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December 2, 2009

http://detnews.com/article/20091202/ENT05/912020305
Favorite board games get makeovers
Some old-fashioned favorites are getting high-tech makeovers and popular tie-ins
URSULA WATSON The Detroit News Remember wiling away the hours with family or friends while engaged in a pleasant or heated game of Scrabble, Monopoly or Candy Land? There were the looks on the children's faces when they accomplished something new or the cries of "You can't do that!" -- usually followed by blood-drawing shots to the head with game pieces. Sigh. What ever happened to such good, old-fashioned board games? Well, they got a makeover. While board games remain a source of entertainment and an affordable alternative to high-tech toys, video games and evenings out, they now also manage to appeal to tech-savvy consumers by featuring the hottest movie or animated personalities, sound effects, slick packaging and computerized and electronic-laden editions. Take Monopoly for example. Rather than using multi-colored paper money, many of the games now have credit cards and use a digital banking device that keeps track of players' balances. Although tricked-out video games remain popular, toy historian Tim Walsh says there has been an uptick in board game purchases. Video game sales have dropped 29 percent and sales of Web-connected toys, like Webkinz, decreased 43 percent; but board game purchases, Walsh says, roses 10 percent in the first half of 2009. The inventor of games such as "Blurt" and "TriBond" says the trend can be connected to the less-than-robust economy. "It is about tight wallets -- people doing the whole staycations and discovering those games in their closets again," says Walsh. "Monopoly came out during the Great Depression," he says. "It allowed people to buy hotels and handle money and took hours to play." He says the card game Uno, created in 1971, became popular during the 1973 gas crisis. And Pictionary sold 3 million copies in 1987 and 9 million in 1988 during the recession of the late '80s. Board game enthusiast Edward Chusid says he plays what he calls Euro, or German-style board games, at least once a month with friends. So the Ann Arbor resident isn't surprised people are buying board games over video games. "Family games usually retail for around $20 or so in toy stores and can provide several hours of fun," he says. Video games, on the other hand, usually cost far more and are one- or two-player games. Still, Chusid says, "More 'hobbyist' games can run from $40 to $60 per game, making them on par as an entertainment source with video games or a low-budget night out with friends."

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Regardless of how advanced video games become, board games will comfortably coexist because they provide something that videos don't -- face-to-face interaction, says Walsh, author of "Timeless Toys: Classic Toys and the Playmakers Who Created Them." "There has been an Internet backlash," he says. "Social networks connect you to everybody, but are we close to anybody? Truly interactive games are traditional board games." Chusid agrees. "Coupled with a dinner in or a rental video, a board game night can provide a family with a good experience and a chance to bond over friendly or semi-friendly competition." Denise Catt, who once was head of a Scrabble club in Farmington, says board games spell family time, especially around the holidays. The Brighton resident says she would play Monopoly with her children every night. And those children, now adults with children, have shelves of board games in their homes. While her grandsons love video games, she says board games leave a lasting impression. "Board games are about interaction with each other. With video games you just stare at the TV," she says. "The kids remember the times of playing board games with you more so than playing a video game." Does the inclusion of all the newfangled bells and whistles that many board games now flaunt take away from the appeal of board games? "No actually, not at all," says Chusid. "The movement to include electronic features into games can actually facilitate people playing the game," he says. "One of the ways in which the hobby will hopefully survive in the future is to continue to provide games that offer complex strategy while also reducing the amount of tedious bookkeeping. Also, in both cases, it helps cut down on cheating." Candy Land Description: The game teaches children color recognition and matching, as well as how to take turns and how to be a gracious winner or loser. Update: New editions feature the animated starlet Dora the Explorer and that honey-loving bear Winnie the Pooh. Ages: 3 and older Chutes and Ladders Description: A game of rewards and consequences. As children travel along the game path, they encounter situations that reward them for good deeds by letting them climb the ladders or punish them for misbehaving by sending them down chutes. They also learn how to recognize numbers and count to 100. Update: Other editions of the game are themed with Dora the Explorer or Super Hero Squad. Ages: 3 and older Clue: Secrets and Spies Description: Who needs Bond, James Bond? Become the world's ultimate international spy bent on foiling the diabolical schemes of Agent Black. Complete missions and attend secret meetings. Good old Clue, featuring six of the original Clue suspects -- Miss Scarlet, Mrs. White, Mrs. Peacock, Colonel Mustard, Professor Plum

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and the Rev. Green. Update: Players can receive Spy Texts to their cell phone. Other editions of Clue include: "Harry Potter" edition. Clue is also available for the iPhone/iPod Touch. Ages: 9 and older Electronic Battleship Advanced Mission Description: You're the commander of your fleet. Strategize and lead your troops to victory by calling out your coordinates and marking your hits and misses. Destroy your opponent's fleet before they destroy yours. Update: Sink all your enemy's battleships in style. The electronic naval combat game now has a cool laptop design. Also features special weapons, radar, search planes, battle sounds and voice commands. The more classic versions of Battleship are still available and compact travel size versions such as Battleship: Pocket Pogo and Pocket Pogo Touch Screen games. Ages: 8 and older Jishaku Description: Jishaku means magnet in Japanese. The game includes polished hematite magnets as playing pieces and the goal is to place magnets onto the game base without letting any magnets connect. Easy? Nope! All magnets have north and south poles that aren't marked. Players must learn to use the magnetic force in their favor, repelling the magnets closest to them without forcing them into other magnets. Update: Hey, it's a new game! Ages: 8 and older The Game of Life Description: Spin the wheel of fate. Do good deeds to earn Life Tiles and money. Update: It is available for iPhone/iPod Touch There are also high-tech versions such as The Game of Life PC Game and The Game of Life: Path of Success PC Game; both include CD-ROM software, while The Game of Life: Twists and Turns has and Automated LIFEPod, which helps players track time and manage money, houses, cars and family matters with the push of a button. Other editions include Bikini Bottom SpongeBob SquarePants and The Simpsons. Ages: 9 and older Monopoly: Here and Now: The World Edition Description: Be a global mega-property developer and forget the Boardwalk. Wheel and deal in various cities on six continents and rake in the millions. Update: Flaunt your Monopoly credit card and use a digital banking device that keeps track of your balance. No paper money! Monopoly is available on iPhone and iPod Touch or other smart phones. There are also 3-D Monopoly games. Ages: 8 and older Operation Silly Skill Game

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Description: Cavity Sam is in bad shape as usual, and only your skillful surgical abilities and keen eyes can save him. Update: The game includes sound effects, such as bells, burps and barks and a voice will tell you what to grab next. Press Sam's big red nose to find out if the operation was successful. There's also an Operation Rescue Kit that features five aliments, such as texting thumb and joystick wrist. Look for the Sponge Bob edition. Ages: 6 and older Sorry! Description: Described as the game of sweet revenge, the object is to bump, slide and switch until somebody gets all the way home. And of course you want that somebody to be you. Update: There are several editions of the game such as Sorry! Spider-Man 3 and Sorry! SpongeBob SquarePants. Ages: 6 and older Trivial Pursuit Digital Choice Description: This is your chance to prove that you really do know it all. Answer questions correctly and get around the track. Update: Includes an electronic unit containing 600 pre-loaded questions. Download up to 1,800 questions of your choice at no additional charge. There is also version of Trivial Pursuit for Wii, Playstation 2 and 3, Xbox 360, and for the iPod. Ages: Adult Source: http://www.hasbro.com/">www.hasbro.com and http://www.playjishaku.com/">www.playjishaku.com

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