E. lost their Tolkien license in 1999, so the game has been out of print since then so getting more cards for this game is getting ever harder. This expansion introduced the powerful Dragons and their special hoards of treasure, as well as a host of related equipment, characters and hazards. Possibly the best METW expansion.

Middle Earth The Wizards - Unlimited Boosters, published by ICE. 1996. Box. Unopened. £1.50

Designer Unknown. No. players: 1-5. Country: American, Desc. by Andy.

See description above – but these boosters are for the core set rather than for an expansion.

Mouse Trap, published by Milton Bradley. 1989. Box. 1 box corner split. £7

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2-4. Country: British, Duration: 30 mins, Desc. by Andy.

Players move their mouse around the board whilst an elaborate mouse-trap is built. The game itself is nothing special, but the Heath Robinson mouse trap contraption is wonderful and let’s face it, is the entire reason for this game's popularity.

Mus, published by Premium/Fournier. 1999. Box. Mint. £8

Designer Unknown. No. players: 4. Country: German, Desc. by Andy.

Card game, 40 Spanish looking cards (the game is a classic that originated in the Basque region), and stones that are used for points scoring. The game is played as a partnership. The game involves drawing cards and betting on who has the best hand, but in a very different way to poker which this may otherwise sound similar to. The game is rarely played for money and the partnership element also adds interest.

Nix Fur Ungut!, published by F X Schmid. 1996. Box. Excellent. £7

Special notes: The board has been amended to the English language.

Card game, with players trying to match poker style combinations to score points. However, only the three last declared sets of each category get any points. The trick is deciding when to declare your more powerful combinations and when to instead just use a weaker one as a delaying tactic.

Odyssee, published by Hexagames. 1995. Box. Good. £13

Set in the time of ancient Greece, the players each control a boat with 4 sailors and 3 gifts of the gods. Each turn a gift of the gods is used up or the crew start to starve. The board shows various islands on which the boats can land and take control after they deal with an adventure card. If a boat lands on an already controlled island then the controller chooses one of their adventure cards to give to the newly landed player. The objective is to collect these event cards and also gain control of islands, and finally return to Ithaka. Players' boats can fight each other, a storm can be used to send opponents off course, and deals can be negotiated. Nice graphic design and wooden boats.

Ogre/G.E.V., published by Steve Jackson Games. 1986. Box. Good. £7

Special edition, with both games parcelled together in a dual set. Ogre is a nice game pitching lots of little units against one huge unit. Can you take the losses before you overrun it? G.E.V. was a sequel to Ogre, and can be played separately or combined to form a single game.

Olympics, published by Capri. 1976. Box. Good. £3.50

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2-4. Country: British, Desc. by Andy.

Each player represents a nation in pursuit of gold medals. Nine Olympic events covered in this family game. Includes an attractive scoreboard where the medal positions are displayed with little medals to insert, and plastic moulded athlete figures. An outer track is used to control the order in which events takes place, and athletes can be injured and recover - injured athletes not being able to take part in their event should it be held before they recover. Also energy cards can be obtained to give an advantage in the other events. The 9 events are split into running, jumping and throwing, and each has its own set of rules.

On The Buses, published by Denys Fisher. 1973. Box. Good. £9

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2-4. Country: British, Duration: 45 mins, Desc. by Andy.

Special notes: Box lid and contents are good, but there is a rip in the base (nothing can fall out though)

There are 4 buses in the game, 3 of which go around the board in fixed routes which cross at lots of points, and one which can go anywhere. Each player has to get their 3 passengers back to the bus station, which is done by playing movement cards for the buses, so that your passengers can get on and off in ways which will help them get closer to the bus station. No need to stay on one bus all the time - as switching over a lot will often be quicker due to the criss-cross nature of the bus routes. There are also some event cards which let you temporarily strand an opponent's passengers due to a breakdown or an inspection.

Ostindiska Kompaniet, published by G & RRR. 1991. Box. Good. £45

Very rare merchant trading game set on the high seas. The Swedish East India Company set off from Gothenberg with Swedish export goods and would carry these to Cadiz for Spanish silver piastres which could then be used to purchase goods from India and China. These could then be sailed back to Sweden for a good healthy profit. Profits can be invested in shares in the Swedish East India Company as well as buying more cargo for another trip. Many clever mechanics present interesting choices, for example on how long to wait for just the right cargo to turn up before setting sail, and similarly when trying to sell.

Panasonic European Open, published by Wheatley Golf. ca.1980. Box. Box Lid Poor. £4

Designer Unknown. No. players: 1-4. Country: British, Desc. by Eamon.

Special notes: Quite large mark on lid where a label was removed

Golf game, played on a scale map of the Old Course at Sunningdale. Players choose their own clubs, and cards decide distance and direction. Ball is marked on the boards with a chinagraph pencil.

Piramides, published by Juegos Geyper. ca.1980. Box. Good. £5

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2. Country: Spanish, Duration: 10 mins, Desc. by Andy.

Strategy game in which players try to get five of their playing pieces in a row. The playing pieces are impressively large (6cm square base) pyramids in gold and dark brown plastic. The pieces are played on the table on an imaginary grid, and must touch at least one already played piece. Once all 24 pieces have been played without a winner then play continues, with a piece having to be moved each turn.

Playboss, published by Ravensburger. 1977. Box. Good. £15

Designer Unknown. No. players: 3-9. Country: German, Duration: 2 hrs, Desc. by Andy.

Business game with lots of plastic bits representing raw materials, finished goods, machinery and computers. Game play involves buying and improving your machinery, hiring workers, and buying raw materials, converting them into finished products and then selling them for profit. Game play is driven by moving your piece around the track, but most spaces let you do one of your choice of buy raw material, buy a machine, produce, or sell. Other spaces get you special tokens which can be spent to gain advantages such as improved machines, advertising, computer automation etc, and others can cause problems inc. event cards having to be drawn. The game is played for a fixed duration, and then the best business wins.

Power. Box. Several copies available:

1) Published by Power Games. 1981. Box. Good. £18

2) Published by Power Games. 1981. Box. Excellent. £20

3) Published by Spears. 1994. Box. Excellent. £16

Wargame. Like Diplomacy, Power uses secretly recorded movement, but unlike Diplomacy it is not all about backstabbing. Players start with ships, planes and other weapons of modern warfare, including a 'nuke' of sorts, all large and plastic - the bits are really excellent. Each turn, players move a set number of their pieces on a simple board, and the moves are resolved together. Combat occurs where forces end in the same space.

Pursue The Pennant, published by PTP. 1986. Box. Good. £10

Statistical baseball game. Deluxe set with stadium inserts and around 45 famous player cards as well as sets of player cards for 26 teams for the 1986 season. Considered the 'Rolls-Royce' of statistical baseball games. A 9 inning game can be played in around 30 mins.

Quiz Kids, published by Whitman. 1945. Box. Good. £3. Special notes: Set No. 3

Card game, radio related, based on an American radio game-show of the same name. 36 double sided cards featuring questions, and the rules sheet also doubles as an answer check. One player takes the role of quizmaster and reads the questions and the others put up their hands to give answers. Played in 10 minute rounds after which the highest scorer takes over as quizmaster.

Raider!, published by Yaquinto. 1981. Double LP Case. Good. £10

An operational level simulation which covers raiding the Indian Ocean shipping lanes during WWII. Each ship counter is one ship, and aeroplane counters 1 to 3 planes. Hexes are 150 miles and a turn is 'several days'. The Axis player searches for and tries to sink shipping while the Allied player tries to find and destroy the raider. Rules included for aerial search, air-ship combat, submarines, capturing ships, weather, mines, and more. The standard rules cover 25 pages, and there are a further 10 pages of optional rules and scenarios to try out.

Rennschwein Rudi Russel, published by Spiele Agentur. 1995. Box. Excellent. £6

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2-4. Country: German, Desc. by Eamon.

Tie in to movie of the same name. This is a simple racing game. Each player has cards numbered 1 to 10. Players simultaneously reveal a card. Whoever plays the highest number moves their pig, but only as much as they beat the second highest card by. If two players play equal highest card they swap positions on the race track! There are special spaces on the board as well.

Risk, published by Parker. 1985. Box. Good. £8. Special notes: Photocopied rules

Designed by Albert Lamorisse. No. players: 2-6. Country: British, Duration: 2-4 hrs, Desc. by Andy. The classic game of world domination. Large white box edition. This version includes the mission cards and plastic army pieces in 3, 4 and 5 pointed 'star' shapes.

Round Four, published by Milton Bradley. 1986. Box. Box shows wear. £5

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2-4. Country: American, Duration: 20 mins, Desc. by Andy.

Strategy game based on the idea of getting four counters in a row, but with the twist (literally!) that the large plastic board is made up of several rings, which can be individually rotated clockwise. Thus players take it in turns to either play a piece or rotate a ring while trying to line up four of their pieces in a row.

Rummy 10, published by Winning Moves. 1998. Box. Excellent. £3.50

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2-6. Country: British, Desc. by Andy.

Card game, a Rummy variant, played over 10 hands. Initial melds must match the meld on the Meld Wheel, and then you can try to go out. Each hand a more difficult meld needs to be made to get things going. Uses 2 custom decks of cards.

Runequest, published by Games Workshop. 1980. Box. Box corners taped, box shows wear. £6

No. players: 3+. Country: British, Desc. by Andy.

Special notes: Also includes Book 2: Book of Uz (for Troll Characters), Original dice have been replaced.

Bookcase boxed version of this excellent 'skill-based' fantasy roleplaying system. This set includes: 120 page Runequest rules book, Apple Lane - starter adventure scenarios, Fangs (prerolled NPCs characters and monsters), and polyhedral dice.

Runequest - Monster Coliseum, published by Avalon Hill. 1985. Box. Mint. £7

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2+. Country: American, Desc. by Andy.

Runequest roleplaying supplement. Boxed set no. 1. Arena combat and chariot racing for Runequest. The set includes a Monster book (soldiers & gladiators human and non human, natural animals, supernatural monsters); a Coliseum book describing arena layouts and diagrams and chariot info; Play aids - coliseum floorplan, rangestick, etc.

Rushin’ Russian, published by Pressman. 1991. Box. Mint. £7

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2+. Country: American, Duration: 30 mins, Desc. by Andy.

Fun game in which there are amusing and surprising short stories with 10 Russian words at key points. The story is read out and the players make guesses as to what they mean (or deliberately get them wrong for more fun results). Rubles are won for guessing the words correctly.

Saga, published by Epic. 1968. Box. Box corners taped. £7

Family board game taking in a sweep of British history. Players compete to collect cards of famous events in five different centuries of British life, and then race to a central location avoiding hazards to win. Selected as a finalist for a Design Centre Award, and the box and board are artistically very much a product of the 1960's. Game play is movement by dice roll but when landing on the space for a historical event one can choose not to accept it, and go for a higher value one later, but that will delay you in the race to the centre at the end, but head in without enough points and you may not be able to pay for all the hazards you land on, and so go bankrupt.

Score Four, published by Action GT. 1978. Box. Good. £4

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2.