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Where Do You Get All These Games? An Introduction to Contemporary Board and Card Games by Mike Petty Part IV: Where Can I Learn More? Well, if you've read the first three articles in this series (Part I, Part II and Part III), then you've learned there's a whole new world of games out there waiting to be discovered! There also happens to be a large online community of gamers who love these games. Here are just a few sites that will provide you with tons of information on these games, many times even before they're released! Fair Play Games - I figured I should get the obvious site out of the way first! Fair Play Games carries all of the great games mentioned in these articles. New games are added weekly, so just by visiting the site you can learn what's available and what's coming out in the near future. There are helpful lists at the site, such as the current best sellers, all-time best sellers and the "Fair Play Favorites". Furthermore, Fair Play sends out a newsletter just about every two weeks. It has details on new games, lists of recent additions to the Fair Play catalog and other short articles, mostly written by yours truly, featuring everything from our gaming exploits to free games. The Boardgame Geek - This large database was started in 2000. I recommend it as the single best place on the internet to learn about these games I've featured here, as well as just about any board and card game made in the last century! Seriously, it's the best place to start if you're considering any game purchase. You can find user reviews, ratings from others who have played the games, files to help you learn the games, English translations, discussion forums and plenty of pictures. And in case you didn't notice, we link to "the geek" on each game page at the Fair Play site. One warning: Once you get started browsing that site you could be there for days! The Games Journal - This monthly online magazine features articles and game reviews. Now that it's been going for about four years, there is a wealth of information available in the archives. Some of the information from this article was gleaned from those many pages. I check out the Journal the first day of every month, anxiously awaiting the newest issue. If the information in my brief articles here has piqued your interest, go to this site for tons more of the same. Spielfrieks - In case the name is confusing, "spiel" is the German word for game. Spielfrieks is a Yahoo! discussion group devoted to TGOO ("these games of ours"). If you're serious about getting into the hobby, you'll want to follow the many threads about what's hot, what's junk and whatever else these game lovers decide to discuss. And don't hesitate to post a message to this group in hopes of finding gamers or active game groups in your vicinity! And that concludes the four-part series on these wonderful new games. I'm always glad to help more people discover this entertaining pastime that brings people together and makes memories. If you have other questions as you look further into the games here at Fair Play or elsewhere, please don't hesitate to contact me at mapetty@newworldgames.com. I'll be glad to hear from you. Other articles in the series "Where Do You Get All These Games?" |