Board and Video Games

On August 11 and 12 at the Hilbert Circle Theater, the ISO is teaming up with renowned game composers Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall for Video Games Live—a music experience like no other.

Lasers, lights, and videogame footage will accompany music from some of the most popular games in history such as Halo, Super Mario Bros., Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, World of Warcraft, Kingdom Hearts, Medal of Honor, Tomb Raider, Myst, Madden Football, Finding Nemo, and many more. You'll also hear virtuoso Martin Leung, the Video Game Pianist, perform his exclusive piano arrangement of music from ten of the hit Final Fantasy games!

If you've ever wanted to introduce your kids to the symphony, now's the time—once they experience the power of the ISO with music they recognize, maybe you can get them to go back again later to hear something new.

Read the Press Release • Buy Tickets Online

Not only do board games make a great gift for your friends or family, but they are also an excellent diversion when you're snowed in or otherwise trapped unalone. If you dread the meaningless tedium of Clue or the unending money-swap that is Monopoly, here are some ideas to make you see boardgaming in a new light.

Article edited on 12/16 to add a couple of pictures, plus some more detail on the game types...

Continue reading "Holiday Gift Idea: Board Games"

At first glance, you wouldn't expect The Settlers of Catan game to be as addictive as everyone who's played it claims that it is. For one thing, there are two thick, daunting rule books ("Game Rules" and "Almanac") and the playing pieces themselves are fairly non-descript wooden block-like house structures and "little rectangles" that turn out to be roads. If you're looking for a traditional board for this "board" game, you'll be confused, because it's made up of numerous hexagonal tiles that you lay out in a beehive pattern to play on.

Continue reading "Review: The Settlers of Catan"

The Book Lover's Edition is played very similarly to the regular editions of Trivial Pursuit; the goal is to collect pieces of pie representing different categories of questions, and then to land directly on the center of the board to answer a final question in the category chosen for you by your opponents. Unlike other versions, there are only four tokens to move around the board (a coffee mug, a stack of books, a book bag and a typewriter) and therefore at most four players or teams, instead of the usual six can play.

Continue reading "Trivial Pursuit: Book Lover's Edition"