As news correspondents in mid-twentieth-century North America, players race from one news story location to another to complete exclusive assignments and scoop each other to the next big story. Players travel by air, rail, and highway to locations around the continent and the Caribbean. The first player to complete seven assignments wins the game.
This game is fun for parties of adults, kids, and families and was a huge hit with players at the World Boardgaming Championships. Trains Planes and Automobiles retails for $40.00 and comes with pawns, cards, mounted board, and rules. It is available to order from http://bluesquareboardgames.com.
Trains Planes and Automobiles will make a great Christmas gift for the whole family!
- BrainDrain - cross words with your family and friends to score the most letters (available for pre-order)
- Mazedom - create an ever-changing maze puzzle to entangle your opponents (coming soon)
- Antarchy (I love the title of this one) - lead the ant colony in search of culinary delights that will satisfy the queen's ravenous appetite (coming soon)
Saturday evening, my good friend Jeff W. invited us over for a dinner party and insisted that I bring TPA for a spin. The six of us - all grown-ups (according to our drivers' licenses) - had a great time, and as always, I was surprised to see how close the game turned out to be in the end. I feel that it strikes just the right combination of luck, thoughtful play, and lead balancing mechanics that keep the game fun, even when stranded at the airport in Bermuda in bad weather ... or in Thunder Bay, Canada, with a broken-down rental car. Everybody was in it to the end, and I love games like that.
I hope more people do, too.
This is seriously one of the coolest things I've seen. I've never known anyone who designs board games! Of course, we don't know each other but interspace is close enough. Congrats nonetheless. I always thought it would be cool to design games like this. Way to go.
ReplyDeleteI'm so proud of you, hon! And look out, 'cause I'm gonna beat ya next time...
ReplyDeleteBest of luck Paul. I'm a WWBC friend of Kathy's, and I love board games so I had to check it out. It looks very cool.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Clay! As a proponent of "edutainment," you might be interested to know that the original concept of "Trains Planes and Automobiles" came when I asked myself the question, "why are American kids so lacking in geography?" Although not billed as an "educational" or "learning game" (because it would be the stink of death), it's my hope that people who play will inadvertently learn a little geography in the process.
ReplyDeleteKathy, thanks as always for all your support! As I mention in the acknowledgments, "with you, my miles of happiness are unlimited!"
Kerry, thanks so much. I hope you get a chance to play it, because I think you'll like it. By the way, I love your "playground" blog post. I've been on the merry-go-round and found myself stuck going faster than I could handle - more than a few times. Sometimes you have to stop and take time out to play a game...