Nature and Exploration

This weeks first topic is inspired by the World Wildlife Fund's #EarthHour and is all about games with a nature and environment theme. The second topic is all about exploration as both a theme and a mechanism. Come and

Hope you enjoy the board game chat :0)

Nature and Exploration Questions Will Include:

• What games are there about our natural environment / weather systems? 
• What games are good for learning about nature / the environment? 
• What natural environments lend them selves to the best art in your opinion? 
• Do you feel you are still exploring the board gaming hobby? 
• What feelings do you want an exploration game to generate in you? 
• What mechanisms do you feel games designers should explore more? 

If you have a question you would like me to ask the board game community, drop me a tweet  @BoardGameHour before we start and I'll see if I can add it in :0) 

Come and join in our chat

#BoardGameHour is simply an hour long twitter chat all about board games (tabletop games). To join in all you have to do is be on twitter and add #BoardGameHour to your tweets so everyone can see what you are saying :0)

#BoardGameHour Start Time
Monday 11am PST - USA west coast time
Monday 2pm EST - USA east coast time
Monday 7pm GMT - UK time
Monday 8pm CET - Germany
Tuesday 3am AWST - Western Australia
Tue 5am AEST - Eastern Australia

Making it easier to take part in!

I generally used to use Nurph to host http://nurph.com/BoardGameHour (providing its working) but every now and then it goes down and causes problems.

If this happens, I recommend using http://twubs.com/boardgamehour or http://tweetchat.com/room/boardgamehour or Tweet Deck or Hootsuite to follow the hashtag chat. Of course you can just use twitter but sometimes the amount of #boardgamehour tweets can be challenging to keep up with.

Hope you can make it!

Earth Hour Board Game Suggestions

Here at #BoardGameHour we are supporting the WWF’s #EarthHour on Saturday, March 25th at 8;30pm (GMT). It is an annual global celebration where people switch off their lights for one hour to show they care about the future of our planet.
What.
What better opportunity to turn off the power and play board games by candle light. Here are some suggestions of what you could play during #EarthHour:



Animal upon Animal is a fun little dexterity game. Each turn a player rolls the die and either places one or two animals on to the stack of animals, passes one of his or her animals to another player for them to place, or places an animal on the table, extending the base for other players to build upon. Of course, if any pieces fall off whilst you are building, you get up to two of them back. The first player to have used all of their animals wins.

CO₂ is a much heaver game which has a strong environmental message. In the game CO₂, each player is the CEO of an energy company responding to government requests for new, green power plants. The goal is to stop the increase of pollution, while meeting the rising demand for sustainable energy — and of course profiting from doing so. You will need enough expertise, money, and resources to build these clean power plants. Energy summits will promote global awareness, and allow companies to share a little of their expertise, while learning still more from others.

In CO₂, each region starts with a certain number of Carbon Emissions Permits (CEPs) at its disposal. These CEPs are granted by the United Nations, and they must be spent whenever the region needs to install the energy infrastructure for a project, or to construct a fossil fuel power plant. CEPs can be bought and sold on a market, and their price fluctuates throughout the game. You will want to try to maintain control over the CEPs.

Money, CEPs, Green Power Plants that you've built, UN Goals you've completed, Company Goals you've met, and Expertise you've gained all give you Victory Points (VPs), which represent your Company's reputation – and having the best reputation is the goal of the game ... in addition to saving the planet, of course.

Rhino Hero is another dexterity game that the whole family can enjoy. Players each start the game with five roof cards, and they take turns adding walls and roofs to a single building. On a turn, you first place walls on the highest floor, then you choose a roof card in your hand and place it on the wall. Each roof card bears markings that indicate where the next player must place walls on the card. In addition, some roof cards force a player to perform special actions, such as placing a second roof, changing the direction of play, or moving Super Rhino to a new location on the tower. Keep your hands steady!

The first player to build all of his roof cards wins the game

Evolution is one of my favorite games of all time. In Evolution, players adapt their species in a dynamic ecosystem where food is scarce and predators lurk. Traits like Hard Shell and Horns will protect your species from Carnivores, while a Long Neck will help them get food that others cannot reach. With over 4,000 ways to evolve your species, every game becomes a different adventure.

Evolution packs a surprising amount of variety for a game with simple rules. The variety comes from the synergies between the trait cards and from the different personalities at the table. Some players thrive on creating Carnivores to wreak havoc on their fellow players. Others prefer to stay protected and mind their own business. Evolution encourages both play styles by giving each of them multiple paths to victory. And it is the mix of play styles at the table that ultimately determines the ecosystem in which the players are adapting. So gather your friends and see who can best adapt to the changing world around them.

Important but fun
This event shows that we can all make a difference but have a good time while doing it! All of these games are top notch, you might not like all of them but you will like one of them so why not join in with #EarthHour by making it a #BoardGameHour too! Check it out here: https://www.wwf.org.uk/earthhour/what-is-earth-hour

Aliens & Narrative

This weeks first topic for our chat is about board / card games that have Aliens in the theme. This will lead onto a chat about Narrative in board games.

Hope you enjoy the board game chat :0)

Under Water and Area Control Questions Will Include:

• If you were going to design a game with aliens in it, what would it be about?
• What mechanisms can generate an interesting narrative?
• What tips would you give to a designer working on game were they want a strong narrative?

If you have a question you would like me to ask the board game community, drop me a tweet  @BoardGameHour before we start and I'll see if I can add it in :0) 

Come and join in our chat

#BoardGameHour is simply an hour long twitter chat all about board games (tabletop games). To join in all you have to do is be on twitter and add #BoardGameHour to your tweets so everyone can see what you are saying :0)

#BoardGameHour Start Time
Monday 11am PST - USA west coast time
Monday 2pm EST - USA east coast time
Monday 7pm GMT - UK time
Monday 8pm CET - Germany
Tuesday 3am AWST - Western Australia
Tue 5am AEST - Eastern Australia

Making it easier to take part in!

I generally used to use Nurph to host http://nurph.com/BoardGameHour (providing its working) but every now and then it goes down and causes problems.

If this happens, I recommend using http://twubs.com/boardgamehour or http://tweetchat.com/room/boardgamehour or Tweet Deck or Hootsuite to follow the hashtag chat. Of course you can just use twitter but sometimes the amount of #boardgamehour tweets can be challenging to keep up with.

Hope you can make it!

Under Water and Area Control

Some times you just want to make a splash and take control of the situation! Today our topics are about games set under water and games with an area control mechanism.

Hope you enjoy the board game chat :0)

Under Water and Area Control Questions Will Include:

• What is the best board / card game with an underwater theme?
• Are there any tabletop games you can plan in water (Swimming pool, bath)? 
• What themes would you like to see a game with area control made about?

If you have a question you would like me to ask the board game community, drop me a tweet  @BoardGameHour before we start and I'll see if I can add it in :0) 

Come and join in our chat

#BoardGameHour is simply an hour long twitter chat all about board games (tabletop games). To join in all you have to do is be on twitter and add #BoardGameHour to your tweets so everyone can see what you are saying :0)

#BoardGameHour Start Time
Monday 11am PST - USA west coast time
Monday 2pm EST - USA east coast time
Monday 7pm GMT - UK time
Monday 8pm CET - Germany
Tuesday 3am AWST - Western Australia
Tue 5am AEST - Eastern Australia

Making it easier to take part in!

I generally used to use Nurph to host http://nurph.com/BoardGameHour (providing its working) but every now and then it goes down and causes problems.

If this happens, I recommend using http://twubs.com/boardgamehour or http://tweetchat.com/room/boardgamehour or Tweet Deck or Hootsuite to follow the hashtag chat. Of course you can just use twitter but sometimes the amount of #boardgamehour tweets can be challenging to keep up with.

Hope you can make it!

Giants and The Rondel Mechanism

Our topics today are big and round!

Who doesn't love a story with a giant in it? Clearly the answer is nobody, but do you like board games with giants in them? Are there enough? Will this be the biggest board game topic in years?

If you take part in #BoardGameHour, you must be a smart (and probably physically attractive person) but have you heard of the Rondel Mechanism? If you have, come and chat about it... If you have not, come along and enter a world of round decision making :0)



Hope you enjoy the board game chat :0)

Giants and The Rondel Mechanism Questions Will Include:

• Who are the "Giants" of the board gaming world in your eyes?
• Which are the best board / card games about being a Giant?
• What tips would you give to a designer working on a Giant themed game?
• How would you describe the Rondel Mechanism to gamers who have not heard of it?
• What is your favorite game with a Rondel as the main mechanism? Why is it good?

If you have a question you would like me to ask the board game community, drop me a tweet  @BoardGameHour before we start and I'll see if I can add it in :0) 

Come and join in our chat

#BoardGameHour is simply an hour long twitter chat all about board games (tabletop games). To join in all you have to do is be on twitter and add #BoardGameHour to your tweets so everyone can see what you are saying :0)

#BoardGameHour Start Time
Monday 11am PST - USA west coast time
Monday 2pm EST - USA east coast time
Monday 7pm GMT - UK time
Monday 8pm CET - Germany
Tuesday 3am AWST - Western Australia
Tue 5am AEST - Eastern Australia

Making it easier to take part in!

I generally used to use Nurph to host http://nurph.com/BoardGameHour (providing its working) but every now and then it goes down and causes problems.

If this happens, I recommend using http://twubs.com/boardgamehour or http://tweetchat.com/room/boardgamehour or Tweet Deck or Hootsuite to follow the hashtag chat. Of course you can just use twitter but sometimes the amount of #boardgamehour tweets can be challenging to keep up with.

Hope you can make it!