OK Yehuda, though we might see some additional sales on Cyber-Monday tomorrow, these are some I found today:

Kenzer & Company is offering back-issue collections of Knights of the Dinner Table, as well as $50 and $100 grab-bags promised to contain at least twice that in retail value of mixed products. Plus, the larger bags come with a special extra, such as original artwork, lucky dice, or other random personal stuff of Kenzer staff.

Avalanche Press is offering a range of war games at around 20-30 percent off. And if you spend more than $100, they’ll thow in an exclusive Panzer Division print-and-play expansion.

Steve Jackson Games’ Warehouse 23 retail shop is marking down all of its products and also including extra gifts for larger orders. At $50 you can get an Illuminati pin, at $100 Munchkin 6: Demented Dungeons and a Happy 4e Greeting Card, at $250 a pink Chibithulhu, and at $500 an autographed copy of Munchkin Quest.

At The War Store, online retailer of miniatures and other games, Black Friday Madness continues through Monday with an addtional 5 percent off all merchandise. Just don’t forget to use the coupon code.

Troll and Toad, the online retailer especially known for its collection of out-of-print games, is also offering a general discount, but in this case 10 percent with the coupon code.

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Trevor Stokes at the Times Daily writes about the board game design business.

Most of the featured designs look pretty depressing, which is the point.

“A lot of them think it’s going to be the next Monopoly,” said Mickey Johnson, co-owner of Tennessee Valley Press that produces board games with developers. “Unfortunately, that’s not the case.”

“You can’t just come up with a great idea and everybody is going to knock down your doors,” said Johnson, who has seen many independently developed board games sit in warehouses.

“Some people waste money on the legals when you can design a game, get a copyright for $35 then produce the product to sell it,” warned Johnson, who has been in the game business since 1982. “They waste a ton of money they could have used on marketing.”

Many developers use former games as templates.

“You get games that are based on storybook and comic characters, games produced and manufactured to exploit TV shows or cartoons,” Johnson said. “The game itself is pretty much irrelevant.”

(source)

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Alice Housing provides housing options for women and children leaving abusive family situations in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Three years ago they also started what is now a successful play therapy program called Healing the Bruises.

“We can sit and talk, play a game of cards, and you’d be surprised at what comes out (of the children),” said Ms. Morgan, the counsellor.

Mrs. Morgan uses a host of board games in her counselling, including games called Anger Management and The Divorce Game.

I’m not sure exactly which ones she’s referring to, but maybe one of these 41 board and card games available from Therapeutic Resources.

(source)

“You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” – Plato

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Robert Wade from New Zealand was an international Chess master who won competitions in New Zealand and Britain, played in several Chess Olympiads, taught and tutored, and maintained one of the largest Chess libraries in the world. He died yesterday at the age of 87.

He helped Bobby Fischer prepare for his famous match against Spassky by compiling a database of Spassky’s games.

(source)

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Part of the holiday spirit is giving, and many are doing just that.

Board Game News is sending $1,800 worth of games to US troops.

Starlit CItadel games is using its products as a school fundraiser.

Check out the Board Game Geek forums for various other projects involving donating games, or gamers donating. If you know of other efforts, post them in the comments. And don’t forget to check out gaming-related charities.

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Just to help things along with the season rush for games, many stores are offering great deals on games, I’m sure we can get David to do a roundup of all the sales in a future post (hint hint), but here are some:

Lock and Load is offering 50% off some games until Sunday night.

Fantasy Fight has a clearance sale with huge discounts.

Columbia Games has a sale on until Sunday.

Everything at Adamant Games is $1

A lot of other sales came and went on “Black Friday”, so don’t only wait for me to tell you the news. Pay attention!

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The number of media articles on how games are the gift of choice for this holiday season is astounding. Almost makes me think that my job here is done.

Along with the articles listing games as the economical choice for a holiday season beset by economic woes, a few articles add some interest, like this one in the Columbia Dispatch, about the downsized requests made to department store Santas:

They climb onto his generous lap and ask for wishes to come true. In this economy, the traditional visit with Santa could easily lead to Christmas disappointment.

But little kids are smarter than that. And kinder, too.

“It’s like they know,” said Tim Leasure, a Santa-for-hire whose beard and belly are the real thing. “They seem to be downsizing what they’re asking for.”

“One boy said he thought it would be best if I gave a family gift,” Leasure said. “Kids will tell you everything, and they’re just completely honest. It’s quite moving.”

Leasure, president of the Buckeye Santas club, said some of those who asked for toys were shockingly modest in their requests.

“They asked me for board games. I said, ‘Isn’t that wonderful? You want something you can all do together and enjoy as a family.’  ”

(image)

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Warren Clements in The Globe and Mail waxes long on the origin and use of the word “game” in non-play contexts. I wrote something similar once, about the misappropriation of the word “game”.

The noun “game” dates from the Old English gamen, borrowed from the Germanic tongues and lingering in the word backgammon. Writer John Ayto says gamen may have derived from “a prehistoric Germanic compound formed from the collective prefix ga- and mann – ‘person’ (source of English man) – and denoting literally ‘people together, participating.’ ” People together get up to all sorts of things, which explains why game was used as a euphemism for sexual intercourse. James Boswell used it that way in his journal entry for Jan. 12, 1763: “Proud of my godlike vigour, I soon resumed the noble game. … [Louisa] declared I was a prodigy.” The analogy continues to this day, when men successful in seducing women are said to have scored. The word has even turned pro; prostitutes were said to be on the game.

(source)

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Watertown, NY’s chess club is changing format to include other strategy board games, including sessions on Axis and Allies and Euro games.

The new club held at the Sci-Tech Center will now be the Sci-Tech Chess and Strategy Games Club.

(source)

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The 20th Annual International Tournament for the game of Risk occurred at the beginning of this month in Allentown, PA.

It had the same curious rule wordings that the Canadian tournament had.

The former world champion lost to a father from Stroudsburg. (source)

(source)

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