Author: pete

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The Chartes Labyrinth; Go; Mancala; and more . .

Maybe you’re bored. Maybe you would like to try something a little bit different; exotic;  . . . dangerous! In the comfort of your own home of course. How about a different board game. Woah. You can handle it! Your spouse will still speak to you afterwards! Your children will not shun you! They might even like it. How about . . .

Go. I mean “Go” the board game. Never heard of it!? It’s the most popular board game in the world; in the history of the world even! It’s also older than chess. It takes about 5 minutes to learn how to play. Then it takes the rest of your life to get good at it. It’s played primarily in China, Japan and Korea. It’s not just “played” it’s obsessed and fought over. It’s like pro football in the US. Don’t ask me to explain the game here. Just check it out.

How about the Chartes Labyrinth.

Chartes what? A labyrinth is like a maze but with only one way in and one way out. It’s not meant to be challenging or difficult. It’s meant to be a meditation. It’s cool. If you’re cool you might like it. On the other hand if you just try it you might become cool! How cool is that!? Just check it out OK?

Have you ever played the game Mancala? It’s the African stone game played in what looks like (to me) an egg box. The stones are not heavy. They’re small. Good game for making small talk with your future spouse. So anyway . . .

All of these games and more will be included in the latest newest version of the American Game Table – to be released soon! This is what’s called a “teaser.”

Until then check out  the old, traditional, classic, immortal board games here:

www.americangametable.com

 

 

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This Is Not Funny Anymore

It doesn’t matter what you think about Covid. Is it just like the flu or is it the end of civilization as we know it? Either way its not over. And I am still stuck in my freaking house all the time. Grrrr.

I’ve already painted the bathroom and fixed the light switch in the kitchen. I sent a nice letter to my ex – after 10 years. I checked out all the symptoms for throat cancer. (I’m fine.) I joined a right wing malitia. Gotcha didn’t I! I’m bored.

What to do?

How about getting really good at chess.

How about gambling away all your savings (ie. stimulus checks) by getting obsessed with backgammon.

How about playing Chinese checkers with your elderly live-in mother in law. Can you imagine!

Ok how about a game of cribbage with your degenerate friends from highschool.

Play a game of checkers with a beeeutiful woman.

Play a game of checkers with a sweat guy.

Maybe you’re shy like me. Playing a board game is a nice way to get beyond shyness and have a nice idle conversation with someone.

Of course you could play a game of poker. But that’s evil. The bishop doesn’t allow it! You’ll lose real money even if you’re playing a penny ante game. Plus you always need four people.

Naw; play a board game. If you get tired of one game try another. Here:    www.americangametable.com

 

 

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Play A Game . . . Maybe Two

Blog blog blog. Blah blah blah. OK why am I really writing this? To get more people to visit my website and make me rich. But why are you reading this? Don’t you have better things to do? Go climb a mountain or visit your grandmother. This is not literature. No one ever won a Pulitzer for a blog. Can you imagine a Madmen episode where they did blogging? No. Even the word “blog” is an insult to the beauty of the English language. The word sounds horrible. Its a variation on bleck!

OK so you’re stuck at home doing pandemic time. What to do? Well you might want to play a game with your kids or, the unthinkable, with your spouse.

OK I am stuck at home doing pandemic time. What do I do to get more people to visit my website –  to make them happy?

The first Pulitzer prize winning blog!

Board games and especially the American Game Table is like something out of the 1930’s or 40’s. So that’s where we will go for inspiration:  The Burma Shave signs! Remember them? I don’t. I’m not THAT old.

The Burma Shave shaving cream company had a unique way of advertising. They placed a series of small signs along the highway with short lines that created a memorable poetic couplet. Say what?

Like this:

Big Mistake

Many Make

Rely On Horn

Instead Of

Brake

Burma Shave

So like this:

Play A Game

Maybe Two

With Your Friends

Or Kangaroo

American Game Table

Or this:

I Like Chess

She Likes Checkers

I like Levi’s

She Like Dockers

Or Geckos?

Or Hecklers?

Or Knickers?

Or Necking!

Oh to be young again.

American Game Table

Or this:

Playing Backgammon

Leads To Famine

Its So Much Fun

You’ll Forget To Eat!!!!!

American Game Table

If we haven’t been arrested yet we’ll try one more:

Cribbage Is For Hillbillies

Don’t Try To Pretend

Play Like You Live

Play To The End

American Game Table

Thank you. Thank you very much. First I would like to thank my parents and my family who are with me here this evening . . .

 

 

 

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The Board Game Poet

Mr. Meckers likes to play checkers

Without regard to crowds of long neckers.

As for chess

Its a mess

That is unless

You talk to Tess.

But the gang was jamin’

Fishin’ for salmon

And playin’  backgammon!

So everyone plays cribbage

Can you say fribbage?

(Or how about arbitrage?)

My knees checkers

are tyin’ ‘ese wreckers

before playin’ Chinese Checkers.

“Words” sounds like babble

Like all of the rabble

eating crab apple.

“America’s Game” is a little sloppy

Like and old jalopy.

Ha!

Win or lose

You get to snooze.

 

 

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Why Play A Boardgame?

Why play a board game?

Really.  Don’t you have something more important or more exciting or more fulfilling to do. Like . . .

Reviewing your financial portfolio?

Cleaning the bathroom?

Reading Faust?

Who cares about a game of checkers these days?

What’s to be learned by playing a game of backgammon?

Chinese Checkers is so simple a four year old can play.

Cribbage is only for rednecks!

Chess is for people who think their [sp] just too smart.

“Words” is for English teachers.

“America’s Game” if for 8 year old boys.

But you’re missing the point! It’s not about the game. It’s about the people. (Well there is one exception. Chess IS about the game.)

Spend some time face to face. Get to know your son a little better; or maybe your grandmother. Engage in idle chatter with someone you love. Exchange thoughts; exchange looks; exchange smiles.

Just remember it’s only a game. It’s the people that count.

Brought to you by:

www.americangametable.com

 

 

 

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The Perfect Gift

What is a perfect gift?

That depends of course. Who is it for? What’s the occasion?  Is there a pandemic going on?

Let’s get to the point. We have the perfect gift for Christmas for your entire family especially this year.

If you’re spending more time at home with the family what do you DO? Watch video? Spend time on the trampoline? Yoga? Cooking? Gardening? Playing board games?

The American Game Table has six full-sized classic board games all in one beautiful place:  Chess/Checkers, Backgammon, Chinese Checkers, Cribbage, “Words”, and “America’s Game.”

The table is simply turned over until the game of choice is on top ready to play.

Premium game pieces are stored inside the table.

Its such a simple idea you’ll wonder why no one ever thought of it before!

There’s more.

The American Game Table is beautiful AND extremely rugged. It’s made out of WOOD not cardboard or plastic. Most of the game pieces are also made of wood. Even the heavy duty corduroy draw-string pouches for the game pieces are very very rugged.

The American Game Table is a family heirloom that will last for many years, perhaps many generations. The game table is a gift to not only your family but to future generations. Chess, backgammon, cribbage – all of these games, have been around for many years and all of these games will still be played for many many years to come.

The American Game Table can be the generator of family memories. In future years it can be a physical reminder of cherished memories from long ago.

What a perfect gift.

Check it out:

www.americangametable.com

 

 

 

 

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America’s Game

Atlantic City New Jersey: boring. Second rate gambling casinos, dismal neighborhoods, yucky cotton candy. And street names we all know from putting little green plastic houses and red hotels on to collect rent. How about something new and more exciting?

How about America’s Game.

The most expensive high rent properties are Wall Street and Madison Avenue. The low rent district is Tobacco Road and Skid Row.

For Los Angeles we have Sunset Strip, Hollywood and Vine.

For San Francisco we have Haight, Asbury and Lombard.

How about Lover’s Lane, Primrose Path and Yellow Brick Road.

For Beatle fans we have Penny Lane. For Paul Simon we have Bleaker Street. For Bob Dylan we have Positively Fourth Street.

We’ve got the Appalachian Trail and the Oregon Trail.

South of the Mason Dixon Line? We’ve got the Natchez Trace.

We’ve got real railroads too:  CSX, Long Island Railroad, Bay Area Rapid Transit and of course Amtrak.

For our libertarian friends we even have a Flat Tax.

Best of all everything is made out of wood; not plastic.

Its all part of America’s Game found only at American Game Table.

Check it out at:  www.americangametable.com

 

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Chickens Playing Board Games

What do chickens and vinyl records and board games have in common?

They all squawk?

They all scratch?

They all throw dice?

They are all a part of a general retreat from the digital world.

The digital world has been designed primarily for purposes of control. Control of data transmission, data storage, output, time, space, and ultimately people: You.

Is there still room for analog-ness in the digital world? Can we escape the gravity of technology? Must there always be someone pushing us to buy the next new thing like our lives depend on it?

Well that’s largely up to you.

So . . .put a chicken coop in your back yard!

Dig out those old Carole King albums!

Slow down; sit down; and play a board game. Maybe two!

Meanwhile check out the next new thing here:

www.americangametable.com

Your life may depend on it!

PS, It makes a great gift.

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Who reads testimonials?

As for me I just don’t have time to read testimonials on websites. Not that they might be informative or useful sometimes. But really, they are usually quite predictable and shall we say . . .  boring.

Not so with the testimonials found on www.americangametable.com!! They are fantastic! Pardon my hyperbole maybe “fantastic” is just a little bit of overstatement. Just a little bit.

You be the judge:

\How about this one:

“We couldn’t be happier with the table! My family was so surprised and thankfully so content to just play games the past couple of days as they weren’t dying to go skiing in the cold. Please let me know if there is anywhere we can post reviews for you, you went above and beyond making sure we got this and I appreciate that so much and the craftsmanship is just beautiful.”

Ruth in Bretton Woods, NH

 

Or this one:

“We just received and unpacked our new game table. My wife, myself and our two neighbors that helped to get it to our living room cannot believe the level of expert quality built into this. You’ve created a table that will get a lot of family use for years, and an heirloom for our daughter’s future family. The details of your workmanship and craftsmanship are exceptional. Please be sure to use our comments-cheers to future game table owners!”

Steve in Connecticut

 

One more:

“We received our table yesterday. It looks great! We are so excited to play each game! Wonderful craftsmanship! We discovered the American Game Table while staying at the 250 Main Hotel in Rockland, Maine. The nice people at the hotel provided the artist information for the table. We are so pleased with the product. We just received the table last week and have already enjoyed playing several games. Wonderful craftsmanship and customer service. This will be a piece of furniture we cherish for many years with our family.”

Mindy from Kansas City

 

One more one more:

“My husband absolutely loves it!”

Laura in Virginia

 

I could go on. These are just a few of the many we get.

So maybe its time to slow down; sit down; and play a game. Maybe two.

Check it out: www.americangametable.com

 

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Everybody Likes The American Game Table

A while ago we started to wonder exactly who was the most likely kind of person to buy one of our game tables. So we did a phone survey of 100 customers who had previously bought a game table.

Amazingly every single person contacted still had their game table; still used it at least from time to time (some a lot more than that); and everyone absolutely loved it.

So who were these people? Well that turned out to be a bit of a problem. When you try to market something whether its toothpaste or jet engines you try to figure out who is your target audience. What type or kind of person is most likely to buy your product. That way you can figure out the best way to reach those people.

What our customer survey told us was disturbing: Everybody likes the American Game Table!  Our customers are young and old; city slickers and country folk; rich and poor; Republicans and Democrats; dog lovers and cat lovers; vegetarians and paleos; digital and analogue; Fremen and Harkonnen. Everybody!

The American Game Table can be found in luxury high-rises in New Your City; country inns;  and the hollows of West Virginia. Its often a Christmas gift or wedding gift or birthday gift; or house warning gift. Quite often its found near the fireplace in a cabin in the woods.

One group over represented was grandmothers trying to keep their grandchildren away from video games. But another prominent group was middle aged IT people who were tired of looking at a screen.

So we’ve given up trying to figure it  out. The American Game Table is for everybody; even English majors.

Maybe Donald Trump and Joe Biden should sit down together and play a game of Checkers; talk things over; skip the debate; work things out. . . .

(I’m not sure if either one of them is smart enough to play Chess. If they played Chinese Checkers they’d end up throwing marbles at each other. Backgammon and Cribbage require rudimentary math skills (counting) so forget that. Checkers requires jumping your opponent so it should be an equally matched and hard fought game.)

So, whoever you are, check it out:  www.americangametable.com