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Unpub4 gave attendees the opportunity to playtest unpublished game prototypes with 52 different designers. Several publishers were also in attendance, and some signing announcements are already coming out following that weekend.

With the Super Bowl less than two weeks away, the smell of football is in the air! It is in this most appropriate season that Sports Mogul, Inc., has launched a Kickstarter campaign for their football-themed card game, Masters of the Gridiron. We were recently given the opportunity to play this game, which, according to the publisher, has been in development for over four years.

Z-Man Games announces the release date of Babel, Cubicle 7 is accepting pre-orders for Hobbit Tales and more board games are adapted for iOS.

Having a party? We've got you covered! This new Big Box O' Games Giveaway features five great party games from some of the best party game publishers on the planet.

Here in Arizona, we certainly know the wild west. And wild it is — but is there some fun to be had amid all of the rootin'-tootin' adventure? That was the question we set out to answer with Wild Fun West, a strategic auctioning game by NSKN Games for 4 to 8 players, ages 8 and up.

When I think of auctions, I think of a rambling auctioneer standing at the front of a room full of distinguished and snobby guests who calmly lift their signs to place a bid. You will not find that kind of auction in Going, Going, GONE!, a new game by Stronghold Games — instead, you'll find frantic (and possibly unkempt) players fumbling with cubes, yelling, and laughing loudly. Once you give it a try, you'll never think of auctions the same way ever again.

Ever wondered where those crazy infomercials got their bright ideas?

I am Jonathan Albin, the Game Market Guru, and this is the first installment of "The Closet Report," my in-depth and detailed analysis of tabletop games of every stripe. The Closet Report captures and outlines the merits, values, and details about these games in terms that a casual player or a die-hard veteran will appreciate, providing not only the "straight skinny" on the product in terms of the big 3 (Class, Character, and Creativity) but also in terms of Materials, Marketing, and Mechanics, as well as identifying areas of imagination, innovation, and ingenuity.

I grew up believing that Monopoly had been invented during the Great Depression by an unemployed man who played it around his kitchen table while dreaming of summer vacations in Atlantic City, New Jersey. So, imagine my surprise to discover a very different history while researching for my "Why I Love Monopoly" article in the Winter 2014 issue of Casual Game Insider. Here is some bonus historical material that I did not include in the magazine article.

Several new card games have hit Kickstarter, and Tasty Minstrel Games has another pay what you want campaign that worked so well for them with Coin Age. There's an interesting mix of game companies and independent designers seeking funding, so here's a list of our favorite Kickstarter projects for January 2014.

Game Salute releases Jak and Poi: Anything Goes, GeekDad lists the best games of 2013 and Grey Gnome Games puts out a new print-and-play game.