This post has been originally published on 2017-01-31 as the initial post for my “*game pieces not included” blog.
– Welcome at The Ultimate Board Games Store*. How can I help you?
– I am looking for some nice German-style board game to play with my family. A friend of mine praised one recent game about pigs…
– It must have been The Pig Taxi, a bestseller that won the prestigious Spiel des Jahres award as a Game of The Year 2020. It is about transporting pigs between different locations in a taxi cabs.
– Excellent. It looks it is the one I need. How much?
– The base edition costs $49. Could you please tell me, how many of you are going to play together?
– Five.
– Thanks. You will also need The Pig Taxi: Family Expansion Set then. It allows for up to 6 players, while the base game is designed for up to 4. It costs $19.
– Are there many expansion sets for this game?
– There are 6 of them released so far. I would recommend especially The Pig Taxi: Turbocharger. The players love it. It makes taxi cabs move even twice as fast. You will never want go back to those old clumsy cabs from the base edition.
– OK, I’ll give it a try.
– We also have a special offer you might be interested. Now for only $109 you can get The Pig Taxi Big Box, that contains the base game and all the expansion sets. Apart from 2 of them mentioned earlier, you get: Pig’s Dilemma, Pigs & Robber, Pig Bang and Three Little Pigs. Regular price would be $129.
– Sounds like a good deal. Are there any drawbacks though?
– Well, it has been put on sales, because it contains the old 1.2 revision of the board. Recently the 1.3 revision has been released due to some issues with balance that were not revealed until the game was played on a large scale in a real environment.
– Does it really make a difference I should care about?
– Not at all. It is even better. The most recent version of the board is available on the Internet, so you can print it by yourself and stay up to date.
– Thanks a lot. I have one more question, however. What does it exactly mean: *game pieces not included?
– You just have to supply a set of pieces on your own.
– Are they not in the box?
– Nope.
– Why?
– We are a serious store specialising in board games. We do not deal with such low level physical aspects of playing a game like pieces.
– How do I get the proper pieces then?
– You can buy one of the Universal Board Game Piece Sets available at every ordinary toy store below $10. It will fit for the vast majority of the modern board games. You might also want to choose some more expensive set if you value a good quality or fancy artwork. It is up to you.
– Are there no specific piece sets dedicated for The Pig Taxi game?
– Of course, you can get such old-school pieces if you like. There are couple of fan made 3d models, ready to download and make on your home 3d printer.
– Excellent. But… what do I really get inside this impressive box when I buy the game?
– You get the official game rules that are the core, essential part of the board game. They have been designed by a famous, world-class professional. He put a lot of effort to make the game interesting. They are worth every money you spend on.
– Alright. I’ll take the big one.
– Um, I’m sorry… I have not mentioned yet that we have only the Greek edition in the stock.
– It is not any problem also, I guess?
– Absolutely. You can easily find the localised version of the rules in your native language available publicly on the Internet.
– Oh, great. I am so happy I buy the game.
– Enjoy.