By Margaret Duncan, Ed.D.
The Histocrats
support the idea of incorporating board-games into your personal life as well
as in the classroom. As such, we support
and participate in a local board-gaming group.
Any and all board-game enthusiasts are welcome to join the Game Nights that
are held every first and third Friday night of the month. As part of our gaming group initiative, we
also recommend history centric games that are fun to play each week to all of
our followers. The selected games receive
our “Game of the Week” distinction.
Recommended games are a mix of cooperative, card games, as well Euro
style games.
The Road to Canterbury, Gryphon Games
Greed, Pride,
Gluttony, Wrath, Luxury, Idleness, and Envy - the infamous "Seven Deadly
Sins". For the faithful, they instill horror. For you, on the other hand,
they present a wonderful business opportunity! In The Road to Canterbury, you
play a medieval pardoner who sells certificates delivering sinners from the
eternal penalties brought on by these Seven Deadly Sins. You make your money by
peddling these counterfeit pardons to Pilgrims traveling the road to
Canterbury. To keep your services in
demand, you will actually need to lead these Pilgrims into temptation yourself!
The Seven Deadly Sins live up to their name: each sin that a Pilgrim commits
brings Death one step nearer, and a dead Pilgrim pays no pardoners! So much to forgive, so little time. Will you
be able to outwit your opponents by pardoning more of these Pilgrims' sins
before they die or finish their pilgrimage to Canterbury?
Early American Chrononauts, Looney Labs
Win by changing the
timeline to fit your alternate history goal, by collecting Artifacts, or by
diligently patching the timeline. The TimeLine begins just before the American
Revolution in 1770 and continues through the Civil War, stopping at 1916. Players travel through time to change linchpin
events, patch paradoxes, and collect artifacts. This is a stand-alone game, but
Early American Chrononauts’ TimeLine can fit together with the Chrononauts
TimeLine to combine the two games into one huge game.
The Oregon Trail Card Game, Pressman Toy
All sorts of
gruesome deaths await you and the rest of your wagon party in this official
multi-player card game version of the classic computer game. To win you’ll need
to keep one player alive all the way from Independence, MO to the Willamette
Valley. But between rattlesnakes, starvation, dead oxen, broken bones,
dysentery, and a host of other calamities the odds are long . . . almost as
long as the Oregon Trail itself. Players
work together to move along the trail, fording rivers and playing Supply Cards
to overcome calamities. But be warned–there will be times when it makes sense
to let one of your wagon mates succumb to a calamity rather than expend
precious supplies.
Kingsburg, Fantasy Flight Games
Players adopt the
role of governor, and vie for resources to build up their province, military
power to defend their homes, and above all the influence of the King. Over five
years (five turns) players rely on various advisors to the King for resources.
From tangibles like gold, wood, and stone to soldiers and portents, each
acquisition will shape the future of your community.
*All product
descriptions are from the manufacturer
