According to some sources, miners trapped in Chile are not allowed competitive board games, for fear of raising tensions in their cramped conditions. (source) According to other sources, the government is planning to send them Dominoes and card games, which of course never raise tensions. (source)

A Hong Kong furniture salesman has won the World Series of Mahjong. (source)

Tencent QQ, a popular IM service in China with over 80 million users, is developing a card game based on its service, in addition to a 3D MMOG. (source) QQ maintains casual gaming portals and uses the virtual currency Q coin to sell virtual features.

President Obama’s summer vacation activities include Scrabble and Taboo. (source)

Vishwanathan Anand, current world Chess champion, turned down an honorary doctorate from an Indian university following questions about his citizenship (he was born in India, but lives in Spain). (source) He may accept the honor at a later time.

Konami and (all parts of) Upper Deck have finally settled all lawsuits. (source)

Hasbro management, including the CEO, have recently sold over $10 million worth of Hasbro stock. (source)

Rummikub heads for Facebook. (source)

Pimping

The Tuscon Citizen pimps Hanafuda. (source)

The Al-Masry Al-Youm pimps card games to play during Ramadan, including Tarneeb, Trix, and Phase 10. (source)