YORKTON - So we are diverging from our usual weekly game review to give a shout out to Canadian game designers as Canada Day lies just ahead.
As you might expect there a few hundred games that through the years have been designed by Canadians, ranging from classic to easily forgotten, so a big tip of the hat to every creator. You can never have too many games.
While I am fiercely pro-Canada, a promoter of Canadian sports teams, books, movies and of course games, but that doesn’t automatically mean Canadian goes to the top of my favourite lists. I did a ‘geeklist’ at Board Game Geek for games designed by Canadians that is nearing 900 titles as it evolves.
In the case of board games though, two Canadian-created games are atop my personal favs list.
It starts with a classic.
Crokinole is easily my all-time favourite game, and while there are some who might think it was created south of the line, most point to a Canadian creation back around 1876.
Cribbage has long been a fav game too, but for my better half and I, the card game has been supplemented by Kings Cribbage. The game dates back to 1997, and designer Gary Cowley, with anecdotal evidence at least that it was done in Canada.
Now readers will know I have a soft spot for abstract strategy games, and to-date I’ve discovered just over 70 Canadian-created ones. None would top my list for such games, but a few are very, very good.
Lines of Action is a 1969 masterpiece by Claude Soucie that really flirts with being a top-10 abstract strategy game, and is a game that shines because it can be played with a regular checker board and checkers.
Other abstracts which shine include Gordon Hamilton’s Santorini, the recently discovered Die-Check created in 1972 by Canuck Benoit Launier, and Benedict Einstein (who I am sure is Canadian), Sinoda by Scott R. Kelly, and Bill Murphy, and the fun chess option Proteus by Francis K. Lalumiere. Since I love abstract strategy games I could list more, but this is a good sampling to look into over Canada Day.
Speaking of a day off, they are a perfect time for few hands of cards.
From Saskatchewan, Kaiser might be a fav for many readers, and is a game that appears to have its developmental roots in the province.
In 1961 Ida A Spence created Hockey, and while ridiculously simple, it is a great two-player coffee or brews game.
Canadian Sean Ross’ Vidrasso is a two-player game which comes highly recommended by Trev and I as Meeple Guilders. Ross is actually a rather prolific card game designer, with titles such as Bacon and Dickory drawing a lot of positive attention.
To wind up this very superficial look at Canadian designed games, it is a must Trivial Pursuit has a mention.
“Trivial Pursuit is a board game that was invented by Canadians Chris Haney and Scott Abbott in December 1979. The game quickly became a massive international success and a defining pop culture artifact of the 1980s. It ushered in a new wave of board game popularity and was called “the biggest phenomenon in game history” by Time Magazine. First introduced in Canada in 1981 and in the United States in 1982, the game had sold more than 20 million copies by 1984. Total sales are estimated to have exceeded $1 billion and more than 100 million copies worldwide,” detailed www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca
The Canadian Encyclopedia also details the Canadian game heritage which is table hockey. “Table hockey (also called rod hockey, board hockey, bubble hockey and stick hockey) is a tabletop toy that emulates the game of ice hockey. It is intended for two players, though it can accommodate more. Originally designed as a game for the children of its inventor, Donald H. Munro, table hockey has grown to become internationally popular. Though invented in Canada, it has become particularly popular in Sweden. There is also competitive league play with an international governing body, as well as professional table hockey tournaments with cash prizes.”
I know I spend hours playing ‘rod hockey’ with my Dad as I am sure many have.
So enjoy Canadian games, they are part of our heritage.
