Smith's Gameology 101

My inner geek is flipping out with excitement! The wonderful Mr Taylor from SHHS TAS has laser-cut an ancient board game bringing it back to life for us to enjoy. 

The Royal Game of Ur is a two-player strategy race board game first played in ancient Mesopotamia during the early third millennium BC. At the height of its popularity, the game acquired spiritual significance, and events in the game were believed to reflect a player's future and convey messages from deities or other supernatural beings... look out!

Read the rules here or watch a video explanation here on Youtube.

Winner of the Spiel Des Jahres back in 2018, Azul is a game that has quickly gained a high reputation in the board game industry. It takes a lot to be rated as one of the best 50 games of all time on Board Game Geek... 

Read the rules of Azul by clicking here.

When you have access to Youtube, you can also watch this video for a quick intro to the gameplay: https://youtu.be/byHjDCxF5WU

If you love chess, you will probably love this. If you do not love chess, you will probably love this... to be honest, I just can't imagine anyone not loving this game.

"Hive is an award-winning board game with a difference. There is no board. The pieces are added to the playing area thus creating the board. As more and more pieces are added the game becomes a fight to see who can be the first to capture the opposing Queen Bee..."  

Read the rules of Hive by clicking here.

When you have access to Youtube, you can also watch this video for a quick intro to the gameplay: https://youtu.be/r8NUP0ievuo

Forbidden Island is a cooperative board game -basically you all win as a team, or you all lose as a team. This makes for a fun collaborative team experience. It's really important to work together, discuss and agree on strategy. Two to four players take the roles of different adventurers, moving around a mysterious island, looking for hidden treasures as the island sinks around them. All players win if they find all the hidden treasures and they all make it back to the helicopter and fly away, and they all lose if they cannot.

Forbidden Island is a winner of the Mensa Select prize for games that are great for your brain (and fun).

Read the rules of Forbidden Island by clicking here.

When you have access to Youtube, you can also watch this video for a quick intro to the gameplay: https://youtu.be/MtFk2B7mY-k

Give your team one-word coded clues, trying to identify specific image cards... the more cards you can link with one word, the closer you are to winning. 

This is just seriously such a great game. It's quick to learn, so sooo soooo fun and it is basically a brain training exercise to increase your ability to think laterally and creatively.

Read the rules of Codenames Pictures by clicking here.

When you have access to Youtube, you can also watch this video for a quick intro to the gameplay: https://youtu.be/kJIfzRamTEQ

'A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words'

For all of you imaginative, story tellers and visual people, this is a happy place! And for anyone who wants to build their visual skills, your ability to infer meaning from images and just plain trick your friends with your clues and cleverness... this is fun.

Dixit is a unique game. It is an illustrated game of creative guesswork. Dixit is about being able to balance. Not literally, but balance what you say between the obvious and the obscure. Master giving clues that are believable with a hint of scepticism. You need to be able to be convincing but questionable. Clear but not clear?

Read the rules of Dixit by clicking here.

When you have access to Youtube, you can also watch this video for a quick intro to the gameplay: https://youtu.be/wQkpfe1ffOQ