December 2004 Catalog

MNG-AJM Games and Collectibles

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?

4000 A.D., published by Waddingtons. 1972. Box. Good. £3

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

Space combat game using a clever hidden hyperspace movement system.. No dice used, so very much a game of skill as players defeat opposing ships and fleets. It can be played either each man for himself or with aliied partners.

6 Billion, published by Board Not Bored Games. 1999. Box. Excellent. £11

Strange game, based on the premise that Earth will soon increase its population above a satisfactory survival level. Each player represents a faction of the population as at 1999, around 6 million divided evenly, with the excess being run by the game as neutral factions. Throughout the game you have to control your population expansion and find new places to colonise throughout the solar system.

6 Mal 6, published by ASS. ca.1970. Box. Good. £4

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

Cards are played in your row on the board and when the board is full columns are reckoned up - the lowest value in the row having to pay penalty chits.

Air Charter, published by Waddingtons. 1970. Box. Good. £8

Players operate air-freight businesses in the South China Seas. Players pick up goods and either deliver them on routine but not especially profitable routes or if they are suitably placed they can go for one of the urgent contracts which pay quite a bit better. Running your plane involves keeping your fuel level right but the more fuel you have on board the less freight you can carry.

Alhambra, published by Uberplay / Queen. 2003. Box. In shrink. £19

Special notes: This is the English version

Revised version of Stimmt So! The players are all building their own Alhambra (which in real life is an impressive palace in Spain), and to do so purchase buildings which are combined to form a palace. However, the buildings have walls around some of the edges and these must be kept on the outer edge of the palace, so care must be taken not to block off too many building opportunities. Points are awarded for having a long outer wall and for majorities of buildings. Buildings are purchased using 4 currencies and there is bonus for paying exactly. Instead of buying a building a player can use their turn to get more money instead. Plays very well, and won the German Spiel des Jahres for 2003. Highly recommended, with less than 6 players.

Amazing Engine - For Faerie, Queen & Country, published by TSR. 1993. Book. Good. £2.50

Roleplaying supplement for the Amazing Engine system. This supplement enables you to play in a fantasy version of the world of Victorian England using the Amazing Engine system. An interesting read for roleplayers interested in playing in Victorian England even if not with the Amazing Engine system too.

And They're Off, published by Really Useful Games. 1993. Box. Good. £9. Duration: 90 mins, Desc. by Andy.

Special notes: There is a tear on the base of the box

Very attractively produced horse racing game. A sophisticated version of the classic playing card game Racing Aces. Some movement cards are removed before the game starts and this sets the odds for the horses. Players bet, and then the race is played out by drawing the cards one by one. There are also 'Horse Hampered' cards which add to the variety of races and advanced rules which allow players to take the role of bookie and offer (and change) the odds on horses as they desire. Game includes 4 large plastic painted racehorses, a large board, loads of play-money, a bookmaker's wipe-off board and 58 movement cards.

Andromeda, published by Rio Grande. 1999. Box. Excellent. £13

Graphics by Doris Matthaus. Very interactive, as players attempt to trade with a new galaxy. The game is about trading for sets and using them to upgrade their ships and try to gain control of the various planets. While skill and judgement helps there is a somewhat random mechanism that resolves success in taking over a space port, but which does make it more likely you will win the more effort you put in.

Anno 1452, published by Piatnik. 1999. Box. Mint. £16

Game set in the Holy Roman Empire in 1452. Players earn victory points in various ways. Players have a limited number of actions each turn to place pieces into territories on the map. There are several types of resources to manage and there are also several ways to challenge other players' positions. One element which stands out is that the weakest player each turn is made king and is given some powerful benefits, which gives them an excellent opportunity to get back into the game once this is done another player will become king.

Babylon 5: 2258 Core Set, published by Component Game Systems. 1997. Box. Good. £10

Special notes: I believe there is one token missing (out of 96), but there is no list. If this token proves vital I will provide a refund / discount.

Babylon 5 game in which up to four factions (Earth Alliance, Narn, Centauri and Minbari) vie for prominence. The playing area is constructed out of large hexes showing large areas of space which will be explored and conquered. Victory can be won by military or economic means, and diplomatic efforts on the Babylon 5 station are important too. The game uses colourful counters, and cards with various effects. Each faction also has a board detailing its special abilities etc. Starter packs were also produced to allow extra players to play using additional factions.

Beachhead, published by Yaquinto. 1980. Double LP Case. Good. £7

Man-to-man war game, with a scale as low as 25 yards per hex and turns 20 minutes. Small squads of 5 to 10 American Marines attack South Pacific Islands during WWII, which are defended by Japanese units. The Americans attempt to secure themselves on the island while the Japanese attempt to keep the Americans on the beaches. Basic rules cover 9 pages and there are a further 4 pages of optional rules.

Big Boggle, published by Parker Brothers. 1979. Box. Good. £8

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

Word game. This is a larger (5x5 grid) version of the very popular word game Boggle. The letter dice are shaken and allowed to fall into the spaces of a 5x5 grid, producing a different grid of letters each time. Players then have 3 minutes to look for words in the grid. The letters in words found must be adjacent to each other, and at least 4 letters long. After the time is up players score for uniquely found words, and get more for longer words. Includes rules for team play and handicapping unevenly matched players.

Billionaire, published by Spear's Games. 1984. Box. Excellent. £4

Card game, and a variant of the manic card trading game, Pit. Comes with a large plastic suitcase which the player who first completes a set must grab to end the round. The suitcase also acts as a card holder. Money is provided too and each set has a value which the completing player wins. There are two special cards: the tax man - whoever holds him at the end of the round loses money and a doubler which gets you twice the reward if you manage to complete a set. A good version of this classic game.

Black Box, published by Waddingtons. 1977. Box. Two copies available:

1) Good £7 2) Excellent £8

Special notes: Minor crack in plastic case (it is rare to avoid any case damage with this packaging)

Unusually packaged (for Waddingtons) in a plastic case. This is an excellent deduction game. One player secretly sets the position of 4 light reflecting 'atoms' and the other player sends theoretical rays of light into the black box, and is told where the ray of light comes out. Since the light may have been reflected by multiple 'atoms' this can get quite complex and requires quite a bit of logical thought. Recommended highly to anyone who likes this type of game.

Blackbeard's Treasure, published by Peter Pan. 1998. Box. Good. £20

Action game with over 80 game pieces. Inspired by the old favourite Crossbows & Catapults. One player controls a pirate ship while the other has a fort to defend. The pieces are all big and very tactile, with figures to hide behind palisades etc, and cannons and mortars which fire miniature cannonballs. Should these knock men over they are considered dead, and also parts of the ship and fort are 'sprung', and 'explode' on impact potentially killing nearby figures. There is also a board-game aspect to it, with a dice system devised by Steve Baker (of Heroquest, Battle Masters and Space Crusade fame).

Breaking Away, published by Fiendish Games. 1996. Box. New. £18

Second edition of this very good cycle racing game. Each player controls a team of four cyclists, and allocates each turn's movement allowances as best as possible as the cyclists jockey for position ready to sprint for the line in each of three sections of the race. No dice are used, instead a new movement allocation number is calculated each turn (to give a choice of 3) based on how many cyclists are ahead of him in the pack (with no gaps). There is also a special rule for attempting to break away from the pack. The winner is the team which accrues the most points from sprints and finishing positions. Good face to face or postally.

British Towns, published by Pepys. ca.1960. Box. Good. £5

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

Card game, with 44 cards featuring colour drawings of famous settings in 29 British Towns. The various towns and cities are divided up into 9 sets by region. Rules to a couple of different set collecting games are included, one being a rummy variant and the other a Go Fish style of game. The rules booklet also lists the populations of the depicted towns and cities, and gives a little information about each place.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer - The Game, published by Hasbro. 2000. Box. Excellent. £13

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

This is the American board game not the British one. There are a selection of scenarios to play, all based on the TV series. One player takes the side of evil and controls the big baddy for the scenario and his minions and gets to use a selection of unfriendly magic and other special cards. Meanwhile the other players control the heroes and get to use weapons, magic spells and brute force. The game is driven by card play and movement points to get around the board. A typical scenario would involve finding some evil artifact and either evil doing something despicable with it or the heroes finding the right spell or items to destroy it. Recommended as a very good thematic tie in for Buffy fans, and a decent game too.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Board Game, published by Susan Prescot Games. 2000. Box. Good. £7

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

This is the British board game not the American one. There are 5 humans and 3 vampires no matter the number of players. Initially you only know what you are but as the game goes on you find out more about the other players and uncontrolled characters. Ultimately the good guys and bad guys will fight it out and whichever side is left with players on it wins.

Can't Stop, published by MM. 1985. Box. Box edges are battered and taped up. £17

Special notes: Box shows slight indentation due to stacking. Contents are fine.

One of the best dice games ever devised. Players roll 4 dice and use the numbers on pairs of them to advance their markers. They may then either stick with what they have got or roll again in order to advance further. However, if a roll is made and the numbers cannot be used then all progress that turn is lost! The game is also well named as it is far too easy to make 'just one more roll' and bust! Highly recommended. This edition has a large red octagonal board with stackable plastic markers.

Captain Can, published by Carnaud Metalbox. ca.1990. Box. Good. £12

Promotional game set in space. Players set off in the ships and gather gadgets which can be used to help them in various missions to undo the evil deed of Vandalan, while also avoiding the ship destroying viroids. Movement is determined by spinner, and event cards are also used, and ensuring you always keep a good selection of gadgets on hand is the key to success. To win a player must confront Vandalan on his home planet and defeat him, returning him to Earth to face justice. Made by a tin can manufacturer, and includes information on the history of tin cans.

Car Capers, published by Spear's Games. ca.1980. Box. Box shows wear. £3

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

Twelve cars have been divided up into 6 parts each and players must reassemble them into complete cars. The player with the most complete cars at the end of the game wins. Play is by rolling dice and selecting which car parts to take using the dice rolls. Parts must be obtained in the correct order, and it is also possible to steal parts from other players.

Carolus Magnus, published by Venice Connection. 2000. Box. Excellent. £14

Players take the role of powerful nobles who are fighting for dominance over several regions. The playing area reduces as the game progresses, when adjacent areas combine. Knights of different factions are played on the tiles from your own supply, as well as being used to influence the various factions. Castles can be built when you achieve a majority under your influence at the current location which helps protect the region from hostile takeover. There is also quite a bit of luck as your supply of knights is replenished partially at random, but it still plays well. Recommended as a 3 player game.

Centrepoint, published by Ennerdale. 1987. Box. Good. £10

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

Strategy game using 76 pieces, all 25mm miniatures of soldiers such as lancers, archers, generals, etc. Probably classed as a multi-player chess variant as the pieces have different moves, although the objective is to get your standard bearer to the central space. The game is played on a circular gridded board, and rules are included for 2-3 players and also for postal play. First edition. Plain black box.

Chez Dork, published by Steve Jackson. 2001. Box. Excellent. £8

Special notes: 1st edition

Humorous card game. Players compete to feed their fannish obsessions and collect games, cards and other geeky treasures in the world of Dork Tower. (Doesn't sound too different to the real world to me :-). Very light, but the cards are amusing eg. 'Embroidered Unicorn Cape' and 'Lost Starving and Itchy' for the LARPers, '1st Season Pointed Ears' and '4-Foot Model GalactoCraft' for the S.F. fans etc.

City And Guilds, published by JKLM Games. 2004. Box. In shrink. £25

City building game in which players place building tiles into various blocks on the board. Players have a hand of building tiles and get to draft new ones. Most of the buildings are associated with one of 4 guilds, and placing these in such a way that they are in line of sight of other buildings of that guild enhances the power of that guild at the end of the game. Also some buildings allow men to be placed on them and others give the player influence over the guilds. When a block is fully built then players score for 1st-3rd most men in the block and also for 1st-3rd most influence in the most important guild in that block. At the end of the game there are large bonuses to players who control the guilds. Recommended.

Code Breaker, published by Winning Moves. 1998. Box. Mint. £8

Previously printed as Genius Rules. This is a very nice little inductive reasoning game. Essentially one player is the code master and draws a rule card. The other players then have to work out what that rule is. The rule involves a repeating order in which cards may be laid. The cards show various geniuses from history, split into two time periods and leaders, thinkers and artists. The rules as they stand omit a crucial sentence - ask me when you buy it! Recommended.

Coloretto, published by Abacus Spiele. 2003. Box. In shrink. £6

Neat card game in which players collect cards. The cards come in seven different colours and the value of a set of cards goes up in a triangular sequence (ie. 1 card - 1VP, 2-3, 3-6, 4-10 etc), however only the biggest three sets count positive, with other colours counting against your score. The way cards are collected is fast but interesting: a player can either claim a pile of cards or draw a card unseen and add it to a pile. This is repeated several times and then the players' collections are scored. It sounds too simple to be good, but works surprisingly well. Highly recommended.

Crossbows And Cannon, published by 3W. 1992. Box. Good. £12

Quad game with four battles from the Renaissance: Pavia 1525, France vs The Holy Roman Empire; Garigliano 1503, Spain vs France; Ravenna 1512, France vs Spain and the Papacy; and Bicocca 1522, France vs Spain. The system uses a command system intended to simulate the problems commanders faced during the Renaissance, and leaders are rated for command, initiative and combat. Weapons in the game include arquebuses, crossbows, cannons, pikes and more. Units include stradiots, genitors, pikemen and more.

Cyberspace - Death Game 2090, published by Iron Crown Enterprises. 1990. Booklet. Good. £2.50

Adventure module for the Cyberspace roleplaying game.

Dallas, published by Yaquinto. 1980. Double LP Case. Good. £16

Designer Unknown. No. players: 3-7. Country: American, Duration: 2 hrs, Desc. by Andy.

Game using the theme of the popular TV series of the same name - don't let this put you off! Players acquire stock in a variety of companies and attempt to obtain a controlling interest to make their stock more valuable. The board shows several routes to get to the different companies, and cards are played to move. However at the end of each year players must return home to be able to vote at the stockholders' meeting - other players will do their best to stop you getting there. At this meeting players negotiate to become President of Ewing Oil (very valuable), but it is possible to blackmail a candidate and force them to vote for you instead. Ultimately most money wins.

Das Zepter Von Zavandor, published by Lookout Games. 2004. Box. In shrink. £30

Special notes: English rules and crib sheets are included.

Fantasy game which reuses the excellent auction and development system in the now very sought after game Outpost. Players take the roles of mages who develop their magic powers by gaining magical gems, which in turn produce more magical power. Also different areas of knowledge need to be developed to gain VPs and make further options possible. Various artifacts can be bought which give a selection of different special powers and victory points and ultimately players will need to buy sentinels which are the key to victory. The central mechanism is an auction of the artifacts currently available, and knowing when to spend and when to save is crucial. Highly recommended, although there is quite a lot of German involved.

Der Herr Der Ringe - Die Gefahrten - Spiel Zum Film, published by Kosmos. 2001. Box. Excellent. £13

Special notes: The cards have all been pasted up with English translations.

The players take the parts of the hobbits who make the journey from Hobbiton to Amun Hen in 4 stages. In each stage monsters have to be faced and events overcome, and there are bonuses for the hobbits who finish the stage first. Play involves assigning dice between movement and battle. Fast movement means you are more likely to get the end of stage bonus, but also means more battles. Losing a battle forces you backwards on the movement track. The cards show scenes from the excellent first film of the trilogy.

Der Herr Der Ringe - Die Zwei Turme Kartenspiel, published by Ravensberger. 2002. Box. In shrink. £10

One of the Lord of the Rings games which came out in Germany while the films were being released. This one is a rather neat card game based very loosely on the journey in the 2nd film. The cards have different background colours and symbols on (as well as pictures of the major characters from the film), and these must be drafted into suitable sets, and when the fellowship marker gets to a scoring round players lay down sets of cards according to the rules and the player with the most influence over the current location scores most VPs down to none for the player with the least influence. Drafting and scoring rounds are interspersed, and VPs counted at the end. Works rather well. Recommended.

Die Handler Von Genoa, published by Alea. 2001. Box. Excellent. £13

Each player represents a trading house in the 16th century city of Genoa. Goods are acquired when moving around the city and orders fulfilled. Messages need to be delivered and various privileges can be obtained. In order to achieve all this negotiation and deal making is required, and whoever is most successful at this will generally win.

Die Kaufleute Von Amsterdam, published by Jumbo. 1999. Box. Good. £16

Players are the heads of rich merchant families. Game play is driven by Dutch auctions, and the game includes a large clockwork device which controls these auctions, and this makes for some very tense moments. Players bid for commodities to ship to the far reaches of the world, the right to build in key places in Amsterdam and for prominence as a shipping company. A clever time line system ensures events occur in a similar way to the real world, and gives players an idea what they need to concentrate on. Essentially a majorities game, but a good one with plenty to think about.

Die Seidenstrasse, published by Schmidt. 1998. Box. Two copies available:

1) Excellent £12 2) Excellent £14, with a set of home made cards with English cards to improve playability.

Original game set in the trading routes on the Silk Road between China and Venice. Players choose their move by play of cards, with an objective of reaching towns on the route first. As each town is reached money is won. One very neat idea is that cards played from the hand are played on yourself, but then stay in front of you and will be played again on another player before being discarded, and since only three cards can be in front of you at once you will have to play them in this way even if it isn't entirely desirable.

Diversion, published by Spears. ca.1950. Box. Box shows wear - edges taped. £22

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

A game of skill, with no dice or cards. Car race game in which players move their cars across the board (they can choose their move within limits) to score points, but everyone gets to turn roundabouts on the roads, leading to a vast number of road combinations. Plenty of choice, and skilful planning required to avoid the dead-ends and undesirable route changes. Wooden cars, and the rotating roundabouts which alter the routes are quite neat.

Doctor Who - Battle For The Universe, published by BBC / The Game Team Ltd. 1989. Box. Good. £7

One player takes the role of the Doctor and his assistants, while other take on the roles of Davros, The Master and the Cyber Controller and their minions. Each side attempts to build up a powerful team and then through a series of battles to defeat other teams they try to become the ruler of the universe, or in the case of the Doctor to stop there being one. The board shows three interconnected movement circles and a Ring of Battles and Challenges. This last ring shows which device skill is required in during the current battle to determine the winner.

Downtown, published by Abacus. 1996. Box. Two copies available:

1) Good £13 2) Excellent. £15

City development game in which there are three different types of neigbourhood. Each turn one or two blocks will be developed, based on the players' votes. Once all four properties in a block have been bought and the type of the block has been determined, its base score is the number of completed blocks adjoining it. However, there are serious bonuses and penalties for locating certain types of development next to each other. The voting is key to the game, and it is not permitted to abstain. Once a game it is possible to use a double vote, and the current player gets a casting vote in case of ties.

Drachen Delta, published by Euro Games. 2000. Box. In shrink. £14

German version of Dragon Delta. Players race to cross the delta to their home village by placing stones and planks and moving across them. Card play is simultaneous, with players choosing cards from a wide selection of actions such as: laying stones to place planks on, laying planks on stones, moving various amounts, removing a stone or plank from a critical location, or forfeiting your turn to hinder an opponent. While the game is somewhat chaotic, planning is possible, and keeping your options open is always good. I have a couple of house rules and clarifications too. Recommended, and works especially well with 5 or 6 players.

D'raf, published by Splotter Spellen. 2000. Box. Excellent. £12

No. players: 3-5. Country: Dutch, Desc. by Andy.

Car racing game, but with a difference. The race is from one side of the table to the other and the track isn't there at the start of the game! Instead track segments get placed as the game goes on, and you can be sure that your opponents will put obstacles in your way whenever they can. While it is safer to drive behind the leader it is also slower, and this IS a race ...

Dragon Dice, published by TSR. Two sets available:

1) 1995. Box. Good. £10.
This is the contents of 3 starter sets put into a single box, so contains 54 dice, with 3 attractive dice bags

2) 1996. Box. Good. £8. Battle Box set.

This set includes 36 dice, and a board to play on, and is sufficient for 2 players to play.

Collectable dice game in which you use dice to represent armies of various fantasy races and monsters which battle to control their home base and a frontier area. The first player to capture two terrains wins the game - this will require several victories at those locations. There are lots of different types of dice which can enhance your armies, giving them special powers, and there are also special Dragon dice, which are very powerful. The dice are all very attractive and have special symbols on them.

Drahtseilakt, published by ASS. 1998. Box. In shrink. £7

Neat card game in which players use cards numbered 1-50, and try to end each hand with no penalty sticks. Players play a series of tricks in which the highest card 'wins' penalty sticks of one colour and the lowest card 'wins' penalty sticks of the other colour. However, when a player has both red and blue sticks an equal number of each can be handed in. Thus it is possible to do well by either avoiding sticks altogether or getting quite a few, but cancelling them out with more of the other colour. Very clever, and plays well - recommended.

Dungeon Dice, published by Parker Bros. 1977. Box. Box battered and taped up, but whole. £5

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 re-rolled 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.

Filthy Rich, published by Wizards of the Coast. 1998. Box. Excellent. £14

Business game, with a three dimensional board system, inspired by the busy streets and back alleys of Hong Kong. Players buy businesses and 'hang' their signs in the streets, hoping to attract customers. The first to buy three luxury goods, wins the game. Players have to take care not to overstretch themselves as sometimes the taxman calls and requires businesses to pay up, but being too cautious is unlikely to make a big profit fast enough. The 3-D board system makes use of transparent collectible card storage sheets and a hardbound folder. I have some house rules you might want to try out - please ask for them when ordering.

Firefighter, published by Cast Games. ca.1985. Box. Fair. £4

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

Special notes: The box cover's picture is damaged where a label was ripped off, and has a stained area. The board is a little warped but rotates just fine.

Rescue Nurse Nightingale from the blazing hospital building. The board shows a maze of corridors along which the players will move their firemen, with quite a few 'holes'. The board rotates and underneath there are various symbols, such as fires, smoke or ladders, and the symbols showing change whenever the board turns. Movement is by dice roll, but get past various hazards suitable equipment needs to be found. Some spaces require a card to be drawn and acted upon. Rather nice hunky firemen figures.

Focus, published by Spears. 1980. Box. Good. £11

Focus (aka Domination) is a strategy game in which players attempt to make moves and capture pieces in such a way that their opponent has no possible moves. Players may move a piece or stack of pieces based on the number of pieces that re in the stack. Only the player with the top piece of a stack may move that stack, and when a stack is sufficiently large the bottom-most pieces are removed, and friendly pieces made into 'reserves'. Won the German Spiel des Jahres in 1980.

Foresight, published by Eng's I.Q. Co.. 1987. Box. Good. £3

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

Game based on the principles of Nim, in which you take away counters from a line and the loser is the last one left to take a counter. Dice are used purely to set the game up, ensuring it will be different every time you play. This is more complex than Nim, as there are several lines in play simultaneously.

Formel 1 Nurburgring, published by ASS. ca.1980. Box. Good. £16

Special notes: The board has been improved to make the track more interesting (this can be removed). Includes betting sheets from Top Race and a printout of Alan Moon’s own track for this family of games too.

Version of Wolfgang Kramer's card driven motor racing game in which players first bid for cars knowing what cards they have to drive them with and then race them. The cards generally have several of the car colours listed and how far each one must be moved. There is plenty of scope for using cards which waste another player's car's movement points if you play it right. This set has a single track - the Nurburgring. This game was reissued (with differences) as Detroit / Cleveland Grand Prix and Top ace (and others too). Wooden cars. I will include my house rules and analysis of the tracks from the various games in this family. Owners of other games of this family may want to buy this for the additional track.

Four Battles Of The Ancient World, published by Decision Ganes. 1992. Box. Good. £11

Tactical wargame quad which uses one base system, but with special rules for each confrontation. The battles are Arbela 331 BC, Cannae 216 BC, Pharsalus 48 BC, and Teutoburger Wald 9 AD. Basic and advanced rules provided. Hexes represent 00-200m, and a turn is 1-2 hours. Unit size is 100-500 men. Includes 400 counters. The box claims high solitaire suitability.

Go For It, published by Parker. 1985. Box. Two copies available:

1) Good £4 2) Box poor £2

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

Players compete to collect status cards in the categories: Going Places, Wheels, Feeling Good and House & Home. Playing pieces are moved around the board which is a track in the form of a calendar, and different spaces allow different actions. At the start of a year you can declare that you are 'Going For It' and if you have sufficient status cards at the end of the year then you win, but be assured that opponents will do their best to stop you.

Gold Cup, published by Racecarda. ca.1978. Box. Box poor. £7

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

An interesting horse racing game in which the basic idea is that each horse runs in a particular way, with a fixed starting speed, but then changing speeds at various points throughout the race as indicated on a pace card. The lanes they are in and the length of course being run as well as who they are up against will affect how they perform. There are simple rules as well as additional advanced rules, each printed on a sheet of A4, so not too complex!

Horse Stakes, published by Milton Bradley. 1995. Box. Good. £5

Horse racing game that borrows elements from the playing card game Racing Aces, but adds a twist or two. It is nicely presented with a 'race case' to store the bits, 40 cards and 6 mini-plastic pairs of binoculars which act as marker pieces. Comes in a small box and is from the designer of Ave Caesar. Initial cards laid out set the odds and then after betting is done further cards are laid out to resolve the race. However, when a card is laid onto a fence he card is checked to see if the horse makes it - if not it is disqualified.

I'm The Boss, published by Face2Face Games. 2003. Box. In shrink. £22

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.

Impertinent Questions And Pertinent Answers, published by H P Gibsons. ca.1930. Box. Good for age. £4

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

One of the early Gibson games, and one that is one of their best selling items in their history. For those who collect titles by this company, this is in an orange/brown fronted oblong box, featuring a character with a globe as a head, laughing at the cards inside. Essentially an ice-breaker at parties, as players read out questions like "Have you any holes in your stockings?", and someone else reads out an answer at random from another card which might say: Yes, but only on Saturday nights". As the rules say, "The procedure is repeated, thus keeping the company in a continual roar of laughter".

Jagd Der Vampire, published by Ravensberger. 1991. Box. Good. £15. Desc. by Andy.

Special notes: Original German rules missing (translation supplied). This set also includes a promotional photo and the negative for it!

Race game with a daft theme - the vampires have given up drinking blood and now prefer ketchup. They race through the evil forest to the castle where the Great Tomato has been hidden in one of the towers. First to get there and find it will rule the vampires! The bits are wonderful: large board, large heavy vampire tokens, big towers for the castle, big plastic bridges etc. The game itself involves moving along a track, landing on different coloured spaces to draw special cards. moves have to be paid for with miniature ketchup bottles. Also vampires can duel, and cast spells, and special rules cover dangers within the castle. Nice item.

Just The Job, published by Spear's Games. 1993. Box. Good. £5

Players are given job cards (eg. dentist, prime minister etc), adjective cards (eg. sadistic, trustworthy), and object cards (eg. pitchfork, briefcase), and players match them up into sets by drawing cards and swapping with other players. It is also possible to challenge other players' sets and the first player to make up three sets of cards wins the game.

Keythedral, published by Pro Ludo. 2004. Box. In shrink. £30

Second edition, with English cards and rules. The players lay out a land using octagonal tiles which provide various resources, and place their cottages in the square gaps between the tiles. Each round every land tile produces one resource and he players compete for these, taking it in turn to claim resources in a cunning and very tactical way. These resources can then be spent to build parts of the Keythedral for victory points, or in various other ways to aid your future production or hinder other players. Also some special action cards are available for purchase and these can prove very useful. Ultimately VPs are won for parts of the Keythedral constructed and for unused resources. Nicely produced. Recommended.

Ko-An, published by Image Games. 1994. Box. Box shows wear. £9

Strategy game, with nice wooden pieces, played on a grid of octagons and squares. Each player has playing pieces in these shapes as well. The objective is to get any one of your pieces onto your opponent's back row. Pieces move one space forward at time, onto either type of space, but can only capture if landing on a space the same shape as the piece. Received a very favourable review in Sumo magazine some years ago.

Kunst Stucke, published by Moskito. 1995. Box. Excellent. £12

Strategy game involving fitting coloured shapes on to a board. Players take turns placing down the chunky shaped tiles attempting to achieve some secret goals by the end of the game (eg.. 4 contiguous red pieces). Before or after placing a tile the current player can slide pieces around to adjust the layout to their liking. The scoring system is particularly good as it disguises what other people are actually trying to achieve, and makes the harder objectives more valuable.

Lemming, published by Spielfreaks. 1990. Box. Good. £12. Desc. by Andy.

Each player controls several lemmings who are all rushing inexorably towards a cliff. However, you want yours to be the last to jump! The game uses a random turn order mechanism to ensure unpredictability but allows cards to be played to divert lemmings from the fastest route, and when a lemming bumps into another the one bumped one moves on, and in such a way that this can cause further lemmings to move too. In addition there is the occasional Mad Lemming Dash, and this all ensures fun and unusual game which should not be taken too seriously.

Let's Buy Hollywood, published by Henmead Enterprises. 1991. Box. Box good, contents unpunched. £15

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

Business game in which the objective is to control 1 each of the 4 types of entertainment businesses available. Buying shares is done when landing on the appropriate space (using the movement around a track mechanic), but you can either buy one cheap r two at a higher per-share cost. In order to make money players buy talent cards so they can put on a film. The film once released will hopefully provide income - there is a separate track on which film tokens are moved - and this money can be fed into producing more films and buying more shares to gain control of companies.

Little Green Men, published by Waddingtons. 1990. Box. Good. £14

Wonderfully silly science fiction game. Each player sends two investigators into the forest to find the recently landed spaceship and return with some little green men to prove it really happened. Movement is by dice roll, but the movement points can e split between investigators. Once at the spaceship a spinner built into the large plastic spaceship is spun and can result in gaining cards, capturing a wonderful little green man, or the investigator being captured by the little green men! Once captured little green men can be illusive though as opponents can play cards to help them hop away from your investigator! Great bits, and completely daft.

Lost Luggage, published by Ravensberger. 1988. Box. Good. £5

Memory game in which each player tries to find a set of luggage numbered 1-10. First a 1 must be found, then a 2 and so on up to 10. There are more of the lower numbered suitcases and less of the higher numbers. The luggage tiles are shuffled up and put face down in 10 groups of 4, each group representing an airport. Players fly their rather nice large plastic planes to an airport of their choice where no-one else is and may check for their next piece of luggage there. A nice twist allows you to search at another player's airport, but they get an extra mini-turn as compensation.

Lotus, published by Ravensberger. 1988. Box. Excellent. £10

Abstract race game in which players have to try to get their playing pieces from the start area to the finish area first. Pieces can stack and the higher a stack the further the piece on top can move. There is also a 'trampoline' space which doubles movement for a piece landing on it. The board and pieces have been given a Chinese look which is quite attractive

Lunatix Loop, published by Locust Games. 2000. Box. Excellent. £15

Limited edition game (200 made). Players race Trabants around a dirt track, and dirty tricks are the order of the day eg. dropping tacks, oil etc. The game uses speedometers to record the current speed and cards are played secretly to determine what ach player intends to do for the turn (ram, decelerate, drop a hazard, accelerate or even do a 180 turn and go the other way!). Not your standard motor racing game.

Mah Jong, published by Unknown. Box. Good. £6

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

Special notes: One side of the box slightly discoloured, but contents unused.

An attractive 144 wooden tile Mah Jong set, with a history of the game, a pair of dice and rules compiled by R.C. Bell, including some variants and rules for 2, 3 and 5 players as well as the standard 4 player game.

Mah-Jong, published by Home-made. Box. Box worn, contents good. £5

Designer Unknown. Desc. by Andy.

Very unusual item. Someone has clearly gone to a lot of trouble to make their own set of Mah-Jong. This doesn't include a set of rules, just a scoring summary, but the rules are widely available (and I can photocopy a set for you). he tiles are all made of card, and made very neatly. Tile racks are provided and there are strips of paper of different lengths and colours to use as scoring chips. The box is also divided into separate sections to store everything.

Mah-Jongg, published by Gibsons. ca.1977. Box. Excellent. £8

Designer Unknown. No. players: 3-4. Country: British, Desc. by Andy.

Mah Jong set with very nice wooden tiles. Includes dice, set of rules (30 pages), wind indicators and wooden scoring sticks. This is a 144 tile Mah Jong set.

Max-X, published by Flying Turtle. 1989. Box. Good. £9

Dice game in which 15 dice are rolled in groups of 3. These must be placed onto a board with overlapping zones so as to score the most points. This is done by getting dice showing the same number (and ideally colour too) into the same area. here is also a special dice which allows some special actions such as changing the number rolled on a dice. It is all about maximising your chances for a high score throughout your series of dice rolls.

Meutre A L'Abbaye, published by MultiSim. 1996. Box. Excellent. £35

Highly sought after and collectable mystery game. One of the monks has been killed, and the players must discover which monk it was. The monks have different attributes: dominican, franciscan, fat, thin, novice, father etc, and the murderer's card is et aside. Players move around the monastery trying to work out what is going on, which is mainly done with the help of confessionals, searching other monk's quarters, asking other players questions (unless they take a vow of silence) and the gossip which happens at every mass! Great game if you like deduction games. For an extra £5 I will print out and laminate a set of home printed cards and summary sheets, which I use in my own copy.

Midnight Party, published by Ravensburger. 1989. Box. Box edges show wear. £10

Good end of evening game that always generates laughs and excitement. Players must hide in rooms around a mansion before the ghost captures them. Trouble is, space is very limited and the hiding place fill up fast, and the host can whizz around quicker than you had hoped!

Munchhausen, published by Abacus. 1996. Box. Excellent. £5

Card game, 64 colourful cards, drawing their inspiration from the stories told by (and about) Baron Munchhausen. In effect, the game is a variation of Cheat, with bluff playing a major part in the proceedings.

Murder Mystery - Murder On Misty Island, published by University Games. 1986. Box. 2 box edges split. £7

Murder mystery party game for up to 8 players. The players roleplay the 8 characters detailed and have to talk to the other players to find out who is the murderer!

Neck And Neck, published by Yaquinto. 1981. Double LP Case. Good. £8

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

Yaquinto's only sports game. Non-statistical horse racing game in an album case. Players place secret wagers on one or more horses and then players rolls two dice and decide whether or not to move the indicated horse the amount rolled. Doubles allow a further roll. At the end of the race bets are paid for horses finishing in the top 3 (of 6). The game requires an element of bluff as refusing to move any horses which are not your own will soon make it obvious what you have bet on, and thus you will find no-one else moving them for you at all.

Nessie Hunt, published by Searchglen. 1986. Box. Good. £12

Nicely made game, with overlays that you lay across the board depicting Loch Ness in the search for the famous monster. Game play involves spending money carefully on the most likely ways of seeing Nessie, and positioning their overlays to best advantage given that there is some indication of where Nessie might be seen. Such methods include eye witnesses, underwater cameras, radar, and even a cage! Each time one of your overlays proves successful you get an extra evidence card worth points in the race to prove that Nessie exists. These cards all have pictures with info from the real hunt for Nessie. Unusual and very nice item, and a fun game too.

New Faces Game, published by Parker Palitoy. 1975. Box. Box corners taped. £3

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

TV related, based on a television talent show. Players are acts looking for stardom. Playing pieces are moved first around the outer 'audition' track, and when a cards for a suitable act have been obtained then the player advances to the New Faces rack where the reaction from the audience is gauged and then hopefully the act will make it to stardom, possibly even making it big in Las Vegas. Derek Hobson, the show's host, pictured on the cover.

Numeri, published by Berliner Spiele. ca.1970. Box. Good. £7

Race game. Wooden pieces. Rules in many languages, including English. Movement is by dice roll indicating which of a player's numbered pieces can move, but it is possible to split your roll eg. a 5 can move either piece No. 5 or pieces No 1 & 4! Also getting 3 or more of your pieces in a row gets you another turn.

Offshore Oil Strike, published by Printabox. ca.1975. Box. Box shows wear. £9

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

Promotional game, sponsored by the BP petrol company. Players buy drilling rights to blocks of the North Sea, get their drilling rig to those locations and drill for oil. Once found pipelines back to the player's oil terminal (or another of that layer's operating rigs) must be laid, and a production rig installed. All this costs money on a turn by turn basis, and only then will income start to be generated, and then exploration of further areas started. The game has nice plastic oil rigs and uses a double sided rotating disk in a jacket to determine success of exploratory drilling attempts and also the production levels of rigs in different areas of the North Sea.

Old Town, published by Stephan Riedel. 2000. Packet. Good. £10

1st edition hand produced by the author. A wild west town lies in ruins and the players try to restore it to its former glory by using clues to the original locations of the buildings on cards. These clues relate a building's position to other buildings, the railroad, and various streets. Each building has a large tile to place on the appropriate spot when its position is definitively determined, and markers to place when there are only a small number of possible locations. Players score points by eliminating these markers by playing clue cards and making deductions. Unique idea, and recommended for deduction game fans.

Old Town, published by Clicker. 2004. Box. New. £16

2nd edition boxed version. Essentially the same game as the 1^st edition (see above), but this version does have some significant rules changes compared to the original edition, so it is not identical.

Organized Crime, two versions available:

1) Published by ICE. 1990. Box. Mint. £17 2) Published by Koplow. 1974. Box. Good. £17

Players try to eliminate all the other players by Hitting their Boss. Hitmen are moved around the board in order to build up influence through corrupt politicians, legal and illegal businesses and investments. Hitmen are sometime penalised for their mistakes (via cards) and attempts can be made to eliminate crime Bosses, an thus their owning player. Negotiation is also an important aspect of the game, in order to gain other people's votes of support in return for money or future favours.

Pirate's Plunder, published by Hilary's Toybox. 2000. Box. Excellent. £7

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

Card and dice game based on the 'Golden Age of Piracy'. Players play cards and attempt to secure treasure while avoiding the British and Spanish fleets. Everything is card driven, but dice rolls need to be made to determine the success of actions.

Pit, several versions available:

1) Published by Waddingtons. ca.1960. Box. Box good. Contents well used. Possibly 1^st Waddingtons edition £1

2) Published by Waddingtons. ca.1960. Box. Used but quite playable. Possibly 1^st Waddingtons edition £1

3) Published by Waddingtons. 1994. Box. Excellent. Red box. £2

4) Published by Winning Moves. 1996. Box. Excellent. £3

5) Published by Parker. 1919. Box. Good for age. £5. Very early edition. Mentions Bull & Bear as being new.

Designer Unknown. No. players: 3-7. Country: British, Duration: 30 mins, Desc. by Eamon.

Players try to acquire a complete set of one of the commodities, which is done by everyone simultaneously offering a number of cards to swap. Loud, frantic and great fun.

Plunder, published by Island Games. 1989. Box. Good, but box edges show wear. £12

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

Players are treasure seekers, diving down to wrecks off the Bermudan coast. The large board shows Bermuda with various routes to travel around and then to head off to sea. These tracks then lead to dive sites. Once at a dive site the current player chooses one other player who will also dive with them, and the other players take the role of sharks. Play is then on one of the special dive site sections of the board and the drivers attempt to get to the treasures before their air runs out and before the sharks get them. Game play is driven by dice roll, but with choices of how to move - especially on the dive displays. The first player to recover 12 dubloons and get back to Bermuda airport wins.

Poker Face, published by Piatnik. 1993. Box. Excellent. £6

Card game, 25 colourful cards are used in this game of bluff (you must keep a 'Poker-Face' as hinted in the title). Players collect cards from each other, hiding their true worth and action cards cause changes in the normal routine of play. Autographed on the front by the author.

Pony Express, published by Abacus. 1991. Box. Good. £17

Unusual betting and racing game. Players try to gain control of 2 horses in the 7 horse field and then lead them to victory. In the first stage of the game players place bets on horses and give out cards to the horses. By the end of the round ownership and odds will have been determined. In the race itself the horse owners try to make the best use of the cards assigned to each horse bearing in mind any special features of their track. Bets are paid off at the end of each race. There are some unusual mechanics which set it apart from other horse racing games. Wooden components.

Popular Card Games, published by W D & H O Wills. 1933. Book. Good. £9

Interesting book of games published by the Imperial Tobacco Company and probably sold in pubs. Includes 15 'families' of games with many variants. These families are: Auction Bridge, Contract Bridge, Whist, Solo Whist, Piquet, Bezique, Cribbage, Poker, Vingt-Et-Un, Baccaret, Napoleon, Loo, Slippery Sam, Newmarket and Rummy.

Pro Golf, published by Avalon Hill. 1984. Box. Good. £10

Second edition. Pebble Beach course. Maybe the best statistical golf game ever. So clever, you get to play every shot, yet there is no board. Avalon Hill planned to release more course books, but only did two (this is the second).

Putsch, published by Queen Games. 1998. Box. Excellent. £13

Game of political manoueverings in a banana republic. Control of each of the political groups at the end of the game scores points. Each group can perform different actions, and money and cards must be used to best effect. As you would expect from this type of game there is plenty of scope for wheeling and dealing amongst the players.

Razzia, published by Ravensberger. 1992. Box. Good. £8

Fun game in which players compete for the money found in several gambling dens. Simultaneously players send either a cop or a gambler to one of the dens. If a gambler is on his own he gets the money. If only cops turn up then noone gets the money. If a cop find one or more gamblers then the cop takes the money, and if two or more cops / gamblers are eligible for the money they negotiate and if that fails they dice for it. A game which involves outguessing your opponents and a being able to make deals too. Later republished as Hick Hack Im Gackelwack.

Rebs & Yanks, published by Stratamax. 1995. Box. Excellent - cards in shrink. £9

Card game, based on American Civil War encounters. Not a trading card game, but a complete game in its own right. Cards feature leaders, troops and terrain. Players hold cards representing famous generals, terrain, and various kinds of army units. Players draw and discard until one feels strong enough to launch an attack. The battle involves the use of dice and cards modify the results. The game includes a standard game, advanced rules and also special rules for four scenarios: Antietam, Stones River, The Wilderness and Kennesaw Mountain.

Rigatoni Intriganti, published by Glucksritter Spiele. 1997. Box. Excellent. £14

This is a combination of a business game and a negotiation game. The players run pasta factories and try to produce and then sell pasta for a profit. However, each player secretly chooses from a selection of victory conditions at the start so people don't know who is really trying to do what. There are lots of opportunities to be nasty to other people as well as negotiate your way into or out of trouble! The bits are unusual - a very nice wooden box containing 3 colours of real pasta as playing pieces as well as the more usual wooden dobbers etc.

Rolemaster Boxed Set, published by Iron Crown Enterprises. Two versions available:

1) 1989. Box. Box has small tear. Second edition boxed set .£6.

2) 1984. Box. 2 Box edges split. Reprint of 1st edition. £7

Also includes The Cloudlords of Tanara scenario and Character Record Sheets.

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

Fantasy Roleplaying System in a box. The boxed set includes the following major books: Spell Law, Arms/Claw Law, Character/Campaign Law.

Rolemaster Companion 1, published by Iron Crown Enterprises. 1986. Book. Good. £3

Roleplaying supplement for the Rolemaster system. This book includes high level spells, New spell items, More monsters, More magic items, Condensed combat system, New professions, New races and optional system mechanics.

Rolemaster Companion 3, published by Iron Crown Enterprises. 1988. Book. Excellent. £3

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

Roleplaying supplement for the Rolemaster system. This book contains: More professions, Spell Lists, Critical Tables, Spell Attack tables, Optional rules.

Rolemaster - Spell User's Companion, published by Iron Crown Enterprises. 1991. Book. Good. £3

Roleplaying supplement for Rolemaster roleplaying system. This book contains: New magical skills, herbs and spell options, magical languages, rules for masters and apprentices, dozens of new spell lists.

Roots, published by Heritage Products. 1978. Box. Good. £2.50

Card game, 54 cards in total and unusual tree-shaped score-sheets. Three game rules provided, Roots, Roots Rummy and Roots Solitaire.

Saga, published by Uberplay. 2004. Box. In shrink. £10. Desc. by Andy.

Designed by Wolfgang Kramer, Horst-Rainer Rosner. No. players: 2-4. Country: American, Duration: 45 mins. Card game in which players vie for control of 6 kingdoms. Each turn the ruler of a kingdom gains some victory points, and in some cases a special power. The rulers also gain VPs at the end of the game, but the balance for each kingdom is different. Kingdoms are won by openly laying down sequences of cards over several turns to form an army. Once strong enough the army takes over the kingdom it was first declared as attacking, although there are card placement limitations which mean care must be taken to ensure the army will be strong enough to attack. The game play is neat, and is all about timing your attacks correctly and managing your hand of cards well, as well as keep a close eye on your rivals. Recommended.

Sagaland, published by Ravensburger. 1994. Box. Excellent. £7. Desc. by Andy.

Great children's game, which is also good for adults, and one of Eamon's favourites. Various fairlytale 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.

Samarkand, published by Rio Grande Games. 1999. Box. Two copies available:

1) Excellent. £14 2) Mint - still in shrink. £15

Very good economic game in which players buy sell and trade different goods with nomads and markets in the exotic East. Very cleverly designed board and rules make this different to other similar sounding games and well worth playing. The objective is to reach a monetary target first. Highly recommended.

Samarkand: Isfahan, published by Grunspan. 1999. Packet. Excellent. £1

Small expansion for Samarkand which makes the commodity markets move between cities as the game is played

Samurai, 1998. Box. Two versions available:

1) Published by Hans Im Gluck. In shrink. German version with translation of rules. £20

2) Published by Rio Grande Games. In shrink. American version – fully in English. £23

Very good tile laying game from this master designer. One of his best too in my opinion. The board shows the islands of Japan and onto these 3 types of beautifully made black plastic pieces are placed. The object is to win lots of these by laying tiles around them representing your various forces, such as samurai, priests, farmers, traders, and even ships. It is one of those games where you want to do lots of things but can't do them all, so you have to pick most carefully where you will concentrate your effort. Highly recommended.

Savannah Cafe, published by Euro Games. 2001. Box. Excellent. £10. Desc. by Andy.

Race game, each player has a hippo (very slow but steady), a lion (medium speed, but can be knocked back by opposing hippos) and a gazelle (fast but very erratic, and can be eaten by opponents' lions) which run to the watering hole to quench their thirst. It doesn't matter which of your animals arrive first, as long one of them arrives before your opponents' animals. The game is driven by cards, each of which moves a particular type of animal a certain distance. A few special cards also allow for some sneaky tricks.

Save The President, published by Games for Pleasure. 1984. Box. Box good, contents unpunched. £10

Unusual game of bluff where each player has an objective, either to fulfil the title or to kill the President. Who is doing what starts out as a secret known only to the individual. The President moves in a motorcade across the board and players attempt to keep him safe / kill him by getting into the best positions. The President's route is not known in advance, but is determined randomly an each junction. Players move their agents and play cards which will hopefully give them an advantage. Players are penalised at the end of the game for hindering other players who turned out to be on the same side.

Save The World, published by Crown & Andrews. 1989. Box. Good. £2

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

Ecological trivia game, recommended by TV expert David Bellamy (pictured on the lid).

Schatztaucher, published by Salagames. 1992. Box. Good. £9

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.

Schnappchen Jagd, published by Queen Games. 1998. Box. Excellent. £7

Clever trick taking card game. Each hand each player is aiming to collect tricks containing cards of a particular type. These score points, but other cards won are potentially negative. However in between rounds you get a chance to get rid of some junk cards you have collected and also change what you are going for next hand. The rules for trumps are novel as well. Recommended to any fans of trick taking games.

Secrets Of The Deep, published by Ravensburger. 1991. Box. Good. £9

Clever deep sea diving game where players are scuba divers looking for sunken treasure. However their boat is moving along and some divers may not make it back before the boat leaves if they dive too deep. Players have a set of diving cards which are played one per turn and determine movement along with the result of a spinner. Dolphins can also be used to help your diver and hinder opponents, and players must taken care to return from a dive before their air supply runs out. The best treasure is of course at the lowest depths, so players need to balance the risks. British edition of this German game.

Sensationen, published by Walter Muller. 1992. Box. Excellent. £12

Elegantly simple betting and racing game, but with lots of intriguing twists. You start racing on one of three races, but the card play not only moves the pieces but can also transfer the race itself to adjacent courses. The first game by this company not invented by Walter himself. However it does use his unique graphic style.

Shooting Stars, published by Yaquinto. 1980. Box. Good. £13

Ship to ship space combat game. Scenarios range from a US-USSR Space war, to Asteroid Pirates, and an Alien Invasion. Movement uses a vector based system, which means planning movement several turns ahead is pretty important. Energy management between a wide variety of ship functions (eg. shields, cloak, scanners) is important and there are many different weapons possible. Eight ship designs included, but more can be designed. Movement is plotted simultaneously.

Shop Missus, published by Waddingtons. ca.1948. Box. Two copies available:

1) Good. £6 2) Box colours faded. £5

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2-8. Country: British, Duration: 20 mins, Desc. by Andy.

Card game. Very interactive as players try to win cards by racing to name items sold by other players' shops when matching cards are turned up. Should several matching cards be turned up the winner of thr round wins a Super-trick. Noisy and fast paced game in the same sort of genre as Pit.

Siege, published by Standard Games. 1983. Box. Box shows wear. £10

Special notes: The box is quite large and not very sturdy and so shows some damage due to stacking Wargame in the Cry Havoc series. This is, however, a standalone game as well as being playable with Cry Havoc. Siege is a man to man small scale combat game set in medieval times. It has 5 scenarios and 2 maps (one a castle and the other a fortified encampment). Rules cover all sorts of siege engines and tactics. Attractive counters with individual pictures and combat stats.

Skeleton In The Cupboard, published by National Trust. 1990. Box. Good. £9

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

Board game played with a deck of 55 treasure cards, 9 room cards, and wooden pieces. Players move themselves and a ghost piece by use of dice, using the ghost to hinder their opponents. Everyone gets to control the ghost in their turn, so its movement can be erratic. Players move around various rooms of a mansion collecting cards which can be treasure, special action cards, or part of the skeleton. Once all of the skeleton has been drawn the game ends and the player with the most treasure wins.

Sleuth, published by Face2Face Games. 2004. Box. In shrink. £10

A classic game of deduction. A gem has been stolen, and the players have to work out which it is. There is a card for each possible gem, and one is removed from the game unseen, while the others are dealt out. Special question cards allow players on their turn to ask an opponent a question to try to work out who has which cards, and thus by a process of elimination ultimately work out which card is not in play. For a harder challenge several gems can be removed at the start of the game. Highly recommended if you like deduction games - this is definitely a classic, and I am glad it is back in print.

Slik Move, published by Design Games. ca.1995. Box. Good. £8

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

Motor cycle racing game with plastic motorbikes. Uses a simple mechanism - movement is by dice (though they only have the numbers 3-6 on them) and a card is drawn when entering or exiting corners. There is scope for blocking other players especially if each player runs 2 or more bikes.

Soccerboss, published by Ariel. 1969. Box. Box shows wear, 1 side + corners taped. £10. Desc. by Andy.

Special notes: A few of the team counters have been replaced by equivalent counters.

Soccer game focusing on the management side of the game. Comes with 180 plastic footballers in graded colours which plug into your team's board, to show the playing strength of your team. A whole season is played, with most of the action being negotiating player transfers between teams. The stronger a team the better the type of dice it gets to use during a match. Matches are resolved by two dice rolls and a card draw for each team. Extra income can be obtained by investing in improved stands, and this income used to buy better players. Red box edition.

Space Opera - Ground & Air Equipment, published by Fantasy Games Unlimited. 1981.

Magazine. Cover a bit worn. £3

Roleplaying supplement for the Space Opera system. This 38 page booklet details heavy military equipment for use with Space Opera.

Spaghetti Junction, published by Lazy Days. 1975. Box. Good. £5

Designer Unknown. No. players: 3-4. Country: British, Duration: 20 mins, Desc. by Andy.

Special notes: One tile has been replaced by a photocopy on card, but this does not affect game play at all.

Tile laying game played on an 8x8 grid, with the central 4 spaces blanked out. Each player tries to construct a road from their corner around the central spaces and back to their own corner. Everyone starts with the same set of tiles, so luck is not an issue. The various roads will inevitably join up, but the trick is to be able to make use of another player's road while ensuring yours is no use to them. Dead ends and loops are not permitted.

Spin To Win, published by Spear's Games. 1977. Box. Box shows wear. £6

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

Top spinning game. The board sits in the box and shows a grid of colourful scoring spaces with higher numbers near the centre and and the corners. Over this there is a transparent layer with holes. Players take it in turn to spin a top, trying to get it into a valuable hole. Tops not in holes are removed from the board. Once one player has all three of their tops in holes all tops are scored and the highest scorer wins that round.

Square Routes, published by Spear's Games. 1983. Box. Good. £7

Strategy game played on a colourful 8x8 grid. Each row has one each of eight different colours, which are also the colours of the top halves of the 8 very substantial playing pieces. The base of the playing pieces is either white or black (the two player colours). Players take it in turns to move a piece forward or diagonally forward as much as they wish, trying to get a piece onto their opponent's back row. However, what makes the game interesting is that the piece you must move on your turn must be the colour of the square your opponent's last moved piece just landed on. Neat idea and makes for a fast and interesting tactical game. From the same designer as the excellent Take It Easy.

Stack, published by BB Games. ca.1985. Box. Good - 1 corner taped. £6

Strategy game in which the players must get their pieces across the 5x8 space board to the other side. The movement range of pieces increases as they stack up whether on their own or their opponent's pieces, and a stack is controlled by the player who owns the top piece. However, jumping over other pieces or stacks is not permitted. A stack can split up, giving considerable flexibility. Quite a few similar mechanics to those in Sid Sackson's Focus. 15 rather nice stackable pieces per player.

Star Trek, The Role Playing Game, published by FASA. 1985. Box. Excellent - Unpunched. £7

Second edition. Book case box. Includes lots of starship chits, large hex space sheet, and several source / rules books.

Stockbroker, published by Kitfix/Swallow. ca.1990. Box. Good, but one box corner taped. £8

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

Business themed card game. Each player is secretly allocated an industry type at the start of the game (eg. oil, leisure, newspaper etc). The object of the game is to collect 18 shares relating to your industry, or to be the only player left after your opponents are out of the game. Cards are drafted and placed face down on your board or used to hinder other players. Challenge cards can also be used if you have worked out an opponent's secret business type, which can knock them out of the game but making this challenge is dangerous as getting it wrong knocks you out instead! Clearly an element of bluff is necessary.

Sum-Times, published by Spear's Games. 1992. Box. Good. £7

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.

Talisman, published by Games Workshop. Two versions available:

1) 1983. Box. First edition. Green, bookcase box. Good - one box corner damaged. £45

2) 1985. Box. Second edition. Full colour edition, in the black bookcase box. Good. £48

Contents look unused, but one original character stand has been replaced

Popular and now highly sought after fantasy game of quests and adventure. Masses of cards ensuring that every game is different.

Talisman City, published by Games Workshop. 1989. Box. Excellent - unpunched. £35

Expansion set for Talisman, the fantasy adventure quest game. This set includes The City board, City Adventuire cards, Purchase cards, spell cards, loan cards, warrant cards and new character cards and playing pieces. Compatible with 1st or 2nd edition.

Talisman Dungeon, published by Games Workshop. 1987. Box. Two copies available:

1) Excellent £35 2) Box missing, all components in an envelope £16.

Expansion set for Talisman, the fantasy adventure quest game. This set includes The Dungeon board, doorway cards, Adventure cards, and new character cards and playing pieces.

Talisman Expansion Set, published by Games Workshop. ca.1988. Box. Excellent. £25

New characters, monsters, spells, followers, objects, and strangers. Compatible with 1st and 2nd Editions.

Talisman The Adventure, published by Games Workshop. 1986. Box. Excellent. £25

New characters, monsters and spells, plus character sheets. Also some rule changes, including five alternative endings. Compatible with 1st and 2nd Editions.

Tennis, published by Parker Bros. 1975. Box. Good. £6

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2 or 4. Country: Canadian, Desc. by Andy.

Special notes: Photocopied rules

Tennis card game. Two decks of cards are provided, one for serving and one for play in a rally. Each player is dealt 10 rally cards to see them through a tennis 'game'. A player needs to win 6 'games' to win a set, and victory. The cards show various types of shot which can be played, including smashes and kills. The skill is in managing your hand of cards to best effect to see you through a whole game (when you will get new cards) and thus sometimes letting your opponent win a point you could have fought over.

Tension, published by Peter Pan. 1971. Box. Box shows wear, 1 corner taped up. £5

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.

Terminator 2 Judgement Day, published by Parker. 1992. Box. Good. £5

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

Film tie-in, with lots of pictures from the film on the box and cards etc. The players must collect three special items and then do battle with the T-1000 in the steel mill until it is finally destroyed and the game won. Movement is by card play and special cards can be retained to improve your chances in battle or move the T-1000 around the board to your advantage and others' woe.

Tetris, published by Tomy. 1991. Box. Good. £11

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 African Campaign, published by Jedko. 1973. Box. Box corners taped. £12

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

Special notes: The base of the box shows some indentation due to stacking

First edition, in a long, thin box. Various battles and campaigns by Rommel's Afrika Korps in WWII. The map covers from Alexandria to just east of Tripoli. Units are from brigade to divisional level. The game is rather like an advanced version of Avalon Hill's Afrika Korps. Basic rules are 7 small pages long, with 1.5 pages of additional optional rules.

The Barbarians, published by Yaquinto. 1981. Double LP Case. Good. £11

Two games in one 'box'. Sack Rome recreates the fall of the Western Roman Empire around 400 AD. Mongol covers the Mongol invasion of Europe some 800 years later. Each game has its own board. The rules to each game are 4 pages long, and this includes both basic and optional rules.

The Big Idea, published by Cheapass. 1999. Packet. Mint. £2.50

Card game, a business game, where you try to make money out of your 'Grand Idea'. Part of the fun, but not necessary, is making up a product you think has passed business entrepreneurs by, like 'Disposable Cats' or 'Zen Toys'. Players announce new products and invest in their own or other people's ideas. The pay-out is more likely the more people who invest, but of course, if you have more shares than anyone else, you get paid more than them. This puts them off investing in your company, helping you in effect, so beware of being too open with your investments. As usual with this company, you will need to provide counters, a die and play-money.

The Fastest Gun, published by Denys Fisher. 1973. Box. Good, but box edges show wear. £9

Fun wild west game with a raised board and hidden dials that move underneath. Players move around a 3-D town in the Wild West, earning money by buying property, and losing it at cards, but when landing on an opponent's property a gunfight takes place. You can hire gunmen to fight on your behalf, but if you can't afford one, you must use your own man for the showdown. The winner of a fight gets the propery, and if the loser used his own man rather than a hired gun he is out. Hired guns come at various prices, the more expensive ones being more likey to win as a hole under their space is less likely to come up first. Last man standing wins. Unusual item, and the gunfight mechanism using the rotating dial is good fun.

The Fine Art Game, published by Piatnik. 1996. Box. Good. £5

Game set in an art gallery, where players move around the guide 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 worlds best artists, and are laid out around the board to form the gallery.

The Great Redoubt, published by Yaquinto. 1979. Box. Box edges show wear. £10

Special notes: Box lid slightly indented due to stacking

Highly regarded Napoleonic game simulating the Battle of Borodino, 1812. In reality, the French beat the Russians, but at such a cost, it may have ultimately led to Napoleon's downfall 3 years later. This is a tactical game with 400 yards per hex and units representing regiments or brigades, and turns represent 30 minutes. The basic game rules cover 14 pages and there are a further 5 pages of optional rules.

The Hobbit, published by Fantasy Flight. 2001. Box. Excellent. £12

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 Ultimate Trivia Game, published by Newsweek Magazine. 1984. Box. 1 Box corner split. £3

Promotion game, sold through advertisements in the American magazine Newsweek. Quiz game as you would expect from the title. Questions are divided into several different categories.

The Williams Renault Grand Prix Championship Game, published by Domark. 1994. Box. Good. £30

Designer Unknown. No. players: 1-6. Country: British, Desc. by Eamon.

Beautifully produced race game, I would guess, made as a promotional item as much for the Williams Team as for making money for the manufacturer. The game has two boards. The first is a Monopoly-style board around which you travel four times hopefully earning money to buy equipment for your racing team. The other board can be made up into 16 different tracks, representing the 16 main Grand Prix races. The races are not based on die rolls but more on the performance abilities of your cars as built during the preliminary section or during further development between each race. Very nice item.

Tikal, 1999. Box. Two versions available:

1) Published by Ravensberger. 1999. Box. Excellent. This is the German version with a translation. £16

2) Published by Rio Grande Games. 1999. Box. Excellent. This is the American version (fully in English). £18

German Game of the Year 1999. Players lead expeditions across the board, which starts out blank but tiles are added, making every game different. The object is to discover the temples, unearth them and find treasure. Nice wooden components and well produced large hexagonal tiles make it very attractive during play. There are always lots of options on your turn, and it is rarely obvious what the best strategy is.

Titanic: The Board Game, published by Universal Games. 1998. Box. Excellent. £6

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2-6. Country: American, Duration: 90 mins, Desc. by Andy.

Players try to collect 5 items of their belongings, make their way through first class, and be the first to reach their lifeboat. To do this the players move their pieces around the large board showing the various rooms in the Titanic, ranging from the Infirmary to the Passport Office. Money is required throughout the game and this can be obtained (and lost) in a variety of ways. Also Bellhop tokens are gathered and used to avoid unwanted event cards.

Tongiaki, published by Uberplay. 2004. Box. In shrink. £14

Very attractive game which uses interlocking near-hexagonal land and sea tiles, and lots of little wooden ships. The players explore Pacific islands, starting from Tonga. Each island has several beaches and each beach has several spaces for ships. On their turn a player adds ships to one island and if a beach is full of ships those ships sail. This may take them through dangerous seas where they may all sink, but hopefully they make it to another island where the ships are put on the beaches, quite possibly forcing more ships to sail off. The objective is to have ships on as many islands as possible at the end of the game, especially those that score most VPs. Quite chaotic, but great fun.

Tot-Ten, published by Spears. 1970. Box. 2 box corners taped. £2

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2-6. Country: British, Duration: 15 mins, Desc. by Eamon.

Simple, but entertaining, abstract game. Each player has a hand of 3 tiles with numbers on. The board has 16 squares and each turn you must add a tile to the board. If you make a row, in any direction, add up to 10, then you win those tiles and remove them from the board. The winner is the one with the most tiles at the end of the game.

Treasure Island, published by Burley Games Ltd. 2003. Box. Two copies available:

1) Excellent. £26 2) In shrink. £28

Pirate themed game from the designer of Take It Easy. The board shows an island with numbered spaces, some of which hold treasures, and some around the edge are landing points. Players roll dice to give a choice of which spaces may be played on, and can then play a token either on any landing space or any space adjacent to one of their tokens showing one of the numbers rolled. This gives tactical options as you can cut opponents off from sections of the island. When treasure spaces are captured treasure cards are obtained which will score at the end of the game. The board is reversible, one side being best for 2-4 players in 45 mins and the reverse for 2-6 players in 90 mins.

T-Rex, published by Hans Im Gluck. 1999. Box. Excellent. £6

Card game. Each player is trying to collect sets of dinosaur eggs. Each player starts with an identical deck of cards which is shuffled and drawn from and the game is then played in rounds in which each player may play several times. There are special cards which let you draw more (otherwise you don't!) and a card has to be played to indicate the round will finish. When a round does finish the last card each player played is used to evaluate the round - highest and second highest receiving an egg that round.

Tri-It!, published by Spear's Games. 1985. Box. Good. £4

Players try to be the first to score 10 points by surrounding triangles on a hexagonal grid of triangles using their three pieces. The lines joining verticies are green, yellow or blue and each turn a die is rolled indicating one of these colours. One piece can then be moved along as many adjacent lines of this colour as is desired. Once a triangle is surrounded points are scored according to the number in the triangle and the pieces are reset and play continues.

Trimatics, published by Spear's Games. 1983. Box. Fair. £3

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

Special notes: Box lid has three patches where the underlying cardboard shows through, 1 tile replaced with a photocopy on card (this does not detract from play)

A 7x7 grid of numbers (1-9) are laid out at random, and a number disk is turned over. Players then all look for any three adjacent numbers which can make this target number by multiplying two of them together and adding or subtracting the third. eg. 4x9 + 5 = 41. The player who first spots a correct 'trimatic' wins the disc. Most discs at the end of the game wins.

Troia, published by DaimlerChrysler AG. 2000. Box. Excellent. £20

Promotional game although the subject matter has nothing to do with cars. Players are archaeologists, digging for pieces of artifacts amongst the ruins of Troy. The pieces fit together in a puzzle-like way, and collecting pieces which fit together scores more points. Beautiful components, and a very unusual item.

Tycoon, published by Jumbo. 1998. Box. Two copies available:

1) Good. £14 2) Excellent. £16

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2-4. Country: Dutch, 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.

Ultimatum, published by Yaquinto. 1981. Box. Good. £13

Strategic nuclear war game in which one player plays the Soviet Union and the other the United States. The players invest in nuclear technology, getting resources into crisis regions, and assorted defensive or offensive weapons. The board shows a rather odd map of the USA and USSR combined (!). Crisis areas are fought over, and the players may decide to launch a direct nuclear attack on each other! Victory depends on destroying lots of your enemy while keeping as many of your people alive as possible.

United Nations, published by Yaquinto. ca.1980. Double LP Case. Box shows some wear. £11

Special notes: The front cover has some small stains where elastic bands which 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.

Uno, published by Waddingtons. 1985. Box. Box worn. £1

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2-10. Country: British, Desc. by Eamon.

Card game, 108 colourful cards, used in a variation of Crazy Eights, the playing card game. One of the most well known family card games in the world.

Vendetta, published by Elfin Design. 1988. Box. Good. £9

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

Original version (later made by Parker) of this gangster game. Players' gangster pieces must negotiate the track on the board, and get safely back to base. The gangsters are hit if a very large rotating wheel is spun and ends up with one of two hit men pointing at one of your gang. Really a parcheesi / ludo variant, but the rotating hit men do make it great fun.

Vendetta, published by Parker. 1990. Box. Two copies available:

1) Good. £7 2) Box shows wear. £5

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

Re-issue of the Elfin Design version above. This set has a very impressive rotating pair of gangster cars which is is spun and points to men who are hit.

Vino, published by Goldsieber Spiele. 1999. Box. Excellent. £17

Played on a map board of Italy, players must acquire vineyards and start producing and distributing wine. In the end, it is not the money that is important, but the number of vineyards you control. A clever game with some unusual twists on the mechanics of what appears at first sight to be a fairly standard production and to a lesser extent 'majorities' game.

Volley & Thunder, published by Dickens & Greenwood. 1981. Box. Good. £15

Special notes: The board shows some discolouration as does the front cover of the rules booklet. Both still entirely useable though.

Abstract war game, providing a detailed view of Napoleonic tactics. Tiny playing pieces are used on very large squares, so that correct formations can be taken up during the battle. Not a historical simulation, more Chess-like with no dice. The objective is to either eliminate all opposing forces, or occupy the enemy city for 2 turns or block supplies to your opponent's city for 5 turns. Combat is resolved using a chart, and charging, terrain, and fortifications are all taken into consideration. The three base units in use are infantry, cavalry and artillery.

Wapi, published by Tactic. 2003. Box. Excellent. £9

Odd looking game with an American Indian theme. Players draw chits which show silver or rock which will be placed into one of 6 mines or mine tokens which are used to claim a share in one of the 6 mines. Players can only claim up to 3 of the mines. An early mine claim allows you to play good silver chits into it but also allows opponents to fill your mine with worthless rock. Won a French Best Strategy Game award in 2003.

Weltreise, published by Ravensburger. 1968. Box. Good. £7

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

One of Ravensburger's staple games, very popular as a family game in Germany. Players race round the world and have to visit a city in each continent before returning to their starting point. Each player has a different set of cities. The map has 3 types of connection between cities: train, air and sea, and only one type can be used per turn, making the route planning more interesting. An optional rule can be used to penalise a player who rolls 6 too often!

Whiplash, published by Peter Pan. 1988. Box. Box corners taped + mark where label was. £4

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

Special notes: No rules included, though the box says all you need to know to be able to play.

Fast action game, a sort of two player bagatelle! The board has a central scoring section into which players try to get their marbles. Each player also has a bagatelle style ball shooter and each ball lane curves around the board and then up a ramp which hopefully will send the ball into the scoring area. First to get 100 points wins. Play is simultaneous, so pretty frantic!

Wordsworth, published by Spear's Games. 1989. Box. Good, but 1 box corener taped. £7

Word game. The board is a wipeable crossword grid with numbers 1-6 in the corners of each white square, some blanked out squares and some bonus point squares. In their turn players roll the dice and add that many letters to the board. There are no letter tiles - you can add whatever letters you like, but exactly the number rolled and you score the points on the spaces for all new words so created.

Zauberberg, published by Ravensburger. 2001. Box. Excellent. £13

Fantasy game, translated Magic Mountain in English. Each player is a wizard and has a team of goblins, which are raced up the mountain, with the first to the top winning. The board is 3-D, with 4 levels and a chunky tower on the top. The goblins are moved around each level using cards and to get to the next level they need to clamber on top of another goblin (be that a friendly one or not). There are also various special spaces with assorted event tiles on them, which are revealed when landed on. Some of these are helpful, while others are not. Very attractive game.

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