The finalists for the 2008 International Gamers Awards, a set of awards which recognizes outstanding strategy board games, have been announced. Games released between July 1, 2007, and June 30, 2008, were eligible for consideration.

The 10 finalists for General Strategy Games, Multi-Player Category, are:

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Some of the game-related news items posted in our discussion forum recently include:

• Worldwide Coverage of Monopoly Here & Now: The World Edition
• Profile of Game Designer Jack Elias (Barrel of Monkeys, Perfection)
• Mah Jongg Salon in Boston
• Scotland Yard for Nintendo DS
• Sababa Files Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
• Gen Con 2008 Recap
• U.K. Monopoly Championship
• Halo Board Game - Trailer Released
• Sodbusters - Farming-Themed Board Game

The town of Rutland, Vermont, will soon be in the record books. On Friday night, residents of the town played Twister on a board measuring 102 feet long and 39 feet wide, according to The Rutland Herald. Once verified, that will rank as the largest Twister board ever.

The Guinness Book of World Records web site lists the previous record for largest Twister board as 88.9 feet long and 27.6 feet wide. It was set on April 24, 2005, in Limburg, Netherlands.

^{Image courtesy of Hasbro}

Monte Carlo Solitaire is a simple card game that depends heavily on luck, although skilled players will win more often than beginners. The game starts with a 5x5 grid, with the player removing pairs of cards and then consolidating the board. Here are the complete rules for Monte Carlo, also known as Double and Quits, or Weddings. (A closely related, and slightly easier, game is Monte Carlo Thirteens.)

More Solitaire Card Games:

• Little Spider Solitaire - Rules
• Poker Solitaire - Rules
• Best Solitaire Games