MacWorld reviews Clue on the IPhone. (source)

Sorry! Sliders now on the XBox. (source)

Carcassonne heads for the DS. (source)

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Let’s begin with two Microsoft patents, neither of which are specifically board or card game related, but both of which are worth mentioning due to their abusive generality and obviousness:

Microsoft patent 1: Instant messaging embedded games – They claim the idea of embedded a game in an IM application. E.g. your IM application let’s you play Chess with your buddies.

Microsoft patent 2: Personalizing access of game web site based on user configuration – Presenting access on a web page to only those games you already have licensed on your computer. Using XML.

Thanks Microsoft. What would we do without you?

On to the more relevant patents:

Poker-type card game and method therefor – After two cards, the highest hand places a wager. As each of the next three community cards is revealed, the losing hand places a wager at least equal to the first wager. Highest hand in the end takes the pot. Played against a dealer, for some reason; I’m not sure how house keeps the advantage.

Modified chess set and method of playing a modified game of chess – 9×9 chess board with two “princes” instead of a queen (same movement rules). Way to exclude the only powerful female character in the history of abstract games.

Game player selection device and method – An electronic gizmo that can randomize turn order in a board or card game, as well as keep track of whose turn it is. Cute. I like it.

Methods of playing card games comprising saying the alphabet with words, saying words with words, and saying the alphabet with words while saying words with words – Enunciation games.

Multi-player audio game and game console – A very strange game for Ipod owners. Plug your mp3 players into the game board and begin a game with various questions. When you think you have a matching song, be the first to find it on your device and press play. If your song is correct (?) you win the round. If you’re voted incorrect, the other players still have a shot.

Rectangular optimization grid and associated mathematical games – A grid apparatus upon which to play mathematical problems. For more information, see this paper by the author. (PDF)

Playing card system – This guy would like to reinvent card shuffling, since it is a) time consuming, and b) prone to mistakes and cheating. His solution: stick every card into a metallic case (like a business card holder), and throw them all into a lotto ball like cage with a crank that can be spun around.

Method and device for conducting a blackjack-type card game – The casino game Double Attack Blackjack from Nu Games.

Method and device for playing a game using a grid – Poker where the cards are arranged in a pattern on the table (triangle, square, etc) and you get to choose a subset of cards from the pattern (line, diamond). Gee. I remember playing this type of poker back in the 70s with my brother.

Board game – Pachisi, where the player’s starting positions are country names (USA, Canada, England, Jamaica) and the center space is called Paradise. The rules are exactly like Pachisi. Whoever approved this patent is an imbecile.

Varieties of human experiences board game – From the abstract: “Provides the player with real life experiences such as confrontations against other players as well with the inevitable elements of nature. The game creates a greater awareness about the complexities of modern living, and how interdependent we are with our environment.”

Poker games with varying position advantage – Any standard Texas Hold’em or Omaha game, where some of the wagering goes in the opposite direction, thus eliminating the advantage held by the last player to bet on a hand. Assigned to Prime Table Games.

Systems and methods for card games that simulate non-card casino table games – Poker and Roulette variants with a side bet. Assigned to The Pala Band of Mission Indians.

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Rand McNally, the map company, gives us Boredom Breakers, a series of portable games to be played in the car while the parents fight over who gets to look at the map.

Games include Story Starters with (interactive CD), Car Karaoke, Travel Card Games (3 games: 30 Second Interview, an ice breaker game; I Saw It First (spot the object and collect points); Tough Choice (sounds like Would You Rather?)), and Magnet Message Makers (not really a game; create a license plate with magnetic pictures and words). Car Game Countdown is coming soon.

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Goodman Games and Profantasy Software and Pelgrane Press want you to nominate your own favorite FLGS to receive over $1500 in free RPG and electronic gaming products. Other publishers may join in the bandwagon as the nomination process continues.

After the nomination process is over, you will have a chance to hack vote for the best game store in America.

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Sggc Paper Dragon Games focuses on board games that have to be played on a computer.

In other words, they will look and play a lot like board games – and specifically the more rich and complex board games – but contain enhanced elements that must be controlled by computer.

Their first game is a game of interstellar conquest called Constellation. Avaiable on Mac or PC for $6.

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If you live near Amherst, MA, you might consider joining the Pioneer Valley Gamer Collective.

The Collective is a non-profit that operates a game store called Worlds Apart Games. WAG is like any other game store, with games, dice, etc, as well as place to play games, but it’s worker managed and worker owned. They also make themselves available to do game outreach, non-profit fund raising, education, and so on.

Anyone can join to get discounts and a say in what goes on.

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Wargods is a MMORPG for Facebook and Myspace from Enigma Games.

And is now planned to have a CCG expansion of 48 cards in both digital and print format. That’s the first leap from social-app game to CCG, as far as I know.

(source)

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Source in Russia reports a real-live honest-to-goodness chess playing robot, as pictured. I don’t know much about source, so can’t tell you its reliability.

It certainly wouldn’t be the first such claim in history.

And we’ve already seen electronic chess sets where the pieces move magically by themselves (via under-the-board magnets) or with disembodied robotic arms, so good news for the overlords.

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Following board games for Dexter and The L Word, Gamaka Games is planning a board/DVD game base on the reality show America’s Top Model. It will be a trivia game about the show and the fashion industry, in general.

(source, more info)

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Clue hits the Iphone. Reviewed by AppVee.

Magic The Gathering: Duels Of The Planeswalkers will hit XBox Live in June. (source)

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