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Rikki Hammond (33 KP) rated Carcassonne in Tabletop Games
May 23, 2019
Easy to learn (2 more)
Quick To Play
Plays well for all age groups and player counts
Not Much Variety (1 more)
Hardcore gamers might see this as too simple.
The Perfect Gateway Euro
Carcassonne is probably one of the most recognised tile games in the world today, and it's easy to see why so many people have enjoyed it, as it is super easy to teach and pick up, and works well no matter the age group you're playing with.
The rules of Carcassonne are very simple. Each player will pick a random tile from a stack, and starting with the first player (who always starts with the same beginning tile) will place their tile, so that it connects to one or more adjacent tiles. Each tile will have a road, city or church on it. Roads can only connect with roads, cities with cities, and churches around either of these.
Once a tile is placed, the player can then choose to place one of their meeples on it, either on a road, city, church, or surrounding field. Once that particular area is completed (a road connects to a town, city or church on either end or a city is completely walled around) then that meeple scores you points. 1 point for each section of road per tile, 2 points for each city piece per tile (double if that city tile has a shield on it) and you will score 9 points if you manage to completely surround a church with 8 other tiles. Once the meeple scores, the player removes it from the tile, and can be used again on another tile.
Play continues like this until the tile stack is depleted, then some endgame scoring occurs, where unfinished roads, churches and cities score 1 point per tile in the area. If farmers were used (laying a meeple face down on a field) then 3 points are scored per completed city in that field area. If ever two meeples share the same city, road or field through future tile placements, then each player will get the same points, and whoever has the most points at the end, is the winner.
Carcassone plays between 2 to 5 players, and having played with all player counts, I can say that it plays well, no matter how many players are there. The components are great. The tiles are colourful, and one the game is over, you can build some pretty impressive landscapes. Each player will have different coloured meeples, so it's easy to tell whose is whose, and the score tracker is a handy addition.
My only criticisms I can find is that, after playing a few games, you find that there's not much in the way of variety when it comes to placement of the tiles, and some more hardcore gamers could class this game as too simple. But these are very minor niggles.
Personally, I think Carcassonne is a fantastic first step for people who may not have played many board or tile games before, and if you do get tired if it, there are tonnes of expansions for it, which can add more variety to the game.
The rules of Carcassonne are very simple. Each player will pick a random tile from a stack, and starting with the first player (who always starts with the same beginning tile) will place their tile, so that it connects to one or more adjacent tiles. Each tile will have a road, city or church on it. Roads can only connect with roads, cities with cities, and churches around either of these.
Once a tile is placed, the player can then choose to place one of their meeples on it, either on a road, city, church, or surrounding field. Once that particular area is completed (a road connects to a town, city or church on either end or a city is completely walled around) then that meeple scores you points. 1 point for each section of road per tile, 2 points for each city piece per tile (double if that city tile has a shield on it) and you will score 9 points if you manage to completely surround a church with 8 other tiles. Once the meeple scores, the player removes it from the tile, and can be used again on another tile.
Play continues like this until the tile stack is depleted, then some endgame scoring occurs, where unfinished roads, churches and cities score 1 point per tile in the area. If farmers were used (laying a meeple face down on a field) then 3 points are scored per completed city in that field area. If ever two meeples share the same city, road or field through future tile placements, then each player will get the same points, and whoever has the most points at the end, is the winner.
Carcassone plays between 2 to 5 players, and having played with all player counts, I can say that it plays well, no matter how many players are there. The components are great. The tiles are colourful, and one the game is over, you can build some pretty impressive landscapes. Each player will have different coloured meeples, so it's easy to tell whose is whose, and the score tracker is a handy addition.
My only criticisms I can find is that, after playing a few games, you find that there's not much in the way of variety when it comes to placement of the tiles, and some more hardcore gamers could class this game as too simple. But these are very minor niggles.
Personally, I think Carcassonne is a fantastic first step for people who may not have played many board or tile games before, and if you do get tired if it, there are tonnes of expansions for it, which can add more variety to the game.
graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated All About Evie (Chameleon Chronicles, #1) in Books
Feb 15, 2019
Not totally romance, not exactly chick-lit, not altogether a mystery, so what is it? A bit of all of the above really. ALL ABOUT EVIE is a fluffy read that's fairly quick and utterly harmless. Evie, at 41, is a nice change from the 23-year-olds that run rampant in lighter fiction. Yes, her age does come into play since she's an old geezer in the world of show business, but it never became overbearing or unnecessary and added another dimension to her character. Evie narrates in first person, while when it cuts to another character it is written in third person, a bit jarring at first, but I didn't have any problems with it. The plot was fine, as was the pace, there's not much to rave or quibble about, the book was just nice. I think the most irritating thing about the book was the excessive mentioning of Evie's TMJ (temporomandibular joint, which should actually really be called TMD - temporomandibular joint disorder/dysfunction), I really got sick of her bringing it up and then confusing it with lockjaw. We got it, you have a problem with your jaw, move on. But on the whole, I wouldn't say there was anything earth-shattering about the book but it's a perfectly good beach read. One thing, this is the first of three books (not sure if they'll be more), so it's not a standalone, which was unfortunate for me. At this time I'm not sure if I'll be on the look-out for the other two.
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Burn (Nava Katz, #6) in Books
Jan 6, 2021
I've put this book ON HOLD.
My Kindle Unlimited membership runs out in a few days and I've been struggling to get into this, which is strange considering I read the fifth book not long ago and love these characters.
I'll try again in a few months, start from the beginning again and see if I can get into it then (I really hope so!)
14th April
So, I'm trying again--not from the beginning--and hopefully after a few other good urban fantasy stories, I can get into this...
And I did, sort of.
2.5 stars.
I think this book has way too much going on. We skip a lot of little extra bits that would have been explained fully in earlier books, but just get a short paragraph that paraphrases into the basic facts.
The rest of the series has been long, and let it be known I'm not a fan of books longer than 350 pages, but this one seemed to go on forever. It seemed to take an age for 1% to pass and considering we get bombarded by stuff happening, I expected it to go quicker but in my opinion it went slower.
I lost interest in parts and skipped paragraphs just wanting the major fights to play out so when that had ended at about 88% (I think) and the story carried on...well, I started to lose interest once again. The main thing I was waiting for in those last few chapters was Drio to pull his finger out and tell Leo how he felt.
My Kindle Unlimited membership runs out in a few days and I've been struggling to get into this, which is strange considering I read the fifth book not long ago and love these characters.
I'll try again in a few months, start from the beginning again and see if I can get into it then (I really hope so!)
14th April
So, I'm trying again--not from the beginning--and hopefully after a few other good urban fantasy stories, I can get into this...
And I did, sort of.
2.5 stars.
I think this book has way too much going on. We skip a lot of little extra bits that would have been explained fully in earlier books, but just get a short paragraph that paraphrases into the basic facts.
The rest of the series has been long, and let it be known I'm not a fan of books longer than 350 pages, but this one seemed to go on forever. It seemed to take an age for 1% to pass and considering we get bombarded by stuff happening, I expected it to go quicker but in my opinion it went slower.
I lost interest in parts and skipped paragraphs just wanting the major fights to play out so when that had ended at about 88% (I think) and the story carried on...well, I started to lose interest once again. The main thing I was waiting for in those last few chapters was Drio to pull his finger out and tell Leo how he felt.
Allan Arkush recommended Monterey Pop (1968) in Movies (curated)
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated The Girl (Guardians, #1) in Books
Sep 6, 2019
DNF @ 30%
I've mentioned before that I tend not to read books with characters under the age of 16 (close to being 17) because I find them really, really, really immature. The only exception I've found being Legend by Marie Lu.
That was my problem with this. Emmerson is 15 and likes to think she knows best--so not the case in this, as shown when she runs into trouble 3 times in 30% when ignoring their "stay in a crowd" warnings. During this time, she's taken one look at Marcus and decided she's in love with him and kissed him even though she knows he has a girlfriend. I don't really mind that bit, it was that she then went and apologised to the girlfriend for it happening. Why would you do that?! I'd have smacked her, I think.
As for the rest of the cast, I can't say I minded them. They seemed like a quite fun bunch, apart from Marcus and Ameana.
Then, plot. I liked the idea and will admit to being really intrigued about how it was going to play out. Emmerson somehow having the Triplex that allowed the Guardians and the Akons to find the location of the ladder. Good vs. Evil. Angel's vs. Demons.
Unfortunately the characters (Okay, just Emmerson) really put me off and had me wanting to do this:
<a href="http://s216.photobucket.com/user/leannecrab/media/tumblr_n58oc892NL1rchs43o1_5001.gif.html"; target="_blank"><img src="http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc19/leannecrab/tumblr_n58oc892NL1rchs43o1_5001.gif"; border="0" alt=" photo tumblr_n58oc892NL1rchs43o1_5001.gif"/></a>
so I did.
I've mentioned before that I tend not to read books with characters under the age of 16 (close to being 17) because I find them really, really, really immature. The only exception I've found being Legend by Marie Lu.
That was my problem with this. Emmerson is 15 and likes to think she knows best--so not the case in this, as shown when she runs into trouble 3 times in 30% when ignoring their "stay in a crowd" warnings. During this time, she's taken one look at Marcus and decided she's in love with him and kissed him even though she knows he has a girlfriend. I don't really mind that bit, it was that she then went and apologised to the girlfriend for it happening. Why would you do that?! I'd have smacked her, I think.
As for the rest of the cast, I can't say I minded them. They seemed like a quite fun bunch, apart from Marcus and Ameana.
Then, plot. I liked the idea and will admit to being really intrigued about how it was going to play out. Emmerson somehow having the Triplex that allowed the Guardians and the Akons to find the location of the ladder. Good vs. Evil. Angel's vs. Demons.
Unfortunately the characters (Okay, just Emmerson) really put me off and had me wanting to do this:
<a href="http://s216.photobucket.com/user/leannecrab/media/tumblr_n58oc892NL1rchs43o1_5001.gif.html"; target="_blank"><img src="http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc19/leannecrab/tumblr_n58oc892NL1rchs43o1_5001.gif"; border="0" alt=" photo tumblr_n58oc892NL1rchs43o1_5001.gif"/></a>
so I did.
Debbiereadsbook (1110 KP) rated Crushed Ice (Hockey Ever After #4) in Books
Feb 6, 2024
Russ fell for Liam, but hadn't been able to put a name to the feelings.
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.
This is book 4 in the Hockey Ever After series. I have only read book 1 and 2, and missed book 3. It's not necessary to read those books before this one. Dante and Gabe play a part here (from book 1) but neither Ryan and Nico (book 2) or Max and Grady (book 3) play a part except there is a wedding.
I really liked book 1 and I loved book 2. I can't say I loved this one, but I did, for the most part, enjoy this. It was great to catch up with Gabe and Dante!
Russ is already playing for the Caimans when Liam joins them. There is attraction, right from the start, but Russ is not fully out and Liam is his rookie. I loved how Liam set Russ off kilter. The one-liners from Baller made me chuckle. It gets the point across, that Russ fell for Liam but hadn't been able to put a name to the feelings.
It's on the sweeter side, and fairly low angst. There is an age gap, but not a massive one. It's emotional, though, in places, but I didn't get that sucker punch I got from book 2, Scoring Position. Steamy and smexy in palces, but fade to black in others and I did like that.
So, what didn't I like? There are detailed hockey match descriptions. I know, I KNOW this is a hockey romance, but books 1 and 2 didn't have the long descriptions of the matches like there are here. Or I don't think they did. I said in my review for book one, that I liked that book because there were not huge long descriptions of hockey matches. So, for ME, and I stress the ME, those matches that are here were too much for me. I'm a UK native, and ice hockey is not the massive sport it is on the North American continent.
Still, an enjoyable read, that was on a par with book one, but not book 2, which I gave the full 5 stars.
So, 4 very good stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
This is book 4 in the Hockey Ever After series. I have only read book 1 and 2, and missed book 3. It's not necessary to read those books before this one. Dante and Gabe play a part here (from book 1) but neither Ryan and Nico (book 2) or Max and Grady (book 3) play a part except there is a wedding.
I really liked book 1 and I loved book 2. I can't say I loved this one, but I did, for the most part, enjoy this. It was great to catch up with Gabe and Dante!
Russ is already playing for the Caimans when Liam joins them. There is attraction, right from the start, but Russ is not fully out and Liam is his rookie. I loved how Liam set Russ off kilter. The one-liners from Baller made me chuckle. It gets the point across, that Russ fell for Liam but hadn't been able to put a name to the feelings.
It's on the sweeter side, and fairly low angst. There is an age gap, but not a massive one. It's emotional, though, in places, but I didn't get that sucker punch I got from book 2, Scoring Position. Steamy and smexy in palces, but fade to black in others and I did like that.
So, what didn't I like? There are detailed hockey match descriptions. I know, I KNOW this is a hockey romance, but books 1 and 2 didn't have the long descriptions of the matches like there are here. Or I don't think they did. I said in my review for book one, that I liked that book because there were not huge long descriptions of hockey matches. So, for ME, and I stress the ME, those matches that are here were too much for me. I'm a UK native, and ice hockey is not the massive sport it is on the North American continent.
Still, an enjoyable read, that was on a par with book one, but not book 2, which I gave the full 5 stars.
So, 4 very good stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
Sarah (7798 KP) rated The True Adventures of Wolfboy (2021) in Movies
Mar 1, 2021
Nice but lacking in magic
The Adventures of Wolfboy, also known as The True Adventures of Wolfboy, is a 2021 coming of age style drama and the feature film debut from Czech director Martin Krejcí. It follows Paul, a teenager with a life changing physical condition called congenital hypertrichosis that causes an abnormal and excessive amount of hair growth across his entire body, as he journeys to meet his estranged mother.
Paul (Jaeden Martell) lives an isolated life with his father in New York, where he hides away from everyone and only ventures out under the cover of a woolly balaclava, despite his father’s (Chris Messina) attempts to coax him into accepting his condition and revealing himself to the world. After a failed trip out to the local carnival for his 13th birthday, Paul returns home to find a mysterious gift from his mother (Chloë Sevigny), who he’s never known as she left when he was a child. Following a confrontation with his father over his proposal to send him to a special school, Paul runs away from home in search of his estranged mother. Along the way, he meets a number of colourful characters including carnival owner Mr. Silk (John Turturro), complicated and friendly Aristiana (Sophie Giannamore) and the daring and roguish Rose (Eve Hewson).
The Adventures of Wolfboy is undoubtedly a film for young adults or teenagers, meant as a coming of age, ‘accepting yourself’ type of road movie and in this it succeeds, although its message is rather more subtle than you’d expect. It expertly deals with the theme of loving yourself and others just as you are in a very low key manner, to the point where you almost miss the subtle hints at a character’s backstory (which is definitely true for Aristiana). For some this might be a problem, but a lot of films go out of their way to be heavy handed, virtually shoving a message down your throat so for me, I enjoyed the subtleties on display here. They’re helped by an unassuming performance from Jaeden Martell and charismatic turns from both Eve Hewson and Sophie Giannamore, who altogether with a story that doesn’t play out quite as predictably as first thought, make this an entertaining and heartwarming watch.
That said, despite the well meaning and heartwarming intentions, this film does falter. The title itself and the fairytale storyboard chapter titles throughout the film give this a magical sense of fantasy that just doesn’t quite materialise. I feel like it’s meant to be whimsical and adventurous, but the actual finished article falls short. It isn’t helped by John Turturro’s Mr Silk, who despite being the villain just comes across as weird rather than sinister, and what becomes of his character is a little lacklustre too. Generally if feels like it’s missing some ‘oomph’, a magical whimsical boost to turn this into something more than an average coming of age movie.
The Adventures of Wolfboy is a nice heartwarming film, and it’s refreshing to see a subtle take on a subject that has been done many times before. I just wished they’d have taken the magical and whimsical angle further, as this would have made it more than just average.
Paul (Jaeden Martell) lives an isolated life with his father in New York, where he hides away from everyone and only ventures out under the cover of a woolly balaclava, despite his father’s (Chris Messina) attempts to coax him into accepting his condition and revealing himself to the world. After a failed trip out to the local carnival for his 13th birthday, Paul returns home to find a mysterious gift from his mother (Chloë Sevigny), who he’s never known as she left when he was a child. Following a confrontation with his father over his proposal to send him to a special school, Paul runs away from home in search of his estranged mother. Along the way, he meets a number of colourful characters including carnival owner Mr. Silk (John Turturro), complicated and friendly Aristiana (Sophie Giannamore) and the daring and roguish Rose (Eve Hewson).
The Adventures of Wolfboy is undoubtedly a film for young adults or teenagers, meant as a coming of age, ‘accepting yourself’ type of road movie and in this it succeeds, although its message is rather more subtle than you’d expect. It expertly deals with the theme of loving yourself and others just as you are in a very low key manner, to the point where you almost miss the subtle hints at a character’s backstory (which is definitely true for Aristiana). For some this might be a problem, but a lot of films go out of their way to be heavy handed, virtually shoving a message down your throat so for me, I enjoyed the subtleties on display here. They’re helped by an unassuming performance from Jaeden Martell and charismatic turns from both Eve Hewson and Sophie Giannamore, who altogether with a story that doesn’t play out quite as predictably as first thought, make this an entertaining and heartwarming watch.
That said, despite the well meaning and heartwarming intentions, this film does falter. The title itself and the fairytale storyboard chapter titles throughout the film give this a magical sense of fantasy that just doesn’t quite materialise. I feel like it’s meant to be whimsical and adventurous, but the actual finished article falls short. It isn’t helped by John Turturro’s Mr Silk, who despite being the villain just comes across as weird rather than sinister, and what becomes of his character is a little lacklustre too. Generally if feels like it’s missing some ‘oomph’, a magical whimsical boost to turn this into something more than an average coming of age movie.
The Adventures of Wolfboy is a nice heartwarming film, and it’s refreshing to see a subtle take on a subject that has been done many times before. I just wished they’d have taken the magical and whimsical angle further, as this would have made it more than just average.
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated The Westing Game in Books
Dec 13, 2020
While looking for my next read, I came across The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. I had never heard of it before, but the synopsis sounded interesting. I decided to give it a read, and I'm glad I did.
Sixteen people all move into Sam Westing's apartment building after receiving a letter inviting them to move in. They are the only tenants in the building. Little do they know that they were picked to play in a game where they could potentially win a lot of money. However, they must play hard to win if they want to inherit millions even if the game may be dangerous.
I didn't realize it while reading The Westing Game, but this book is considered middle grade fiction. The way it is written, I think every age group would enjoy it. It's a fun and easy read. The plot flows smoothly, and the story progresses with ease. Each page is filled with mystery. I found myself guessing who was the murderer and which person would figure out the clues to inherit Sam Westing's inheritance. I will say that The Westing Game's mystery had me stumped. I never could guess who was who which made me love this book even more. This book is chock full of mystery and intrigue. It will leave you scratching your head as you read it trying to figure out who killed Sam Westing. There's plenty of plot twists, and just when you think you have figured everything out, you will find out how wrong your guess was. I've never read a book that stumped me so much while trying to figure out everything! However, by the end of the book, everything is revealed. All questions are answered, and the author lets us know how each character got on in life. One minor annoyance (and I believe it's a personal thing) was that the writing seemed a little choppy to me in how it was written. Maybe it is just that style, but I found it a bit peculiar. However, that didn't take away my interest in the story that much.
I thoroughly enjoyed the characters in Ellen Raskin's The Westing Game. I enjoyed the diversity of the characters in the book. I do wish there was a bit more backstory for each of the characters though. It's not that they didn't feel fleshed out because they did, but I would have enjoyed learning more about each one of them a bit more before they moved in to Westing's apartment building. I enjoyed Turtle's character the most. Although she was often looked over, her determination to prove herself was admirable. I like how, despite her young age, she threw herself into Sam Westing's game. Sydelle was my least favorite character. It wasn't because she wasn't written well, quite the opposite. I just found her personality annoying. I kept hoping she was somehow be kicked out. Even though she wasn't mentioned as much, I really liked Madame Hoo. I enjoyed her scenes and her personality on the pages she was mentioned in.
Trigger warnings for The Westing Game include minor violence, death, suicide, drinking, and minor racism from one of the characters.
With it's mysterious plot and interesting cast of characters, The Westing Game is one of those books that you will love reading while trying to figure out its plot. It will keep you on your toes at all times! I would definitely recommend The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin to those aged 13+ who are after an unpredictable and well written mystery novel.
Sixteen people all move into Sam Westing's apartment building after receiving a letter inviting them to move in. They are the only tenants in the building. Little do they know that they were picked to play in a game where they could potentially win a lot of money. However, they must play hard to win if they want to inherit millions even if the game may be dangerous.
I didn't realize it while reading The Westing Game, but this book is considered middle grade fiction. The way it is written, I think every age group would enjoy it. It's a fun and easy read. The plot flows smoothly, and the story progresses with ease. Each page is filled with mystery. I found myself guessing who was the murderer and which person would figure out the clues to inherit Sam Westing's inheritance. I will say that The Westing Game's mystery had me stumped. I never could guess who was who which made me love this book even more. This book is chock full of mystery and intrigue. It will leave you scratching your head as you read it trying to figure out who killed Sam Westing. There's plenty of plot twists, and just when you think you have figured everything out, you will find out how wrong your guess was. I've never read a book that stumped me so much while trying to figure out everything! However, by the end of the book, everything is revealed. All questions are answered, and the author lets us know how each character got on in life. One minor annoyance (and I believe it's a personal thing) was that the writing seemed a little choppy to me in how it was written. Maybe it is just that style, but I found it a bit peculiar. However, that didn't take away my interest in the story that much.
I thoroughly enjoyed the characters in Ellen Raskin's The Westing Game. I enjoyed the diversity of the characters in the book. I do wish there was a bit more backstory for each of the characters though. It's not that they didn't feel fleshed out because they did, but I would have enjoyed learning more about each one of them a bit more before they moved in to Westing's apartment building. I enjoyed Turtle's character the most. Although she was often looked over, her determination to prove herself was admirable. I like how, despite her young age, she threw herself into Sam Westing's game. Sydelle was my least favorite character. It wasn't because she wasn't written well, quite the opposite. I just found her personality annoying. I kept hoping she was somehow be kicked out. Even though she wasn't mentioned as much, I really liked Madame Hoo. I enjoyed her scenes and her personality on the pages she was mentioned in.
Trigger warnings for The Westing Game include minor violence, death, suicide, drinking, and minor racism from one of the characters.
With it's mysterious plot and interesting cast of characters, The Westing Game is one of those books that you will love reading while trying to figure out its plot. It will keep you on your toes at all times! I would definitely recommend The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin to those aged 13+ who are after an unpredictable and well written mystery novel.
Louise (64 KP) rated Beside Myself in Books
Jul 2, 2018
I love a family drama mystery and the synopsis instantly pulled me in. Identical twins that swap places! surely the mother would realise or friends and family? Apart from the twins being identical in appearance their personalities are very different. Helen is the devious one, she has loads of friends and is confident, whereas Ellie is perhaps a bit behind for her age and has some social problems. One day Helen thinks it will be fun to play tricks on people by swapping identities and seeing whether they can tell. Only for Helen this is the biggest mistake of her life as Ellie doesn’t want to return to her former self and starts to reinvent herself and be Helen permanently. This lead Helen’s mental health to spiral out of control and becomes instantly labelled as a troublemaker by family and friends as she constantly tries to tell them that they have swapped. Years later when Helen has been cast out by her family, it’s only when a tragedy occurs that she is swept back into the drama by meeting her sister’s husband and daughter.
This book got a little confusing for me, I was having a little of a hard time of trying to keep up with who was who. At times I was skeptical towards the plot as it felt unrealistic in parts.The Mother was just an awful human being and treated her children badly.. This was difficult to read as Helen had such a tragic life and everything and one seemed to be against her. I would recommend reading if you enjoy family psychological drama.
Overall I rated this book 3/5 stars.
This book got a little confusing for me, I was having a little of a hard time of trying to keep up with who was who. At times I was skeptical towards the plot as it felt unrealistic in parts.The Mother was just an awful human being and treated her children badly.. This was difficult to read as Helen had such a tragic life and everything and one seemed to be against her. I would recommend reading if you enjoy family psychological drama.
Overall I rated this book 3/5 stars.