Jan 2008 Catalog

MNG-AJM Games and Collectibles

Jan 2008 Catalog

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

Note: There was a large section of sale items here, but the sale is no longer on, so they have been removed from this file.

1829 Expansion Kit Msk 5, published by Hartland Trefoil. Packet. Excellent. £1.50

Mini 1829 expansion. 6 yellow tiles and 2 green tiles, representing small towns and halts. Can be used with 1829 Northern or Southern.

1829 Expansion Kit Msk 6, published by Hartland Trefoil. Packet. Excellent. £1.50

Mini 1829 expansion. 10 redesigned tiles to replace some in the 1829 Northern or Southern for a game variant.

1829 Northern Board Set, published by Hartland Trefoil. 1981. Box. Good. £35

Standalone extension or alternate map edition of 1829. Train game in which companies are managed, track built, trains operated and stock traded. The game works by alternating stock dealing rounds and operating rounds. Stock dealing rounds allow players to buy shares. Operating rounds allow the company presidents to build track, run trains & generate revenue for shareholders. Uses the 1829 South rules with only very minor tweaks. The map extends from London up as far as Inverness.

1960: The Making Of The President, published by Z-Man Games. 2007. Box. In shrink. £26

Country: American, Duration: 100 mins, Desc. by Andy.

Card driven strategy game where one player plays Nixon and the other Kennedy in the US presidential elections. The game uses the same type of system as Twilight Struggle, and is highly regarded. Cards give the players opportunities to advance their cause in specific ways, or can be used in a less powerful way as you wish. However, some cards are a liability, but may well have to be played in the end any way. A treat for election game fans.

Advanced Fighting Fantasy: Dungeoneer, published by Puffin. 1989. Book. Good. £3.50

Special notes: Note: Blacksand is in my Sale this month - why not get that together with this!

Softback, 20x13cm, 400 pages. Essentially a role playing adventure and rules inspired by the Fighting Fantasy paragraph based game books. This book provides the rules to play Advanced Fighting Fantasy adventures and also presents one adventure: Tower of the Sorceror. Unlike Fighting Fantasy books this is played with a Games Master and other players - intended as an introduction to roleplaying games for fans of the Fighting Fantasy solo game books.

Alhambra, published by Uberplay / Queen. 2003. Box. 2 copies available:

1) In shrink. £12.50. This version is in English. 2) Excellent. £11. German 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 a bonus for paying exactly. Instead of buying a building a player can use their turn to get more money. Plays very well, and won the German Spiel des Jahres for 2003. Highly recommended.

Alhambra 1st Expansion, published by Queen Games. 2004. Box. In shrink. £8.50

A collection of four separate variants which can be mixed with the award winning base game of Alhambra in any combination. The first variant allows players to play when it is not their turn. The second variant adds extra tiles which can be built for free, but must be built next to other tiles of the same colour to score. The 3rd variant allows payments to be made in more than one colour of money, and the final variant adds bonus cards into the money mix.

Alhambra 2nd Expansion, published by Queen Games. 2004. Box. In shrink. £8.50

A collection of four separate variants which can be mixed with the award winning base game of Alhambra in any combination. The 1st option allows point scoring Campsite tiles to be built outside the Alhambra. The 2nd option allows you to build regular tiles outside the walls by making gates in the walls. The 3rd option introduces diamonds into the money stack - these can be used instead of any other currency, but may not be mixed with other currencies. The 4th option introduces characters who offer the players very useful abilities.

Alhambra 3rd Expansion, published by Queen Games. 2006. Box. In shrink. £8.50

A collection of four separate variants which can be mixed with the award winning base game of Alhambra in any combination. The 1st option given players a limited amount of change when paying inexactly The 2nd option introduces thieves to the game- you can take money using them when it is not your turn. The 3rd option lets you purchase extra walls to go around the outside of your Alhambra. The 4th option introduces street traders who will populate your Alhambra scoring extra points, but only if you plan ahead carefully.

Alhambra 4th Expansion, published by Queen Games. 2006. Box. In shrink. £8.50

A collection of four separate variants which can be mixed with the award winning base game of Alhambra in any combination. The 1st option introduces bazaars which give extra VPs if you manage to build the correct tile adjacent to them. The 2nd option is Architects who can be used to reorganise your Alhambra or as extra money. The 3rd option introduces attackers who must be defended against by setting lookouts and building walls. The 4th option brings in a treasure chamber with valuables which must be transported to the correct palace spaces to score points.

Arrows, published by Orda Ind. Ltd. 1977. Box. Good. £5

Country: Israel, Duration: 15 mins, Desc. by Andy.

Strategy game played on an unusually laid out grid of 24 spaces, with a network of arrows mostly one way, but some two way between spaces. Players place their men on the board and take turns moving a piece along an arrow. Landing on another piece captures it, and the objective is to eliminate all your opponent's pieces. A maze game of sorts.

Auweier, published by Sphinx Spieleverlag. 2001. Box. Excellent. £8

Each player takes the role of a male bird and by bringing worms they try to convince the female birds that they would make excellent mates. The objective is to father the most valuable eggs, but not all eggs are equally valuable. There are bonuses for fathering an egg of each colour and the last egg in each nest is worth more than the first. The game is card driven.

Battle For Italy, published by Avalon Hill. 1983. Box. Box good, contents unpunched. £6

The battle of Arcola, one of the first real tests of Napoleon's ability, took place during the Italian Campaign of 1796. This battle was the most hotly contested battle of the campaign. This is a division / brigade level wargame, and also acts as an introduction to the large game Struggle of Nations. Complexity level 4/10 on Avalon Hill's scale.

Battlestar Galactica, published by Parker. 1978. Box. Box edges show wear, 1 corner taped. £3

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

TV and film related. Simple space combat game between competing Colonial Viper Pilots, as they race to rescue an abandoned Cylon Raider. Black holes can be used for tactical movement and command cards allow special attacks, extra movement, defensive actions etc.

Blooming Gardens, published by Ragnar. 2002. Box. In shrink. £7.50

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

Card game. Six months of beautiful flowers guaranteed, provided you can collect the right cards. Lay fertiliser to score more points and watch out for those dreaded pests. Players collect cards trying to make sure they have a display of flowers each month to score as much as possible, while using special cards and pests to their advantage as much as possible. Light game, with an unusual theme.

Borneo, published by Da Vinci Games. 2007. Box. New. £9

In this card game the players are merchants trading spices with the East Indies in the 17th century. The merchants belong to several mercantile guilds, and achieving the best position within the guild hierarchies when profits from the expeditions come in is crucial. The game is driven by cards which can be used in three different ways: gaining control of harbours for particular guilds, gaining status within the guilds, and afterwards as trade goods.

The game won the Best Unpublished Game Award Lucca 2006.

California, published by Abacus Spiele. 2006. Box. In shrink. £12.50

The players have each inherited a small amount of money and a house in California which needs complete renovation. Players try to build up an attractive new home, and attract their rich neighbours who will bring valuable gifts. Players must consider how to renovate their house and what furniture to purchase. There are valuable bonuses available for the first to achieve certain furniture layouts, so you have to keep an eye on what the other players are doing. Play moves swiftly, and the choices are often hard. Recommended.

Canyon, published by Abacus. 1997. Box. Good. £7

The board shows the course of a river running down a canyon, and is used by the players to mark their score in a trick taking game. The trick taking game involves predicting how many tricks you will take each hand, and a correct prediction will advance you further along the river. Towards the end of the game it is especially important to make correct predictions as if you fail the counter-current will take you back upstream.

Card Caper, published by University Games. 1997. Box. In shrink. £11

Light deduction game in which players have a secret card, and as the game goes on they must reveal more about those cards. The objective is to work out what cards your opponents have before they work out what you have. Enjoyable game which plays quickly enough that you can play several rounds at a sitting very easily.

Carol Vorderman's Sudoku The Board Game, published by Drummond Park. 2005. Box.

Good - mostly unpunched. £4. Designed by Alan Strutt. No. players: 1-2. Country: British, Desc. by Andy.

Board game version of the popular logic puzzle. This set comes with a 9x9 plastic board onto which number tokens can be placed. There are 100 sudoku puzzles, each having an easy and a hard setup. Players take it in turn to be in control for 1 minute, and when in control they can place number tokens of their colour onto the board as they work out what must be where. It is also possible to trade in your turn for a 'clue' - this uses a red coloured filter and a little window over the puzzle card to see additional numbers. When all is solved the player who correctly placed most numbers wins.

Chinesische Mauer, published by Kosmos. 2006. Box. In shrink. £9

Card based game in which the players vie for control of various sections of the Great Wall of China. Players each have the same set of cards to use during the game, but they will come out in a different order. Each turn either a card can be drawn or one can be played - sometimes more than one can be played at once. Cards are played to influence a section of wall, and before each player's turn, if they have greatest influence over a wall section they gain some of the victory points available from that wall section but lose influence for the next round. Thus the game has much tactical interest, especially when combined with the hand management aspects. Recommended.

Combat Heroes 1: White Warlord, published by Beaver. 1986. Book. Good. £4

Softback, 18x11, 351 pages. Combat adventure book for 1 or 2 players. You are in a maze and have to hunt down your enemy or be hunted down yourself. The bulk of the book uses pictures of what you can see along with a grid of options you can perform next. When playing with another player (who must have the companion book: Black Baron) you sometimes have to call out your move number which can affect which page they turn to (and vice versa). As well as seeking out your enemy you also need to track down various treasures which you will need in order to get out of the maze.

Dark World, published by Waddingtons. 1992. Box. Good, but box edges show wear some taped. £8.50

Special notes: Complete, but no spare skulls or fixing plugs provided

Massive introductory fantasy game, with loads of plastic miniatures, weapons and items. Players must get their character through a labyrinth of nasties and into the Castle where they must defeat Korak. Eamon considers this and the two followup games his best published games.

Das Hornberger Schiessen, published by Zoch. 1990. Box. Good. £6. Desc. by Andy.

Designed by Klaus Zoch & Albrecht Werstein. No. players: 2-5. Country: German, Duration: 45 mins. Card game, with rules for two games using the same cards. The cards depict cannons, beer, the Duke and powder kegs. In the first game players play their cannons and beer into three rows. Two rows will be completed, and these will score positively, while the incomplete row will accrue negative points. In the second game cards are played into a grid and points are scored for completing rows.

Das Störrische Muli, published by Klee Spiele. 1999. Box. Excellent. £10

Unusual game in which each player has a mule, to 'race', and one neutral man also moves. Movement is by rolling dice with coloured sides, but before you roll you can decide to keep one die as it is. Also, when one man or mule gets to the far end of the track everyone turns around and heads for the start which is now the finishing line. However, even then it is not simply the first across the line who wins - whether you want your mule to win or lose the race depends on whether the neutral man comes last or not!

Deal Me In, published by Noraut Ltd. 1988. Box. Good. £7.50

Board game which uses playing card tiles and a scrabble-like board. The cards are laid on the board to form poker hands - the better the hand the higher the score for it. These poker hands can interlock as words do in Scrabble, and so several hands can be scored for at once after a clever play.

Desperanto Playing Cards, published by Qui Vive. ca.1970. Box. Good. £2

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

Very unusual pack of cards, each card is a regular playing card, but also features an illustration so that the cards will teach the player some of a foreign language whilst playing. The cards feature English, Spanish, French and German. Very nice, unusual item.

Diabolo, published by F X Schmid. 1976. Box. Good. £3

Players try to get their men from the outside of a circular network of spaces into the centre. However, there will be bridges and obstacles which need to be crossed in different ways on the way. Good play requires making use of your pieces to assist your other men and hinder your opponents.

Die Drachenbändiger Von Zavandor, published by Lookout Games. 2006. Box. In shrink. £10

Card game in which the players fight dragons with swords and nets. Dragon cards show a number of swords and nets, and players simultaneously choose a card to play. Who (if anyone) manages to capture the dragon depends on how many swords and how many nets were played. The player who captures the best collection of dragons by the end of the game wins.

Die Hanse, published by Laurin. 1993. Box. Good. £10. Desc. by Andy.

The players are merchant members of the Hanseatic League, and sail around the Baltic and North Sea trading goods. However, in order to reduce risks each ship is owned by two players, and on your turn you get to move both ships you have a share in. Thus it is essential to find common ground with your partners or your ships may sail to and fro without getting anywhere! Players try to get the most valuable goods of particular types back to their warehouse in Luback, and the player who does this most successfully will win. Players use cards to change the winds, add more goods to the board and cause events such as pirates, storms etc.

Die Seidenstrasse, published by Schmidt. 1998. Box. Excellent. £10

Special notes: This set includes a home made set of cards with English text 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.

Die Sieben Siegel, published by Amigo. ca.2004. Box. In shrink. £11

Excellent trick taking card game. As well as cards in five suits there are markers for each suit, which players take at the start of a hand. Each marker taken indicates that the owner believes they will win a trick in that colour. Whenever a trick is taken a suitable marker is discarded, or if a player doesn't have a suitable marker then a black penalty marker is taken instead. All markers still held at the end of the hand count against you. The final twist is that one player can take the role of the saboteur and try to ensure other players take too many or two few tricks. Works very well - highly recommended.

Die Siedler Von Catan - Das Würfelspiel, published by Kosmos. 2007. Box. In shrink. £7

Dice game in which players each have a sheet showing a land section from a game of Die Siedler von Catan, with possible places to build roads, settlements, cities and knights shown. Each turn a player rolls six special resource dice and can reroll any number of dice a couple of times before using the resources shown to build with. Points are scored depending on what was built. It is not always possible to build anything - you can only build what you have made accessible with roads, so some care is required to keep flexible for future turns. Quick light dice game with a nice feel of the Settlers family.

Die Sternenfahrer Von Catan, published by Kosmos. 1999. Box. Good. £26

Special notes: For £2 extra I will provide sheets of laminated event cards in English which eases play considerably.

Settlers of Catan goes into space! Each player gets a huge mothership (truly amazing) onto which extra rockets and weapons are attached as the game progresses. The motherships are also shaken and little balls show at the bottom, and this is used to determine movement allowances and events in space. The board shows start planets and various systems the players send colony ships and trade ships to. The resource system is essentially the same as that used in Settlers. As well as trading with other players, trade ships can gain concessions from various alien races which give that player an advantage. Truly amazing bits, which made this a very expensive game to buy new.

Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, published by Bambus. ca.2000. Box. In shrink. £8

Rethemed edition of Twilight. Card game in which the deck is split between Dr. Jekyll cards and Mr. Hyde cards. This is a partnership trick-taking game (two players for each character) with the unusual twist that the backs of the cards show which character the cards are aligned with and when it is your turn to play a card you can either play a card yourself or request another player to play for you! The scoring mechanism is clever too. It takes a few hands to get your mind around it, but then you start to see just how clever it is. Recommended.

Dune, published by Parker. 1984. Box. Good but some tape removal marks. £14

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

Based on the epic S.F. movie, this is different to the Avalon Hill game of the same name. The character cards feature photos of the stars from the film and show the starting strength and guile of the characters. Players move around the outer desert spaces to gain money or harvest spice or can move around the inner castle spaces to build up strength. Spice can be used to buy equipment cards, spice harvesters, or enhance your guile. Commodity markets can also be invested in and will pay off sometimes. Uses eight and six sided dice.

Eketorp, published by Queen Games. 2007. Box. In shrink. £21

New edition of this game originally by DB Spiele. Game of building viking settlements. The game involves sending out your vikings either to the countryside to collect foliage, wood, mud and rock to build your stronghold with, or they can be sent to other players' strongholds to try and steal some of these materials already there, or finally stay at home to guard your own stronghold. In each case fighting is most likely to ensue and this is resolved by card play.

Emerald, published by Abacus. 2002. Box. In shrink. £11

Tactical movement and card collection fantasy game. The players send out their knights from the castle to the Dragon's Lair. There they must tread carefully in order to collect gems and gold while the mother dragon is busy with its new baby. However, should the dragon become aware of them then they will become baby-dragon food, and thus unable to gather any more treasure. Knight movement depends on the number of knights on a space before the move, but two knights can be moved per turn. Bonuses are awarded to the players who have collected the most of each type of gem at the end of the game.

Extra Blatt, published by Moskito. 1991. Box. Good. £30

Each player is an editor of a newspaper and must fill their front page with the best stories. Story tiles come in different shapes and sizes and in different categories (politics, sports, entertainment, etc). As you would expect with this designer, there are various twists: the later in the game stories are added to your newspaper the more valuable they are, but only the most impressive story of each type will score at the end of the game. Finally, it is possible to play advertisements on your opponents' newspaper layouts which wastes space and can potentially reduce the value of their stories.

Factory Fun, published by Cwali. 2006. Box. In shrink. £20

Unusual tile placement game in which players place machines onto their own factory board. Machines generally have one or two inputs and one or two outputs. There are different coloured materials which can be produced and consumed and pipes need to be placed (and paid for) to link up the machines to sources and repositories of these materials. Each round a new factory is added and pipe networks have to be changed to accommodate them - hopefully inexpensively. The objective is to spend as little as possible while building up a valuable factory. The game uses a speed play element for drafting new machines, but I can provide house rules to remove this (and also extend play to 1 player) if you wish.

(Fighting Fantasy – see also Advanced Fighting Fantasy in the Sale and Regular sections! However, there are no ‘normal’ Fighting Fantasy series games books in this catalog, though the Lone Wolf series and some others listed in this catalog are very similar. Please ask me if you looking for any of the Fighting Fantasy series I have many in stock)

Fighting Fantasy: Out Of The Pit, published by Puffin Book. 1985. Book. Good. £2

Softback, 20x13cm, 336 pages. A collection of 250 monsters from worlds of Fighting Fantasy books. This book can either be used as background information for the Fighting Fantasy books themselves, or for playing one of the simple role playing games based on the Fighting Fantasy system, in which case it would act as a Monster Manual to help the Games Master create new adventures.

Fighting Fantasy: The Introductory Role-playing Game, published by Puffin Books. 1984. Book. Excellent. £4

Softback, 18x11cm, 240 pages. This book presents a simple fantasy role playing game based on the systems used in the Fighting Fantasy solo game books. The book includes sections on creating the player characters, combat, and dealing with a selection of common situations. There are also two adventures included: The Wishing Well and Shaggradd's Hives Of Peril.

Fighting Fantasy: The Riddling Reaver, published by Puffin Book. 1986. Book. Good. £2

Softback, 18x11, 240 pages. A collection of four adventures to be played with a Games Master and players using the very simple Fighting Fantasy rules (which are also included in an appendix). It was intended to take fans of the Fighting Fantasy solo adventure books and introduce them to 'proper' roleplaying. The adventures can be linked into a mini campaign or used separately.

Fighting Fantasy: Titan, published by Puffin Book. 1986. Book. Good. £2

Softback, 20x13cm, 299 pages. A guide to the fantasy world of the Fighting Fantasy solo game books. This can be used as background information for players of the solo game books, or as a very useful Games Masters resource for playing one of the simple role playing games based on the Fighting Fantasy game books.

Fjorde, published by Hans Im Glück. 2005. Box. In shrink. £11

Interesting tile laying game played in two phases. During the first phase players take it in turns to add a hexagonal tile showing farmland, sea and mountains so that it fits with the existing land formation, and sometimes will then play a hut on that tile. However, there are few huts to place, and their placement is crucial. When all tiles are placed players take it in turn to claim one tile at a time, always working out from one of their huts or already claimed land. The player with the most land claimed wins. Interesting game which is easy to learn but which poses some difficult decisions. Recommended.

Fliegen Klatschen, published by Abacus Spiele. 2004. Box. In shrink. £5

Fast reaction card game in which players turn one card over at a time until either five colours of fly are represented or a fly swatter card is revealed. Players then claim a fly by putting their hand over it - but only the flies in the most prevalent colours are permitted. Successfully claimed cards score points at the end of the game.

Forbidden Gateway 2: Terrors Out Of Time, published by Magnet. 1985. Book. Good. £4

Solo paragraph based adventure game book, second in the Forbidden Gateway series. You take on the role of a psychic investigator who to gets to travel through time to unravel mysteries which threaten mankind. The book has 375 numbered 'paragraphs', to take you through this science fiction / horror adventure.

Friedrich, published by Histogame. 2004. Box. In shrink. £26

Second edition. Very highly regarded multiplayer wargame set on the eve of the Seven Year War. Friedrich tries to maintain the Prussian empire while the rest of Europe fights him. The rules are not complex, and a set of cards drives play and are also used to resolve battles. Each nation has its own set of victory conditions, with less powerful nations having easier goals. Wooden components.

Fun In The Jungle, published by BMI. 1992. Box. Good. £0.75

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

Gaia's Garden, published by Living Earth Games. 1999. Box. Good. £10

Cooperative game setting up a vegetable garden using the ideas of companion planting. Players roll dice to move gardeners, pests, and predators around a track off which lie various garden beds. The gardeners can plant vegetables in empty beds, but always in accordance with companion planting rules which restricts what may be planted with what. Pests eat vegetables, unless they are in turn eaten by predators (birds), or unless a companion plant group is complete in which case the pests are repelled. The players win jointly if the garden gets fully planted, or lose jointly if it is overrun by pests.

Gipf, published by Don & Co. 1998. Box. In shrink. £12

Very well regarded strategy game which is based on the classic idea of the players alternately playing a piece onto the board trying to achieve 4 pieces in a row. However, when this is achieved players remove their row of pieces for reuse and capture any opposing pieces which extended that row of pieces. Captured pieces cannot be re-entered into play. The game is also the first in a series of games, which can be combined together in a unique way. The production quality of the game is also excellent.

Goldrush, published by Condor. 1973. Box. Box corners taped and base discoloured. £3

It is a race in the Wild West to stake your claim and get that gold down from the hills. Nice pieces for carrying the gold. Spaces landed on may be suitable for mining, in which case a claim must be made for ownership of that plot before anyone else gets to it. Once claimed a plot can then produce gold for its owner, but this has to be got to the bank before it is safe as other players may get nasty to get their hands on your gold! First with 5 nuggets in the bank wins.

Grail Quest 3: The Gateway Of Doom, published by Armada. 1985. Book. Excellent. £4

Softback, 18x11cm, 223 pages, 221+ paragraphs. Paragraph based solo fantasy game book. You are a young knight, who Merlin (of King Arthur fame) intends to use to close a magical gateway to the land of the dead. This book has some interesting ideas such as a special section to read when you choose to sleep, and options to make replaying after death quicker.

Grail Quest 4: Voyage Of Terror, published by Armada. 1985. Book. Good. £3.75

Softback, 18x11cm, 237 pages, 203+ paragraphs. Paragraph based solo fantasy game book. You are a knight,

a favourite of Merlin (of King Arthur fame), but have ended up in ancient Greece by a quirk of magic. You must defeat the deadly monsters and navigate your ship back to Avalon in order to help against the invading Saxons. This book has some interesting ideas such as a special section to read when you choose to sleep, and options to make replaying after death quicker.

Haggle, published by Galleon Games. 1993. Box. Good. £3.50

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

Negotiation and deal making game in which players buy, sell and barter cars, racehorses, houses, oil paintings, ming vases and shares amongst themselves hoping to get the best deals and end up with the most valuable portfolio at the end of the pre-agreed playing time.

Hispaniola, published by Pro Ludo. 2004. Box. 2 copies available:

1) In shrink. £8.50 2) Excellent. £7.50

Trick taking game with a board and playing pieces. The winner of each trick can place one of their sailors onto the ship corresponding to the colour of cards played in the trick. Should a sailor already be aboard he is displaced, and potentially thrown overboard. At the end of the hand the sailors still aboard the ships score points, and those thrown overboard lose points. In addition players get to pass tricks won to other players, and there are penalties for having most and second most at the end of the hand.

Honor Of The Samurai, published by Gamewright. 1996. Box. Good. £10

Card game, with 110 top-quality cards, illustrated in colour with images of feudal Japan. Players are Samurai, in the service of their lord, with the intention of becoming the most honourable warrior in the land. This is done by building up armies, arranging honourable marriages, sacking other lords' castles, and also the use of less pleasant tactics such as employing ninjas to steal an opponent's possessions or even perform a necessary assassination!

The game also includes six special 6-sided dice, with symbols rather than pips.

Horse Show, published by Gamewright. 1997. Box. Good. £8

Card game in which a series of equestrian events are played out. These can be jumping, dressage, hunter, or equitation specialities. Players have a selection of horses each, and one is put forward for each event, with the option of playing various assists to enhance the natural ability of the horse and rider in that event. The best combination wins the event and keeps the event card as a trophy. Hands are refilled and the next event is then played out. The player who wins the most events wins the game.

Kings & Things, published by Games Workshop. 1986. Box. Good, but edges show wear. £17

Notes: 10 original counters missing, but they have been replaced with good quality colour scans mounted on card.

Fantasy war game with a board assembled from tiles, making it different each game. Usual quirky Tom Wham graphics. The 'Things' in the title refer to 70+ creatures in the game which can be recruited and formed into very peculiar armies. Different creatures are best in the different terrains, and the armies are kept hidden most of the time so you will find the armies' strengths vary considerably depending on where they are. Now quite collectable.

King's Bounty, published by Task Force. 1991. Box. Good. £11

Fantasy game placing the players as bounty hunters, hunting down dastardly villains and terrible monsters for fun and profit. You can even create your own Bounty Hunter (as if in a role playing game) if you tire of playing the pre-set characters. The game system allows combat and use of magic items as well as tricks and traps to capture those sought by the crown. Each villain is known to frequent different places which must be searched to find them. Random events keyed to particular terrain types can occur too. Plays well as a solo game.

Kon-Tiki, published by Spears. 1967. Box. Good, but base discoloured. £5.50

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

Based on the epic journey across the Pacific by Thor Heyerdahl in his flimsy raft. Nice collecting game with only one playing piece (the raft). This is moved by all the players, hoping to gain an advantage by its location. No dice are used. The board has revolving tiles so that routes can be altered during play.

Laborigines, published by Czech Board Games. 2007. Box. New. £27

Players sculpt their own creature out of play-dough and then watch it run around the lab filled full of dangers for such a being. There is also the Moa, a huge clay fired being which just loves to stomp on the players' creatures. Game play involves moving according to dice around a track as well as well as some tactical and some memory elements. Players try to make their creature the one which survives longest and escapes from the lab. Very novel.

Legend Of Zagor, published by Parker. 1993. Box. Excellent. £22

Huge adventure board game, with a 3D plastic board, 22 plastic miniatures, masses of counters and tiles, and a computer built in so that voiced instructions interact with the players. The theme is also tied into the Fighting Fantasy game books, Zagor being an evil sorceror from them. The players take different characters who explore the dungeon and defeat monsters to improve themselves ready for the big end of game fight with a dragon and then Zagor himself. On the way traps and treasure will be encountered, and the characters can return to a store to buy more equipment. The computer runs combats and also throws in random events now and then.

Leonardo Da Vinci - The Edicts, published by Da Vinci Games. 2007. None. New. £2

A mini expansion for Leonardo Da Vinci which was made available at Spiel 07. This expansion gives the men assigned to the council an additional option - after gaining their normal benefit they are used to vote for a particular edict which will be in effect the rest of that turn. These edicts include: more money for completed inventions, mechanical men work harder, extra components for free, or components can be exchanged for as well as bought in the market areas.

Let's Play Chess, published by Octopus Books. 1980. Book. Good. £1.50

Hardback, 30x22cm, 44 pages. This introductory chess book is aimed at attracting the Games Workshop brigade into chess, as the inside and outside covers and most of the artwork throughout the book has a fantasy battle theme. The book itself teaches chess from the very beginning, describing the pieces and their movement, check & checkmate, the special moves, and why games can be drawn. It then goes on to describe traps, double check and discovered check and then goes on to the end game and some opening plays.

Logistico, published by Cwali. 2003. Box. In shrink. £18

Board game in which players attempt to earn the most money by picking up and delivering goods. The board shows five islands linked by road bridges and airports. Each player controls a plane, boat and lorry. Goods counters and demand counters are spread across the land areas. Each turn the vehicles move, pick up, and deliver goods, but the more actions performed the greater the cost, and so the less the profit. Vehicles can also be used together, transferring goods from lorry to ship or plane. As the game goes on, and only the harder deliveries are left, the payments also increase. Lots of wooden bits, and an attractive board.

Lone Wolf Game Books

Fighting Fantasy style solo adventure book. You don't need to own the other books in the series to play, as this is a standalone adventure. This is a paragraph based fantasy adventure book in which after setting up some basic character stats you read a paragraph telling you what is going on and then you decide what to do next and turn to the appropriate page.

01: Flight From The Dark, published by Sparrow Books. 1984. Book. Good. £4. You are Lone Wolf, the sole survivor of an attack on the monastery where you were an apprentice. You swear revenge but first must venture across the perilous land to warn the King of the coming evil.

02: Fire On The Water, published by Beaver Books. 1984. Book. Good. £4.

02: Fire On The Water, published by Sparrow Books. 1984. Book. Good. £4.

You are the last of the Kai Lords. War rages through your homeland and the King has sent you on a mission to find the Sword of the Sun which is a last hope against the Darklords.

03: The Caverns Of Kalte, published by Sparrow Books. 1984. Book. Good. £4. Vonotar the Traitor has escaped and now rules over the Ice Barbarians of Kalte. The King sends you to capture and bring to justice the King's worst enemy.

04: The Chasm Of Doom, published by Beaver Books. 1985. Book. Excellent. £4. You are the last of the Kai Lords. To the south lies Ruanon where a valuable shipment of the King's gold has gone missing. You must investigate who would dare such a heist and retrieve the treasure.

09: The Cauldron Of Fear, published by Beaver Books. 1987. Book. Good. £4. As the last Kai Master you must do your utmost to stop your sworn enemies, the Darklords. The only way to do to this is to complete your quest to recover the Lorestone of Tahou.

Masquerade, published by Z-Man Games. 2007. Box. In shrink. £9

Fantasy card game originating in Japan - this US edition is fully in English. Each player assumes a secret identity with a unique way of gaining bonus victory points. The players send their 'dancer' to six different adventure locations in order to achieve their goals. There are various ways in which you can score points such as fighting monsters for treasure, accumulating spell cards, or stealing from other players. Unusual game.

Mausen, published by Abacus Spiele. 2004. Box. In shrink. £5.50

Card game in which players simultaneously play animal cards to try to win those on the table. The game uses a scissors-paper-rock style system in which dogs beat cats beat mice beat elephants beat dogs. After all the animals have been chased into players' score piles the winner is determined - the more valuable animal collection wins. Bluffing and getting into the other players' minds is essential for success.

Medici, published by Rio Grande Games. 2006. Box. In shrink. £19

Excellent auction game set amongst the merchants of Florence. The game involves purchasing cards which represent goods you will put into your ship's holds to trade for profit. Care must be taken as the cards have both a number (weight) and colour (type). There are payouts at the end of each round for the boats with the highest payout going to the heaviest boat, and there are also payments for the merchant who has specialised best in each of the five types of goods. An excellent game, which I can highly recommend. This is a reprinted edition in a smallish bookcase style box.

Medievalia, published by Giochix.it. 2007. Box. In shrink. £10

After 10 years of service for the King you have been granted a small estate, but to your horror your worst adversaries have been granted neighbouring estates. The players build up their estate increasing the number of cultivated fields, and the population, and then start constructing buildings and training their people into specialist professions, and finally armies are built with which to defend and expand your borders. Game play uses cards which require resources to play, and produce resources once in play.

Middle Earth Quest: Mines Of Moria, published by I.C.E.. 1988. Book. Good. £6.50

Softback, 17x11cm, 413 paragraphs. Fighting Fantasy style paragraph game book, but part of a series based in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth after the end of the War of the Ring. This is a stand alone game book, but you can if you wish use the MERP RPG system instead of the simplified in-book system. Very highly regarded game book.

You have been asked to undertake a dangerous quest for the dwarves - retrieve a document from Moria which will prove a dwarven family's claims to land and wealth. Expect trouble from this families' rivals as well as the inhabitants of Moria.

Millionenspiel, published by Ravensburger. 1982. Box. Good. £17.50

Well regarded betting game. Elegantly simple, but always exciting and frustrating in equal quantities. Each turn is a wager on where the solitary playing piece will land. One player has control of the dice, which influences all decisions. You never get change from the bank, and must always change your cash up into the largest notes or coins possible. By the end of the game, huge wagers have to be made, but this is necessary because the winner is the first player to own the 1 million Deutschmark note. Seeing as you start with 5 Deutschmarks, this is no mean achievement.

Mimic, published by Funmaker Games. 2006. Box. In shrink. £11

Unusual set collecting game in which players try to place their scoring cubes onto cards laid out in a 6x6 grid. Play involves using the special powers on the cards to bend the rules to best effect in order to achieve your goals, but they are a scarce resource and so need to be used wisely. Clever ideas which produce a tight and interesting challenge.

Moguli, published by Abacus Spiele. 2004. Box. In shrink. £12

Two player strategy game by this master of intriguing ideas in which the board is made up of square tiles each with a right angle path segment on it. The objective is to get 4 of your 5 tokens across the board, and it is permitted to rotate one tile each turn by 90 degrees - which is made easier by the tiles having wooden handles you use to pick them up from the table.

Money!, published by Goldsieber Spiele. 1999. Box. In shrink. £5.75

Card game. The cards show miniature versions of various banknotes from around the world, and the objective is to collect valuable sets of notes and score best at the end of the game. Each round two groups of four notes are made available and players secretly decide which of their existing notes they will offer. In order from highest to lowest bid players then choose a group of notes to take from those put out on the table or those offered by another player. It works well and plays quickly with a neat scoring system to keep you on your toes. Recommended as a good opener or closer.

Monster Horror Show, published by Armada Books. 1987. Book. Good. £4

Softback, 20x13cm, 256 pages. Two part book. The first part is a short solo Fighting Fantasy style solo adventure using paragraphs: The Labyrinth of Squat. The second part introduces a simple set of rules for fantasy roleplaying, and then an adventure to play using these rules with your friends: Monster Horrow Show.

Move Over, published by Wiggins Teape. ca.1975. Box. Good. £8.50

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

This game set includes the rules for 10 different games. All are played on a hexagonal playing area with large indentations into which quite large coloured balls are placed. There are two solitaire games and the other eight are for 2-4 players. Many of the games involve a random setup which can be achieved by putting the balls into the playing area, putting the lid on and shaking the box gently. There are also generic rules for Moving and Jumping balls which the individual games make use of. Rare item.

Mus, published by Premium/Fournier. 1999. Box. Mint. £6

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

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

Napoleon At War, published by SPI. 1975. Box. Good - partially unpunched. £12

Special notes: The plastic case is showing its age and cracking around the edges.

An SPI Quad game, with four separate games using the same basic system, and with exclusive rules for their exact situation. Games are Battle of Nations (by Edward Curran), Marengo (by David C Isby), Jena-Auerstadt (by Thomas Walczyk), and Wagram (by Irad B Hardy). Each hex represents about 600m, and each point of strength about 750 men. Each game turn represents 1-2 hours.

Ostia, published by Pro Ludo. 2005. Box. Excellent. £12

Each round the players buy and sell goods at auction, and then decide what to do with their goods. They can either send them to market to get money - the more matching goods other players send there the worse the return, gift them to the Senate in order to gain influence (victory points), or store them for next turn. There are restrictions on the number of types of cards which can be used each round and additional victory points at the end for full warehouses, and most money.

Outwords, published by Perfect Games. 1988. Box. Good. £3

Word game in which players take it in turn to be the caller. The caller determines the word to be used that round from a card and gives the other players a letter from the middle of the word and the length of the word. The other players take it in turn to request an extra letter at the start or end of the word and may make guesses at the word, scoring for a correct guess and being penalised for an incorrect guess.

Piratenbillard, published by Abacus Spiele. 1990. Box. New. £50

An amazing item. The wooden board is 56cm square and consists of a lattice of square holes with a canvas base. Each player has 8 balls which start off on their side of the board. The object is to get your balls across to the far side of the board. This is done using a long rod with a pointy bit on the end. This is put under the board (which is raised up on stilts) and is used to knock one of your balls from under the canvas. Hopefully the ball will leap out of its hole into a nearby hole which you were aiming for. It is possible to capture enemy balls by landing in their holes, but wayward shots which leave the board entirely result in that ball being permanently out of the game. Great fun and beautifully produced wooden components.

Pocahontas Canoe Race Game, published by Milton Bradley Games. 1995. Box. Good. £6

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

Race game with a tie in to the animated Disney film Pocahontas. The games uses a 'switch and link' two part board similar to Thunderroad - when a player's canoe moves off the front of the forward board the back board is moved to the front. As new boards are added leaf tokens are placed and the objective is to collect these and then land at one of the sandy beaches. Play uses cards - there are cards for movement and cards which allow a rock and a log to be moved in the river, and these obstacles can be used to slow down opponents.

Puerto Rico, published by Rio Grande. 2002. Box. In shrink. £22

Extremely popular and very highly regarded gamers' game in which the players are plantation owners in Puerto Rico in colonial times. Various crops can be grown in the plantations and buildings which grant additional benefits can be built in the city. The central mechanism is that players take it in turn to select an action which in most cases all players will get to do, but with the chooser getting an additional benefit. The player who runs their plantations effectively and make best use of their buildings and options each turn wins the game.

Quest For The Faysylwood, published by Faysylwood Press. 1993. Box. Excellent. £7

Card game, 112 cards featuring heroes, treasures, magic items, monsters, and events. Cards feature play information and an illustration. Each player represents a Hero and uses their cards to help themselves (magic items, companions, etc.) or hinder other Heroes (monsters, bad events, etc). The object is to lay down and successfully move through five terrain cards that will get your Hero a way through to the mystical Faysylwood.

Rare Species, published by Spear's Games. 1985. Box. Good. £3

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

Conservation game featuring David Bellamy on the rules book. Memory game in which there are twelve rare species each with a male and female card. Players move around a track, land on face up male cards and try to pick the female from the face down cards. If right it is kept face down in a bamboo cage on a smaller board each player has, otherwise it is replaced face down. In a similar way it is also possible to claim the male when you already have the female. The player with the most breeding pairs at the end wins. The rules booklet also includes information about the 12 rare species featured in the game.

Reef Encounter Conversion Kit, published by R&D Games. 2006. Envelope. New. £4

Special kit intended to be used by owners of non R&D editions of Reef Encounter who also want to use the expansion: Reef Encounters of the Second Kind. This kit does NOT include that expansion, but since the artwork won't match between different editions, this kit provides you with all the cardboard components from the original edition which you use instead of the equivalent components in a non R&D edition so that they match the expansion's artwork. Essentially this kit includes everything from the original R&D Reef Encounter except about 300 wooden playing pieces (shrimps, cubes and cylinders), the cloth bag and the box, which are already in all editions.

Rette Sich Wer Kann!, published by Kosmos. 2003. Box. Excellent. £10.50

Published as Crocodile Pool Party in America, this is not the game of this name known as 'The Lifeboat Game' from Walter Muller. The two players each start the game with six swimmers in a long thin swimming pool, but players can turn over their swimmers to reveal crocodiles each with a different movement allowance. The objective is to use your crocodiles to eat your opponents' swimmers and crocodiles and then get them out of the pool. In a neat twist you only get points for swimmers, crocodiles and victims once out of the pool, and the game ends as soon as there is only one player's pieces left in the pool. Part of Kosmos' excellent 2 player small square box series.

Rotterdam, published by The Game Master. 2007. Box. In shrink. £19

The huge international container port of Rotterdam processes all sorts of goods from around the world, and in this game the players are entrepreneurs who transport the goods to the various Rotterdam wharfs and convert the raw materials into saleable goods, and then deliver the processed products to market to make money. The harbour however, can be busy and competition fierce so the players must use clever tactics and judge the market well to make most money.

Schwarz Arbeit, published by Bewitched Spielverlag. 2003. Box. New. £10. Desc. by Andy.

Deduction based card game in which some memory skill is useful. Players employ moonlighters, and have to work out which other employees are also moonlighters, and then denounce them as illegal. The cards show various game designer combo names such as Klaus Knizia and Maureen Moon, who work in the players' game related shops and factories. As well as deduction, quick thinking, memory and some intuition are required to win.

Scrabble Up, published by Milton Bradley. 1996. Box. Good. £6

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

Special notes: Originally came with some double sided sticky tape, but this is not required for play.

Head to head word game which uses a tilting board down which a marble is set running, to act as a roughly 10 second timer. The game uses wooden tiles like those in Scrabble, and players have to try to make up words from selections of letters. The first to make a word sets the marble falling down the zig-zag path and by the time the ball reaches the bottom the other player must have finished making their word. Letters used are won, and the first player to collect 19 letter tiles wins the game.

Screaming Eagles, published by Milton Bradley. 1987. Box. Good. £11.50

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

Special notes: Box lid shows slight discolouration

An MB dogfight game with attractive plastic miniatures. Players are the pilots of modern aircraft and you will need to shoot your enemies down as quickly as possible as otherwise they are sure to shoot you. Players simultaneously choose cards to plan their moves. Each plane has a battle board, on which the location of damage can be recorded. The main board is a very unusual wraparound layout, so you are always close to the other aircraft. When played with 4 players it is a partnership game.

Sea Sim, published by Cwali. 2004. Box. In shrink. £9

Players control a family of sharks which compete for food in a Pacific lagoon. The sharks each have a favoured type of fish which they eat to stay healthy. The sharks must manoeuver cleverly to get the fish they desire and also ensure the fish populations grow where you will be able to hunt easily. Optional rules add sick fish, a current which moves the fish around and an Orca which competes for fish.

Silver Mountain, published by Stratamax. 2005. Box. Excellent. £10

Special notes: The cards have been laminated for ease of play and durability

Silver has been discovered in the mountain, but with the best seams the hardest to get to. In order to get out their silver players need to lay claim to the valuable nuggets, get their ore carts onto the trains and make sure the trains are moved in a way which will fill their carts with the most valuable silver. Cards indicate the nature of the actions which may be taken, but there are always choices as to how to use them. The game plays quickly and has a light feel to it. The components are basic but functional.

Small Soldiers Big Battle Game, published by Milton Bradley. 1998. Box. Good. £12.50

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

Simple action wargame based on the animated film of the same name. The game takes place outside the toy shop, and pits the Commando Elite led by Chip Hazard against the Gorgonites led by Archer. The game uses a standup toy shop front and hex marked area as well as 12 enormous (60mm) plastic figures of the combatants and a skateboard mounted catapult which is used to launch a chunky grenade-bomb. The game uses a spinner which gives a number of action points which can be used, or sometimes allows a power card to be drawn to gain an advantage.

Snit's Revenge, published by TSR. 1978. Box. Good, but box edges show wear. £12

Boxed version of this Tom Wham game. One player takes the role of a single Bolotomus, fighting off an infestation of Snits. The other player commands the Snits. The Snits attempt to ravage the Bolotomus's internal organs while the Bolotomus' immune system tries to fight them off. Originally published in The Dragon Magazine. Includes the Floating in Timeless Space comic strip in the rules.

So Ein Hundeleben, published by Eurogames. 2001. Box. Excellent. £9

The title translates as "It's a Dog's Life", and that is the theme of the game. The game includes 6 very nicely produced miniature dog playing pieces, all different, and realistically painted. Players try to locate four bones and bring them back to their home. Bones can be found in some rubbish bins or will sometimes be given as a reward for delivering a newspaper, or begging at a restaurant. Dogs can also piddle on lampposts to slow down any other dogs passing that space. Players must ensure their dog doesn't get too hungry, so finding food is always important too, otherwise the dog-pound beckons. Rival dogs and the dog catcher can cause problems too. Nicely themed and well produced game.

Star Wars: Rescue On Geonosis, published by Character Games Ltd. 2002. Box. Good. £8

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

Star Wars Episode II themed game. The game is set up to form a 3D, 3 level layout of the Droid Factories on Geonosis. The Empire player secretly deploys his forces of droids and other baddies using a wipeable deployment board. The other player or players take on the Jedi Knights who are trying to rescue Obi-Wan Kenobi. As they enter the various areas the secretly deployed forces will activate and try to stop the Jedi. Count Dooku must also be found and stopped before he can escape to plot another fiendish scheme. Combat is resolved with dice, and Jedi can 'sense' nearby enemies who are out of line of sight, and the Jedi player must discover the control centres and use the elevators to best effect to win.

Sudoku The Card Game, published by Z-Man Games. 2006. Box. Excellent. £8

Reiner Knizia's version of a Sudoku based game. Unexpectedly the game is played on a 7x7 grid, with nine key spaces being considered the centres of 9x9 blocks. Usual rules apply (no duplicate numbers in rows, columns or blocks), and players take it in turn to find a legal space to play one of their cards. If they cannot find a legal place to play then a card is discarded and will count against them at the end.

Take, published by Classic Games. 1984. Tube. Good. £4

Strategy game played on a hexagonal grid of triangles, with pieces played on the vertices. Players move their pieces in straight lines capturing other pieces by surrounding on both sides, with special rules for corner spaces. The objective is to get your opponent down to one piece. The board is made from PVC and can be reverse-rolled to make it lay flat.

The Alley Cats Game, published by Ideal. 1976. Box. Box shows wear - corners taped. £4

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

Each player has a cat which tries to collect fish bones from very nicely made plastic dustbins. Movement is by dice, and spaces which hinder you should be avoided whenever possible (there are route choices). A wall in the middle of the board provides a fast way to get from place to place. However, in some of the dustbins dogs lurk waiting to chase your cat all the way back home, and may cause you to drop your fish bones, so do you try to collect lots of fish bones in one go and risk losing them all or make several trips ?

The Batsford Chess Encyclopedia, published by B.T. Batsford. 1990. Book. Excellent. £8

Hardback with dustcover, 28x24cm, 247 pages. An alphabetically arranged encyclopedia of chess, which is an excellent reference book for anyone with a keen interest in chess. The book covers: biographies of every grand master and all major international figures with photographs, explanations of technical terms, over 100 of the greatest games ever played, and much more.

The Best Of Dragon Games, published by TSR. 1990. Box. Good. £16

Special notes: SftET hex board has been cut up and mounted on card as suggested in the rules to ensure a different layout each time.

A very nice collection of games that have featured in The Dragon magazine over the years. There is a mixture of abstract, fantasy, even sports games. Game titles and designers are: The Baton Races of Yaz by C C Stoll (race game); King's Table by Dale Oldfield & Mark Foster (a version of The Viking Game); Search for the Emperor's Treasure (fantasy adventure game) and File 13 (game about designing games!) both by Tom Wham; Ringside (boxing game) by Brian Blume; Food Fight (light hearted brawl / wargame) by Bryce Knorr.

The Challenge, published by Lion Rampart. ca.1990. Box. Good but box shows some wear. £14. Desc. by Andy.

Fantasy game in which each player runs a rival party of adventurers. The players take it in turn to have one of their characters attack one in another party. Initially all the characters are face down, so you don't know who you will be attacking. Weapon cards, magic cards and special effect cards are played to perform the attacks, and various magic items etc provide benefits. Points are scored for eliminating opposing characters. There are 30 different characters and over 100 magic and weapon cards. The rules include a (very) basic game as well as the normal (advanced) game.

The Dick Tracy Game, published by University Games. ca.1990. Box. Good. £2

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

Film related, linked to the film starring Warren Beatty. Each player competes to capture criminals in their hideouts within the City. This is done by moving around the board and collecting cards which will help confront criminals. When a criminal is confronted either a card can be played to beat the weapon they were using or the player must spin a more powerful weapon using the special spinner. Captured criminals can be deposited in jail to gain victory points.

The Game Of Hong Kong, published by The Atlantis Publishing House. 1977. Box. Good. £5.50

Designer Unknown. No. players: 4-6. Country: Hong Kong, Desc. by Andy.

Special notes: Box lid indented, base is plain but stained.

Hong Kong produced game based on Monopoly. The board shows a track which winds around Hong Kong, and which the players move their playing pieces around. Properties are bought and buildings and skyscrapers can be erected on them. Some spaces require either a 'Confucius Says' card or a 'Cable' card to be drawn and acted upon. Landing on other players' properties means paying them for use of the property. You get the idea... The box isn't very durable, but the components come in a very sturdy plastic tray which is put out on the table during play. Nice item for those interested in Monopoly variants.

The Glade Of Dreams 2: Issel Warrior King, published by Magnet. 1987. Book.

Cover creased & shows wear, good inside.. £3

Softback, 18x11cm, 360 paragraphs. Fighting fantasy style adventure gamebook which uses paragraphs and a simple combat and magic system. This book can be played on its own in the normal way by one person, or if you also have the companion book: Darian Master Magician, then two players can play simultaneously and can work together or individually as they wish. You are Issel the warrior wanting to become king and you are seeking the Glade of Dreams, a powerful location, but your journey is certain to be difficult and dangerous.

The Great Khan Game, published by TSR. 1989. Box. Good, but box edge shows wear. £9.50

Well regarded fantasy board game set (completely irrelevantly) in the world of TSR’s Forgotten Realms. You can use your might to overcome your enemies, or stage coups and put your man on the throne. You will meet leaders like Grand Wizir Nechamin, Badmuddin the Bald and Umgook the Tusk Eater. Essentially a card driven whimsical war game. Game play is driven by collecting and playing cards, and laying melds is powerful, allowing political and military strength to be gathered. The components feature the customary cartoony graphics associated with Tom Wham.

Travel, published by Games Guild. 1984. Box. Good. £7

Family business game about inter-continental travel. Players race to visit countries on their personal passport, plus other countries which may also need to be visited. There are four types of travel ticket: plane, boat, train and car, and each country allows travel to certain other countries using particular modes of transport, so you can map out your moves to make the best of your tickets. Stamps for your passport are acquired as you visit each country.

Upwords, published by Milton Bradley. 1988. Box. Box shows wear, corners taped. £6

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

Very good word game of the same general type as Scrabble. However, there are various differences which make this a good alternative to Scrabble. As well as playing onto the board it is also possible to play letter tiles on top of other letter tiles, and make new words this way. Bonus points will be scored for each letter tile underneath each of those played. Bonuses are also available for playing completely on the board level (so opening up new areas), and for playing all one's tiles in a turn.

Verflixxt, published by Ravensburger. 2005. Box. Excellent. £14. Desc. by Andy.

Designed by Wolfgang Kramer & Michael Kiesling. No. players: 2-6. Country: German, Duration: 30 mins. Dice based game in which players roll and move one of their playing pieces along a track. However, the track is made up of tiles which have various values - some positive, some negative, and some which can make a negative tile positive. When moving off a tile if there is no other playing piece on it then you must take the vacated tile for good or ill. There are some neutral blocking pieces which help stop players rushing ahead and taking the good tiles, and also give you a chance to get off bad tiles safely. Light but fast moving and fun. American version is called "That's Life".

Warlock, published by Games Workshop. 1980. Box. Good. £17

Each player is a wizard and players challenge each other in magical battle. This is done with spell cards, which there are 128 of with lots of variety. Each wizard is good or evil and this will affect spell costs. Magical energy is used up when casting spells and when defending against them, as well as recovering if a spell could not be defended against. Players drop out one by one when their energy runs out until only one Wizard remains - the new Warlock.

What's My Word, published by Waddingtons. 1964. Box. Box shows wear, corners taped. £1.75

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

Rare Waddingtons game with rather cute box illustrations. Players guess hidden four letter words using a system similar to Mastermind (though you don't get told whether the positions are right or not). However, this was published about 8 years before Mastermind! The game uses cardboard racks and cardboard letter tiles, each letter being double sided, with the reverse printed in red so that you can keep track of letters you have eliminated from the word you are trying to guess.

Wheedle, published by Out Of The Box. 2002. Box. In shrink. £5

Reiner's revamp of the classic free for all trading game Pit. In this game the cards represent stocks in various companies. Players trade openly with each other all at the same time, and can give away cards, trade one for one or one for many. There is also one card open on the table which players can swap with too. The objective is to make your entire hand score points, which means they must either be in a complete set or they must be in a partial set for which you hold the majority of the shares. There is a bonus for the player who ends the round by having all cards in their hand score and at that point the company which has a card on the table is considered bankrupt and scores nothing. Loud, frantic and fun.

Whosit?, published by Denys Fisher. 1977. Box. Good. £9

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2-6. Country: British, Duration: 40 mins, Desc. by Andy.

Deduction game in which each player is given a character with various characteristics and the players take it in turns to ask questions on cards to try to work out who all of their opponents are. The various possible characters are depicted on the board. In addition there are a few oddball characters, eg. the Spy who always lies and the Censor who just says No. I have some house rules to improve the game too.

World Of Lone Wolf 2: The Forbidden City, published by Beaver Books. 1986. Book. Good. £3.75

Solo fantasy adventure game book, which uses the paragraph system made popular by the Fighting Fantasy series of books. This is book 2 of The World of Lone Wolf series in which you are Grey Star the Wizard. You don't need the other books in the series to play, but you can take your character onto the next book in the series if you do have them. Your objective is to find the legendary Moonstone and throw down the evil Wytch-king. This book takes you through the Forbidden City, where you can be sure the Wytch-king's minions will dog your every move.

Wyatt Earp, published by Rio Grande Games. 2001. Box. In shrink. £13

Card game, set in the Wild West. Earn rewards by capturing the likes of Jesse James and the Sundance Kid. Very nicely presented rummy style game which is a sort of cousin to the Murder Mystery Rummy games series, and thus comes with a number of twists to make it interesting.

And now for some books:

Book Title	Publisher	Author	Year	Type	Size (cm)	Pages	Condition	Price
Solo Games	Almar Press	H. David Jackson	1982	Soft	28x21	53	Excellent - insert sheets untouched	£17
TSR Master Catalog 1993 - Collector's Edition	TSR	Unknown	1993	Hard	28x22	96	Excellent	£3.50
Shadowfist Players' Guide Vol. 1	Daedalus Entertainment	Rob Heinsoo, Robin D. Laws	1996	Soft	27x22	94	Excellent	£3.50
Toys & Games	Smithsonian Institution	William C Ketchum Jr	1981	Hard	28x23	128	Excellent	£3
Games For Playtime & Parties	T.C. & E.C. Jack	Stanley V. Wilman	~1914	Hard	31x23	83	Good, but cover shows some wear. Cover and flysheets show discolouration.	£8
Plays And Games For Little Folks	McLoughlin Bros	Josephine Pollard	~1889	Hard	26x22	128	Good for age – cover shows some wear, internal binding shows a little wear.	£15
American Boxed Games And Their Makers 1822-1992	Wallace Homestead	Bruce Whitehill	1992	Soft	25x18	197	Excellent	£10
Backgammon With The Champions Vol 1 No. 2	Kent Goulding	Kent Goulding	1981	Soft	28x21	76	Good but cover worn and loose	£2.50
Catalogue Of McLoughlin Bros – Reprint	McLoughlin Bros	McLoughlin Bros	1886 / 1990	Soft	28x22	62	Excellent	£5
Garry Kasparov - Child Of Change	Hutchinson	Gerry Kasparov + Donald Trelford	1987	Hard	24x16	253	Good	£3
Scarne On Card Tricks	Constable	John Scarne	1965	Hard	20x14	138	Good but dustcover shows wear	£3.50
Draughts: A Practical Guide To Scientific Play	George Routledge	Frank Dunne	~1911	Hard	22x15	259	Good	£3
Two Busy Books	Young World Publications	Unknown	~1965	Soft	21x15	2x64	Excellent	£0.50
25 Mathematical Card Games	Augustus Smith School	Alan Parr	~1980	Soft	21x15	17	Good	£1.50
Jacoby On Card Games	Pharos Books	Oswald Jacoby, James Jacoby	1986	Hard	22x14	242	Good	£3
Blood Wars: Warlords Tactical Manual	TSR	Kevin Melka	1996	Soft	23x15	128	Excellent	£4.50
Cassell's Book Of Indoor Amusements Card Games & Fireside Fun	Cassell & Co	Unknown	~1900	Hard	21x16	234	Good	£10
The Book Of British Blackjack	Mendimage Books	Dr Mohsen Zadehkoochak	1992	Soft	23x15	59	Excellent	£10
Games From An Edwardian Childhood	David & Charles	Rosaleen Cooper	1982	Hard	22x15	95	Excellent	£2.50
Savage Attack: A Players Guide To Rage	White Wolf	Campbell, Greenberg, Inabinet, Teeuwynn, Tinny & Wieck	1995	Soft	21x14	208	Good but cover lightly creased	£2.50
On The Spot	Penguin	Albie Fiore	1986	Soft	21x15	265	Good	£2.50
Roman Keycard Blackwood	Robert Hale	Edwin B. Kantar	1995	Soft	21x14	118	Excellent	£9
Encyclopedia Of Sports Games And Pastimes	Amalgamated Press	Fleetway House	~1936	Hard	23x15	772	Embossed cover, very good for its age throughout.	£8

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MNG-AJM Games and Collectibles

Book Title

Publisher

Author

Year

Type

Size (cm)

Pages

Condition

Price

Solo Games

Almar Press

H. David Jackson

1982

Soft

28x21

53

Excellent - insert sheets untouched

£17

TSR Master Catalog 1993 - Collector's Edition

TSR

Unknown

1993

Hard

28x22

96

Excellent

£3.50

Shadowfist Players' Guide Vol. 1

Daedalus Entertainment

Rob Heinsoo, Robin D. Laws

1996

Soft

27x22

94

Excellent

£3.50

Toys & Games

Smithsonian Institution

William C Ketchum Jr

1981

Hard

28x23

128

Games For Playtime & Parties

T.C. & E.C. Jack

Stanley V. Wilman

~1914

Hard

31x23

83

Good, but cover shows some wear. Cover and flysheets show discolouration.

£8

Plays And Games For Little Folks

McLoughlin Bros

Josephine Pollard

~1889

Hard

26x22

128

Good for age – cover shows some wear, internal binding shows a little wear.

£15

American Boxed Games And Their Makers 1822-1992

Wallace Homestead

Bruce Whitehill

1992

Soft

25x18

197

Excellent

£10

Backgammon With The Champions Vol 1 No. 2

Kent Goulding

Kent Goulding

1981

Soft

28x21

76

Good but cover worn and loose

£2.50

William C
Ketchum Jr

American Boxed Games And Their Makers
1822-1992

Garry Kasparov -
Child Of Change