IF you’re fed up with bitter rows over board games over the Christmas period, then read on.

Boredom waiting for your turn, accusations of cheating and disputes over rules are the main triggers for arguments in traditional games, according to John Morgan, owner of the Thirsty Meeples board game cafe in Oxford.

Families had to sort out their own arguments on Christmas Day though as this was the only day the cafe was closed over the festive period.

Mr Morgan added: “Any game can lead to an argument but we don’t tend to see people getting upset and turning tables over here.

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“One thing that does lead to arguments on Christmas Day is the rules. The modern games tend to have simpler rules and you can get started quickly.”

One of the best-selling games at Thirsty Meeples in the run-up to Christmas this year has been a storytelling party game called Dixit.

The game, which features colourful illustrations, quickly sold out. Another top-selling board game is Machi Koro, a fast-paced game for 2-4 people with players competing to develop a city on their own terms in order to complete all the landmarks in construction the fastest.

A quirky card game called Cheating Moths which turns cheating into an art form proved a popular stocking filler.

The cafe in Gloucester Green sells a large range of modern board games and customers can try out many of the games first.

Mr Morgan said: “We haven’t got anything against the traditional games but we encourage people to discover the modern board games. It’s a different experience.

“With the traditional games you play your turn then you wait for everyone else to take their turn.

“With the new games, everyone can be playing at the same time and it’s really fast and frantic.

“We’ve got co-operative games, topical games, quirky games.

“It can get very noisy and raucous. People come here because we show them the new way of playing board games.”

A knowledgeable ‘game guru’ is on hand at the cafe to explain the rules and can instantly resolve any disputes.

Oxford University maths student Nathan O’Neill, 23, said: “The best thing about Thirsty Meeples is the variety of people who come through the door, families, dates, kids everyone.’’ Mr Morgan said the run up to Christmas “is our really busy season, we are packing games round the clock to sell online and in our shop”.

He said: “Some of the big shops are cottoning on to modern board games but they don’t have the range that we do.’’

 

THIRSTY MEEPLES’S TOP BOARD GAMES

1 – BLACK FLEET
Dastardly villains have captured the Governor’s daughter and it’s up to you to save her. Employ merchants to trade goods or use your pirates to sink your enemies and steal their treasure.
2 – COLT EXPRESS
It is 1899 and the Union Pacific Express train is suddenly attacked by bandits. Players play cards to steal the most loot, shoot their opponents, move around the train and elude the law as they compete to become the richest bandit in the west.
3 – CAMEL UP
As members of Egyptian high society, you gather in the desert with the simple goal of gaining the most money by backing the right camel to win the race.
4 – SPLENDOR
A fast-paced game of chip-collecting where players are wealthy merchants of the Renaissance period, competing to acquire mines and woo the
nobility.
5 – TRIBES
Your caravan arrives at the sultanate of Naqala where the old sultan has just died and Naqala is up for grabs. Invoke the old djinns and move the tribes into position at the right time, and the legendary city could be yours.

 


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