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 May 15, 2008
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Jesús Torres Castro - Spain
This section contains the columns of Jesús Torres Castro, who will be reporting from Spain. Oriol Comas and Xavier Garriga have also contributed news from Spain, and their columns reside here as well.
About Jesús Torres Castro:
From Córdoba to the Cosmos! Playing games has been an important part of his life from the early 1980s, but he has also had time for literature, comics, films, and of course science. Nowadays, while still doing other fun things, he is working on scientific research as Doctor in Physics.
Jesús is the president of the Asociación Cultural Jugamos Tod@s ("everybody is playing" – more or less), an active gaming group of friends living in Córdoba, a city in AndalucÃa, in the south of Spain, in the south of Europe.
He has been the main organizer of the II Encuentro Nacional de Juegos de Mesa (National Spanish Boardgame Meeting).
He is a member of the jury of the Juego del Año, the Spanish Game of the Year award.
He enjoys looking for the right game to play with each one in the right moment, translating rules from foreign languages to Spanish, designing player aids… Jesús also likes to be open to all kind of games and loves to know new things and not forget the old classics. But you know, the most important thing about playing games is the people you are playing with.
¡Nos jugamos! ("Let's play soon!" – more or less)
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HeadlinesMay 14, 2008 - JESS: Made In Spain Games (VI)May 7, 2008 - JESS: Castellers by Reiner Knizia April 30, 2008 - JESS: Feria Jugar x Jugar 2008 April 19, 2008 - JESS: Heckmeck-WM 2007 March 24, 2008 - JESS: Made In Spain Games (V): España 1936 February 4, 2008 - JESS: Roberto Goes to a Spanish Toy Shop January 30, 2008 - JESS: JxJ Game Design Competition 2008 + 2007 awards January 19, 2008 - JESS: Flagiarizing January 16, 2008 - JESS: How Many Yellow Eggs? January 15, 2008 - JESS: A legend has born January 7, 2008 - JESS: Six Minutes with Reiner Knizia on TV January 6, 2008 - JESS: Reiner Knizia was in Córdoba (with interview) |
Articles
JESS: Made In Spain Games (VI)
Some worldwide well known boardgames are published in Spain, by different companies, in Spanish-language editions.
But here we also have a couple of… Made In Spain Games (Part VI)
In this chapter: PatimPatamPatum, Dead End, and Tobynstein (and all of them can be played if you don’t know Spanish).
Posted by Jesús Torres Castro on May 14, 2008 at 12:30 AM in Columnists > Jesús Torres Castro - Spain
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JESS: Castellers by Reiner Knizia
Devir will publish Castellers, an all brand new game by Reiner Knizia.
Posted by Jesús Torres Castro on May 7, 2008 at 12:30 AM in Columnists > Jesús Torres Castro - Spain
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JESS: Feria Jugar x Jugar 2008
Feria Jugar x Jugar, May 1-4, in Granollers (near Barcelona, north-east Spain).
Many gaming activities, tournaments, Roberto Fraga as star guest game author, the second Granollers Game Design Competition, and a brand new Reiner Knizia’s game published by a Spanish company.
Posted by Jesús Torres Castro on April 30, 2008 at 12:30 AM in Columnists > Jesús Torres Castro - Spain
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JESS: Heckmeck-WM 2007
The 2nd. Heckmeck-WM, the world championship of Reiner Knizia’s Pickomino, was celebrated in Munich.
We have a new World Champion, June Beckmann.
Posted by Jesús Torres Castro on April 19, 2008 at 12:30 AM in Columnists > Jesús Torres Castro - Spain
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JESS: Made In Spain Games (V): España 1936
España 1936 is a boardgame for two player about the Spanish Civil War. It is a game by Antonio Catalán, published in Spain by Devir… And now it is going to be published in an English edition.
Posted by Jesús Torres Castro on March 24, 2008 at 12:30 AM in Columnists > Jesús Torres Castro - Spain
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JESS: Roberto Goes to a Spanish Toy Shop
After our last Spanish flagios gaming tale, this next history will be another walk on the dark side of the Spanish traditional game industry.
Our main character is the game author Roberto Fraga. Roberto has a strongly imaginative mind. Surely you know some of his fun games (Dancing Eggs, Dragon Delta, Squad 7…)?
What strange event happened to him in a Toys “R” Us shop in a city in the north of Spain?
Once upon a time…
Posted by Jesús Torres Castro on February 4, 2008 at 12:30 AM in Columnists > Jesús Torres Castro - Spain
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JESS: JxJ Game Design Competition 2008 + 2007 awards
The JxJ Game Design Competition 2008 is already opened in Spain.
Last year, we had the first game design competition in Granollers. I think those awarded games deserve some words and a chapter of the Spanish Gaming Tales. Let’s take a look on the last year JxJ game design contest…
From more than 30 games, 15 of them were selected by the organizers. Diferent gaming groups form Barcelona played them, and after some weeks, 8 really good games were the finalists. Then, a special jury of 8 (not so angry) persons played and played the games for a long weekend in a hotel in Granollers. El Mercado de Tlatelolco (Tlatelolco Market), by Victor Melo, was the final winner in 2007.
El Mercado de Tlatelolco prototype being played in Córdoba
Posted by Jesús Torres Castro on January 30, 2008 at 12:30 AM in Columnists > Jesús Torres Castro - Spain
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JESS: Flagiarizing
I have a question: Could this possibly happen in any other country?
On the left is ¿Quién soy? (Who am I?), published by Diset; on the right is ¿Qué soy yo? (What am I?), published by Falomir (with F).
Posted by Jesús Torres Castro on January 19, 2008 at 12:30 AM in Columnists > Jesús Torres Castro - Spain
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JESS: How Many Yellow Eggs?
Game sale numbers are, in general, a secret in Spain. Companies just don’t talk about them. But thanks to Roberto Fraga, we have some numbers about the sales of his Dancing Eggs game—and not only in Spain, but in other European countries and the USA.
Posted by Jesús Torres Castro on January 16, 2008 at 12:30 AM in Columnists > Jesús Torres Castro - Spain
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JESS: A legend has born
Do you remember this man?
He was the Universal Champion of Dancing Eggs in 2006.
Posted by Jesús Torres Castro on January 15, 2008 at 12:30 AM in Columnists > Jesús Torres Castro - Spain
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JESS: Six Minutes with Reiner Knizia on TV
In October 2007, Reiner Knizia was at the University of Córdoba for an exposition, a gaming day, and a conference. During that time he gave a very good interview for a TV program called Tesis, which is about university activities. The interview finally showed on TV was short, about six minutes, but it was glorious for us: board games on Spanish TV!
You can find the full interview—Calculando el Secreto de la Diversión ("Calculating the secret of fun")—on the Tesis website. Reiner talks in English, with Spanish subtitles. They also did some animations with Knizia’s games after we explained how to set up the games in the right way :-)
We like these six minutes very much—enjoy!
¡Nos jugamos!
Posted by Jesús Torres Castro on January 7, 2008 at 12:30 AM in Columnists > Jesús Torres Castro - Spain
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JESS: Reiner Knizia was in Córdoba (with interview)
The 6th day of January is the last Xmas day in Spain, when children get their toys and everybody has presents and gifts in their shoes (not in the socks, as Santa does).
On this special day, here is our Knizia’s interview and the chronicle of his visit to Córdoba.
Posted by Jesús Torres Castro on January 6, 2008 at 12:30 AM in Columnists > Jesús Torres Castro - Spain
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JESS: Los Pilares de la Tierra - JdA 2007
The JdA 2007 (Juego de mesa del Año 2007 en España), the Game of the Year in Spain award, is:
by Michael Rieneck & Stefan Stadler
(published by Devir)
Posted by Jesús Torres Castro on December 24, 2007 at 12:30 AM in Columnists > Jesús Torres Castro - Spain
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JESS: Festival de Juegos de Mesa Córdoba 2007
I was away from gaming for some weeks because of surgery problems, but now I’m back, and there are many things to say about gaming in Spain, starting the week before Essen with coverage of the Festival de Juegos de Mesa (Boardgame Festival) in the city of Córdoba, with Reiner Knizia as a guest star.
Posted by Jesús Torres Castro on December 14, 2007 at 12:30 AM in Columnists > Jesús Torres Castro - Spain
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JESS: 3EB
There are more and more boardgame events in Spain.
Our next big meeting will be the 3EB, III Encuentros de Juegos de Mesa, which will be celebrated this year in Barcelona from December 21-23.
Posted by Jesús Torres Castro on December 13, 2007 at 12:30 AM in Columnists > Jesús Torres Castro - Spain
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JESS: JdA in Essen 2007
The winner of the JdA 2007, the Spanish Game of the Year award, will be announced on December 22. At the 2007 Essen Fair, we gave a Finalist Certificate to the authors who are in the running for the award: Wolfgang Kramer, Michael Rieneck & Stefan Stadler, Uwe Rosenberg, John Yianni, and William Attia.
Posted by Jesús Torres Castro on December 12, 2007 at 12:30 AM in Columnists > Jesús Torres Castro - Spain
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JESS: Finalist of the JdA 2007 in Spain
The JdA 2007 (Juego del Año) is the game of the year award in Spain.
The finalists for the JdA 2007 have been announced:
- Bohnanza , Uwe Rosenberg (Mercurio)
- Caylus , William Attia (Edge)
- Hive: La Colmena , John Yianni (Crómola)
- Los Pilares de la Tierra , Michael Rieneck & Stefan Stadler (Devir)
- PrÃncipes de Florencia , Wolfgang Kramer & Richard Ulrich (Excalibur)
- Puerto Rico , Andreas Seyfarth (Devir).
Posted by Jesús Torres Castro on October 16, 2007 at 12:30 AM in Columnists > Jesús Torres Castro - Spain
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JESS: Jugamos Tod@s award - Spanish game authors
The Premio Jugamos Tod@s is an award for the Spanish game authors (independent of the JdA award to the best game published in Spain).
In its first edition, the winner has been announced:
Jugamos Tod@s award 2007: Oriol Comas & Jep Ferret (Pròxima Obertura)
Posted by Jesús Torres Castro on October 16, 2007 at 12:30 AM in Columnists > Jesús Torres Castro - Spain
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JESS: Tobynstein, by Josep M. Allué
Tobynstein, a new game by Josep M. Allué (published by Homoludicus), will be the first Spanish game released in Essen ever.
The game will be not ready for the Festival de Juegos de Mesa in Spain, but it will ready the next week for the Essen fair.
* * *
”Young Frankenstein cousins dig pet graves at night.
Everybody tries to be the first to complete a body and bring back to life a pet with the help of a lightning.
Who will be the first to achieve it and with the years will be known as Dr. Frankenstein?.
Posted by Jesús Torres Castro on October 3, 2007 at 12:30 AM in Columnists > Jesús Torres Castro - Spain
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JESS: JxJ - Gaming at open air
From 17th to 20th May, l’Ascensió Fair was celebrated in Granollers, a village near Barcelona. It was an important commercial fair. In the main area, there were different stands of local shops, or stands with typical foods of the region. There was a second area with attractions and out-door activities (as old car exhibition, equitation, etc.).
And between these two areas, there was – for the first time – a sub-fair dedicated to gaming. It was the JugarxJugar Fair.
Posted by Jesús Torres Castro on July 6, 2007 at 12:30 AM in Jesús Torres Castro - Spain
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JESS: Reiner Knizia in Spain
Reiner Knizia will play in the Festival de Juegos de Mesa Córdoba 2007 - a Boardgame Festival in Córdoba city, in AndalucÃa, at south Spain)
Great news for us, Spanish game lovers!
Posted by Jesús Torres Castro on June 22, 2007 at 12:30 AM in Jesús Torres Castro - Spain
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JESS: Gaming in Portugal
Many games from big companies are published in Spain in two-language editions. Rules are included in both Spanish and Portuguese. Spain and Portugal are neighbouring countries, but we are really quite disconnected in many ways.
Let’s take a look at games in Portugal!
Posted by Jesús Torres Castro on May 10, 2007 at 12:30 AM in Jesús Torres Castro - Spain
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JESS: Made In Spain Games (IV)
Some worldwide well known European, Asian and American boardgames are published in Spain, by different companies, in Spanish editions – and if not, hard core gamers can buy all kinds of games directly from other countries on the Internet.
But here we also have a couple of… Made In Spain Games (Part IV)
This time I want to talk about three new Spanish games just published: Pròxima Obertura, Kanji Battle and 1936: Guerra Civil.
Part I: Made In Spain Games (I)
Part II: Made In Spain Games (II)
Part III: Made In Spain Games (III)
Posted by Jesús Torres Castro on April 22, 2007 at 11:30 PM in Columnists > Jesús Torres Castro - Spain
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JESS: Games eggs hugs
Have you ever seen people watching a game being played by others, so excited, so emotionally involved in the game, that complete strangers actually begin to hug one other?
Well, I have. Okay, so maybe some of you have had similar experience, but I am going to tell you a tale about eggs, necks and hugs.
Do you wanna dance?
(And by the way Spanish cockerals say “KikirikÃ!!!â€?)
Posted by Jesús Torres Castro on March 22, 2007 at 11:30 PM in Jesús Torres Castro - Spain
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JESS: Why Not Spanish Rules?
Sometimes, some games published by some company have rules in Spanish. This should be quite normal because Spanish is, to say the least, an important language in the world – although maybe not that important in the ‘gaming’ world… yet.
A game which includes rules in Spanish is less common in German or European publications than with those from the USA, and I can only suppose this is because the Spanish language is becoming increasingly more spoken in this country.
This is an open invitation to everybody who can do something: We want rules in Spanish!
Posted by Jesús Torres Castro on March 12, 2007 at 11:30 PM in Jesús Torres Castro - Spain
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JESS: Puerto Rico - Spanish edition
Good news for Spanish-language gamers!
Puerto Rico, a game by Andreas Seyfarth, will be published in Spanish edition by Devir.
This time, they don’t need to translate the game tittle ;-)
It has been added to the Gone Cardboard Spain web-page.
Posted by Jesús Torres Castro on March 5, 2007 at 11:30 PM in Jesús Torres Castro - Spain
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JESS: Made In Spain Games (III)
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JESS: Made In Spain Games (III)
Some worldwide well known European, Asian and American boardgames are published in Spain, by different companies, in Spanish editions – and if not, hard core gamers can buy all kinds of games directly from other countries on the Internet.
But here we also have a couple of… Made In Spain Games (Part III)
Let’s take a look over the more important Spanish games of the day. You never know, you might find a game you’ll fall in love with…
Part I: Made In Spain Games (I)
Part II: Made In Spain Games (II)
There are more Spanish games – and many authors waiting for their opportunities, but I think for now the most commercially important are here. Don’t be doubtful, if you like one of them, get it. There is some good fun to be had with them. When new games are published here, you will find out about them from these Spanish Gaming Tales.
Posted by Jesús Torres Castro on February 21, 2007 at 11:30 PM in Jesús Torres Castro - Spain
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JESS: Made In Spain Games (II)
Some worldwide well known European, Asian and American boardgames are published in Spain, by different companies, in Spanish editions – and if not, hard core gamers can buy all kinds of games directly from other countries on the Internet.
But here we also have a couple of… Made In Spain Games (Part II)
Let’s take a look over the more important Spanish games of the day. You never know, you might find a game you’ll fall in love with…
Part I: Made In Spain Games (I)
Posted by Jesús Torres Castro on February 8, 2007 at 11:30 PM in Jesús Torres Castro - Spain
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JESS: LOBO - to the GONE CARDBOARD SPAIN
Few years ago, a new boardgame in Spain was something rare. But nowadays, boardgames are becoming more important here, and almost every month we have some new game in shops. That’s the moment to control all these new launchings. That is, the GONE CARDBOARD SPAIN web page.
And I want to welcome a new company, because they have just released a Spanish and Portuguese edition of Philippe des Pallières’ La Guerre des Moutons or Wooly Bully : LOBO.
Posted by Jesús Torres Castro on February 3, 2007 at 11:30 PM in Jesús Torres Castro - Spain
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JESS: Made In Spain Games (I)
Some worldwide well known European, Asian and American boardgames are published in Spain, by different companies, in Spanish editions – and if not, hard core gamers can buy all kinds of games directly from other countries on the Internet.
But here we also have a couple of… Made In Spain Games.
Let’s take a look over the more important Spanish games of the day. You never know, you might find a game you’ll fall in love with…
Posted by Jesús Torres Castro on January 29, 2007 at 11:30 PM in Jesús Torres Castro - Spain
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