10 Board Games Still Fun for Adults

But apparently not for US players

(NEWSER) - Kinda cool: You can now use Indian words like "aloo" and "gobi" in Scrabble. Not so cool: You can also use slang words like "thang," "innit," and (cringe) "grrl." All of the above have been added to Collins Official Scrabble Words, a book one world champion says is "like the Bible really for Scrabble players." Good news for North American players, however: You can still snarkily deride anyone who tries to pull a "grrl," as the champ concedes that US and Canada players use Webster's dictionary, not Collins. More»

In Monopoly Live, the banker is ... a computer

(NEWSER) - If you're one of those people who loves to argue over the rules of Monopoly, Hasbro's newest version of the classic board game may not be for you. In Monopoly Live, there's no money, no banker, no dice, no Chance and Community Chest cards, and no need to read the rules—a computer in the middle of the board runs the game for you, keeps track of your money and how many spaces you've moved, and thus ensures you don't cheat (or, as some people might call it, negotiate). More»

Mikki Nicholson clocks the competition with 'obeisant'

(NEWSER) - How many points for "unforgettable"? Pink-wigged transsexual Mikki Nicholson woke up the stodgy image of Scabble yesterday when she grabbed Britain's top game award with the word "obeisant" (look it up) finally putting her over the top. "I'm thrilled to have won and I can't wait to celebrate," said Nicholson, a long-time player who credited her win to her intuition and her skill with ... numbers. "People think Scrabble is just about words, but it's the numbers that win the game so a sound mathematical brain is an advantage," she told the BBC . More»

Rules won't change for original game

(NEWSER) - Just imagine "Jay-Z" as a triple word score: A new edition of Scrabble will bring with it a change to one of the game’s cardinal rules—proper nouns will be legal. Mattel won’t regulate which names are allowed or introduce any rules governing spelling, it’ll just let players work it out for themselves, reports the BBC . But traditionalists shouldn't fear, notes CNET : That change and others (such as backward words and stealing letters) will only be in a version sold as Scrabble Trickster. More»

Games teach excessive lending, scarce saving

(NEWSER) - It’s really no wonder Americans fouled up the financial system—fiscal irresponsibility was instilled in us at an early age by board games, observes Caitlin McDevitt for the Big Money. Among the poor lessons imparted by money games:

• In Monopoly, the game’s bank can never go bust—if the banker runs out of Monopoly money, they are instructed to “issue as much as needed by writing on any ordinary paper."