How cool is this? As reported last week by Keith, the folks at USAopoly have released a Nintendo version of the capitalism-gone-mad boardgame Monopoly, a combination of two perennial favourites in planet Krotoski.
Head to the official site for photos galore. It will be available from July 2006. From their description:
The Nintendo Collector's edition comes complete with 6 collectible pewter tokens featuring Mario's Cap, Link's Iron Boots, Donkey Kong's Barrel, Hylian Shield, Koopa Shell and NES Controller. Rules include a 60 minute speed play option for a shorter game with the same amount of fun. Now you can buy, sell and trade your favorite Nintendo characters for a whole new game-playing experience. From everyone's favorite red-capped plumber to barrel-tossing Donkey Kong to bounty hunter Samus Aran, they're all up for grabs in this exciting fun-filled adventure. Are you game?
If Nintendo's not your cup of board-tea, here are a few alternatives based upon digital brethren which may whet your appetite for dice:
In Doom: The Boardgame, demonic invaders have broken through from another dimension into the Union Aerospace Corporation's Mars base. Marines have been deployed to the base to protect UAC personnel and destroy the invaders. Up to three players will take the roles of heavily armed and highly trained marines, while one player will control the legion of demonic invaders. In the game, the marine players explore the claustrophobic rooms and corridors of the Mars base, attacking monsters, picking up new weapons and equipment, and working together to complete specific mission objectives.
Milton Bradley's Pac Man I had this one. It's an elaborate set-up with marbles, giant plastic Pac-people and tubular ghosts.
Via GGDB:
Pac-Man's goal is simple: devour all of the pellets in each maze while avoiding the enemy ghosts: Pinky, Blinky, Inky and Clyde.
That's all there was.
The Civilization board depicts areas around the Mediterranean Sea. The board is divided into many regions. Each player starts with a single population token, representing 7,000 people, and grows and expands his empire over the course of turns. Each player, of course, tries to build the greatest civilization.
The Wikipedia entry also indicates that it typically takes up to 8 hours to play.
Warcraft and Warcraft 2: The Board Game
...this title is actually a somewhat a set of rules and units with a modular set of boards that reflects the computer version's varied terrain and maps.
It features a large central game board depicting the Starcraft galaxy, as well as nine separate smaller boards that each represent a specific planet in the Starcraft universe. Players will control the familiar Terran, Protoss, or Zerg space and ground units in a bid for domination of these nine worlds. The combat system is fast and diceless, featuring an innovative mechanic that utilizes transparent plastic game cards. The game will feature dozens of beautifully sculpted plastic figures, dozens of cards, lots of high-quality cardboard tokens and markers, a large game board and several mini-boards, and all of the other great components that pack our epic-size games.
Unlike a computer conversion of a board game, Age of Mythology - The Boardgame does not seek to replicate the same experience in a different medium. It takes broad concepts from the computer game: resource gathering, city (or base) development, and the building and deployment of an army containing both mortal and mythological creatures. Even the concept of "god powers" is reflected in the game, as are different ages: Archaic, Classical, Heroic and Mythic. And the pressure of an RTS is abstracted into the design: just as a player cannot be everywhere and do everything all of the time in the computer game, there are limits to what can be accomplished in a game turn. The flow of the game also naturally moves along at a snappy (but thankfully, not frantically so) pace.
More on computer games that have witnessed the offline treatment can be found at /..
