I Vant To Resuscitate Interest In Your Novelty Board Game

July 29, 2008 8:47 AM

MetaFilter: makes games hot!

Being a board game geek, this AskMe leaped out at me yesterday, and being (again) a board game geek, I logged onto the Board Game Geek site today to notice that I Vant To Bite Your Finger, a game that has been out of print for about 30 years and hasn't attracted any particular interest on blogs or other sources recently, is suddenly #9 on the "hot games" list.

I'm not sure if this shows the power of MetaFilter, how easy it is to game the BGG "Hot" list, or what.

posted by Shepherd to MetaFilter-related at 8:47 AM (20 comments total)

Man, this is HUGE!
posted by Burhanistan at 9:30 AM on July 29

We must use this power only for good.
posted by The Light Fantastic at 9:37 AM on July 29

I'm waiting for the mods to weigh in with some hard data before I settle on an opinion.
posted by Kattullus at 9:55 AM on July 29

We're more popular than Jesus now!
posted by found missing at 9:58 AM on July 29

When I weighed myself holding some hard data, it pushed me over the 200 mark. You may now form an opinion.
posted by cortex at 10:06 AM on July 29

Oh, man, I remember wanting that game so bad as a kid, but my parents wouldn't shell out for it.
posted by middleclasstool at 10:09 AM on July 29

cortex has been holding his hard data again
posted by found missing at 10:10 AM on July 29

I remember wanting that game so bad as a kid, but my parents wouldn't shell out for it

With about $10 worth of high tension springs and razor blades, you can easily create your own with a slightly modded Hungry Hungry Hippos game.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:24 AM on July 29 [1 favorite]

I know it's not exactly epoch-shattering, but (a) it's always interesting to see how MetaFilter has an impact on other aspects of my online life, and (b) it's a game called I Vant To Suck Your Blood.
posted by Shepherd at 10:25 AM on July 29

Game featuring a large Dracula figure that can "bite" players' fingers. Players advance around the board and at some point are required to roll a die and then have to turn the clock attached to the vampire up to that number of clicks. E.g. If you roll a 4, you could turn the clock 1,2,3, or 4 times. If you're unlucky, the vampire will "wake up" (his cape swings open) and you have to put your finger in his mouth and he will actually bite you (with red felt tip markers).

What could go wrong?
posted by Burhanistan at 10:31 AM on July 29

What could go wrong?

For one, it will bore the life out of a four year old. (And when that child gets older, when the game pops out of his head for the first time in decades, ensuing discussion on the worldwidewebbo will make him have funny brainfeelings.)
posted by robself at 11:02 AM on July 29

Well when I was a kid we used to play I Vant To Pull Your Finger. Man that was fun for like minutes.
posted by Sailormom at 11:26 AM on July 29

I like to play a game called Pull My Finger.
posted by fixedgear at 1:18 PM on July 29

With about $10 worth of high tension springs and razor blades, you can easily create your own with a slightly modded Hungry Hungry Hippos game.

It will also double as a really disturbing art installation/ sex toy/ food processor.
posted by quin at 1:28 PM on July 29

Cool! Let's try to shoot Mille Bornes or Pigmania up the list now!
posted by misha at 2:10 PM on July 29

fixedgear did a fluffer
posted by flabdablet at 5:09 PM on July 29

Is that Puerto Rico game really all that? It's always at #1.
posted by smackfu at 8:15 PM on July 29

Depends what you mean by "all that." It's not my favorite, but it is in my top 20%. Remember this is an aggregate rating, so a game that a lot of people like and a good number of people love and hardly anyone hates is going to do better than, say, a game that a lot of people love but a lot of people also hate.

The current #2, Agricola, has a higher average rating than Puerto Rico, but ends up lower because only about 1/6 as many people have rated Agricola as have rated Puerto Rico, and since BGG's ranking uses a Bayesian rating, Agricola ends up lower than Puerto Rico. But if the ratings for Agricola hold up as more people play and rate it, it will surpass Puerto Rico. (I haven't played Agricola myself.)
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 7:21 AM on July 30

Yup, Puerto Rico really is "all that". Hopefully I'll be picking up Agricola at the weekend.
posted by salmacis at 8:11 AM on July 30

I like to play a game called Pull My Groin.

Fixed that for you.
posted by C17H19NO3 at 9:50 AM on July 30