As I’ve closed down the show, I’ve decided to sell off about 350 of my games (which is about a third of my collection, so I’m not selling everything!) You can find information about the sale at http://tinyurl.com/bgwssale

You can still hear me on the On Board Games podcast. I was particularly happy with Episode 58, where we talked about ideas we are working on as game designers. You can hear that episode at

During the last few months, I’ve been writing about games in two places.

First – I’ve been looking at larger issues in board games as the Game Professor over at Board Game Info. You can find these posts over at boardgameinfo.com and there is an RSS feed at http://www.boardgameinfo.com/external.php?do=rss&type=newcontent&sectionid=43&days=120&count=10action=subscribe

Second – I’ve started a blog on Board Game Geek called “Get Off My Lawn.” This is a very different take about games – I’m taking aspects of games that bother me for some reason and talking about them. My hope is that it will help future designers to see things about their game that might bother some players. This is Grumpy Old Man Nicholson, who has been in the background for years during Board Games with Scott, enjoying his time to grouse about games. You can read these posts over at boardgamegeek.com or get an RSS feed at http://boardgamegeek.com/rss/blog/292

I will be doing a teaching video about Republic of Rome, as that was the winner in the auction for Jack Vasel. I’m reading the rules, but have a play of it on the schedule for later in April, so I expect to work on this video in May.

Finally, I am getting ideas for a “Things I Regret” BGWS video, where I do some of the bits and games that I truly regretted not getting around to for BGWS.

Ice Flow is a mutliplayer family strategy game where players are trying to effectively use fish and ropes to scamper across the Bering Strait, avoiding being stranding and being attacked by polar bears. Players must work with a team of explorers, helping them work together to be the first ones across

In this episode of Board Games with Scott, Scott Nicholson explains how to play this game.

Watch it through Vimeo:

Or

Download it from the
Internet Archive
in one of many formats,
or
Right-Click and save:

MPEG4 (177 MB)

Audio only (MP3)

You can order this game through Funagain games.

If you do decide to order the game because of this episode, let the folks at Ludorum games know at info@ludorum.co.uk . Disclaimer: I did get a review copy of this game from the publisher.

By the way – here’s Scott’s Stuff on YouTube

Comments on this episode? Discuss this episode over at BoardGameGeek.

You will need a BGG account to join, and then you can sign up at

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/guild/395

(p.s. I still can’t find my camera! It was one of the last things to be packed, so now I’m suspecting it is in a box labeled for a different room, like (shudder) “Storage”. The unpacking continues…)

In Rum & Pirates, players control a group a pirates. On your turn, you control the movement of your pirate leader, following along with members of your group. Based upon where the leader goes, you can get a few victory points easily or have to engage in some type of challenge or adventure to gain more points. You can spend resources to take extra turns, but when you are out of pirates, you are done for the round. Any pirates left over head back to the ship to fight over bunks (and therefore, more points). It’s a lighter game than others in this series (like Puerto Rico), but has good theme and flavor. Mmm – tastes like Pirate!

To enjoy this video, you can click on the picture below:

Or

Right-click and Save one of the these files (Internet Archive):
BGWS 037, Low quality (33 MB)
BGWS 037, High quality, (126 MB)
BGWS 037, Audio only (15 MB MP3) (Other formats available)

You can order Rum & Pirates through Funagain Games.

Note – the picture of the ship’s hold came from lesjc@lineone.net via Flickr through the Creative Commons license.

If you decide to purchase a copy of Rum & Pirates because of this video, let the publisher know at riogames@aol.com in the U.S. or info@aleaspiele.de in Germany. This does make a difference! Disclaimer: I did get a review copy of this game from the publisher.

Comments on this episode? Discuss this episode over at BoardGameGeek.

I have good news, more good news, bad news, good news, and a request.

The good news:
This semester, I’ve been promoted at work to Program Director of the Masters of Science in Library and Information Science program, which is an administrative position where I plan courses, marketing, find adjuncts, and basically run that academic program.

The more good news:
I’m also starting on a new research agenda looking at “Gaming in Libraries.” Many libraries are offering gaming programs, but the focus seems to be on video games. I want to systematically explore the whole spectrum of games as to what formats and types of games would be best for different age groups and demographics based upon the goals of the library.

The bad news:
This means I am swamped. I’m traveling more, I’m in more meetings, and I’m much busier than before. This will ebb and flow as the semester goes, but right now, it is flowing.

Given my new responsibilities, I will not be keeping to a two-week schedule for new episodes. I will continue to do the show, but the shows will come out when I have the time. When I have more free time, you’ll see more episodes, and when I’m very busy, you’ll see fewer. I don’t want to burn out by forcing them out, as that will show in their passion and quality. I also am not going to take shortcuts to “just get them out the door;” I’m making permanent resources at BGWS, and as such, I’m focusing on quality and not quantity.

If you want more videos, I’d encourage you to grab your friends and a camera and make some! Making these has been fun and a great boon to my gaming career, so I would encourage anyone who has the passion to give it a shot!

Finally, the good news again:
I’m working with a few others to do an audio podcast. I will be doing a segment where I explore games that don’t quite drive my passion enough for me to make a video, but I still find have something worth talking about. I’ll post information about this as it becomes available. So, you’ll soon still get your regular dose of Scott, just in easy-to-swallow audio format.

So, here’s my plea:
Please don’t write asking when the next one is coming out. When I have the time, I’ll make one. If I decide to quit making them, I’ll tell everyone.

Thanks for your consideration!

Scott

The folks over at Playagain Games were kind enough be the judges and donate two copies of the game, shipped to the brilliant authors of the two best answers.

The question was..

“What do a swimmer and a duck have in common?”

The first winner was Ken Rumsey from Kissimmee, Florida with

“Neither of them appreciates the movie Jaws!”

The second winner was Sally Penaranda from Frisco, Texas with
“They both do their business in the water!” 

Wocka wocka wocka!

Thanks again to all who entered and to Playagain Games.  Watch closely for the next Board Games with Scott contest!

Happy Chinese New Year! To honor the new year, this week’s episode is about Mah Jong!

Mah Jong is not about matching pairs of tiles, despite the hundreds of computer games with that name. This is akin to calling a game ‘Cards’ simply becuase it uses playing cards. This week’s episode is a longer one – about 22 minutes – as I’ve decided to cover Mah Jong in depth. After my rush through Friedrich a few weeks ago, people requested that I take longer when the game demands it, so I’ll try that.

I’ve also moved from Imovie to Final Cut Express for editing, so you’ll see some other tweaks here and there.

Board Games with Scott 006 – Mah Jong In Depth (streaming Flash)

Board Games with Scott 006 – Mah Jong In Depth (Quicktime) or other formats at the Internet Archive.

BGWS 006 Audio Only

You can find more information about Mah Jong at Boardgamegeek.

Purchase Mah Jong (and support BGWS) at Funagain.

Here is the handy-dandy reference sheet that I use for play. I do realize that purists of the game will have their own variants – just make sure everyone agrees before play as to the ruleset used.

Want to discuss this episode? A good place to do this is at this thread at boardgamegeek.com. (While there, if you enjoy BGWS, give it a Thumbs Up to make is easier for others to find it as well!)

Side Note – I got the outfit I’m wearing in Beijing when I taught a class there this summer. I kept a running blog of my travels – if you’d like to read about the trip, start at my blog and use the “Next Day” link to read each day of my trip.

Next week, I’ll be looking at the two-player game Lost Cities.

Discuss this episode over at BoardGameGeek.

This week on Board Games with Scott, I take a look at Friedrich. This game is much deeper that other games I’ve looked at so far, but part of what I’m going to do with Board Games with Scott is to try and cover games across the spectrum of the board game hobby. Friedrich is a hybrid Euro/wargame that is an excellent crossover game to allow folks who have played Euros and are curious about wargames to try something with a bit of the wargame flavor.

Please note – due to the tools used and the compression, the close-up example of some of the textual cards is not very clear.

I’m also looking into some of the other video hosting solutions (instead of YouTube). Boardgameswithscott.com is the best place to see the videos, no matter where they move.

Episode 003 – Friedrich at YouTube (Streaming Flash)

If you are having trouble with YouTube, you can also download the MPEG-4 file directly or get a lower-quality one at the Internet Archive.

BGWS 003 Audio Only

More information about Friedrich can be found at Boardgamegeek.

Purchase Friedrich at Funagain.

If you purchased this game because of Board Games with Scott, let the publisher know!

Discuss this episode over at BoardGameGeek.