Viva La...Board Game Add Ons

Board games are incomplete.

Sure they have all the pieces you need to play the game, but sometimes you need a little something more to complete the experience...a dish, a plastic tub, special print-outs, ect...

Last night we played Philip DuBerry's home-engineered-hit Revolution! published by Steve Jackson Games (2009), my favorite game for "Add-Ons."

First (and most important for me) is what I call "the DISH." It comes out every time we play Revolution!...EVERY TIME. In fact we use it more for playing Revolution! than we do for eating food.

If you aren't familiar with the game (check it out, its viva la fun) there are three types of payment, blackmail, gold and force, which are used for bidding. Its important to keep the stockpile separate from your personal bidding stash, so to avoid confusion, the DISH is an essential element. I even tried to pack it away in the box...an exercise in frustration.

The other Add Ons are called LAS BANDERAS (Flags), which are actually just clothes pins. We have one for each color used in the game (yellow, blue, green and red). When we have finished placing our bids behind our player screens, we place the "flag" on top of the screen to signal to the others that we are ready to show their bids, an event I affectionately call, THE GREAT REVEAL.

Ok...So maybe these add-ons aren't exactly essential, but I like to claim that they are, and they can enhance the game experience.

What types of ADD-ONS do you use for your favorite games?

My wife has told me that buying player-colored bandannas to wear around our heads as we play might be taking it a bit too far...

Drop Site (So Close)

$978

The cost of shipping 1000 decks of the award winning Drop Site to the US from Italy. According to my brother-in-law, 1000 decks of cards would be 207 lbs.

A Hefty 207 lbs.

I'll admit that weighs more than me, and I suppose that could cost $978 to ship from Europe.

With hope and prayer, I'll be able to fund this last great obstacle to getting my first shipment of stock.

Check back frequently. YOU can purchase Drop Site as soon as it arrives!

Forbidden Hall: Res Life Training Game

So the island is sinking beneath your feet.

Pretty forbidden right?

Forbidden Island, a game published by Game Wright, by Matt Leacock tempts potential adventurers to test their wits and luck against the island of doom.

Actual game of forbidden island.

Its a great game! It teaches players to solve problems under pressure, take calculated risks, develop teamwork and strategy, and its fun too! Great principles to teach your staff!

We run a residence hall on a college campus, and I wanted my RAs to get some training review, to have fun, to run around, and to think and act as a team.

Enter "Forbidden Hall."

A complex web of rooms set to self-destruct in...5, 4, 3...

The game I devised was only a slight modification from Forbidden Island. Instead of island tiles that sank, I made room tiles that would collapse. Instead of drawing flood cards each turn, I would draw earthquake cards every...minute.

Snap! The office is going to be in bad shape!

I gave them clues (relating to serious Res Life issues that could come up...things that would require a little thought) to help them find "treasures" hidden within the building. After starting the timer, I set them loose to strategize, organize and go!

Sample "treasure": aka, something easy to hide, but unique enough to find.

Every minute I drew more cards to determine which rooms were in need of repairs. One of the RAs stayed behind to communicate to the others (via text message) which rooms needed repairs.

Got to "repair" the office if you want to leave the Hall alive!

If an RA occupied a room when it collapsed, everyone lost. If the rooms with the treasures were destroyed before the treasures were found, everyone lost. If the office (where they had to bring all the treasures to at the end) was destroyed, everyone lost.

Good stuff. They were quaking in their boots.

The treasures were pretty well hidden too. I wanted them to feel a sense of anxiety whenever they entered a room...knowing it could collapse at any second.

The outcome?

I'd say it went well. They found all the treasures (all they needed was one of each color) and returned to the office within 6 minutes. Nobody died.

I'd like to say they got a little lucky...which they did. I didn't draw any "waters rise" cards, which would cause the "damaged" rooms to begin to collapse, but they also put their minds together, ran hard, and generally let their imaginations grant them the incentive they needed to find the treasures in just over five minutes.

Looking for a game for your staff? Consider "Forbidden _______." Let me know if you'd like some tips about how to modify it for your purposes!

Board Game Are Management Tools

Don't tell me they can't. They can!

Board games Can help train managers. They Can help foster skills for better management decision making.

I am not alone in this bizarre type of thinking.

In an interesting, although somewhat dated, article by Ari Manor, board games are highlighted as versatile training tools. Board games, teach teamwork, decisions under pressure and logic among other skills.

Manor, a CEO himself, says that "Quite a few senior managers say that the skills and habits they acquired in playing games give them an extra edge in business and in management. This includes handling fast changes, taking calculated risks, self-discipline, improved memory, "coolness" under pressure, and determination to carry-through the right strategy - even if it leads to short-term loss."


He suggests several games for developing management skills in the article, which you can find here, none of which I have played, unfortunately, but I am certain that another could be added to the list: Forbidden Island by Matt Leacock.

What better way to learn '"coolness" under pressure' than when the island you traverse with your team mates begins sinking under your feet?!

AND SO, I undertook my own quest to find Forbidden Island's nugget of training treasure.

Details on Thursday!