December, 1997

The Living Room Floor

Most of the new stuff is scattered around the living room. After about four weeks, I'll pick stuff up and actually put it away in the Game Cabinet (give or take a bit depending on other demands on my time).

Gaming News & Commentary

• Letter from the Editor - notes and introduction to this month's issue (December)

• Essen 97
  • The Cabinet Report - many good games and a few great ones
  • The Bankler Report - including the Dirty Little Secrets of Essen
  • The Mecca of Gaming - Annie Shillabeer has her own dirty little secrets of Essen
  • Dirty Little Secrets of Essen Revisited - another look at what you need to know before you go

• Swedish Game of the Year - a complete history of this award

• The Plateau Story - Jim Albea describes gory details of the game development process

Conventions and Gatherings

• Gamesday II - a new tradition (Bay Area, California) (I'll see you there!)
• The 9th Annual Beer & Pretzels Games Weekend - with wall-to-wall games (Burton on Trent, United Kingdom)
• Ramsdencon 98 - a weekend of fun and games (Essex, England)

Stump the Net

• December's Queries - have you ever heard of these games?

• Bao - Adrian Brooks, Pete Duckworth, Rob Nierse, and Alex de Voogt with all the answers
• Egyption Ratscrew - Keith Ammann and John McLeod hash out its origins
• Hanafuda Book and Cards - Blate Minkler, Frank Branham, and David Berner with more leads
• Hanafuda Cards and Rules - Joe Celko with our closest brush to the rules yet and a US source for cards
• Koi Koi - Keith Ammann take us off on a side track from Hanafuda
• Musical Dominoes - Blate Minkler answers Irv Groden's musical question

Letter Box

• A few more bits about Ramsdencon - Reiner Knizia to host Euphrat & Tigris tourney
• Seattle Corrections and Info. - Peter Sarrett with the scoop on the Northwest

Game Reviews

• Frisch Fisch / Fresh Fish - Friedemann Friese floats fish fast for fleet footed factories
• Die Kette von Saba / Sheba's Necklace - ornamental but not functional

• Sumo Rush by Mike Siggins
  • Euphrat & Tigris / Tigris & Euphrates - civilization building in the Fertile Crescent
  • Svea Rike / Rule Sweden - preserve Sweden from the French is this game of political intrigue

• Now Playing at Plymouth with Steffan O'Sullivan
  • Double Morphus - twice the shape changing and half the calories
  • Euphrat & Tigris / Tigris & Euphrates - or an abstraction thereof
  • Ursuppe / Primeval Soup - amoebas struggle for survival at the dawn of life

Game Bits

• New Genes for Ursuppe (Primeval Soup) - Steffan's gene testing grounds

English Game Translations

• The Most Wanted List - rule sets at large and unaccounted for

• Euphrat & Tigris / Tigris & Euphrates - Knizia's Civilization (updated HTML by Chris Lawson)
• El Grande & expansions
  • The Basic Game - a revised translation without all of my original mistakes!
  • Koenig & Intrigant / King & Villain - which adds deck building and quite a bit more control
  • More Card Ideas - as submitted to Hans im Glück by El Grande fans
  • Großinquisitor & Kolonien / Grand Inquisitor & Colonies - politics in the Spanish Empire (new translation)
• Iron Horse - rail and tile laying game for the backpack set
• Mark / Market - a game of production and over-production
• Marracash - a more useful translation for this recent favorite
• Quartier Latin / Latin Quarter - the rough and tumble world of bistros and bars in Paris
• Stamp - the game for philatic phanatics
• Texas - where the wind comes rushin' down the plain?

Traditional Games

• Bao - an East-African Mancala game
  • as played in Zanzibar - detailed rules, tactics, bibliography, and sample games
  • as played in Malawi - detailed rules

Web Games Terminal

Note that you must have access to Telnet, Java, and/or Shockwave in order to access most of these game sites. Contact your Internet service provider for details on acquiring these technologies. Your ISP will must provide Telnet access. Upgrade your browser to one that is Java enabled. Download the Shockwave plugin appropriate for your browser and operating system.

• CyberJacques - a wide variety of on-line games (Shockwave plugin required)

Other Places

• Bambus Spieleverlag - the correct address for the inventors of Arabana-Ikibiti
• Freez! - an abstract game employing dice as playing pieces (free board download)
• Leisure Games - one of London's top shops comes on-line!
• Moldy Feathers - get a firm grip on whatever reality you call home, grab a shot of whiskey, and go visit Randy Cox
• New World Games - Mike Petty sets up shop and brings us still more games!
• Serendipity's Circle - publishers of horror RPG games and a magazine covering the same
• StratoGems - a new Web magazine devoted to abstract strategy games editted by Stephen W. Glenn

The Game Cabinet - editor@gamecabinet.com - Ken Tidwell