Game Blogging

I work with games a lot, as I work in a retail store that carries a wide selection of logic games. In addition, the dorm I lived in in college was blessed with a gamer who never seemed satisfied with any single game. So I know a lot of games, and because of my current job, I get to play them a bit, too.

Since the games are a big part of my life right now, I think it's worth mentioning them here on my blog. So as I play them, and enjoy them, I'll put some information about them here. For most of these games, if you are intrigued by my description, you can probably find the game at a local shop. If that doesn't work, contact me and I'll point you to where you can find it, if I know. While most are available through the shop I work at, some won't be. I encourage you to buy local, and support a locally owned shop if possible.

There is no question on where to start. There is only one game in the entire store that I introduce to customers with the words, "Everyone should have a copy of this game." That would be Set.

Set: The Family Game of Visual Perception. From Set Games. Approximate price: $12. Number of players: 1+. Ages: 4+ (we've played it successfully with pre-schoolers). Time to play: 10 minutes or more (games can be interrupted or stopped easily). Rules Rigidity: Easily fudged, house rules possible. Goal of Game: To find the most sets.

Some of you are nodding and saying, "ah yes, Set." For those who aren't, let me explain this game. Set is a deck of 81 cards. Each card has symbols on it. The symbols are either diamonds, ovals, or squiggles. They are all colored either red, green, or purple. They might have different shadings: filled, shaded, or hollow. And there will be one, two, or three identical symbols on each card. A set consists of three cards of which all of the above four attributes are all the same, or all different. So a set can have a three red symbols, or symbols that are red, green, and purple, but not two reds and something else. To play, you set out 12 cards and look for sets. Pretty simple, actually.

The neat thing about Set is that you can play it solitaire or with as many people as you can fit around a table. You can play it cooperatively or cutthroat. And age just doesn't matter. It's the only game in the store that I see younger children consistently beating older children or adults.

There's also a lot of benefits to Set. It's a very mathematical game, if you study the underlying principals. The original idea was based on genetic research and DNA. There's lot of math in trying to determine the odds of having a set when you lay out 12 cards. It also increases perception, and helps with lateral thinking (particularly when you find the sets in which all four attributes are different).

This is the first and the best, though. If you want an all-purpose game that is fun, quick, and can be played by almost anyone, this is it. This is also one of the very few games that we sold out of this Christmas.