Welcome to Purple Pawn, covering games played around the world by billions of people every day.
Mystic Eye is an oracular game. Hold the magnetic pendulum over the magnetic center of the board, ask your question, and slowly lower the board until the magnet pushes the pendulum to some answer space.
I thought this was a joke at first; the sales video starts like every badly make board game mockery video, which threw me off.
Notes Musical Cards is a deck of cards where the number is a math equation where the operands are musical notes (whole note = 4, etc). The suits are instrument families, such as “brass”.
I’m guessing it is meant to help teach musical notation, but it looks to me like the only sensible use would be some kind of speed game.
Circle Out is a SET-like game of real-time pattern recognition.
Cards have two colors on opposite corners (like diagonal dominoes), and your job is to find a “circle”, a set of cards that link around in a chain. Now that I mention it, couldn’t you play this with dominoes?
I thought the numbers might have something to do with the game, but apparently it’s just to help those who are colorblind (e.g. all reds are numbered 5).
The site also claims the game has something to do with economics.
Don’t expect to see this type of roundup often. Most game mockery is predictable and stupid. The following are pretty elaborate:
Puzzling Games has a site full of rather unusual games. Even their Welcome message is worth a read. (hat tip)
UNO Tips is everything you need to compete in the fast lane world of professional UNO competitions. (hat tip)
Following KB Toys’ bankrutpcy and liquidation last year, and following Toys R Us’ acquisition of eToys, Toys.com, and FAO Schwartz, Toys R Us has now bought the KB Toys brand, including the web site, for $2.1 million. Note that the stores themselves were already liquidated. (source)
Toys R Us net earnings for Q2 2009 were up to $27 million, compared to $13 million for Q2 2008. Net sales were $2.567 billion compared to $2.771 billion. Decreases in sales was due to foreign exchange and less sales of video game consoles. (source)
Toys R Us is offering its own “cash for clunkers” program, letting people trade in baby furniture and yard toys to receive 20% off from various products. They claim to be doing this to raise awareness about unsafe toys, and to warn parents against buy used toys or baby items that might be unsafe. (source and details)
Four Player Table Tennis, anyone? Actually, it can play up to twelve players, like the street game Four Square.
