Forget Bars -- Gathering Around Boardgames is Today's Social Mixer; National Games Week is Nov. 19-25

National Games Week is November 19-25, 2006. The site FunandBoardgames.com helps people connect with the best games to celebrate the holiday.

Concord, NH (PRWEB) November 16, 2006 -- Want to have fun with friends? Shell out 20 bucks each for tickets and tubs of popcorn and soda at the movies. Or go to a bar -- but what about the kids?

Or keep costs down, include everyone's kids in the fun, and have a great time by playing a boardgame. National Games Week (November 19-25) is the perfect time to start.

"The world of boardgames extends far beyond Monopoly and Trivial Pursuit," says W. Eric Martin, editor of the boardgame review site FunandBoardgames.com and writer for such magazines as GAMES and Knucklebones. "Hundreds of board and card games are published each year by companies in the U.S., Germany, France, Japan, and elsewhere."

The hottest trend now is European-style boardgames, which are notable for short playing times (generally 30 to 90 minutes), a lack of player elimination (unlike Risk and Monopoly), and reliance on strategy rather than die-rolling luck.

These aren't typical games: In Bohnanza, for example, players are farmers who grow and harvest different types of beans. Ticket to Ride, winner of the German Game of the Year award in 2004, requires players to claim routes and fulfill tickets by placing trains between American cities. And Carcassonne is a tile-laying game in which players build cities and settle them with "meeples" -- that is, miniature people tokens. "Even Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com are now selling Eurogames," says Martin.

Boardgames can fit every personality and interest. Science buff? Try Primordial Soup. Animal lover? Walk the Dogs will fit. If a player likes making business deals, they'll be sold on I'm the Boss and Take Stock.

To celebrate National Games Week, invite friends over to try out a new boardgame or two. On FunandBoardgames.com, players can search for games according to type (such as "push your luck" or "negotiation"), age range, number of players, and price. Choose a game that's appropriate for the least experienced or youngest player, serve finger foods for snacks, and learn the rules beforehand to explain them like a pro.

National Games Week (November 19-25, 2006) is an annual celebration of all forms of socially interactive games. In 2005, boardgame enthusiasts held 4,437 events with nearly 119,000 people playing together and having fun.

FunandBoardgames.com is a website that features daily game reviews, articles, and boardgame news. For more information, visit the site or contact W. Eric Martin via e-mail.

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