Now that you have seen a couple of games that are great for developing strategy in groups, what about good old ‘one on one’ games? Well there are some great ones out there, just waiting to be discovered and played.

1. Hive - In this two player game you control half of the hive, a collective of insects and spiders buzzing, jumping, and scurrying around. You’re goal is to surround your opponent’s queen bee completely.

   Each insect has a different movement path that it can follow. Grasshoppers can jump over clusters. Ants can march around the perimeter. Beatles can crawl over the top. You can never break the hive into two parts, so everything is connected at all times.

   You will be able to either move one of your pieces, or place a new one on the table. The game is quick, and it jams in quite a bit of thinking into that time. I like to compare it with chess, every piece has specific move it can make, and the goal is to take out one piece.

2. Carcassonne Hunters and Gatherers – While this game can be played with up to 5 people, it really plays well with only two. So I have decided to include it here as well.

   The idea in the game is to control different sections of the land as they are ‘discovered’. Each turn you draw a tile and have to fit that into the game in a way that all the edges match. (Forests on Forests, rivers on rivers, and plains on plains) Then from there you have an option of placing one of your ‘meeples’ (miniature people) onto the board. Once that section is complete, you will score the points of it and get your meeple back.

   The game isn’t huge on strategy, you are at the mercy of which tile you draw. But there is quite a bit of tactics in where you place that tile, and if you do add a meeple to the board. It is defiantly worth a play.

3. Scrabble – Now Scrabble is a game that you have to have heard of before. Because of that, I’m not going to go into much details on it.

   Simply use your rack of letters to play words on the board in a crossword like manner. Placing the letters so that you get to that triple word score is key, but creating good words is also going to make a big difference.

   Like Carcassonne above, this game can be played with more players; however, Scrabble plays the best with only two.

I hope that these will be able to challenge you, and whoever you decide to play against. As in most games, the more you play the better you get, and the more ideas you can try. So give them a shot, and see what you think.

Do you have a favorite two player game that forces you to think?

A couple of months ago when I was in Buffalo about ready to leave, I saw the most amazing display of customer evangelism. It was one of the more interesting things I have seen in quite a while. I don’t think I’ve seen anything so positive about a product in quite some time.

I pulled into a small gas station that was far away from any commercial civilization and began to fuel up my vehicle. Moments after I arrived at the pump, a shiny brand new Beetle pulls up at the pump behind me. Out of the car steps this gal who was probably around a hundred years old. She was defiantly a ‘go-getter-grandma’ if I’ve ever seen one. She wore a bright red dress with bright red lipstick, and next to the shiny bright red Volkswagen, it looked like she color coordinated the whole thing to match perfectly.

Across from her there was this guy who just finished filling up his tank and was on his way inside to pay. He stopped when he saw her car and struck up a conversation about the woman’s car.

He talked about how he used to have a bug back in the day with the old model, and they just went off from there. They talked about all these little facts that only VW beetle owners fanatics would know about. They talked about the differences, the history, and the general life of a VW owner. Did you know that the old model of beetles ran the windshield washer fluid powered from the air in the spare tire? Better hope you don’t get a flat after driving through a swarm of bugs!

The amount of information and love these two had for the product and brand was absolutely incredible. She simply adored the car, and it really showed. I wouldn’t picture these two talking to each other in a million years without being related, but they were brought together by a silly car.

That gave me quite a bit to think about over the next two and a half days of driving. Volkswagen created an environment, possibly unintentionally, that gave their customers a chance to do more than simply drive around.

Any company that can do more than just a customer appreciation for their product, but something to actually get excited means the company must be doing something right! This was certainly an example of the type of product evangelism that Guy Kawasaki and Seth Godin often applaud, and I certainly do as well.

For about the last year and a half I have had an idea for a web application that I think would be absolutely great. Everyone who I have talked to about the idea has told me that it is a great idea.

It wouldn’t really make a great business, as there is no obvious revenue source that can be taken that would allow for the objectivity and credibility that I want for this idea. Of course this doesn’t mean that the site couldn’t make money, but that’s one of the things that would have to be addressed.

The second thing holding me back is my lack of programming skills. I could probably fumble along and put something together that would roughly do what I’m looking for; however the loss of features and functionality would be substantial.

If I were to pay a programmer that would most likely cost me a couple thousand dollars at least for a bare-bones version of the application. And that’s not really something that I can do for something that has no way of making money. It’s hard to gain investors when you say, “I’ve got an idea that will probably make the world a better place, but won’t return any money for a long time, if ever.”

I think that people on the internet would really embrace this project, and I would really like it to go through. What will the atmosphere be like on the internet in two years? What if I don’t get to it for five years and the internet is a completely different place? I know that just two years ago the internet was a different place. I think the application would be a little harder to launch today than it would have been two years ago; however defiantly not impossible.

So that’s where I start wondering, would it be better to spend all of my spare time to work on my project or to just let the dream die?

When it comes to making money it can feel like there are a million things that you need to remember just to stay on top. Although it may seem like common sense, it is easily overlooked by amateurs. Everyone else seems to have some sort of handle on it and those who don’t are crippled in the business world. This slippery little demon is organization. Yes it’s something as simple as organization. So how exactly to we become organized enough to not forget things? It’s the same way that you make money doing anything, research and elbow grease. Today I’m going to focus on Databases.

For this example we’re going to assume you are selling a product online (although you don’t have to be to benefit). Let’s say you have some clients that you are currently doing business with and a whole heck of a lot more that you have done business with in the past. If your getting blasted with a torrent of emails every time somebody places an order it will leave you scrambling to try to remember who gets what sent where and how many (and so on). Wouldn’t it be easier if they were automatically entered into a database? All you would have to do is click to print a label and the information is stored and sorted.

The sales information and efficiency boost that you could get from having a dynamic database could transform you from a dozen sales a month to your personal capacity, depending on your energy and determination.

Not to sound like a get-rich-quick book but you may say, “Okay Todd, that’s all fine and dandy cloud talking. How do you actually expect me to go about doing this mystical feat?”

That’s where the research comes in. Do you want your database online? Do you have (or plan to) more than one person accessing and altering the information? Do you want it automatically updated whenever somebody places an order? And the kicker, how much are you willing to pay?

If you already have experience with database software then you have a step up on the average Joe. If you have experience at all with coding then you have a step up on the average Chris. Don’t worry if you don’t know anything about these two just yet. You will be saturating yourself in them soon enough (if you choose).

An online database such as SQL can offer you a lot of freedom, or it can frustrate the heck out of you if you are impatient. So don’t be impatient. Easier said then done. You are setting up for your future so it is defiantly worth it to do the job right. If you have to skimp, this isn’t the place to do it.

Viewing your database online requires code. If you can’t write PHP or don’t even know what it means you may be in trouble. WRONG! Don’t fret building databases is not a new idea. Right now in 2006 there are engines waiting for you, and your information is the fuel. All they require you to do is click a few buttons and they’ll be set up. Some may cost money while others are free. Be sure to compare all abilities before committing time or money into a system.

Now that you have a database online, using software like Microsoft Excel or the free Open Office you can connect and easily view and edit your information.

Who were the last 3 customers of yours? Some guy from Boston, another in Memphis, and the third lives in Chicago. Okay, now how about the first three you have had? If you can’t answer that within 15 seconds, I would really recommend that you look more into organizing your information. One click and there’s the latest customer, another and there’s a sale for July 17, 2005. Not only that, but it’s the same customer. And this week alone you have almost 100 repeat customers. Not just because you had quick service, anybody can offer that. Not because of the low prices, you can be easily matched by others with a similar product. Perhaps it had something to do with the email you sent out announcing your latest product or sale.

Be sure that the information is what you want stored as soon as possible. It’s easier to edit a table with fewer entries than if you wait a month or a year for it to fill up. Databases mean increased efficiency and repeat customers. Take advantage.