Ticket To Ride

Spent some of today writing a page for the website giving guidance on 'modern boardgames' for those guests who  have expressed an interest after seeing our large collection and perhaps playing one or two with us.

This required a few illustrative images, so that was today's blip sorted.

The page isn't ready yet, but it starts off much like this...

Where to start?

It is remarkably difficult to convey the 'idea' of modern boardgames.

If I were to say the word 'car' I'd wager that you'd picture something from the last ten years, yes? Reasonably fuel efficient, comfortable, good brakes, maybe even ABS and SatNav. If I were to say the word 'boardgames' there's a depressingly high chance that you're now thinking of those from the era of starting handles, bench seats and arm signals.

Modern boardgames are to Monopoly what the Fiat 500 is to the Austin 7 of the 1930's, i.e. the era of Monopoly. The Fiat is a car, it has a wheel at each corner, steering wheel, brakes, lights, seats. It gets you from A to B. Exactly the same as the Austin 7, then? No, clearly not.

The difference between the Fiat and the Austin is what I am trying to convey here. By comparison with the Austin, the Fiat is a pleasure to drive. Modern boardgames are, likewise, a pleasure to play. Think of modern boardgames like this and you'll begin to understand our enthusiasm for them.

Come with us and drive in comfort...

Pick a Car, Any Car...

How many boardgames can you think of? Six? A dozen? Maybe twenty.

We've around 150 at the Dell House and that's a pimple on the ocean of what's out there (excuse the mixed metaphor!). In 2015 alone roughly five thousand games were published worldwide. Like books (where it's 180 thousand for UK alone), many deserve to vanish quickly into obscurity, but a fair few hundred are worthy of attention. However, this isn't much help to the newcomer, a rabbit in the glare of a few hundred headlights. 

Hopefully this is where we can help...