Andy Mangold, a sophomore studying Graphic Design at the Maryland Institute College of Art decided the Monopoly components were due for an overhaul.

The new look. Mmmmm. Yummy. Looks like a box of chocolates.

(source)

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Manchester Community College students created a board game simulating the problems faced by the poor in acquiring food items at reasonable cost.

The game was created using information from the US Census beaureau, town hall, and the book “Closing the Food Gap” by Mark Winnie. Players start with various advantages and disadvantages, so winning isn’t the point.

Players are assigned to live in a house, an apartment, low-income housing or a shelter, and they are given a weekly cash allotment for food — as little as $7. Players who live in a home also have a car, and have a better chance of reaching the market faster.

A toss of the die determines how quickly players may stock up at a grocery store, convenience store or farmer’s market. Players who live below the poverty line may also rely on a food pantry or food stamps.

Players may be set back by such events as an illness, pay cut or lost wallet, or receive unexpected bonuses.

Brian Kosilla, one of the students who helped create the game, said he was most surprised by the difference in prices at supermarkets and convenience stores. The students found that a loaf of bread cost 99 cents at a supermarket and $3.19 at a convenience store.

The game will be donated to the Manchester Area Conference of Churches.

(source)

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Prince Andrew, aka The Duke of York, was presented with a Monopoly game while he was visiting the revamped Albion Street headquarters of the Leeds Building Society.

His reaction:

We’re not allowed to play Monopoly at home. It gets too vicious.

May I suggest Pandemic?

(source, image)

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The Economist featured a board game in its Christmas issue called Credit Crunch. You can freely download it from their site.

It is, shall we say, a bit tongue in cheek. Last player to remain solvent wins.

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Miami-Dade, FL: A guy jumps out of a van and shoots two men and an infant playing dominoes. The infant died. Guess she was too young to be playing dominoes. (source) Or to be taken to a game of dominoes in a rough neighborhood. Turns out that the baby was the son of a police dispatcher.

Hartford, CT: Three people robbed while playing dominoes. (source)

Wilkes-Barre, PA: Someone stole “a vacuum cleaner and a board game worth approximately $449″ from a Boscov’s. Hmmm. How do you think that $449 was distributed? (source)

Athens, GA: Homeless man beaten when he wanders into a craps game. (source)

St Albens, WV: Woman tries to steal 70 items including board games from a Kmart. (source)

Normal, IL: Someone breaks into house and steals Christmas gifts, including board games. (source) Could that be Santa repossessing the games?

Ashdod, Israel: Man arrested for running naked to the beach, swimming, and returning as a result of a loss in a Strip Poker game. (source)

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Not for sale! Previous reports notwithstanding, that’s the latest word from Eric Gibson about West End Games. Instead, in a recent video update, Eric reveals extensive plans for West End’s future, including spinning off the d6 RPG in to a separate corporation, opening up d6 to outside developers, building an online destination for the new open d6 system, and of course, putting out a range of new board games and RPGs. That’s pretty ambitious for a company still having trouble finalizing all steps to issue refunds for the canceled Septimus project. Still, we’re encouraged by Eric’s new embracing of openess, both in terms of the d6 game and the company’s health. Plans for this new Open d6 company include investment and management opportunities for the gaming public. Rules for the game are to be made available and customizable freely online—”The rulebook you have will be the rulebook you design.” Regarding how he intends to fund the projects, Eric’s response to Purple Pawn’s questions was:

WEG Currently has a few thousand waiting for a good project to come along, and some months print sales are better than others. I’m also in the process of extending out digital (PDF) offerings of older products which should increase month revenue by several hundred dollars. We are not talking about a lot of money, but enough to knock out a simple product every couple months—which will, of course, provide additional income for even more product. The biggest concern is to control cost wherever possible.

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