James Ernest

Working in fast-food is hell. All the employees are zombies, and you can't find a single brain amongst them. Except for the brain part - there is, in fact, one brain - that's the premise of Give Me the Brain!, a card game in which players take on the roles of zombies in a fast-food restaurant in hell. They all have to complete a number of tasks before leaving work, and the work keeps piling on. Even worse, some of the tasks require basic intelligence and there's only one brain to go around.

Game Synopsis: Lord of the Fries is a thematic sequel to Give Me The Brain!. It takes place at the same restaurant, has the same cast of characters, and requires roughly the same equipment. But the game is entirely different.
Players choose orders (sometimes randomly, sometime not) from the figuratively colorful Friedey's menu, and try to fill them with cards from their hands. Some orders are easy, like the Cowabunga. One Cow Meat, one Bun. Some are a little harder, like the Chickabunga Conga: same as a Chickabunga (Bird Meat plus Bun), plus Fries and a Drink. Sound easy? Now try your hand at a Lord of the Fries, a Meat Munch, or the infamous Patriarch (Fish Meat, Cheese, Bun, Fries, Drink, and the oft-maligned Strawberry Pie).

Awards

1998 Origins Award Nominee: Best Traditional Card Game
2003 Listed in GAMES Magazine's GAMES 100

Online Play

GameTable Online (free, multiplayer, real-time)

Versions

1998 cardstock version (out of print)
2003 Special Edition (color) as Lord of the Fries De-lux
2008 Third Edition (color)

Third Edition card count - 12 Drink, 12 Bun, 12 Fries, 12 Veggies, 12 Cow, 10 Bird, 8 Cheese, 8 Sauce, 8 Fish, 4 Pie

Stuff and Nonsense is "the Inevitable Aftermath of Professor Elemental's Imaginary Polar Expedition", an adventure game about never leaving London. The players move about the city, collecting artifacts and stories, and then return to the Adventurer's Club to tell made-up stories of adventure. This game plays something like a board game, though the board is made entirely of cards. The mechanics revolve around collecting sets of cards, while trying to avoid meeting Professor Elemental, and deciding which destinations to pretend to return from. The cards are filled with humorous text and whimsical illustrations by Harold Fay.

In this notorious game, an inversion of Clue, you hate Doctor Lucky. Maybe he left you out of his will. Maybe he killed your pet rock. Whatever the reason, you want him dead. Unfortunately, so do the other players. Since you don't want to go to jail, you need to make your attempt in secret; if anybody can see you, whistle nonchalantly, and let the Doctor live ... until next time.

Players move around the mansion, collecting murder weapons (to make the murder attempt stronger - doubly so if the weapon is used in an appropriate location); failure cards (to thwart opponents' plans); and movement cards (to try to get together with Doctor Lucky in a secluded location for his inevitable demise.) Players try to convince others to use up their failure cards first, the better for when their own attempts come.

Fish Cook is a simple Euro-style board game in which players take the role of chefs. The game is divided into several "days" that have two parts: Morning and Evening. In the morning, players buy ingredients from the fish market and farmer's market; in the evening, they cook recipes and earn money. The strategy revolves around buying ingredients as cheaply and efficiently as possible, in addition to stealing the good ideas of your fellow chefs.