March 2011 Notable Toys — Board Games

The Chairman of the Board has gone missing - presumed dead. A new Chairman must be appointed. Each player has the opportunity to become Chairman, to do so you must first acquire 100.000 company shares from the outer square. This is done by the decisions you make with the cards you hold and those you discard. With 100.000 company shares you may enter into the Promotion inner circle, you must now become a Manager and then "wheedle" your way to become a Director. Now you are ready to make the final move and become Chairman of the Board. All the time your opponents will try to outsmart you, take your personal shares, block you with a Veto card or trick you with a Joker card. They too want to become Chairman of the Board and will show no mercy. They will sell you out or buy you out on their way. You may have to trade or bargain with them - you must have a strategy and you must never lose sight of you goal. You will become Chairman of the Board. For 2-6 players. Playing time: approx. 45 minutes.

A team of vampire hunters, with its leader Doctor Van Helsing, prepare for a fierce fight with Count Dracula. Explore Dracula's castle to find the equipment necessary to properly outfit the team. Watch each other's backs and beware Dracula; he is able to disappear and appear suddenly. Should he catch you unawares, he can turn you into a vampire and have you join his side. Van Helsing is the latest release from Frederic Moyersoen, designer of Nuns on the Run and Bacchus' Banquet. In Van Helsing one player plays Dracula, moving through his castle searching for his brides. The other players play Van Helsing and his associates. They move through the castle trying to avoid being bitten and searching for weapons and equipment that will help them defeat Dracula. Players bitten by Dracula become his minions and try to help him catch the other players (so no players are ever out of the game). Will Van Helsing and his brave team of vampire hunters stop Dracula before he can return his brides to his coffin or will them become his minions?

It is the dawn of the "Age of Railroading" in America. You're a wealthy investor and speculator betting that the new technology will revolutionize transport. Commerce will no longer depend on rutted roads and slow canals. Instead, it will ride the rails on swift, powerful "Iron Horses." This railroad investment and building game covers the years 1830 to the present. You and your fellow players become the
stockholders of America's first railroad corporations. Since the largest shareholder becomes president, you compete for control of the strongest firms. As president, generate revenue by building track and buying and operating trains-regardless of shareholders' needs. Meanwhile, you pay heed to the volatile stock market. You strive to invest in flourishing companies in order to earn healthy dividends. You try to buy stock in corporations that are rising in value, collect strong, and sell before the stock values drop. For 3-6 players. Playing Time 180-240+ minutes.

Wi$eMoney is a fun learning game for ages 13 to adult. Two to twelve players in two to four teams follow footprints in and around the fictitious Town of Financial Literacy. The entire family learns about banking, investing, budgeting, payday, financial responsibility, financing, credit, and identity protection. Players face real world situations and challenges as they learn the secrets of money management. "We created Destina...Wi$eMoney, a team-based board game, to give families a fun, engaging way to help everyone learn and remember financial basics for a successful life," Elizabeth Treher, founder of Destina, Inc., told TDmonthly.