http://slyoyster.com

When it comes to my nerdery, Strat-O-Matic hits several sweet spots: history, baseball, statistics and board games.  Invented in 1961, the dice rolling game is fun for settling those abstract questions like how would Ty Cobb hit against Roger Clemens in their primes, etc.  You can play historical teams against one another and it’s all really fun if you are into any of the above mentioned subjects. 

One of the things the game never had was the participation of the great Negro League players like Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige, Cool Papa Bell, Buck Leonard, ad infinitum.  Until now!  MORE »

It’s been taking place since 1973, and champions from nearly 40 countries are competing for $20,580. (That happens to be the amount of Monopoly money that comes with the game.)

A winner will be announced today around 5 p.m. ET, but you can watch the Championships live at ESPN360.com starting at 1 ET has been crowned, but I can’t find any results anywhere. 

According to The Monopoly World Championship Twitter feed the winning player is from Norway. An American player came in third, a Russia fouth and a Kiwi was the runner-up.

Here is video of the finals:

Why Monopoly doesn’t get the same publicity as poker, scrabble, the spelling bee or other games is beyond me.

For the board game aficionado in your family.  Inspired by expensive boxes of chocolates, Andy Mangold dressed one of the classiest board games going into a package befitting it’s stature. It’s like when James Bond first puts on that tuxedo. We always knew he should be wearing the tuxedo he just needed to put the damn thing on.

Unfortunately, it’s not for sale. A true one of a kind. But if it were, wouldn’t you buy this, like, immediately? Yes, yes, you would. Here’s what Andy had to say himself on the matter:

“Monopoly, in spite being the classiest of all board games, unfortunately is packaged just as boringly and uncreatively as every other garbage board game on the shelves. So, I decided to repackage it… turning the class up to 11.

“All of the boxes are made out of chocolate brown mat board and skinned in cream arches cover. The final package is just over 10″ x 10″ x 1.5″ and includes smaller containers for all of the various pieces and cards and a laser-cut holder for all of the houses and hotels.”

11 indeed. I love how sensibly everything is organized.  (via Clusterflock)