I can think of some better updates....

...that might actually improve the game. But go ahead, if you want, and take the Facebook poll. Decide the next Monopoly piece that you will eventually be able to throw across the room in anger and frustration.
 

The battle of the bands...

That is, RUBBER bands. Remember how much fun it was to shoot elastic bands in elementary school? Well, this new game Battle Bands is looking to revive that bad habit and add some cool customization to the game. And to top it off the elastics are shaped like really friggin' cool monsters!!!

Each different creature comes with a corresponding element and description card adding some depth to the simple game of shooting elastics at other elastics.  Certain colours beat other colours immediately, otherwise the creature with the highest strength wins.

Having received this game in the mail, I must say at first I didn't think I was the target audience...  But having opened it up now, you can't help wanting to play with the colourful elastic characters.  I'm looking forward to playing this with my 6-year-old nephew when I get back home at Christmas.  Although the 37-year-old I live with looked pretty excited when I opened up the box.  Maybe we'll try it before then.

For more info you can check out their website here.

Gigamic rules!

Recently acquired Marrakech (in fact, just twelve days ago) as I just couldn't resist the actual felt carpets and the wooden Assam piece with his cute little red fez hat. Frustratingly, it came missing one of the yellow carpets. So after an email by me, I got a quick message back guaranteeing a little yellow carpet in the mail and complimenting me on this here bloggy thingy. Lovely.

Today the missing piece arrived in the mail at no cost to me, which I think is impressive given that Gigamic is a game company in France. They must have sent it on a magic carpet....

RELATED: Marrakech is just a delightful little game - very tactile, quick, and a little bit nasty. A review is on its way after another play or two.

Best-looking game of 2010 so far...

Got my hands on a copy of Gonzaga after hearing the publishers claim it to be kinda like Ticket To Ride. There are some surface similarities but after one play, it's a very different game. With only one 3-player game under our belts, I will try to hold off on commenting for now, even though everyone seemed to really like it. I will make two observations, though: I think it's probably best with 4 people and, damn, it's sure worth the 40 bucks I coughed up!