Game Tables Make News

The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports on the growing popularity of board games, especially as reflected in current home furnishings style. Apparently game tables are all the rage these days. Now if only people would find the good games to play on them...

From Rags to... Rags

London's Independent offers up a business column about the invention of a board game, but one which acts as counterpoint to the typical "local boy makes good" pieces often featured in the business pages.

Behind the Scenes at Binary Arts

The Washington Post profiles Binary Arts in a revealing article discussing the company's history and philosophy. Binary Arts has produced dozens of high quality physical puzzles including Spin Out, Brick by Brick, and their biggest hit Rush Hour which has sold over three million copies.

NPR Reports on Mafia

NPR's Morning Edition aired a report on Mafia, better known in the gaming community as Werewolf. The report focuses on the psychology behind the game's popularity, with some ludicrous opinions offered: "This is a game that puts in a context of play the very anxieties that we struggle with daily as Americans and in America. Given the anxiety about where Al Qaida is for example amongst us, I think this game may well speak to the anxieties people are living with today." Or-- and I'm going out on a limb here-- it could just be fun.

Biggest Little Game Town in the World?

The Reno Gazette-Journal features a report about a Reno game group that plays European games. The players interviewed emphasize the social aspect of gaming, and the article provides a reasonable introduction to readers who might not know there's anything beyond Monopoly.

Mafia Crosses the Atlantic

London's Evening Standard reports on the Mafia craze that has taken over the New York literati and crossed the Atlantic into England. TGR readers may know the game better as Werewolf, but aside from the theme the game is the same. The article includes two sidebars: one offers the rules of the game while the other discusses the gaming preferences of the stars.

Seattle: Hotbed of Board Game Design?

The Seattle Times reports on a wave of board games designed in the Seattle area. The article focuses on Burn Rate, a card game inspired by the dot.com crash which has exceeded its creators' sales expectations.

Life's Rough for Small Game Publishers

The Christian Science Monitor offers an article about a small game publisher and her efforts to market her game about garage sales called Driveway Deals. The article discusses the difficulty in getting established game publishers to consider your game idea, and in getting retailers to stock an independently produced game.