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Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Treasure Hunter in Tabletop Games
Jun 28, 2019
Indiana Jones. Lara Croft. Benjamin Franklin Gates. These were all great treasure hunters. All of them had to overcome incredible riddles, curses, traps, and death-craving dark places to claim their loot. In Treasure Hunter you will be searching for your treasures using mules, scarecrows, and locals in a frozen tundra, a jungle, and a volcano. So, like, exactly the same as Indy and Tomb Raider and the dude from National Treasure.
Obviously I am making light of the theme of this card drafting, set collection, hand management game from Queen Games, but it’s just so fun to imagine yourself as a genuine treasure hunter. DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES??
DISCLAIMER: There are several expansions to this game, but we are not reviewing them at this time. Should we review them in the future we will either update this review or post a link to the new material here. -T
To setup the game, shuffle the cards and the treasure tiles and place them in their respective resting spots. Place a treasure tile on the MIN and MAX sections of each terrain type on the main board. Assign three goblin tiles to their spots on the cave sections of the main board to be dealt with after your adventure round. Each player receives 15 starting gold to begin their adventure. Deal each player nine cards and you are ready to begin!
To start the game, look at the hand of cards that were dealt, choose one and pass the rest to the leftmost neighbor. This should be familiar if you have ever played any other card drafting game (like Sushi Go!, 7 Wonders, etc). Once you have your complete hand of nine cards you drafted, the hunt may begin. During you draft phase you will have already assessed the main board and decided how you would like your draft to go – do want the maximum red treasure? The minimum blue treasure? All the dogs?? Each terrain type will be scored in order from top down, so whomever has amassed the minimum number of blue values will receive the tile on the MIN section of the tundra, while they who gathered the most value in blue cards will receive the MAX tile. There are cards that can affect your values using a +/- mechanic so that you can hopefully come in the victor on your chosen field.
Once the main treasure hunt is complete and everyone has their treasure tiles, you must figuratively store your treasures in the cave. Predictably, goblins will visit your cave to try to steal your goods, so I hope you had drafted some guard dogs in the first phase of the game to protect your shinies. If not, you will be parting with some of your gold (which are ultimately VPs)! At the end of five rounds following this structure, and reversing draft direction, you flip over the main board to reveal the scoreboard where you can record your earnings (findings?) and determine victory for the greatest Treasure Hunter!
Components: this game comes with a good amount of components – just the way I like it. The main board, treasure tiles, money chits, and goblin tiles are all thick cardboard that are of great Queen Games quality. The cards are great quality too. I really like the double-sided game board that also serves as score board. Another great component collection from Queen Games!
Ok, so I really like this game a lot. I received this game from my wife, who has an uncanny ability to choose games for me that are not on my wish list, but that end up being simply wonderful (see Azul, Saboteur). I really enjoy card drafting games, and when you can go into a draft with a strategy that just is completely obliterated by someone else’s draft is unpredictable fun! So many times I have played this and just KNEW that my 2 of Red was going to win me the MIN tile. But then my opponent busts out a 3 of Red with a -2 card and snags it away from me. It can be frustrating, but it’s also just a testament to really good drafting and counter-strategy. Using the guard dogs to scare off goblins is cool, and the goblin tiles provide you with VPs too. I know it’s kinda kooky and silly, but I really enjoy this one. Richard Garfield has another hit on his hands for me, and I’m not the only one who recognizes it. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a sneaky 14 / 18.
Obviously I am making light of the theme of this card drafting, set collection, hand management game from Queen Games, but it’s just so fun to imagine yourself as a genuine treasure hunter. DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES??
DISCLAIMER: There are several expansions to this game, but we are not reviewing them at this time. Should we review them in the future we will either update this review or post a link to the new material here. -T
To setup the game, shuffle the cards and the treasure tiles and place them in their respective resting spots. Place a treasure tile on the MIN and MAX sections of each terrain type on the main board. Assign three goblin tiles to their spots on the cave sections of the main board to be dealt with after your adventure round. Each player receives 15 starting gold to begin their adventure. Deal each player nine cards and you are ready to begin!
To start the game, look at the hand of cards that were dealt, choose one and pass the rest to the leftmost neighbor. This should be familiar if you have ever played any other card drafting game (like Sushi Go!, 7 Wonders, etc). Once you have your complete hand of nine cards you drafted, the hunt may begin. During you draft phase you will have already assessed the main board and decided how you would like your draft to go – do want the maximum red treasure? The minimum blue treasure? All the dogs?? Each terrain type will be scored in order from top down, so whomever has amassed the minimum number of blue values will receive the tile on the MIN section of the tundra, while they who gathered the most value in blue cards will receive the MAX tile. There are cards that can affect your values using a +/- mechanic so that you can hopefully come in the victor on your chosen field.
Once the main treasure hunt is complete and everyone has their treasure tiles, you must figuratively store your treasures in the cave. Predictably, goblins will visit your cave to try to steal your goods, so I hope you had drafted some guard dogs in the first phase of the game to protect your shinies. If not, you will be parting with some of your gold (which are ultimately VPs)! At the end of five rounds following this structure, and reversing draft direction, you flip over the main board to reveal the scoreboard where you can record your earnings (findings?) and determine victory for the greatest Treasure Hunter!
Components: this game comes with a good amount of components – just the way I like it. The main board, treasure tiles, money chits, and goblin tiles are all thick cardboard that are of great Queen Games quality. The cards are great quality too. I really like the double-sided game board that also serves as score board. Another great component collection from Queen Games!
Ok, so I really like this game a lot. I received this game from my wife, who has an uncanny ability to choose games for me that are not on my wish list, but that end up being simply wonderful (see Azul, Saboteur). I really enjoy card drafting games, and when you can go into a draft with a strategy that just is completely obliterated by someone else’s draft is unpredictable fun! So many times I have played this and just KNEW that my 2 of Red was going to win me the MIN tile. But then my opponent busts out a 3 of Red with a -2 card and snags it away from me. It can be frustrating, but it’s also just a testament to really good drafting and counter-strategy. Using the guard dogs to scare off goblins is cool, and the goblin tiles provide you with VPs too. I know it’s kinda kooky and silly, but I really enjoy this one. Richard Garfield has another hit on his hands for me, and I’m not the only one who recognizes it. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a sneaky 14 / 18.

Leisure Catering Store Design
Book
Unlike a starred hotel or a luxury restaurant, the so-called leisure catering store is small in...

Ev Williams recommended Thinking, Fast and Slow in Books (curated)

Billy Keith Hall (419 KP) rated Labyrinth: The Card Game in Tabletop Games
Aug 10, 2020
Easy set up. (2 more)
Simple game play to include the younger members of the family in a game that is generally simple to understand.
Sturdy tiles allow the maze to move at your will.
Simple, fun and inexpensive.
A very fun game for a very affordable price. We love playing this as a family and even though I regularly lose... We all feel like we've escaped the labyrinth with some treasure. A fun family friendly game.

Fran Donohoe (856 KP) rated Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (2018) in Movies
Nov 19, 2017
No sparkle but a lot of stars
For a film that I have heard literally nothing about this little film with a big name is a hidden treasure, based on a true story of gloria graham's later live and her love affair with fellow actor 30 years her junior (peter turner) played by Annette Benning and Jamie Bell ,it's just a nice little film that probably would have worked better as a stage play

Ieuan Miller (70 KP) rated Labyrinth in Tabletop Games
Jul 24, 2019
Fun simple game
Girlfriend picked up this tabletop game and I must admit it's a bit of a guilty pleasure. It's a delightfully simple game where you move the rooms in the labyrinth to get to the treasure. The difficulty lies in other players unintentionally ruining your strategy.
Great game for beginners, would recommend for younger kids and families.
Great game for beginners, would recommend for younger kids and families.

Black Sails (A Starz Original Series Soundtrack) by Bear Mccreary
Album
A prequel to the (fictional) events of Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island". The series...

My Cat is a Dick
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No matter how much of a cat lover you are, you have to admit those loving feelings can feel pretty...

Lee KM Pallatina (951 KP) rated Finding 'Ohana (2021) in Movies
Feb 3, 2021
Characters (3 more)
Story
Plot
A familiar feeling
The......Goonies???
Contains spoilers, click to show
In a very Goonies style plot., light bulbs are lit in this heartfelt story about family and friendship.
Having basically recreated the main characters from the classic Goonies movie and reduced the number to 4 and exact key points used, it doesn't devalue it's predecessor but in fact shows homage to it in cheerful nods, colourful acting, and an understanding of what family means.
Finding ohana is a warm hearted family adventure I welcome with open arms.
Plot-
Finding Ohana is atory about family, set in Oahu, two city-raised siblings embark on an adventure after obtaining a journal pointing to long-lost treasure with new friends and pirate treasure leads them to reconnect with their Hawaiian heritage and save their families Home.
Having basically recreated the main characters from the classic Goonies movie and reduced the number to 4 and exact key points used, it doesn't devalue it's predecessor but in fact shows homage to it in cheerful nods, colourful acting, and an understanding of what family means.
Finding ohana is a warm hearted family adventure I welcome with open arms.
Plot-
Finding Ohana is atory about family, set in Oahu, two city-raised siblings embark on an adventure after obtaining a journal pointing to long-lost treasure with new friends and pirate treasure leads them to reconnect with their Hawaiian heritage and save their families Home.

The Lost Island
Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Book
Gideon Crew - brilliant scientist, master thief - is living on borrowed time. When his mysterious...