Unless you’ve been too wrapped up in World Cup fever, you’ve probably noticed there were a few news stories about E3 and all the new gaming options that are coming out in the near future.  One of these stories is the release of the Xbox Kinect (formerly Project Natal) and the Kinect series of games.

Kinect (pronounced: connect) is an auxiliary device for your Xbox that allows you to use your body as the controller in order to play games.  To drive a car you just put your hands out like they’re on a steering wheel.  To ride a skateboard, you stand sideways and lean back, forth, forward and backward.  You are literally part of the game.

So what is this fancy new tech device doing on a board game site?  Well, my friends, the Kinect has one other capability that has not been discussed all that much.  Kinect allows you to connect with other Xbox users and play games, chat, and interact with them in an almost Skype or Apple Facetime way.

This is where I see the Kinect really taking off in the future.  Not with body contortioning video games, but with the ability to play simpler interactive games with others.

Xbox Live and the games available therein have already been one of the drivers behind the system (think of playing Halo or Modern Warfare alone… I shudder at the thought.)  Now we can actually see and interact physically with our online friends, now we can play those games in person (sort of) and actually see and talk to them while doing so.

I foresee a time coming soon where I’ll be able to boot up my Xbox (when I buy one) load up a game of Tichu, Tobago, or Small World, and connect with Olivia if Florida, Dad in St. Louis, and my brother Mike in Mangalore, and play a round or two.  That connection and interaction, that ability to keep in touch with family and friends regardless of distance, that’s where Kinect will really shine.

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The Ticket to Ride World Championship will take place on June 19 in the Musée de la Carte à Jouer (Card Game Museum) in Issy-les-Moulineaux. The national champions will play several games on the various maps of Ticket to Ride – the best of them will then be declared Ticket to Ride World Champion and win a trip for two on the legendary Orient-Express!

The Tric Trac Team and Days of Wonder offer you the opportunity to follow this event live! The championship will be broadcasted on www.trictrac.tv and on our website, on the Ticket to Ride World Championship page.

Of course, if you prefer, you can also attend the Championship in the Musée de la Carte à Jouer. The champions need you to support them!

If you want to encourage your favorite champion, feel free to post a support message in our forum!

Source:  Days of Wonder

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Who wants a free iPad.  I know I do, and if you’re like me you might be able to win one.  Not from us this time, but from our good friends over at Days of Wonder Games.

OK, here are the details in quick form.  They’re going to give the iPad (pre-loaded with their Small World App) away to the winner of the 2,000,000th game on their online gaming area.  They’re already above 19,800,000 so if you’re not signed up with them yet, I strongly recommend you get over there quick.

If you’re not the winner of the 2millionth game, fear not.  The other players in that game each get an iPod Touch.  Alright, good luck to everyone, and get gaming.

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We thought it was cool when someone bought a few Games from Nazi Germany (because of the history.)  Now they’ve found a German game from World War I.  That’s just amazing.

Unterseekriegspiel, or Undersea War Game, is a turn based game in which U-Boat commanders have to attack and destroy British targets to soften them up for a German invasion.  Attacking ports, seaside installations, and shipping lanes, the game flows much like “Chutes and Ladders”

I have to admit I’d love to get my hands on this game, and according to the auction house’s site the expected price will fall between £400 and £600 ($582 and $873.)  A price I might be able to afford…if I didn’t have a car payment.

Since I’m not going to be able to buy it myself, I would like to get a game together with whomsoever does purchase the game.  I personally can’t read German that well (the language in which the instructions are printed) but I’m sure we can find a translator.

So, if you are the person who bought the game, you have the rules translated, and your in or visiting Phoenix, AZ, give me a call and we’ll get a game together.

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I just received an email from Matt over at North Star Games regarding the recent release of their new game Wits & Wagers Family.  Here’s the story from the press release:

Wits & Wagers Family takes the unique trivia-betting game play of Wits & Wagers and makes it more family-friendly.  The simplified, faster game-play and kid-friendly questions level the playing field, providing instant fun for all ages.

But all bets are off! Wits & Wagers Family introduces “Meeples.”  No mass-market type game has had meeples – until now.  Previously found in hobby oriented board games, meeples have been gaining in popularity as gaming pieces.  These cute wooden pieces serve as the perfect family-friendly replacement for the poker chips found in the classic Wits & Wagers game.

Lower price point, easier rules, no poker chips, no gambling, meeples, faster game play, and questions aimed at kids. Wits & Wagers Family has everything needed to bring the award winning Wits & Wagers experience to players of all ages.

It’s been awhile since I played the original Wits and Wagers so I’m not going to claim to be the greatest strategist.  I will say that this looks like an interesting twist on the game, and one that I would be likely to purchase for my cousins and their kids, if not for myself.

Have any of you played the updated version?  I have finally (I hope) fixed the comments, so please leave us some information if you have played.  What are your thoughts?  Is it good, bad, other?  Let us know below.

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After pooling all the comments, Twitter followers, emails, etc.  After trying (and failing) to figure out what the heck is going on with our comments (something I will fix, eventually) we have a winner for the “Ticket to Ride” giveaway.

Congratulations to @Howitzer_120mm from our Twitter followers.  Your name was drawn as the winner of the contest.  I’ve already sent you a Direct Message on Twitter to inform you of your winning, so if you haven’t already, please email me your information and I’ll mail out your new game.

Thanks you everyone who entered, and please look forward to future contests.  I do have a couple other games that I’m planning on giving away in the future, so keep checking back on the site for those and other board game news.

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Alright, I’ve gotten a few emails since yesterday about people not being able to comment.  I’ve tried to correct the issue on my end, and all my tests show that the comments are allowed.

I’ve tried logging out, using different browsers (IE7, IE8, Safari, Safari for iPhone, Konqueror, Firefox, and Google Chrome) and all my tests work.   I am able to leave a comment.

So, I’m not sure what’s going on.  You may have to hard refresh (CTRL + F5) to dump the cached pages, but I have a feeling that may not work.  Anyone out there know what else I might try on my end?

Alright, enough of that.  If you want to be entered into the contest do everything else I said, and instead of commenting on a post (unless you can) then go ahead and email me at mark@gamesoverboard.com.  I’ll enter you from there.

Thanks all!

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I’m not going to say that our first contest has gone perfectly, as that would be a huge lie.  We’ve had some successes, and we’ve had some errors, and we’ve had some moments where we pulled out some of the little hair left on our heads.

But I think that’s all been fixed now.  Well, at least you CAN leave a comment on our posts at least.  (Sorry about that folks and thanks, Vince, for bringing it to our attention.)

Yes, that’s right, due to a heinous and unforgivable error on my part (I forgot to save) we have not been able to take any comments on our posts.  So to make up for that egregious error, we’re extending the contest until Monday (5/17/10) to give everyone a fair amount of time.

Now that said, I want to make sure everyone gets the right amount of tickets, so if you do leave a comment and you’ve followed us on Twitter, make sure you leave your Twitter handle in the comment.

(Oh, and faithfeebee consider yourself entered, and thanks for following us.  We do have some more video reviews coming up in the future.)

Of course there have been some successes, in particular we loved the poem/diddy (I put it to song in my head) from Dennis:

Ticket to ride, I say it with pride
is a heck of a game, no need to frame
or screw with your friends, since this game ends
without any war and always in awe,
no confrontation, just gratification.

The giveaway so near, just grabbing a beer.
Relax and sit back, there’s a game in the sack.
Not Santa strings cord, no Games Overboard!!!!

So that’s where we stand for now.  I’ve got some more news coming out of the game-o-sphere tomorrow, and we’ll do at least one more update before the end of the contest on Monday.

Thanks, and please, leave a comment (now that you can) and we’ll get you entered.  For the rest of the rules and ways to enter, please see the original post on Our First Giveaway.

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Yes, you read that headline correctly.  We’re having a giveaway contest.  Here are the details.

We have a copy of Ticket to Ride (USA version) with the sixth player expansion that we’re going to give to one of our lucky readers.  Entering the contest is simple.  Just do one of three things by this Friday (5/14/10) and we’ll draw for the winner.

Here’s how to enter:

• Leave a comment on one of our posts.  You can comment on any of our previous articles, or tell us what you want to see from Games Overboard on this post.  We’re open to your suggestions, so let us know what you think.
• Follow and Reply to us on Twitter.  Say, “Hi,” tell us your thoughts, make a suggestion for a new article, or whatever else you want to say.  Just make sure to keep it under 140 characters.
• Write your own post for Games Overboard and email it to mark@gamesoverboard.com.  It can be about anything game related.*

That’s all you have to do and the game could be yours.  Oh, and in case you’re wondering, if you can have up to four entries in the drawing if you choose to do more than one of the above options.  That’s right, if you do all three we’ll give you a bonus entry into the drawing.

I’ll be drawing the winner this coming weekend, after I’ve had a chance to tally the results.  Good luck to everyone!

*Emailed articles will be considered only if you allow us the option to post them under a Creative Commons non-commercial, share-alike licence.  Works will be attributed to the authors, if posted, so please let us know you’re information so we can give you the compliments you deserve.

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We’ve all played the game “Mousetrap” at some point in our lives.  For me it was one of those games my friends had, but my parents never bought for me and my brothers.

A good thing too as, if I remember, we always had the problem that the darn thing never really lived up to the hype.  Well, someone has taken the frustration you and I felt as children and put that to song.

The song is a parody of the recent OK Go song “This Too Shall Pass” in which they created a rather large and complicated Rube Goldberg machine.  Their’s, however, did actually work.

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