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How to Make Outdoor & Garden Furniture: Instructions for Tables, Chairs, Planters, Trellises & More
Book
Enjoy outdoor living to the fullest with these functional and decorative furniture projects for...
Creative Concrete Ornaments for the Garden: Making Pots, Planters, Birdbaths, Sculpture & More
Book
Sherri Warner Hunter, author of the bestselling "Creating with Concrete", proves once again that...
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Mario Party in Video Games
Nov 5, 2019
Ready To Party
Mario Party- you got to love it but at the same time you got to hate it. Cough - Chance Time. Anways Mario Party is a game that if you havent played yet, than i highly reccordmend it. Its fun, entertaining, fustrating, you will get a blister from rotating your plam from those rotating minigames and also chance time.
Lets talk more about it...
Mario Party is a party video game with six playable characters: Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Yoshi, Wario, or Donkey Kong. In the game's storyline, Mario and his friends argue about which of them is the Super Star. To settle their dispute, they set out for adventure to determine which of them is best.
Upon starting a board, players each hit a dice block to determine turn order, with the highest number going first on each turn and the lowest number going last.
Blue spaces give three coins to any player who lands on them, and red spaces take away three coins (both increased to six coins during the last five turns). Bowser also has his own spaces on the board map which hinder the players' progress.
Each player's goal is to collect the most stars. Purchasing stars requires coins, which can be earned through mini-games that are played once at the end of each turn. Each mini-game is chosen randomly. Mario Party features more than 50 mini-games, divided into several categories:
1. 4-player mini-game: each player competes against one another
2. 1 vs. 3 mini-game: a team of three players competes against a lone competitor.
3. 2 vs. 2 mini-game: competing teams of two against two.
4. 1-player mini-game: a lone player works toward a goal to win the mini-game.
Several characters appear throughout each board map, and each character can have an effect on players who reach them. Stars can be purchased from Toad for 20 coins. Boo can steal coins or a star from another player on behalf of anyone who requests it; stealing coins is free, but stealing a star costs 50 coins. Koopa Troopa appears at the starting point on board maps and will give 10 coins to each player who passes him. Bowser tries to foil the efforts of any player who passes him by taking coins.
Three bonus stars are awarded at the end of each board map: two are given to the player(s) who collected the most coins in mini-games and throughout the board map game, and the third is given to the player(s) who landed on the most "?" spaces.
In Mario Party, certain minigames required players to rotate the Nintendo 64 controller's analog stick as fast as they can. Some players reportedly got blisters, friction burns and lacerations from rotating the analog stick using the palms of their hands instead of using their thumb.
complaints were received by New York's attorney general's office and Nintendo of America eventually agreed to a settlement, which included providing gloves for anyone who had hurt their hand(s) while playing the game and paying the state's $75,000 legal fees. At the time, providing gloves for the estimated 1.2 million users of the game who might have been affected could have cost Nintendo up to $80 million.
The analog stick rotation has been used sparingly since Mario Party 2. Despite Nintendo's current analog sticks being better suited to play these games than the hard plastic of the N64 controller, Mario Party has not been re-released for the Virtual Console. For the Wii Virtual Console, Nintendo skipped it and instead re-released Mario Party 2, which was later also made available for the Wii U Virtual Console.
Mario Party is a must play game, like i said before its fun, enteraining, fustrating and you can either play with your friends or your family.
Lets talk more about it...
Mario Party is a party video game with six playable characters: Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Yoshi, Wario, or Donkey Kong. In the game's storyline, Mario and his friends argue about which of them is the Super Star. To settle their dispute, they set out for adventure to determine which of them is best.
Upon starting a board, players each hit a dice block to determine turn order, with the highest number going first on each turn and the lowest number going last.
Blue spaces give three coins to any player who lands on them, and red spaces take away three coins (both increased to six coins during the last five turns). Bowser also has his own spaces on the board map which hinder the players' progress.
Each player's goal is to collect the most stars. Purchasing stars requires coins, which can be earned through mini-games that are played once at the end of each turn. Each mini-game is chosen randomly. Mario Party features more than 50 mini-games, divided into several categories:
1. 4-player mini-game: each player competes against one another
2. 1 vs. 3 mini-game: a team of three players competes against a lone competitor.
3. 2 vs. 2 mini-game: competing teams of two against two.
4. 1-player mini-game: a lone player works toward a goal to win the mini-game.
Several characters appear throughout each board map, and each character can have an effect on players who reach them. Stars can be purchased from Toad for 20 coins. Boo can steal coins or a star from another player on behalf of anyone who requests it; stealing coins is free, but stealing a star costs 50 coins. Koopa Troopa appears at the starting point on board maps and will give 10 coins to each player who passes him. Bowser tries to foil the efforts of any player who passes him by taking coins.
Three bonus stars are awarded at the end of each board map: two are given to the player(s) who collected the most coins in mini-games and throughout the board map game, and the third is given to the player(s) who landed on the most "?" spaces.
In Mario Party, certain minigames required players to rotate the Nintendo 64 controller's analog stick as fast as they can. Some players reportedly got blisters, friction burns and lacerations from rotating the analog stick using the palms of their hands instead of using their thumb.
complaints were received by New York's attorney general's office and Nintendo of America eventually agreed to a settlement, which included providing gloves for anyone who had hurt their hand(s) while playing the game and paying the state's $75,000 legal fees. At the time, providing gloves for the estimated 1.2 million users of the game who might have been affected could have cost Nintendo up to $80 million.
The analog stick rotation has been used sparingly since Mario Party 2. Despite Nintendo's current analog sticks being better suited to play these games than the hard plastic of the N64 controller, Mario Party has not been re-released for the Virtual Console. For the Wii Virtual Console, Nintendo skipped it and instead re-released Mario Party 2, which was later also made available for the Wii U Virtual Console.
Mario Party is a must play game, like i said before its fun, enteraining, fustrating and you can either play with your friends or your family.
Port Royal
5.8
Rate It
Tabletop Game
The merchant players in Port Royal, which won the Austrian Game Designers Competition under the...
Boardgames CardGames Pirategames
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Victim: The Cursed Forest in Tabletop Games
Sep 24, 2021
I mean, who WOULDN’T be frightened out of their undies when one of their traveling mates just suddenly becomes… something else… and chases them through a very odd forest? But yet, here is where we now play. In a vast forest with danger around every curve, and a horrific presence taunting the party with the imminent possession of their very bodies. A far cry from prancing about a candied forest in an attempt to reach the summit: Candy Castle. Board games have definitely evolved, and boy am I glad for that!
Victim: The Cursed Forest (which I shall from here call simply “Victim”) is a horror survival game where players assume the roles of survivors of a plane crash. Each survivor, which in the game are actually called Victims, must race against time and nightmare fiends in order to reach the safety bunker until saviors come rescue them. However, early in the game one of their own is possessed by the lurking horror and then turns on the party to pick them off one by one. It’s up to the victims to race to the bunker and input the correct code to open its hatch to relative safety!
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
To setup, basically shuffle each deck separately, and place the Bunker map tile in the bottom six of the stack, then split that into two stacks. Place out all the chits however makes sense for your table (organized for me, thank you), and each player chooses one of the characters to play and collects all their goodies. The Start Tile is laid down, the player minis are placed upon it and the chase is on!
Each turn the players will have several choices of actions to complete, with two actions available to be taken on their turn. Primarily, players will be Running around the map to different tiles and exploring their special characteristics. Some tiles allow players to search them for Item cards, some allow players to Decode as an action, and some also require players to pass certain tests of abilities. These tests correspond to each player’s abilities of Agility, Intelligence, Vitality, and Luck. The ability scores are different for each character and can be improved or worsened throughout the game. Character boards also will show each character’s special skills that can be used on a turn.
Once all players have completed their two actions in turn order, the last player will flip an Event card that may be active for the entirety of the next round. Sometimes these Events affect only characters on certain tile types, or even adjust ability scores and Items held. However, at the end of the second or third round of play (depending on the number of players), the ominous Curse Phase is completed.
The Curse Phase is a special one-time insert that has all players make a test against one of the four abilities. The lowest score for the test then becomes the host for the Evil that will ravage the party and wreak hell on the other players. The player no longer controls their chosen character, but immediately becomes the Evil that was drawn and now plays the game against the other players. The Evil takes their turn at the end of the round, just before the Event card is drawn.
Once the Evil enters play in earnest, the game quickly shifts from a nice exploration and map building game to a race against time to earn bunker password tokens from the Decoding tiles and avoid all attacks from the now raging Evil chasing the players. I will not describe the entirety of battle and Evil special abilities, but battle is a very simple Attack roll vs. Defense roll for one wound. When a player sustains two wounds, they are considered to have a Critical Injury and may only Crawl to another player in hopes of receiving healing or to arrive on a tile with healing properties upon it. However, a character that has been Critically Injured is ripe for the Evil’s Death Skill. The Death Skill is how the Evil is able to remove characters (and thusly players) from the game and decrease the odds of the Victims’ victory.
Play continues in this fashion of players taking their turns, then the Evil takes their turn, then the Event card is drawn as the last part of each round, until either the players collect the correct tokens to solve the hatch passcode and earn safety, or the Evil takes out the required number of characters for their victory. All this can be accomplished in a mere 45-90 minutes. Absolutely.
Components. Never having heard of Hexa House prior to arranging for this review, I had no idea what to expect in terms of components. However, this game comes in a very large box, the insert is kind of perfect (which is saying a lot, especially since it is a vacuum form), and everything inside the box is really great! I’m not really a miniatures kinda guy, but I can appreciate them. Standees are just as good to me, but I think these minis are above-average from my experience. The cards, the art style, the custom dice, everything just hits really well.
So you probably noticed my weird ratings graphic up top. Well, I will admit that my graphic design skills are, well, amateur at best. So I just created a 5 point 5 because I really feel this one is just amazing. Now, some people may have some small issues with the rule book, but please read it with a grain of salt: I believe they originate in Thai or Laotian languages and are translated to English. I didn’t have problems reading it at all, but had a couple questions. I tried playing several different ways when I had these questions, and usually just one option was really viable anyway.
That said, everything else about this game is truly wonderful. I sincerely enjoy that sudden shift near the beginning of the game where one player becomes the big baddie and comes for the rest of the players. Depending on placement and buddy systems that formed in the first part of the game, the Evil player will have either a feast setup before themselves, or have to do a bit of work to track down the characters to orchestrate their attack. I know I didn’t go into a whole lot of detail on what the Evil player can do on their turns, but it boils down to basically Hunt (run), Attack, and trap.
This base game ships with six Victims and six Evils. I have yet to see all the Evils in my plays, as the mechanic for determining which Evil surfaces is dependent on a draw of a card from a shuffled deck. That said, even when an Evil enters the game that I have played before, the players were different, and the map was different, and the placement of characters was different, so it did not feel “samey” to me at all.
I will admit that the most frustrating aspect of the game is the bunker hatch passcode. Okay, so once the Bunker tile is placed, a new component enters play: the Bunker board. A hole in the middle of the board is to house a Gate Token. This Gate Token is simply a target number that the players need to achieve using the different Number and Symbol Tokens won from successful Decode actions. The Number Tokens are simply 1-6, and the Symbol Tokens are plus/minus/multiply/divide. Therefore, in order to meet the Gate Token showing 35 players would need to gather 6 x 5 + 3 + 2. That is seven different successes at the Decoder tiles, and best case scenario has players pulling those exactly and no others. When you are playing a game that is a race against time (or death, in this instance), these little setbacks can cost the entire game – that is, if players simply cannot pass the test needed for a success at the Decoder tile. Frustrating, yes, but also a very cool addition to this style of game.
Victim has completely surprised me, and I am so thankful I had the opportunity to add this to my collection. My strong recommendation is that if you see one of these in the wild – GRAB IT. There are hours and hours of gameplay in this box, and I haven’t even touched the expansion for it yet (expect another review of that in the near future as well). Purple Phoenix Games officially gives this one a 5.5 / 6 (we NEVER do half points), but I feel like with even more plays, and with the expansion to be added soon, this may give my Top 10 list a shakeup still this year. If you are a fan of games like Betrayal at House on the Hill and Posthuman, then you need to check this one out for sure. Oh, did I mention that there is a LOT of dice rolling here too? Guess I just left that until the end for my dice-chucking lovers.
Victim: The Cursed Forest (which I shall from here call simply “Victim”) is a horror survival game where players assume the roles of survivors of a plane crash. Each survivor, which in the game are actually called Victims, must race against time and nightmare fiends in order to reach the safety bunker until saviors come rescue them. However, early in the game one of their own is possessed by the lurking horror and then turns on the party to pick them off one by one. It’s up to the victims to race to the bunker and input the correct code to open its hatch to relative safety!
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
To setup, basically shuffle each deck separately, and place the Bunker map tile in the bottom six of the stack, then split that into two stacks. Place out all the chits however makes sense for your table (organized for me, thank you), and each player chooses one of the characters to play and collects all their goodies. The Start Tile is laid down, the player minis are placed upon it and the chase is on!
Each turn the players will have several choices of actions to complete, with two actions available to be taken on their turn. Primarily, players will be Running around the map to different tiles and exploring their special characteristics. Some tiles allow players to search them for Item cards, some allow players to Decode as an action, and some also require players to pass certain tests of abilities. These tests correspond to each player’s abilities of Agility, Intelligence, Vitality, and Luck. The ability scores are different for each character and can be improved or worsened throughout the game. Character boards also will show each character’s special skills that can be used on a turn.
Once all players have completed their two actions in turn order, the last player will flip an Event card that may be active for the entirety of the next round. Sometimes these Events affect only characters on certain tile types, or even adjust ability scores and Items held. However, at the end of the second or third round of play (depending on the number of players), the ominous Curse Phase is completed.
The Curse Phase is a special one-time insert that has all players make a test against one of the four abilities. The lowest score for the test then becomes the host for the Evil that will ravage the party and wreak hell on the other players. The player no longer controls their chosen character, but immediately becomes the Evil that was drawn and now plays the game against the other players. The Evil takes their turn at the end of the round, just before the Event card is drawn.
Once the Evil enters play in earnest, the game quickly shifts from a nice exploration and map building game to a race against time to earn bunker password tokens from the Decoding tiles and avoid all attacks from the now raging Evil chasing the players. I will not describe the entirety of battle and Evil special abilities, but battle is a very simple Attack roll vs. Defense roll for one wound. When a player sustains two wounds, they are considered to have a Critical Injury and may only Crawl to another player in hopes of receiving healing or to arrive on a tile with healing properties upon it. However, a character that has been Critically Injured is ripe for the Evil’s Death Skill. The Death Skill is how the Evil is able to remove characters (and thusly players) from the game and decrease the odds of the Victims’ victory.
Play continues in this fashion of players taking their turns, then the Evil takes their turn, then the Event card is drawn as the last part of each round, until either the players collect the correct tokens to solve the hatch passcode and earn safety, or the Evil takes out the required number of characters for their victory. All this can be accomplished in a mere 45-90 minutes. Absolutely.
Components. Never having heard of Hexa House prior to arranging for this review, I had no idea what to expect in terms of components. However, this game comes in a very large box, the insert is kind of perfect (which is saying a lot, especially since it is a vacuum form), and everything inside the box is really great! I’m not really a miniatures kinda guy, but I can appreciate them. Standees are just as good to me, but I think these minis are above-average from my experience. The cards, the art style, the custom dice, everything just hits really well.
So you probably noticed my weird ratings graphic up top. Well, I will admit that my graphic design skills are, well, amateur at best. So I just created a 5 point 5 because I really feel this one is just amazing. Now, some people may have some small issues with the rule book, but please read it with a grain of salt: I believe they originate in Thai or Laotian languages and are translated to English. I didn’t have problems reading it at all, but had a couple questions. I tried playing several different ways when I had these questions, and usually just one option was really viable anyway.
That said, everything else about this game is truly wonderful. I sincerely enjoy that sudden shift near the beginning of the game where one player becomes the big baddie and comes for the rest of the players. Depending on placement and buddy systems that formed in the first part of the game, the Evil player will have either a feast setup before themselves, or have to do a bit of work to track down the characters to orchestrate their attack. I know I didn’t go into a whole lot of detail on what the Evil player can do on their turns, but it boils down to basically Hunt (run), Attack, and trap.
This base game ships with six Victims and six Evils. I have yet to see all the Evils in my plays, as the mechanic for determining which Evil surfaces is dependent on a draw of a card from a shuffled deck. That said, even when an Evil enters the game that I have played before, the players were different, and the map was different, and the placement of characters was different, so it did not feel “samey” to me at all.
I will admit that the most frustrating aspect of the game is the bunker hatch passcode. Okay, so once the Bunker tile is placed, a new component enters play: the Bunker board. A hole in the middle of the board is to house a Gate Token. This Gate Token is simply a target number that the players need to achieve using the different Number and Symbol Tokens won from successful Decode actions. The Number Tokens are simply 1-6, and the Symbol Tokens are plus/minus/multiply/divide. Therefore, in order to meet the Gate Token showing 35 players would need to gather 6 x 5 + 3 + 2. That is seven different successes at the Decoder tiles, and best case scenario has players pulling those exactly and no others. When you are playing a game that is a race against time (or death, in this instance), these little setbacks can cost the entire game – that is, if players simply cannot pass the test needed for a success at the Decoder tile. Frustrating, yes, but also a very cool addition to this style of game.
Victim has completely surprised me, and I am so thankful I had the opportunity to add this to my collection. My strong recommendation is that if you see one of these in the wild – GRAB IT. There are hours and hours of gameplay in this box, and I haven’t even touched the expansion for it yet (expect another review of that in the near future as well). Purple Phoenix Games officially gives this one a 5.5 / 6 (we NEVER do half points), but I feel like with even more plays, and with the expansion to be added soon, this may give my Top 10 list a shakeup still this year. If you are a fan of games like Betrayal at House on the Hill and Posthuman, then you need to check this one out for sure. Oh, did I mention that there is a LOT of dice rolling here too? Guess I just left that until the end for my dice-chucking lovers.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Pendulum in Tabletop Games
Sep 8, 2020
This review, like the many others in the Solo Chronicles series before it, will be focusing on the solo player’s experience. For the highly-anticipated Pendulum, an Automa Factory set of solo rules is included. Automa Factory creates rules for solo play for games and have created many for Stonemaier titles in the past. This is my first time using an Automa ruleset, and I wanted to know: how do Automa games play vs a group playthrough? Find out below.
Pendulum is a real-time worker placement game utilizing sand timers to control players’ actions. While sand timers have been used in games plenty of times before, they are special components in Pendulum that will have players cursing their existence throughout the game. In a solo game the human player will be attempting to win against two Automas, essentially creating a three player game. Now, while I normally reconstruct the rules in my reviews to give a brief overview, Pendulum has too many intricacies to truly detail, so my rules overview will be quite abbreviated.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
Setup took me about 30 minutes the first game because I did not play it multiplayer first, but was setting up for my first Automa play. Setup is not difficult, but there are many small parts and different boards for which you must account. Subsequent games took significantly less time to setup so I was up and running immediately.
A game of Pendulum sees players vying for the crown by jockeying for mastery in Power, Prestige, Popularity, and completing a Legendary Achievement. These are all tracked on each player mat and the Automas’ mat. The game is a typical worker placement with all spaces giving some benefit, but also may be blocked by other players. By utilizing aggressive strategies and timing each worker action players will be gaining resources and votes and converting them into VPs on the individual tracks, the most important of which is the Legendary Achievement. No player may win the game without having completed a Legendary Achievement.
As the game progresses in real time, the sand timers will be flipped into areas blocking access to players, but allowing player meeples already stationed in these areas to enact their special abilities. Three timers of different time-lengths are used in Pendulum: 45 seconds, 2 minutes, and 3 minutes. The action spaces corresponding to the 45 second timer are less effective than the 3 minute timer areas, but are indeed necessary to generate more resources.
After the 3 minute purple timer has been flipped three total times, the game halts and a special Council Phase is enacted. This phase allows players to receive Council Reward cards, assess and compare placement for the next round, and set up for the next round. After the fourth Council Phase, the game ends and players will check for victory conditions.
Components. Have you seen a Stonemaier Games title recently? The components are stellar. Everything from the plastic (resin?) cubes and vote tiles and meeples, to the good-looking sand timers, to the linen finish on the cards AND the rulebooks is just amazing. Several reviewers have issues with the art in Pendulum, and say that it is drab and “uninspiring.” Well, I think it’s great, and I also think it is a bit muted to get out of the way of play. I certainly would not appreciate this game more if it had more exciting art. More exciting art means more attention spent on appreciating the art and not playing the game. Normally this is a boon for me, but Pendulum is a REAL-TIME game. I don’t have time to be gawking at game art! Components: excellent!
I really enjoyed my plays of Pendulum using the Automa system. I can’t necessarily say it felt like playing against two other players, but I don’t think it’s meant to do that. The Automa players sufficiently block spaces, and gain VP each round to compete with the human player. Also, I have never played a game using Automas before, so I had zero expectations getting into Pendulum. I do think I would enjoy this game lots more playing against other humans, but the current virus situation has nixed that for me. The Automa system is good, and I am so happy that it exists for Pendulum. I just want to play it with other gamers.
Purple Phoenix Games never award games with scores for previews and Solo Chronicles. However, I would certainly rate Pendulum high. I don’t believe it will ever crack into my Top 10 Games of All Time, but I also can see myself pulling it out when I want to exercise my brain and I don’t have access to any other gamers. I want you to understand that I do like this one quite a bit, and would certainly recommend it. I truly enjoy having to keep on my toes (literally) controlling my components as well as keeping track of the Automa movements, and assuring the timers are being flipped appropriately.
If your collection is missing a game that utilizes sand timers for more than just buzzing others on their turn, certainly give Pendulum a look. The design is fantastic, includes the Automa Factory solo rules (and extra components), and is satisfying to play. Heck, I didn’t even sit down when I played this because I needed to be so active around the board. If it weren’t so late as I am writing this, I would break it out and give it another go right now. Alas, I am old and need to sleep. Check out Pendulum.
Pendulum is a real-time worker placement game utilizing sand timers to control players’ actions. While sand timers have been used in games plenty of times before, they are special components in Pendulum that will have players cursing their existence throughout the game. In a solo game the human player will be attempting to win against two Automas, essentially creating a three player game. Now, while I normally reconstruct the rules in my reviews to give a brief overview, Pendulum has too many intricacies to truly detail, so my rules overview will be quite abbreviated.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
Setup took me about 30 minutes the first game because I did not play it multiplayer first, but was setting up for my first Automa play. Setup is not difficult, but there are many small parts and different boards for which you must account. Subsequent games took significantly less time to setup so I was up and running immediately.
A game of Pendulum sees players vying for the crown by jockeying for mastery in Power, Prestige, Popularity, and completing a Legendary Achievement. These are all tracked on each player mat and the Automas’ mat. The game is a typical worker placement with all spaces giving some benefit, but also may be blocked by other players. By utilizing aggressive strategies and timing each worker action players will be gaining resources and votes and converting them into VPs on the individual tracks, the most important of which is the Legendary Achievement. No player may win the game without having completed a Legendary Achievement.
As the game progresses in real time, the sand timers will be flipped into areas blocking access to players, but allowing player meeples already stationed in these areas to enact their special abilities. Three timers of different time-lengths are used in Pendulum: 45 seconds, 2 minutes, and 3 minutes. The action spaces corresponding to the 45 second timer are less effective than the 3 minute timer areas, but are indeed necessary to generate more resources.
After the 3 minute purple timer has been flipped three total times, the game halts and a special Council Phase is enacted. This phase allows players to receive Council Reward cards, assess and compare placement for the next round, and set up for the next round. After the fourth Council Phase, the game ends and players will check for victory conditions.
Components. Have you seen a Stonemaier Games title recently? The components are stellar. Everything from the plastic (resin?) cubes and vote tiles and meeples, to the good-looking sand timers, to the linen finish on the cards AND the rulebooks is just amazing. Several reviewers have issues with the art in Pendulum, and say that it is drab and “uninspiring.” Well, I think it’s great, and I also think it is a bit muted to get out of the way of play. I certainly would not appreciate this game more if it had more exciting art. More exciting art means more attention spent on appreciating the art and not playing the game. Normally this is a boon for me, but Pendulum is a REAL-TIME game. I don’t have time to be gawking at game art! Components: excellent!
I really enjoyed my plays of Pendulum using the Automa system. I can’t necessarily say it felt like playing against two other players, but I don’t think it’s meant to do that. The Automa players sufficiently block spaces, and gain VP each round to compete with the human player. Also, I have never played a game using Automas before, so I had zero expectations getting into Pendulum. I do think I would enjoy this game lots more playing against other humans, but the current virus situation has nixed that for me. The Automa system is good, and I am so happy that it exists for Pendulum. I just want to play it with other gamers.
Purple Phoenix Games never award games with scores for previews and Solo Chronicles. However, I would certainly rate Pendulum high. I don’t believe it will ever crack into my Top 10 Games of All Time, but I also can see myself pulling it out when I want to exercise my brain and I don’t have access to any other gamers. I want you to understand that I do like this one quite a bit, and would certainly recommend it. I truly enjoy having to keep on my toes (literally) controlling my components as well as keeping track of the Automa movements, and assuring the timers are being flipped appropriately.
If your collection is missing a game that utilizes sand timers for more than just buzzing others on their turn, certainly give Pendulum a look. The design is fantastic, includes the Automa Factory solo rules (and extra components), and is satisfying to play. Heck, I didn’t even sit down when I played this because I needed to be so active around the board. If it weren’t so late as I am writing this, I would break it out and give it another go right now. Alas, I am old and need to sleep. Check out Pendulum.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated No Such Thing as a Free Sandwich in Tabletop Games
Sep 15, 2021
I will be the first to admit that I am no master chef. When it comes to cooking, the easier the recipe, the more likely I am to make it. That being said, as I grow older in my adult life I have started taking steps to make better (and healthier) meals, but sometimes you just have to make do with what you’ve got. So when AvianRampage Productions reached out about previewing their newest game, No Such Thing as a Free Sandwich, I found it to be hilariously right up my alley. Come check out what kinds of sandwiches you can make when you have to remind yourself that “You’ve got food at home.”
Disclaimer: We were provided with a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this preview. What you see are not finalized components or artwork, and they will change in final production. -L
No Such Thing as a Free Sandwich is a party game in which players are attempting to make the best (or worst) sandwich according to the parameters set by the current Challenge card in play. To setup for a game, shuffle the Challenge and Ingredient decks separately. Decide which side of the Challenge deck you will use – one side is black, and the reverse is white. Each side provides a different set of Challenges with which to play, and just adds some variability to the gameplay. Deal 3 Ingredient cards to each player, reveal the first Challenge card, and the game is ready to begin!
Once a Challenge card is revealed, players will look at their hand of Ingredients and place their selected Ingredients face-down in their tableau. Each Ingredient card has stats attributed to 5 different Categories: Presentation, Taste, Nutrition, Affordability, and Wow Factor. These stats, including both negative and positive numbers, are what will determine your score for the Challenge. (For example, lowest Nutrition score, greatest sum of all categories, etc.) All players must play at least 1 card each round, but can play all 3 of the cards in their hand if they so choose. Certain Ingredient cards offer special effects when played, and those powers can boost your own score, allow you to draw more Ingredients, or even pawn off an Ingredient to an opponent. Plan wisely and see what your random Ingredients can offer you each Challenge!
When all Ingredients have been selected, players simultaneously reveal their cards and tally up points. The player with the best score (best Sandwich) according to the Challenge is the winner, and takes that Challenge card for themselves. The winning player may choose to take 1 of the Ingredient cards in play into their hand, and all other Ingredient cards (regardless of if they were played or not) are re-shuffled into one deck again. The next Challenge card is revealed, all players are dealt 3 new Ingredient cards, and the next round officially begins. Players will only ever have 3 cards in their hand each round, with the previous round-winner potentially having 4 cards. The game continues in this fashion, revealing a Challenge card, playing/revealing Ingredients, and determining a round winner, until all of the Challenge cards have been played and awarded. Players then count up the Challenge cards they have won over the course of the game, and the player with the most Challenge cards is named the winner!
For being a game with a silly premise, it’s actually more engaging that you might initially think. The inclusion of 5 different categories for Ingredients is what elevates this gameplay from silly humor to actual strategy. I’m not saying this is the heaviest brain burner game you’ll ever play, but for being a light party game, you really have options each round to consider. What is the best combination of your Ingredients to meet the Challenge? Do any of your Ingredients have special effects that could enhance your round? What if you just have a bad hand and none of your Ingredients are optimal for this Challenge? You’ve just got to figure it out!
And the fact that cards are selected in secret and revealed simultaneously adds another layer as well. You can’t pick which cards to play based on what you saw an opponent play. You really have to go for the win each round since you don’t know what anybody else has in hand. The make-up of the Ingredient deck is mostly unique as well, with only a few duplicates of cards. You never really know what anyone has in hand at any point, so there’s no benefit to play it safe.
To touch on components for a minute – I mentioned that this is a prototype copy of the game, which will most likely be different in final production. That being said, this prototype is pretty good quality already. The tin that houses the game is nice and sturdy, and the cards themselves feel nice in hand and are a good size. The artwork is not yet finalized, but is mostly fine and thematic – just simple pictures of each Ingredient on the card. No real complaints on the quality of this prototype from me.
If you’re looking for a funny and fast party game, definitely consider checking out No Such Thing as a Free Sandwich on Kickstarter. The gameplay is easy and fast to learn and play, and it will keep players engaged and laughing throughout the rounds. Another plus? This game has a tiiiiiiny footprint so you can basically play it anywhere! Throw the tin in your pocket and you’ve got a game for anytime. If you want a game with a silly premise, light strategy, and a bit of math, then this might be the game for you. All in all, fun game and gameplay from AvianRampage Productions, and I look forward to following this campaign!
Disclaimer: We were provided with a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this preview. What you see are not finalized components or artwork, and they will change in final production. -L
No Such Thing as a Free Sandwich is a party game in which players are attempting to make the best (or worst) sandwich according to the parameters set by the current Challenge card in play. To setup for a game, shuffle the Challenge and Ingredient decks separately. Decide which side of the Challenge deck you will use – one side is black, and the reverse is white. Each side provides a different set of Challenges with which to play, and just adds some variability to the gameplay. Deal 3 Ingredient cards to each player, reveal the first Challenge card, and the game is ready to begin!
Once a Challenge card is revealed, players will look at their hand of Ingredients and place their selected Ingredients face-down in their tableau. Each Ingredient card has stats attributed to 5 different Categories: Presentation, Taste, Nutrition, Affordability, and Wow Factor. These stats, including both negative and positive numbers, are what will determine your score for the Challenge. (For example, lowest Nutrition score, greatest sum of all categories, etc.) All players must play at least 1 card each round, but can play all 3 of the cards in their hand if they so choose. Certain Ingredient cards offer special effects when played, and those powers can boost your own score, allow you to draw more Ingredients, or even pawn off an Ingredient to an opponent. Plan wisely and see what your random Ingredients can offer you each Challenge!
When all Ingredients have been selected, players simultaneously reveal their cards and tally up points. The player with the best score (best Sandwich) according to the Challenge is the winner, and takes that Challenge card for themselves. The winning player may choose to take 1 of the Ingredient cards in play into their hand, and all other Ingredient cards (regardless of if they were played or not) are re-shuffled into one deck again. The next Challenge card is revealed, all players are dealt 3 new Ingredient cards, and the next round officially begins. Players will only ever have 3 cards in their hand each round, with the previous round-winner potentially having 4 cards. The game continues in this fashion, revealing a Challenge card, playing/revealing Ingredients, and determining a round winner, until all of the Challenge cards have been played and awarded. Players then count up the Challenge cards they have won over the course of the game, and the player with the most Challenge cards is named the winner!
For being a game with a silly premise, it’s actually more engaging that you might initially think. The inclusion of 5 different categories for Ingredients is what elevates this gameplay from silly humor to actual strategy. I’m not saying this is the heaviest brain burner game you’ll ever play, but for being a light party game, you really have options each round to consider. What is the best combination of your Ingredients to meet the Challenge? Do any of your Ingredients have special effects that could enhance your round? What if you just have a bad hand and none of your Ingredients are optimal for this Challenge? You’ve just got to figure it out!
And the fact that cards are selected in secret and revealed simultaneously adds another layer as well. You can’t pick which cards to play based on what you saw an opponent play. You really have to go for the win each round since you don’t know what anybody else has in hand. The make-up of the Ingredient deck is mostly unique as well, with only a few duplicates of cards. You never really know what anyone has in hand at any point, so there’s no benefit to play it safe.
To touch on components for a minute – I mentioned that this is a prototype copy of the game, which will most likely be different in final production. That being said, this prototype is pretty good quality already. The tin that houses the game is nice and sturdy, and the cards themselves feel nice in hand and are a good size. The artwork is not yet finalized, but is mostly fine and thematic – just simple pictures of each Ingredient on the card. No real complaints on the quality of this prototype from me.
If you’re looking for a funny and fast party game, definitely consider checking out No Such Thing as a Free Sandwich on Kickstarter. The gameplay is easy and fast to learn and play, and it will keep players engaged and laughing throughout the rounds. Another plus? This game has a tiiiiiiny footprint so you can basically play it anywhere! Throw the tin in your pocket and you’ve got a game for anytime. If you want a game with a silly premise, light strategy, and a bit of math, then this might be the game for you. All in all, fun game and gameplay from AvianRampage Productions, and I look forward to following this campaign!
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