IT'S MINE (Winning Moves, Inc.; about $10)

   Reiner Knizia is a name that is quite familiar to GA REPORT readers...with It's Mine!, the new release from Winning Moves, Knizia goes "light" in offering a game of memory and nerve to delight all age groups...

   Play centers around "claiming" cards. This involves the dealer turning over cards, one by one, until someone decides they want the exposed cards. Claiming is done by striking the "It's Mine!" board. (No board movement here.) When to "stake your claim" is the key ...The small size of the game makes it ideal for travelling. The colorful artwork is interesting but does take a little time "getting used to". So many bright colors tend to obscure what you are looking at until you've played a few rounds. And you do have to cultivate a good memory as to what you have already claimed since Double or Nothing cards are worthless unless paired, Toast or Most cards are an "all or nothing" proposition and Jackpot cards rapidly increase in value the more you have - and you can't look back at cards already claimed! - - - - - - Herb Levy

FROM "K-BAN'S KORNER":

TYCOON (Jumbo International; about $40)

   As designed by Wolfgang Kramer and Horst-Rainer Rosner, Tycoon is a business game for three to four players (and a playing time of about 75 minutes) of building hotels and factories in nine different cities...Before dismissing Tycoon as being yet another variation in the Acquire genre, note that it has several novel mechanisms and twists that mesh together well to produce a unique gaming experience that is very worthy of its 1998 German Game of the Year nomination.

   In Tycoon, players purchase airline tickets of two varieties: expensive direct schedule flights to or from the named city or less expensive charter flights between two cities. The more expensive direct flight tickets may also be used to move a space (or more) around the board giving a player greater flexibility in movement (and justifying their additional cost)....As hotels are added to a city, payoffs for first and second place holdings (i.e. the number of hotels) increase and eventually decrease! (The economic concept of diminishing returns is finally realized in a boardgame.)...Factories are more expensive than hotels but guarantee a second place payoff on each payday and a first place payoff if the factory is built in the city with the longest hotel chain. Players receive six hotels per round but have only five factories for the entire game....

   The scoring system of Tycoon rewards both a player's dominance in a particular city and the breadth of his holdings. This duality makes for painful choices which have a direct effect on the final outcome....Tycoon is a delectable balancing act that impresses me more each time I play... Highly recommended. - - - - - Steve Kurzban