Santa's Lap: Soho Board Game From Smoke

M@
By M@ Last edited 159 months ago
Santa's Lap: Soho Board Game From Smoke

Every day until Christmas the Londonist team will be pointing you in the direction of a Christmas present that (with a bit of luck) you won’t already have on your list. Climb up onto our collective lap and we’ll see what we can move from our sack to your stockings…

Our friends at Smoke magazine have been biding their time, working on something mysterious in the run-up to Christmas. This week, all was revealed when they announced the launch of Soho!, 'a game of skill and judgement for 2-6 players of all ages inspired by the two things for which this small, historic patch of London is famous around the globe: its pubs, and its one-way system'.

The premise sounds more than a little bonkers, and borne of the frustration the Smoke team suffer in piecing together their periodical. You play the part of an editor of a small literary magazine, and must make your way around Soho collecting copy from a bunch of 'recalcitrant writers', all holed up, Jeffrey Bernard-style, in local pubs. To get around the board, you can walk, hail a cab, or grab a Boris Bike - all of which have pros and cons. It looks a bit like the 221b Baker Street game, with more world-weary wit and fewer deerstalkers.

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The joker cards feature Boris and Ken.
The joker cards feature Boris and Ken.

The whole set, including a 20-sided dice, joker cards featuring Boris and Ken, and a 'box made in Derby' can be yours for £15 plus postage/packaging. And while you're there, we recommend you invest in some back issues of the magazine, which is every London-lover's dream.

Better yet, there's a launch party tomorrow night (8 December from 7pm), upstairs at the Blue Posts (the one on Berwick Street <EDITED>), where you can pick up a set without paying the postage, and meet Matt and Jude - the illustrious editors of Smoke.

Browse previous Santa’s Lap entries for inspiration and check out Christmas Markets and Fairs around town for festive shopping opportunities.

Last Updated 07 December 2010