2017
Emillie and Eric are the co-founders of The Big Box in the Mother City. This French couples’ adventure in Cape Town began in 2009, but is was in 2014 that they started to run different board game events in bars, book stores, schools and restuarants in the city as well as at the Cape Town Science Centre. This lead to the opening of the first dedicated boardgames cafe in Cape Town and The Big Box Cafe was born. The Big Box has an older sister, La Grosse Boite, a boardgames cafe in La Rochelle, on the Altantic coast of France. It is through this relationhsip that The Big Box is able to source old favourites as well as introduce our customers to new games that they may not have heard about or played that are popular in Europe. Beyond a rule, a game is a tool for a social cohesion, a time offered for a reconnection between people, for a better mutual understanding. Playing a game offers the same opportunity to everyone, regardless of the age, the school grade, their origin, the language… 2
It’s a time away from smartphones, a valuable time of joy and share with our loved, or an excellent positive way to discover new people. Playing a game is an efficient and simple way to build links. The people behind The Big Box are passionate about gaming and are always excited to be part of projects where people can share, learn, discover and have fun in the big and exciting world of board games. We hope you enjoy our selection of Festive Season favourites and trust they will bring you fun and happiness for many years. Happy Gaming!
CONTENTS
EXCLUSIVE GAMES PARTY GAMES
pg 4 pg 8
FUN GAMES pg 12 FAMILY GAMES STRATEGY GAMES
pg 14 pg 18
COOPERATIVE GAMES pg 21 EDUCATIONAL GAMES pg 22 DUEL GAMES MORE GAME IDEAS
pg 24 pg 25
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EXCLUSIVE GAMES BAZAR BIZARRE The lightning fast shape and color recognition game that is sure to test the reflexes of kids, families and gamers alike. In Bazar Bizarre, five wooden items sit on the table waiting to be caught: a white ghost, a green bottle, a cute grey mouse, a blue book, and a comfortable red chair. With all players playing at the same time, someone reveals a card, then players grab for the “right” object – but which object is right?
R320.00 DOBBLE HOLLYWOOD Dobble, is a simple pattern recognition game in which players try to find an image shown on two cards. With 50 new symbols from movie and cinema, Dobble Hollywood places you in the world of movie-stars.
R290.00
WAZABI You have a single goal in Wazabi: Get rid of your dice. The trap, though, is that the fewer dice you have, the more difficult the game becomes. Very simple rules hide a really original and addictive game.
R390.00 4
Game of the Year!
CARDS AGAINST SOUTH AFRICA
With all the gloom and prophets of doom, it’s time for a lighter take on our beautiful country with Cards Against South Africa. Start the game with 8, 10 or 12 white cards in your hands (it’s up to you). One player around the table starts by reading a black card. Then, everyone else answers with one white card, face down on the table. The black card’s reader then shuffles all the answer cards and start to read all of them… Please laugh now, it’s FREE !!! This parody game is sure to tickle your funny bone and provide happiness and fun to share with your best friends. Cards Against South Africa is produced exclusively by The Big Box Café
R495.00
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QUORIDOR The abstract strategy game Quoridor is surprisingly deep for its simple rules. The object of the game is to advance your pawn to the opposite edge of the board. On your turn you may either move your pawn or place a wall. You may hinder your opponent with wall placement, but not completely block him off. Meanwhile, he is trying to do the same to you. The first pawn to reach the opposite side wins.
R650.00
QUARTO Quarto is recognised as one of the top games of the past 30 years. It is an outstanding test of deductive reasoning, is mentally tough and requires focus, concentration and a poker-face. The object is to place the fourth piece in a row in which all four pieces have at least one attribute in common. The twist is that your opponent gets to choose the piece you place on the board each turn.
R650.00 KINGDOMINO Dominoes with a kingdom building twist! Each turn, connect a new domino to your existing kingdom, making sure at least one of its sides connects to a matching terrain type already in play.
R420.00
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PERUDO Perudo, from the Spanish word meaning “I Doubt’, is the fast and furious game of strategy and bluff! Out-think, out-lie, and out-bluff your neighbors in this fast and furious version of the South American Liar’s Dice. A poker face, a sharp mind, and a bit of luck is what you’ll need to be the last one standing. It’s so addictive you’ll want to play it again and again.
R390.00
STRIKE For dice lovers, the Strike is an exciting game of skill and luck. Each player is given a number of dice and takes turns rolling them in the arena. Players try, through clever dice rolling, to “re-roll” the dice already in the arena so they show identical numbers. The last player left with dice wins.
R490.00 LAS VEGAS Las Vegas is “an easy, dice-rolling, fun-andluck game with lots of interaction. In more detail, Las Vegas includes six cardboard casino mats, one for each side of a normal six-sided die. For each mat, players draw money cards until at least $50k is showing, but the amount may end up being a lot more, making that casino more desirable.
R520.00
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PARTY GAMES CODENAME PICTURES The two rival spymasters know the secret identities of 25 Agents. Their teammates know the Agents only by their code names. The teams compete to see who can make contact with all of their Agents first. Spymasters give one-word clues that can point to multiple pictures on the board. Their teammates try to guess the pictures of the right color while avoiding those that belong to the opposing team. And everyone wants to avoid the assassin.
R390.00 BALDERDASH Balderdash is the game that asks your friends to “call your bluff”, combining unbelievable but true content with answers that are hilarious and totally made-up! Once a question is read, each player must write down what they think the definition or answer is...Don’t know the answer? That’s where the fun really begins, because you get to make up an answer that’s as silly or serious as you want!
R480.00 TENSION Tension is the exciting game that will get the whole family involved. Tension is a riotous race to call out possible solutions to a given subject… but only answers matching the 10 on the card will score! Fast and frustrating but fantastic fun for everyone!
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R550.00
FAMILY CHARADES A classic favourite, Charades is one of the oldest and best-loved parlour games. This set offers a refreshing update of the timeless original with its contemporary twist, stand-out graphics, and eye-catching playing board.
R520.00 DIXIT ODYSSEY Dixit is the classic, simple, lighthearted game of storytelling and guesswork where your imagination unlocks the tale. Winner of the prestigious Spiel des Jahres award, Dixit invites you to use the gorgeous, imaginative artwork on the cards to tell brief stories. Dixit Odyssey includes enough components for up to 12 players and also has variant rules for team play and for new ways to play with the cards.
R720.00 SPEAK OUT Get ready to be doubled over with laughter with this ridiculous mouthpiece challenge game! The Speak Out game brings friends and family together for laugh-outloud fun as players try to say different phrases while wearing a mouthpiece that won’t let them shut their mouth.
R720.00 9
DOBBLE Dobble is a classic, visual perception card game in which players race to find the one matching image between one card and another. The images may be different sizes and placed on any part of the card, making them difficult to spot. Most Dobble editions also include 5 mini-games: all of them reliant on speedy observation, creating excitement for children and adults alike and keeping every player involved.
DOBBLE HOLLYWOOD
Some fun variants are specially designed for younger folk in mind and sometime include fewer and simpler images to make the game inclusive for all family members We have some exclusive editions of the classic game for you to add to your collection for hours of family fun.
R290.00
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DOBBLE
DOBBLE STARWARS
DOBBLE KIDS
DOBBLE CARS
DOBBLE FINDING DORY
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FUN GAMES GLOOBZ
Players in Gloobz need to act quickly to grab the right things from the table before anyone else can. One player calls out “More Gloobz” or “Less Gloobz” before flipping a card. Players scramble to grab the correct pieces in order to score points. When the MegaGloobz or Magnifying Glass appear, the rules change!
R390.00 SUSHI DICE Sushi Dice is a quick-playing dice game in which players compete head-to-head to complete a sushi dish first, with the sides of the dice representing food used in the composition of sushi. Whoever completes a dish first keeps that card, and the first player to collect 4-6 cards (depending on the number of players) wins.
R380.00 JUNGLE SPEED Jungle Speed is the lightning-fast game of quick thinking and quicker reflexes. Your keen eye and swift hand will win the day, if you can stop laughing long enough to catch your breath.
R420.00 12
EXPLODING KITTENS
IMPLODING KITTENS Imploding Kittens is the first Expansion of Exploding Kittens, the award-winning card game that made Kickstarter history as the most-backed project, ever. This Expansion deck includes 20 new cards featuring 5 new types of actions AND an “Imploding Kitten� which increases the game from 5 to 6 players. *This is not a standalone game - it requires a
Exploding Kittens is a kitty-powered version of Russian Roulette. Players take turns drawing cards until someone draws an exploding kitten and loses the game. The deck is made up of cards that let you avoid exploding by peeking at cards before you draw, forcing your opponent to draw multiple cards, or shuffling the deck. The game gets more and more intense with each card you draw because fewer cards left in the deck means a greater chance of drawing the kitten and exploding in a fiery ball of feline hyperbole.
R420.00
copy of Exploding Kittens to play.
R420.00 DINGO DISC Dingo-Disc is a game of balance, strategy and skill where players must place all their pieces on a balancing platter, without dropping the pieces already laid.
R650.00
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FAMILY GAMES MONOPOLY Cape Town Edition
That’s right! The city of Cape Town has it’s very own, custom version of the legendary board game that is MONOPOLY! Not only is this the first ever Cape Town Monopoly, it is the first ever city / regional version of the game in South Africa. Monopoly Cape Town contains a set number of Cape Town’s hot spots selected by you, the public.
R650.00
RISK Lord of the Rings Step into the world of the Lord of the Rings with this special edition of Risk! Choose whether to command a Good or an Evil force, and battle against rival armies in a bid to decide the fate of Middle-earth. Play on a detailed gameboard, battle with specially-sculpted characters including Orcs, Dark Riders, Eagles and Cave Trolls, and push for victory before the One Ring leaves Middle-earth forever!
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R688.00
CLUEDO Harry Potter There are dark forces at work…a friend has seemingly vanished! Playing as Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna or Neville, you must try to discover WHO did it, WHAT spell or item they used and WHERE the student was attacked in Cluedo: Harry Potter. Was it Fenrir Greyback with a Cursed Necklace in the Forbidden Forest perhaps? Use the Floo Network to travel faster through the wizarding world… but watch out for unlit fireplaces. When you’re sure of your facts, go to The Burrow to make your final accusation and win the game!
R599.00
TRIVIAL PURSUIT World of Harry Potter Harry Potter fans test their knowledge of the beloved Harry Potter movies with TRIVIAL PURSUIT: World of Harry Potter. This quick-play Trivial Pursuit game can be played on-the-go with its portable wedge holder. The 600 questions range in difficulty levels, so even the expert wizards will be challenged!
R250.00 PAYDAY Have you ever thought of investing your hard-earned cash, win the lottery or starting your own business? With PAY DAY all this is possible‌ and more! The classic game of Payday makes family finance fun as it reminds everyone just where the money goes. This is a game of making and spending money! You’ll make money every month, but you might spend it just as fast.
R660.00 CARCASSONNE Star Wars Carcassonne: Star Wars combines the exciting adventures of the Star Wars universe with the gameplay of Carcassonne, with the known rules of the game being simplified through clever changes that bring an entirely new feel to the game.
R590.00 15
R599.00
R650.00
R250.00
Join Sheldon, Leonard, Penny, Howard and Rajesh in a fresh take on these family favourites. The perfect gift for the ultimate fan.
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R688.00
R599.00
R650.00
‘When you play a game of thrones you win or you die’.
Bring a Game of Thrones twist to your boardgame experience with our collection of Game of Thrones themed favourites.
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GAME OF THRONES LIVING CARD GAME The world of Westeros is wracked with war, intrigue, and strife. The Great Houses muster armies and meet in titanic battles, while their assassins and spies struggle in the shadows. In A Game of Thrones: The Card Game, the warring factions of Westeros await your command, inviting you to engage in a life-or-death struggle. Your ultimate goal is to gain influence over the greatest seat of power in Westeros: the Iron Throne!
CATAN
R650.00
Your adventurous settlers seek to tame the remote but rich isle of Catan. Start by revealing Catan’s many harbors and regions: pastures, fields, mountains, hills, forests, and desert. The random mix creates a different board virtually every game. Barter trade dominates the scene. Some resources you have in abundance, other resources are scarce. Will you succeed in gaining supremacy on Catan?
R650.00
STRATEGY GAMES TICKET TO RIDE Europe
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Ticket to Ride: Europe takes you on a new train adventure across Europe. From Edinburgh to Constantinople and from Lisbon to Moscow, you’ll visit great cities of turn-of-the-century Europe. Like the original Ticket to Ride, the game remains elegantly simple, can be learned in 5 minutes, and appeals to both families and experienced gamers.
R650.00
SNOWBLIND Snowblind is a press-your-luck and risk-management dice game in which 1-4 players take control of a polar expedition, racing to be the first to return from the South Pole. The further you advance your Captain, and the more men who survive the Antarctic winter at the end of the game, the more prestige your expedition receives.
R590.00 CARCASSONNE Carcassonne is a clever tile-laying game based on the southern French city of Carsassonne, famous for it’s unique Roman and Medieval fortifications. Players develop the area around Carcassonne and deploy their followers on the roads, in the cities, in the cloisters and in the fields, creating a perfect city landscape. With each tile placed, strategies will be tested and the skill of the players will determine who stands victorious.
R590.00 CAMEL UP Witness the craziest camel race of all time, as things really go topsy-turvy when camels stack up and entire pyramids turn upside down in Camel Up. As members of Egyptian high society, you gather in the desert with one simple goal: to gain the most money by backing the right camel to win a leg or even the entire race. However, in this race, it’s not just the lucky ones who can beat the odds.
R680.00
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7 WONDERS Wonder Pack 7 WONDERS You are the leader of one of the 7 great cities of the Ancient World. Gather resources, develop commercial routes and affirm your military supremacy. Build your city and erect an architectural wonder which will transcend future times.
R690.00
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The 7 Wonders Wonder Pack brings four new Wonders into play, reaching beyond the Mediterranean across the world. You can choose to build your city around England’s prehistoric Stonehenge, Egypt’s great temple of Abu Simbel, China’s magnificent Great Wall, or you can choose to create a new version of the famous Belgian statue, Manneken Pis. *For use with the 7 Wonders base game.
R220.00
7 WONDERS Cities
7 WONDERS Leaders
The Cities expansion introduces new City cards. These cards bring Embassies, Gambling Dens, Mercenaries, Torture Chambers, and more to your city and intensify interactions between players. New leaders may guide your city, and new Wonder boards featuring the Jordanian citadel Petra and the Imperial captial Byzantium join the game, allowing it to accomodate up to eight players.
Choose a legendary figure to lead your city in the 7 Wonders: Leaders expansion. Each leader offers your city a strategic route towards greatness, from Euclid and Pythagoras’s scientific guidance to Caesar’s military prowess and Sappho’s pioneering cultural contributions. Leaders are recruited at the beginning of each Age but exist outside of time, so you may begin the game with Alexander the Great as your general or Solomon as your king. The eternal city of Rome gains its own Wonder board, and four new Guilds enhance the competition and possibilities of the third Age.
R430.00
R430.00
FLASHPOINT FIRE RESCUE 2nd Edition Flash Point: Fire Rescue is a fully cooperative game, everyone plays on the same firefighting team - win or lose together. Every turn is filled with the tension of having to fight the fire back rescuing victims or investigating points of interest. Players can ride the ambulance to safety or fire the engine’s deck gun in a desperate attempt to control the blazes.
R740.00 PANDEMIC In Pandemic, several virulent diseases have broken out simultaneously all over the world! The players are disease-fighting specialists whose mission is to treat disease hotspots while researching cures for each of four plagues before they get out of hand.
R650.00
COOPERATIVE GAMES THE GAME
In this cooperative card game you need to get rid of all the cards from the draw deck. You have four discard piles, two in ascending order and two in descending order, and cards with a value ranging from two to ninety-nine. Every player starts with 6-8 cards in hand depending on the number of players. If you play all 98 cards, you win!
R250.00
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EDUCATIONAL GAMES CRAZY CUPS Crazy Cups is a game where quickness, observation and reaction are indispensable. Each player has 5 cups of different colors. They must pile or arrange the cups following the drawings shown on one card as fast as possible. Crazy Cups is a fun action game for the whole family!
R420.00
ANTI-VIRUS Antivirus is a fun and exciting single player brainteaser. It helps to develop logical reasoning, visual perception and improve cognitive thinking. There are five levels of difficulty ranging from Starter to Wizard. Young and old alike are quick to “catch the bug”. Once you’ve started playing you won’t want to stop!
R450.00 AU VOLEUR
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Calling all units! Stop the escaping thief! A fugitive in a suspected stolen red sports car is heading east towards the city centre. He is thought to be armed and dangerous and he is refusing to stop. In Au Voleur, you are the chief inspector! It’s your job to coordinate your squad of officers and get their patrol cars to zero in on the suspect, block his escape and arrest him!
R450.00
SMART HEART Smart Heart is an interactive game, which makes use of picture and word cards to assist children in identifying and communicating their feelings, aims to facilitate and foster mental and emotional health, while encouraging children to think for themselves and create solutions to their problems.
R650.00
RORY’S STORY CUBES Original Imagine telling stories that are dynamic, interactive, fun and randomly generated. Imagine never being stuck for an idea ever again. Rory’s Story Cubes is the original set that started the StoryCube movement and inspired creativity and storytelling across the globe.
R200.00
PENGUINS ON ICE Five penguins are on a slippery slope! Can you pack the ice so that every puzzle tile can fit on the game board? Can you also make sure that all the penguins are in the right spot? Penguins on Ice is a super cool game of logic with 5 pentomino playing pieces that must be shape-shifted. 60 challenges to solve from easy to difficult
R450.00 23
CHESS Is that Knight worth the Bishop? Will your Queen be able to save you? They are all different, yet valuable in combat. Move your 16 pieces across the board, anticipating your opponent’s moves‌ and beware: Chess is a highly addictive game that has charmed millions all around the world for centuries!
R450.00 SCHOTTEN TOTTEN Nine boundary stones lie between you and your opponent. In front of each, you build poker-like formations of three cards on a side. Whoever plays the higher-ranking formation wins the stone. In a unique twist, you may use your powers of logic to claim a stone even before your opponent has played all three of his cards, by demonstrating that the stone is impossible for him to win. Successfully claim five stones, or any three adjacent stones, and you win the game.
R290.00
DUEL GAMES PASSE-TRAPPE Passe-Trape is a fun dexterity game that can be played in only a few minutes. The board is split in two by a wall with a small gap in the center. Your objective is to be the first to shoot your disks though the gap using the elastic band stretched across your back wall.
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R690.00
MORE GAME IDEAS ANCIENT TERRIBLE THINGS In Ancient Terrible Things, a pulp horror adventure game, you play the role of an intrepid adventurer, exploring a dark jungle river. Each turn you must travel to a Fateful Location, face an Ominous Encounter, and attempt to unlock its Ancient Secrets. If you succeed, you add the Secrets to your score; if you fail, you unleash a Terrible Thing, which counts against your score at the end of the game.
R650.00 AMBITION Ambition is a very simple, but strategically deep card game. The object of Ambition is to be the first player to gain 10 coins, that represent your level of influence. The moment a player gains 10 coins, that player is the winner.
R320.00 QWIRKLE An addictive strategy game in the tradition of Sequence, Scrabble, and Othello, the Qwirkle Board Game has a simple, straightforward premise: match tiles and win points. But the real joy of the game lies in plotting and scheming your way to victory. Qwirkle is destined to be a family game night favorite.
R650.00
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FINGER GOLF Finger Golf is a South African developed game where boardgame lovers and golf enthusiasts discover new ways to play together. Finger Golf is a fun-filled, family, table top golf game board game where you play a 9-hole golf course as you would in normal golf, but in the middle of your living room.
R590.00 PLAY NINE SCORE! HOLE IN ONE! Play Nine, the Card Game of Golf, is a fun and exciting twist on the classic game of golf. Just like the actual game, the person with the lowest score wins! Perfect for family game night, reunions, holiday parties, or as a down time activity, Play Nine is just the thing to keep everyone entertained and having a ball.
R320.00
SET Fast-moving and fun, SET is a perfect for any get-together with family and friends! It’s Triple Matching Mania that anybody can play, but nobody can stop! SET, although made as a game of fun, has a ton of educational value. All players compete simultaneously and try to claim sets of cards. A set consists of three cards that are either all alike or all different in each attribute. Exercise your brain while playing a game!
R250.00 26
MARRAKECH The bazaar is bustling: it’s the big day at the rug market! The best salesperson will soon be named! In Marrakech each player takes the role of a salesperson who tries to outwit the others. When the last rug has been laid, the total number of visible rugs and the number owned by each salesperson are added up and the winner declared.
R550.00 CARDS AGAINST HUMANITY Cards Against Humanity is a party game for horrible people! Unlike most of the party games you’ve played before, Cards Against Humanity is as despicable and awkward as you and your friends. The game is simple. Each round, one player asks a question from a black card, and everyone else answers with their funniest white card. Cards Against Humanity encourages players to poke fun at practically every awkward or taboo subject including race, religion, gender, poverty, torture, alcoholism, drugs, sex (oh yes), abortion, child abuse, celebrities and those everyday little annoyances like “Expecting a burp and vomiting on the floor”.
R750.00
101 DRINKING GAMES This 101 Drinking Games Compendium features over 100 drinking games to keep you entertained during pre-drinking sessions or nights in. The box features many high quality components complete with a 44 page rule book to ensure no one is cheating.
R450.00 27
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Visit our store and browse our selection of more than 400 games ! Or we’re always open for you to shop online at www.thebigbox.co.za. 28
18 ROELAND STREET GARDENS, CAPE TOWN below CityVarsity
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