The Bohemian Gamer

Avid board game players can go online and tap into a number of helpful resources to improve their playing skills, learn about classic board games news and chat with others about their boardgame hobby. Message boards can become a marketplace for finding new games or pieces as well. Whether your love is chess, checkers and backgammon or Upwords, Cranium and Scattergories, you will learn a lot and enjoy your time spent on these addictive sites.

The Monopoly board game has a plethora of message boards to choose from. Yahoo Games allows players to engage in open discussions and message board topics related to Monopoly, as well as play board games online at www.dir.groups.yahoo.com. Look for “Yahoo! Groups Monopoly,” “Yahoo! Message Boards Monopoly,” “Monopoly UK,” “Monopoly Playhouse Club” or “Y! Monopoly Club.” At www.search.msn.com, you can look under “BrokenDoll Monopoly” or “MSN Groups Monopoly.” There are also forums under Google Groups (www.groups.google.com).

Checkers is another strategy board game that attracts large audiences to online boards. Since there are so many different possible algorithms and game plays, people are always looking to practice their skills with online board games or by reading up on strategies and theories in the forums. Yahoo Games has a number of checkers-related groups at www.dir.groups.com: Yahoo Message Boards – Checkers, Yahoo Groups – Chinese Checkers, Yahoo Groups – Draughts, the Y Checkers Club, the Turkish Draughts Drama Club and the Elite Checkers Club. MSN (www.search.msn.com) and Google Groups (www.groups.google.com) are other places to find checkers-related groups created by other avid gamers.

Sometimes people even play games on message boards. This can be a great way of getting to know others and having a bit of fun. When posting a game suggestion, title your post using the word “game” — like “Finish the Sentence Game” or “Rhyme Time Game.” Then, in the post, write clear directions and post an example to get people started. You’ll be surprised at how quickly people reply! In the “Finish the Sentence Game,” you’ll post 3-4 words starting a sentence and the next person will finish it. The “Word Chain Game” simply posts one word and everyone replies with the first subsequent word that comes to mind. You can also play “Message Board Go Fish,” where a person will ask a yes-or-no question and if the next person says yes, then he or she asks a new question. If the answer is no, he or she says “go fish.” There are also many ABC games for movies, animals, what’s in your pantry, musicians and more. Getting-to-know-you games may include question quizzes.

Parents are often looking for new ways to stimulate their children’s creative minds and encourage family bonding time. Building games can be a really rewarding way for kids to see a project from start to finish and enjoy playing with their own custom games board for years to come. Imagine the pride your child will have when his or her friends come over to see the original game! In the past, making a trivia board game or life simulation boardgame meant taking a trip to the local crafts store and spending a bunch of money on supplies. Today, you simply need internet access and around to get this fun project underway!

It’s easy to make your own games board at www.thegamecrafter.com. Surprisingly, there are no up-front fees, no contracts, no mandatory order volumes, no distributor obligations and no publishers to deal with. First, you come up with an idea and design your components. Then you upload the artwork for your decks and board. You select the dice, tokens and pawns you need. Lastly, you set the price and collect your royalties! TGC will charge you nothing to get started but will simply keep 50% of the revenues, which is a better deal than if you had gone through publishers and distributors (who only leave you 30% of the revenue). Some people are serious entrepreneurs looking to make the next great trivia board game or strategy board game. Others are people who’d just like to make fun family games for a gift. Imagine being asked trivia questions about your ancestry, your childhood or family memories! Teachers have made educational games through the site to complement their lessons as well.

A similar website for creating your own games board is www.instantboardgame.com. To get started, you’ll look through some of the user-created board games to get some ideas. Many of the games are set up similar to The Game of Life or Monopoly, where you navigate your way around the board, using play money and pawns. However, you can also create your own dice games and strategy games too. You can customize each space on the board from scratch or choose a special themed board. When you’re finished, you can share your design online, receive feedback and order your final product, complete with cards, dice, money and tokens. Building games is not only a rewarding experience, but the finished games also make personalized gifts too.

There are so many variations of the Monopoly board out nowadays that it can be hard to choose. You can get a Simpsons Monopoly, NHL Monopoly, American Cities Monopoly, The Beatles Monopoly and Pirates of the Caribbean Monopoly, to name a few. If none of them seem personalized enough, you’ll be happy to know you can create your own customized board for family and friends at www.mymonopoly.com! You’ll create a new games board title, twenty-two new property names and four new station spaces. You can add special artwork or themes to go with your game too. Building a custom Monopoly board game is surprisingly affordable and is a really unique way to celebrate a holiday, anniversary or special occasion!

Whether you’ve got marble chess sets, wood chess sets or glass chess sets, if you’re an avid chess fan, then you simply must look at chess tables to showcase your fabulous board. Why bother having expensive chess art if you’re only going to hide it away in a dusty drawer somewhere to take out when guests come over? By having your pieces out on display, you’ll be more likely to set up a game with company and you will become a more competent player as a result. Many Americans see their specialty tables as points of pride and a reminder that they are skilled players.

If you’re looking for an inexpensive chess board, then you may want to try www.amazon.com or www.overstock.com. Amazon sells a simple Ore International Cherry Chess Table for $122.10, which is 10% less than other sellers and gives you a petite, basic piece of furniture. You can also find Ashley Furniture’s Glen Eagle Game Table for $79.99, which is a round, two-tiered table that leaves you ample room to rest your captured men and play on the built-in wood tabletop chess board comfortably. At Overstock, the waxed cherry Wilhelm Chess Table is being offered for $162.49, which is 37% off the original list price. This is a nice, thick table that looks professional and even has a practical storage drawer. Also, for $169.99, you can buy the Harley Davidson Bar and Shield 3-in-1 Game Table that includes tops for classic board games like checkers, chess and backgammon, making it ideal for the home bar or family games loving household.

On the other hand, you may be looking for classier chess tables that really match the look and feel of your existing furnishings. A chess table can become the focal point of your parlor or dining room if you choose wisely. Perhaps you already own one a set of Staunton chess pieces, so you’re familiar with the reputation and quality of this brand. To complement your chess board and pieces, you can also purchase one of their designer tables at www.houseofstaunton.com. The Oxford Chess Table (,295), the Norwich Chess Table (,295) and the Signature Chess Table (,999) are all crafted by the finest furniture makers and will give a rich, elegant look to any room. Another place to look is www.gametableshowroom.com, where for ,151.92 you’ll find a really nice antique chess table with fold-in corners, brass hardware and board games versatility. They also offer a wide variety of other pieces in disparate styles running from 8 to ,000.

Perhaps you traipsed through a public park and caught a glimpse of outdoor chess tables. Taking your chess equipment outside is a great way to enjoy the beautiful weather with a friend. At www.giantchess.com, you’ll find quaint wooden chess sets for the garden in their chess store, but you will also find giant outdoor chess sets that will take up a sizable portion of the backyard! Kids love moving pieces that are their size, after all, and what a great hobby to introduce them to! You must contact the company via email for pricing information. Or, if you’d like, you may also rent a giant chess set for a party through www.chesshouse.com, which will ship the set to and from your house for a two-week period for just 7.

A chess board game can cost a small fortune. In fact, many chess sets range from 0 to ,000! It makes sense, then, that an avid player would want to invest in chess boxes to keep all those pieces safe. The best place to find such a product is at an online chess store. Most boxes come with soft linings to protect your pieces and with locks so the case doesn’t suddenly open. You’ll want to look for brass quadrant hinges and clasps for added stability and solid wood construction. When buying, you’ll need to measure your king, count the number of queens you own and consider if safety is a factor in your decisions.

Chess 4 Less (www.chess4less.com) doesn’t have many selections, but the chess boxes they have are very attractive and priced fairly. For 0, the “18th Century Calvert Chess Box” comes with red and white faux-ivory chess pieces, a hardwood box, an inlaid chessboard top and drawers. They also offer The English Chess Company’s red burl box with billiard green cloth inside and 4.4″ chess men indentations for 9.95 each. Inexpensive .95 mahogany-finished chess boxes are also available for medium and small sized pieces. This company from England ships internationally via Fedex Ground for around .95 and they accept Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover and Paypal. You may also ship 2-day for or next-day for .

If you’re not looking to spend a fortune on chess boxes, then The Chess Store (www.thechessstore.com) is a great place to look. You could order the “The Deluxe Chess Coffer – Large” for $279.95, but most of their selections are under $100. The Mahogany Chess Box, Ebony Chess Box, Walnut Chess Box or Rosewood Chess Box comes in four sizes and works best with rosewood, ebony or boxwood chess men. For fans of slide-top boxes, you can choose walnut finish, black finish or cherry finish for $29.95 to $49.95, which will fit chess equipment that is 3 1/4″ or 3 3/4″. There are chess boxes made out of Sheesham wood ($44.95), teak ($39.95) and black leather ($49.95 to $69.95) that all come with vivid velvet interiors. You may order by Paypal, Google Checkout, American Express, Visa or Mastercard. Orders ship next-day via UPS Ground, 3 Day Select, 2 Day Select or Overnight.

A nice simple site to find some chess boxes is Premium Chess Sets (www.premiumchesssets.com/chess-boxes). There is a Fitted Red Burl Briefcase or a Fitted Walnut Burl Briefcase (9.95), a deeper Fitted Red Burl Coffer (9.95), a Mahogany Premium Chess Box (9.95), a Premium Red Burl Chess Box (9.95), a Black Slide-Top Box (.95), a Mahogany Slide-Top Box (.95), a Red Burl Small Chess Box (.95), and a Red Mahogany Standard Chess Box (.95). There are boxes for smaller marble chess sets (less than 3.5″) and larger Staunton chess sets (4″). You can pay using Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover or Paypal and your item will be shipped via UPS within 3 days. If you are unhappy with your purchase, you have seven days to return it, but you will be charged a 15% restocking fee and the shipping charges are your responsibility.

Board games have endured some stiff competition over the years, from television sets in the fifties, to computer games in the eighties, to video games in the nineties. How does the boardgame compete with such mighty adversaries? Well, since the eighties, game manufacturers have been creating new editions of classic board games around themes from TV and movies to keep families coming back to the table. Even more recently, they’ve begun to make editions of games that can use DVD players to “wow” the whole family. Also, some popular computer games, like World of Warcraft, are popping up to entice audiences into playing different versions of their favorite games. There are also games like Cranium that combine several different types of games all in one, so there is something for everyone. Here we’ll discuss some of the recent changes to America’s favorite games.

The Scrabble board game is one of the most popular educational games of all time. Initially, word-smiths would choose seven random letters from a pile and see if they could create words. The players could then build off one another’s words and would vie for the most points, which were based on numbers assigned to each letter, as well as special spots on the board that awarded double or triple points. Over the years, new versions of Scrabble came out to entice buyers. For instance, there are Scrabble board games with side games like the Presidential Edition, where you must try to “win states,” earn points for popular votes and earn the commander in chief job. There’s also a Star Trek Scrabble edition, where players can consult Klingnon dictionaries and can earn “tribble” points. There are a number of special editions for children, like Scrabble Me, Scrabble Junior, Scrabble Junior 2009, Dora Scrabble Junior and Scrabble Apple. A Milton Bradley game called “Upwords” has gained tremendous popularity as a similar concept to Scrabble, except that players earn points by stacking letters on top of one another and making more than one word change at a time. Following the absorption of the Milton Bradley Company, Hasbro has re-christened the game “Scrabble Upwords.”

Often, the ability of manufacturers to morph board games over time and attract new generations of fans is the key to their success. For instance, the Monopoly board has changed from showing typical tycoon, Scotty dog, and iron and thimble characters to a number of different themes. Today you can buy a boardgame based on movie themes (like Transformers, The Wizard of Oz and Pirates of the Caribbean); TV themes (like The Simpsons, Family Guy and Seinfeld); sports teams (like the Boston Celtics, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Atlanta Braves); hobbies (bass fishing, snowboarding or golf); pets (cats, dogs or horses); music (Elvis or The Beatles); collectibles (Ford Thunderbird, Harley Davidson or John Deere); cartoons (Peanuts, Sponge Bob or Rudolph); and the list goes on forever.

The checkers board game is one of those enduring board games that apparently has changed very little over the years. Sure, there’s Disney Villain checkers, Lego checkers, Chinese checkers, family checkers, A Christmas Story checkers and magnetic checkers, but for the most part, the basic red and black chip boardgame has survived for decades. Historians say the game itself may date as far back as 3,000 BC, where similar game pieces were found in Iraq. In 1600 BC, the Egyptians played a game called “Alquerque,” which is very similar to checkers. The Chinese were well known for their version of checkers around 350 BC. The French are said to have created the modern checker board with 25 squares and 12 chips in 1100 AD. Antonio Torquemada wrote about the official rules of checkers in 1547 and William Payne gave a more detailed account again in 1756. It seems that playing games as a way to relieve stress and enjoy the company of others has been going on for hundreds of centuries and will continue on for many more.

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