It is always exciting when a box of games arrives from NewVenture Games LLC.
David McCord and company produce some fine-quality games, particularly the many wooden board games that utilize wooden pegs in their play.
The wooden games are generally not very large, making transport and storage easy, yet they maintain a very appealing look, sort of an heirloom vintage style.
So we unboxed a new offering called Jenkins knowing it was going to look good.
Beyond that, however, we knew nothing about a game that has been around for roughly 75 years, albeit essentially mothballed for that entire time.
Apparently, it was created by Homer Jenkins, hence the game’s name, who, according to the company website, “was a railroad telegrapher and avid tinkerer. He received a patent for this strategy game in 1953, but it never made it into full production.”
That is a rather neat history, and kudos to David McCord for unearthing the game and finally putting it into production.
Jenkins is a two-player game played on a very unique geometric board, which really is the heart of this one. The board layout is certainly different from any other board we’ve played on, and that alone made it interesting.
Each player has seven pieces, which move a single space along the unique lines of the board, with the goal of creating a straight row of four.
After reading the simple rules and looking at the board, fellow Guilder Trevor and I initially worried the game might be slow because of such limited movement.
But the game never seemed to drag.
That said, it is something of a dance in a phone booth, where finding the balance between defence and offence is not always easy to achieve.
Jenkins is also a game where a single misstep can often mean a loss, and you can sometimes back into a win by happenstance, although the latter will likely be reduced with experience.
Overall, though, this one was a most pleasant surprise.
It is a fine-looking, quick-to-learn puzzle of a game that we can highly recommend.
Check it out at newventuregames.com.
About Author
Calvin Daniels is a Saskatchewan-born, self-taught journalist. He is currently Editor of Yorkton This Week, with 35-years in the newspaper business.
Jenkins
David McCord and company produce some fine-quality games, particularly the many wooden board games that utilize wooden pegs in their play.
The wooden games are generally not very large, making transport and storage easy, yet they maintain a very appealing look, sort of an heirloom vintage style.
So we unboxed a new offering called Jenkins knowing it was going to look good.
Beyond that, however, we knew nothing about a game that has been around for roughly 75 years, albeit essentially mothballed for that entire time.
Apparently, it was created by Homer Jenkins, hence the game’s name, who, according to the company website, “was a railroad telegrapher and avid tinkerer. He received a patent for this strategy game in 1953, but it never made it into full production.”
That is a rather neat history, and kudos to David McCord for unearthing the game and finally putting it into production.
Jenkins is a two-player game played on a very unique geometric board, which really is the heart of this one. The board layout is certainly different from any other board we’ve played on, and that alone made it interesting.
Each player has seven pieces, which move a single space along the unique lines of the board, with the goal of creating a straight row of four.
After reading the simple rules and looking at the board, fellow Guilder Trevor and I initially worried the game might be slow because of such limited movement.
But the game never seemed to drag.
That said, it is something of a dance in a phone booth, where finding the balance between defence and offence is not always easy to achieve.
Jenkins is also a game where a single misstep can often mean a loss, and you can sometimes back into a win by happenstance, although the latter will likely be reduced with experience.
Overall, though, this one was a most pleasant surprise.
It is a fine-looking, quick-to-learn puzzle of a game that we can highly recommend.
Check it out at newventuregames.com.
About Author
Calvin Daniels
Calvin Daniels is a Saskatchewan-born, self-taught journalist. He is currently Editor of Yorkton This Week, with 35-years in the newspaper business.
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