ANDY ANDERSON'S GAMES

The find of the year so far has to have been "Settlers of Catan", a board game based on the computer game Settlers. Build villages and towns, connect them with roads, stuff your opponents by building next to the wheat-fields they wanted. Try to swap three sheep for the vital clay you need, only to get a clay off the deck next time and discover that now you needed those sheep.
 
All good fun, plays to a finish in under two hours and that awkward bit where you know you've lost but can't drop out without unbalancing the game, is mercifully short. Like most imports, it seems expensive, but if you're into board games, you'll easily get value for money out of this.

There's a two-player card-game version around as well, which is particularly good. There's now an English language version out which stops me having to translate on the fly from the German, which takes a bit of the fun out of the game. Even if you already have the German set, this comes recommended.

My only role-playing game purchase so far this year has been "Cults of Ecstacy", a sourcebook for "Mage the Ascension". A good read, even if it would be confined to the top shelf if they sold it in newsagents. I just can't work out how to use the material in any of my games, but we'll see.

Some of my Own Stuff

I design games, sometimes, and sometimes design artwork for existing games. Eventually, I'll post a few pieces, but you'll be aware that it takes a lot of time preparing this stuff for the web to a standard that you-all don't moan and gripe and reach for the email button (no, seriously, feedback is always welcome, just, positive feedback is preferred on Mondays). And I have a day job, which I go to on Mondays, and which is why I prefer positive feedback at the start of the week.

So, for starters, this is a quid-pro-quo for some of the enjoyment I've had from stuff downloaded off the net. A historical game called "Tablero de Jesus" which I'd never heard of until I was looking for Inuit gambling games one day. (It's nothing of the sort, but the web's like that). Enjoy it. And, if you like it, let me know.