Gizmodo: board games

10 Classic Analog Games Defiled By Digital

Sean Fallon — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:30:00 EST

So, I'm doing the Mindflex game review, and I start thinking about the evolution of classic board games. Personally, I like the fact that many of them got a 21st century makeover. These 10 games may have purists thinking otherwise.

For the most part, do you consider these digital upgrades as good or bad ideas?

Berlekamp's Switch Game May Be Nerdiest Boardgame Ever

Wilson Rothman — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 19:20:00 EST

The game has 100 bulbs, 10x10. Each row and each column has a switch that turns off bulbs that are on, and turns on bulbs that are off. Can you turn off all the bulbs?

The answer, even if you do attempt every possible combination, is no. But according to Microsoft Research, there's a way to "solve" the puzzle to within 1%, even if the board had 1000000 bulbs. The funny thing is, the algorithmic solution to the puzzle (originally built by Elwyn Berlekamp in 1960) can be used as a way to bypass brute-force computing in solving problems. The researchers at Microsoft are more interested in that whole thing, but I'm more interested in how some guy got to build this nice electronic board game as part of his day job, just for Show and Tell. Way to go, dude.

Here are the rules, in case you want to make your own home version (Phil Torrone, do you hear me?):

Update: This is also known as the Gale-Berlekamp lightbulb game—I'd hate for poor Mr. or Ms. or Dr. Gale to get left out of the credit. Also, I finally caught up on my Fringe from a few weeks back, and you commenters are totally right. Freaky. Wish I'd seen it beforehand.

Microsoft's TechFest is an annual jamboree of innovation and gadgetry from Microsoft Research, which means that while none of it is coming out as is in products in the near future, it's essentially what product development people use to add cool stuff to their actual releases. I'm here all day.

Jenga Electronic Game Features Real Blocks for Real Frustration

Mark Wilson — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:40:00 EST

I'm not sure that Jenga is one of those games that can be played tiny, monochrome display. But given enough willpower and enough plastic, as we all know, anything is possible.

This latest Jenga handheld by Zizzle toys features two real (non-wood) blocks that you actually slide in and out of place. Use too much force and the virtual tower will come tumbling down, but unlike in real Jenga you can sneeze to your heart's content. Aside from the movable blocks, it also features the option to zoom in for precision work and options for 1 and 2-player modes.

It's no technological powerhouse, but for $20 at Walmart (and more retailers soon), it'll shut those kids up in the backseat without sacrificing your beloved Nintendo DS to Barbie computerdom.

Homemade Scrabble Keyboard: Double Nerd Score

Dan Nosowitz — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 22:00:00 EST

This wood and brushed aluminum keyboard features real Scrabble tiles with the points score slightly modded to show each key's secondary function. It's classy, it's nerdy, and it's worth a ton of points.

I'm a huge Scrabble geek, so it's great to see such a great mod made out of the 2nd-greatest board game of all time (sorry, Scrabble, but Apples to Apples is #1 in my book). The USB keyboard is really beautifully made, with aluminum accents to match the Mac it'll be paired with. Go Scrabble!
[Datamancer]

Keyhole Surgery: Operation for the Less Than Ethical

Mark Wilson — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:40:00 EST

While some of us invest points into intelligence to become doctors, others of us pour those stats into perception and agility to take a different route...

Keyhole Surgery is Operation reinvented for lockpick enthusiasts. You view a 3D schematic of the lock on the computer, then try to guide the key through the maze of tumblers without striking the walls. He who has the least mistakes wins. He who has the most mistakes will require a good lawyer.

A concept for now, if you really like the device, we're sure some perceptive, agile manufacturer will come around to borrow the idea soon enough. [Moritz Waldemeyer via bbGadgets]

P.U. Smelly Board Game Begs for an Adult Version

Jack Loftus — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 15:00:00 EDT

Sure, the kids will have a blast filling their nostrils with various scents while playing PU: The Guessing Game Of Smells, but what about the grown ups? Where is our late-night olfactory adventure, made physical by a $28 game board? While the kids search for the mischievous skunk in P.U., using their noses to hunt for clues, what are we adults going to do to pass the time? These are the things I need to know. Meanwhile, I'll be playing P.U., by myself, trying to guess which cards are peppermint, burnt rubber, cut grass, or "the dreaded doggie doo doo." [Lighter Side via Random Good Stuff]

Alice Chess Set Features Pieces That Are Magically Transparent

Sean Fallon — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:20:00 EDT

Inspired by the Lewis Carroll's novel ‘Alice through the Looking Glass,' designer Yasmin Sethi developed a chess set that features pieces that "magically turn transparent" when they touch the board. In other words, when removed from the playing surface, a pawn would be opaque—nearly indistinguishable from any other piece on the board. However, when in contact with the board, the piece reveals its true identity. This effect serves to remind the player that the pieces have no value unless they are in play.

The effect works thanks to a board made out of a glass material with embedded LEDs (LightPoints) and chess pieces made from clear glass with the negative shape of a traditional, delicate Staunton chess piece enclosed within it. Placing the chess piece on the board completes a circuit that illuminates the negative shapes, making them visible. There is even a clever nod to a passage in the book where the White Knight talks about being able to think better when he is upside down. In the Alice chess set, all of the white knights on the board will not illuminate unless placed in the upside down position. All-in-all, the 'Alice' concept is interesting new twist on the traditional game. With any luck, a real world product will come down the line sometime in the future. [Project Page via Pan-Dan via DVICE]

An Exciting 3 Way...Game of Chess

Sean Fallon — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 18:30:28 EST

A chess board recently unearthed in the Czech Republic takes an fresh look at the classic game by adding a third player into the action. Apparently, the game starts out like regular chess, but somewhere near the middle all hell breaks loose in an orgy of complex diagonal moves. Moreover, because their are three players, a certain amount of cooperation must take place to determine a winner.

For example, two players can gang up on the third to speed up elimination and two players must compete for the right to check mate the third. It seems complicated, but then again I suck at regular chess. For anyone with a head for the game, the basic rules are explained in the link. [Meignorant and offiizsamuraj via Neatorama]

Shocking Autopsy: Shocking Gameplay

Mark Wilson — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 11:10:16 EST

Operation was a fun game, but fatally flawed (no pun intended). The sad fact is that no game can hold the adult attention span unless there is a strong possibility of someone getting injured while playing.

That's why Shocking Autopsy is Operation for adults. While you pull various weapons from a gangsters body, just make sure to avoid any mistakes with those tweezers. Otherwise...ZAP! Your turn is over. (Because you're dead). And then whoever bangs your wife first wins. – Mark Wilson

Product Page [via coolestgadgets]

Nintendo Monopoly

Jason Chen — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 18:00:27 EST

Not exactly new—we saw this on sale at our local target—this Nintendo themed Monopoly game could be great to get your video game-addicted kids to join in on a fun family activity.

Complete with Donkey Kong's barrel, Link's Shield, Princess Peach's barf bag and Mario's girdle, Nintendo Monopoly is definitely in the top five themed Monopoly editions we've seen. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Amazon via Uncrate via Madewise]

War on Terror: The Future on Your Living Room Floor

Charlie White — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 09:03:05 EST

Are you a uniter, not a divider? You be The Decider with War on Terror: The Boardgame, where you can be a suicide bomber or a megalomaniacal leader of a superpower, slinging propaganda and grabbing the oil. Get lucky, and you might stumble upon nuclear weapons and teach the world a lesson.

For two to six players, it's certain to bring out the greed and nastiness in those you thought were so, so innocent. That's what the War on Terror does. Will you be good or evil? Either way, just don't let the terrorists win. – Charlie White

Product Page [Terror Bull Games, via boingboing]

Boardgame Database

johnb — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 10:18:47 EDT

With my recent discovery of Carcassonne, folks have been coming out of the woodwork telling me all about the games I should be playing. Ok, I'll try my hardest.

Anyway, here is a massive database of every single game in the whole world, which makes for some pretty interesting browsing. Apparently 52 Sex Games is hot this week. Considering someone out there has chosen a boardgame to have sex with/around, I'm thinking this might be getting a bit excessive. – John Biggs

Web Site [BoardgameGeek]

Carcassonne: My New Favorite Game

johnb — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 11:18:17 EDT

We were in Boston last weekend visiting friends when we stopped into Eureka Puzzles. I'm not big on board games, so most of the stuff was lost on me, but Carcassonne caught my eye, probably because of the box. It's a complex—but highly playable—tile-based game that involved building a cities, cloisters, and farms and taking over roads in a mythical country. It's kind of hard to explain, but you draw a set of tiles and drop them one by one, closing up and creating cities, building finished roads, and farming plots of land. For every city, road, or farm you control, you get points and you only have eight little followers to do your bidding, so you have to decide which ones are sedentary farmers and which ones take over cities and roads and can be brought back into play.

I'm not doing it justice, but take a look. I know it's as old as my crush on Tony Danza, so let me know what you guys think of this game and the expansion packs. It was only $24.95 and it takes about an hour to play. – John Biggs

Product Page [RioGrandeGames]

Deflexion Laser Board Game

Travis Hudson — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 14:38:58 EST

Just when you thought board games had hit their technological peak with Trivial Pursuit DVD Edition, a company has released a game that puts all other board games to shame. This is Deflexion, a board game that uses lasers and physics concepts for either hours of fun or a burned-out retina. The idea of the game is to build a setup using an assortment of djeds, pyramids and obelisks to bounce a laser around the board to hit and annihilate your opponent's pharaoh. Why they decided on pharaoh, who knows. Maybe the creators are anti-Egyptian. Or anti-Scooby Doo villains.

Deflexion Playing with Lasers [Coolest Gadgets]

Pricing for Deflexion Laser Strategy Game [Amazon]