Barbie star and producer will return to world of films based on toys with project based on the much-loved board game
Margot Robbie is set to partner with Hasbro for a new film based on the board game Monopoly.
The Oscar-nominated star of Barbie will help to shepherd the long-gestating project to the screen with her production company LuckyChap and Lionsgate.
Continue reading...Introduced in 1995 and based on a set of hexagonal tiles, game has sold millions of copies and is available in more than 40 languages
Klaus Teuber, the creator of the hugely popular Catan board game, has died after a brief illness, according to a family statement. He was 70.
The board game, originally called The Settlers of Catan when introduced in 1995 and based on a set of hexagonal tiles, has sold tens of millions of copies and is available in more than 40 languages. It has spawned dozens of spinoffs and new editions, including electronic versions, not to mention products related to the game.
Continue reading...Josh Wardle developed game to play with his partner – and now more than 2m others have joined in
Wordle, a deceptively simple online word puzzle, has had a meteoric rise since its launch last autumn, from 90 daily players in November to 300,000 at the beginning of January, to 2 million last weekend. But, for its creator, the game’s rapid success has resulted in as much anxiety as excitement.
The game has become an unexpected grassroots hit for Josh Wardle, who developed it for his puzzle-loving partner. The pair played it for fun on their sofa, and other users slowly began to join them.
Continue reading...Tabletop gaming, based on a mix of science fiction and fantasy worlds, has seen sales surge during lockdown
It started in a small flat in west London, with three friends selling board games and a fanzine via mail order; now Games Workshop is worth more than Marks & Spencer and Asos and is more profitable than Google.
This week the Nottingham-based company, which produces the Warhammer fantasy role-playing brand, announced all of its workers would get a £5,000 bonus after sales and profits surged during the pandemic.
Continue reading...The phrase ‘adult beginner’ can sound patronising. It implies you are learning something you should have mastered as a child. But learning is not just for the young
One day a number of years ago, I was deep into a game of draughts on holiday with my daughter, then almost four, in the small library of a beachfront town. Her eye drifted to a nearby table, where a black-and-white board bristled with far more interesting figures (many a future chess master has been innocently drawn in by “horses” and “castles”).
“What’s that?” she asked. “Chess,” I replied. “Can we play?” she pleaded. I nodded absently.
Continue reading...Thanks to the popularity of open-world video games – and Stranger Things – a new generation has rediscovered the communal pleasures of the 80s role-playing phenomenon
Not long ago, my sons, like many other preteens, were obsessed with Fortnite. It was all they played, all they talked about, all they spent their pocket money on. But one rainy afternoon this summer, my youngest took out the D&D starter kit we’d bought him for Christmas and began to study it. Some friends came round and they played for hours. Since then, they haven’t really stopped.
This is not an isolated incident. Originally released in 1974, Dungeons & Dragons is having what we now call “a moment”. The company behind the game, Wizards of the Coast, which bought the rights from original creator TSR, estimates that there are currently 40 million players worldwide, with new starters up 25% year on year, as its popularity grows and rules are translated into new languages.
Continue reading...Sumire Nakamura is the product of a special programme to promote the ancient pursuit and compete with Korean and Chinese players
A nine-year-old girl in Japan will become the youngest-ever professional player of the strategy board game go when she makes her debut later this year.
Sumire Nakamura, who attends primary school in Osaka, started playing go at the age of three and will start her career at the lowest rank of shodan on 1 April, according to Japanese media.
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