Boardgames galore!

To many people, the word 'boardgame' usually brings up the image of a Monopoly board in their mind. This is actually quite an achievement of Hasbro's. They have indirectly managed to monopolize people's *idea* of what a boardgame is. They now control Wizards of the Coast too, but that's another story.

Enter the euro boardgames. People whom I try to introduce these games to usually ask me why is that I am so passionate about boardgames which most people do not even know the name of?

1. They are mighty fun! There are dexterity games [Villa Paletti], matching games [Blink], building games [Puerto Rico], area control games [Carcassone], brain burning games [Logistico], abstract games [Blokus], party games [Jungle Speed], negotiation games [Diplomacy], fantasy games [Runebound], rolepaying games [House of the Hill], auction games [Modern Art], filler games [Holiday!], and many, many more. Plenty of people who has tried a few of these games would come back for more. There are enough variety to suit almost everybody's needs (well, some people just don't dig boardgames at all, and I respect people's preferences). In fact, I think I have not played the same game more than 10 times so far, except for Settlers of Cattan (that was the only one available like 4-5 years ago).

2. Thinking large, I would like to think that I am helping to 'break' this mindset of what people think a 'Boardgame' is. When I say I play boardgames, I want people to ask: "Which ones?" instead of: "You play Monopoly?" or "Is that like Mahjong?".

Now, where to buy these wonderful games? As far as I know, there is only one store that carries a wide variety in Singapore. [Paradigm Infinitum]. However, Singapore is viewed as a small market in this niche entertainment and the suppliers do not really put us in high priority for shipment. (Translation: once current stocks are sold out, you'll have to wait quite a while for new ones to arrive.) It is better to go there when you already roughly know what you want to buy. The staff are quite knowledgeable about how the games works, but as there are literally hundreds of them, you can't really expect them to know all (especially since they do not get to play wrapped items, and new releases.)

How about if you are totally clueless about these games? Fear not. All you got to do is drop by Settlers Cafe with some friends and try out the games. I would regommend going as pairs or groups of 4-5. There are not many 3 or 6 player boardgames. The one in Clarke Quay currently has a better boardgame library. Low on cash? Signup with Singapore boardgamers meetup group (for free!) and join us for games twice a month at very affordable rates. Details are in the website, and do RSVP as slots are limited. You can also read about them in Boardgame Geeks. (I would say that actually playing is a lot more informative though.)

To be fair, there are also at least 2 other game cafes that I am aware of.
The Mind Cafe
Pitstop Cafe
So you could shop around. I have never been to these other two cafes, so I cannot comment on them.

Disclaimer: I *do not* work for any of the above mentioned establishment. (Although I kind of wish I am ^^.)