aMAZEing Games

Since several major gift-giving holidays are approaching quickly, my co-workers and I have been chatting about recent purchases. Today, toys for nieces and nephews were the topic of discussion, and I suggested my co-worker purchase some of the well-designed games I enjoyed as a child. And still play on occasion.  

I was one of those kids who played board games, always won, and then was surprised to find that no one wanted to play with me. Today, I still have a difficult time getting any of my family members to enjoy conversation over a board game.

Growing up, I had a few favourite games, including Battleship, Clue, and The aMAZEing Labyrinth:

Before the game can begin, players assemble The aMAZEing Labyrinth by placing a series of cards on the board in a random order. The purpose of the game is to create passageways through the mess of tunnels created by the cards, in order to reach destinations and ultimately return to the start. The board is constantly changing and players must plan a series of movies, evaluating the order in which to collect tokens. This is a  fantastic strategy game.   

Oh, how I loved a challenge! While at the house of a friend of my parents, I discovered this game: 

 

Now called Screwball, it has two previous names, Run Yourself Ragged and Snafu. For this single-player game, the timer is set and the ball bearing is placed at the start. The player then competes against the clock to reach the finish line before the bell sounds. Very fun!

A few years ago, I stumbled across the Perplexus, another single-player game. (Are you sensing a trend?)

Like Snafu, the goal is to control the path of the ball bearing through various obstacles. About a year ago, I brought the original Perplexus into work, and I never saw it again. It is still traveling from cube to cube.

Have an aMAZEing Holiday!