Links: Spiel Expands for 2011, China in the Mediterranean & More

• Late news from late June 2011: Martin Wallace's Boże Igrzysko – the Polish version of Wallace's God's Playground from Phalanx Games that can accomodate 3-4 players – won Gra Roku 2011, Poland's Game of the Year award, based on the results from a jury of 14 people. The other games nominated for the award were 7 Wonders, Cyclades, Fauna, K2 and Prêt-à-Porter. As I've said before, I love this cover - so distinct and powerful.

In addition, more than 1,300 gamers voted on their favorite game of the year and chose Warhammer: Invasion (HT: Mirosław Gucwa)

• David and Angela Taylor from Seriously Board interviewed designer Reiner Knizia, using both questions of their own and those submitted by fellow New Zealanders. You can listen to the interview on the Seriously Board website.

• Italian publisher Cranio Creations has released a PDF of the new cards in Horse Fever for those who own the first edition of the game. (HT: Andrea Ligabue, who points out that wooden horses for the game are also available)

• Designer Michael Schacht has unveiled the latest new map for China in his "map-a-month" plan that runs through June 2012 in the online play section of his website, and the featured area is Greece:

This map was created in 2006 by BGG user Sight Reader, then revised by user BFG in 2007. Thankfully, Schacht switched the colors of Achaia and Argolis so that the two green sections are no longer adjacent; I played a few tests games on the Greece map and kept visualizing the greens as a single area. Every small detail counts...

• Designer Jeffrey Allers writes about the importance of not starting a game at the beginning.

• Going Cardboard documentary director Lorien Green highlights an announcement from Merz-Verlag regarding Spiel 2011:

Quote:

Once again the steady growth being seen in the international games market will be reflected at the world's largest trade fair for social gaming. This year a further hall is being added to accomodate the increasing number of people who come to the fair. The additional hall (hall 7) will house the part of the fair where board and card games are exhibited. This will bring the overall total of exhibit halls in use at the fair to 11.

Hmm, yet one more location where I failed to change my mailing address...

• If you're feeling crafty, Mary Prasad has republished her 2008 Boardgame News article on how to create game bits out of polymer clay on Opinionated Gamers.

• In Q2 2011, Hasbro reports that worldwide net revenues in "the Games and Puzzles category decreased 12% to $231.3 million".