April 2009

This is what Bill Gates’s Facebook profile might be like.  It’s a pretty amusing read.

I can’t think of many brands as polarizing as Fox News.  I’d rather turn off the TV than watch the slanted coverage of Fox News.  I just find it irritating.  So, when I saw the Fox News store in Minneapolis, I could feel annoyance boiling within me.  With the generic name of “News”, I’d go in to the store and browse.  With the name “Fox News Channel”, I wouldn’t go in unless they had the last verified bottle of water left on Earth.

So, is that good business to have a store name that turns off some customers?  Or am I just an outlier in my reactions?

From Wired.com: Monopoly Killer: Perfect German Board Game Redefines Genre

Since its introduction, The Settlers of Catan has become a worldwide phenomenon. It has been translated into 30 languages and sold a staggering 15 million copies (even the megahit videogame Halo 3 has sold only a little more than half that). It has spawned an empire of sequels, expansion packs, scenario books, card games, computer games, miniatures, and even a novel–all must-haves for legions of fans. And it has made its 56-year-old inventor a household name in every household that’s crazy about board games, and a lot that aren’t.

Most impressive of all, though, Settlers is actually inducting board-game-averse Americans into the cult of German-style gaming. Last year, Settlers doubled its sales on this side of the Atlantic, moving 200,000 copies in the US and Canada–almost unheard-of performance for a new strategy game with nothing but word-of-mouth marketing. It has become the first German-style title to make the leap from game-geek specialty stores to major retailers like Barnes & Noble and Toys “R” Us.

Settlers is now poised to become the biggest hit in the US since Risk. Along the way, it’s teaching Americans that board games don’t have to be either predictable fluff aimed at kids or competitive, hyperintellectual pastimes for eggheads. Through the complex, artful dance of algorithms and probabilities lurking at its core, Settlers manages to be effortlessly fun, intuitively enjoyable, and still intellectually rewarding, a potent combination that’s changing the American idea of what a board game can be.

I love playing Settlers of Catan.  I started playing this game shortly after the first English version was released.  My sister’s friends were having a game night and she asked if I wanted to go.  I kind of rolled my eyes at that.  Getting together to play board games?  I haven’t done that since playing Monopoly over the holidays with my cousins.  I went and was totally hooked.

Purchase The Settlers of Catan and The Settlers of Catan 5-6 Player Extension at Amazon.
 

Thanks to Chris for sending me this disturbing picture.

From NYMag.com: It’s Only a Matter of Time Before These Frightening Creatures Invade Park Slope