Apr 2007 Catalog

MNG-AJM Games and Collectibles

Apr 2007 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?

15-Up, published by Berwick. ca.1965. Box. Box whole but worn. £1.50

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2 or 4. Country: Unknown, Duration: 10 mins, Desc. by Andy.

The game is subtitled 'The Exciting Table Badminton Game'. There are no rules supplied, but it may well never have had any. Players use miniature badminton rackets to flip miniature shuttlecocks onto the other side of the board. There are coloured holes all over the board and which one the shuttlecock lands in I guess indicates who must play next.

2038: Tycoons Of The Asteroid Belt, published by TimJim. 1995. Box.

Box damaged, but contents unpunched. £28. Designed by Jim Hlavaty & Tom Lehmann.

No. players: 3-6. Country: American, Duration: 3-6 hrs, Desc. by Andy.

Special notes: One side of the box has been crushed, making the side panel buckle and part of one edge split - contents pristine though.

18XX in a space setting. Each player is president of a mining company and must decide when to buy equipment or claims, and when to pay dividends to the stock holders. Stock trading and manipulation is important, but so is deciding how to use your company's money to best direct the search for, mining and delivery of, valuable ores. As the game progresses spaceships can go further and carry more ore, and independent ships can join the Asteroid League.

A Book Of Card Games, published by Klutz Press. 1990. Book. Good. £3

Spiralbound, 22x14cm, 124 pages. An easy to read, and humourously presented (including nice black & white film shots) card games book which covers 20 card games, 2 card tricks and plans for a 3 storey house of cards! The card games covered are: Goofenspiel, War, Egyptian War, Concentration, I Doubt It, Rummy (4 games), Crazy Eights, Old Maid, Oh Hell, Michigan, Hearts, Poker (3 versions), Klondike, Yukon, Bristol Fans, Grandfather's Clock.

Addique, published by Quality Games Ltd. ca.1985. Box. Good. £4

Tile placement game with 48 cross shaped tiles with numbers 1-8 on each arm of the cross. Players lay tiles into a communal layout with the objective of making adjacent numbers add up to multiples of 9. A scoring sheet indicates the score for each combination possible. Very nicely made plastic tiles.

Ahoy, published by Cwali. 2005. Box. In shrink. £15

Ocean bound race game in which the players receive help from dolphins, sharks, turtles and orca. In order to win you will need to play tactically and also use your memory in order to get the sea creatures' aid.

Alexandros, published by Winning Moves. 2003. Box. Excellent. £12

Unusual board game in which players use cards to move Alexander the Great around a triangular gridded map of the Middle East. Wherever Alexander goes 'fences' are laid along his route, and these fences will divide up the board into various provinces which the players then use cards to control. Ownership of these provinces is rewarded with points when scoring occurs, but it is quite possible to take over control of other players' provinces. Lots of tactical play, and cunning moves are definitely rewarded.

Alice In Wonderland, published by Spears. 1973. Box. 1 Box corner split. £1.25

Children's game (age 6+) using very traditional ‘Alice’ graphics. Includes a short synopsis of the Alice adventures to ‘set the scene’. The game itself is a roll the dice and move the dobber affair but with the twist that each character (player) can be big or small. While big the player moves forwards, and when small moves backwards. A 1 makes you small and a 6 makes you big again. There are also some special spaces which have a variety of effects.

American Football Card Game, published by Waddingtons. 1986. Box. Box shows wear. £1

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

Card game, with 40 cards representing 5 of the top American Football teams. A variation of the traditional playing card game Sevens, in which a specific card in each suit must be laid first, then specific ones either higher or lower and so on. The card mix includes some wild cards, and the objective is to get rid of all your cards. Extra large cards.

Architekton, published by Queen Games. 2005. Box. In shrink. £10

Tile laying game in which players play building tiles and countryside tiles with various landscape features. Tiles need not match those adjacent to them, but whenever a building tile is placed a building of your colour must be added, and when a building is surrounded you are penalised for every non matching adjacent tile. Also players try to keep their buildings in a large single cluster as this scores highly at the end of the game. There are some interesting choices to be made and you can decide to be aggressive or defensive - there is a time for both.

Auction Bridge For Beginners And Others, published by Stanley Paul & Co.. 1929. Book. Good. £5

Hardback, 17x11cm, 189 pages. This book covers: For Beginners, Definitions, First Bid by Declarer, First Bid By Second Player, First Bid By Third Player, First Bid By Fourth Player. General Bidding, Doubling, Opening Lead Against No Trumps, Opening Lead Against Suit Declaration, General Play of Declarer's Opponents, General Play of Declarer, Play of Declarer at No Trumps, Play of Declarer With a Suit as Trumps, Pre-emptive Bids, General Hints.

Avalanche, published by Parker. Box. 2 box corners split. £5.50

Designer Unknown. No. players: 1-6. Country: Germany, Duration: 15 mins, Desc. by Andy.

An interesting mix of game types - this is both an abstract game and also a falling marble action game! There are a series of slots down which marbles can roll and either get halted or diverted by clever rotating diverters. The object depends on which game variant you play, but essentially you are trying to get some colours of marble to fall out of the mechanism while hoping others don't. With some experience much of what happens when a marble is entered can be calculated in advance, but it is easy to get it wrong, and the system isn't entirely deterministic.

Betrayal At House On The Hill, published by Hasbro Avalon Hill. 2004. Box. In shrink. £30

Horror adventure board game. Each player takes an explorer who explores a haunted house, which is built up using large tiles so it looks different each game. Useful items and events both dangerous and helpful can occur, but at some point one character will trigger one of 50 different scenarios. At this point one player becomes the bad guy and gets a brief on his evil goals, while the others have to try to stop him. The scenarios could involve defeating a werewolf, stopping the summoning of a terrible demon, stopping the house from coming alive and eating everyone, or 47 others! Great fun, and highly recommended if the theme appeals.

BMX Challenge, published by PIC Toys Ltd. ca.1970. Box. Good, but box edges and corners taped. £2

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

Simple children's race game (age 5+) in which players roll the dice and move their playing piece, which is a plastic BMX with rider doing a wheelie. Landing on a space of your colour gets another roll, and on some spaces you must draw a card which come in two decks, one helpful and one unhelpful.

Bridge: Modern Bidding, published by Faber & Faber. 1961. Book. Good. £2.50

Hardback with dustcover, 19x13, 124 pages. Intended for reasonably experienced Bridge players, this book outlines an approach to bidding rather than a particular system, although the author prefers Acol over most other systems. The book covers: Minimum Openings & Responses, Limit Bids, 1NT, Strong Rebids, Reverses, Forcing Take-Out, Slams, 2 Bids, Pre-emptive Bids, Defensive Bidding, Free Bids, Protection, Lead-Directing Doubles, Sacrifice Bidding, Deception.

Buccaneer, published by Queen Games. 2006. Box. In shrink. £10

Pirate themed game in which each player starts with 5 pirates of different strengths, and there are three ships to be plundered. Each ship card specifies how large a group of pirates is needed to overcome its defences, what its booty is, and what the bonuses are for pirate captain and first mate. Each turn a player either sends a group of pirates they captain to board a ship and claim the booty, or they recruit a pirate from another player. Only when all three ships have been boarded do three more appear At the end of the game there are bonuses for the most successful pirate captains before counting booty. The game offers interesting tactical choices and is good fun too. A nice mix, and so recommended as a light game.

Canal Mania, published by Ragnar Brothers. 2006. Box. 2 copies available:

1) Excellent. £26 2) New. £30

Well received canal network building board game. The board shows England roughly from Basingstoke and Bristol in the west to Cambridge and Maidstone in the east. Players take contracts to build canals, and then draw and play cards to play canal tiles which come in various types: flat sections, sections with locks, sections with aqueducts and sections with tunnels. The latter of these require more cards to build but are worth more when completed. Players build up networks of canals and deliver goods from town to town using these networks in as efficient a way as possible. There are various engineer cards which give different bonuses and each player has one of these, but can switch them around for best effect.

Canaletto, published by Hans Im Gluck. 1995. Box. 2 copies available:

1) Good. £9 2) Excellent. £10.50

Auction game, in which players bid for batches of antiques. They then try to ensure the whole set of the antique types they own gets bought so that they can be sold for a profit. However exactly when a set is sold will determine what it is worth, and if you wait too long it is possible that they may be worth nothing. Also money can get tight, and the amount bid indicates what will be sold next, making it all very tactical and involving some careful thought.

Car Wars, Mini Promotional Game, published by Steve Jackson. 1987. Booklet. Good. £0.50

Introduction to the world of Car Wars but a complete game in its own right. Probably made as a promotional item at game-shows.

Car Wars: Fuel's Gold, published by TSR. 1986. Book. Excellent. £4

Softback, 18x10cm, 400 paragraphs. This is a Car Wars themed adventure gamebook. The game uses the paragraph system - you read a paragraph, and are given choices which determine which paragraph you read next. There are rules for car to car combat as well as for taking damage while outside your car. You have to deliver a briefcase to a truck stop, but unfortunately the Anarchist Relief Front wants it too, and they are willing to get nasty to get it!

Card Games Up-To-Date, published by Foulsham. ca.1940. Book. 2 copies available:

1) Good, but cover edges faded. £4 2) Good. £5

Hardback, 19x13cm, 160 pages. Printed on War Economy Standard paper. This book presents the rules to games which the author considered the best popular games. They are: Nap, Solo, Whist, Scotch Whist, German Whist, Dummy Whist, Bridge, Auction, Cribbage, Bezique, Commerce, Brag, Poker, Euchre, Blind Hockey, Pontoon, Quinze, Thirty One, Baccarat, Chemin De Fer, Coon-Can, Colonel, Old Maid, Hearts, Pelmanism, Speculation, Contract Bridge. Also described are 16 patience games, and 3 games with dominoes.

Cashword, published by Spears. 1986. Box. Good. £9

Considered by some to be one of the greatest word games ever devised. One of 50 9x9 crossword grids is used each game, and is initially fully hidden. Players take turns paying to expose a tile while making a guess at what letter will be revealed. Getting it right earns a payment or the option to continue for a greater profit, but getting it wrong loses any gains so far this turn. In addition there are bonuses available for completing words and a player can also sell his turn to another player, adding to the tactical options considerably.

Castle Merchants, published by Z-Man Games. 2005. Box. Excellent. £21

Board game in which players use cards to lay matching tiles onto the board. These form areas which the players move their merchants across. The merchants travel to various castles to sell their wares, with the early merchants getting better rewards than later ones. In addition rockfalls can be used to hinder other merchants and by manipulating the tiles to one's advantage it is possible to move far with each card played.

Cavendish, published by Hiron. 1986. Box. Excellent. £3

Game in which players try to make a line of 5 or more pieces. Play is on a large hexagonal board, with pieces placed on the vertices. Instead of placing a piece on the board it is also possible to capture a pair of opposing pieces by jumping over them to a free space. Includes a rule to offset the advantage of going first.

Caylus, published by Ystari Games. 2005. Box. In shrink. £23

Very highly regarded gamers' game which won the 2006 International Gamers Award and Deutsche Spiele Preis. It is 1289 in France and King Philip wants a new castle built. The town of Caylus starts out small, but players build additional and progressively more prestigious buildings. The buildings are used to obtain goods, trade goods and obtain the king's favour, which is also achieved by helping with the castle building project. There are many different buildings with different abilities, allowing for a variety of different strategies.

Chess Computer - Systema Comet, published by Systema. ca.1995. Box. Good. £16

Designer Unknown. No. players: 1-2. Country: China, Desc. by Andy.

This chess computer has 100 levels of difficulty ranging from instantaneous moves to 3 minutes per move for the computer, or a mode in which it uses the same amount of time as you do, or fixed time limits per player for the whole game. In addition there is a chess problem solving facility and also a two player mode (in which the computer can give hints if desired). The ELO rating is 1950. Uses 4 AAA batteries. The unit is small and very portable and so the playing pieces are also small. Nice item.

Chessington, published by Rostherne. 1990. Box. Good. £2.50

Chessington consists of two race games which use chess pieces and their standard chess moves. Players attempt to be the first to get their chess pieces around the race track. Both games use the same board. Chessington North is a game of skill for the more serious and thoughtful player, while Chessington South involves both luck and skill, and is more suited to family play.

Cinema, published by Fun Connection. ca.1995. Box. Good. £4

Designer Unknown. No. players: 4+. Country: German, Duration: 45 mins, Desc. by Andy.

Game in which players use their knowledge of films to win the game. Players have partners, and a card showing a scene from a film is turned up and the players all write down anything they can think of connected to that scene. Each association made by both players in a team scores a point. The reverse of the cards show the name of a film, along with the year and main star. Sometime these are used instead to make connections. A sand-timer is used to indicate when the time is up for each round.

Circus Maximus, published by Avalon Hill. 1980. Box. Good. £18

Chariot racing game set in ancient Rome. Up to eight teams race around the track three times to determine victory. Players can select their chariot type, rider's skills and team of horses. The game is as much about battling the other chariots as it is about winning the race, with options including scythe blades on the wheels, whipping other teams' horses (or their rider!), ramming, and crashing your chariot into other teams' horses! Now quite uncommon.

Clippers, published by Euro Games. 2002. Box. In shrink. £15

Game of trade on the high seas. A reworking of the author’s excellent earlier game Santa Fe (which in turn was probably inspired by Wolfgang Kramer's famous Wildlife Adventure). Players build trade routes across the South Pacific and try to reach as many of their ports as possible. Recommended.

Conspiracy, published by Milton Bradley. 1982. Box. Good. £13

A brilliant game, especially for the sneakier amongst you. Players 'bid' secretly for control of spies, with the aim of controlling a spy long enough to get the Sigma File home. Trouble is, you only have a fixed budget and once you have spent the money on an agent it is spent, and if someone has spent more, they will control that agent, not you. You can spend more to regain control but that leaves you very short of cash to control the other spies in the game. As well as moving spies around you can also use them to eliminate other spies as well, which costs you influence. Very clever. Published as Sigma File in the U.K, but the board layout is much clearer in this edition.

Contract Bridge In 20 Minutes, published by Eyre & Spottiswoode. 1949. Book.

Good but cover has some staining. £2. Designed by Harold Thorne. Country: British, Desc. by Andy.

Special notes: 19th Edition, 303rd Thousand.

Softback, 16x10cm, 71 pages. A book for people who wanted to learn how to play Contract Bridge for social purposes without having to wade through big and complex books. The book clearly serves this purpose well as hundreds of thousands of copies were sold, and a great many editions printed.

Counter Magazine, published by Stuart Dagger.

This magazine has a deserved reputation as one of the finest game-related periodicals in the world. It features over 70 pages of reviews and opinion, and covers 'German style' board and card games in great detail. Main articles are listed by issue.

Issue 7 Nov 1999, New. £2.75: Hall of Fame Results, Essen 1999 Report, GenCon Report, Ludodelire & Eurogames, Gaming Preferences, Reviews (Andromeda, Boulomania, Clash Of The Lightsabers, Cloud 9, Dutch Intercity, High Kings Of Tara, Knights of the Rainbow, Die Mauer, Nicht Die Bohne, Olix, Pacal, 6 Billion, Stephensons Rocket, Tabula Rasa, Torres, Turfmaster New Tracks, Tzuris, Vinci, Westwarts, X.Net, Zero, Zoff Im Zoo), Letters (major feature), Big Boys Toys, Dice Games Properly Explained, Borderlands ...

Issue 8 Feb 2000, New. £2.75: 1999 Top Fives, 4 Player Lost Cities, Going It Alone, 3 More Binary Dice Games, Levelling The Playing Field, Reviews (Autoscooter, Corruption, Dolce Vita, Elfengold, Elchfest, Frisch Fisch, Isi, Konig Der Elfen, Mit List Und Tucke, Pacific Northwest Rails, Rosenkonig, Schrille Stille, Die Siedler Von Nurnberg, Split, Die Sternenfahrer Von Catan, Sumera, Theta games, T-Rex, Verrat, Yukon Co.), Letters (major feature), The Best of Times, Game Themes, Summit, Spicing Up Your Beans.

Issue 10 Aug 2000, New. £2.75: Hall of Fame, The 90s, Origins Report, Reviews (Australian Menagerie, Bambuti, Bladder, Castle, Composite Index, Democrazy, Dragon Delta, Die Fursten von Florenz, Hera & Zeus, How Much For The Camel?, Kardinal & Konig, Das Kollier, Mirador, Silberzwerg, Time Pirates, Der Weisse Lotus, Wongar), Letters (a major feature), Acquire Special Powers, Road & Rail, Careers, Wer Hat Mehr, Modern Art Variant.

Issue 13 Jun 2001, New. £2.75: Gamers Choice Awards 2001, Gathering of Friends XII, 1825 Expansion Kits, History of the World, Top Fives, Reviews (Africa, Capitol, Dragon's Gold, Drahtseilakt, Evo, Auf Falsche Fahrte, Hovertank 3, Ivanhoe, Knights, Medina, Mordred, Morisi, Old Town, Pampas Railroads, Queen's Gambit, San Marco, Strand Cup, Witch Trial, Wyatt Earp), Letters (major feature), Thumbnail reviews, The Big Guns, Western Games, Chaos vs Control, 19xx - Airlines Games, No Dice.

Issue 14 Sep 2001, New. £2.75: Canasta, Games Packaging & Storing, Risk 2210, Record Keeping, Reviews (Age of Empires ECG, Bali, Crazy Race, Das Amulett, Der Grosse Galier, Das Schattendieb, Die Handler Von Genoa, Die Magier Von Pangea, Don, Die Neuen Entdecker, Flower Power, Gnadenlos, Limits, Meridian, Nur Peanuts, Rebel Rails, Volldampf, Zaubercocktail), Letters (major feature), Circus Maximus / Minimus, Wargames, Trump.

Issue 15 Dec 2001, New. £2.75: Essen Report, Dark Side of Zoch, Chaos Reigns, GenCon 2001, Specialize / Diversify, Reviews (Ebay Auction Game, Eden, Funkenschlag, Gargon, Head To Head Golf, Hell Rail, Iron Road, Kupferkessel Co., Mull + Money, Muscat, Odysseus, Pig Pile, Quick'e'ly Dice, Spinball, Too Many Cooks, Urland, U.S.Patent No. 1, Vabanque, Venezia, Vom Kap Bis Kairo, Yeti Slalom), Letters (major feature), Briefing on 6 more games, Executive Decision, Hobbits on Ice, Win Place & Show.

Issue 16 Mar 2002, New. £2.75: 2001 Top Fives, Temptation Poker, Funkenschlag, Player Interaction, Reviews (Andersonville, Auweier, Champions Football, Chrononauts, A Dog's Life, Freight Yard, Friends & Foes, Goldrush City, Hive, Im Zeichen des Kreuzes, Kanaloa, Kardinal & Konig Kartenspiel, Liberte, LotR: The Fellowship Card Game & Board Game, Saloon, Siedler Starfarers 5/6 player, Starship Catan, Sumo Arena, Tacara, Titicaca, Ur 1830 BC), Letters (major feature), Gipf Series, Lightweight Gaming, ...

Issue 17 Jun 2002, New. £2.75: Gamers Choice Awards 2002, Gathering of Friends XIII, Boardgames as Computer Games, Ebay Grows Older, Lunchtime Gaming, BayCon, Reviews (Alles Im Eimer, Blokus, Combit, Die Sieben Weisen, Dschunke, Emerald, Hick Hack in Gackelwack, Indochine 2000, Integralis, Kampf der Gladiatoren, Lumberjack, Mexica, Muckenstich, Piratenbucht, Pompeji, Puerto Rico, Schuamermal, Silverado, Zahltag), Letters (major feature), London Toyfair, Colony, Ones That Got Away, 3 Mini reviews, ...

Issue 18 Sep 2002, New. £2.75: Physical Mechanisms, Abstract Games, Teaching Games To Newbies, Reviews (Age of Arguments, Cairo, Chebache, Cortez, Gouda! Gouda!, How Ruck, La Guerre des Moutons, Lokomotive Werks, M, Magellan, Millionary, Nautilus, Pueblo, Roundhouse, San Gimignano, Star Wars: Jedi Unleashed & Epic Duels, Too Many Cooks, Tyros, Wallenstein, Wie Hund und Katze, Wildlife), Letters (major feature), Felsberger Holzspiel series, Cotton Kingdom, Settlers Travel Edition…

Issue 19 Dec 2002, New. £2.75: Sid Sackson - An Appreciation, Hall of Fame Results, Essen 2002, Eagle Games Interview, GenCon 2002, Reviews (Abenteuer Menschheit, Affen Raffen, Age of Steam, Antoni Gaudi Tile Game, Bayon, Buntu Circus, Canal Grande, Cannes, Cityscape, Fundstucke, Globopolis, Goldland, Keythedral, Moderne Zeiten, Mogul, Stonewall, Street Soccer, Theophrastus, Thor, Tin Soldiers, Trias, Zoo Sim), Letters (major feature), More Essen, Da Vinci Games, Backgammon, Game Variants, Pagode.

Issue 20 Mar 2003, New. £2.75: 2002 Top Fives, Sid Sackson Games Auction, Race Games, Reviews (Ad Acta, Das Architekturspiel, Carcassonne H&G, Dwarves, Eurogames 2 player series, Eye of Horus, Fische Fluppen Frikadellen, Fist of Dragonstones, Gang of Four, Golfprofi, Grand Prix F1, Korsar, Krone & Schwert, Landerbahnen, Life Is Money, Lupus In Tabula, Monkeys On The Moon, Napoleon In Europe, Odin's Ravens, Ragnar Bros Card Games, Sid Meier's Civilization), Letters (major feature), + lots more articles.

Issue 21 Jun 2003, New. £2.75: Transatlantic Pilgrimmage, Warfrog Interview with Geoff Brown, Gathering of Friends 14, Reviews (Amun-Re, Bohn-Hansa, Carcassonne:B&T, Cave Troll, Coloretto, Discovery Island, Edel Stein & Reich, Eketorp, Europa Tour, Die Flosserei, Frisch Fisch, Hekla, Insider Trading, LotR: The Two Towers, Mermaid Rain, New England, Oraklos, Paris Paris, Polterdice, Richelieu, Sunda to Sahul, Time Is Money), Letters (major feature), Kosmos 2-Player Series, Japanese Games...

Issue 22 Sep 2003, New. £2.75: Women In Gaming - Interviews, GenCon 03, Viva Il Re, Obituary: Roger Corrie, Reviews (Alhambra, Avalon, Balloon Cup, Bin'Fa, Burn Rate, Clans, InterUrban, Lawless, Magna Grecia, Mammoth Hunters=Eiszeit, Mare Nostrum, Mystery of the Abbey, Mystery Rummy 4, Pitstop, Rome, Scarab Lords, Die Schatzinsel, Search For Poseidon's Gold, Territory, Tom Tube, Veld Railroads), Letters (major feature), Mini Reviews, The Meeting Room, Game Inventor's Handbook, Lowenherz Old & New, Gamate, ...

Issue 23 Dec 2003, New. £2.75: Essen Reports, Face to Face by Email, Reviews (Age of Mythology, Armoury, Attika, China Moon, Coyote, Feurio, Finstere Flure, A Game of Thrones, Hexenwerk, Industria, IQ-5, Logistico, Lucky Loop, Maya, Medieval, Nobody But Us Chickens, The Prince, Princes of the Renaissance, Railroad Dice, Santiago, Scream Machine, Secrets of the Tombs, Senjutsu, Die Sieben Siebel, Yinsh), Letters (major feature), Mini Reviews, King Arthur, Age of Steam New Maps, Variants & Tweaks, Re-reviews.

Issue 24 Mar 2004, New. £2.75: 2003 Top 5s, Dobbergenics, Valentin Herman's Games, 7 Player Games, John Yianni Interview, Reviews (10 Days in Africa / USA, Alexandros, Anno 1503, Ark of the Covenant, Bridges of Shangri-la, Carcassonne: The Castle, Castle Danger, Die Fugger, Dracula, 1 Stein + Co, Hoppla Lama, Junkyard Races, Kogge, Masquerade, Oasis, Pingvinas, Saga, Schwarzarbeit, Termination Inc., Terra, Tongiaki, Zauberschwert & Drachenei), Letters (major feature), Mini Reviews, Conquest, ...

Issue 25 Jun 2004, New. £3: Alex Randolph - An Appreciation, Gathering of Friends XV, Hippodice 2004 Winners Interviews, Starting a Games Club, New American Games Publishers, Reviews (Abagio, Auf den Spuren von Marco Polo, Cargo, Corsari, Einfach Genial, Geist, Global Powers, Hansa, Hector & Achilles, Iglu Iglu, In 80 Karten um die Welt, La Strada, Oh Pharao, Saga, San Juan, Spy, Tahuantinsuyu, Ticket To Ride), Letters (major feature), Mini Reviews, Blue Moon, Struggle of Empires, Winds of Plunder, ...

Issue 26 Sep 2004, New. £3: Obituary: Dave Farquhar, I'm a Gaming Snob, Richard Breese Interview, New England, Organising a Con, New American Games Publishers, Reviews (Adam & Eva, Anno 1503 Expansion, Atlas & Zeus, Australian Railways, Dicke Luft in der Gruft, Dos Rios, Goa, Indus, Leapfrog, Lost Valley, Maharaja, Memoir 44, Smugglers of the Galaxy, St Petersburg, Tyrus, Versunkene Stadt, Viking Fury, 3 Kidult Games), Letters (major feature), Mini Reviews, Sleuth, Funf to Farfalia, Santiago Bidding, Tour de France, ...

Issue 27 Dec 2004, New. £3: Edinburgh to Essen, Fringe Essen, Andreas Seyfarth Interview, Reviews (18EU, Around the World in 80 Days, City & Guilds, Cloud 9, Dancing Dice, De Ontembare Stad, Election USA, Fifth Avenue, Geschenkt, Goldbrau, Heroscape, Karibik, LotR: The Duel, Mutiny on the Little Blue, Oceania, Oltre Mare, Reef Encounter, Shakespeare: The Bard Game, Vapor's Gambit, War of the Ring, Die Weinhandler, Ys), Letters (major feature), GenCon 04, Auctions, JKLM Interview, Flaschenteufel, ...

Issue 28 Mar 2005, New. £3: 2004: Top 5s, 25 Years of Kadon Games, London Toy Fair 05, The Return of the Kings, More Substance!, Reviews (1860, Antiquity, Boomtown, Doom, Easy Come Easy Go, Farfalia, Gartenzwerge, Hispaniola, Ideology, Im Schatten des Kaisers, Jenseits von Theben, Mall World, Metallurgie, Neuland, Old Town, Revolution, Riding Through England, Space Shuffle, Succession, UFOs Fritten Aus Dem All, Wey Kick), Letters (major feature), Mini reviews, Depth in Games, Mediterranean, Re-reviews.

Issue 29 Jun 2005, New. £3: The Gathering 05, Where's My Pallet?, The Conquest of Space, Reviews (Amazonas, Ars Mysteriorum, Australia, Bootleggers, Candamir, Control Nut, Diamant, Flandern 1302, Game of Life Cardgame, Gracias, Heart of Africa, Ice Cream, Jambo, King Arthur Cardgame, Louis XIV, Manifest Destiny, Manila, Return of the Heroes, Submarine, Treasure Island, Ubongo, Warriors), Letters (major feature), 3 Yun Games, Crokinole, Escape From Colditz, Re-reviews.

Issue 30 Sep 2005, New. £3: Indonesia, 1825 Unit 3, Origins 05, Reviews (Architekon, Canoe, Der Turmbau zu Babel, Die Dolmengotter, Dividends, Fjorde, Garden Competition, Im Auftrag des Konigs, Himalaya, Montanara, Nexus Ops, Palazzo, Pots, Russian Rails, Shadows over Camelot, Shear Panic, Sicilianos, 3 Stones, Verflixxt), Letters (major feature), Some 1st Impressions, Stratamax Redux, Confrontation, Organized Crime, Re-reviews.

Crystal Faire, published by Hangman Games. Box. New. £22

Special notes: Number 564.

Limited edition gem trading game. The game uses lots of glass beads as the gems which players trade with each other, manipulating the prices of the gems in the market to their advantage. The trading mechanism is unusual - some gems are offered openly while others are offered unrevealed, with rules determining the possible mixes. At the end of each trading session the players with the most of each type of gem are rewarded, but some of those gems will be lost prior to the next session of trading.

Dancing Dice, published by Da Vinci Games. 2004. Box. In shrink. £20

Dice game in which the players are taking part in a dancing marathon. The dice are rolled and arranged into two sequences of 3 dice, with one reroll allowed. The various 3-dice combinations are ranked and given dance names. When everyone has arranged their dice the dances are compared and players with less impressive dances move down the rating track. Some dance combinations give special advantages too.

Der Herr Der Ringe - Die Ruckkehr Des Konigs, published by Kosmos. 2003. Box. Mint - still in shrink. £14

Lord of the Rings Film (Part 3) tie in game. The players together try to defeat Sauron. If Sauron is defeated the players count VPs to decide a winner. A round consists of first army buildup and then movement and fighting. Army buildup involves receiving new army, hero and action cards. Pieces are then moved to engage the enemy - winning a battle gains VPs and allows the battle to continue. The game ends if the player armies can breach the Black Gate or if Frodo and Sam reach mount doom, but only if they beat Gollum to it!

Der Untergang Von Pompeji, published by Amigo. 2004. Box. In shrink. £23

Light but tactical board game in which the players first place their family's members in buildings around Pompeji bearing in mind the proximity to ways out, bonus placements and what their cards permit. In the second half of the game Vesuvius starts to erupt, portions of the city are engulfed and the players try to escape as many of their family members as possible while placing lava so as to block off opposing families as best as possible. Naturally any family members caught by the lava are eliminated.

Die Macher, published by Valley Games Inc. 2006. Box. In shrink. £28

Reprint of this very highly regarded and involved election game based on the German electoral process. Definitely a gamer's game with many interconnected systems, and lots of important decisions to make. A must have for fans of political or election games.

Droids, published by Euro Games. 1991. Box. Excellent. £16

Entertaining game of robotic warfare. Wonderful plastic robots move around a changing arena, chasing or avoiding their enemies. Players program and pilot their robot around the arena by placing programme tiles on to your orders board. Only good programming and the ability to anticipate the orders of other players will enable you to be the last robot standing. The rules also include different 'missions' to add variety to the game.

Dungeon Dice, published by Parker Bros. 1977. Box. Box battered and taped up, but whole. £3

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

Dice game in which the players try to be the first to tunnel out of their dungeon cell. To do this tunnel cards must be collected. 6 special dice showing 5 tools useful for tunnel diggers and one guard (bad) are rolled and pairs / triples etc are taken aside. The remaining dice can then be rerolled if desired, but with the risk that any tunnel cards won so far this turn may be lost if the roll is unfavourable. In addition if 3 or more guards come up then that is bad news, with the current turn and one additional tunnel card being lost as well. There is also the option of trying to hinder a leader by attempting to roll guards to inform on an opponent and steal tunnel cards from them.

Duplicate Bridge Rules Simplified, published by Books On Bridge. ca.1991. Book. Excellent. £3.50

Softback, 18x12cm, 34 pages. A small book which as the title implies presents a simplified and concise set of rules for Duplicate Bridge, with rules for what to do when various types of misplays or infractions are made by the players.

Enchanted Forest, published by Ravensburger. Box. Good, but 1 corner taped. £5.50

Country: British, Duration: 30 mins, Desc. by Andy.

Great children’s game, which is also good for adults, and one of Eamon's favourites. Various fairytale treasures have been lost in the woods and are hidden randomly beneath tree pieces in the forest. Players move around the board peeking at the treasures, and when the king asks for a particular treasure the players try to get to him and also remember where that treasure is. Winner of the German Spiel des Jahres 1982. Also known as Sagaland.

Euphrat Und Tigris - Wettstreit Der Konige, published by Hans Im Gluck. 2005. Box. Good. £11

Card game version of the excellent tile laying game Euphrat & Tigris. Players place leaders of four types into kingdoms and play cards into the kingdoms in order to claim victory points, and build ships which generate more victory points for leaders of the corresponding colours. Players must ensure they get a balance of victory points in all four colours as only their lowest scoring colour counts at the end of the game.

Face The Music, published by Merit. 1977. Box. Good, but 2 box corners taped. £1

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2-5. Country: British, Desc. by Andy.

TV related, based on the musical quiz show hosted by Joseph Cooper. Rather nicely presented. This is a quiz game with over 1000 music related questions. As well as answering questions and moving along the track on the board, players must also collect musical instrument cards, and to win they must have 7 out of the 10 categories represented. Should a player manage to collect all 10 categories they win instantly.

Family Challenge, published by JGE Board Games. 1995. Box. Good. £6

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

Soccer themed family board game. The board shows four concentric tracks around which the players move their pieces. They start on the outer ring, which counts as the 4th division, and get to collect players, money and advantageous cards before moving up to the next ring. The objective is to get to the centre of the board in order to win. The game also includes trivia cards. The 3rd and 4th division questions are general knowledge, but the 1st and 2nd division questions are mostly football related.

Farfalia, published by Da Vinci. 2004. Box. In shrink. £8

Card game. A slightly reworked version of Derek's Funf / Chinkway, and thus is predominantly for 5 players. When played with 5 players enough hands are played so that everyone gets to partner everyone else and also gets to play on their own as well. Each hand goals are set for card types which have to be collected to score points. During the card play the winner of a trick can take one card from the trick just won and set it aside to fulfil the goal. A neat idea and one of the finest card games for five players. Recommended.

Fiji, published by 2F Spiele. 2005. Box. 2 copies available: 1) Excellent. £10 2) In shrink. £13

Gem trading game. Each round all players start with the same set of gems, and target cards indicate which gems players should aim to get lots of and which they should try to get rid of. There are then several trading rounds before points are awarded. In the trading round several cards are shown which indicate the requirements for a player to make that trade, and what trade must be made if the requirements are met. Each player makes a single bid of gems which applies to all the trade cards, and the trades then take place - the results often being surprising and unpredictable. After several sets of shrunken head counters have been awarded they are counted up to determine the winner.

Fireside Football, published by Gibsons. 1996. Box. Good. £5.50

Card game, simulation of a football season. Originally designed as a postal game, this version comprises 110 illustrated cards. Each player chooses which players to field in each match, and can buy overseas stars to bolster the team's performances. You can replay the whole season inside an hour.

Flucht Aus Mangrovia, published by Mattel. 1989. Box. Good. £6

Players race through the jungles of Mangrovia which are filled with dangerous animals. Cards are used to allow the playing pieces to get past these animals. The objective is to be the first to get both of your explorers out of the jungle to safety before anyone else.

Foulsham's New Fun Book, published by W. Foulsham & Co.. ca.1930. Book. Good. £6

Softback, 20x13cm, 256 pages. A book with a variety of entertainments, which advertises 256 pages and 2560 laughs! The book includes: Jokes & Funny Stories, Amusing Posers, Party Games For All, Conundrums Worth Asking, Puzzles, Amusing Card Games, Magic & Trickery, Community Singing, Fortune Telling & Character Reading, Theatricals, Junior Section.

Four-Up, published by Waddingtons. 1979. Box. Good. £3

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2. Country: British, Duration: 15 mins, Desc. by Andy.

Special notes: 2 original marbles have been replaced with similar marbles

Four in a row game. The game uses black and white marbles and they are placed onto a slightly strange shaped grid. The players try to get four of their pieces in a row while stopping their opponent from doing the same. The game also has rules for a speed version and a solitaire variant in which you try to jump the marbles over each other in order achieve certain patterns. The game board has compartments to store the marbles between games.

Frog Juice, published by Gamewright. 1995. Box. New. £6

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2-4. Country: American, Duration: 25 mins, Desc. by Andy.

Card game, with players competing to collect concoction and power cards. The concoctions form magic spells, and consist of items like bats, newts, toads and unicorn horns. These ingredients need to be played to complete the recipes. Simple game, with a fun theme and nicely produced cards.

From The Mana Born Issue 1, published by Mons's Goblin Writers. 1994. Magazine. Good. £0.50

Softback, 21x15cm, 23 pages. Magic The Gathering magazine produced by Magic: The Gathering (MtG) players for MtG players. This issue covers: Rule clarifications, Card listings, Three Player Rules, Theme Decks, MtG at GenCon report, and more.

Funkenschlag 2nd Ed, published by 2F Spiele. 2004. Box. In shrink. £25

This is the second printing of Funkenschlag which was substatially revised from the first edition (and is also known as Power Grid). An economic game with several things going on at once. Firstly players need to manage their money well and use it to build a network of power lines across either Germany or America (the map is double sided). Secondly the players also have to purchase power plants of various types and thirdly buy enough fuel to run them. The variety of power plants and clever way they get auctioned really makes the game unique. The winner is the player who can supply the most cities with power when the game ends. Highly recommended.

Galopp Royal, published by Goldsieber. 1995. Box. Excellent. £15

Game of racing sedan chairs. The players have to bid for teams of porters, and then race them. The team members range from very strong (+5) to hopeless (-2), and also include very useful members who can affect other teams as well. The object is to end up with most money after 6 short races. The bidding involves only partial information so there is scope for bluff. I have some house rules which I think improve the game further. It is one of my favourites - great fun - highly recommended.

Game Of Trivia, published by Avalon Hill. ca.1981. Box. Box shows wear - edges & corners taped. £6

Trivia game which is quite uncommon in the UK as Avalon Hill refused to export it outside America. The game includes 1100 cards each with one question in each of 6 categories, making a whopping 6600 questions in all. If you want a great source of reasonably tricky trivia questions this is it! The game itself sets the players as students trying to get a degree in Trivia! As each player makes progress, more movement options around the board become available, making it easier to land on the spaces for subjects you have chosen to specialise in.

Genesis, published by Face2Face Games. 2006. Box. In shrink. £19

Tile laying game in which the players each have tiles showing a particular animal, but in several different terrains. Each turn two dice are rolled which indicate the type of terrain tile which must be played (although they often give a free choice). The tiles form groups of animals of the same terrain type, and players try to have the largest connected herd in each group. The largest group on the entire board scores extra points too. While the game is easy to play, once some tiles are on the board there can be some surprisingly tactical decisions to make.

Ginny-O, published by Peter Pan. 1981. Box. Good. £3

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2-4. Country: British, Desc. by Andy. Special notes: Photocopied rules

Tile variation of Gin Rummy, with 108 thick plastic tiles representing two packs of cards plus their jokers. Players place their tiles, forming runs and sequences, and joining them crossword fashion to existing sequences on the board. Of course you can use the tile decks for any other playing card games as well - useful for players with either very small or very old hands which find cards hard to hold.

Goldbrau, published by Zoch. 2004. Box. In shrink. £17

Set in a Bavarian village during a beer festival, the players invest in the various breweries and beer gardens in order to make as much money as possible. During the three weeks of the festival the players vie for influence and control of the various companies as well as doing their best to expand the trade of the companies they have invested in. At the end of each week profits are calculated and distributed. Most money at the end of the festival wins.

Hermagor, published by Mind The Move. 2006. Box. In shrink. £20

Board game in which players first place their buyers into to the market at the city of Hermagor in order to obtain goods which can then be sold out in the surrounding towns and villages. In the second stage of each round the merchants leave Hermagor and head out to sell their wares. Both stages require planning and good tactical placement. Ultimately the winner will be the most successful merchant - the player with the most money.

Hickety Pickety, published by Parker Bros. 1968. Box. Box shows wear. £1

Designer Unknown. No. players: 4. Country: British, Duration: 10 mins, Desc. by Andy.

Childrens' game (ages 4-8). Nice miniature wooden eggs for each player and a metal spinner. Players take turns spinning the spinner which indicates who places an egg in their nest and then spins the spinner next.

Himalaya 5&6 Player Expansion, published by Tilsit Editions. 2006. Box. In shrink. £16

Expansion for the excellent trading game Himalaya. This expansion lets you play Himalaya with 5-6 players, which is a very useful addition as the game involves simultaneous planning and so extends naturally to more players, as do the victory conditions. There are also some variants suggested for those who like less luck in the way new goods and demands come out (these can be used with 3-4 players too).

Il Principe, published by Mind The Move. 2005. Box. In shrink. £19

Board game in which the players vie for control of political positions and important regions of land. This is done by purchasing cards in auctions, and then playing them either to build cities (which give control over the land as well as immediate victory points to the builder and some of the players currently in positions of power), or to vie for the positions of power, which each give different benefits, as well as victory points at the end of the game. However, power is temporary and the game ensures that the positions of power will keep changing throughout the game.

I'm The Boss, published by Face2Face Games. 2003. Box. In shrink. £20

Reprint of Sid Sackson's classic 'Kohle Kies & Knete'. Players start off controlling an investor each, and as the game progresses various deals get offered up, with the current player being the Boss, and arranging how to divide the profits from the current deal amongst the investors required to complete it. However, cards can be played by anyone which can send investors on holiday, provide alternative family members who can step in to close a deal, steal an investor from another player, or even change who is the Boss! Clever game in which being too greedy will result in lots of people opposing you, whereas if you aren't greedy enough, you won't win! I have a few house rules which improve it slightly. Recommended, especially for 5 or 6.

Improve Your Opening Leads, published by Victor Gollancz. 1991. Book. Excellent. £5

Softback, 20x13cm, 124 pages. Bridge book for experienced players. The book covers: Active or Passive ?, Listening To The Bidding, Blind Leads against No Trumps, Help From Partner, Leading Against Part Scores, In The Slam Zone, Lessons From The Champions.

Inka, published by Queen Games. 2005. Box. 2 copies available: 1) Excellent. £9 2) In shrink. £10

The board shows a hexagonal treasure chamber with pits between stepping stones. In the centre of the board are treasures which the players try to collect and get out with as quickly as possible. Tiles are placed on the board providing movable stepping stones. The players then take it in turn to use action points to move the stepping stone tiles, move their explorer or sometimes move the treasure tiles or use secret tunnels in order to get to the treasures.

Inns & Taverns, published by Oxford Games. 1995. Box. Good, but mark where label removed. £4

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

The board shows a track of 25 British pub signs, and players advance along these, claiming a mini beer mat for each space they reach first. The game can be played by 2 players or four as a partnership. Two players at a time play a token numbered 1-6 simultaneously and the current player moves the difference between the numbers played. These numbered tokens are then out of play until all have been used. The first player to get to the end of the track claims all unclaimed beer mats. The player or team with the most beer mats then wins.

Jockey, published by Ravensburger. 1977. Box. Good. £12.50

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2-6. Country: German, Duration: 45 mins, Desc. by Andy.

Special notes: This edition has plastic horses. Box lid has a 2cm cut, and one edge of the base is taped.

Classic horse racing game. 4 horses are moved by card play. Players predict the finishing order, but this is not easy to do. Your hand of cards helps you calculate which horses you can influence during the race. Some cards are colour coded, affecting a particular horse but others move the horse in a particular position a certain amount, possibly with a limitation, eg. move the horse in 3rd place up to 18 spaces, but not more than one space ahead of the leader. Thus many cards have to be played at just the right time to be properly effective. Betting is done before the race and both win and place bets may be made. Most money after 3 races wins.

Judge Dredd, published by Games Workshop. 1982. Box. Excellent. £15

Board game now rarely seen. The players all play different Judges in Mega City One, and try to clean up the ever present crime problem. Players move around the board showing Mega City One and combine their action cards and their Judge's abilities to try to defeat the Perps. Any Perps dealt will be worth victory points at the end of the game. Injuries can be fixed by a visit to the Robodoc.

Kanaloa, published by Tilsit Editions. 2003. Box. In shrink. £23

Reprint of the limited edition Arabana Opodopo. This is essentially an expanded version of Kosmos' Kahuna, allowing up to 4 players to play. The board shows an archipelago and players play cards in order to place bridges between islands. When gaining a 'majority' of bridges on an island one can remove a bridge of another player connected to the same island, thus further improving one's position. Points are scored for control of islands half way through and at the end of the game. Optional rules allow God tokens to be collected and used for special effects. Recommended, especially if you like Kahuna.

Katamino, published by Gigamic. 2002. Box. In shrink. £19

Essentially a very nice wooden pentominoes set, with a framed and gridded wooden board which can be sectioned off into various sizes. The rules provide a large number of puzzles for you to attempt with the pentominoes, including 'progressive' puzzles: you start with 3 pieces and make a 5x3 rectangle, then add a piece and rearrange to make a 5x4 rectangle and so on all the way up to 12 pieces - this gets hard fast! There is also the rules to a 2 player game using these pieces. Recommended if you like wooden puzzles - this is an enjoyable one with a game as a bonus. Many more puzzles for this set are available on the internet too.

Khronos, published by Editions Du Matagot. Box. In shrink. £28

The players build various buildings in a land enclosed by forest and mountains, with the objective of building powerful (and high scoring) regions. What makes this game different is that time travel is possible, and so the same area is fought over in three different time periods. Building in the earlier regions affects later regions, with less impressive 'copies' of the building popping up in the future regions. Sometimes this can seriously disrupt other players' regions in the later regions. A game which certainly requires your full attention!

King Arthur Kartenspiel, published by Ravensburger. 2005. Box. In shrink. £12

Card game. Players collect and play knight cards in sets in order to defeat various foes for victory points. When a suitable set of foes have been defeated then a quest card can be claimed for even more victory points. The optional rules which make timing important make the game more interesting, so you have to watch what your opponents are up to more. An enjoyable light game.

Kingdoms, published by Fantasy Flight. 2002. Box. In shrink. £12

Excellent game in which players fill the board with tiles representing monsters and resources in a land of fantasy. The players also set up their castles in the land, and the idea is to get your castles in position to score for the valuable resources while avoiding the monsters. Each castle scores for everything in its row and column. Thus placement is difficult as you would like to set up a great position for your castle, but if you do you can be very sure that another player will get there first. There are some other clever aspects to the game too, making it one I can highly recommend. Previously released as Auf Heller & Pfennig in Germany.

Let's Go To The Races, published by Parker. 1987. Box. Good. £5

Designer Unknown. No. players: 4-16. Country: American, Desc. by Andy.

Horse racing game. Players buy horses and bet on them in a variety of races. The game is driven by a video (it is a US game, but the video plays just fine in my UK VCR). The horses have different odds for each race

and there are special forms which allow the game to continue to be played once you have played through the races on the tape. The video shows real horse racing. The rulebook includes ideas on planning a race-night, with recipes and even a racehorse owner's manual.

Lord of the Rings Risk, published by Hasbro. 2002. Box. 2 copies available:

1) Excellent. £6.50 2) Good. £5.50

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

Lord of the Rings themed Risk variant. The board shows the northern part of Middle Earth - essentially the part used in the first book / film. The game comes with 15mm figures in 4 colours and different designs for each army - several hundred figures in all. The rules included allow standard Risk to be played as well as the LotR themed variant, which adds leaders, sea ports, completing missions for rewards. The One Ring also moves in this variant and this determines when the game ends.

Lords Of Creation, published by Warfrog. 1993. Box. Good. £10

Special notes: This set comes in a large ziplock bag rather than a box.

1st edition of this early Martin Wallace game. The components are fairly basic, but quite serviceable. Players take the roles of gods who want their followers to dominate the world. The board is laid out differently each game with various types of terrain. Initially the nations are barbarians but as they expand they get the option to civilise which has both benefits and disadvantages. Cards drive player options during the game.

Lords Of Creation, published by Warfrog. 1993. Box. In shrink. £15

2nd edition printed in the Netherlands, of this early Martin Wallace game. Much nicer components than the original edition (solid colourful box, proper board, nice cards etc). The game concept and mechanics are the same though – see above.

Lords Of Creation - The Yeti Sanction, published by Avalon Hill. 1984. Box. Mint. £2

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

A Lords Of Creation Roleplaying Supplement. This is the 2nd Lords of Creation adventure module. The adventure involves political intrigue, international terrorism and an expedition to climb Mount Everest.

Lucca Citta, published by Da Vinci Games. 2005. Box. Excellent. £8

Card game. Players draft cards which they must use to build towers, walls and palaces. The palaces score points when completed according to the number of windows they have, and can then be used to host a party which will accrue points depending on other players' palace cards of the same colour. Walls and towers score at the end of the game, but only if there are sufficient shields on your incomplete towers. Won an Italian Game Award in 2004.

Mall Of Horror, published by Asmodee Editions. 2005. Box. In shrink. £26

Each player controls 3 or 4 characters who find that the shopping centre has been taken over by mindless zombies. The zombies are out to kill the living and turn them into more zombies. The characters can get into various relatively safe locations and hold back the zombies, get control of Security H.Q. in order to see where the zombies are going, and find secret stashes of equipment in the car park which could help against the zombies. The objective is to survive until a helicopter comes to rescue the survivors. During the game there are opportunities to vote on who gets various benefits and who will have to make a sacrifice for the greater good.

Mauer Bauer, published by Hans Im Gluck. 2006. Box. Excellent. £20

Also published as Masons in America. Players play wooden wall pieces onto a triangular grid and then get to add towers to the ends of the wall and houses either side of the wall. When an area is enclosed it forms a town and every player gets to play 1 or 2 scoring cards to gain VPs. These cards give points in various ways such as for particular sizes of towns or particular tower colours in the surrounding wall, or for towers, walls or houses in various regions of the board. Thus players can work towards making their scoring cards valuable ready for the next scoring.

Mensa Mind Games, published by Index Books. 2004. Box. Excellent. £8.50

The main component of this set is a nicely produced 72 page paperback book of puzzles and games. The majority are problem solving puzzles, but the book also includes some games for 1 or more players. The set also comes with 120 cards which are used by many of the puzzles. There are over 200 puzzles / games, and about 100 of them you can time yourself for a more intense challenge. The chapters cover: Problem Solving, Thinking Creatively, Categories, Spatial Skills, Intuition, Word Power and Predicting Probability.

Military Modelling Guide To Solo Wargaming, published by Argus Books. 1988. Book. Excellent. £8

Softback, 20x15cm, 127 pages. Military Modelling magazine sponsored guide to solo wargaming with miniatures. There are many black and white pictures of various miniatures battles in progress. The book covers: Why Solo?, Solo Wargaming Systems, Small Scale Actions, Historical Play, Solitaire Scenarios, Programmed Scenarios, Solo Campaigns. Siege Warfare, Postal Wargaming.

Military Modelling Guide To Wargaming, published by Argus Books. 1987. Book. Excellent. £6

Softback, 20x15cm, 126 pages. Military Modelling magazine sponsored guide to wargaming with miniatures. There are many black and white pictures of various miniatures battles in progress. The book gives an introduction to the hobby, and model soldiers, as well as how to paint them, and even cast your own, as well as scenery, and other equipment you will need to play. The second half of the book gives simple rules for use in periods from Ancients, through the Dark Ages and Medieval Periods, WWI & WWII, and beyond. Loads of references to other books provided to get you going in the period of your choice.

Modern Naval Battles, published by 3W. 1989. Box. Good. £7.50

Country: American, Duration: 90 mins, Desc. by Andy.

Card game. An interactive combat game with no board, but cards depict different types of ships in your fleet, and other cards represent threats to them. The game is played in rounds and players manoeuver their ships, attack enemy ships, and defend against enemy attacks all with cards. Points are accrued for enemy vessels sunk, with a point total target to achieve victory.

Montgolfiere, published by Euro Games. 1992. Box. In shrink. £9

Balloon racing card game. Cards are played simultaneously, and some can cancel each other out, while others if played by people with balloons at the same height (and they may confer) can enhance each other.

Each player has a wooden balloon marker and the idea is to have the highest balloon after the final round of cards has finished. Everyone starts with the same set of cards, though they do come up in different orders. A nice blend of simultaneous card play with tactical considerations. Recommended.

Moves No. 104, published by Decision Games. 2001. Magazine. Good. £0.75

Designer Unknown. Country: American, Desc. by Andy.

American magazine which focussed on European style board games. This issue covers: Cosmic Encounter inc. strategy tips article, Galaxy The Dark Ages, The Great Brain Robbery, Tally Ho!, Elfenland, Hare & Tortoise, Thieves of Bagdad, Tales of Ulysse, Button Men: Fantasy.

Mrs Pottleton's Bridge Parties, published by Geoffrey Bles. 1926. Book. Good, but dust cover worn. £7

Special notes: A previous owner has stuck various bridge related newspaper clippings onto the inside covers.

Hardback with dustcover, 19x13cm, 156 pages. This book shows samples of the magnificent and boneheaded play of the people who visit Mr. and Mrs. Pottleton. In this way the author gently teaches bridge using his characters as the players of various hands.

Munchhausen, published by Abacus. 1996. Box. Good. £4.50

Card game, 64 colourful cards, drawing their inspiration from the stories told by (and about) Baron Munchhausen. The game is a bluffing game in which players offer cards to each other, according to various rules but do so face down, and it is possible to cheat. The objective is to get rid of your less good cards while not being caught, and to be the first to get rid of all your cards.

Nautic Miles, published by Spears. 1990. Box. Good, but shows a little wear. £4

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

Card game, two decks of cards representing aspects of life at sea - types of ships, storms, distances, tonnage, aeroplanes and convoys. The game itself borrows from Milles Bornes in its objective in certain respects although it remains a distinct game.

New Rules For Classic Games, published by John Wiley & Sons. 1992. Book. Excellent. £9

Softback, 23x19cm, 245 pages. This book takes all sorts of classic games and suggests variations, in some cases to allow different numbers of players, in some cases to fix perceived flaws, and in others just for the sake of variety! Topics covered: New Twists on Old Favourites (inc. Monopoly, Triv, Boggle, Master Mind, Hearts, etc). Fixing a Flaw, Doubling Up, Changing The No. of Players, More Variations, Handicapping, New Games To Use Game Equipment, Pencil & Paper (Only) Games, Party Games, Outdoor Games, Beyond Backgammon, Beyond Chess, Beyond Checkers, Playing By Mail, Creating Your Own Variations. It is certainly full of interesting ideas.

Nimm's Leich!, published by Goldsieber. 1997. Box. Good. £6

Card game, with a truly strange subject matter - guessing how many body parts appear on the cards in play! 42 cards and 12 Body Inspector counters. Actually a card variation of games like Liar's Dice / Perudo, which are great games. The main twist in this one being that when under pressure you can use a Body Inspector to peek at two opponents’ cards, and so get a better idea whether to challenge or raise the bid. In addition when a challenge is made all players have to say whether they agree or disagree with the challenge, and so get the chance to get rid of a card. First player to discard all their cards wins.

Oswald Jacoby's Complete Canasta, published by Windmill Press. 1950. Book.

Good but dustcover shows wear. £7. Designed by Oswald Jacoby. Country: British, Desc. by Andy.

Hardback with dustcover, 20x14cm, 160 pages. A thorough look at the game of Canasta which covers: Review of Canasta for Beginners, New Strategy for Average Players, Fine Points for Experts, Two Player Canasta Strategies, Three Player Canasta Strategies, Six Player Canasta Strategies, Three Deck Canasta Strategies, Parties & Tournaments, Q & A, Laws of Canasta.

Outpoint, published by Spears. 1985. Box. Good. £2.50

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

Somewhat abstract game with dice and letter tiles played on an 11x11 grid. The playing pieces consist of letter tiles spelling *OUT*POINT*, and points are scored for getting them on top of other player's tiles of the same type, and the stars can be used to eliminate opposing pieces or double the score of other tiles.

Pass The Bomb, published by Gibsons. 1994. Box. Good. £11

Special notes: The bomb seems to 'fizzle' rather than 'boom' when it goes off - it probably needs new batteries!

Fun and exciting family / party game based on a simple premise, whoever is holding the 'bomb' when it goes off, loses. The timer is a spherical black bomb shaped device with a fuse attached (you don't light it - it is an electronic device). It can go off at any time from 10 seconds to 2 minutes and you cannot tell when it will be which makes play frantic. Players must name words using letters on the current card but cannot repeat a word in the same round, so if the person before you uses the word you were thinking of you can find the ticking makes your mind go quite blank. The bomb makes a disturbing ticking, and a satisfying Boom! Won the Daily Telegraph's Game of the Year award. Recommended.

Pax Britannica, published by Victory Games. 1985. Box. Good. £13

Complex multi-player game of imperial conquest which covers the colonial period from 1880 to the outbreak of The Great War. The players control the world powers of the time: Great Britain, France, Germany (with Austria-Hungary), U.S., Imperial Russia, Japan and Italy. The players vie for control of the world which is split into areas which generate income. The players must spend money to maintain and build new military units and then maneuver these forces to try to extend their empires and so further increase their empires. Care must be taken however, not to start the Great War - the player who does this is penalised severely and the game then ends.

Perikles, published by Warfrog. 2006. Box. In shrink. £22

Each player takes the role of a powerful Greek family in the Peloponnesian war. In the first stage of the game the families seek to control six ancient Greek city-states, which will require gaining votes in order to win the elections. Having gained control of a city state its army can then be used in various battles to win glory.

Pilgrimage, published by Whitehall. 1971. Box. Good. £5.50

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

Attractively designed family game, designed to educate about the route Crusaders took from England to Jerusalem. Essentially you roll the dice, move, and draw cards for events along the way. Developed by the New School of Utica for their Humanities Course.

Pitagoras, published by EG Spiele. 1996. Box. Good. £6.50

Card and dice game in which the players vie to be the first to make a circuit of the board. Each round a special dice is rolled to indicate how many spaces the winner will advance. Players then each openly roll a special dice (values 0-4) and play a card face down from their identical sets of cards. These cards either add, subtract or multiply the dice roll by 2-4. The highest scorer advances around the track, though there are a few special spaces which players will want to either aim for or avoid due to penalties or bonuses granted when landing on them. Contains 7 special dice.

Practical End-Game Play, published by Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons. 1946.

Book. Good, spine slightly faded. £3.50. Designed by Fred Reinfeld. Country: British, Desc. by Andy.

Hardback, 19x13cm, 176 pages. Chess book first published in 1940. The author covers end game issues in chess as follows: Transition to a Favourable Ending, Transition to an Unfavourable Ending, Missed Opportunities, Defending Difficult Positions, Types of Ending, Important End Game Motifs.

Punct, published by Rio Grande Games. 2005. Box. In shrink. £17

Sixth and final game in the GIPF series of games, which will be familiar to fans of abstract games, as Kris Burm is a master designer, and the games in this series are very highly regarded. Punct is a connection game in which you have to create a connection from one side to the other. Each turn you can either bring a new piece into play or move one already in play. The pieces are very attractively produced, and as you would expect, while the basic of the idea is not new the actual game play is.

Quick Wits, published by UPL. ca.1935. Box. Good. £3

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

Card game, featuring cards giving a range of categories, and a second deck of letters. There are several variations, but the basic idea is that players must name something which fits the current category and starts with the current letter.

Reboot Mainframe Game, published by Crown Games. 1995. Box. Good. £4

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

Based on a popular computer animated cartoon series from the 1990s. Players are either sprites (good) or viruses (bad), who try to protect or infect the CPU in which they all live. The board is circular and shows lots of paths around which the standup playing pieces move. Players need to collect chips to win. Everything in the game fits in with the computer theme, down to a rules flow chart on the back page. The game itself is a roll and move type game, but you can collect items to help yourself or hinder others.

Reiner Knizia's Poison, published by Playroom Entertainment. 2005. Box. Excellent. £9

Card game in which players have numbered cards in three colours as well as wild poison cards. Players take it in turn to add a card to one of three large cauldron boards, one for each colour. If the cards in a cauldron exceed 13 in value you must take the cards. At the end of the round any cards collected count against you, although whoever has the most in each colour gets to discard their cards in that colour. Thus players can either try to avoid cards in each colour or try to take more than anyone else in order to avoid the penalty points.

Reise Durch Die Schweiz, published by Ravensburger. ca.1960. Box. Box shows wear, corners taped. £5

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

Early Ravensburger game (inventory number 23). Simple family game in which players move around a track either clockwise or counter-clockwise (each player can choose which direction), and when landing on a space that another player has a card for they may either pay that player for a tour or miss a turn. Additional points are awarded for getting back to Zurich as swiftly as possible. Attractive period item.

Road To The White House, published by Mayfair. 1992. Box. Good. £7

U.S. Election campaign game. Players move pawns representing their candidate and key supporters around a map of the U.S. gaining votes in the various states. Alternatively a player can pay for a support organisation in a state which will multiply any votes gained in that state, or buy additional key supporters to have more pawns that can be moved, or buy flights to specific states, to allow a much needed visit. Various political issues become 'hot' during the game and each candidate has a different standing in the various issues. During the finale, the election itself, candidates drop out one at a time with the votes from states won by dropped out candidates going to the candidate with next most votes in that state.

Robber Knights, published by Queen Games. 2006. Box. In shrink. £10

Tile laying game in which the players represent bands of ruthless knights who intend to take control of valuable villages and towns, and will exploit any weak points left by other warlords. Each turn you play 1-3 tiles, and when playing a castle tile you also get to add knights and then move them into orthogonally adjacent spaces, potentially taking control of some tiles from other players.

Roma, published by Queen Games. 2005. Box. In shrink. £10

Card and dice game in which the players build Roman buildings and attract influential Roman characters in order to try to seize power. Each card shows a building or character who has a special ability once in play, as well as a combat value and a cost to get it into play. Dice are rolled and can be assigned to activate a character or building to use its power, or used to claim more gold or cards. The game can be won by gaining more VPs than your opponent when the game ends or by attacking your opponent and making them lose all their VPs before the game would normally end. Plenty of choices of what to do and plays well. Recommended.

Rubik's Line Up, published by Ideal. ca.1985. Box. Good. £5

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

Abstract game in which the players turn cubes over on the board trying to form a line of three cubes of the same colour (the cubes have different colours on each face). The cubes are all about an inch on each side which makes the game quite attractive.

Scarab Lords - German Edition, published by Fantasy Flight Games. 2002. Box. Excellent - unused. £6

Designed by Reiner Knizia. No. players: 2. Country: American, Duration: 30 mins, Desc. by Andy. Special notes: I can provide English rules, but the cards all have German text (the English version is usually £14).

Card game for two in which the players vie for dominance over upper and lower ancient Egypt. In each region players can attempt to gain supremacy in economic, religious and military spheres, with the objective being to gain two out of three supremacies in both regions and then hold them for one turn. The cards are attractive and come in various types: minions and leaders who are sent to battle for supremacy against those of your opponent, one off cards, and gods which give an advantage each turn. Players can 'curse' the opponent's cards which makes them inactive and the game can also end if a player's deck runs out. Additional cards are supplied which you can use to vary the standard decks. Recommended.

Schatztaucher, published by Salagames. 1992. Box. Good. £7

Deep sea diving themed card game with a board onto which cards are played. Each player takes it in turn to go on dives, in the hope of finding gold coins while avoiding sharks, in order to buy harpoons. When a player has enough harpoons then a dive to the ocean floor can be attempted in order to retrieve a lost treasure chest and win the game. The harpoons are needed to fend off giant squid and sharks. Game play is unusual - the cards show what depth they refer to (1-8) on the front and back, so everyone can see what depth cards you have, but only you know whether they are treasure, fishes or sharks. During a dive the diving player asks each player in turn for a card of either the next level down or up as they wish.

Scuttle: Britain & Eire, published by Phoenix Games. 1990. Box. Good. £5

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2-9. Country: British, Desc. by Andy.

Players are each given a card showing 10 counties they must visit in order to win the game. The map shows Britain and Eire. Movement is by rolling 2 dice and moving to an adjacent county showing one of these numbers (though you can choose not to move if that is advantageous). On arriving in a county for which another player holds the card (a hand of county cards is dealt out at the start) they may 'scuttle' you (move you somewhere unhelpful), but then the card becomes generally available. Useful travel cards can be collected too, which allow greater freedom of movement. The county cards have interesting information about that county on them. Nicely presented game.

Sea Battle Games, published by Model & Allied Publications. 1974. Book.

Good, but dustcover shows wear. £10. Designed by P. Dunn. Country: British, Desc. by Andy.

Hardback with dustjacket, 19x13cm, 176 pages. Naval miniatures wargaming book which covers the following topics: Background to Naval Wargaming; Scope; Models for Wargaming; Napoleonic Period Rules; Ironclad Period; Pre-Dreadnought Gunnery System; Map Campaigns; WWII Fighting Rules; Hypothetical World War Game; Battlegaming in Early Periods; A Method of Skill.

Shadis #17, published by Alderac Entertainment Group. 1995. Magazine. Good. £1.25

Independent gaming magazine which covers role playing games, collectable card games, as well as some board and card games. The main articles this issue: Real Spies, A Brief History of RPGs Part 1, The Necrology of the Vampire, Illuminating the Enemy (Using playing cards to add ideas to major NPCs), NPCs Get A Life (NPC traits and ideas), New Races, Artist Feature: Cline Siegenthaler, Hook Line & Sinker (mini scenario), The Good Bad & Ugly (NPCs), Card Games inc multi player Magic with a poster board, CCG Card listings, Games reviews: RPGs + Board Games, Miniatures, PBM games, Other magazines, Knights of the Dinner Table.

SHOC, published by Chad Valley. ca.1955. Box. Good for age (2 corners taped). £4

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

Special notes: Copyright is 1944, but also appointed to HM. the Queen, so must be 1953 or after. Includes 2 (modern) packs of cards.

Stocks and shares game. Playing cards decide the rise and fall of share prices. Rules assume you have two packs of cards in the house (i.e. not supplied with the game). One pack represents shares in the 4 suits and the other is used to change the share prices, which are recorded on dials. Players take turns to act as the broker, buying and selling shares to the other players, until the dials indicate the market closes, and then the next player gets a chance as broker. Name comes from S (Spades), H (Hearts), <> (Diamonds, vaguely O shaped) and C (Clubs).

Sisimizi, published by EG Spiele. 1996. Box. Good. £10

Interesting game with 240 ant pieces, and 28 ant-hills. Each turn, players add ants to the board, with a view to forming a connecting line of ants from one ant-hill of their colour to another, until all 7 of their ant hills are connected. In order to ensure this is actually possible players can either place or move one of their ant hills each turn, move a few existing ants and either once or twice per game (depending on the number of players) they may cross an opponent's line of ants.

Source Of The Nile, published by Avalon Hill. 1979. Box.

Box shows wear and lid heavily taped, but contents are fine. £35

Designed by Ross Maker & Dave Wesely. No. players: 1+. Country: American, Duration: 3 hrs, Desc. by Andy. Second edition of this game. Uses Fast-Action cards for generating random factors. Wonderful idea, each player sets off to explore Africa, filling in the hex map as they go. If they get back alive, they publish their discoveries, which become part of the map board. Initially players need to equip their expedition which will take quite a few turns, and when ready they set off. During the expedition there will be many decisions to be made and the players must make their own decisions on the basis of the perceived risks.

Space Walk, published by Ravensburger. 1999. Box. Excellent. £11.50

Space themed game which takes some ideas from the classic Mancala, but adds some neat twists. The board shows a circular track of spaces with some spaces being holes. The board is placed over the box and any spaceships landing on one of these 'black holes' is out of the game. Players play their spaceships which come in three sizes onto the board, and then move them. This is done by taking all the spaceships on one space where you have at least one ship and then placing them, largest first, one per space, onto the next spaces - hopefully getting opposing ships into the black holes while keeping your own safe. Extra turn tokens can also be used or kept for additional victory points.

Squander, published by Avalon Hill. 1965. Box. Good, but 2 box corners taped. £25

Extremely rare Avalon Hill game, a fore-runner of Go For Broke, being a game where you must spend all your money to win the game. Most unusual to see Avalon Hill make a family oriented game with mass appeal. The board shows a track around which the playing pieces are moved, with spaces showing all sorts of ways in which to spend money, such as duff stocks, gifts to charity, roulette bets, jewellery, being blackmailed, paying taxes etc. Definitely quite collectable.

Stock Market Specialist, published by Hansen. 1983. Box. Good. £10

Stock Market Specialist (The Official Game of the American Stock Exchange) puts the players into the role of a specialist at a stock exchange. Each player specialises in one of four stocks represented in the game, and does his best to increase his personal wealth by trading these four stocks while performing all the jobs required by his position. These include maintaining an order book, executing orders, keeping track of accounts and prices as the stock is traded. The only way to get a better feel for this niche job is to go and do it in real life!

Stop Thief!, published by Spears. 1985. Box. Good. £5

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

Cops and robbers game in which each player has a policeman who moves around on the board which shows an irregular network of paths joining a grid of spaces. Each player's robber moves along behind that player's policeman, like a sort of shadow. The idea is to land on an opponent's robber. That player's policeman then has to move away to a distant corner of the board, and gets a new shadow-robber. Players win by catching 5 robbers first or lose by having all 5 of their robbers caught. The game is dressed up as a children's game, but has rather more to it than the box would suggest.

Sum-Times, published by Spear's Games. 1992. Box. Good. £5

Maths based game. The board shows a grid of the numbers 1-100, and number cards are used in a simple calculation (A*B +/- C) to indicate a square on the board which a playing piece can be played on. Replacing opponents' pieces is also allowed in some circumstances, and provides the tactics. The objective is to get all your playing pieces on the board.

Super Star T.V. Sports, published by A.R.C.. 1980. Box. Box shows wear. £3

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

A set of 12 different sports games all popular on American TV: Soccer, Basketball, Track, Skiing, Baseball, Hockey, Football, Boxing, Golf, Auto Racing, Bowling, Tennis. The set includes 3 game boards with areas for each of the games. The games are all fairly simple, with 1-3 pages of rules per game, but not entirely trivial, having some card play decisions or for the motor racing game acceleration decisions etc. The bowling game is table skittles.

Switch It, published by Peter Pan. 1988. Box. Box poor. £1.50

Special notes: The box is whole, but shows indentation due to stacking and has had gaffer tape put all around the sides and some on the base

Players try to get 4, 5 or 6 pieces in a row on a 6x6 grid (depending on the difficulty level chosen), placing pieces one at a time in turns. The twist, however, is that the board is also made up of 9 2x2 sections each of which can be rotated. Thus instead of playing a piece you can rotate a board segment.

Sword & Sorcery: Chaositech, published by Malhavoc Press. 2004. Book. Excellent. £4.50

Roleplaying supplement which uses WotC's generic d20 rules system (v 3.5), making it usable in many campaigns. Chaositech is a combination of magic and technology but always with a high level of chaos. The book covers introducing Chaositech into your campaign; Cults, Priests and Spells of Chaos; Chaositech Weapons and Armour; Chaositech Bio-enhancements; Chaositech Mutations; Masters of Chaositech and more.

Tacara, published by Eggert Spiele. 2000. Box. In shrink. £10

Motor racing game which uses a vector movement system. Each player can change their car's vector of movement a limited amount each turn, and then moves their car according to their modified vector. Hopefully this will keep them on course around the track, out of the way of other cars and fast enough to be competitive. A few times during the game a token can be handed in to modify the vector for this turn only in order to help get around tight corners or avoid crashing. Clever system.

Tal Der Konige, published by Franckh. 1991. Box. Good but edges show wear, 1 corner taped. £27

The Valley of the Kings. A game of pyramid building, with the unusual mechanism that when the central pyramid is built (unused blocks from all players go into this), the game ends. Masses of chunky wooden blocks in several colours make the game exceptionally attractive during play. It comes in a triangular box. Players manoeuver their workers and overseers around the board to claim building sites and bid with bidding tiles to obtain blocks. Recommended. I also have some house rules I can include which in my opinion make the game even better.

Tekeli-li, published by Japon Brand. 2006. Box. In shrink. £11

Trick taking card game with a Cthulhu mythos theme! Many of the cards represent sanity sapping monsters, and the objective is to avoid taking tricks, and thus keeping as far away from the monsters as possible. However, should you be forced to take a trick it is possible by winning matching cards to cancel out the sanity loss.

Tension, published by Peter Pan. 1971. Box. Box shows wear, 1 corner taped up. £3.50

The centrepiece of the game is a large round plastic board with holes for pieces of various colours, but one less hole than the number of players. The 'spin-o-matic' colour indicator is spun, and when it stops players race to get a piece of the indicated colour into a slot of that colour. The slowest has to take all the other players' pieces for that round. The objective is to be the first to get rid of all your pieces.

Tetris, published by Tomy. 1991. Box. Good. £8.50

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

Board game version of the famous and addictive computer game. The two players sit at either end of the board, and take it in turn to use a shape spinner which is built into the game to determine what shape they have to add to their Tetris layout. The two layouts join up at the top, and initially a central bar sits in the middle of the board, but each time you complete a row the bar is moved towards your opponent. Completing several lines at once moves it extra spaces. The idea being to have your opponent run out of space before you do, so keeping the divider bar on their side of the board is a good way to do this.

The Antiques Challenge, published by Antiques Challenge Ltd. 1998. Box. Good. £5

Trivia game in which players have to answer questions about antiques. Most of the cards depict valuable antiques on one side which the players may examine. On the other side is information and questions about the object, which players get to answer. The questions come in the categories: Furniture, Fine Art, Glass, Porcelain / Pottery, Silverware, Clocks / Watches and Miscellaneous. Very attractive cards and uses two special dice as well.

The Book Of Card Games, published by William Clowes & Sons. ca.1900. Book. Good. £15

Special notes: Shows some wear and a little discolouration, but sound.

Hardback, 20x14cm, 311 pages. Collection of card games rules from this expert, who produced many other card game books as well. The book uses a small typeface, and includes some diagrams. The book covers: All fours, Baccarat, Bezique, Blind Hockey, Boston, Brag, Cassino, Catch The Ten, Commerce, Cribbage, Ecarte, Euchre, Faro, Hearts & Heartsette, Lansquenet, Loo, Napoleon, Newmarket, Ombre, Patiences (x18), Piquet, Poker, Pope Joan, Quinze, Ranter Go Round, Rouge Et Noir, Slobberhannes, Solo, Speculation, Spinado, Spoil Five, Thirty One, Vinght Un, Whist (50 pages).

The Fine Art Game, published by Piatnik. 1996. Box. Good. £3

Game set in an art gallery, where players move the guide around and when he lands on a player's piece a picture is examined, and points awarded. Extra points are earned by answering questions about the painting (and lost if you choose to give an answer but get it wrong). 36 very attractive 2 inch square tiles feature the art from many of the world's best artists, which are laid out around the board to form the gallery.

The Game Of Draughts: Kelso, published by Phillips & Co. 1905. Booklet. Good. £4

Booklet, 18x12cm, 32 pages. The full title is: The Game of Draughts: An Analysis of the Kelso. The booklet examines lots of different games which have involved the Kelso Exchange. Clearly the content is only of interest to serious Draughts players.

The Game Of Geog, published by Unknown. Map Board + Box. Board back discoloured. £1.50

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

Unusual item. This is more of a geography test than a game. The board shows a map of England with many circles where there are towns. Players take it in turns to ask each other what town is in a particular circle. A master map shows the answers. I don't know how old this is, but I would guess 1930s. I could well be wrong though.

The Gunpowder Treason Game, published by Aztral Games. 1986. Packet.

Good, but box insert discoloured. £15

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2-4. Country: British, Duration: 40 mins, Desc. by Andy.

Promotional game, made for Astra Fireworks. Mixture of plastic and wooden pieces. Very bright, attractive board and 64 cards. Players move across a gridded board first collecting gunpowder and then moving it into place close to Parliament before trying to blow the Houses to pieces. However, each player is trying to do this quicker than anyone else, and in order to speed you up there are tunnels and listening posts which speed up movement substantially, but with some risk of being discovered by the authorities - judging when and how much risk to take is what the game is about.

The Hammer Of Thor, published by Nova Game Designs. 1980. Box.

Box shows wear, cards partly unpunched. £17

Unusual fantasy adventure game (see the number of players for a start). Players are Norse Gods and Heroes trying to gain Reputation Points around Valhalla, in order that they might win at Ragnarok, the final battle between Good and Evil. Over 600 cards make sure each game is completely different. The game is played on a map of constellations, and the objective is to recruit followers, and gain items and runes in order to bring a powerful force to Ragnarok, after which only those on the victorious side (be that Good or Evil) will win. Most unusual item.

The Hobbit, published by Fantasy Flight. 2001. Box. Excellent. £9.50

Tolkien themed game in which the players advance their hobbits along a track towards Smaug the dragon's lair, steadily improving their weaponry and skills and gaining treasures. Event, item and monster cards all add to the theme.

The Name Of The Game, published by Beechams. ca.1980. Box. 1 Box corner split. £3

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

Promotional game, made by a company that supplies soft drinks to cash and carry stores. Each player must manage a range of outlets, buying and selling stock in order to become the wealthiest owner. Includes 4 promotional posters, board in 4 sections, 4 large 3D cardboard buildings, cards of various types, play money, car pieces and a die. Game play involves rolling the die and moving around a track on the board and having to buy stock (at retail price) from a shop landed on (paid to the shop's owner). New stock can be bought at the start of a player's turn. Unusual item.

The News From The BBC, published by Great Games. 1987. Box. Good. £1

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

TV related, a trivia game based on news stories. Very attractive board and neat scoring mechanism.

The Standard Book Of Bidding, published by Walter Edwards. 1946. Book.

Good, but some of dustcover missing. £4

Hardback with dustcover, 19x13cm, 282 pages. Contract Bridge book intended to improve the bidding of reasonably experienced players. The book covers: Opening Bids, Responses, Rebids by Opener, Rebids by Responder, Slam Bidding, Overcalls, Take-Out Doubles, Penalty Doubles, Advanced Bidding Situations. Duplicate Bridge Scoring, Modern Expert Variations.

The TinTin Games Book, published by Methuen Children's Books. 1986. Book. Excellent. £4

Hardback, 30x23cm, 30 pages. Nicely produced book of games and activities all based around well drawn TinTin comic strips. It includes: It's No Use Running (Two player chase board game), Find The Mistakes (in a detailed picture), Spot The Same (only two drawings have Calculus in the same clothes), Conversations (Fit the words to the pictures), and much more...

Too Many Cooks, published by Andy Merritt. 2001. Box. New. £9

My own self produced game. Each player takes the role of a restaurant owner and cook, and will buy ingredients at auction, and these can then be put together to form a variety of different recipes, which when completed get you money back (hopefully significantly more than you spent on the ingredients!) Some 'generic' ingredients (eg. tinned veg) allow extra flexibility. At the end of the game the restaurant which most successfully specialised in each of 5 types of cuisine gets a bonus and any restaurant which offers nothing for vegetarians is penalised. These copies are some of the second batch of the 300 produced, and so come in a pizza box - which is more practical than the lasagne tin the first 100 came in.

Toppo, published by Rio Grande Games. 2005. Box. Excellent. £11.50

Card game. The cards show five different shapes in five different colours. Three are dealt into the centre of the table and each player has their own stack of cards. Players all simultaneously deal out three cards for themselves and compare them with those in the centre. Any identical cards can be discarded to the centre, and if all three cards 'top' those in the centre then they are discarded onto the cards in the centre thus changing the cards to be matched. 'Topping' means matching in either colour or shape. Players repeatedly deal themselves 3 cards, compare with the centre and redeal three cards trying to get rid of their cards as fast as possible. As soon as you have less than 10 cards in your stack you call 'Toppo' and win the hand.

Trotters Trading Game, published by Toy Brokers Ltd. 1990. Box. Good. £1.50

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

TV related - based on Only Fools And Horses. Players try to accumulate £1 million in order to win. This is done by moving around the board and actioning spaces and drawing cards. Essentially players buy and sell dodgy goods and hope to make some money, and when £500 is accumulated it can be taken to the casino and the wheel of fortune spun (spinner provided) and hopefully the £1 million jackpot won.

Turbo Taxi, published by Queen Games. 2005. Box. In shrink. £10

A reworking (with nicer components) of the same author's Flickwerk. Each player has an identical set of 12 tiles showing roads with junctions and crossings. On a central board wooden tokens are placed to indicate where roads must exit the board and a tile is drawn from an extra set and placed in the centre of a 3x3 grid. Everyone then races to put together a set of 9 tiles which incorporates the one drawn and also fulfills the requirements for the roads while ensuring all the tile edges match properly. First to do so claims a point. The player with the most points after a number of rounds wins. Fast and furious puzzle style game.

Tycoon, published by Jumbo. 1998. Box. Good. £13.50

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2-4. Country: Dutch, Duration: 90 mins, Desc. by Andy.

Excellent business game in which players fly around the world from city to city and build hotels and factories. However there are lots of interesting systems, such as there being a peak score in a city when there is a middling number of hotels, so late in the game values drop again. Also tickets must be purchased to get from city to city, and so you find it hard (or expensive) to get to exactly the city you would like. Money is tight and loans need to be taken out and judged just right so your options stay open but you don't pay too much interest. Shortlisted for German Game of the Year 1998. Highly recommended.

United Nations, published by Yaquinto. ca.1980. Double LP Case. Box shows some wear. £8

Special notes: The front cover has some small stains where elastic bands which were used to hold it closed have perished.

Diplomatic game, in one of this company's album boxes. Players gain prestige and voting power by persuading the 40 countries on the board to join their faction. To gain their favour you can use a mixture of Economic Aid and Arms Aid, but must maintain your influence over two turns. The basic mechanism is that aid tokens are placed (plus some decoys) face down and once all players have played then they are revealed, and conflicts resolved. Conflicts can be political or military. Treaties can be agreed which exclude players from areas but gain those players prestige, and the Security Council can be called upon to deal with aggressors and General Assembly meetings can set up boycotts.

Up & Down, published by Adlung. 1996. Box. Excellent. £2

Card game, each player trying to score points by following on, playing onto a stack of cards. A plus card can only be played on a minus card and vice versa. If you don't manage an exact match then you must draw extra cards, one for each point by which you missed the match.

Up The Ladder, published by Action GT. ca.1975. Box. Box Poor. £4

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

Race game with a difference. The 'board' is a three foot long plastic step ladder, with hinged rungs. The object is to get your men to the top of the ladder but the snag is that, if you put too many pieces on one rung it will rotate catapulting the pieces down the ladder, and probably taking those below them with them. Nice idea.

Vampire: The Masqerade: Players Guide To The Sabbat, published by White Wolf. 1992. Book. 2 copies:

1) Good. £4.50. 2) Good, but cover shows a little wear. £4

Softback, 28x22cm, 156 pages. Sourcebook for Vampire: The Masqerade dark role playing game. The Sabbat is a secret political and militaristic society of vampires. This book covers: Inside the Sabbat, Running with the Sabbat, Character Creation, Paths of Enlightenment, Sabbat Traits, Sabbat Templates, Unusual Weapons for Vampires, Sabbat Relics and Magical Devices.

Vampire: The Masqerade: Storytellers Guide To The Sabbat, published by White Wolf. 1993. Book.

Good. £4.50. Designed by Steve C. Brown. No. players: 3+. Country: American, Desc. by Andy.

Softback, 28x22cm, 133 pages. Sourcebook for Vampire: The Masqerade dark role playing game. The Sabbat is a secret political and militaristic society of vampires. The book includes 5 stories involving Sabbat characters. The chapters are: Sabbat Chronicles, Politics Of The Sabbat, Forces Of Darkness, Storytellers Aids, Quick Start Materials, The Stories.

Vampire: The Masqerade: The Storytellers Handbook, published by White Wolf. 1993. Book.

Good but corners show a little wear. £5

Softback, 28x22cm, 152 pages. Sourcebook for Vampire: The Masqerade dark role playing game. This book introduces the style of roleplaying and the setting as well as and the game mechanics. The chapters cover: The Story, The Chronicle, The Setting, The Motive, The Enemy, The Ways, Enchanted Items, Useful Lists.

Venture, published by 3M. 1970. Box. Excellent, cards in shrink. £14

Special notes: Gamette box edition.

Card game. Business game in which players collect money cards and form them into sets to increase their value and then spend them on company cards. Each company card shows some of the letters A-F, and by combining companies from different business sectors with compatible letters the values of the resulting conglomerates increases. Scoring occurs regularly throughout the game, and the player with the most points at the end wins. Clever game, and one that really should have been kept in print. Recommended.

Victory & Honor, published by Jolly Roger Games. 2002. Box. In shrink. £10

4 player partnership trick taking game with an American Civil War theme. Each player has a hand of cards which are used to play out 3 sets of 3 tricks. However, unlike most trick taking games three tricks are played at the same time, and once resolved the next three are played out. Also each player has a board onto which the cards are played, and this shows a left flank, right flank and centre. The cards all have a rank as well as a suit, but some have special abilities such as a scout forcing an opponent to play in a particular space on their board or a cannon capturing an opponent's card. Trumps are also only decided during each 3-trick, and will change for the next 3-trick. Some unusual ideas making a novel game.

War Of The Ring, published by Fantasy Flight. 2004. Box. In shrink. £33

Country: American, Duration: 3hrs, Desc. by Andy.

An epic game based on Tolkien's Lord of The Rings. Amazingly, this game really does do the book justice. The game says it is for 2-4 players, but it is really only for 2, with less than ideal options for splitting the forces with 3/4 players. The game covers the progression of the fellowship towards Mount Doom in a clever semi-hidden manner, as well as including the mustering armies all around Middle Earth, with the players deciding where battles will take place. The bits are wonderful: with over 200 miniatures and over 100 cards. An essential item for Tolkien fans, and if the subject matter appeals highly recommended.

Weigh It Up, published by Spear's Games. 1975. Box. Good. £2.50

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2-6. Country: British, Duration: 10 mins, Desc. by Andy.

The board shows a grid of triangles each with a number in - some positive, some negative. Each vertex has a hole for a peg. Players take it in turns to add a peg to the board, and if a peg is the last one around a triangle that players scores the number in the triangle, be that good or bad. Highest scorer when all the pegs are in wins.

Where There's A Will, published by Ragnar Brothers. 2002. Box. Mint. £11.50

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2-6. Country: British, Duration: 1 hr, Desc. by Andy.

Card game in which the players all try to claim as much of value as possible of the now sadly departed rich Duke's estate. This is done by putting forward various relatives and associates, from a son through mistresses to the chauffeur or maid. However, cards are also played to alter the comparative values of the various claimants and even change their allegiance or make them ineligible. Light but good fun.

Where's Bob's Hat, published by Rio Grande Games. 2001. Box. In shrink. £5

Trick taking game which is best with 3-4 players, and in my opinion really shines with 3 players. The cards are divided into 3 suits showing different hats. Before play players secretly indicate which suits they think they will take the most tricks in or if they wish indicate they will win fewest tricks of all. Also winning a card showing Bob's Hat gets you a bonus card showing Bob's hat, and the player who has it at the end of the hand gets either a bonus or penalty (depending on what was decided at the start). Points are scored for making your bids and lost for failing to make them. Nice twist on an old favourite.

White Wolf Magazine No. 23, published by White Wolf Publishing. 1990. Magazine. Excellent. £0.50

Designer Unknown. Country: American, Desc. by Andy.

Roleplaying magazine mainly aimed at the darker side of roleplaying. Articles include: Ars Magica Evil Creatures, Shadowrun Archetypes, The Key and the Gate (CoC adventure), Drought At Dirty Ernies (Age of Ruin adventure), Miniatures, PBM, Reign Storm (Fantasy encounter), Computers as helpers; Reviews of: Forgotten Realms Adventures, Chill, AD&D Complete ... Handbooks, Cyberrogues, The Grimoire, GURPS Cyberpunk, The Nile Empire Sourcebook, Ravenloft Realm of Terror, Sprawlgangs & Megacorps, Witches.

Why You Lose At Bridge, published by Cornerstone Library. 1974. Book. Good. £3

Softback, 20x13cm, 160 pages. Includes a foreword by Charles Goren. This book covers the following reasons for losing at Bridge: Ignoring the Odds, Playing Dummy, Bad Defence, Poor Bidding, Not Doubling, Don't Teach Your Partner, Half A Loaf, They Can't Fool Me, Fixed by Palookas, The Logic of Luck, A Rubber at the Club. The book is targeted at both beginning players and also at more experienced players - after all everyone's game can be improved by making less mistakes!

Wicketz, 2 editions available:

1) Published by Paul Lamond Games. 1994. Box. Good. £12. Reprinted version.

2) Published by R.D.A. Marketing. 1988. Box. Excellent. £15. Privately published by the designer.

It includes plastic cricketers, umpires, stumps etc. A spinner determines the type of bowl, and the batsman decides what stroke to play. A card is then drawn which determines what happens. The fielding player also has to position his team around the board as not everywhere can be well covered. Rules include advanced options too. A must for the cricket fan.

Winner's Circle, published by Face2Face Games. 2006. Box. In shrink. £20

Reissued version of Turf Horse Racing. A great race game, and quite different to any other. 7 horses are in each race, and you bet on the result. However, each horse has ratings according to 4 different symbols, and in your turn you roll a dice to see which symbol you can use this turn. Sometimes you can move one of your own horses forward well, sometimes there is an obvious opponent to 'nobble', but other times it is hard to decide what to do. One of the best 'end-of-evening' games you will find in my opinion. Recommended.

Your America, published by Cadaco. 1970. Box. Good. £5

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2-4. Country: American, Desc. by Andy. Special notes: The box base is slightly indented and the corners have been taped. Trivia game in which players move around the board answering questions about the USA. The categories are: People, Places & Things; Presidents of the USA; States of the Union; Inventors & Authors; Government; The U.S. at War; Famous Americans. Each player is given a U.S. flag board with numbered holes along the stripes and each time a question is answered the marker is advanced along the flag according to the difficulty of the question. A booklet lists 48 questions in each category.

Zaxxon, published by Milton Bradley. 1983. Box. Good. £3

Board game version of the early 1980s video game of the same name. Each player / team flies a mission with their planes to destroy an enemy target and fuel dump and then make a run on the dreaded Zaxxon, a well armed robot fighter. The game allows the teams to attack each other as well once on the final run and there are several obstacles which have to be negotiated too. Nice chunky plastic pieces.

Zero, published by Berliner Spielkarten. 1998. Box. Excellent. £5

Set collecting card game in which players swap cards with a central pool trying to improve their hands. When a player is satisfied with their hand they can choose not to make a swap and knock, after two knocks everyone else gets a last chance to swap a card and the hands are scored. A flush of 5 or more cards or 5+ of a kind counts for 0, and other cards count negatively, but only one of each number in the hand. The ultimate score, Zero, can be made by having 5 of a kind and a flush with a card in common. The hand ends instantly if this is achieved.

Zug Um Zug 1910, published by Days Of Wonder. 2006. Tin Box. In shrink. £9.50

Special notes: This is the international version (English rules included)

Expansion for the original Spiel des Jahres Winner 2004 (aka Ticket To Ride). You will need the main game to play. This set includes 181 large format cards. New route cards, a new bonus card, 39 new ticket cards and three new game variations to make the original game fresh again.

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