News

Games @ The Gauntlet. Here's something you may not have considered: not all of the games we know and love had smooth sailing on their way to being fully-formed boxes full of fun. Sometimes it's publishing issues, money problems or pirate mutiny. Sometimes, however, it's something a little deeper. Take Twister, for example. A board game for the hands and feet, you might say! But in the mid-1960s when it was published, not everyone was ecstatic - parents complained to the Milton Bradley Company accusing Twister of being 'sex in a box'. Oo-er. Twister was a bust until 1966, when Eva Gabor played it with Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show and the American public lapped it up. The rest, as they say, is Twister-y! What about Trivial Pursuit? Spurning a thousand variations - including versions for Disney, the 1980s and more - this trivia game is possibly the most famous of ALL the trivia games, but its early days were dark for one of its two creators, Chris Haney. Throwing all of his effort and money into the game, Haney began experiencing panic attacks when the game failed to sell, and even ended up in rehab. Yeeeesh. Finally, the biggest sell-out of gaming comes in the form of Milton Bradley himself, who created The Game of Life. Dark, thought-provoking and cynical, it included life stages like 'Suicide' and 'Disgrace', teaching lessons on morality and gender roles. It's no surprise to say it didn't sell. One hundred years later, an investor scrubbed up the game and its tone to make a much more 'consumer' based version. It went on to sell probably a gazillion copies and everyone learned a lovely lesson about irony. Do you know any more games that almost didn't make it? Let us know in the comments!

Don't Settle For Settlers. Last year, these rather fine looking gentlemen of the Tottenham Hotspur Belgian contingent snapped a selfie with Settlers of Catan. Girls who like games and great faces went wild - footballers! Playing Catan! Whatever next? Louis Suarez playing World of Warcraft? Wayne Rooney reading literally any book? Now, somebody with sense has created a list of the next board games these guys should play. Football seasons are long (I think). You'll be wanting something fun to do (I assume?). Well, don't panic. In this article, the writer has some great recommendations up their sleeve - like the fabulous Pandemic! A co-op game is sure to knit together all the essentials of what a football team needs to work together and win. Plus you don't finish the game covered in sweat and mud (unless you're a maverick). Then there's the family favourite Carcassonne. This tile-laying game sees players create cities, roads, fields & more - complete them and you score points. Just like scoring goals! Kinda. And, of course, there's Takenoko, a game of feeding a panda. A tiny, adorable panda, eating bamboo that you have carefully cultivated. If that doesn't scream 'Tottenham Hotspur's wild night in' then I don't know what does! For the full list of ideas, click here!

Free Dice! Get Your Free Dice Here! Tomorrow, Rules of Play will be at Newport's game convention DragonDaze! Don't forget to come see us at our stall and throw water on our faces for a necessary cool-down. Also there will be our good mates Tinkerbot Games! They'll have a bunch of great stuff going on, so be sure to go check them out. However, if you CAN'T make it to DragonDaze for some ungodly reason that I demand to know immediately, then never fear! Tinkerbot Games are giving away some FREE GLOW IN THE DARK DICE! All you need to do is sign up to receive them. That's it! You won't receive their regular newsletters unless you tick a box that chooses to (I would - it's pretty awesome!) and you can come and pick up your free dice directly from us at Rules of Play. So, what are you waiting for?! Go reserve your free glow in the dark dice. If you're local and can come collect, then tick that option and we'll have them waiting in store for you ASAP!

Board Game Bar! I know it's been half a week since your last Board Game Bar, but don't worry - not long 'til Monday! Come play games with us at Urban Tap House this Monday from 5-10pm for £3!

MTG Battle for Zendikar! Come do battle next Saturday & Sunday at our weekend pre-release! You'll play with the brand new set of cards a whole week before the commoners can. Muahaha!

Game Of The Week - Mafia de Cuba. It's 1955. You're in a restaurant in Havana, talkin' business wit' the boss. The phone rings and it's President Batista. The boss goes to talk to him - of course he does, it's polite. The boss is nuttin' if not polite. He leaves his precious cigar box on the table. While he's gone, something happens. You don't know what, exactly. Maybe you weren't lookin'. You missed it. Whatever. But suddenly, the hidden diamonds from the cigar box are missing. Nuttin' to do with you, of course, but they're gone. The boss comes back and realises. He flips his lid and goes nuts. He starts askin' questions, throwin' accusations, trying to figure out just where those precious diamonds went. Except now you start to realise things ain't exactly what they seem. Some of youse are bein' honest, and some of youse don't seem so clean - you hear whispers about someone being the CIA. On top of this, the boss has gotta decide who he trusts the least. Accusin' the wrong guy can lose you your honour, and that's a pretty big thing 'round here. Someone wins, someone loses, someone stole those diamonds - all I know is, it ain't me.

In the 6-12 player board game Mafia de Cuba, players must choose their roles wisely - you wanna be a wise guy, eh? A thief? Or worse still, a rat?! With one of the most beautifully designed boxes I've ever seen (complete with cigars, poker chip playing pieces and a drawstring bag full of little crystal diamonds), this is one game I'd steal and risk sleeping with the fishes!

New Releases / Restocks / Coming Soon!

New Releases Coming Next Week! Get everything a mayor could possibly need in the Machi Koro Deluxe Big Box! Includes base game, Harbor expansion, Millionaire's Row expansion, 2 sculpted dice and an exclusive drawstring bag!; plus get down with the bard in the Shakespeare board game!