Overcoming my childhood fears by making friends with the enemy!

Even if you are not a big fan of SF and fantasy, Gen Xers will all remember how scared they felt as kids when the Daleks were on the telly and they peeked at them in thrilling terror from behind the sofa!

I’m a massive Doctor Who fan tuning in for the first time when Jon Pertwee was the Doc-torr and tuning out around the time of Peter Capaldi although I dip in and out these days from time to time and I went to the Time Fracture show for my birthday this year too.

If you want to check my Whovian credentials ask Ant, Vic and Celine in particular. We were known to play Doctor Who related drinking games and also narrowly avoided a run-in with Davros at the reception desk of a hotel in Glastonbury. Ask Celine for more details about that tall story!

So it was brilliant to meet members of the Sons of Skaro at the UKGE. They have a fab collection of mutant Kaleds which they tour and use at a multitude of events. An average stint being a Dalek is about two hours and yes…it does get very hot and stuffy in there!

But of course I wanted to have a turn at wheeling myself around the Expo and telling people off! Maybe next time?!

Click here to find out more about the Sons of Skaro!

And read on for more about the UKGE!

Back In Stock

Two charming games for children and families are back in stock at GYGOL.

Detective Charlie

#Best Games of 2021 - Tabletop Gaming Magazine

6 exciting cases for the whole family to solve!

There’s always something strange happening on Mysterville Island…

Charlie Holmes needs your help to crack the case!

Interview the residents, analyse the evidence, identify the culprits…and remember to be back at the station in time for tea!

1) Roll the die

2) Interview witnesses

3) Rule out the suspects until only one is left: the culprit!

A co-operative game for 1-5 people, suitable for age 7+, playing time 25 minutes

Outfoxed

Mrs Plumpert’s prized pot pie has gone missing and now it’s a chicken chase to crack the case!

Move around the board gathering clues and then use the special evidence scanner to rule out suspects.

You’ll have to work together quickly because the guilty fox is high-tailing it towards the exit!

Will you halt the hungry hooligan before it flies the coop…

…or will you be Outfoxed?

A game for 2-4 players, suitable for age 5+, playing time 20 minutes

Check out these games in the store!

MICHAEL KIWANUKA

We bought our tickets for Michael Kiwanuka at Ally Pally a long, long time ago and after many cancellations, finally got to see him on 25th May 2022.

The experience was heavenly...

Kiwanuka’s soulful arrangements are sublime. I was taken to another place the instance he started performing.

In an Instagram post I described it as ‘A truely spiritual experience. If I could, I would gift it to each and every one of you’. And it was and I would. It was profoundly moving, captivating, uplifting and really, really special.

I was feeling really blue at the time and seeing this artist lifted my spirits and reminded me of the joys of life.

Felt blessed to be part of the crowd that night.

Find out more about Michael Kiwanuka here and…

…read a Guardian review from Kiwanuka’s tour here

Get Your Game On Ltd stocks pre-loved games as well as new games including this little beauty ‘Captain Sonar’ which is still in wrap.

Captain Sonar

The year is 2048. You are part of a team of elite officers in command of a state-of-the-art submarine. The hunt has begun.

Your mission is simple: seek and destroy the enemy submarine.

To beat the enemy, you must co-operate with your teammates.

Only the team who best communicates and works together will survive the encounter…

Your keys to success:

• Synchronize

• Organize

• Navigate

• Attack

• Repair

A game for 2-8 people, suitable for age 14+, playing time 45 minutes

Warlock of Firetop Mountain

If I still had it, I would have given Oliver from The Storymaster’s Tale and John Robertson of The Dark Room my hand-drawn map of the dungeon from The Warlock of Firetop Mountain (painstakingly drawn when I was a young geek after completing my first Fighting Fantasy book) to help them with their quest - talking and walking through the first in the series of Fighting Fantasy books as an evening event at the UKGE!

I felt a lovely mixture of nostalgia and amused disbelief - at the sheer number of smelly rooms, doors, passageways (also known as corridors!), boxes and old men that populated this adventure - and absolutely LOVED being part of the audience at this UK Games Expo event.

Still smiling a week later and remembering my eternal gratitude to Messrs Livingstone and Jackson for allowing an only child and a girl with no like-minded gang of D and D-ers to participate in dozens of fantastic adventures!!

Thoroughly recommend this take on an old classic performed with wit, energy, large dice and lots of silliness! Hurrah!

Oliver McNeil from The Storymaster’s Tales (pictured above) stepped in to read and represent the Warlock as author (Sir) Ian Livingstone was unable to be there. He did an amazing job, as did stand-up comic John Robertson, who rolled the dice, interacted with the audience and provided silly commentary on the book!

The StoryMaster's Tales produce a series of books which have ‘been created to be a quick, easy and fun way of experiencing role-playing without the problem of learning lots of rules or owning numerous books and miniatures. The emphasis is on adventure and storytelling.’ They also do live shows.

Find out more about The Storymaster’s Tales here

John Robertson presents The Dark Room - a satirical look at the cliches of D and D, gaming in general and the fantasy genre!

Find out more about The Dark Room here

Board Game Club at Hazelwood School

Board Game Club at Hazelwood School continues this half term until Tuesday 12th July.

In our first session back this week, we tried to decipher the clues, solve the mysteries and unlock the puzzles as we tackled escape room games!

The kids played two Unlock games and worked on their deduction, observation and lateral thinking skills...

They also worked on working together when working things out (it's very easy to take the lead when you are on a roll but harder to step back and let others have a go...especially if the others on your team are not as assertive or confident as you!)

They then carried on making their cards for their battling card games.

Before half term we worked together in other co-operative games…

Our conclusion? Fun to play but hard to win/beat the game! Grrgh!

The kids worked together and tried to deal with mutual defeat in Zombie Kiddz Evolution, The Mind Extreme and Forbidden Island.

I’m looking for more opportunities to run after school board game clubs in other primary schools, so if you are a teacher or on the PTA of a primary school in Haringey, Enfield or Barnet and think this might be something your students would enjoy please get in touch with me at sarahtuffs@hotmail.com

The UK Games Expo 2022

On Day 1 of the UKGE and I followed my nose towards interesting independents...

So much to see and do, it's can feel a bit overwhelming at first, especially as I arrived on my own, but stopping by a small stand to speak to a designer, small publisher or small retailer was not only interesting, it was a grounding and pleasant experience!

I saw beautiful artwork, felt great passion, heard about games, magazines and other products with strong vision and ethics, been made to feel welcome and even offered a sugary drink to calm me down after a not great journey to the NEC this morning. Thanks @perukegames!

I mention a few of the independents I met at UKGE in more detail throughout this newsletter and hope to be able to offer their products on my website and at markets soon!

I’m also shouting out about Manipulate Game, Stout Stoats RPGs, Colostle Solo RPG, Cake of Doom, Redwell Games, Dice Goblin, Footprints On Forever and Cobblepath Games…all of which I will mention in more detail in my next newsletter.

In the meantime you can find out a bit more about some of them here…

Stout Stoats beautiful RPGs

Cobblepath Games

Colostle Solo RPG

Manipulate Game

Redwell Games

CATCHING UP WITH MY FAVES!

I was really pleased to touch base at the UKGE with Richie and Flav of Hachette Games UK, with some lovely volunteers working for Bez Shahriari of Stuff By Bez and with HABA Games too!

Flavien Loisier and Richie Freeman run the UK distribution arm of Hachette Board Games and are simply fantastic. Their brilliant mix of complete professionalism and utter silliness are a winning combination. They really deserve success and I love catching up with them. Despite their stand being really busy, they found time to sit and chat stuff (and not just about board games) with me. This was really appreciated. I stock Hachette games including Ganymede and Panic Lab and will be stocking some more Hachette games in the near future.

Bez Shahriari is a fantastic and prolific board game designer whose games are quick to learn, fun to play and don’t cost the earth to produce! I tried my hand at ‘A Game About Stuffing Balloons as a team, without talking. But it’s a card game, there are no actual balloons’ which is pictured above. Lots of fun, lovely pictures on the cards and on my list.

I was also really pleased to meet some representatives from HABA for the first time and had a great chat about working with them to promote and sell their games. New game ‘Moonlight Castle’ is pictured to the bottom left of the picture above.

Happy Birthday Alex!

Alex was 50 recently so we had a party!

It’s not often the grown-ups get to make a thing of their birthdays but big numbers such as 40, 50, 60 etc should be met head on and celebrated properly, in my opinion, plus post-pandemic it was a wonderful excuse to all get together. Alex’s family including his mum, dad, sister Clare and her family all came down from up north and Scotland and there were lots of friends old and new at the party too.

Thanks to everyone who came and everyone who helped us to make the night such a big success including Clare and my wonderful mum Maggs, who was the star of the night, managing to mix organising, socialising and having fun without getting flustered! A skill I am still working on! She is and will always be my role-model.

In the pic from left to right: Gabi, Ovi, Sarah, Alex (seen here in his band costume!), Tim (in the background) and Simon!

Bitoku

I haven’t yet played Bitoku (published by Devir and distributed by Kosmos Games) but I had to stop and take a picture of it out on the table at the Kosmos stand at the UKGE! Isn’t it just beautiful! Bitoku also won the Best Euro-style board game at the UKGE.

Check out the Board Game Geek write up about this beautiful board game here

Board Games Are Beautiful

I got to meet Dan, one of the creative brains behind independent board game magazine ‘Senet’ at the UKGE and was so impressed by this beautiful magazine about ‘the craft, creativity and community of board gaming’ that I hope to be selling it to customers on my stall and via my website soon.

In the meantime, check out their website and maybe become a subscriber.

In their own words, this is what Senet is all about…

‘Senet is…for people who love tabletop games, from those who are new to the hobby to veteran players and board-game designers. The magazine promotes board gaming as an art form. Each issue includes previews of the most exciting and intriguing upcoming games, features which explore the tabletop experience and the creative processes behind it, and reviews of the latest releases from both major and independent publishers’.

Click below to find out more about Senet.

Senetmagazine.com

Rhino Hero and Rhino Hero Junior

If you looking for something fun to play with little ones, slightly bigger ones and grown-ups too, look no further than Rhino Hero Junior, Rhino Hero and Rhino Hero Super-Battle!

This fun dexterity game comes in different sizes and with different components depending on the age of the players. It’s great to help younger children with their fine motor skills and it’s a great ice-breaker for games night including in the pub!

Here’s the blurb for Rhino Hero Junior:-

‘Rhino Hero Junior is a superhero in training!

He enjoys climbing tall buildings, and likes to take other junior super-heroes along with him on his adventures.

In three different games, junior superheroes can practice their fine motor skills, work on a basic understanding of numbers and quantities, and also train their memories.

Floor by floor, the learning curve gets steeper, until the heroic rhino reaches the top and the junior superheroes can share in the joy of winning together.’

Check out Rhino Hero and Rhino Hero Junior in the store!

HAVE YOU TRIED…TICKET TO RIDE?

If you like board games and can play in groups of friends and/or family of 3 and above and haven’t yet tried Ticket To Ride, I would definitely recommend it. It’s one of our faves, for sure!

Quick to learn, fun to play and the map and trains look great on the table!

‘With dozens of international awards and over 8 Million games sold, the Ticket to Ride series is one of the most popular modern board game series to date!

Ticket to Ride is a cross-country train adventure where players collect cards of various types of train cars that enable them to claim railway routes connecting cities in various countries around the world.

Ticket to Ride is elegantly simple, can be learned in 5 minutes and appeals to families and experienced gamers’.

A game for 2 - 5 players, suitable for age 8+, playing time 30 - 60 minutes

Check out Ticket To Ride in the store

TIRED BUT HAPPY…ON THE TRAIN HOME FROM THE NEC AND DREAMING OF BOARD GAMES!

Thanks for reading the GYGOL newsletter. I really appreciate your support.

As well as dreaming about board games, I’ve been thinking a lot recently about what GYGOL stands for and why I want to share who I am and what I love with you. Running a small business is a big challenge but I want to focus on the positive in my newsletter and save the stories of striving and the griping and groaning for another time and place!

GYGOL tries to be personable, upbeat and honest about the things we enjoy in life. We are proud to be a small, independent and local business focused on finding the right game for our customers and bringing more people into the board-gaming hobby. We are anti-elite and non-tribal. Board games may not be everyone’s cup of tea but they are for everyone (so please don’t count yourself out of getting into them!).

Our recommendations are all based on things we have done and people we have met including games we have played, events we have attended and designers, artists, musicians and other creatives we admire.

We are also all about promoting some of the really lovely distributors and publishers we work with. We strongly believe in sharing the work of others in order to bring their ideas and products to a wider audience and to offer them our support in any small way that we can.

Everyone is a critic, so in our newsletter and particularly when we meet customers and colleagues, we try to counter this by being upbeat and positive about what GYGOL does and particularly the joy of board-gaming and being part of the board gaming community.

Now back to dreaming about those beautiful board games!