The Life-Sized City Blog

It's simply not fair that there are so many board games featuring a car-centric, last-century theme, like this one: Or even this online version . So, together with Doug Gordon, who runs the Brooklyn Spoke blog and who should be immediately followed on Twitter , Erik and Mikael from Copenhagenize Design Company decided to rectify the matter by whipping up a board game for the Life-Sized City. Like so many things regarding cities, the idea is old but still good - snakes (or chutes) and ladders has been around for many centuries - known as Moksha Patam in India. Find a die and start rolling. It ain't easy, sunshine, but it's possible to win. You can also download the .pdf if you want .

I'm sure many readers will remember playing card games like this one, particularly if you live in Europe. There were variations on the theme but cars were the main one. You competed with a friend or friends to see who could win each round by trumping the others' cards with more horsepower or top speed or price, etc. The City of Copenhagen (if I recall correctly) included a set of updated cars in 2009, included in a magazine and called Climate Car Cards. The theme was winning each round with the most environmentally friendly vehicle. A Christiania Bike was featured on one of the cards. It must have the win-all card. It reads as follows: Type: Cargo bike for child transport 0-100 km/h: Unlikely Horsepower: Varies Top speed: Circa 30 km/h Range: Depends on the motor Recharging time: 6-7 hours sleep Energy source: Rye bread Motor: Rye bread motor (it's an Danish expression that a bicycle has a "rye bread motor") Launched: 1984 Price: 11,200 kroner ...

In a previous post I explored how we are motorizing children by presenting a German car rush hour board game for your consideration. At the Copenhagen by Bicycle exhibition at the Copenhagen City Museum there was this Six Day Race board game on display. Didn't actually catch the date on it, sorry, but it is from at least the 1950's, if not earlier. No idea how to play it so don't ask. But the Six Day Races are iconic in Danish history. They used to draw massive crowds. There is still one main race in February here in Copenhagen but the folksy appeal is no longer.

This is 'a hub of Copenhageners'. We coined this phrase a while back, for fun. There is a long line of interesting names for animal flocks in English like: - A leash of greyhounds - A gaggle of geese - An exaltation of larks - A shrewdness of apes - A troop of kangaroos - A parliament of owls - A siege of herons - A crash of rhinoceri We played a game over at Cycle Chic a while back and I fancied reviving it. What words can we come up with for bicycles and bicycle culture? Let's write the dictionary, shall we? Here's what we came up with: Val - The King of Kargo Bikes in Seattle : - A pallet of cargo bikes - A lounge of recumbents I came up with: - A cove of beach cruisers - A sweat of racing bikes - A posture of upright bikes - A load of Xtra cycles - An insecurity of helmets [;-)] - An elevation of high-heeled Copenhagen fashionistas - A fold of Bromptons Jason proposed these: - A tower of tall bikes - A cog of fixed gear bikes - A trick of BMXers - A basket of towni...