Jul 2007 Catalog

MNG-AJM Games and Collectibles

Jul 2007 Catalog

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

25 Words Or Less, published by Winning Moves. 1997. Box. Good - one corner slightly dented. £8

Winner of an American Game of the Year Award, this is a team word guessing game where you have 25 words or less to get your team to say five words on your card, and with a time limit of a minute as well! To make it harder still, one player from each team looks at the card first and they bid for the right to play the card - the player bidding the lower number of permitted words getting the chance to take the turn. Fast and furious party game.

A History And Guide To Card Playing, published by Thomas De La Rue & Co Ltd. ca.1960. Book. Good. £7

Softback, 22x16cm, 70 pages. An unusual book which puts together a selection of interesting material: (Historical) Facts About Playing Cards, Card Magic, The Culbertson Story, The Kingdom Of Cards, Patience, Games Of Speculation (Vingt-et-un, Chemin De Fer, Baccarat, Poker), Games For Two (Gin Rummy, Ecarte, Piquet, Cribbage, Bezique, Klaberjas), Games For 3-4 (Hearts, Canasta, Calypso, Solo Whist, Contract Bridge), Card Games For Children, Glossary, An Index of Books on Card Games.

Adlerauge, published by Berliner Spielkarten. 1999. Box. Mint. £1.50

Card game, translated to Eagle Eye in English. Players need concentration as they try to quickly check a row of pictures on the cards for colour matches in order to determine if they can be played or not. There are four variants of the game to try. The cards are laid down in a row and the first player to lay all their cards into a row wins.

Advance Junior, published by Denys Fisher. 1975. Box. Box edges a little battered and taped up. £6

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

Special notes: 1 tank turret has been repaired (successfully), battery compartment damaged but functional.

Board game in which each player has three tanks which attempt to get to the opponent's home base. Movement is by dice, but in order to be permitted to move or to make an attack a nifty resolution mechanism is used. 2 batteries power a bulb and this is reflected by turning knobs controlled by the players. Essentially the two players each secretly pick one of red, green or yellow (colours which are also marked on the tanks), and then a fire button is pressed to illuminate the lights. Whether the action succeeds or not depends on whether the lights match or not.

Advanced Fighting Fantasy: Blacksand!, published by Puffin. 1990. Book. Excellent. £2

Softback, 20x13cm, 362 pages. Essentially a role playing adventure which uses paragraphs to assist the GM in running the adventure. This is the sequel to Dungeoneer, which contains the basic rules of play, so you will need it to play this. This book presents new rules and spells as well as information on the thieves’ city, Blacksand, and a new adventure: A Shadow Over Blacksand. Note: this is not a Fighting Fantasy solo gamebook. If you are interested, but don’t have Dungeoneer let me know – I may be able to find a copy for you…

Ali Baba, published by Abacus. 1993. Box. Excellent. £10

Attractive reworking of the game originally made by Games Workshop called Calamity. In this game you are one of the descendants of Ali Baba hoping to get your hands on the fortune he obtained after defeating the 40 Thieves. Players move around the board making use of special locations, in order to sell off treasure for cash. However, Ali Baba is on the lookout and should he catch anyone the punishment will be severe. Game play involves an interesting mix of luck and cunning.

Aliens + Expansion Set, published by Leading Edge. 1989. Box. Good. £80

Very rare film related wargame, deleted soon after release due to contractual problems. Includes the even rarer Expansion Set. Players can recreate the main battles from the S.F. film of the same name: The Reactor Room, Operations & Air Ducts, Ripley vs The Queen, DropShip, Rescue of Newt, etc. The game is intended for play by one or more players taking the roles of the Marines while the game system controls the Aliens. The components all feature stills from the movie.

Angkor, published by Schmidt Spiele. 2005. Box. Excellent. £12

Tile laying game in which each player has their own board. Players play tiles showing jungle, temples, and water onto their own and others' boards with the objective of scoring well for connected areas. Tokens can be played to block spaces and to enhance the score of an area. The boards have a 3D plastic underlay and screens are used to hide each player's tiles.

Assassin, published by Avalon Hill. 1993. Box. Good. £8

Card game, based on Eurohit by the same designer. Players hunt each other across Europe. AH have added a board that helps the atmosphere and eases play. The cards represent methods of travelling around Europe, distances, and the various major cities. There are also special cards, and the objective is to use the cards to get to the same location as another player and attempt to assassinate them.

Attila, published by Rio Grande. 2000. Box. Excellent. £16

Six germanic tribes migrate south from their homelands into the lands of the Roman Empire. The players drive this migration and the conflict which ensues, but without having a tribe each. Instead the players add influence over the tribes as the game goes on, and at several points during the game there is a scoring, and the players who have most influence over the most successful tribes will fare best. Plenty of scope for clever play. A very good game from this master designer.

Bandu, published by Milton Bradley. 1991. Box. Good. £23

American version of Bausack. One of the very best balancing games ever devised. The box contains 54 wooden pieces of all sorts of shapes and sizes, ranging from small 'acorn' shapes, through cylinders, rings, to an eggcup! The pieces are really gorgeous to look at and play with. Included are rules for a number of different building and balancing games you can play. Highly recommended.

Battle Of The Halji, published by Fugitive Games. 1987. Box. Good. £17

Weird wargame with a wicked sense of humour. The peculiar rule book takes you into a world where plants rule. As Halji - monstrous plants - you try to uproot other Halji in your area. To do this you need to recruit Cretoids to do your work. However, the world is very hazardous with all sorts of unpleasantnesses lurking. Cretoids, however, can use magic, but the price of doing so is high. Should a Cretoid reach an enemy Halji it explodes destroying both.

Besiege, published by ASL Pastimes. 1973. Box. Good, but box corners taped. £8

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

Includes 2 games. In the 1st nicely illustrated cards represent attacks, defences and events associated with castle sieges. Play is in hands, with one player the attacker and the other the defender. If the attacker wins this siege (hand) then he advances on the board and in the next hand attacks another castle as the attacker, but if he fails then he is driven back and must defend in the next hand. Play continues until one player is driven off the board. The 2nd game is called Easy Siege and one player attempts to get one of his pieces into the central keep while the defender tries to keep the attacker out - movement is determined by drawing cards, and choosing how to allocate it between pieces.

Blackmail, published by Van der Veer. 2000. Box. In shrink. £9

Special notes: Numbered copy: 0561.

Blackmail for fun and profit! Players attempt to bankrupt the other players or be the first to accumulate $250000. Players move their playing pieces around a track and get to set up cameras on the various spaces in the hope of capturing incriminating evidence. Once such evidence is gathered the blackmail can start! Whenever a player then completes a trip around the board they have to pay any blackmail, or possibly send some thugs or even the FBI onto the blackmailer. Produced in a limited edition of 2000.

Blue Peter Explorer, published by The Green Board Game Company. 1999. Box. Excellent. £2

Childrens' TV tie-in game. Each player or team tries to be the first to complete their 18 piece jigsaw-map of the world. Pieces are earned by answering trivia questions related to the Blue Peter TV series or performing actions such as humming the Blue Peter theme tune. Very nice jigsaw-maps, and 100 trivia cards.

Board & Table Games I, published by Oxford University Press. 1969. Book. Good. £6

Special notes: The spine is getting brittle with age so the book needs to be read carefully.

Softback, 20x13cm, 210 pages. This book's full title is Board & Table Games I From Many Civilizations. The book does indeed cover a great many games from all over the world, and has pictures of antique examples of many of them. However, unlike many of R.C.Bell's books, the focus in this book is on clearly presenting the rules to the games rather than discussing the antiques. The games covered are categorised as follows: Race Games (20 games), War Games (29 games), Games of Position (10 games), Mancala Games (4 games), Dice Games (22 games), Domino Games (13 games). There is also a chapter on making your own boards and playing pieces.

Britannia, published by Avalon Hill. 1987. Box. Good. £26

This is a superior version to the original British edition, more user friendly when it comes to knowing what scores where. An excellent game (particularly for four players) that encaptures 1,000 years of British history. Map board of mainland Britain. Game lasts for 16 turns, which is roughly divided into groups of 4 turns where one player out of the four has the most influence in that period, and the best chance to score victory points. Bookcase box. Classic game.

Buzzle, published by Franjos. 1994. Box. Good. £12. Desc. by Andy.

Designed by Peter Olotka, Bill Eberle, Jack Kittridge. No. players: 2-4. Country: German, Duration: 30 mins, First produced as Runes by Eon Games. This is a word game with a difference. The basic idea is that players each select a word, and the other players have to work out what it is, but rather than using the letter as the basic unit, all letters are broken down into shapes: short and long straights, and small and large curves. Each letter is made up from a fixed set of these pieces. Players try to deduce letters and the the whole word by finding out what letter segments are and are not in each letter. Extremely original, as you would expect from the Eon team.

Canal Mania 1^st Ed + Conversion Kit Deal

Buy both of these - see below - and get the conversion kit for £7 rather than £10.

Canal Mania 1st Edition, published by Ragnar Brothers. 2006. Box. 2 copies available:

1) Excellent. £21 2) New. £23

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

Canal Mania Conversion Kit, published by Ragnar Brothers. 2007. Box. New. £10

Expansion kit for owners of 1st Edition Canal Mania which means you can play either the 1st or 2nd edition rules (or your favourite combination of rules from the two if you wish). This kit includes a new high quality board, a complete set of new cards, new boats (narrowboats rather than tugs), and a new rules book. There are many changes between 1st and 2nd edition such as making canal building more rewarding, changing the colours of various towns, and changing the end of game bonus.

Candamir: The First Settlers, published by Mayfair. 2005. Box. Excellent. £17

A Catan Adventures game - ie. set in the world of the Settlers of Catan, but with different mechanics. Players move their settler out into the wilderness on a series of trips to the plains, woods or mountains. Returning to the village from a successful trip, the items obtained can be used to further advance your village and gain victory points. As experience is gained and skills improved, more dangerous trips can be made. The first player to get 10 VPs wins.

Can't Stop, published by Palitoy. ca.1985. Box. Good, but edges show wear, corners taped. £20

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.

Chessword, published by Waddingtons. 1972. Box. Shows wear. £3.50

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

Special notes: Box has two strips of masking tape across it. Also edges + 1 corner taped (though less conspicuously).

Very unusual chess variant. Players use chess pieces and moves with two objectives in mind, either to eliminate their opponent's pieces or to hold certain squares with letters on, and if you hold enough squares at some time during the game to spell out a pre-chosen word, you win.

City Of Chaos, published by Monocle Games. 1996. Box. Excellent. £45

An amazing text-paragraph based fantasy board game. Players explore the city of Byronitar, with large square tiles being drawn and placed to form the board. Players can encounter just about anything with choices being given using a special dice, loads of cards and the 700 paragraph Tome of Chaos. The city hides a dozen or so sinister secrets and the objective is to uncover these and defeat the evil behind each of them. Your character can join guilds and advance in them to improve their skills. Wonderful sinister atmosphere. Some encounters can be very deadly, so I recommend you play with 3 'lives' each so you have a better chance of uncovering more of the fascinating city.

Cloud 9, published by FX Schmidt. 1999. Box. Good. £10

Push your luck style card and dice game. At the start of each round all players are aboard a balloon. Players take it in turn to roll special dice which indicate what the current player must play to keep the balloon going up. After each successful play of cards anyone still on board gets the chance to bail out and score points. Should the current player be unable to play the right cards then everyone still aboard scores nothing this round. A new balloon ride then takes place after refreshing hands. First to 45 points wins.

Collectible Toys & Games Of The 20s And 30s From Sears Roebuck & Co

Published by Dover Publications Inc.. 1988. Book. Good. £7.50

Softback, 30x23cm, 124 pages. A compilation of catalogs from Sears Roebuck & Co. from 1921 to 1939 showing a truly vast number of different toys and games from that period. A wonderful resource for collectors of toys and games from this period. Every item is pictured with some text and the original prices listed.

Contract Bridge Made Easy, published by Faber And Faber. 1961. Book. Spine and cover worn. £0.75

Special notes: Some page corners creased

Softback, 18x12cm, 176 pages. Introduces the Culbertson system of bidding. The book covers: How To Value Your Hand, The Opening Bid Of One of a Suit, Responding To The Opening One Bid, Rebidding After the Opening One Bid, Opening Two of a Suit, Opening Three And Higher of a Suit, Opening No Trump Bids, The Defender's Bidding, Penalty Doubles, Slam Bidding, How To Play Your Cards, Leads Signals Discards, How to Score.

Crime Fighter, published by Task Force. 1988. Box. Good. £4.50

Rare Task Force item, a role-playing game based on TV police shows. This set contains: rules, 104 playing pieces, 12 geomorphic map boards, player reference cards and dice. The rules include some 'episodes' ready for you to run.

Cwali 5th Year, published by Cwali. ca.2001. Tube. Excellent. £4.50

A promotional game given away to customers at Spiel by this small Dutch company. The rules say it has been formerly known as Stapel, and Dutch Mountains. It is an abstract game in which each player tries to construct a tower of pieces on their home space. This is done by moving stacks or partial stacks of pieces according to restrictive rules. Very neat.

Das Zepter Von Zavandor, published by Lookout Games. 2004. Box. In shrink. £23.50

Special notes: English rules and crib sheets 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 on the components.

Dennis The Menace, published by Paul Lamond. 1989. Box. Good. £0.75

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

Game based on the character in the comic The Beano. Over 150 cards, illustrated with Dennis or his dad, are used as players move round the board to get rid of their cards.

Der Blaumilch-Kanal, published by Kosmos. 1999. Box. Excellent - unpunched. £4

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

Board game with wooden pieces, a large board and lots of tiles and cards. Satirical party game with lots of German on the cards, and really is only likely to be appreciated by fluent German speakers. Therefore I am selling it without an English translation since you won't need one if this is any use to you. The game uses cards which require players to invent humorous captions to pictures, make up limericks given rhyming German words, give humorous solutions to problems and talk for a minute on a random theme.

Dominator, published by Capri. 1975. Box. Box shows wear. £2

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

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

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

Drachenland, published by Ravensburger. 2002. Box. In shrink. £14.50

Clever board game in which the players each have playing pieces (representing adventurers) which they move around paths in Dragon Land. These paths are between various dragons’ lairs, and the adventurers raid the dragons’ lairs for gems. Each player has one adventurer who specialises in a particular colour gem, and all adventurers may also collect dragon eggs, and special ability tokens (potions) which can be used once only for a special move or similar advantage. Also each adventurer must claim a ring before the game ends otherwise matching gems won't count in the scoring. At the end of the game players score for complete sets of 3 different gems + a dragon's egg, with extras acting as a tie-break. Recommended.

Dragon Parade, published by Z-Man Games. 2007. Box. Excellent. £13

The players have a hand of six cards, four of which will be played, and two discarded. The cards indicate which direction and how much the Dragon will move in the parade. Players take it in turn to play a card, move the dragon, and place a seller on one of the spaces on the board - the idea is to predict where the Dragon will end up at the end of the parade. Sellers who are next to or close to the Dragon will score well, while those who are far away will score little or nothing. The most successful player after several rounds is the winner.

Dungeon Magazine, published by TSR. Country: American.
Excellent magazine containing adventures for TSR role-playing games, mainly AD&D, but sometimes others too. Fantastic resource for GMs looking for an adventure to run. Main articles listed by issue.

Vol 2 Issue 2 (#8), 1987. Good. £2.25: Mountain Sanctuary (Lvl 1-3), For A Lady's Honour (Lvl 4-7), In Defence Of The Law (Lvl 7-10), The Wounded Worm (Lvl 4-8), The Flowers Of Flame (Oriental Adventures Lvl 5-8)

Vol 2 Issue 3 (#9), 1988. Good. £2.25: The Lurkers In The Library (Lvl 1-3), The Crypt Of Istaris (Lvl 3-5), The Djinn's Ring (Lvl 3 - Solo Adventure!), The Golden Bowl Of Ashu H'San (Oriental Adventures Lvl 2-4), The Ghostship Gambit (Lvl 3-6), The Plight Of Cirria (Lvl 8-12).

Vol 2 Issue 6 (#12), 1988. Good. £2.25: Light Of Lost Souls (Lvl 2-4), Sceptre Of The Underworld (Solo Adventure Lvl 12), At The Spottle Parlour (Lvl 1-3), Intrigue In The Depths (Lvl 4-7), Huddle Farm (Lvl 1-4), Dungeon 1-12 Index.

Vol 3 Issue 1 (#13), 1988. Good. £2: The Ruins of Nol-Daer (Lvl 5-8), Going Once...Going Twice (Any level), The Moor-Tomb Map (Lvl 2-4), The Treasure Vault Of Kasil (Lvl 5-7), Of Nests And Nations (Lvl 8-12).

Vol 3 Issue 2 (#14), 1988. Good. £2: Masqueraider (Lvl 2-5), A Question of Balance (Lvl 8-12), Stranded On The Baron's Island (Lvl 4-6), Master Of Puppets (Lvl 6-8), Phantasm Chasm (Lvl 5-7), The Wererats Of Relfren (Lvl 3-6).

Vol 3 Issue 3 (#15), 1989. Good. £2: The Wreck Of The Shining Star (Lvl 4-8), In Pursuit of the Slayer (Lvl 6-9), The Dragon's Gift (Oriental Adventures Lvl 2-7), The Glass House (Lvl 4-6), Roarwater Caves (Lvl 1-4), The Elephants' Graveyard (Lvl 5-7).

Vol 3 Issue 4 (#16), 1989. Good. £2: Palace In The Sky (Lvl 7-10), The Dwarves Of Warka (Lvl 3-6), Necropolis (Lvl 2-4), Vesicant (Lvl 4-6).

Vol 3 Issue 6 (#18), 1989. Good. £2: Irongard (Lvl 1-3), Whitelake Mine (Lvl 2-4), Tallow's Deep (Lvl 4-7), Crocodile Tears (Oriental Adventures Lvl 4-6), Chadranther's Bane (Lvl 4-6).

Vol 4 Issue 1 (#19), 1989. Good. £1.75: By The Wayside (Lvl 6-10), The Vanishing Village (Lvl 3-5), The Serpent's Tooth (Lvl 3-6), Encounter In The Wildwood (Lvl 2-4), House Of Cards (Lvl 9-12).

Vol 4 Issue 2 (#20), 1989. Good. £1.75: The Ship Of Night (Lvl 7-9), White Fang (Solo Adventure Lvl 10 Thief), Pride Of The Sky (Lvl 8-12), Ancient Blood (Lvl 3-5).

Vol 4 Issue 3 (#21), 1990. Good. £1.75: The Cauldron Of Plenty (Lvl 2-4), The Bane Of Elfswood (Lvl 15-18), Jammin' (Spelljammer Any Levels), Incident At Strathern Point (Lvl 8-10), The Chest Of The Aloeids (Lvl 6-8).

Vol 4 Issue 4 (#22), 1990. Good. £1.75: The Dark Forest (Lvl 2-3), The Leopard Men (Lvl 8-10), Tomb It May Concern (For 1 Lvl 4-6 Paladin), Unchained (Dragonlance Lvl 6-10), Rank Amateurs (GAZ10 Humanoids Lvl 1-3).

Edison & Co, published by Gold Sieber. 1998. Box. Good. £12

Race game. Players race their odd vehicles around a track that is first laid out with discs which ensure the game will play differently each time - they represent movement bonuses and hazards. Each player has an identical set of cards and players are given a secret target card which indicates the order in which they want the vehicles to finish. Players play cards which indicate the amount to move, a choice of vehicle to move and the direction in which to move. Once all are played they are used to move one of the vehicles accordingly.

Empire Builder, published by Mayfair. 1988. Box. Excellent. £17

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

Classic train game, and the first of Mayfair's crayon-rails games. Players draw their train routes on a wipeable map of the United States. Players start with enough money to build short lengths of track, and by running their trains and delivering goods to various cities acquire more cash which they can use to expand their networks, and thus run more goods etc.

Express, published by Mayfair. 1990. Box. Excellent. £9

Card game, with 132 cards featuring very nice illustrations of railway rolling stock. The game is a set collecting game, kind of like Rummy, with sets being complete trains. However, there are also some cards which let you steal sections of other players' trains, etc. When a player plays all their cards to the table the hand ends and the trains played are scored.

Far & Away Magazine, published by Pacific Rim Publishing.

Science fiction gaming magazine, which calls itself the magazine of speculative gaming. Main articles listed below.

Issue 1, 1990. Excellent. £0.50: Planetfall (Megatraveller), The Compleat Starport (Megatraveller), Robotech - new rules and scenario, Renegade Legion - Non Military Craft, Star Trek RPG - Starship Combat, The Voyager Telegram - A Poem, Eyes That See - fiction, Albedo review, Lace & Steel review, Space Estate review, Near Orbit review, The Wake of the Kraken review, Various starships outlines, Special Delivery (Megatraveller adventure).

Issue 2, 1990. Good. £0.25: Science fiction gaming magazine, which calls itself the magazine of speculative gaming. Articles include: Time & Tide on Beowulf (Traveller 2300 scenario), A Call To Arms (Traveller 2300 scenario), Hi-Tech Battletech, Ally Spirits - Shadowrun, Beachcomber - fiction, K-3 Class Klingon Gunboat, Battlefield Expedient Repair System, The Martian Invasion (Aftermath adventure); Reviews of: Lone Wolf & Cub, The Grimoire, White Eagle, Street Samurai Catalog, Star Wars Imperial Sourcebook.

First Theories Of Hexagonal Chess, published by Hexagonal Chess Publications. 1974. Book.

Good, but shows a little wear. £5. Designed by W. Glinski. No. players: 2. Country: British, Desc. by Andy.

Softback, 21x15cm, 112 pages. This book covers the author's chess variant played on a hexagonal board. The book covers: Rules of Hexagonal Chess, Hexagonal Chess Compared to Square Chess, Openings and Middle Games, Endgames and Problems, Tomorrow's Chess World.

Fore, published by Oneliner. 1987. Box. 2 copies available: 1) Excellent. £3 2) Good. £2.50

Designer Unknown. No. players: 1-4. Country: British, Duration: 90 mins, Desc. by Andy.

Very nicely made golf game with an attractive 18 hole course laid out on three boards. The game system lets you decide which club to use, and a dice roll and a card draw vary the result.

Fortune, published by Ariel. 1979. Box. Good. £10.50

Semi-promotional business game, made to a very high standard because several companies paid to be in it. A good game of manufacturing, wholesale and retail. Companies in the game include Prudential, Bovis, Woolworths, John Menzies, Brooke Bond, Shell and Guinness amongst others. Received a very good review in Games International. Game play involves buying machinery, fuel and computers, and producing goods, which are then sold through various distribution channels. Advertising, insurance and consultancy can also be bought and shares in various companies can be bought. Players move around a track, but get quite a few choices as to what to do.

French Chatter, published by Intellect. 1972. Box. Good. £6

Rare Intellect game, which was designed first as a game and then advertised as a way of learning French in a relaxed manner. Players compete to collect word tiles and complete a French phrase. The game uses large illustrated phrase cards as well as word tiles.

Garden Lotto, published by Ravensburger. ca.1965. Box. Good. £0.80

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

Simple Lotto game, with players competing to fill their cards with attractive plants and garden utilities. Pretty.

Garten-Zwerge e.B., published by Argentum Verlag. 2004. Box. Excellent. £13

Amusingly themed game in which the players are members of a Garden Gnome breeding society! Garden Gnomes come in different ranks, from the worthless and lazy greys up to the highly coveted gold gnome! Each turn players choose what to do with their gnomes: send them to work in the garden for a little money; look for a breeding partner for them, with money being paid by the player who will get the resulting offspring to the other parent's owner; or sending them into the club's competitions to win prize money. The first player to either breed a coveted golden gnome or accumulate 4000 money wins the game.

Give Me The Brain, published by Cheapass. 1998. Packet. Excellent. £1.50

Card game, linked but separate to Lord of the Fries by the same author. Set in the same fast food restaurant, players still work there as undead short-order cooks, but this time there is only one brain between everyone, which makes it tricky sometimes to get the work finished!

Great Wall Of China, published by Fantasy Flight Games. 2006. Box. In shrink. £13

Card game in which each player has their own deck of cards (all identical sets) from which they draw cards. There are always several sections of the Great Wall which the players are helping to build. Cards can be played singly or in sets against the various wall segments, and if a player still controls that wall segment when it is next their turn they claim VPs, but these reduce their influence at that wall, making the play interesting and fluid. Some cards also have special abilities which need to be watched out for. An interesting game which reuses some ideas from other Reiner games, but feels different. Recommended.

Hannibal, published by Aulic Council Publishing Co.. 1983. Box. Box good - contents unpunched. £22

Subtitled: Rome and Carthage in The Second Punic War 219-202 B.C. Not the same as the Avalon Hill game, Hannibal. The game covers Hannibal's campaigns in Italy. Each player takes the role of the military commander on one side, but because of political issues at home, the commanders don't have a completely free hand in what they do, but still strive to gain victory on the battlefield. The game uses options cards to implement the political side of things, with the cards having a choice of options, only one of which can be actioned. These could give reinforcements, cause enemy units to desert, provide additional movement options etc.

Het Spel Magazine, published by Unknown.

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

Issue 1, 1993. Good. £0.30: Games & Puzzles from WW2, New games and books, Game of the Year 1993, Roman dice and dice games, The Changeable dice, Fairs.

Issue 2, 1994. Good. £0.30: Games & jigsaws with comics, The trickiest playing cards and dice, 30+ new games jigsaws and books, 17th century card maker Jacob Gole, Making a fortune with a new game, Fairs.

Issue 3, 1994. Good. £0.30: Aviation history of cards, games and puzzles; Magic The Gathering rares; 50 new games, jigsaws and books; 13 beautiful chess queens, The Deadly Double mystery; 50 interesting Jokers; Fairs.

High Roller SuperSkins Casino, published by High Roller Games Ltd. 1992. Box.

Box good, contents unused. £7.50. Designed by J.P.McKeon. No. players: 2-8.

Country: Ireland, Desc. by Andy.

Gambling game in which two players at a time take the role of dealer and player, who must bet for themselves to win. Other people can also participate and are able to make bets on who they think will win the hand or even bet on a stand-off. The game itself is a card game with some similarities to Pontoon / Blackjack, but with a special deck of cards and the player and dealer try to make their cards add up to 25 rather than 21, but a few points over are allowed (up to 28), but are lower rated hands. There are also a couple of special high scoring hands: Super Five and Super Skins. Finally there are a couple of extra options during play: Drive (forcing your opponent to stick or take an extra card) and Exchange (rejecting a card drawn).

How To Beat Your Chess Computer, published by B.T. Batsford. 1991. Book. Excellent. £4

Hardback, 22x14cm, 104 pages. This Chess book describes weaknesses in the play of most computer programmes at the time, and therefore methods by which you can defeat them. Thus you can learn to play a computer-hostile game of chess. Whether these methods will still work against modern chess programmes I have no idea. However, the book is also instructive for normal play as it examines nuances of the game you might not otherwise have considered.

Jekyll & Hyde, published by Waddingtons. 1980. Box. Good. £6

Game of skill, but nerve and bluff required. All the pieces look like they are the same, but are marked differently on the back so that only the owning player knows what is what. Four of each player's pieces are Dr Jekyll and four are Mr Hyde. Players take turns moving one of their pieces with the option of capturing opposing pieces by moving onto them. However, the game can be won by capturing all four of your opponent's Jekyll's, but is lost if you capture all your opponent's Hydes! The game can also be won by getting one of your Jekyll's to one of your opponent's corner spaces and then moving it off the board.

Kap Hoorn, published by Kosmos. 1999. Box. In shrink. £13.50

A race game about sailing clippers ‘rounding the Horn’ in a race from New York to San Francisco. This is a tile laying game in which you have a limited number of action points each turn, which can be used to buy tiles, or perform special moves. The basic idea is to play tiles with movement arrows onto the board in such a way as to help the movement of your ship and hinder other ships. There are some clever placement restrictions and alternative ways to win as well. Very good game. Recommended. I also have a couple of rules tweaks to reduce the luck of the tile draw.

Karten Misch Maschine, published by Amigo. ca.2004. Box. In shrink. £14

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

This is a card shuffling machine. It is hand driven (with a handle you turn), and is designed for standard size playing cards. There are adjusting screws designed to allow you to shuffle cards with different thicknesses. The machine essentially works by taking a deck of cards and splitting it semi-randomly into two halves, and you then put them together and repeat a few times. Sort of like a reversed riffle shuffle! Nice item for card players who have never mastered the art of a good shuffle.

Keydom, published by R & D Games. 1998. Box. Good. £60

Special notes: Number 285/300.

Highly sought after game. This was later reworked and much stripped down to produce Morgenland / Aladdin's Dragons. Players send their villagers to work at various trades and produce resources. These resources can then be spent in the village to gain various advantages, and also villagers can be sent to the palace to obtain the various items needed to become the new king, but these items are often expensive and fought over by other villagers. Lots of interesting systems and even rule breaking spells for villagers who attend the wizard's classes.

Keythedral, published by R&D Games. 2002. Box. Good. £40

First (limited) edition. 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 the 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. Recommended, and collectable too.

Keytown, published by R&D Games. 2000. Box. 2 copies availabke:

1) Good, but box shows a little wear. £40. No. 29/500 2) Good. £45. No. 472/500.

Designed by Richard Breese. No. players: 2-5. Country: British, Duration: 75 mins, Desc. by Andy. Each player controls a group of townsfolk who they want to promote as the new leaders of Keytown. In order to do so they will first need to gather resource cubes working in the brewery, farm, forest, harbour or the mines. They can also reproduce, resulting in a new townsperson, distract opposing townsfolk or gain prestige by working in the church, market or chambers. At the end of the game the player who has most successfully improved the lot of their townsfolk is the winner. Limited edition of 500, and very collectable.

King Of The Castle, published by Falcon. 1989. Box. Good. £4

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

Tile placement game in which players add stones to the castle wall (from the bottom up). When three in a row are lined up beneath a crown space, a crown is won. When the wall is complete, the player with the most crowns wins.

Koalition, published by Hexagames. 1995. Box. Excellent. £9

Special notes: 2nd edition set

Card game in which a series of elections across Europe take place. There are a number of Europe-wide political parties and a selection of politicians in each represented on the cards. To resolve an election players play two politicians who will stand. If a party has a majority it gets in and points are split between the players who played politicians of that party, otherwise a coalition must be negotiated and all parties in the coalition score points. There are some other clever twists as well which make this an unusual and absorbing card game.

Kojit-8, published by Noetic Pastimes Ltd. 1980. Tube. Good. £6

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

Strategy game played on a large roll-up vinyl mat which shows a 6 pointed star made up of coloured circles with coloured lines joining them. Players take turn placing, moving or turning over pieces of various colours with numbers on them. The objective is to score points by making certain combinations, such as identical numbers, runs of numbers, etc on spaces of the same colour or spaces in a row. There are several variations to try out as well, such as one where additional types of play or scoring patterns are available when your scoring marker is on certain spaces on the scoring track.

Kryomek, published by Fantasy Forge Publications. 1991. Book. Good. £6

Softback, 30x21cm, 136 pages. 25mm Science Fiction skirmish combat system based on Jon Tuffley's "Stargrunt". This game is set in a future in which mankind is a powerful force in the galaxy, but powerful dark creatures have been encountered who threaten to overrun mankind. Humans must now fight these terrible aliens or die. The book details the background story in great detail and also presents the skirmish rules, and includes all sorts of technological devices and weaponry which can be used.

La Strada, published by Kosmos. 2004. Box. Excellent. £12

Players take the part of a north Italian trading company, and must dispatch wagons to find customers. However, competition is fierce. Larger towns are more lucrative, and profits are greatest when not shared with others. The board is set up differently each time and roads are laid using tiles. A clever network creation game which plays swiftly, but which provides an interesting tactical challenge. I have some house rules to balance up the start player advantage which I can pass on. Recommended.

Lord Of The Rings - Battlefields, published by Hasbro. 2006. Box. In shrink. £13

Expansion for the Lord of the Rings cooperative game by Reiner. This expansion can be played with just the base game or can be combined with any / all of the other expansions. New battle boards are introduced which have to be dealt with alongside the normal scenario boards. As progress is made along the main track on the main board enemies enter the battlefield board and advance - if unchecked they will reach unpleasant spaces causing the players to lose cards and gain corruption etc. However, as a new action members of the fellowship can be deployed to assist against these enemies. A great way to freshen up the original game.

Lotus, published by Ravensburger. 1988. Box. Excellent. £6.50

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

Mage The Ascension: Horizon - Stronghold Of Hope, published by White Wolf. 1996. Book. Excellent. £3

Softback, 28x22cm, 120 pages. Sourcebook for Mage: The Ascension. For 500 years sorcerers from across the world have met in a secret sanctuary, Horizon. Here the council of the Nine Traditions meets even now. However, all is not well, secret agents, assassins and worse now lurk to try to sway the power politics. This book details Horizon itself and the main characters therein, as well as giving plenty of ideas for scenarios.

Mage The Ascension: Technocracy N.W.O., published by White Wolf. 1995. Book. Excellent. £3

Softback, 28x22cm, 72 pages. Sourcebook for Mage: The Ascension. The N.W.O. is a group who follow and kidnap Tradition Mages, in order to remove any threat to the Greater Good. N.W.O. acts covertly, and efficiently - no mess no witnesses. This book details the methods, agents and history of this insidious group, giving lots of hooks to the Storyteller for adventures as well as a plethora of gadgets, agents and ‘magickal procedures' all ready to use.

Mage The Ascension: Technocracy: Progenitors, published by White Wolf. 1993. Book. Excellent. £3

Softback, 28x22cm, 64 pages. Sourcebook for Mage: The Ascension. The Progenitors aim is to shape life to fit their goals and ideals. To this end they poison foods, create clones, spawn monstrosities and warp both themselves and others, inside and out. This book follows an apprentice as he progresses through Progenitor training, provides new spells, effects and devices for the Progenitors, and gives a battle roster of Technomancers, agents, and gene spliced monsters.

Mage The Ascension: Technocracy: Syndicate, published by White Wolf. 1997. Book. Excellent. £3

Softback, 28x22cm, 72 pages. Sourcebook for Mage: The Ascension. The Syndicate controls money, and money is power. This book tells you about The Syndicate - How they operate, their history, and their hierarchy. Perks and privileges of Syndicate members are detailed, along with Diefenbakker's Casino, a location for use in your scenarios involving The Syndicate.

Mage The Ascension: The Book Of Madness, published by White Wolf. 1994. Book. Good. £3.50

Country: American, Desc. by Andy.

Softback, 28x22cm, 144 pages. Bestiary for Mage: The Ascension. This book details all sorts of creatures from the Darkness which could prove to be a Mage's deadliest foes. The book covers: Nephandi - the Corrupters, Marauders - Foot Soldiers of Chaos, Demons - Renders of Souls, Paradox Spirits - The Mage's Bane, Umbrood - Living Mysteries.

Mancala, 2 copies available:

1) Published by Pressman. 1997. Box. Good. £3.50. The board is made of wood, and folds up as well, making this set quite portable as well as attractive and sturdy. The playing pieces are 'flattened marbles', with a swirl of colour within glass. Nice set.

2) Published by University Games. 1995. Box. Good. £3.50. The board is hand crafted wood, made in Asia. The pieces are small coloured stones. The rules include general rules as well as the Egyptian, Nigerian and Ethiopian variants. Very nice set.

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

Classic abstract game, very popular game in many African countries.

Mercante In Fiera, published by Dal Negro. ca.1975. Box. Excellent. £3

Designer Unknown. No. players: 4-8. Country: Italian, Duration: 30 mins, Desc. by Andy.

Traditional Italian gambling card game. Cards are auctioned off in sets by the auctioneer. A second identical deck is then used (this set includes both decks) and three cards are winners, with the prizes for the corresponding card owners set by the auctioneer. One by one losing cards are revealed, and players may buy and sell their remaining cards, which become increasingly likely to be winners as more losers are revealed. The cards are numbered and have very attractive pictures.

Minotaur Lords, published by Fantasy Flight Games. 2004. Box. 2 copies available: ) In shrink. £13.

2) German Edition. In shrink. £6. I can provide English rules, but the cards all have German text.

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

Modern Bidding Systems In Bridge, published by Penguin Books. 1973. Book. Good. £3.50

Hardback, 23x14cm, 424 pages. A collection and analysis of a large number of Contract Bridge bidding systems and conventions within those systems. The book is divided as follows: English Systems, Modern Conventions In General Use In England, American Systems, Italian Systems, A System From Nationalist China, Illustrative Hands.

Moderne Zeiten, published by Jumbo. 2002. Box. Good. £13.50

Country: German, Duration: 45 mins, Desc. by Andy.

Stock collecting game with some very nice twists. Firstly the market repeatedly crashes, with the commonest type of shares being removed from the game. New shares are purchased at auction, in a closed money system, and the shares need to be played in order to advance your piece along the progress track - doing so earns you a stake in the companies and locations which will score highly at the end of the game. An unusual mix of ideas making a game which feels unique. Plays best with three players.

More Chances To Win With Mecca, published by Mecca. Box. Excellent. £4

Designer Unknown. No. players: 1+. Country: Unknown, Desc. by Andy.

A rather nice travel games set with a good set of 6 pip dominoes which are a pleasure to handle, a pack of regular playing cards, folding wooden cribbage board and a set of 5 poker dice. Rules are provided only for one game with the poker dice.

Murphy, published by Flying Turtle. 1989. Box. Good. £13

Detective themed game in which the players have to work out which possible relations to a dead millionaire are genuine and which are pretenders. This is done by moving around a track on a map of the world and meeting up with the various candidates and finding out information about them. Using deduction it is possible to determine which must be real, and the first player to do so wins the game. Money is also needed to make moves and get the desired information, so sometimes players will have to go for a cheap move rather than one which will get the most information. Good game, but very much better with only 2-3 players.

Mystery Rummy Case No. 2: Murders In The Rue Morgue, published by US Game Systems. 1999.

Box. In shrink. £7.50. Designed by Mike Fitzgerald. No. players: 2-4.

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

Card game, 62 cards with which players must prove the innocence of Edgar Allan Poe's detective, C Auguste Dupin, and prove that the Orangutan did the crime! Subtitled Murders in the Rue Morgue. Part of this very well regarded series of card games based on the ideas of Rummy, but with various twists which fit in with the theme. This game introduces a kitty - during the hand players can place additional cards into a secret pile which is won by the first player to go out in addition to scoring for their melds.

Napoleon At Bay, published by Avalon Hill. 1983. Box. Good, but 1 corner taped. £12

The Campaign in France, 1814. Originally published by OSG. Uses the original system that means that unit strengths are only revealed when leaders confront each other on the battlefield. The game is played at the division level. 3.2km / hex, 1000 men / SP, 2 days / turn. The rules are 26 pages long, with another 2 pages of optional rules. A separate booklet details 7 scenarios and gives a detailed narrative of historical events.

New Contract Bridge In A Nutshell, published by W.H. Allen. 1960. Book. Good. £3.50

Hardback, 22x14cm, 135 pages. A streamlined book which presents Goren's point count and bidding system in an easy to follow and refer to manner. The book covers: Valuation Tables, Opening Bids, Responses, Forcing Bids, Rebids by Opener, Rebids by Responder, Overcalls, Takeout Doubles, Penalty Doubles, Slam Bidding, Opening Leads, Tactics, Digest of Laws, Scoring Table.

New Faces Game, published by Parker Palitoy. 1975. Box. Box corners taped. £1.50

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 the cards for a suitable act have been obtained then the player advances to the New Faces track 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.

No Room At The Zoo, published by Artstraws Ltd. ca.1990. Box. Good. £3.50

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

Players each have a selection of animals which they attempt to place onto spaces in the zoo. The zoo is divided into 4 sections, each colour coded, and within these sections there are several interlocking rings each of a colour of a different board section. When an animal is placed onto a space this will block off several other spaces, and the next player must play in the section indicated by the colour the last ring was played on. If there is no free space to play on then all animals in that section must be taken back into your hand. The winner is the first to place all their animals in the zoo, or if you play according to a friend of mine's house rule you can also win by collecting a certain number of animals.

North Sea Oil, published by Omnia. 1974. Box. 2 copies available:

1) Good. £4.50 2) 3 Box corners damaged. £2

Oil discovery, pumping and selling game. The board shows 28 potential drilling sites, which vary in depth and productivity. There are different drilling rigs designed to reach different depths. Plots are initially explored and then put up for auction. Once bought a plot can be made active by buying a rig or moving one to it. Production is affected by weather though. The price of oil fluctuates too and the political party in power changes and sets the interest rate on your loans (which you will have), and tax rates. Some advance warning of the next party coming to power is available to aid planning.

Noteability, published by Spear's Games. 1991. Box. Several copies available:

1) Excellent. £8 2) Good but 1 corner taped. £6 3) Good. £6.50

4) Good but box edges show wear. £5.50. Photocopied rules

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

Essentially a game of 'Name That Tune'. In the classic parlour game a player either sings or plays on the piano the first few notes / bars of a song and the others have to recognise it. This is essentially the same, but the game comes with a miniature working electronic grand piano (17 numbered keys), and the cards showing the tunes to play list the keys to press to play the tune with dots to indicate pauses. One of the most amazing game components you will see. You don't need to be musical to play, but it helps if you know the tune you are playing so you can get the rhythm at least approximately right. Great fun watching other people mangle the tunes nearly as badly as you do!

Notre Dame, published by Rio Grande Games. 2007. Box. In shrink. £22

Board game which is driven by card play. The game uses a neat card drafting system, which works wonderfully - plenty of options, but not always the ones you would really like. Players deploy influence markers in various parts of their quarter of the city. When deployed various benefits are gained such as recruiting more influence markers, gaining gold, gaining VPs, and investing in hospitals. The latter is vital as each turn rats bring plague to the city, which hospitals help control – woe betide the player who leaves the plague unchecked. Excellent systems, with interesting play - highly recommended.

Off Road Fun, published by Clementoni. 1994. Box. Good. £4.50

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

Family race game in which the players lay out a cross country rally course, some of which will be on road and other parts will be off road. After the players study the layout the track tiles are turned face down. A special dice is rolled to determine movement, but the moving player must also state whether the tiles about to be landed on are on road or off road, and only if this is stated correctly can the player move forwards. First to the end of the track wins.

Old Town, published by Clicker. Box. Good, contents unpunched. £13

2nd edition boxed version. 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. This version has some significant rules changes compared to the original edition.

Oregon Trail, published by Fantasy Games Unlimited. 1981. Box. Good. £12

The players take the roles of Trail Bosses who are responsible for shepherding their party of pioneers across the western USA during the 1820s to 1860s. Success is measured by retaining as many of the wagons, personnel and stock as possible on arrival at the final destination. On the way Indians, rockslides, disease, wild animals and even drought can afflict the groups.

Panzerzug, published by Winsome. 1998. Packet. Excellent. £8

Card based game, with pretty basic components as usual with Winsome. Each player flies either an American or British plane, on missions to destroy the German railroads. Cards represent fuel, guns, and bombs. Each turn a target is drawn and the players attempts to destroy it, or refit their planes ready for next turn. Players interact trying to stop opponents while maximizing their own attacks.

Party Lines, published by Oldbourne. 1963. Book. Good, dustcover slightly discoloured. £8

Hardback with dustcover, 25x20cm, 154 pages. Written by a TV Magician, this book covers all sorts of party tricks and entertainments: Solitaire puzzles (4), Coin Tricks (13), General Games (14), Brainteasers (11), Fun With Figures (9), Catches (Hustles) (11), Hand & Arm Tricks (14), Handkerchief Tricks (7), Juggling (21), Match Tricks (31), Glass Tricks (8), Card Tricks (12), String Tricks (7), Musical Tricks (6), Puzzles To Make (10), Origami (8), Wire Puzzles (12), Napkin Folding (9), Misc (18).

Pool Position, published by FX Schmid. 1999. Box. Good. £10

At a plush hotel in a hot country players vie for the best placed sunbeds near the pool. Players have identical sets of numbered cards which they play to determine placement points each round, but using an unusual mechanism which involves some second guessing of what the others will do. These points can then be spent to add towels to empty sunbeds or throw off those of other players, but this attracts the attention of the attendants, who after several towel tussles will come and stop any further tussles in that row or column. Unusual and amusing theme for a pleasantly cutthroat game.

Quirks, published by Eon. 1980. Box. Good. £37

Country: American, Duration: 30-90 mins, Desc. by Andy.

The weird game of un-natural selection, of evolution gone awry. It uses cards very cleverly so that three cards form a creature or plant no matter how unlikely, and they even give you a name for the species. Includes children's rules, called Quirklings. Each animal or plant section is useful in some climates and hopeless in others. As the climate changes players mutate their animals/plants if they aren't ideal for the current climate or attack one of the current dominant species if they think their species is better suited. I also have some house rules I can supply to enhance the game as well. A truly wonderful idea for a game.

Rapid Delivery, published by London Game Company. ca.1995. Box. Good. £7.50

A courier themed family game in which the players or teams of players deploy their vans and motorbikes to make efficient collections and deliveries of goods. Dice are used, but the map ensures that clever use of the blockage pieces can delay your opponents letting you make the collection first. The game uses cards to determine pick-up and drop-off points and to see if any mishaps occur on the way. Kevin also developed a diceless variant intended for gamers, and I can supply a copy of the rules for this.

Reibach & Co, published by FX Schmid. 1996. Box. Excellent. £8

Card game which uses 90 commodity cards and 10 scoring cards and 10 special cards. Players try to collect most of 10 types of commodity, as at three points in the game payouts are made to the players with most and second most of each type. In their turn a player can do three things, which include drawing a new card from those on display, playing a card to the table in front of them (where it counts towards scoring), or placing a special card which can double the number of other cards played of that type, but means that no more may be played. In many ways a cut down to the basics version of Airlines by the same designer. Published as Get The Goods in America.

Roots, published by Heritage Products. 1978. Box. Good. £1.50

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

Royalty, published by US Games Systems. 1996. Box. Excellent. £5

Card game, 106 cards featuring a mixture of colours and letters. You can play with one deck of 53 cards or both decks. Lots of interaction as you can steal each other’s words, but interestingly you must rearrange the letters you are stealing and add to them to make a brand new word, completely unrelated to the one you stole. Variations include Coalitions (for partnership play) and Monarchy (for solitaire play). Nominated in the Games magazine Top 100 for 1995.

S.P.I.V.S., published by 3 Wishes. 1986. Box. 2 copies available:

1) Good. £8 2) 2 Box corners taped. £7

Space game with each player taking the role of a slightly dodgy trader in aliens in the deep space of Quadrant 13. However the quadrant is full of hazards which must be avoided, such as a black hole, a giant space amoeba, solar flares, asteroid belts etc. Players must take care to manage their fuel well and also the aliens to be traded resent captivity and all affect the capturing ship in one way or another, perhaps affecting movement speed or eating other captured aliens etc.

Saboteur, published by Amigo. 2004. Box. Excellent. £5

Card game in which some of the players are dwarves who want to find a treasure in the mines, while others are saboteurs who try to stop the treasure being found - the players' identities are secret. Passage cards are played onto the table to extend the passage system, and there are three potential sites of the treasure. Players can also play cards which will stop another player extending the passages until they have fixed their problem, and of course other cards let you fix these problems. The card mix is well thought out making it possible but difficult to get to the treasure, so the end result of each round is generally very close.

Santa Fe Rails, published by GMT Games. 2001. Box. Excellent. £23

An update of the same author's Sante Fe which was published as part of White Wind's limited edition series of games. Train game in which the players develop railroads heading west from the East coast of the U.S. eventually getting to the West Coast. While noone owns the different railroads, each player has a different set of destination cards (and can get more) and so tries to get as many railroads as possible to visit these locations. In addition there are bonuses for being the first to build a track into major cities. There are plenty of options each turn and only clever play will make the most of your opportunities and win the game. Recommended. I can also provide some house rules which improve the game further.

Seega, published by Wicor. ca.1975. Box. Good. £3

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

Strategy game played on a 5x5 grid. Players take turns placing marbles onto the indented board, and then take turns moving a marble. If a marble is moved so as to surround an enemy marble then the enemy marble is captured and removed and the marble can be moved again if a further capture is possible. The winner is the player who eliminates all their opponent's marbles or if a stalemate occurs then the player with the most marbles remaining.

Shit!, published by Adlung Spiele. 1996. Box. Mint. £1.75

Card game, 50 colourful cards in suits and 6 Shit! cards. Cards are played into a circle and the suit order is circular! Each round players play a card simultaneously, and this can either be a card which will get you more cards (the only way to get more cards in fact) or a number card, which depending on the cards on the table and the cards other players have played will score you points. There is a slight similarity to '6 Nimmt'. Eamon asked why they called it such a name, and was told that they thought they were using an English word equivalent to "Damn" or "Bother".

Sky Trails, published by Russell. 1951. Box. Excellent. £6

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

Card game, 48 very unusual cards. Half of them relate to destinations, and the other 24 feature parts of a map of the world. These map cards are collected to form routes to the destinations. The box is very neat as well, and says ‘Vol. IV’ on it, suggesting there were other games in similar packaging.

Sorry, published by BCM. 1 copies available:

1) ca.1935. Box & Board. Good. £7.50. Comes with a double deck of cards, but both decks have a few cards missing, so I am including a complete deck from an earlier set!

2) 1929. Box & Board. Good. £7.50

Designer Unknown. No. players: 1-4. Country: British, Duration: 30 mins, Desc. by Andy.

Early edition of this classic game, with a board, a deck of cards, and wooden pieces. A superior version of Ludo really, with more choice over the moves available as cards are played rather than dice rolled for movement. Comes with small box and separate board.

Sovereign Of The Seas, published by Excalibre. ca.1978. Box. Box shows wear. £7.50

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

Players sail merchant ships in the 17th/18th century picking up and delivering cargo for profit. Tariffs must be paid when stopping in each port, and it is possible to purchase ports in order to get the tariffs when others land on them. The board shows the whole world, and 32 different ports, with 9 different cargoes available from them. Play is determined by cards to determine your next contract and dice used for movement, but you choose which appropriate port to pick up from and which shipping lanes to use, and whether to buy ports. Event cards can also be used to add uncertainty too. First player to amass 150000 gold pieces wins.

Spy Ring, published by Waddingtons. 1978. Box. 2 copies available:

1) Good. £5. There is a large mark on the base where tape has been ripped off.

2) Good. £6.50

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

Revised edition of this game of intrigue amongst the embassies. Players try to collect all four parts of one of the secrets going around between the embassies. The first player to achieve this wins. Play is tactical and a small amount of memory helps too since then you will know who is most likely to have the part of the secret you are collecting. Rather nice light game with fun (but unnecessary) mirrors with which to discreetly look at your collected secrets.

Spy Ring, published by Waddingtons. 1965. Box. Excellent. £7.50

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

First edition of this game of intrigue amongst the embassies. Even has little metal aerials you pop in your spy's hat for when he is using his radio. Players try to collect all four parts of one of the secrets going around between the embassies. The first player to achieve this wins. Play is tactical and a small amount of memory helps too since then you will know who is most likely to have the part of the secret you are collecting. Rather nice light game. There are a surprisingly large number of differences between this early version and the later (1978 onwards) version.

Star Fleet Missions, published by Task Force. 1992. Box. Good. £10

Card game based on the Star Fleet Battles universe. Players build fleets from various races (Federation, Klingon, etc.) and compete to fulfil various missions. The basic idea is that cards from the mission deck have various requirements in order to be fulfilled, and starship cards have various abilities which can be used to fulfil these requirements. Points are awarded by fulfilling missions.

Star Wars - Attack Of The Clones Card Game, published by Ravensburger. 2002. Box. In shrink. £8

Card game. Rethemed version of Zircus Flohcati. Players collect cards, and can either play sets of three of a kind to the table to score points immediately or hold them for points at the end of the round. At the end of the round the highest card in your hand for each of the 10 suits scores, and there is a bonus for the player who ends the round by having one card of each suit in hand. The mechanism for getting a card allows you to decide how much choice of cards you want, but the greater the choice, the greater the risk of disaster - and the opportunity to get a card is then missed. Light, but enjoyable. Recommended.

Stirling Moss Rally, published by Whittlecraft. ca.1965. Box. Good. £6

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

Motor racing rally game played on a course with snow and ice, rocky canyons, and deserts. Players buy equipment to help them through certain terrains, and without these the cars will have to stop for repairs. The game uses 3 dice: fast (1-6), slow (1-3), and a traffic light control (red/green). Hazard spaces do different things depending on your speed and equipment. Board graphics and box art by the newspaper cartoonist Brockbank.

Stocks & Bonds, 2 editions available:

1) Published by Avalon Hill. 1978. Box. Excellent. £5

2) Published by 3M. 1972. Box. Good. £7

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

Stock market business game. A year is designated as Bull or Bear (strong or weak) and players trade accordingly. Dividends are paid and, in the advanced game, you can buy 'on margin', leaving you more capital to work with.

Stranded, published by Spears. 1981. Box. Good. £1.50

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

Attractively produced strategy game. The plastic board has slots, into which you fit plastic walls. Players move 'along' these walls, but always removing from the game the first wall passed over. There are also rules to keep you away from your opponent. The first player unable to move (ie. no walls adjacent to him any more) loses. Note this is not the same game as Isolation, which was also published as Stranded.

Survival Of The Witless, published by Avalanche Press. 1996. Box. Good. £7.50

Designer Unknown. No. players: 3-8. Country: American, Duration: 1 hr, Desc. by Andy. Special notes: 2 out of 60 identical markers missing (but a maximum of 40 would ever be needed, so this does not affect play)

Satirical game in which the players are all academics and write articles and try to impress the senior members of their university department, with the objective being to publish a book and have the faculty board so impressed that they offer you a permanent position - a sure way to a life of bourgeois living and never having to do any work! The players are given a gender, class, race and sexual orientation, and these affect their standing with each faculty board member. The game is then driven by card play, with over 200 cards and plenty of humorous takes on academic life therein.

Tac Air, published by Avalon Hill. 1988. Box. Good. £8

Hypothetical, detailed simulation of a Third World War, fought over the killing grounds of Central Europe. The rules start with a 4 page basic game, and then there are a further 26 pages of advanced and optional rules. Each turn represents 3 hours and each hex 1 mile. Unit size is the battalion. The rules cover ground and air units, supply, command, engineering, and in the optional rules weather, mines etc. The game includes over a dozen different scenarios ranging in scope from minor skirmishes to a massive combat covering the entire map.

Tarbart On Patience, published by Thos. De La Rue & Co.. 1901. Book. Good (excellent for its age). £28

Hardback, 17x11cm, 118 pages. Gold edged pages and embossed cover. Very rare, and collectible. Very nicely produced book of nearly 50 games of patience, which are divided between one and two pack games. Printed very finely in black and red throughout with many diagrams. This is a first edition produced for hospitals (it has Hospital Copy embossed in gold on the front cover). Very nice item.

Tarot Deck, published by Waddingtons. ca.1965. Box. Good. £4

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

Special notes: Comes in a black felt covered box.

56 card tarot deck (14 cards in each of the suits: batons, epees, denier and coupes). There are 4 picture cards in each suit (valet, chevalier, reine, roi) as well as the numbers 1-10. The cards are a reproduction of an antique French tarot deck. On a couple of the cards are the inscriptions: Fabrique de Cartes a Schaffhouse, and Fabrique de Cartes I.Muller & Cie. This set comes with no rules, but you can find rules for games with a tarot deck in many card game books.

Tennis, published by Parker Bros. 1975. Box. Good. £4

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.

The Administrative Waltz, published by Ariel. 1976. Box. Good. £4

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

Bizarre game based on a book of the same name. The object is to gain promotion and achieve the top job within your career (each player having a different career). Game play involves several different mechanics, including collecting and trading letter tiles with which words must be made up, collecting reference cards which let you get promotion, playing manipulation cards on other people to hinder them and sacrificing future victory points to get promotion now. In addition there are several alternative ways to win and a simplified version of the game as well as the standard game. Unusual item.

The African Campaign, published by Jedko. 1973. Box. Box corners taped. £8

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 Arduin Adventure, published by Grimoire Games. 1980. Box. Box shows wear. £3

This boxed set provides an introduction to fantasy role playing. It uses a system which appears very similar to Dungeons and Dragons, and the main rules book includes all you need to create characters and devise an adventure. It also includes a sample adventure near the end of the book. Dice and cut out magic item cards are also provided.

The Battles Of Bull Run, published by SPI. 1973. Box. Good - mostly unpunched. £6

Special notes: The plastic case lid is brittle and has cracked around the edge. The box has a built in counter storage tray.

The Battles of Manassas, June 1861 and August 1862, in the American Civil War. Tactical wargame in which each turn represents 90 minutes, and a simultaneous movement system is employed. There are 5 scenarios covering the two battles.

The Best Of Board Wargaming, published by Arthur Barker Ltd. 1980. Book. Good. £13

Hardback, 22x14cm, 194 pages. This book has two sections. The first section surveys the types of games available at the time: Operational Games, Science Fiction Games, Monster Games, Beer & Pretzels Games, Realistic Games, Computerized Games. The second section consists of about 130 pages of game reviews (over 100 games are reviewed).

The Bridges Of Shangri La, published by Uberplay. 2003. Box. In shrink. £17

Unusual game in which players place tiles representing disciples of seven monastic disciplines into villages which are connected by bridges through the mountains. Initially a few masters are placed, and then students are placed, and when a village is full enough its students can be sent to a neighbouring village where if their knowledge is superior they will take over from existing masters, but behind them the bridge collapses. When the bridges are gone the player with most masters and students on the board wins. Interestingly different mechanics with lots of tactical options and plenty of scope for vicious play.

The Card Player's Companion, published by Treasure Press. 1990. Book. Excellent. £8

Hardback, 24x19cm, 192 pages. This book covers the history of playing cards, and gives the rules to some of the earliest European games (Piquet, Ombre, Primero) before moving onto various families of games: Euchre, All-Fours, Whist, Bezique, Cribbage, Banking Games, Poker, Rummy, Hearts, Stops, Patience. The book also has chapters on Gambling and Cheating, as well as having a detailed glossary. An attractively presented useful reference book.

The Chelsea Flower Show Game, published by Traditional Games Co. Ltd. ca.2004. Box. Good. £7

Designer Unknown. No. players: 2-4. Country: British, Duration: 1 hr, Desc. by Andy.

Horticulture themed board game in which the players try to be the first to complete a show garden at Chelsea and gain the coveted RHS Gold Medal. Players move very chunky gardener playing pieces around the board - the outer area gives inspiration and education, and then advance to the inner ring where they design and develop their show garden. The innermost section of the board lets the players actually build their garden. Cards are drawn and used at each stage of the game.

The Civil War 1861-1865, published by Victory Games. 1983. Box. Box good, counters unpunched. £16

American Civil War game which won the Charles Roberts Award: Best Pre-Twentieth Century Game for 1983, and is still popular. This game lets you simulate the ACW in one year scenarios or play out the whole campaign. The map shows the entire theatre of war from east to west. The rules are complex covering around 50 pages, though not all the rules will be needed in all scenarios. They cover ground movement and combat, naval movement and combat, leaders, supply, reinforcements, railroads, armies, cavalry, forts, neutral states, state militias and more.

The Darling Buds Of May, published by Crown Andrews. 1991. Box. Good. £2

Special notes: A small tear in lid has been repaired with tape.

Based on the novel by H.E. Bates and the TV series of the same name. Pop Larkin has inherited a fortune and has hidden the money around the farm and surrounding countryside. The players move playing pieces showing characters from the series around the board trying to collect the money before the tax collector finds it. Game play also involves trivia based on the book and other H.E. Bates books, general knowledge (adult and junior versions), and true / false questions. Most money collected at the end of the game wins.

The End, published by Scapegoat Games. 1995. Book. Excellent. £4

Roleplaying world and rules set in a world after Judgement Day in which 'The Meek' were rejected by both Heaven and Hell, and forced to live back on Earth. A fascinating introductory story introduces this world and makes you want to read on.

The Games Annual 1998 Edition, published by MSM. 1997. Magazine. Excellent. £4

192 pages, 28x21cm. This annual digest of what went on in the games industry is absolutely packed with information about products newly released that year, with lots of colour pictures. This digest covers: News, BattleTech update, Star Wars, Game Buyers Guide, Dice Games, Puzzles, Card Games, Board & Parlor Games, Educational Games, Wargames, Miniatures, RPGs, Accessories, Skill & Action Games, Computer Games, Live Action Games, Books & Periodicals, Clubs & Events, Collectible Games, PBM Games, Making & Marketing Games, Magazines. A mine of information.

The High Kings Of Tara, published by Real Original Games. 1999. Box. Good. £18

Unusual strategy game based on the celtic artwork from The Book of Kells. The game consists of moving your king playing piece around the board and placing segments of celtic loops to form 'hill forts'. The objective is to then join your loop segments into more neatly formed loops so that by the end of the game you have less knots than your opponent. The four player game is played as a partnership game. Unusual, well regarded and attractive too.

The Lord Of The Rings Playing Cards, published by Trefl. 2001. Box. New. £1.50

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

This is a regular deck of playing cards (55 cards), with pictures from the Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring movie on them.

The Madame Tussaud's Board Game, published by Spear's Games. 1990. Box. Good. £3

Board game no doubt made as a souvenir for visitors to London's famous Madame Tussaud's waxworks museum. The game itself has cards showing many of the famous people who have their likenesses in the museum. Players are dealt mini cards showing these people, and they must collect the larger cards with the same people on them. This is done by moving around the museum and collecting them. However, it is also possible to get cards off other players by 'bumping into them'. Finallly there are several 'Jack The Ripper' cards with no matching cards - these need to be palmed off onto another player.

The Mob, published by Gibsons. 1994. Box. Good. £12

Special notes: Box very slightly indented due to stacking.

Mafia themed game. Players have a hand of cards (mobsters or locations) which are placed around the town to earn money. Confrontation occurs when two of you want to control the same area. The idea is to make as much money as possible with your illegitimate activities, and then reinvest this money into legitimate businesses. In this game a 'hostile takeover' involves machine guns rather than stockbrokers.

The New Games Book, published by Sidgwick & Jackson Ltd. 1976. Book. Good. £5

Softback, 23x21cm, 192 pages. A book full of unusual and interesting outdoor games and activities. There are many photographs which come straight out of the hippy era, but many of the games themselves look great fun - fantastic if you have a large group of children and adults and a park, or even just for active families to enjoy on a summer's day. Activities range from boffing (dueling with polyethylene swords), tug of war, and Hunker Hawser (two players balance on poles holding a rope - last still on wins) to Stand-off (a sort of aikido balancing wrestle). Some great ideas, and some just truly bizarre!

The Oxford Guide To Card Games, published by OUP. 1990. Book. Excellent. £15

Hardback with dustcover. 24x16cm, 361 pages. Rare, intellectual and historical look at card games, a companion to the same author's A History of Card Games. This concentrates on types of games: trick-taking, bluff, melding, etc, and analyses how games of that type developed across borders and through time. The rules to masses of card games are included amongst all the extra detail provided. A master work and an excellent addition to the keen card player's library.

The Palladium RPG - Book II: Old Ones, published by Palladium. 1990. Book. Good. £2.25

212 page Palladium role playing game supplement which includes monk and illusionist character class rules, descriptions of 21 forts, 34 towns and cities, half a dozen adventures and details of the dreaded Old Ones.

The Princes Of Florence, published by Rio Grande Games. 2000. Box. Excellent. £15

Special notes: One box side has been in the sun and has lost a little colour.

Each player must develop their estates, erect buildings, lay out landscapes, and bring artists and scholars to their location. All this brings prestige and / or money. Money is needed during the game, but prestige is what you need to win. Each turn various improvements to your estates are auctioned and then players get to choose the actions they wish to do. However, there is always far more you would like to do than you have actions to do, so choosing wisely is vital. Excellent game - highly recommended.

The Sailor's Game, published by Blossom Design. 1986. Box. Good. £4

Trivia game with the questions all very firmly intended for those who are familiar with sailing terminology, sailor's lore and experience. Comes with a chunky and large board with a circular track around which the players' yachts sail, with the chance to block other players, and the metal yacht playing pieces are amazingly substantial. Includes over 2000 questions.

The Theory Of Whist, published by Longmans, Green & Co.. 1890. Book.

Cover faded with wear, good internally. £5

Hardback, 17x11cm, 108 pages. Widely circulated treatise on partnership whist. The book covers: Technical Terms, Theory of the Game, Development of the Theory, Rules & Directions for Play, Conclusion, Appendicies. There are many snippets from the press dated 1865-1970 which praise the book.

The Trading Floor, published by Dow Jones & Company Inc. 1985. Box. Box shows wear. £6

Promotional game advertising Dow Jones' financial news services. Unusually for a stock market / commodities themed game this is not about buying and selling stocks & shares, but rather about getting Client Order cards, and advancing around the board trying to get to the centre when you think you are in a strong position financially. It includes nicely made metal bear and bull figures which also move about on the board and block the way.

Theophrastus, published by Mayfair Games. 2001. Box. Good. £14

Card based game in which the master alchemist Theophrastus takes on the players as apprentices, and concocts elixirs which the players must try to copy as accurately as possible. The players take it in turn to contribute to Theophrastus' recipe secretly and make their own elixir. Action points are used to draw extra cards, play cards openly or secretly transmute ingredients and occasionally mess with other players' elixirs. The game ends after three elixirs have been completed and scored.

Thurn And Taxis, published by Rio Grande Games. 2006. Box. In shrink. £21

German Spiel des Jahres winner for 2006. The board shows a map of southern Germany with a little of Switzerland and Austria. There are 22 cities shown and a network of roads between them. Players draft city cards into their hand and must play them out in a row forming a legitimate route. At a point of the player's choosing a route can be claimed and a clever choice of how to place post offices on the board made. The objective is to gain VPs through building post offices, playing ever longer routes, and claiming bonuses for sets of post offices. The game plays very smoothly and is good for only occasional games players too. Highly recommended.

Thurn And Taxis: Power And Glory, published by Rio Grande Games. 2007. Box. In shrink. £11

Expansion for Thurn and Taxis (you need the base game to play). A new map is provided which shows North Germany and the surrounding countries. Game play is similar to the original, but the carriage cards are gone, and instead the city cards all show 1-3 horseshoes. In order to run a route one must also set aside cards with sufficient horseshoes. This has the effect of allowing you to draw one or two extra cards speculatively, and if things don't work out you can always use them for the horseshoes rather than the city. Recommended.

Time Agent, published by Prism / TimJim Games. 1992. Box. Excellent. £26

Each player plays a race of time travellers who attempt to re-write history to ensure that their race is left on top when the invention of time travel never occurred (!) Wonderful idea for a game. Each race is a bit different to the others, but some make more natural friends / enemies than others. The game maps the various time-lines onto a hex grid, and players try to connect / disconnect various events to their own benefit and others' detriment.

Toutankamon / Tutanchamun, published by Amigo. 1997. Box. In shrink. £13

Unusual set collecting game. The tiles show various Egyptian artifacts with various numbers of each type. They are all initially laid out in a long winding row leading to a Great Pyramid. Players take it in turns to advance their marker along the track formed by the artifacts as far as they like and take the one they end on. When all of a type have been collected players score for having a majority. A couple of special tiles add to the possibilities. Attractively produced and easy to play, but hard to win. ‘Toutankamon’ is the French edition, hence the slight difference in the spelling of the name. I have a copy of both French and German versions.

Toys Of The Sixties - A Pictorial Guide, published by Cap'n Penny Productions. 1992. Book. Excellent. £15

Softback, 28x22cm, 206 pages. A guide to toys and games from 1960s America, with a picture of most items, as well as a description and a valuation. There is also an article of survivors from the 60s such as Etch-A-Sketch, Barbie, Frisbees, and Play Doh. A fascinating book for collectors or for anyone who remembers these toys and games from their youth. The book covers: Mattel, Survivors, Gold Nuggets, Cartoons, Games, Military, Monsters, Music Movie & Personality, Secret Agents, Space, Superheroes, TV.

Treasure Quest, published by Ravensburger. 1996. Box. Excellent. £6

One player seeks gold and the other rubies. Each player starts off with ten 5x5 cardboard grids showing their opponent's type of treasure, but they all have some spaces cut away. There are two areas in the box where these can be stacked on each other, and players take it in turns to do so, adding a ruby layer on top of a gold layer and vice versa, with the objective being to reveal as many of your type of treasure as possible after each of your plays. Each such treasure scores you a point, and most points at the end of the game wins. The scoring tracks have Egyptian hieroglyphs decorating them. Attractive game with well made in-box playing area.

Tribound, published by Paul Wells. 1998. Box. Good. £6

Strategy game played on a 12x15 square grid. The pieces are most unusual, having a player colour and 3 coloured triangles pointing in different directions.. Play is driven by dice - one a standard d6 which determines the extent of movement, the other a special dice which will show two of the three colours when rolled. The objective is to get 6 of your 30 pieces across the board to your opponent's home area while defending against them doing the same. Players alternate moving pieces, and the piece which can be moved must have the first colour on the special dice facing forward, and after movement, which can include deflection off other pieces, is turned to have the 2nd colour rolled point forward.

Triple Match, published by Spears. ca.1980. Box. Good. £1

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

Players shake a novel 'pattern indicator' essentially a 3x3 grid into which 3 balls will fall at random, and then place 3 marbles onto their 5x5 grid in the pattern shown. If they are unable to place all 3 because of previous placements then the turn is missed. This continues until one player has placed all 24 of their marbles or it is clear that neither player will be able to play any more. Whoever managed to place the most wins. Nice game.

Ubongo, published by Z-Man Games. 2005. Box. In shrink. £23

A captivating and surprisingly addictive game of making polyominoes into shapes shown on the challenge boards. Each player has a set of polyominoes, and is dealt a challenge card with 6 challenges on it. A dice is rolled to indicate which challenge the players attempt, and a timer is turned. As players complete their challenge they claim jewels as their prize - the objective being to collect as many jewels as possible of the same colour. The challenge cards are double sided with an easy side and a hard side making it good to play with children and adults together. I have house rules I can provide which allow the game to be played with up to 5 players. Recommended.

Undercover, published by Klee. 1999. Box. Good. £8

Secret agent themed tile based game. 60 tiles are laid out face down in a 6x10 grid, and these tiles represent secret agents of varying strengths, and a few with special abilities. At the end of each row and column a top secret item is placed - 4 each of 4 types. Players take turns revealing a secret agent and facing him or her towards themselves, and sometimes performing a special action such as killing an opposing agent. Choice of available agents is limited to the row or column of the one previously chosen. When a row or column is all revealed influence is tallied and the highest gets the top secret item and retires one agent. At the end points are scored for sets of top secret items and also for successfully retired secret agents.

Vernissage, published by TM. 1993. Box. Good. £20

A game of Art Speculation aimed at the gamer rather than the family market. Players buy pictures and influence the standing of the various artists with the objective of increasing the value of their collection, and decreasing the value of their rival's collections. The game uses an unusual mix of mechanics which make an interesting and well regarded game. Note: the rules state the number of cards incorrectly. Eamon noted this was one of his favourite games.

War Of The Ring: Battles Of The Third Age, published by Fantasy Flight. 2006. Box. In shrink. £32

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

Expansion for the excellent War of the Ring, which you will need to play this. This expansion includes 77 more figures and provides a selection of new options to add to your games of War of the Ring, such as the Ents, Corsair Ships, the Dunlendings, Siege Engines, Half-orcs, the Southron Cavalry, Galadriel, the Balrog, Smeagol and more. There is also a separate board and rules to allow you to recreate the Battle of Helm's Deep and the Battle for Minas Tirith at Pelennor Fields using components from the original game as well as new cards etc included here.

Wargamer Magazine, published by World Wide Wargamers.

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

All of the earlier issues had a game included – some of these copies still do, but many don’t – see below. Even without the game still a good read, and a useful source of articles on other games. Main articles listed by issue.

Issue 3, 1977. Game present. Excellent - counters unpunched. £7. Bulge games, Reviews (6 games, 2 books), Afrika Korps, News, Vittoria - game with instructions on how to make a set of counters for it, Africa - game with map and countersheet included, Battle of Eylau puzzle, The Arcadian Campaign, Gettysburg games, ACW outline, Frederick The Great and Normandy, Decline And Fall, Computer Games, Practical Hints, Club News, Rules adjudication.

Issue 12, 1980. Good. £1.25. The whole Aces High central section has been removed. Articles: Aces High (game for this issue), History Behind Aces High, Principles of War, Panzerblitz, Fortress Europa, Sense Style & Simulation, Comparison of Tactical Carrier Games, Ultimatum, Games Reviews.

Issue 59, 1986. Good. £1.25. The central section with the Bloody Karen rules etc is missing. Articles: Historical Background to Bloody Karen (which is the game for this issue), Malaya & Burma, A Hitchhiker's Guide to Computer Wargames, Korean War, Clarifications and Errata, Battle Hymn Review, Aegean Strike Review.

Vol 2 No. 4, 1988. Magazine. Good. £1.25. This issue is after they stopped including a game. Articles: The Civil War On Water, Shot & Shell Scenarios, Design Forum - Shot & Shell, Patton's Best, Computer Wargames, World Boardgame Team Championships, The South Mountain System, War To End All Wars, Kanev, Pleasant Hill, Manchu, North German Plain, Games For All, Central America, Russian Front Variant, Berg's Review of Games, Shot & Shell Errata.

Willi Wacker, published by Hexagames. 1989. Box. 3 copies availabke:

1) Good. £3 2) Excellent. £4 3) Good, edges show wear. £2.50

Card game, based on the British cartoon character Andy Capp, created by Reg Smythe. Andy Capp, known as Willi Wacker in many Continental countries, likes to drink lots of beer. The card play also allows Willi to indulge in his other vices - fighting, borrowing money, and avoiding his wife. The game is essentially a rummy variant with various sets of cards being played to the table, but they can be stolen until completed by a card showing Andy Capp getting his beer,

Winchester, published by Rostherne Games. 1990. Tube. Excellent. £6

Race game in which the pieces move as the pieces do in chess. The set includes a special dice showing different chess pieces on the sides as well as wooden dobbers and obstacles to place on the board. Before each round of turns the dice is rolled to indicate what chess piece players may make a move as, and once everyone has made one move the dice is rerolled. However, 'capturing' an opponent's piece merely exchanges the position of the two pieces.

Wings Of War: Famous Aces, published by Nexus Editrice. ca.2004. Box. In shrink. £19

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

Wings of War base set. World War I aerial dogfight game with neat and simple mechanics which make it fast and fun to play. Each player controls one or more planes, each represented by a colour card on the table. Each plane has a deck of movement cards it can use (some planes can perform different manoeuvers due to their engine capabilities), and each turn three movement cards are played face down in sequence for each plane. These cards are then actioned one at a time, and movement is by placing the movement line on top of the plane to be moved and then moving the plane card to the other side of the movement card. Neat! After all planes move all planes check to see if they can fire - hits are resolved with damage cards. Recommended.

Word Battles, published by Jumbo. 1981. Box. Good. £5

Word game for 2 players. Each player has the same set of letters, and a 5x5 grid. Each player in turn announces a letter and both players add it to their grid. The players try to make as many words as possible on their grid, with bonuses for 5 letter words. The letters can be moved around during the game as additional possibilities become apparent.

X Pasch, published by Fanfor Verlag. 1996. Box. In shrink. £10

Special notes: This is the 'Deluxe' edition.

This game is about gaining control of businesses, which are represented by cards. Players gain income from companies where they have the most board members, and then roll three dice and use them for various purposes such as bringing a new business into the game, adding board members to existing businesses, or drawing new cards.

Book Title	Publisher	Author	Year	Type	Size (cm)	Pages	Condition	Price
The Catalogue Of Happy Family Games	Mary Gardiner & John Hayter	Mary Gardiner & John Hayter	1997	Spiral	30x21	~220	Excellent. Includes updates 1-3.	£10
Games Of The World	UNICEF	Unknown	1982	Soft	26x23	280	Good	£10
The New Book Of Games	Syndicate Publishing Co.	Unknown	~1955	Hard	28x20	30	Good. Dice and playing pieces are missing.	£8
The Complete Book Of Wargames	Fireside	Consumer Choice + Jon Freeman	1980	Soft	27x21	285	Good	£9
Illustrated Games Of Patience (Pt 2)	Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington	Lady Adelaide Cadogan	1887	Hard	24x19	74	Good. Corners show wear. Cover has mini playing cards stuck to it as decorations.	£10
The Scrabble Puzzle Book	Queen Anne Press	Gyles Brandreth	1981	Hard	25x17	128	Excellent	£5
Mike Stokey's Pantomime Quiz Gamebook Vol 2	Unknown	Mike Stokey	1959	Soft	17x28	~30	Good – unpunched	£7
The Card Player's Omnibus	Willow Books	Gyles Brandreth	1986	Hard	24x19	192	Good	£4
A Gamut Of Games	Pantheon	Sid Sackson	1982	Soft	24x16	222	Good. Signed by Sid Sackson.	£15
Popular Games Of Patience	Bazaar, Exchange & Mart	M. Whitmore Jones, Laurence Morton	1922	Hard	22x15	166	Good. The dustcover is very worn but has been put in a special protective sheet.	£7
A Book On Casino Craps	Van Nostrand Reinhold	C. Ionescu Tulcea	1981	Soft	23x15	149	Good	£4
A Book On Casino Blackjack	Van Nostrand Reinhold	C. Ionescu Tulcea	1982	Soft	23x15	130	Good	£12
The Ins & Outs Of Peg Solitaire	Oxford Univerity Press	John D. Beasley	1985	Hard	22x14	275	Excellent	£7
Warman's Antique American Games 1840-1940	Warman Publishing	Lee Dennis	1986	Soft	23x15	219	Good	£8
The Guinness Book Of Traditional Pub Games	Guinness Publishing	Arthur R. Taylor	1992	Soft	23x17	192	Excellent	£4
Kate Greenaway's Book Of Games	Chancellor Press	Kate Greenaway	~1990	Hard	24x19	64	Excellent	£3
Collector's Guide To Toys, Games And Puzzles	Wallace-Homestead	Harry L Rinker	1991	Soft	23z19	165	Good	£7
The Official Encyclopedia Of Bridge	Crown	Richard Frey, Alan F. Truscott	1971	Hard	25x17	793	Good	£9
The Guinness Encyclopedia Of Games Puzzles & Pastimes	Guinness Publishing	Honor Head	1988	Soft	25x19	256	Good	£4
Beyond Tic Tac Toe	Pantheon	Sid Sackson	1975	Soft	20x25	78	Good - unused	£8
Calculate	Pantheon	Sid Sackson	1979	Soft	20x25	72	Good, a few sheets have been used. Signed by Sid.	£10
Chess Thirteenth Volume	Chess	Baruch H. Wood	1947	Hard	24x18	292	Good	£2.50
Design And Sell Toys, Games & Crafts	Chilton Book Co.	Filis Frederick	1977	Hard	27x19	165	Good	£7

Terms and Conditions

Back to Old Catalogs Page Back to MNG-AJM Home Page

MNG-AJM Games and Collectibles

Book Title

Publisher

Author

Year

Type

Size (cm)

Pages

Condition

Price

The Catalogue Of Happy Family Games

Mary Gardiner & John Hayter

Mary Gardiner & John Hayter

1997

Spiral

30x21

~220

Excellent. Includes updates 1-3.

£10

Games Of The World

UNICEF

Unknown

1982

Soft

26x23

280

Good

£10

The New Book Of Games

Syndicate Publishing Co.

Unknown

~1955

Hard

28x20

30

Good. Dice and playing pieces are missing.

£8

The Complete Book Of Wargames

Fireside

Consumer Choice + Jon Freeman

1980

Soft

27x21

285

Illustrated Games Of Patience (Pt 2)

Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington

Lady Adelaide Cadogan

1887

Hard

24x19

74

Good. Corners show wear. Cover has mini playing cards stuck to it as decorations.

£10

The Scrabble Puzzle Book

Queen Anne Press

Gyles Brandreth

1981

Hard

25x17

128

Excellent

£5

Mike Stokey's Pantomime Quiz Gamebook Vol 2

Unknown

Mike Stokey

1959

Soft

17x28

~30

Good – unpunched

£7

The Card Player's Omnibus

Willow Books

Gyles Brandreth

1986

Hard

24x19

192

Good

£4

Warman's Antique American Games
1840-1940