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Thursday session: Preference, Metropolys, Tarok, Dolmengötter

Another excellent game session this week! When I arrived, PitchCar sessions were over and people were choosing the next games. Hannu quickly got me and Gargoyle to join him in a game of Preference. Gargoyle was a newbie to this...

Posted by Mikko on July 9, 2008 7:03 PM

Playing-card review 6: Piatnik Tarocks

Piatnik makes some very beautiful 54-card Austrian-style Tarock packs with French suits . The first of my playing-card reviews covered one of them; here are the rest. Start with that review, because the packs are actually all exactly the same...

Posted by Mikko on June 29, 2008 12:56 PM

Return to Scotland: 1825 Unit 3

I organized another train game session at the local library. Once again, only Olli was able and willing to join me, so it was again time for 1825 Unit 3 (I know we could've played Unit 2 as well,...

Posted by Mikko on June 1, 2008 11:43 AM

Thursday session: Modern Art, Glory to Rome

Yesterday's games started with a three-player Modern Art with Petri and Hannu. This was our first game with the new Finnish edition. It's gorgeous, and I'm glad to report it works well. Pretty much the only problem is the...

Posted by Mikko on May 23, 2008 12:37 PM

Thursday session: Thief of Baghdad, Strohmann-Tarock

I arrived in a bad time this week: two games had just started. I sat watching and discussing playing cards with Hannu (he had bought a rather entertaining German pack of cards, it's a reproduction of 19th century Saxony pack...

Posted by Mikko on May 8, 2008 8:21 PM

Playing-card review 2: Modiano Tarocco Siciliano, Noblet Tarot de Marseille

This time I'm taking a look at some Tarot packs that are perhaps better suited for enjoyment as art, not as playing-cards. Modiano Tarocco Siciliano. The first thing one notices is the small size. The cards are as wide as...

Posted by Mikko on May 2, 2008 8:25 PM

Playing-card review 1: Piatnik 1935, Carta Mundi Versailles

As a new feature I'm going to review playing-cards. There are quite a few different packs available and finding information about them is hard. So, here's something and more to come, especially if I get any encouragement. Piatnik Tarock 54...

Posted by Mikko on April 30, 2008 6:43 PM

The International Playing-Card Society

I joined The International Playing-Card Society recently. I have little interest in participating the activities, but I was curious about Playing-Card, their journal. I received the three back issues of this subscription season yesterday and I'd say they're worth the...

Posted by Mikko on April 22, 2008 2:24 PM

Thursday session: Wabash Cannonball, Tarot

Thanks to series of unexpected delays, I waited and waited for my copy of Wabash Cannonball. Apparently there were problems in just about every part of proceedings. Well, the game did arrive last Wednesday, just in time for our...

Posted by Mikko on March 7, 2008 11:52 AM

Thursday session: Dolmengötter, Vegas Showdown, Tarot

Die Dolmengötter is an ugly game. The theme is also silly: the game is abstract as heck, and while I understand that theming it must've been a real struggle, one wonders if this is a game that should simply...

Posted by Mikko on February 29, 2008 12:01 PM

Thursday session: Cego, Citadels

Yesterday's session was the last one before the Christmas break is over and we can return to university. So, card games (not that we don't play card games at the university). We started with Cego, a curious German tarot game....

Posted by Mikko on January 4, 2008 1:06 PM

Hot games for Q4/2007

And here's the one final bit of trivia for 2007, the hot games for Q4. Shouldn't be any surprises in store, but it's good to have this one link in the chain of quarterly reports! Goodness continued from the previous...

Posted by Mikko on January 1, 2008 6:56 PM

Gaming year 2007

Another year of games is soon over. Gaming year 2006 was good, but I think this one was even better! At least in quality, not necessarily in quantity... Good new games (2006-2007 games) Agricola - This year brought two very...

Posted by Mikko on December 31, 2007 7:18 PM

Thursday session: Xiangqi, Tarot, Tichu

We had to do a last-minute location switch because university is already closed for Christmas. Well, four players gathered at the bar we chose to play in. Not bad, really, as four is all you need... Jaakko was first...

Posted by Mikko on December 21, 2007 12:29 PM

Thursday session: Slovenian Tarok, Ottocento

When I arrived, the guys were already playing Mhing. No problem: I dealt myself in and joined the game. It's flexible that way... Didn't win the first hand, obviously, but in the second, I got out on what, fourth...

Posted by Mikko on November 30, 2007 12:30 PM

Hungarian Tarokk online

RummyNetwork is a Hungarian online game room. It's free and has several games available: few variations of Rummy, Zsír, Ulti, Schnapsen, Bridge... but most important, they have Hungarian Tarokk. In three variations, even: the regular Paskievics, the glorious Illustrated and...

Posted by Mikko on October 28, 2007 12:28 PM

Tarots

I finished reading the second volume of A History of Games Played with the Tarot Pack (haven't received the first volume yet, it's coming from US while the second one was sent from UK). It's a marvellous book, highly recommended...

Posted by Mikko on October 13, 2007 7:41 PM

Thursday session: Tarot, Ubongo

Yesterday's session started with a quick round of Larry Levy's WYSIWYG. It's an advanced version of German Whist, a trick-taking game for two players. Players bid for the right to become a declarer and choose trumps. In the first phase...

Posted by Mikko on October 12, 2007 11:49 AM

Thursday session: Tarot, Jass

First game today was Jass. Since there are at least 70 variations of Jass, it's probably best to be more precise: we played Molotow Jass. Molotow is the four-player variant of Mittlere Jass. Plus-Minus Jass is another variant of Mittlere...

Posted by Mikko on October 4, 2007 8:53 PM

Hot games for Q3/2007

It has been a good quarter. With the new Thursday sessions I've had time to play more games, which is always good. I even made it to the Board Game Club. Previous quarter was a good one, too. Fairy Tale...

Posted by Mikko on September 29, 2007 12:15 PM