No One Talks About Violent Board Games

In 2006, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius supported behind a proposal to legislate video game sales, to prevent violent content from reaching minors.

Now, the govenor’s son John is marketing a board game called Don’t Drop the Soap, where the object is to steal drugs and shank fellow prisoners.

The governor’s spokeswoman, Nicole Corcoran, said both parents “are very proud of their son John’s creativity and talent.”

John Sebelius is selling the game on his Internet site for $34.99… The contact information on the Web site lists the address of the governor’s mansion.

So… did she change her mind completely in two years? Violent games where you push buttons are bad, but violent games when you roll dice are fine? Violent games should be kept from under-18s, but her own son’s violent board game is available online! (Check it out here. Don’t Drop The Soap isn’t quite my cup of tea, but I think some gaming groups would have a laugh with it.)

Read the whole article at GamePolitics.com

Home Sweet Home

The Sims is one of my favorite games. The best aspect of the game is creating homes and decorating them. After that I usually don’t actually play the game. I just build neighborhoods with lovely homes and no residents.

Home Sweet Home is a casual game that challenges you to decorate the homes of your clients. You are given somewhat cryptic information as to what they are looking for. Then it’s time to buy the furnishings. Watch that budget because buying the furnishings is only half of the equation. Next comes the build where you help a crew create the room under budget and on time.

During the building phase, you can help your workers by giving them coffee or handing them a needed tool. You will also have to administer first aid if they get hurt. Any time a worker is away from a task they are assigned, their progress is slowly lost. This can really put you behind schedule so it’s best to meet their needs as soon as possible.

Home Sweet Home is a lot of fun especially for those who like the interior design aspect of The Sims mixed with time management. A demo version of the game is available at Big Fish Games.

Sega Olympics Game In The Works

Sega plans to publish a second Olympics game (following “Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games”), this time based on the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The game will be available for PS3 and Xbox 360, and they’re planning to release the game this summer, at the same time as the Olympics, so even couch potatoes can participate in the Olympics.

“Extending our relationship with Sega to include the Official Video Game of Beijing 2008 strengthens the opportunity to build upon the success of the children’s character game, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games,” commented Raymond Goldsmith, CEO of International Sports Multimedia.

“We feel certain that SEGA will further the success of Athens 2004, thereby delivering what will be an outstanding, quality gaming experience,” he added. Read the whole thing at GamesIndustry.Biz

Accidentally A Gamer

Miss Milkshake on Weddingbee has a cute story about how her fiance accidentally made her a gamer, and about the nicknames she gives his games.

When I was younger, Super Nintendo was the coolest thing, and I’m sure we all had gameboys (heck most people our age, guys and girls alike, have the nintendo DS), and donkey kong country and all the sequels rocked my world. But then the video game industry introduced the concept of 3D, which soon dominated, and I couldn’t maneuver my little Mario guy in a straight line, quickly became dizzy, and gave up. Gone were the days of running across the screen, from left to right, jumping on bad guys.

After dating Mr. Milkshake, I came to learn these were called “platform games.” When we first started dating he trained me to play a soccer game, Winning Eleven, and he was surprised at how good at it I became. Somehow he managed to suck me into playing Resistance with him last year and with the recent releases of Call of Duty 4 and Halo 3, I can officially play “first person shooters.” Not well enough to play against any hard core guys online, but well enough to get a few kills in when him and I play together….

Read the whole story here at WeddingBee (you may have to ignore the wedding overload!)

Accidentally A Gamer

Miss Milkshake on Weddingbee has a cute story about how her fiance accidentally made her a gamer, and about the nicknames she gives his games.

When I was younger, Super Nintendo was the coolest thing, and I’m sure we all had gameboys (heck most people our age, guys and girls alike, have the nintendo DS), and donkey kong country and all the sequels rocked my world. But then the video game industry introduced the concept of 3D, which soon dominated, and I couldn’t maneuver my little Mario guy in a straight line, quickly became dizzy, and gave up. Gone were the days of running across the screen, from left to right, jumping on bad guys.

After dating Mr. Milkshake, I came to learn these were called “platform games.” When we first started dating he trained me to play a soccer game, Winning Eleven, and he was surprised at how good at it I became. Somehow he managed to suck me into playing Resistance with him last year and with the recent releases of Call of Duty 4 and Halo 3, I can officially play “first person shooters.” Not well enough to play against any hard core guys online, but well enough to get a few kills in when him and I play together….

Read the whole story here at WeddingBee (you may have to ignore the wedding overload!)