Last week we talked about graphic design, so let’s talk about mechanics this week.

What are some of your favorite game mechanics? What games have you played that have had really unique, or interesting, mechanics? What games have you played where the mechanics really bog it down?

There’s a ton of mechanics out there I love. One that sticks out in my mind is the time mechanic in Zombie in my Pocket. I also really like the dual-use card mechanic in Twilight Struggle.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Big news regarding Catalyst Games financial future, Academy Games partners with Mayfair, as well as a great reader mail question and an interview with toy industry veteran Richard Gottlieb, who talks about games in the current “megacycle”.

Show Links:
USA Toy Experts – www.usatoyexperts.com
Out of the Toy Box – www.playthings.com/blog/390000439.html

Next Show, April 2nd: With Spring in the air and the GAMA Trade Show sprouting up in the desert next week, Ben and Rett will be talking about Role Playing Games. Is this the year that new designs finally emerge from the post-d20/OGL world or is still an AD&D world?

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The plaintiff fees for the class action suit against Mattel for its lead tainted products appears to exceed the amount that Mattel was asked to pay. (source)

Fruitland Park, FL: One man attacks other players, including a woman and a six year old, at a card game using a chainsaw; luckily, he couldn’t get the chainsaw started. (source)

Miami Gardens, FL: Loser shoots dead 17 year old winner at a dice game in a park. (source)

Daytona Beach, FL: Police break up a three-card monte game on the beach. (source)

Fairbanks, AK: Man charged for leaving ill son alone at a hotel so he could play cards. (source)

Not really criminal: Elyria, OH: A newspaper apologizes to the Jewish community after a photograph of the winning board of a Scrabble player includes the word “Jewed”. (source) Meh.

East Point, GA: High school Chess champion shot and killed outside a subway. (source)

Jakarta, Indonesia: Man caught trying to smuggle crystal meth inside a Chess board. (source)

Taipei, Taiwan: 34 people arrested for Mahjong gambling on a street. (source)

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I promised I’d get it set up, and I did.

Here’s the gallery of photos from our Read an RPG in Public contest.

There’s a couple of pics in there that weren’t eligible for the prize (Because was was taken by me, other by Ben Clark of Paper Money).

Enjoy!

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Three months until the 2010 World Cup, and we have yet another South African soccer/football game, Sokhazania, designed by graphic designer Carel de Beer.

The game is straight roll-and-move, with no decisions or knowledge of soccer required, which the ad trumpets this as selling points.

For other recent games trying to cash in on the World Cup, see Supersport, Starplayer, and a game by ODMasia. RTL Games also planned a South African World Cup Destination game before it went into receivership.

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Foiled is an upcoming graphic novel from Jane Yolen, illustrated by Mike Cavallaro.

For its release, Macmillan is also publishing a board game (not a CCG!) themed on the book and based on the game … CandyLand. Actually, the game appears to play – and I say this without exaggeration – even less interestingly than does CandyLand. You can download the complete game from the publisher.

I’m more hopeful about the book.

(source)

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At least three Native Americans are upset about the upcoming game King Philip’s War from Multiman Publishing, because they are apparently unaware of the fact that “game” does not equal “trivializing”. (source)

Source is not entirely appalling, but not very illuminating either. I’m not sure how these guys found out about the game, nor how large a group of people were upset about it.

Ad copy from MMP site:

King Philip’s War 1675-1676 was a momentous example of New England frontier savagery. A loose coalition of angry tribes inspired by King Philip (the Wampanoag sachem, Metacomet) burned and sacked settlements throughout the colonies of Massachusettes, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and the then separate colony of Plymouth. Ultimately, more than 2600 Colonials were captured or killed, Twelve Colonial settlements were completely destroyed and six more heavily damaged. Boston itself very nearly came under attack. At the same time, countless Indian villages were burned and 6000 Indians were slain or captured, and sold into slavery.. In all, 1,200 homes were burned, and vast stores of food destroyed. Metacomet himself was eventually ambushed, beheaded, and quartered.

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Waylou points us to a few nice sets, including:

A $123,000 lacquered “urushi” set, part of an exhibition of urushi sets. (source, image is a sample set from the exhibition, not necessarily the one that costs $123,000) From Alexander Gelman, more about his Chess work on his site.

A non-working facsimile of The Millennium Falcon chess set (the lights flash and it plays a clip from the movie). (source)

Tobey Maguire will be playing Bobby Fischer in the upcoming movie about Fischer, Pawn Sacrifice. (source)

On a related topic, world champion Backgammon player Tim Holland passed away. (source and further info) After Backgammon fell from popularity, Holland moved to Bridge, which he played until the end of his life.

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Printed Electronics World describes a series of printed electronic game cards from Prelonic. (source)

The Berlin Brain-Computer Interface shows mind-controlled pinball. (source, via, via)

Harcos Laboratory hacks a MindFlex game to deliver electronic shocks whenever your brain activity rises too high (some bleeped out language in the video). (source, via, via)

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Here is the TED talk. Although her research is primarily with WoW and MMORPGs, applicability is general to all games. Epic win.

Jane. World Without Oil. Evoke.

Bonus: A TED video on the importance of play from 2008/9, in case you missed it:

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