Board Game News

As you may have noticed, we have a new section of the web site dedicated to Mobile Board Games. We’re offering a great selection of titles, for all sorts of different mobile devices, including:

• PalmOS
• PocketPC
• SmartPhones
• Symbian
• BlackBerry

In addition to traditional board games, the mobile games store also features sports games, strategy games, adventure games, card games, puzzle games, and trivia games.

You can also subscribe to device-specific RSS Feeds for New Software, Updated Software, Best Sellers, and Special Offers.

As part of the grand opening special, we’re offering 20% OFF on all games (until April 25, 2007). To get the special price, use the coupon code “GAMEON” during checkout. You can use this code as often as you like, so if you’ve been thinking of purchasing a mobile board game or two, now’s your chance to do so with a nice discount.

We’ve recently added a new page that brings together Junior Editions of many of the most popular board games.

Junior Editions are fun versions of classic games, usually with simpler rules, faster gameplay, and special kid-friendly themes. Nearly all the popular adult and family games offer junior editions, including:

• Apples To Apples Junior
• Clue Jr.
• Monopoly Junior
• Pictionary Junior
• Scene It Jr.
• Scrabble Junior

Click Here to see our complete selection of Junior Editions. We also offer a number of other Board Games For Kids.

We’ve recently added a section here at Board Game Central for the amazingly addictive Japanese puzzle game called “Sudoku“. Sudoku has been fast gaining in popularity the world over, and is featured in a number of daily newspapers, books, and now in board game form as well.

Sudoku is a Japanese word meaning “numbers singly”, and is pronounced “SUE-dough-coo”, with the first syllable accented. A Sudoku puzzle is made up of a grid of 9 rows and 9 columns. The grid is further subdivided into 9 sub-grids, called “regions”, each consisting of 9 cells (3 rows and 3 columns). A game starts with some of the cells pre-populated, and it’s your job to fill in the rest.

The rules are pretty simple: Fill in the empty cells, one number in each, so that each column, row, and region contains the numbers 1–9 exactly once. When completed, each number in the solution will occur only once in each of rows, columns, and region. This is why the name of the game refers to “single numbers”.

Although the rules are simple, and there is no math involved, finding a solution can take a great deal of concentration and logical reasoning. Individual puzzles can often be solved in 10 to 30 minutes, depending on your skill and experience, and the difficulty level of the particular puzzle.

There are quite a number of Sudoku board games, Sudoku computer games, and Sudoku books, available. If you haven’t tried Sukoku yet, check out one of these promising new games, and you’ll soon be able to answer an enthusiastic “Yes!” when someone asks you, “Do You Sudoku?”

We’ve added a new page here at Board Game Central, for the dice game called “Shut The Box“.

The game is played using a felt-lined wooden box with numbered and hinged tiles that can be flipped up or down. Players take turns rolling two dice within the box, and flipping down numbers that match the numbers on the dice. Each player rolls until he cannot play a die. After each player has had a chance, the player who has the lowest score wins. If a player managed to flip over all the numbers tiles, he’s “Shut The Box”, and wins outright.

Shut The Box may be played by young and old alike, for fun or for wagers. We have a nice selection of Shut The Box Games of various sizes and materials. If you haven’t tried this simple game yet, give it a go - it is really quite fun and engaging.

We’ve updated the Axis & Allies page here at Board Game Central, adding detailed descriptions of each of the games in this classic strategy game series.

We’ve also added the Axis & Allies Windows game from Atari, which lets you play the game on your PC, against computer AI or against players from all over the world via the internet. We’ve also added the new Axis & Allies miniatures.

In addition, the Axis & Allies page now includes links to other Axis & Allies information on the web, including the official Axis & Allies site, and the International Axis and Allies Players Association.

Board games based on television shows are becoming increasingly popular, with a number of new games being released very recently. Our Board Games Based On Television Shows page provides a comprehensive listing of these games, including:

• CSI
• Desperate Housewives
• Law and Order
• Sex and the City
• The Sopranos

In addition to the games based on current TV shows, there are also games based on classic shows such as “I Love Lucy” and “The Andy Griffith Show”, as well as trivia games covering the entire history of television.

This new page joins our existing pages: Board Games Based On Game Shows (Family Feud, Jeopardy, Pyramid, etc.) and games based on The Simpsons.

USAopoly recently launched a new version of their web site, with new and updated features, and an expanded line of products.

In addition to the extensive line of Monopoly special editions that USAopoly is known for, they now offer additional games such as checkers, dominoes, backgammon, bingo, chess, dice, and trivia, as well as jigsaw puzzles, poker, and card games.

USAopoly has your favorite board games & gifts with a twist!

We have a new vendor here at Board Game Central. BoardGamesUSA offers a large selection of traditional, family, and strategy board games, as well as board game accessories, card games, and jigsaw puzzles. They offer free shipping on all orders over $99, as well as an ongoing 40 Items 40% Off promotion, with a regularly-updated list of 40%-off specials.

BoardGamesUSA also offers a unique rewards program, where every purchase you make earns you reward points that can be applied to your next purchase. Basically, for every $25.00 you spend, you get $1.00 off your next order! That’s pretty cool.

Over the next few weeks we’ll be adding new BoardGamesUSA games to Board Game Central. So keep an eye out for new and updated product listings throughout the site.

This blog will serve as an announcement board for news about board games, board game manufacturers, board game vendors, and changes to the Board Game Central site.

Expect an erratic update rate - news will be posted as it occurs, and some parts of the year are busier than others, so don’t be surprised if no news occurs for several weeks, then a bunch of new entries are posted within a short period of time.

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Of course, if you prefer, you can read the news right from your browser. Just bookmark http://www.boardgamecentral.com/news/.