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Polytaire: Piet Hein's Hexagonal Jumping Game
Polytaire: Piet Hein's Hexagonal Jumping Game
A board full of pegs, but for one empty hole, provides a surprisingly demanding abstract game. Polytaire looks familiar if you've played peg solitaire, but the hexagonal board and two-player... Read more...
The Mysterious Chevy Chase board game
The Mysterious Chevy Chase board game
Rebuilding Lost Rules Instructions for playing some antique board games have been lost,  erased by deterioration or neglect. The game of Chevy Chase is only about 130 years old, yet... Read more...
Liubo Board Game — A Lost Chinese Classic
Liubo Board Game — A Lost Chinese Classic
This ancient board game was once a major part of Chinese life, yet for years it sat behind a wall of missing rules, odd artifacts, and half-clear written clues. Liubo... Read more...
Zig: A Game of Cards, Cubes and Connections
Zig: A Game of Cards, Cubes and Connections
Some games let me build one big engine and ride it to the end. Zig asks me to build a small one, fire it up, and then rework the combo... Read more...
Mancala Board Game History, Variants, and How to Play
Mancala Board Game History, Variants, and How to Play
Most people can spot a Mancala board game in a second, but far fewer can say which Mancala they mean. I can't either, because Mancala isn't one game. It's a... Read more...
Morra Board: The Strategy Board Game of Mind-Reading
Morra Board: The Strategy Board Game of Mind-Reading
Some abstract games put every piece of information on the table. Morra Board hides part of the move in your hand, so every turn asks you to “read” the player... Read more...
The Crolard Board: A Lost Cousin to Carroms and Crokinole
The Crolard Board: A Lost Cousin to Carroms and Crokinole
If you enjoy a carroms or crokinole, Carson's forgotten Crolard board feels like a missing branch on the family tree. Around 1899, newspapers in Kansas and Indiana treated it like the... Read more...
Tik-Tok McLoughlin Bros dice game
Tik-Tok, 1882 McLoughlin Brothers Dice Game
When I hear "Tik-Tok," my mind doesn't stay on the modern app for long. I end up thinking about an odd little 1882 game from McLoughlin Brothers, the kind of... Read more...
Chowkra Bhara: An ancient race game from India
Chowkra Bhara: An ancient race game from India
We travel back to India, the birthplace and incubator of dozens of ancient and traditional tabletop games. This is one of the more popular Indian race games that may be... Read more...
Check-Lines
Check-Lines
Ah, the old three-in-a-row game ... There must be some fundamental mathematical principle at work here. Vectors and line segments really only need two points in space to define them.... Read more...
Pencil Pastimes: Vol. 1 - Downloadable Pencil-and-Paper games
Pencil Pastimes: Vol. 1 - Downloadable Pencil-and-Paper games
Back in May of 2025, I posted a video about 3M Paper-and-Pencil games. That video proved to be the most popular episode on our channel so far. Thank you! I... Read more...
Aadu Puli Aatam: The Goat and Tiger Game
Aadu Puli Aatam: The Goat and Tiger Game
Aadu Puli Aatam, also known as "the goat and tiger game," is a strategy board game for two-players (or 2 teams) which originated in Tamil Nadu, a state in southern... Read more...
Games I Played on a Holiday Weekend
Games I Played on a Holiday Weekend
Two or three times a year, my wife and I get together with a couple of dear friends to spend a weekend together. These weekends together usually center around the... Read more...
MALEFIZ a/k/a BARRICADE
MALEFIZ a/k/a BARRICADE
I've seen this game all over the Etsy and Pinterest pages. I guessed it must be pretty popular, so I decided to give it a try and see why. The... Read more...
Halatafl — Was it a real Norse board game, or are the experts wrong?
Halatafl — Was it a real Norse board game, or are the experts wrong?
The provocative title of this article hints at a very common problem for archeologists and historians. When an artifact is found, they must wonder: What is it? How was it... Read more...
Causeway: Battle of Giants
Causeway: Battle of Giants
There were Giants in the Earth. According to Irish legend, the Fomorian Giants were large grotesque semi-human creatures. Some descriptions say they had humanoid bodies with goat heads. Before the... Read more...
Ringo: The Circular Game
Ringo: The Circular Game
In 1915, Freidrich Kleissl applied for a U.S. patent for “certain new and useful improvements in games.” At the time, he was “a subject of the Emperor of Austria” and... Read more...
Megiddo Returns: Classic Abstract Strategy Game of the 80s
Megiddo Returns: Classic Abstract Strategy Game of the 80s
Megiddo by Steve Baldwin, the hit strategy game of the 1980s is back in production. Read more...
Top Ten Favorite Games
Top Ten Favorite Games
I’ve played a lot of games in my time on this planet (so far). I can hardly estimate the total. It might even be over a thousand. I never compiled... Read more...
How to Play Flash Flood! (a video)
How to Play Flash Flood! (a video)
Inspired by real-world experience, this family friendly card game inspires everyone to work together to avert disaster. Read more...
The new Flex Board from NewVenture!
The new Flex Board from NewVenture!
As we expand our product line, we continually improve our production methods, seek out new sources for components, and get better at what we do! For our Peg Pastimes line... Read more...
David's Top 5 Favorite Gaming Accessories
David's Top 5 Favorite Gaming Accessories
Five of my favorite accessories to enhance the game-playing experience. Read more...
Randomizers in the NVG catalog
Randomizers in the NVG catalog
Viking Dice and Castings Sticks are in our catalog! Read more...
its not hoarding if you have them written down
It's not hoarding if you have them written down!
“It’s not hoarding if you have them all written down.” Sound familiar? I have a lot of games. That is to say, “lots” of games (plural). Games of all kinds,... Read more...
who would have thought that rhombuses could be so much fun
Who would've thought that Rhombuses could be so much fun?
This is a great visual pattern-making game for the whole family. Very easy to learn and play for 2 to 6 people, or even with teams. It's simply a matter... Read more...
how to play cardboard a game for the whole family
How To Play Cardboard, a game for the whole family!
Learn how to play CardBoard, the fun family game from NewVenture! This video shows the basics, and plays through some turns so you see how the game goes. Presented by... Read more...
how to play tesla the master of lightning a card game
How To Play Tesla - The Master of Lightning - a card game
This video teaches how to play the card game "Tesla - Master of Lightning" from NewVenture Games. This is a blind-bidding, trick-taking, deck-building card game in which players compete to... Read more...
touring in my gameroom - take a trip and never leave the farm
Touring in my Gameroom: "Take a trip and never leave the farm!"
The classic "Touring" card game was published continually for over 60 years. Invented in 1906, it followed the rise of the automobile in popularity. By 1924, the Parker Brothers company... Read more...
colorbars a new colorful casual card game in my game room
Colorbars - A new colorful casual card game in my Game Room!
This is the official introduction of my recent original game design: Colorbars. You will be playing cards to a row on the table - your "tableau" - lining up the... Read more...
peg pastimes the book about the history of table top games
Peg Pastimes - The Book About the History of Table-Top Games
Board games, card games, dexterity games, party games… the world of table-top games has grown to a multi-billion-dollar industry. But the phenomenon of table-top recreation is as old as history... Read more...
how to play are you the victor or the victim play the game to find out
How To Play Are you the Victor or the Victim? Play the game to find out!
It's a family-oriented game in which players draw and pass letter cards around the table attempting to win by spelling "Victor" with their cards all in one color. At the... Read more...
anti grid a new two player abstract strategy game from newventure games
Anti-Grid - a NEW two-player abstract strategy game from NewVenture Games!
Two players, two sets of pieces, and two boards intertwined, entangled in a struggle to annihilate the opposing forces. "Custodial capture" has always been a favorite mechanism of mine in... Read more...
my game research an overview of resources i use to discover and learn about historical games
My Game Research - An overview of resources I use to discover and learn about historical games.
In this video, I talk about research - the hows and whys and some of the resources I use. The Peg Pastimes series is a specific type of research to... Read more...
stick dice a major board game component for thousands of years
Stick Dice - A major board game component for thousands of years!
While doing research for our new line of ancient Egyptian board games, I discovered just how popular stick dice have been in board game history! Simple to make and easy... Read more...
board games as time machines
Board Games as Time Machines
It’s fairly obvious that I’m very much into historic and vintage board games. My game collection and YouTube video series all attest to that. And you may also be aware... Read more...
peg pastimes how we do it
Peg Pastimes - How We Do It
I've been quite busy lately preparing to manufacture the next batch of our Peg Pastimes games, presently in the midst of a successful Kickstarter campaign. Read more...
whats a workshop game speedway 54 is a free family style race using components you already own
What's a "workshop" game? Speedway 54 is a FREE family-style race using components you already own!
I really enjoy doing Game Workshops. Get a group of people together and invent some fun. I've done these at festivals and public events, and sometimes the results end up... Read more...
bonnets bustles and boots is a clever card game for 3 players with a theme of victorian fashion
Bonnets, Bustles, and Boots is a Clever Card Game for 3 Players with a Theme of Victorian Fashion
A card game specifically designed for courting couples and their chaperone...their what? The idea for this original NewVenture card game comes from the late Victorian-era practice of courting couples always... Read more...
what are your favorite thanksgiving games board games card games party games rpgs
What are YOUR favorite Thanksgiving games? Board Games, Card Games, Party Games, RPGs?
Thanksgiving in the USA (and some other countries) is a time to gather with family and friends and review the good things in your life. Like Board Games, Card Games,... Read more...
games workshops
Games Workshops
Over the years I’ve provided many games workshops for audiences of all ages. In addition, I work with Boy Scouts who wish to earn the Game Design Merit Badge. (Yes,... Read more...
who is on first
Who's on First?
How do you choose a first player? A few common methods are: Rock-Paper-Scissors (one-two-shoot); flip a coin (heads, I win - tails, you lose); high roller with dice used in... Read more...
why i collect table top games
Why Do I Collect Table-Top Games?
“So many games, so little time.” Heard that before, have you? The sentiment is very much linked to a disease that I am afflicted with. It’s a common malady known... Read more...
peg pastimes historic games in the classroom
Peg Pastimes - Historic Games in the Classroom
This episode brings you a bit about our Peg Pastimes games in the classroom. The historical aspect of this collection lends itself very well to a wide range of lesson... Read more...
theme doesn't matter
Theme doesn’t matter!
That provocative title isn’t true - until I explain what I mean. Sure board games have themes, including Senet and Peter Coddles and Star Trek Ascension. Even many historical abstracts... Read more...
a few words about creative packaging a bit of a rant
A few words about "creative" packaging. (A bit of a rant.)
Something a little different from the Game Room this week. I have a lot of games. The collection is nearing 2,000 products now. The challenge has always been storage and... Read more...
the table top game trend is thousands of years old
The Table-Top Game Trend is Thousands of Years Old
“Wherever humans traveled—for trade, for conquest, or simply for survival—they took their games with them.” The historic board games they played offer insights into their cultures, what was important to... Read more...
how to play battlefield a duel of warring factions in a deck of cards
Battlefield Games
Battlefield brings medieval armies together in a clash of forces. Each of the two players have a deck of 72 cards representing military units such as Archers, Swordsmen, Cavaliers and... Read more...
how to play madelinette
How to Play Madelinette - a traditional blockade game
Information and instructions on how to play Madelinette, a traditional blockade game played around the world. Read more...
how to play morabaraba 2 player strategy from south africa
How To Play Morabaraba - 2-player strategy from South Africa
This traditional board game remains quite popular in South Africa and the neighboring countries. It's essentially the same as 12-Men's Morris, but appears to have developed independently. Today, organized international... Read more...
ploy is the space age 3m bookshelf strategy game
Ploy - The Space-Age 3M Bookshelf Strategy Game!
This 3M "Bookshelf" game is one of my favorites from the series. Two players or four, there are some real challenges to look ahead a few moves and predict what... Read more...