Social Objects

Hugh MacCleod coined the term "object of sociability" in this blog post. Here is what he says:

"What is an Object of Sociability [OoS, or 'Ooze' for short]? 'Ooze' is simply something that allows you to engage with another person. It could be anything. It could a party. It could be a bottle of wine. It could be a hyperlink. It could be a social gesture. It could be social currency. It could be doodling a cartoon on the back of a business card at a bar and giving it to the cute barmaid. You tell me."

What follows are a few dozen of the very best social objects on Amazon. Have fun, meet people, get inspired!

According to BoingBoing, "If you asked people in the street to name three new books, films, TV shows or music they've enjoyed in the past 20 years, you'll soon have hundreds of different answers. Ask them to name three boardgames, and you will likely only hear "Monopoly, Scrabble & [Clue]. Not an exaggeration, most people have no idea how far boardgame design has progressed recently. Modern boardgames compare to Monopoly like a BMW compares to a Model T Ford. It's that different."

Here is Wired's take on Settlers of Catan, the most popular modern board game: "Settlers is actually inducting board-game-averse Americans into the cult of German-style gaming. Last year, Settlers doubled its sales on this side of the Atlantic, moving 200,000 copies in the US and Canada-almost unheard-of performance for a new strategy game with nothing but word-of-mouth marketing. It has become the first German-style title to make the leap from game-geek specialty stores to major retailers like Barnes & Noble and Toys "R" Us.

Settlers is now poised to become the biggest hit in the US since Risk. Along the way, it's teaching Americans that board games don't have to be either predictable fluff aimed at kids or competitive, hyperintellectual pastimes for eggheads. Through the complex, artful dance of algorithms and probabilities lurking at its core, Settlers manages to be effortlessly fun, intuitively enjoyable, and still intellectually rewarding, a potent combination that's changing the American idea of what a board game can be."

If you want to learn more then check out Board Game Geek, the authoritative source for board game ratings and reviews.