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Winning Move Games
Written by: Janet Pope
In this age of technological overload, overwork and overstress, playing board games with a loved one, a friend or a child can be not only great fun, but cheap therapy. Below are three games that my friends and I recently enjoyed together.
Super Scrabble
It's simple. It's a no-brainer. If you love Scrabble, as literally millions do, you will REALLY love Super Scrabble. Sometimes skeptics wonder, "Why mess with a good thing?" Critics may even give the golden adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." But for those who simply can't get enough of the classic game of Scrabble, invented in 1948, Super Scrabble gives you more fun with an added twist.
If you are one of the few people who have never played the game, it is a word game where you choose seven letters, and you try to apply them to a game board, adding to the mix and, in a sense, creating a maze of words. In this new updated version, the board is bigger and there are additional tiles added, allowing for more playing time and more possibilities. It's truly a Scrabble player's dream come true. Instead of two blank tiles, there are four, and in addition to triple word spaces, there are quadruple spaces!
True, traditional Scrabble purists may frown at the changes. Due to the additional letters, words can now be made that were unable to be formed before, and scores will soar as players' words are multiplied by four.
I think the changes provide an added dimension, to an already great game. It is not meant to replace Scrabble, just provide a change of pace-- and it does. The only thing I’d change about the game would be to provide a board that turns and holds the tiles in place. As the board became more and more filled, it was difficult to turn it to the current player, without the tiles shifting a bit.
Pente
Pente was a new game to me. Put out by Winning Moves, under Hasbro, Pente combines the best elements from three different games- Go, Niniku and Go Moku. I wasn't familiar with any of them. Pente is a game of strategy using flat marbles, similar to the basic Tic Tac Toe or Connect Four. The aim is to form an unbroken line of five or more stones or capture five pairs of opponent's stones. At first, it seemed like a simple premise, but the player needs to be able to think visually, vertically, horizontally and diagonally, as well as offensively and defensively. My friends and I were getting into the game, as we discovered it was much more challenging than it looked.
I am the type of person who hates reading directions. I must be an oral learner, since I would much rather someone else read the fine print and give me the "Cliff Notes." My friend Jen was the designated rule reader, and we seemed to be gliding along fine until she read the rules of Etiquette on the last page. "It is customary refinement of this game to announce "three" when moving to make three in a row.....because there is no fun in winning a game owing to the blunder of the adversary." Isn't that basically how every game is won? Needless to say, our group was out for blood, and no one chose to announce their proximity to winning. All's fair in love and war--and games.
Monopoly- Deluxe 1st Edition
Like Scrabble, Monopoly has been around forever--1935 to be precise. What can you do to a game so well loved and so steeped in board game history? This edition is a classic reproduction of the first 1935 game put out by Parker Brothers, and it’s one any Monopoly lover will want to add to their collection. At first glance, the colors on the board are less vibrant. Also, when first introduced the properties did not have values printed on them. Other distinctions are that the houses are made of wood instead of the more recent plastic and the markers are the original pieces - a shoe, a purse, an iron etc.
For those who have never played this game, the object is to be the last player remaining in the game, having bankrupted all the other players through buying, renting and selling property.
I must admit that Monopoly has never been a favorite game of mine. My son, when he was younger, was an Alex Keaton wannabe and reveled in playing the game and inevitably destroying each member of his family. I dreaded the length of the game, which would often go on for hours. I found myself making self-destructive moves in order to be eliminated and free to get up and stretch.
In any case, millions of people absolutely love Monopoly and it has spawned every possible Monopoly clone imaginable.
We had a great night laughing and talking over board games. Game Night is a weekly practice I would encourage everyone to try. It beats therapy.
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