Sunday, December 19, 2010

Spy Alley

I just felt obligated to mention this here in case you are still shopping for loved ones who enjoy a good game! We received gifts this week that were intended for Christmas. Two of the games were to go to our whole family. The girls bugged us until we finally gave in yesterday and allowed them to open just those two. One game was William Stephenson's Spy Alley. Spy Alley is a registered trademark of Spy Alley Partners, L.L.P. of Maple Grove, MN.

This game can be played by 2 to 6 spies and is intended for people from 8 on up. It is NOT intended for children from 3 on down as it contains very small items that can pose choking hazards.

Spy Alley has received major awards including the following:
1. MENSA Select
2. Australian Game of the Year
3. Family Life's Best Learning Toy
4. Parents' Choice
5. Games Magazine Top 100

Now, I am not always a big game fan but I thoroughly enjoyed this one!!!

You can learn more about this game of suspense and intrigue by going to

www.spyalley.com .

In some ways, it is similar to Monopoly but the approximate playing time is only 45 minutes. This is one of those games that young and old enjoy!!!

VLE-B

1 comment:

  1. Although William Stephenson was named the Spy Alley designer in 1988, the game was actually designed on Veteran's Day, November 11, 1976 by Daniel Baran in Edison N.J. Yes, in some ways he wanted it to be similar to Monopoly, but this was the first game with an inner board, and an element of secrecy about who was ahead until the game was over. The original design is protected by copyright and remains in a sealed package postmarked in 1976 by Mr. Baran. This was done by advice from Invention Marketing, Inc. who researched the market and discussed the possibility of helping to sell the game for Mr. Baran. The original report is available to the public. At the time he lacked the money to go forward, but he kept the prototype hoping he could someday afford to get it published. William Stephenson was actually an important figure of the real world of international spying and passed away in 1989. He did not design Spy Alley. After Mr. Baran contacted the Spy Alley Partners a few years ago, the board was subsequently redesigned to remove some of the obvious similarities to Mr. Baran's original design. But Mr. Baran did not get a response from them about his original game invention to date. The original working title of this game was Espionage. The inner board, still exactly as depicted in the original, L-shape design and length, was known as foreign territory. The original game also included dice, play money, passports, move cards, unique design of circles and arrows at the entrances of the inner board. These were redesigned so as not to resemble the existing, original 1976 prototype, after Mr. Baran's contact. A passkey and disguise were two of the items that were available to buy with the play money. It also had the main element of secrecy in that secret missions be accomplished to win the game. Although the game has had some changes since its inception, and even after Mr. Baran's contact, no one will doubt that the designer, inventor and original artist of Spy Alley was Daniel Baran, DanielFBaran@aol.com.

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