Going, going, gone!

After months of having the game box just sitting on my shelf (it was a Christmas present!), I finally unwrapped my copy of Modern Art: High Stakes Bidding in the Galleries while we were at the cemetery yesterday. It's a board game designed by Reiner Knizia, and it is manufactured by Mayfair Games.

Here's a little excerpt from the box:

Welcome to the high-risk world of art auctions! You seek to earn profits by selling the works of up-and-coming new artists. Players take turns running auctions of different styles, with the highest bidders claiming the artwork to sell at the end of the round. Do you have the insight to invest in the artists that will have the most staying power? Can you manipulate the art market so that your favorite artist will give you the greatest return?

It was funny how we all started out so tentatively, making bids that were rising in increments of $1,000 each time. By the fourth round, we all had a better understanding of the game and the bids were opening at $52,000. haha!

Since the game was new to all of us, we were learning the nuances as we went along, and it's amazing how the simplest action can have consequences ranging in the hundreds of thousands of dollars!

While it's definitely not a game for everybody, I really enjoyed it. I look forward to the next round, whenever that may be.

Baba Yetu

Am now listening endlessly to Baba Yetu, a Christopher Tin composition which is known to gamers across the world as the opening menu music in Sid Meier's Civilization IV from Firaxis Games. Vocals were performed by Talisman A Capella, a Stanford University a capella group.

The lyrics happen to be The Lord's Prayer in Swahili. You can download your own copy of the mp3 (legitimately!) from the samples page on the composer's website.

Glowing reviews all around from the gaming world:

• Gamezone: I don't know when I've enjoyed in-game music more, especially the introductory music.
  
• Matt Slagle, Associated Press: I can't say enough about the excellent soundtrack.
  
• computergames.ro: The theme from the main menu (Baba Yetu) is the piece de resistance - I liked it so much that I listened to it for days on end
• Amped IGO: The title track is an awesome, up-beat song that is definitely the highlight of the soundtrack...
• Yahoo Games: Special mention goes to the music, which is shockingly good.
• IGN: ...the music really steals the show.
• Gamespot: Civ IV also presents itself well with a distinctive title-screen track...
  

If you want to sing along in Swahili, the lyrics are available at this blogpost at Sushi Delight.

And endless thanks to Ants for sending me the link, and giving me a reason to add music back to my blog's sidebar. ;-)