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Hadley (567 KP) rated Cigarette Teeth in Books
Dec 4, 2020
Great writing (1 more)
Amazing descriptions
In this day-and-age, everyone is willing to do anything to get what they want. People leave their morals and values behind at the drop of a hat. Partly, because of this, mental illness is at an all-time high and happiness is at an all-time low.
What if I told you there was a phone number you could call that would give you whatever you wanted...for a simple favor in return? Enter : Cigarette Teeth. The horror novel concerns two different places that exist in our world: the Pleasure Palace, where the Magician resides in an overcast of red light where he helps make peoples' 'dreams' come true, and our reality - - - the world as we've grown to know it.
Our main character, Mike Hadley, can't remember his past or how he ended up working for the Magician, but he's more than happy to do what he's told in Cigarette Teeth. Some things seem familiar to him, like his working partner, Tommy; but if you asked him what he did last night for the Magician, he wouldn't be able to tell you or remember it himself. Harper, a man Hadley meets early on in the story, who is the stereo-typical hardened detective, tells Hadley that he knows that the Pleasure Palace has been the cause of hundreds of disappearances - - - including Harper's own brother and sister- - - and demands that Hadley help him get into the Palace to find them.
Hadley is kidnapped by Harper while people working for the Pleasure Palace begin to come after them, trying to kill them. Unlike Hadley, Harper has done a lot of detective work on the Pleasure Palace and knows much more than he does. For Hadley, a lot of things begin to make sense and no sense at the same time, like people who work for the Pleasure Palace can't die, instead they regenerate in a very gruesome way- - - something he had never seen happen before. Now, being away from the Palace, whenever Hadley falls asleep, memories start to come back to him in the form of dreams; most of them take place in metaphorical places that slowly unwrap his tragic past to the reader.
I often found myself fascinated by the characters Hewish came up with that live in the Pleasure Palace. One being the Zipper Sisters: "Kela and and Lua Von Zipper. Conjoined twins; connected at the hip and zipped into the one gigantic pinched- leather corset. Two heads, two arms, and four legs, all sealed in an ornate, Victorian-style leather dress hemmed with black lace.
Their makeup was corpse-white, their lipstick blood red. Their eyes were shadowed with a weeping pastel green, like something from a carnival sideshow. Their 18th-century dress continued with ruffles and lacy stockings, all the colour of snow. The two pairs of shoes they wore- - - shiny little school shoes, the ones with the clasps over the top- - - completed the look. It gave these sinister twins a suggested air of innocence- - - the filthiest of lies. "
When the pair meet with the Architect of the Pleasure Palace (Horitoshi Li), the story really begins to take off. The information given to them by Li about the Magician is the real start to their journey to stop the Palace and find Harper's missing siblings, as long as they include Li in the plan.
As expected, a friend of Harper's, named Sophie, gets caught up in their journey- - - saving their lives more than once, thanks to her nursing background. Sophie felt like a filler character at first, but in the end, I think she was needed to make the story well-rounded, like her insight of psychology: "...But...it's just interesting. Did you know the second most common dream people have is about their teeth? After the 'being chased' phenomenon that usually coincides with a hallway and a door. Most notable psychologists don't really offer insight on dreams- - - the most popular consensus is that they're nothing more than cerebral static, just garbled images and words that occasionally form to make something that seems to have weight..."
Though I want to say so much more about the novel, it would give away a lot of the surprises that are hidden inside. Hewish's writing is gold; the way he describes scenes is beautifully done, but he did waste some of this talent on places where the characters weren't even there for more than a scene (and nothing really came of it). Also, Harper states one time early in the book that he has killed Hadley before... this is never explained or spoken of again. I think that was a very important part to this story, especially with how things turn out between Harper and Hadley.
There were only a few inconsistencies that are completely able to be looked over and don't ruin the novel. This is master storytelling, and I am looking very forward to more work by Hewish! I would recommend this book to fans of the show "Twin Peaks," and the video game (because I love horror video games) "Evil Within." Highly recommend!
What if I told you there was a phone number you could call that would give you whatever you wanted...for a simple favor in return? Enter : Cigarette Teeth. The horror novel concerns two different places that exist in our world: the Pleasure Palace, where the Magician resides in an overcast of red light where he helps make peoples' 'dreams' come true, and our reality - - - the world as we've grown to know it.
Our main character, Mike Hadley, can't remember his past or how he ended up working for the Magician, but he's more than happy to do what he's told in Cigarette Teeth. Some things seem familiar to him, like his working partner, Tommy; but if you asked him what he did last night for the Magician, he wouldn't be able to tell you or remember it himself. Harper, a man Hadley meets early on in the story, who is the stereo-typical hardened detective, tells Hadley that he knows that the Pleasure Palace has been the cause of hundreds of disappearances - - - including Harper's own brother and sister- - - and demands that Hadley help him get into the Palace to find them.
Hadley is kidnapped by Harper while people working for the Pleasure Palace begin to come after them, trying to kill them. Unlike Hadley, Harper has done a lot of detective work on the Pleasure Palace and knows much more than he does. For Hadley, a lot of things begin to make sense and no sense at the same time, like people who work for the Pleasure Palace can't die, instead they regenerate in a very gruesome way- - - something he had never seen happen before. Now, being away from the Palace, whenever Hadley falls asleep, memories start to come back to him in the form of dreams; most of them take place in metaphorical places that slowly unwrap his tragic past to the reader.
I often found myself fascinated by the characters Hewish came up with that live in the Pleasure Palace. One being the Zipper Sisters: "Kela and and Lua Von Zipper. Conjoined twins; connected at the hip and zipped into the one gigantic pinched- leather corset. Two heads, two arms, and four legs, all sealed in an ornate, Victorian-style leather dress hemmed with black lace.
Their makeup was corpse-white, their lipstick blood red. Their eyes were shadowed with a weeping pastel green, like something from a carnival sideshow. Their 18th-century dress continued with ruffles and lacy stockings, all the colour of snow. The two pairs of shoes they wore- - - shiny little school shoes, the ones with the clasps over the top- - - completed the look. It gave these sinister twins a suggested air of innocence- - - the filthiest of lies. "
When the pair meet with the Architect of the Pleasure Palace (Horitoshi Li), the story really begins to take off. The information given to them by Li about the Magician is the real start to their journey to stop the Palace and find Harper's missing siblings, as long as they include Li in the plan.
As expected, a friend of Harper's, named Sophie, gets caught up in their journey- - - saving their lives more than once, thanks to her nursing background. Sophie felt like a filler character at first, but in the end, I think she was needed to make the story well-rounded, like her insight of psychology: "...But...it's just interesting. Did you know the second most common dream people have is about their teeth? After the 'being chased' phenomenon that usually coincides with a hallway and a door. Most notable psychologists don't really offer insight on dreams- - - the most popular consensus is that they're nothing more than cerebral static, just garbled images and words that occasionally form to make something that seems to have weight..."
Though I want to say so much more about the novel, it would give away a lot of the surprises that are hidden inside. Hewish's writing is gold; the way he describes scenes is beautifully done, but he did waste some of this talent on places where the characters weren't even there for more than a scene (and nothing really came of it). Also, Harper states one time early in the book that he has killed Hadley before... this is never explained or spoken of again. I think that was a very important part to this story, especially with how things turn out between Harper and Hadley.
There were only a few inconsistencies that are completely able to be looked over and don't ruin the novel. This is master storytelling, and I am looking very forward to more work by Hewish! I would recommend this book to fans of the show "Twin Peaks," and the video game (because I love horror video games) "Evil Within." Highly recommend!
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Greedfall in Video Games
Oct 31, 2019
Greedfall the latest action-adventure roleplaying game from the folks at Spider and Focus Home Interactive is set in the far-off land of Teer Fradee where numerous factions vie for dominance over the continent (and its native inhabitants) while searching for an elusive cure for the Malichor, an insidious disease that threatens to wipe out the inhabitants. The story begins in the plague-ridden streets of Serene, where you immediately get a sense of what it must have been like in Europe while the black plague threatened to wipe out entire societies. You play the role of De Sardet, a young noble who sets sail for the new world in an effort to bring back a cure and assist his cousin who has taken over as the newly appointed governor. Using your skills of diplomacy, sword play, and stealth you’ll have to befriend not only the other factions, but the natives if you wish to bring a cure home.
Greedfall is a beautiful game, taking place in large expansive cities reminiscent of Paris or London in the 18th century and the lush forest landscape of Teer Fradee. Each character is costumed in what could only be considered French Musketeer and the island natives’ representative of what early European settlers in North America must have encountered. The sense of scale between the massive cities, and the vast expanse of the frontier provides a sense of openness that rival many other titles.
It’s this sense of openness however, where Greedfall initially stumbles. Much like games such as Dragon Age, the illusion of an open world environment is regularly halted by “invisible” walls that impede your progress. Looking through a small grove of trees you see your objective but are unable to pass through them directly. Instead, you must follow the path and climb a rock ledge to reach it. Several times while attempting to get to my highlighted objective, I’d get stuck on small bushes, or my path stopped by what should be easily passable brush. There are moments where it’s uncertain whether or not I could pass through the environment, so I’d have to refer to my map to see if that was the correct path, or I had to follow some other indirect route to get there. While this game style is hardly new (and had been common in the past until advancements in both computing power and storage space allowed for larger environments) the inconsistencies of what was passable and impassable lead to a bit more frustration then it should.
Combat is quick and easy to pick up with a light and heavy attack and a block or dodge for defense. Each successful attack also builds up your fury meter which allows for stronger strikes against enemy opponents. You and your opponents also benefit from armor and health attributes. Armor can help defend against health damage, but once the armor is depleted there is little standing between you and certain death at the end of a musket or blade. Numerous spells and potions can be used to buff up your character, cause elemental damage or provide quick healing when needed. Besides swords, maces and axes there are also an assortment of pistols and rifles for ranged attack. If you so choose, you can also create magic wielding warriors who can utilize spells and magic rings in combat as well. Various skill points can be added to your offensive and defensive capabilities that allows for stronger strikes, better mobility (unlocking the ability to roll away from danger is something that I highly recommend) and increase the length of spells.
The story and character voice acting is typically top notch, the one glaring exception to this was the accent used by the natives. As much as I hoped I would get used to it, the worse it tended to get. While creating an accent that is supposed to be unique to the people who share it should be applause worthy, it often felt forced and in most cases entirely TOO artificial. The cut scenes that are used throughout to further along the story are outstanding, and while the facial expressions generally left a lot to be desired, it didn’t detract too much from what was being said. The amount of voice acting and cut scenes puts it on par with far larger budget titles and outside of those few gripes feel they are done well overall.
Technically the game tends to suffer from some annoying and immersion breaking problems. While I played the game using a Nvidia GTX 2080 Super, there were times when the frame rates would drop from the typical 80+ on my ultra-wide screen down to 15 or 20. These slowdowns didn’t last long but seemed to come at times I wouldn’t have expected them. In my attempts to isolate them, I tried lowering a number of the graphical settings, but in most cases, it didn’t seem to have much effect. These have improved somewhat with the latest patches to the game, but still exist from time to time. There are also the random crashes to desktop for no reason at all, thankfully the game autosaves frequently enough (and allows you to manually save as often as you wish) that I never lost much progress when these occurred, but it’s something to be aware of. Characters and animals occasionally get stuck on the environment, I one time found myself stuck in a small hole that I should have easily been able to walk out of, and another time a large deer was stuck running in place next to a large rock. While these glitches didn’t cause any serious quest ending problems, they are just additional polish issues that still need to be worked out. As other reviewers have pointed out, there are some issues going from light to dark environments where it seems to take awhile for the lighting to adjust as it should.
Greedfall even with the inconsistent accents and technical difficulties is still an easy game to recommend for folks looking for a change of pace from the standard Dungeons and Dragons tropes. There is plenty of political intrigue and mysteries to unravel on Teer Fradee and no one faction that can be singled out as good or evil. Sacrifices have to be made when dealing with each faction and doing something for one will almost always cause a conflict with another. While the choices you make, do impact how others see you, they aren’t as world changing as they could have been. Greedfall is a long game easily 40+ hours depending on how many side quests you choose to complete on your search for a cure and it tells an interesting enough story to keep you engaged throughout.
What I liked: Interesting factions, Beautiful scenery, Unique setting
What I liked less: Invisible walls, Technical glitches, Inconsistent voice acting
Greedfall is a beautiful game, taking place in large expansive cities reminiscent of Paris or London in the 18th century and the lush forest landscape of Teer Fradee. Each character is costumed in what could only be considered French Musketeer and the island natives’ representative of what early European settlers in North America must have encountered. The sense of scale between the massive cities, and the vast expanse of the frontier provides a sense of openness that rival many other titles.
It’s this sense of openness however, where Greedfall initially stumbles. Much like games such as Dragon Age, the illusion of an open world environment is regularly halted by “invisible” walls that impede your progress. Looking through a small grove of trees you see your objective but are unable to pass through them directly. Instead, you must follow the path and climb a rock ledge to reach it. Several times while attempting to get to my highlighted objective, I’d get stuck on small bushes, or my path stopped by what should be easily passable brush. There are moments where it’s uncertain whether or not I could pass through the environment, so I’d have to refer to my map to see if that was the correct path, or I had to follow some other indirect route to get there. While this game style is hardly new (and had been common in the past until advancements in both computing power and storage space allowed for larger environments) the inconsistencies of what was passable and impassable lead to a bit more frustration then it should.
Combat is quick and easy to pick up with a light and heavy attack and a block or dodge for defense. Each successful attack also builds up your fury meter which allows for stronger strikes against enemy opponents. You and your opponents also benefit from armor and health attributes. Armor can help defend against health damage, but once the armor is depleted there is little standing between you and certain death at the end of a musket or blade. Numerous spells and potions can be used to buff up your character, cause elemental damage or provide quick healing when needed. Besides swords, maces and axes there are also an assortment of pistols and rifles for ranged attack. If you so choose, you can also create magic wielding warriors who can utilize spells and magic rings in combat as well. Various skill points can be added to your offensive and defensive capabilities that allows for stronger strikes, better mobility (unlocking the ability to roll away from danger is something that I highly recommend) and increase the length of spells.
The story and character voice acting is typically top notch, the one glaring exception to this was the accent used by the natives. As much as I hoped I would get used to it, the worse it tended to get. While creating an accent that is supposed to be unique to the people who share it should be applause worthy, it often felt forced and in most cases entirely TOO artificial. The cut scenes that are used throughout to further along the story are outstanding, and while the facial expressions generally left a lot to be desired, it didn’t detract too much from what was being said. The amount of voice acting and cut scenes puts it on par with far larger budget titles and outside of those few gripes feel they are done well overall.
Technically the game tends to suffer from some annoying and immersion breaking problems. While I played the game using a Nvidia GTX 2080 Super, there were times when the frame rates would drop from the typical 80+ on my ultra-wide screen down to 15 or 20. These slowdowns didn’t last long but seemed to come at times I wouldn’t have expected them. In my attempts to isolate them, I tried lowering a number of the graphical settings, but in most cases, it didn’t seem to have much effect. These have improved somewhat with the latest patches to the game, but still exist from time to time. There are also the random crashes to desktop for no reason at all, thankfully the game autosaves frequently enough (and allows you to manually save as often as you wish) that I never lost much progress when these occurred, but it’s something to be aware of. Characters and animals occasionally get stuck on the environment, I one time found myself stuck in a small hole that I should have easily been able to walk out of, and another time a large deer was stuck running in place next to a large rock. While these glitches didn’t cause any serious quest ending problems, they are just additional polish issues that still need to be worked out. As other reviewers have pointed out, there are some issues going from light to dark environments where it seems to take awhile for the lighting to adjust as it should.
Greedfall even with the inconsistent accents and technical difficulties is still an easy game to recommend for folks looking for a change of pace from the standard Dungeons and Dragons tropes. There is plenty of political intrigue and mysteries to unravel on Teer Fradee and no one faction that can be singled out as good or evil. Sacrifices have to be made when dealing with each faction and doing something for one will almost always cause a conflict with another. While the choices you make, do impact how others see you, they aren’t as world changing as they could have been. Greedfall is a long game easily 40+ hours depending on how many side quests you choose to complete on your search for a cure and it tells an interesting enough story to keep you engaged throughout.
What I liked: Interesting factions, Beautiful scenery, Unique setting
What I liked less: Invisible walls, Technical glitches, Inconsistent voice acting
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Horreos in Tabletop Games
Jan 23, 2022
I’m not a huge history buff or anything, but I am definitely interested in my family lineage/ancestry. What does that have to do with this game? Well, with the last name Rodriguez, I’m sure you guessed that there’s some Spanish heritage in my background. My Dad will often talk about how our family originally came from Spain a loooooong time ago. Specifically from Galicia, Spain. So when I saw this ButtonShy game based on the real-life location of Galicia, my roots were calling to me and I had to get it. Hórreos gives us a small glimpse into life in 18th century Galicia – and it sounds pretty great!
Hórreos is a 2-player game in which players are competing to build the most effective and aesthetically pleasing hórreo in town. What is a hórreo? It is a building for storing grain, elevated from the ground to prevent rodents from infiltrating the structure. So in this game, players are building long and ornate hórreos that not only look stunning, but can keep the rats out of the grain! To setup for a game, each player receives 2 Action cards and the Hórreo cards are shuffled. The deck is placed between the players, and the top card is placed beside the deck to form a 2-card Market. The Leader card is placed beside the Market, facing the starting player. Pictured below is the setup for the beginning of a game.
Over a series of rounds, players will be taking 1 of 4 possible actions as they attempt to build the highest-scoring structure. Each player has 2 Action cards at their disposal. Each Action card has 2 possible Actions on it – one card is Sabotage or Plan, the other is Steal or Build. Both players will secretly choose whichever Action they wish to perform this turn, and place their card face-down in front of them. Players will then simultaneous reveal their chosen Actions, and they will be resolved in the following order – Sabotage, Plan, Steal, and Build. If a player has chosen to Sabotage, they will rotate their opponent’s Action card, forcing them to perform the other listed action this round. To perform the Plan action, the player will select one of the cards from the Market to be placed into their personal supply tableau. If you have chosen to Steal, you will select a card from your opponent’s supply, and take it into your own supply tableau. And finally, to Build is to move a card from your supply to your hórreo. Cards in your hórreo cannot be stolen. As with many other ButtonShy games, cards in your hórreo may be placed adjacent to, or even overlapping, previously played cards – cards may never be tucked under cards in your existing hórreo.
If both players have chosen the same action, the player with the Leader card facing them gets to decide which player will resolve their action first. The Leader card is then rotated to face the opposite player, and so on, for future ‘ties’. An important note – you cannot pick the same Action twice in a row, you must pick one of the other 3 Actions. So take that strategic tidbit into consideration when deciding what to do each round! The game continues in this fashion, with players selecting/simultaneously revealing Actions, resolving their Actions in order, and building their hórreo until there is 1 or fewer cards left in the Market and the players’ supplies at the end of a round. At that point, the game ends, points are tallied, and the winner is declared!
Points are scored in several ways. Most of the hórreo cards are ‘decorated’ with crosses and pikes, and each pair you have in your final hórreo will earn you points. Similarly, the number of doors in your hórreo, as well as adjacent pillars supporting your structure, will earn you points dependent upon the number (the more doors you have, the more points you earn, etc.). As mentioned earlier, you’re trying to keep these pesky rats out of your grain, so any rat pictured on your cards is worth -2 points, but each owl you have pictured eats (cancels out) one rat. And of course, whichever player has build the longest hórreo earns extra points. All points are tallied, and the player with the highest score is the winner!
I have to admit that Hórreos surprised me. The gameplay seems simple enough, so I honestly wasn’t really expecting a lot from this game. For such a small game, Hórreos is all about strategy. Each round, you only have 4 Actions from which to choose, and that really forces you to think long-term with your strategy. But at the same time, since Actions are revealed simultaneously and resolved in a set order, you have to consider what your opponent might do. For example, the Sabotage action forces the opposing player to use the other Action of their chosen card this round. Can you bluff your opponent into playing that Sabotage, forcing you to switch Actions, thus letting you perform the Action you really wanted to perform? That goes hand in hand with the fact that you cannot choose the same Action twice in a row. Can you anticipate your opponents moves to benefit your strategy? Or will you be out of touch, and thus be forced to essentially waste a turn performing an Action that you actually didn’t want to? And don’t forget the Leader card – if players both pick the same Action, the Leader can decide who resolves first. Maybe it’s strategically better to let your opponent resolve first, so then you can just negate what they just did, or vice versa.
To touch on components for a minute, this is a game of 18 cards in a wallet. So nothing out of the ordinary for ButtonShy. That being said, production quality is always top notch with these games, and I have no complaints. the cards are thick and sturdy, and the wallet is nice and supportive. The artwork is thematic and refreshing, while not being too overwhelming. Is it the most beautiful game I’ve ever seen? No. But it is aesthetically and thematically appropriate, and gives a serene and peaceful vibe. ButtonShy has yet to disappoint with their components, so I am definitely a big fan!
Hórreos is a pretty solid game. I’m not personally a huge fan of ‘take that’ type games, and there is an element of that in this gameplay. But there seems to be enough strategy needed to negate some of that direct competitiveness. The game itself is fast to teach, learn, and play, and that adds to the overall appeal. It’s not necessarily my favorite 2-player game, but it’s one that I can see myself pulling out often when I’ve got a quick minute between other games, or when I’ve got a little downtime. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a structural 4 / 6. Check it out if you’re in the market for something small, yet strategic!
Hórreos is a 2-player game in which players are competing to build the most effective and aesthetically pleasing hórreo in town. What is a hórreo? It is a building for storing grain, elevated from the ground to prevent rodents from infiltrating the structure. So in this game, players are building long and ornate hórreos that not only look stunning, but can keep the rats out of the grain! To setup for a game, each player receives 2 Action cards and the Hórreo cards are shuffled. The deck is placed between the players, and the top card is placed beside the deck to form a 2-card Market. The Leader card is placed beside the Market, facing the starting player. Pictured below is the setup for the beginning of a game.
Over a series of rounds, players will be taking 1 of 4 possible actions as they attempt to build the highest-scoring structure. Each player has 2 Action cards at their disposal. Each Action card has 2 possible Actions on it – one card is Sabotage or Plan, the other is Steal or Build. Both players will secretly choose whichever Action they wish to perform this turn, and place their card face-down in front of them. Players will then simultaneous reveal their chosen Actions, and they will be resolved in the following order – Sabotage, Plan, Steal, and Build. If a player has chosen to Sabotage, they will rotate their opponent’s Action card, forcing them to perform the other listed action this round. To perform the Plan action, the player will select one of the cards from the Market to be placed into their personal supply tableau. If you have chosen to Steal, you will select a card from your opponent’s supply, and take it into your own supply tableau. And finally, to Build is to move a card from your supply to your hórreo. Cards in your hórreo cannot be stolen. As with many other ButtonShy games, cards in your hórreo may be placed adjacent to, or even overlapping, previously played cards – cards may never be tucked under cards in your existing hórreo.
If both players have chosen the same action, the player with the Leader card facing them gets to decide which player will resolve their action first. The Leader card is then rotated to face the opposite player, and so on, for future ‘ties’. An important note – you cannot pick the same Action twice in a row, you must pick one of the other 3 Actions. So take that strategic tidbit into consideration when deciding what to do each round! The game continues in this fashion, with players selecting/simultaneously revealing Actions, resolving their Actions in order, and building their hórreo until there is 1 or fewer cards left in the Market and the players’ supplies at the end of a round. At that point, the game ends, points are tallied, and the winner is declared!
Points are scored in several ways. Most of the hórreo cards are ‘decorated’ with crosses and pikes, and each pair you have in your final hórreo will earn you points. Similarly, the number of doors in your hórreo, as well as adjacent pillars supporting your structure, will earn you points dependent upon the number (the more doors you have, the more points you earn, etc.). As mentioned earlier, you’re trying to keep these pesky rats out of your grain, so any rat pictured on your cards is worth -2 points, but each owl you have pictured eats (cancels out) one rat. And of course, whichever player has build the longest hórreo earns extra points. All points are tallied, and the player with the highest score is the winner!
I have to admit that Hórreos surprised me. The gameplay seems simple enough, so I honestly wasn’t really expecting a lot from this game. For such a small game, Hórreos is all about strategy. Each round, you only have 4 Actions from which to choose, and that really forces you to think long-term with your strategy. But at the same time, since Actions are revealed simultaneously and resolved in a set order, you have to consider what your opponent might do. For example, the Sabotage action forces the opposing player to use the other Action of their chosen card this round. Can you bluff your opponent into playing that Sabotage, forcing you to switch Actions, thus letting you perform the Action you really wanted to perform? That goes hand in hand with the fact that you cannot choose the same Action twice in a row. Can you anticipate your opponents moves to benefit your strategy? Or will you be out of touch, and thus be forced to essentially waste a turn performing an Action that you actually didn’t want to? And don’t forget the Leader card – if players both pick the same Action, the Leader can decide who resolves first. Maybe it’s strategically better to let your opponent resolve first, so then you can just negate what they just did, or vice versa.
To touch on components for a minute, this is a game of 18 cards in a wallet. So nothing out of the ordinary for ButtonShy. That being said, production quality is always top notch with these games, and I have no complaints. the cards are thick and sturdy, and the wallet is nice and supportive. The artwork is thematic and refreshing, while not being too overwhelming. Is it the most beautiful game I’ve ever seen? No. But it is aesthetically and thematically appropriate, and gives a serene and peaceful vibe. ButtonShy has yet to disappoint with their components, so I am definitely a big fan!
Hórreos is a pretty solid game. I’m not personally a huge fan of ‘take that’ type games, and there is an element of that in this gameplay. But there seems to be enough strategy needed to negate some of that direct competitiveness. The game itself is fast to teach, learn, and play, and that adds to the overall appeal. It’s not necessarily my favorite 2-player game, but it’s one that I can see myself pulling out often when I’ve got a quick minute between other games, or when I’ve got a little downtime. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a structural 4 / 6. Check it out if you’re in the market for something small, yet strategic!
