Author: Garry Lloyd

Games International #22

The new issue of GI has arrived today, although this was probably scheduled to appear around July time, I guess. This means that the news section isn’t really news: for instance one of the articles covers the <strong>nominations</strong> for the Spiel des Jahres and there is a <strong>preview</strong> of Arkham Horror. It would be nice to think the time lag will disappear in the next issue or two. However, there are some interesting reviews and, for those that didn’t get one through Spielbox, there is the additional Sir Bedivere figure for Shadows Over Camelot. Game of the Month, Friedrich, looks interesting while it’s confusing to find that this year’s Deutsche Spiel Preis winner (Louis XIV) only ranks 5 stars out of 10 according to Brian Walker. Of the other reviews, the San Ta Si one convinces me not to pick this up (even though I’m a sucker for Zoch games) while Ars Mysteriorum looks like I should try it to see if I like it. As I mentioned last time, you can get a copy via Boardgamegeek, although I notice this issue isn’t yet advertised on the site.

Deutscher Spiel Preis 2005

The second major game award for this year has been announced today. Louis XIV turns out to be the winner, with Niagara second and Manila third. I still haven’t managed to play Louis yet but it looks a worthy winner to me. Niagara and Manila are both good games, although there are others in the top ten I prefer (Shadows Over Camelot and 80 Days). The full list is:

1. LOUIS XIV (alea/Ravensburger) 2. NIAGARA (Zoch Verlag) 3. MANILA (Zoch Verlag) 4. UBONGO (Kosmos) 5. HIMALAYA (Tilsit Éditions)   6. IN 80 TAGEN UM DIE WELT (Kosmos) 7. SCHATTEN ÃœBER CAMELOT (Days of Wonder)   8. JAMBO (Kosmos) 9. DAS ZEPTER VON ZAVANDOR (Lookout Games) 10. VERFLIXXT! (Ravensburger)

Holiday

Right, I’m now on holiday for a fortnight so will be out of touch until the 28th August. Don’t let that stop you reading (and commenting on) the latest stuff on this site or my trickylight site. See you all soon.

My collection

 Just finished the job of entering all my owned games into the databaseon my Trickylight site. The list is here.By my reckoning, the total is 607, which is a bit lower than I had anticipated – maybe Jan has been selling stuff secretly behind my back. I guess that means, though, that my collection isn’t big enough and I ought to be buying even more games!!!

New UK Game Shop: Shire Games

I got an e-mail yesterday from Nick Fisk who has just opened a new games shop in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent. It looks like he’s going to stock most of the board game new releases that are generally available in the UK and he has an online store for those that don’t fancy a trip to the Potteries. As Hanley is less than 40 miles away, I will have to make the effort to try and get over there before too long. Full details are on the Shire Games website: here.

Shear Panic

 One of the newer UK game companies, Fragor Games, who produced the fun frog game, Leapfrog, last year, has announced a new game they’ll be promoting at the Essen Fair. Rick Thornquist’s Gamewire website has the low-down on Shear Panic, which is about the exploits of a flock of sheep.