How to Play
The NewVenture YouTube Channel includes three main playlists:
- Peg Pastimes: I present a little history and background information about each game in the collection, as well full instructions and some bits of strategy to help you play (and win).
- NewVenture Games: I share stories about the inspiration and development of my original game designs, teach you how to play them, and brag a little about how great they are.
- Game Stuff: These are videos about table-top games in general. I cover history, research, game collecting and the hobby itself, as well as sharing insights into the creative and production process.
Tâb is a challenging “Running Fight” board game from ancient Egypt (and beyond).
Tâb was rediscovered by archeologists a century ago in digs throughout the eastern Mediterranean. It was a game that appears to have been popular with all classes, and traveled along the trade routes as far east as India and...
Play SENET, game of the Pharaohs from the year 3,000 B.C.E.
Our "wayback machine" takes us once more to ancient Egypt and another of the oldest board games known to modern archeology. Senet is a great little race game, with set-backs and strategic mechanisms well known to modern...
The ancient Egyptian game called Mehen is the earliest known multi-player board game.
Most ancient board games, and indeed most abstract strategy games, are for two players. The game of Mehen "the coiled snake" appears to be the oldest multi-player board game ever discovered. The game is will over 4000 years...
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 being pretty good. Speedway 54 is one of those games...
Hounds & Jackals – The favorite board game of the ancient Egyptian Pharaohs!
The historic game of Hounds and Jackals - also known by several other names - was rediscovered by British archeologists in the late 19th century. The game is at least 3500 years old, and several variants have been found over...
Aseb – A Strategy Board Game from Ancient Egypt, also Known as “20 Squares.”
This is one of the five board games in our "Ancient Egypt" series, rediscovered by archeologists within the past 150 years. Aseb (also known by other names) is around 5,000 years old. Its popularity was widespread and...
Wolf in the fold? A card game for aspiring shepherds in the audience – and everyone else, too!
Here's a great little family card game about growing a herd (OK, a "flock") of sheep while also protecting them from marauding wolves. At the same time, you ARE the marauding wolves, hindering the efforts of the other players....
Dominique is not dominos, but it is unique. A very fun abstract tile game from the 1980s!
For this episode, I pulled an abstract game out of the archives that I think deserves a replay. It's pretty simple on the surface, but competitive players will find quite a bit of depth here. On the other hand, it's easy for young kids to learn and have fun with, too....
How Milton Bradley saved us all and revolutionized the Board Game industry!
Milton Bradley's first board game was "The Checkered Game of Life" first published in 1861. Building upon the dice-dependent morality "games" of the previous century, he created a game that became the centerpiece of the Bradley catalog for generations. The game is...
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, Party Games, and RPGs. Right? This is a simple holiday...
Gluckshaus is a Medieval dice game from central Europe. Will the dice roll in your favor?
It wasn't called "Gluckshaus" until the 20th century, but over 500 years ago this little gambling game was first played in central Europe. It's known as Jeu du Sept, Gioco della Barca, Arlequinspiel, and in England as "Lucky...
Troke is a strategy board game “cousin” of Scrabble!
In the 1940s, James Brunot, one of the early developers of Scrabble, collaborated with Arpad Rosti, a famous industrial designer, to invent the board game "Troke." When Selchow and Righter licensed Scrabble in 1952, they...