Easy Access Comes At A Price

Mark Taliaferro

Barnes & Noble’s new board game section is now fully stocked with some great games, including Settlers of Catan, Agricola and Arkham Horror, but the great selection comes at a price. A really, really high price. You might find the game you want at B&N, but you won’t find a bargain.

As happy as I am that a big-name retailer is dedicating shelf space to some amazing games, I can’t recommend paying their prices. I want people to try games such as Agricola, but it would be crazy to recommend paying $69.95 for the game at Barnes & Noble when you can find it online for less than $45.

If you want to shop around, you can start locally with Castle House Games in the Evelyn Hills shopping center on North College Avenue.

Next you can try the Internet. All my game purchases have been made from two sites, both of which I can highly recommend: Coolstuffinc.com and Miniaturemarket.com.

Miniature Market doesn’t have the best selection of board games, but they are located in St. Louis, which means standard shipping will get to Northwest Arkansas in two days. Plus, they offer free shipping on orders of $75 or more. Other sites offer free shipping at $100, so getting it free for $25 less can be a nice bonus. The company also takes great care in shipping out products, wrapping each item tightly in bubble wrap. When you’re spending $50 or more on a single board game, it’s nice to know it won’t arrive with dinged corners or scratches.

Cool Stuff Inc. has as good a selection of games as you’ll find anywhere, plus a discount program for frequent buyers. They offer free shipping at $100. The company is located in Florida, so you won’t get your package quite as quickly as you would from Miniature Market.

Jordan Delivers

NBA 2K11 arrived last week aboard a hype train going full steam ahead, and the game did not disappoint. Even without Michael Jordan, this would be the finest basketball video game ever made. Adding the Jordan features makes it a legendary release.

So many video games offer bland “special” editions that cost $10 extra and offer almost nothing of interest. NBA 2K11 is a truly special game that will be remembered for a long time. It’s a must-buy for sports fans.