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En Garde
A new game review on my Finnish site: En Garde. What I think of it? Well, for a such an abstract game (it is indeed very simple), it captivates the feel of fencing quite well. Herr Knizia has done wonderful job, it’s perhaps his most successful theme ever. The game is basically an exercise of…
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Inappropriate game themes
Here’s something I wrote on Spielfrieks list in response to a discussion about inappropriate game themes. (See the start of the thread.) Daniel Karp wrote: The question is, are their subjects which are inappropriate for games under all circumstances? What does it mean if someone likes such a game, and does it matter for what…
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Africa
A new game review on my website: Africa — again in Finnish, sorry. Here’s what I think about the game: Recently Africa has received some praise from notable members of the Spielfrieks community and I think it deserves it. I think many were disappointed when it turned out that dr. Knizia had designed a light,…
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Web of Power
For Finnish users, there’s a new review at my web site: Web of Power. I’ve played lots of this lately and as you might notice from my Top 10 list, I value the game very highly. It works nicely from any number of players from three to five (I like it best with four, then…
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Website update: Tough decisions in games
Second part in the series "what makes a good game" the tough decisions can be found at my web site. Unfortunately, it’s in Finnish, but here’s an English summary: The article is about what makes good games stand out. The issue I’m pointing at is the tough decisions you have to make. Average roll-and-move game…
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Finnish Game of the Year awards 2002
Finnish Game of the Year awards have been given out. The winners this year are: Best Children’s Game: Ali Baba (Ravensburger) Best Family Game: Bakari (Tactic) Best Adult Game: Fits (Ravensburger) Spiel des Jahres winner Villa Paletti was in the family game final three, but didn’t make it.
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Die Macher preview
Finally I have it. I left work earlier Friday so I could run to the post office and get it. I couldn’t wait and opened the game already at the railway station. I couldn’t believe my eyes, I finally had it… I haven’t played it yet, but I think I’ll say a word or two…
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Weekend gaming plan
I’m going to visit my parents who live in another city for the weekend and of course, I’m taking games with me. The main attractions I’ll be taking are Africa and Puerto Rico. Africa for the kids, Puerto Rico for the adults. Of course, I’m planning to enjoy mightily the games of Africa I’ll play.…
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Ziploc bag overusers anonymous
I confess — I just love ziploc bags. Today I re-bagged my Puerto Rico, inspired by a post to rec.games.board I saw. Now I have 55 colonists in one bag and a 4-player bag and a 5-player bag. Both have 20 colonists, one Prospector, a ship (7 and 8) and victory points (20 and 22).…
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Computer games & Mah Jong
You won’t see me writing about computer games often; I don’t play them much and when I play, it’s usually just to kill time. Of course, there’s no better way to kill time than to play Civilization (or Alpha Centauri) — oops, there goes another six hours… During the last few years, I’ve only bought…