Cat and Mouse Game Store

February 6, 2008

Age of Steam Coming Soon

Last Tuesday I had the opportunity to play a pre-release copy of Age of Steam (AoS), which we'll have for sale in a week or two. AoS is the classic train game created by Martin Wallace and originally published in 2002. Its high ranking on BoardGameGeek and the huge number of expansions that have been produced are both testaments to its popularity. The new edition by Eagle Games is beautifully produced and includes two expansion maps that were previously produced separately by Bezier Games.

I was playing the game with Ben and Greg, (my go-to guy for train games ever since he offered to teach me Empire Builder) and I wasn't disappointed. Actually, I take that back. I was disappointed after the first game, which ended after a single turn during which Ben and I both promptly went bankrupt. (Friends had told me the game was brutal, but sheesh!) The second game went better, with all of us competing to build tracks and deliver goods across the Midwest. For a while it was touch-and-go for Greg as he teetered toward bankruptcy on multiple occasions, but he had some good turns late in the game and managed to pull through. In the end Ben trounced us both, and I'm taking my loss in stride by attributing it partly to the fact that he's a civil engineer - surely that gave him some sort of advantage! All in all, I'm really looking forward to playing Age of Steam again and give it a big thumbs up. Any fan of train or economic games should definitely hop on board for a ride!

Other future releases to watch for:

Formula D Chicago expansion track (Asmodee - Feb 2009)
Dominion: Intrigue (Rio Grande - May 2009)
Bonnie & Clyde (Rio Grande - March 2009)
Big Box Carcassonne (Rio Grande - March 2009)
Race for the Galaxy: Revel vs. Imperium (Rio Grande - April 2009)
Smallworld (Days of Wonder - May 2009)
Zombiegeddon! (Twilight Creations - Feb 2009)

Recent Reviews

Shannon Applecline reviews Carpe Astra, a "brain-burning game of placements and majorities."
Here's a great review of Galaxy Trucker: The Big Expansion.
We love this detailed pictorial review of 2 de Mayo, in which the reviewer says "it's a cat-and-mouse game that is soaked with theme, full of tension, and plays quickly....a terrific two player game, oozing historical theme, and if you enjoy Scotland Yard, you certainly should give it a try."

Games on the Lighter Side

We're always on the lookout for new and interesting party games, and here are a few that we've recently added to the shelves.

Curses - Curse cards are played on other players which force them to continually perform certain actions, such as barking like a dog whenever the player to the right reads a card or hold on to the card with both hands at all times. If another player notices that you are not performing your action, you "break the curse" and turn it face down in front of you. This is a hilarious game for people who don't mind acting like complete idiots!
The T-Shirt Game - Create your own T-shirt by matching ridiculous slogans to outrageous images. To create these laughable masterpieces, the judge plays a T-Shirt Card, while everyone else throws in the best Slogan Card. Listed as a "Top Ten Cool Games" in the Chicago tribune last December.
You've Been Sentenced - This is a word game that seems a bit dry at first (you have 10 5-sided word cards that you use to build sentences) but proves to be challenging, creative and fun!
Consensus - We tested this out at a recent party and it was a big hit. It's similar to Apples to Apples, but instead of points being awarded by a single judge, everyone is a judge and players advance only if they hold the majority opinion. The whole idea of consensus sometimes rubs people the wrong way (no one likes to think they're a sheep!) but laughter and fun rule in the end.

Bunches of Brainteasers!

Well, we're continuing to re-stock after Christmas and bringing in lots of fun new products, such as the 4X4 and 5X5 Rubik's cubes. We've also added a nice collection of brainteasers and magnetic puzzles from Popular Playthings that are great for ages 3-12. Our favorite is Hedgehog Escape, where the challenge is to roll a bundle of hedgehogs off of a field without running over any of the pesky badgers that are in the way. If you're a fan of the ThinkFun brainteasers, you'll definitely want to check these out!

We've also been re-stocking our book selection, and have lots of great new titles that will keep puzzlers of all ages busy. Here are a few of our favorites: