94: A Real Page Turner Release Date: Jan. 18, 2010 Running Time:  115 min. Listen Now: Download: Enhanced Version - MP3 Version Subscribe via iTunes: Enhanced - MP3 See sidebar for other subscription options

Tome sweet tome. We travel the lands of Valdora, a board game where the roads are filled with gems and patrons and the cities guard giant wooden books.

News & Notes: Pillars of the Earth: Builder's Duel, The Game Makers
The List: Valdora
Table Talk:  NHL Ice Breaker
Truckloads of Goober:  El Dorado
Scribbler:  Winner of the Essen Goody Bag announced
Mail Bag:  Holiday haul, game-related tattoos

Complete Show Notes continue after the break.

 News & Notes

Pillars of the Earth: Builder's Duel   Kosmos | BGG

England in the 12th Century. The players slip into the roles of Prior Philip and Bishop Waleran.
Philip wants to build the most beautiful cathedral in England. Waleranplans to build a powerful castle.  Both players must erect their building as fast as possible. They just procure the raw materials and convert them to the needed building materials. They must form powerful alliances and emerge victorious from many conflicts. Whoever erects their building first will be the winner.

The Game Makers: The Story of Parker Brothers from Tiddley Winks to Trivial Pursuit  by Philip E. Orbanes Link

This book chronicles Parker Brothers from its birth through its early successes (including Pit, a card game invented by Edgar Cayce), its subsequent lean years, and its transition into pop-culture icon. Most of us know Parker Brothers as the company that makes Monopoly (created seven decades ago), but Orbanes lets us know it's much more than that; for example, George Parker was the guy who brought Ping-Pong to the U.S.

The List

Valdora Official Site | BGG

Travel the land of Valdora buying equipment and seeking out commissions from great books in the cities. Deliver the right combination of gems to the noble houses to score points and collect craftsmen and workshops. Clever wooden books with cards as pages add a great element of enjoyment and beauty to the game.

Table Talk

NHL Ice Breaker  Official Site | BGG 

Battle for the puck by forming the best poker hand. Multi-purpose cards give that game nice balance of speed and strategy.

Truckloads of Goober

Eldorado  BGG 

A game about gold prospecting with giant working balance scales!

The Game Sommelier

Dave's new challenge: 5 games that can be made of food and still be playable

Inspired by the 100 Game Cupcake Game.

Donors

Thanks to the following donors/subscribers:

Mark “The Vizier”  Weaver

Scotty “Knucklebones” Dickey

Jeffrey “Mayor of Catan” Myers 

Jefferson “Catastrophe Tile” Ridpath

Christopher “Mr. Indigo” Ross

Susan “Pearl Diver” McKinley Ross

Robert “The Guild Master” Wilson

Bill “Hunt Leader” Bauer

Mail Bag

Thanks to Casey Vise and Bay Chang for sending Dave sets of musical dice and the game Muzundrum. Dave can't wait to give this one a go!

Miscellany

Music credits (courtesy of Ioda Promonet) include:

"Open Book" by Big Walker - buy the track

"Picture Book" by Myka Nyne - buy the track

"Book of Dreams" by Joe Pacino, Vanessa - buy the track

"The Black Page" by Meridian Arts Ensemble - buy the track

"Paper Plane" by Natural Selection - buy the track

"Paperhouse" by The Pikes - buy the track

Errata

I'm sure there are some goofs in there somewhere. Let us know if (when?) you find one!