How to Choose a Portable Board Game

Ah! Portability. Everything's now getting smaller and lighter. Phones, TVs, MP3 Players and tablets. What about board games? Most board games are big and bulky and they contain lots of parts not to mention parts that are a nightmare to find when you lose them. If you are travelling or maybe you wanna just visit the nearest park or shopping mall or maybe you are taking a ride on your friend's car, portable board games will do it. You can just buy board game apps on a tablet computer or smartphone but it doesn't have that charm of traditional board games. So, here are portable board games that I have found at the toys section in the supermarket that may just be appropriate for your needs.

MONOPOLY (S$16.90 AVAILABLE AT NTUC FAIRPRICE XTRA)

The most popular board game in portable form. Everyone likes Monopoly. It's just so fun to collect properties and going around the board and landing yourself in jail for no apparent reason. Isn't it just fun? Now you can just do it with the portable version of Monopoly. The game parts are the one that sets this apart from the original. The parts include a thick plastic board instead of a big thick card board, plastic tokens instead of metal tokens and plastic keys. They four times cheaper than the original but I wouldn't recommend you to buy this if you haven't tried the original.

CLUEDO (S$16.90 AVAILABLE AT NTUC FAIRPRICE XTRA)

 
If you like problem-solving (not mathematically), then you'll love this game. Cluedo is a board game that teaches you the fundamentals of crime-solving. How do you know who murdered who? That's what the objective of the game is all about. You move around the board, find clues and just like a real crime detective, you get to investigate. But don't worry, you don't have to deal with dead bodies. Just like the Monopoly Portable, most of the parts will be made out of different materials and they may also be slightly smaller to accomodate the portability and smaller price.

PAYDAY (S$16.90 AVAILABLE AT NTUC FAIRPRICE XTRA)

This game is all about MONEY! The board consists of 31 days which mimics a month, and your token will have to survive the whole month with bills, payments and expenses. It's a fairly simple game and you don't need further elaboration. If you want to experience adulthood, (that is if you are younger than an adult), you may want to try this game as it will teach you the fundamentals of money management.

And that's all for today's post. Don't forget to try out these three games when you're out and about or maybe when you don't feel like lugging a big board game box when you're out. Just like in their original form, these games can be addictive and these games can increase friends or family bonding time. Fun part is, all three of them cost at S$16.90 at NTUC Fairprice XTRA. They're located at nex, Jurong Point, Hougang Point and AMK Hub.

Scrabble Competition in School

 

 

My school just had a Scrabble workshop last Monday 28 Feb. Why would they have a Scrabble workshop? The English Department in my school wanted to have a Scrabble competition among all the classes in my school in March. So to get us all prepared, they decided to hold a workshop so that we prepare ourselves for the big competition.

My group actually consisted of just four members. Okay, make that three. One of them left because she had to go for a dental appointment but nonetheless, there was a replacement. A Secondary 1 boy. Apparently, his team also consisted of just four but unfortunately, all of them did not turn up except him. The teacher then decided that he would join our group since we were short of one.

As you can see from the whiteboard at the picture above, the instructor thought us how to play the game. There were many rules to follow. Firstly, you have to hold the bag of tiles above eye level and dig out one letter tile which is close to the letter A. Both you and your opponent have to do the same. The player which really has a letter tile that is close to A will start first. Oh and don't forget to dig out seven tiles and put it on your tile holder. Don't let your opponent see it. If you start first, make sure you form your word on the star tile which is in the middle of the board. The star tile will act as a double word score.

That's just a short version of how to play Scrabble. If you want to find out more, Google it! I will be participating in the competition and wish me luck!

Cool Board Games Sold by Vat19.com

Vat19.com is an online retailer which specialises in "Curiously Awesome" products. They sell all kinds of whacky things. Some of them helpful, some of them productive, some of them stupid and the rest of them are FUN AND AWESOME! In today's post, I will just pick out all the more interesting board games sold by them and they all look fun to play with. Some of them can be called both a toy and a mind-challenging game.

Although, I have not bought or played with any of them yet, they look pretty convincing and they're worth a buy. If you're interested in buying these, you can visit their website Vat19.com and they ship worldwide. I may consider getting one of their products. Don't forget to click the play button to view all the cheeky-infomercial style product videos.

Great How-to Video for Monopoly Deal

Remember Monopoly Deal? The game that I have done an unboxing on a few weeks ago? When I first bought the game, I totally have no idea how to play it. Once I discovered this video, I slightly understand the purpose of this game and how to play with it. Until now, I still have not played this game. That's the reason why I still have not done a review on it yet. But anyway, enjoy this tutorial. It will really help you with your game. Monopoly Deal is available at all department stores in Singapore for S$9.90 along with all the other Hasbro Card Games.

Hasbro Card Games

Hasbro released a new category of games (it's not really that new anyway) called Hasbro Card Games. Basically they are card games based on the original board games. In Singapore, Hasbro Card Games that are sold include Boggle Slam, Monopoly Deal and Pictureka Card Game. The latest one released was Cluedo Card Game but I can't find it anywhere in the store. So I am going to go through all three card games here in today's post along with the pictures.

MONOPOLY DEAL CARD GAME

I have done an unboxing of this game before and you can check it out on the sidebar. Monopoly Deal is a streamlined, card game version of the popular game Monopoly (Duh!). How do you play it? It's kinda lengthy to explain it here. Anyway, the goal of Monopoly is about property. In the actual board game, money matters. In this game though, properties matter. The more property you own, the more chances of you winning. In the card game, there are cards that represent currency, properties and action cards. It's available at all major bookstores, toy stores and department stores in Singapore for S$9.90.

BOGGLE SLAM CARD GAME

The next card game is Boggle Slam. In the US, this game is known as Scrabble Slam, but nevertheless, it's still the same thing. Just like the Original, this card game involves you playing with words. Firstly, you will start with four cards that form a four letter word. Then, you will have to keep on changing the words one letter at a time. For example, you will start with SLAM then SLAP then SLAT then SEAT and so forth. This game is available at all major bookstores, department stores and toy stores all over Singapore for S$9.90

PICTUREKA CARD GAME

Last but not least, there's Pictureka Card Game. This game involves your creativity, matching skills and you will have to complete missions. It's not really a simple game plus I rather play with words than play with pictures that look funny. Nevertheless, if you like playing with pictures and such you can get this Hasbro Card Game at all major bookstores, toy stores and department stores in Singapore for S$9.90.

Other Hasbro Card Games include Cluedo Card Game, Scrabble Slam (a US variant of Boggle Slam), Sorry Revenge, 1000 Mille Bornes, Littlest Pet Shop Go Fish, Yahtzee Hands Down, Crazy Old Fish War and Rook. Unfortunately, only the four that I have mentioned are available in Singapore. For the rest, you can buy it online at the Hasbro Online Store or Amazon. So if you don't want to spend big money on board games, you can get card versions of the board games for a fraction of the original board game price. Although the gameplay might be different from the original board games. That's it for now.

Lamarr Wilson's Favourite Board Games

A few days back, I have shown you Craig Benzine's AKA Wheezy Waiter's Top 5 Board Games video right? Now I am showing you another video of YouTube partner, Lamarr Wilson, who operates the Lamarr channel, Wilsontech1, Wilsontech2 and Wt1 channels on YouTube. His favourite games include Dominoes, old style Backgammon, Stratego and a rare find, Super Scrabble Deluxe Edition. Now all you have to do is to hit the Play button and start watching. Plus, don't forget to subscribe all the channels he operate.

PLUS! BONUS VIDEO FROM LAMARR WILSON.

Trip to the Istana

Today, I'm going to not talk about board games. Instead, I'm going to talk about my experiences when the Istana had its open house on 4th Feb 2011. Istana, meaning palace in Malay, is a place where the president resides. Since it was Chinese New Year, the Istana was opened to the public. It will only open to the public only during the major holidays like Chinese New Year, Labour Day, National Day, Hari Raya Puasa and Deepavali. The Istana is located at Orchard Road right beside Plaza Singapura. Nearest MRT station, Dhoby Ghaut on the North South Line, North East Line and Circle Line.

We had to join a very long queue to the Istana. Since it was free to enter, (must show identification and foreigners will have to pay S$1 to enter the Istana) lots of visitors queued up like a maze (as shown in the picture) right until the front entrance of Plaza Singapura. After showing identification, we had to go for security checks as they do not want suspicious people and suspicious articles to be present in the premises.

Anyway, the security checks were hassle free and they were better than full body scanners right? After we have passed by the security checks, we were greeted with lots of greenery and there were also some visitors enjoying themselves on the grass having picnics, playing some ball and such. There were even golf holes. Since the Istana is the place where our Singapore president lives in, I'm sure he would like to enjoy golfing right at the front yard.

Since it was my first time going to the Istana, me and some friends of mine went to the main building. The place where the president and his family sleeps in. Plus, visitors could visit parts of the main building for a fee of SGD$2 and proceeds will go to charity. I wasn't allowed to snap pictures in the main building mostly because of security but anyway I will just describe it with words. Once we have gotten our tickets, we first entered the banquet hall. Most probably the room where the president and his family dines in. After checking out the banquet hall, there was this big room most likely the grand ballroom, showed visitors the different kinds of gifts donated by governments of other countries.


There were even elevators in the main building. So if they want to climb up to other levels, all they have to do is to push a button and wait for the elevator to come and pick them up. How many times have you seen a house with a built-in elevator in it? Elevators in HDB apartments in Singapore do not count. Eventually, we had a chance to visit the state room which was like a meeting room of some sort. With grand luxurious interior, luxury seats and a mini stage with a podium bearing the state crest of Singapore.

I forgot to mention this. Right before we bought our tickets to check out the main building, there were performances at the entrance of the main building. And guess what? WE SAW THE PRESIDENT OF SINGAPORE!!! His name is Mr S R Nathan and he is currently the president of Singapore. Our president has been serving his duty for 12 years and unfortunately, this year or next year will probably be his last year serving as president. He and his family were all present at the front entrance of the Istana main building and they get to watch the Chinese Dance performance. By the way, the man in purple below is the president of Singapore.

The visit to Istana was truly an unforgettable experience and you, regardless of whether you are Singaporean or not, should also enjoy the experience of going to the Istana. But a word of warning though, everytime you are planning a trip to the Istana, make sure you get yourself prepared by getting dressed in comfortable clothing, wear comfortable shoes and make sure you have strong legs as the distance from the main entrance to the main building is quite a long one. Pack in some snacks and drinks too. They're allowed but you are not allowed to consume it when you are in the Main Building.

Have some cash with you too. There will be souvenirs for sale. From bottles to mugs to souvenir books to umbrellas. Speaking of umbrellas, get yourself an umbrella because you will never know when it rains. Plaza Singapura is a shopping mall beside Istana and that will fulfill all your hunger and thirst and shopping needs after you have visited the Istana. Next open house will be held on 1 May on a Labour Day public holiday. Scroll down for more pictures of the Istana.