Board Games Books

Looking for a complete set of this game in good condition. Books and cards! Please comment if you have a set and we will talk price!

A new version of the Marvel Super Heroes game. This is where it gets annoying for the licenced properties and game thing, someone else gets it an does a completely new game.

One thing that was so great about the FASERIP version was the decade of support and heaps of stuff.

Planned obsolescence to sell new stuff is not fun, but the card mechanic here is interesitng.

Wake up Magic the Gathering. This game is not compatable with the internet. It uses an old card style system. The older system was and still is the Best system for the internet. Since, it used a 100 dice system. The even though the older system was written for the 80's it is very compatable with a lot of chat programs in the late 90's and 2000.

Same thing with that Star Wars 6d system too. Magic the Gathering destoryed that system too. Even I can write or design a better game system.

The original role-playing game based on the Marvel universe was one of my favorites throughout the 80's and early 90's. The system was such that play was never bogged down with complex rules, which allowed the action and fun to flow naturally.

When this new Marvel game was released, I decided to give it a try. I rounded up some of my friends and former players, and sat down to dive in. We were utterly disappointed.

The SAGA system, which uses cards instead of dice, is an interesting idea, but often hard to swallow for experienced role-players. The game seemed to still maintain its emphasis on fast flowing action, but was not on par with the original (now out of print) game.

If you played the original, I suspect you will not embrace the SAGA incarnation. However, if you have never played the older version and can't manage to pick up a used copy, then you may want to give it a try.

If all else fails, you can always place it on Amazon auctions, right there next to the copy I bought.

A somewhat fast-paced role-playing system. It uses a deck of cards instead of dice, which makes an interesting change of pace. Another interesting quirk is that the gamemaster/narrator doesn't...well, _do_ anything. If an opponent/non-player character tries to hit your player, your _player_ makes the determination of success or not (by dodging). Kinda interesting in that it lets the gamemaster worry more about the story then endless die-rolling.

Despite several explanations and re-explanations, there are some parts of the rules that are still kinda vague. As someone else noted, character stats are rather...thin. Presumably the nice quality deck of 96 or so cards boosts the price up, but hey, I've seen it in bargain bins for much less (the game is out of print).

Basically, it's a nice "fast" game to pick up, and you won't have to spend a lot of time explaining to folks. Like the original TSR Marvel SuperHeroes RPG, it's fast-starting and players should catch on to it pretty quick.

we got this as a gift when our son was born and he took interest to it around 18 months. he eventually memorized all the animals and could recite the entire book by heart. he would say the animal on the next page before turning it. it was so cute. at 2 1/2 yrs old, he still loves this book. this is a great learning tool and teaches children about mom/child relationships and the word "yes." we all love most of e. carle's books.

My preschoolers adore this book, and I love that the repetitive language allows them to memorize it and "read" it to themselves.

I like this book beacuse it gives my 2 year-old son lots of practice saying, "yes" instead of his usual "no." AFter we read the book, we use the pattern established in the story to ask each other about other animals not featured in the book. For example, "does a cat have a mother too?" "Yes!"

This was the very first book I read to my son after he was born. I got it as a gift in the hospital. Ever since then he seeks this book out for me to read to him. Its the only book he will sit all the way through. He loves the pictures. Yes, its very repetive, but thats the whole point of the book. Its great right before bed or right after a nap, because its so soothing.

I agree with recent reviewers who have recommended other animal-based Eric Carle books instead of this one. The verse is repetitive, which makes it easier for my son to learn early word recognition, and the theme is rather sweet, but other Eric Carle books ("Slowly, slowly, slowly said the Sloth" and "Mister Seahorse") are far superior.

I'd also like to respond to the reviewer who stated this book is gramatically incorrect. That's actually not true. The word "like" in "just LIKE you and me" is used as a preposition to convey relatedness of one thing to another. Since it's used as a preposition, the pronouns ("you" and "me" or "I") that follow must be objective (as in OBJECT of the preposition) case rather than subjective case. "You" is both a subjective and objective case pronoun. "I" is a subjective case pronoun, while "me" is an objective case pronoun. Therefore, "me" is the appropriate choice and "just like you and me" is gramatically correct.

Why the grammar lesson? One of the things I love about Eric Carle books is that the grammar is always correct. Any child who reads his books benefits from the colorful collage paintings, playful verse, AND exposure to correct grammar. All are essential for successful early reading.

My 7 year old son was thrilled to receive this book. He studied it for 1 day then challenged me to a game. He kept the book open while we were playing and referred to it often. He played much better offense and defense understanding how the pieces move and how to plan ahead more than one move. It made a huge difference! He even asked me to find him a link online so he could play on his own.

No doubt about it - the graphics and picutures in CHESS FOR KIDS are excellent. This is what I consider to be the good points of the book, now on to the weaknesses,

The weaknesses are:

The order in which the material is given needs some improving. This is not the exact order that a kid (or an adult) should be taught. This creates a degree of confusion.

The level of reading is not well suited for young kids to learn from, and

Some of the ways that things are explained, such as in the rules and certain aspects of strategies could use some improvement.

This would be a very nice book if you are a parent who will be reading it to a younger kid who cannot read very well yet. Otherwise the reading is more at a teenage level at least.
The pictures and graphical things are very good! Some of the more advanced rules are a little confusing.

Before this book has been written, there aren't many chess books for kids in those days, but here comes a book that is specially designed for kids and is readily accessible whenever kids wanted it. Since his years as an international master, Michael Basman has devoted his time to teaching schoolchildren chess, and years after that he set up the UK Chess Club, a chess tournament which attracts thousands of players every year.
Since I haven't got time to write down Michael Basman's bio in this review, I feel his kids chess book is worth having and is highly recommended to any kid. You know, many kids will hate a book that is unatrractive and dull and will soon get rid of it but Michael Basman's book has very attractive pictures, that'll show kids the game positions, and they are very clear, only to find them done in digital photography!

Chess is a battle of wits between two players and checkmating the opponent is a very difficult task, requiring your skill and knowledge. Michael Basman explains this in his book with a very accessible text that'll allow kid readers to understand the game concepts and is simple enough to apprehend. Heck, if I'm a kid right now I'll be able to read through the book like water!

Apart from the very clear pictures and simple text, Michael Basman uses his teaching experience to let kids gain a clearer understanding of chess pieces through the ''Check it out!'' section of the book and this section offers a brief explanation of the piece in terms of history and piece effectiveness.

The book is well laid out, thorough and kid-friendly and is always there when kids need it. It covers all of the most important aspects of chess, including the basics. Most of all, it's highly informative and that means kids can have all the info they need in order to play chess correctly.

What more could I say, this is a great book, and I swear Michael Basman made it by heart and by using his chess experience not anything else! The book is well laid out, clear, thorough and easy to use anytime. The book CAN teach kids the game so what're you waiting for, get your chessboard and pieces and let the games begin!

CHESS FOR KIDS will get you started with the the very basic rules and will teach you some starting strategies and tactics.

Good Things about this book:
1) It covers the rules you need to know as a non-tournament player.
2) It covers just enough strategy and ideas to get you started.
3) Lots of Colour - makes it look attractive.
Not Good Things about this book:
1) It is written so that young kids cannot understand the level of reading level (should come with a notice: Batteries Required, Opps! I mean older reader required to help young readers),
2) The order of things is out of wack sometimes. This can make the learning confusing.

There are better books written for the beginner or children. For a teen or older Learn Chess by Alexander and Beach is much better organized and has a lot more depth. There are a couple chess books for the junior beginner that have a lower reading level.

The best book ever for increasing your vocabulary and playing a great game of scrabble. Also a good source for writers.

This book was missing words and had typos 15 years ago. Since then there have been 3 major revisions to the dictionary. The last update alone had over 3200 words removed or added. By including words that have been removed such as DA and not including words that have now come to be accepted such as FE this book leads you astray and far behind. Two letter "hook" words like these make a huge difference when looking for good plays. This book is too outdated to be of use to anyone looking to improve their game. Take the advice of the champion player who wrote the first review listed 5 years ago and get your info somewhere else.

I teach English as a foreign language, and this dictionary is great for helping children play more effectively and to understand root words and how they evolve into other words.

An excellent book, gives lots of 2 and 3 letter words...great book

This is my second copy of this book, too many pages were falling out of the first one! I have also used others, but this one has the advantage of showing letters that you can put in front of words. I wish someone would do a new edition however.

This book will be a classic. My grandson loved it. The artwork is fabulous. This edition is made just for the younger kids.

My children and I are all fans of The Polar Express book and we did enjoy the movie as well. My youngest son, for whom I purchased this book, came to me with his 'review' before I had to ask... and then we gave the book away. Unfortunately, the book was not worth the money we paid for it, and even if it had been free, we would have not enjoyed it. This book is truly `the beginning', only telling the very first part of the story. While it is a Early Reader, it just wasn't interesting or enjoyable for my `beginning reader' to read, especially since we have the original book and the movie. Perhaps if it were sold in a set with other books that continue the story, it would be more enjoyable..

I was a little disappointed. This book doesn't go into a lot of detail and depth like the other Polar Express books I've read. Quite boring!

we love the movie and the original book so we were disappointed to find that this reader was so short. where's the rest of the beautiful story???

I bought this book for my granddaughter who has just learned to read. She was excited to be able to read a portion of the book that has always been read to her on xmas eve since she was born. I wish it had been longer and it may have been a little too easy for her. She is in the first grade.

What I like about Banks' stories is that we not only find engaging and interesting characters that have tension between and within them, but the colorings each has also creates its own dynamic. Banks' characters are never neat and perfect and they have their own demons to fight, even as they are discovering that the world is not even what that character thought it was (and not what we thought it was, seen through their eyes and memories).
The same goes for the characters in this story. We are rooting for them to go one way or another, for it all to resolve in a particular fashion when Banks pulls the rug from under both our and the central character's feet with revelations that twist the picture and alters the interpretation of the past and present.
I agree with another reviewer that Banks can interject political overtones into his modern characters that seem out of place or just a bit much, but it doesn't kill what is an interesting story with some great scenes and situations in it.
Overall a good read, but not one of my top ten books by IB, which continue to be mostly his "skiffies" (Sci-Fi).

"The Steep Approach to Garbadale" is the latest literary novel by Iain Banks. Alban, exiled son of the wealthy Wopuld family, has been invited back into the fold for a crucial meeting at the family's Highland retreat (the Garbadale of the title). For several generations the Wopulds have made their fortune in producing the boardgame "Empire!", but now an American corporation wants to buy them out. Alban plans to attend this meeting, not only to voice his opposition to the sale, but also because at this congregation - perhaps the last which will involve the whole family - he may be able to find from them answers to questions he has held long in his mind. What is the truth behind his mother's suicide over thirty years ago? And what are his true feelings for Sophie, his cousin and first love?

The story is divided between two main timeframes, through which Banks explores the complex web of characters - each one colourful and many of them eccentric - which make up the far-flung Wopuld family. The first of these timeframes takes place in the present, as Alban attempts to rally the family against the American takeover bid. The second takes the reader through various episodes from Alban's past, including his teenage tryst with Sophie. Both are woven together seamlessly and skillfully, in a way which does not disrupt the narrative.

Indeed on the whole Banks' style flows well and is easy to read. His command of detail in each scene is excellent and it is possible for the reader to feel fully immersed in every new setting - and there are many, from Alban's childhood home at Lydcombe, Somerset, to exotic Hong Kong, sweltering Singapore, and the hilly environs of Garbadale House. In addition, Banks is expert at capturing on page the raw emotion and humanity of his characters (the intensity of Alban's summer affair with Sophie stands out in particular) but is also able to do humour at the same time, something which is evident in the fast-paced and consistently good dialogue.

This is not to say that the book is without its faults. Firstly, the resolution feels somewhat rushed and in many ways too neat for the complicated network of familial relationships that Banks spends the book depicting. Also, though the majority of the book is narrated in the third person, there is also, confusingly, an occasional first-person narrator known as 'Tango', who appears in only three short sections and has apparently very little relevance to the story.

These small points aside, however, "The Steep Approach to Garbadale" is a very good and engaging book, and one that I can easily recommend.

Generally agree with points raised by Nef below, where we part ways is that I think that the book's flaws are critical. I didn't really identify with the main character (which is who I assume we are supposed to like as readers), and his out-of-character rants at the end of the book didn't help matters. That fact that he is a stock character (disillusioned black sheep etc.) didn't help matters for me. I found the plot "twist" at the end of the story predictable, strange and erratic first-person narrative by a character that is mostly non-impactful,....I could go on but whatever. No need to restate Nef's well written review.

The only other book of Banks' that I have read is "Wasp Factory", and I thought it was pretty cutting edge, utterly unpredictable with bizarre and well fleshed out characters. Hoping to find some more of Banks' stuff that is cut from this mold.

I did enjoy a lot of the imagery, however, as I have traveled to many of the locales in the book. Banks does have a gift for descriptive imagery.

Another good book from Mr Banks. This book isn't really anything new for the author, but an ongoing refinement of his style. Broad, complex setting, lots of inner dialog, motivated characters and a dash of perversion.

This books reminded me of both "The Business", "Complicity", and "The Bridge". I think it was better than "The Business" - the setting is similarly set amongst some very wealthy people, but the scope of the events in the book is more in keeping to the scope of the setting.

Worth reading.

I've been a long time fan of Banks, but always more drawn to his science fiction work, which has been consistent and powerful. In "The Steep Approach to Garbadale", he has created a highly sympathetic character, and a richly neurotic family as backdrop. The snapshot storytelling, a difficult skill to master, was used to great effect to illustrate the deep conflict driving the protagonist's actions. While far from "morally traditional", Bank's portrayal of teenage love, as well as modern, disjointed relationships is spot on, and touching.

I tremendously enjoyed this book, and would recommend it heartily for new and old Banks fans alike.

I love the series, sadly the television series is not out on DVD. many of the more recent stories are also hard to get and not in print in the US.
It took me awhile to find this copy.
The best part about Lovejoy is the antiques and Gash's profound knowledge and his artful way of weaving real history into the mix.
I love the series and hope for many more to come.

I much enjoyed the TV series based on Lovejoy and his crew, largely because I enjoyed the rural English locations and the portrayals by excellent English character actors. So I expected this, the first of Gash's books to come to hand, to be equally clever and to the point. No so. I found the characters too numerous and not particularly well developed, save for Lovejoy himself. And since much of the yarn takes place on a cruise ship, there are no locations to speak of. The frequent lapses into technical talk about how to identify various items was pretty tedious, although I expect antiques hunters would enjoy it. And anyway, if Lovejoy is a "divvy" who spots the real item by instinct, why has he bothered to learn so much technical stuff anyway, and why he hasn't he put his gift of divination to more lucrative use? Instead, he seems to get by as a not-too-successful forger/thief/con artist who's primary goal is sleeping with women. He's seems not the sort of scholar who's going to master a wealth of arcane minutiae.

This book is a real smasher. We have Lovejoy at his very best here. And the setting that Gash has set this book in is quite wonderful. And the women! Lovejoy has a whole string of quite wonderful women in his orbit this time. Lovejoy is on the lam again, and while he's hiding out in Southampton he gets hijacked onto an ocean cruise to Russia that includes all points north. He's living the high life on the cruise, and he meets all kinds of weird and wonderful people, but it takes him a while to determine why he was shanghaied and what this group of crooks need him for. But never fear. The irrepressible Lovejoy lands on his feet and he'll be around to deal with other outrageous adventures.

I had high hopes for this book, the first Lovejoy mystery, after enjoying the character on tv and being an antiques buff. The book drew me in right away and I really enjoyed the first third or so. Then after repetitious scenes (escape, capture, escape, capture, on and on) and the introduction of a dozen minor characters that come and go without a meaningful role or purpose, I got bored. I finished it out of determination and in the hope that there would be a wonderful denoument that would tie all together, but there was no big payoff; just a lot of preposterous happenings and vague explanations. My sense was that the author went on a cruise and put everyone he met on the cruise into a story, no matter how it all fit together.

I won't give up on Gash though (Lovejoy's a great character and the writing has an enjoyable tone) and have an ealier Lovejoy mystery I'm hoping will be more like the beginning of The Ten Word Game, all the way through.

I would read this book just for the words - words I've never seen before, juicy new words, almost none of which appear in my dictionary since they turn out to be British slang. I fall for British writers the way some people fall for accents. "Black hair fungated above his straining belt." "Benjie would marmalise me if I so much as looked at Gloria." "Once a boxer, he looks a real gent and wears a monocle, very Brigade of Guards, waistcoated, suit, George boots, a toff." "Rob the Hermitage, join this gaggle of duckeggs enacting a crazy Priscilla-of-the-Lower-Third dream?" "A crocodile of passengers," "I wittered, a perfect prat," "a mingy three pieces of toast ... a manky plate of toast," "I said, gormless," "scarpering through undergrowth...." How can you not like a book abounding with such charms?

The book has even more pleasures, chief among them antiques and art forgery. Lovejoy is a "divvy," someone who can divine true antiques by nearly fainting when he's in their presence. He's used this talent for a career just sort of definitely almost barely (his words) this side of the law. He is drawn against his will into a mysterious caper involving the Hermitage and a shipful of antique enthusiasts, almost none of whom can recognize a real antique from a fake. The mystery never completely resolves, a flaw that can be overlooked since it's secondary to the local color in the book. Occasional forays into the history of amber, pottery, wicker chairs and other antiques are a lot of fun, and Lovejoy is quite a storyteller. Is it true that Elvis once entered an Elvis impersonator contest and lost?

Book was filled with pictures of games I played as a kid. Lots of great pics and wonderful content. Price guide is not a reason to buy this book. But if you want to find a game from a long time ago this is it.

I wasn't planning on buying this book due to the price. Boy, was I glad I did! Tons of pictures and information. I'm already trying to hunt down one of my all time favorite arcade games; Wrestlefest (Not mentioned or pictured in the book, but I was inspired.)

Contem varias fotos de maquinas de fliperama (muitas eletromecanicas) e outras tipo "arcade" . Infelizmente faltam algumas fotos de maquinas que fizeram muito sucesso no Brasil, como Big Shot (73), Circus (73) , OXO, Big Indian . De qualquer maneira vale a pena !

The market is a big determiner of what these games go for. The minute this book hit the stands it was out of date. Bill Kurtz fails to touch the pulse of collectors in this guide as it appears to be more ego gratification than a viable resource. And he considers himself in the business?...

If you're interested in video arcade games from the 80s, this book will disappoint you. The content is VERY pinball-centric, with only passing mentions of arcade cabinets here and there.

Not what I expected.

This book is my son's favorite bedtime book, as it has been for over a year now. This book has been instrumental in creating a good foundation of manners for my son. We also use this book to reinforce sign language for "Please" and "Thank You."

Concerning the language used: If one reads Cookie Monster's request in the Cookie Monster voice, then children recognize the difference between human language and monster language.

I highly suggest this book. It is a fast read with great results!

This book is wonderful. Not only did it motivate my 2 year old to learn the words please and thank you, he seems to have learned alot more with his Sesame Street pals here. The picures are so vivid and life like (or should I say character like :>)we've used this book to identify his pals, learn body parts (where is Cookie Monsters eyes...) and learn colors. Great book at an amazingly low price!

This is a cute, but less than ideal book of very simple manners for Sesame Street lovers. Unfortunately "Gimme cookie, please" is just the way Cookie Monster talks. It would've been a better lesson if someone could've said, "May I have a cookie please?" instead. I also thought the page where Grover and friends ask to be excused from the table - blissfully leaving a HUGE mess on it! - could've taught a better lesson if they had at least helped to clear the table a tiny bit. I'm sure there are better books of good manners for toddlers out there, just as cute and with better lessons. If your child likes Barney, I highly recommend "Barney Best Manners - Your Invitation To Fun" on DVD instead.

Since Elmo can do no wrong in our house, this book seemed like a natural pick to help introduce manners to our fussy two year old who likes things her way. She actually followed along when we read about teaching Cookie Monster to say please, but when it came to the part where Bert says, "How do you do?" to an octopus, I think it went over her head. Obviously the idea of learning basic manners early on is a great one, I just think the book didn't hit the mark squarely enough so that young ones can apply what they see and hear to their everyday activities. Better to have shown real life scenarios that a child can relate to when showing them how to behave politely.

"Thank you" and "excuse me" are also covered, so it doesn't miss the mark completely. And the large board book format is perfect for lap reading and rough little hands.

My almost 10 month old son loves Elmo. But truthfully, I think he likes holding the book (great for diaper changes) more than he likes to hear it read to him. But I do use this book bedtime, and it works like a charm!

I recalculated the result of the expected number of pips you move on a throw of the dice, and my apologies, John Leet is 100% correct. It is 8 + 1/6. I was in gross error. I stopped reading the book because I disagreed with the calculation, and didn't want to read the rest of it. But it turns out to be quite a decent book. I like it as a high level introduction to Backgammon, it is for a slightly advanced audience.

Juraj

The expected value of the outcome of the sum of two dice is 7.0. Anybody that plays craps knows this. If you roll one die, you expect 3.5 (if you average the outcomes in the long run). To illustrate, in the long run you expect one of each kind of outcome: 1+2+3+4+5+6 / 6 = 3.5.

He derives the expected value of the sum of two dice to be just over 8.0. He does this by counting the odds of rolling a 5-5 to be 1/18 and not 1/36. Since all the doubles were by accident counted twice, it throws his calculation off.

Then he bases his strategy on this phony result. What do you think about the quality of the book?

The problem with the other customer reviews here are that they are all by beginners who don't know any better. I ordered this book as a beginner and started to believe what the book was saying. Later, I searched for info about the book on the backgammon newsgroup. The overwhelming response from experts was that it is a horrible book for learning backgammon. Much of the info in the book SOUNDS like good advice, but is simply wrong. He makes the "rollover" rule that he introduces sound like a very common and accepted rule. That is just not the case. He also over-simplifies things and makes blanket statements that are only true some of the time. I would suggest finding a copy of Magirel's "Backgammon" instead.

This is a good all-purpose introduction to Backgammon strategy. Previous reviewer is confusing craps and backgammon when he criticizes the math. If you reread section 3-19 of this book, the author is calculating the average number of "pips" you move on any given roll. He didn't accidentally count the double rolls twice; he counted the number of pips you move on a double roll twice, which is correct. 4-4 may be "eight the hard way" in craps, but in backgammon, you get to move 16 pips. The odds of rolling a 16 in craps is 0/36, while it's 1/36 in backgammon. If you count up the number of pips you move on each of the 36 rolls instead of just the craps-style dice total for all 36 rolls, you will find out that the average in this book is correct: 294/36 = 8.1666...

Before reading this book I considered myself an intermediate backgammon player. After reading this book I realized I was only a beginning backgammon player. Having learned many of the moves and strategies found in this book, I now consider myself an intermediate player and improving with each game. You won't win every game but you'll win many more than what you did before.