Reviewed in Games Magazine, February 2005
Games 100 selection, December 2005

This is the second of Manny's game ideas Kadon has published. See also our old favorite, Triangoes. In Teleporters, we introduce an entirely original game concept of instantaneous space travel— A player's "pole" pieces can travel not just on their own but by hitching rides in teleporters that can zoom across the board. Teleporters consist of two "port" pieces that have joined up. Singly they also block and guard. Teleporters can even grab opponent poles and teleport them back to their starting lines. Another unique feature: Move 2 poles and 2 ports on every turn. Every move brings an exciting opportunity for strategic dazzle. Laser-engraved 18" wood boards are hand-painted in a distinctive design, with blue felt slipcover. Each player has 4 poles and 4 ports. For ages 10 to adult, 1 or 2 players. $150

This is Art's third gameboard creation (see End Point above and The Power of Two) with intricate lattices for movement strategy. The pieces are jewel-like disks in four colors. The 17"x17" wood board is handcrafted and laser-engraved. Two wood dice determine how many actions you take on a turn:  trade pieces on parallel lines, overpass a series of pieces on connected vertices, slide along a line, or exit a piece from an outermost corner. First player to exit all 10 pieces wins. The move combinations are very exciting, especially because you can move any piece on the board, not just your own. A second game, "Groups of Three," has pieces moving between compartments, not on points or lines. The third game, "Mono-Line," takes utmost concentration not to step on the other player's lines but to stake out lines of your own. For ages 10 to adult, 1 to 4 players. $59

These "Two Smart Games^TM" are awesomely simple but stimulate multi-level thinking by the master of the lateral thinking school. Every move combines attack and defense, each piece is highly significant at every move, and the games play quickly. In the L-Game, each player has just one playing piece: an L-shape of their own color. On each turn players reposition their own piece on the 4x4 grid and then may move a neutral peg to another open space. The goal is to make it impossible for the opponent to move the L. In 3-Spot, played on a mere 3x3 grid, the players have just one domino piece of their own color. On each turn the player's own piece is repositioned, and the one neutral domino is also moved. Players score points for how many of the 3 spots on the board their piece covers. DeBono's idea here is that players score points, but the player with the most points wins only if the other player also has a certain minimum number of points. If under that minimum, the low scorer wins. The well-made plastic case has two bins back to back, good for travel. Recommended for 2 players, ages 7 to adult.$18

This refreshingly different word game is based on a notation in Lewis Carroll's diaries. Martin Gardner, author of The Annotated Alice, has defined suitable rules. Move letters like chess queens to form words and score points. There's no capturing, and you can't sabotage your opponent's scoring row, though you can try to blockade the opponent's moves. The 22" red game cloth is printed in white to look like Alice's picnic tablecloth. A total of 110 letter tiles serve for this and several other games on the same board, plus solitaires. Entertaining for 1, 2 or more players, ages 8 to adult. $45

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Four letter dice for rhymes with spice — Find rhyming words — Write lines with rhymes — Write verse that’s terse — Or tangled at times — Speak silly sense — For fun with friends — A creative toy for verbal joy. The four jumbo dice have exactly one of each letter of the alphabet, with QU and XY doubled up. Roll the dice and make up a line of verse, using the letters on top as the first letters of your words, in any order. Repeat letters as often as you like. You also get free use of a, an, and, and the. Because this is a collaborative game, on your turn you may also invite the other players to suggest words, and you as the "editor" can choose the best ones. The next player's line should rhyme with yours and be somewhat related by subject. After at least 4 lines, read your creation aloud and give yourselves a hand. Instruction booklet even includes a mini-guide to verse forms. Incredibly creative, funny, contagious. The ideas just jump. Highly involving for 1 to 6 players, ages 8 to adult. $18

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Here is our answer to the Sudoku puzzle theme — a 9x9 square with colors instead of numbers. Our deluxe Pseudo-Coup has a 10" lasercut acrylic game grid with inset spaces and 81 acrylic hexagonal "chips" for simulating Sudoku with 9 colors. We thank Phil Heidemann for inspiring us to create this set. We've also added some multi-player games, including a strategy game where the pieces form a triangular grid. Henry Kwok's two delightful games for two players — "Henry's Houses" and "Pseudo-GO" — extend the fun far beyond the original puzzle. See the full rules, plus a bonus game by Henry, Sumodoku, described only on this website. For 1 to 9 players, ages 8 to adult. $49