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The Black Panthers: Portraits from an Unfinished Revolution
Bryan Shih, Yohuru Williams and Peniel E. Joseph
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"Brilliant, painful, enlightening, tearful, tragic, sad, and funny, this photo-essay book is at its...
Star Teachers of Children in Poverty
Martin Haberman and Maureen Gillette
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In his groundbreaking work, Martin Haberman identified key dispositions of "star" teachers that help...
Naamah's Kiss
8.0
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Once there were great magicians born to the Maghuin Dhonn; the folk of the Brown Bear, the oldest...
The Seventh Decimate : The Great Gods War Book One
6.3
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The acclaimed author of the Thomas Covenant Chronicles launches a powerful new trilogy about a...
The Vampire's Delicious Fae (Brinnswick: Tales From Gauhala #2)
8.0
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I hate vampires. Well, just one in particular. But I do kinda love how his eyes follow me whenever...
MM Urban Fantasy Romance
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Tiny Epic Galaxies: Beyond the Black in Tabletop Games
Mar 11, 2022
In the expansion review series, we take a look at a game expansion to discuss whether it is a necessary purchase/addition to one’s collection.
This review is a breakdown of the Beyond the Black expansion for Tiny Epic Galaxies. Beyond the Black introduces several new components to the game: Pilot cards, Hangars, and Exploration cards. To set up for a game with the expansion, things are done as normal with a few additions. The deck of Pilot cards is shuffled, and a market is created above the row of Planet cards. Each player receives a Hangar mat with 4 Advanced Ships, and the Exploration cards are shuffled and placed face-down on the Exploration mat. A handful of new Planet and Secret Mission cards are included in this expansion, and are shuffled into their respective decks. Pictured below are some of the expansion components.
The gameplay with the Beyond the Black expansion is essentially identical to that of the base game, with two new action options. On your turn, when you have rolled your dice, you have the option to Hire Pilots. These Pilots will take control of an Advanced Ship from your Hangar mat, and will provide special and powerful abilities in the game. In order to Hire a Pilot, you must pay the dice cost for the specific type of Advanced Ship for which you are hiring. Take the Pilot card and place it on your Hangar mat, on the corresponding Advanced Ship. You then replace one of your normal ships with the new Advanced Ship, to be used throughout the rest of the game. Not all Pilots can control every ship, so you have to strategize on which Pilots to hire.
The other new action option is Exploration. On your turn, when you roll a “Move a Ship” action, you may move a ship to the Exploration mat. Exploring uncharted space could result in helpful discoveries (gaining resources) or dangerous consequences (usually losing resources). Once on the Exploration mat, you have the option to take any face-up card from the Exploration row, if there are any, or you have the option to reveal the top card of the Exploration deck. If you reveal the top card and it is a green Discovery card, you may choose to take it and reap the rewards, or you can choose to push your luck and draw another card hoping for something better. If you draw a red Danger card, you must immediately take it and suffer the consequences, thus ending your turn. The Exploration row can only ever have 3 face-up cards at a time, so knowing when to push your luck or when to take a safe card is key.
The game continues in the normal fashion, with these additional actions, until a player has earned 21 or more VP. Along with the base game VP, the expansion allows players to earn VP for hired Pilots and Exploration cards. When the game end is triggered, players will then score their Secret Mission cards and VP earned from Exploration cards, and the player with the highest total is declared the winner!
Official recommendation: If you’ve read our review of Tiny Epic Galaxies, and it’s newest iteration, Tiny Epic Galaxies Blast Off!, then you’ll know that we absolutely love this game. The gameplay is excellent, the theming is on point, and the mechanics are engaging. That being said, is the Beyond the Black expansion necessary? If you, like us, are serious fans of the base game, I would say yes. This expansion builds upon the great elements of the base game, and provides even more opportunities for strategy in your gameplay. Should you hire this Pilot now, and for which Advanced Ship? You’re allowed to replace Pilots in future turns, but what if you replace someone and then regret it? How far are you willing to push your luck to Explore uncharted space? The benefits are nice, but the consequences can be brutal. The gameplay is elevated by the inclusion of these new elements, and is not bogged down by unnecessary additions. When first introducing this game to people, I would probably just use the base game to build an understanding of the gameplay. But beyond that (see what I did there?), I would highly recommend grabbing a copy of the Beyond the Black expansion to include in your future plays of this awesome little space game.
This review is a breakdown of the Beyond the Black expansion for Tiny Epic Galaxies. Beyond the Black introduces several new components to the game: Pilot cards, Hangars, and Exploration cards. To set up for a game with the expansion, things are done as normal with a few additions. The deck of Pilot cards is shuffled, and a market is created above the row of Planet cards. Each player receives a Hangar mat with 4 Advanced Ships, and the Exploration cards are shuffled and placed face-down on the Exploration mat. A handful of new Planet and Secret Mission cards are included in this expansion, and are shuffled into their respective decks. Pictured below are some of the expansion components.
The gameplay with the Beyond the Black expansion is essentially identical to that of the base game, with two new action options. On your turn, when you have rolled your dice, you have the option to Hire Pilots. These Pilots will take control of an Advanced Ship from your Hangar mat, and will provide special and powerful abilities in the game. In order to Hire a Pilot, you must pay the dice cost for the specific type of Advanced Ship for which you are hiring. Take the Pilot card and place it on your Hangar mat, on the corresponding Advanced Ship. You then replace one of your normal ships with the new Advanced Ship, to be used throughout the rest of the game. Not all Pilots can control every ship, so you have to strategize on which Pilots to hire.
The other new action option is Exploration. On your turn, when you roll a “Move a Ship” action, you may move a ship to the Exploration mat. Exploring uncharted space could result in helpful discoveries (gaining resources) or dangerous consequences (usually losing resources). Once on the Exploration mat, you have the option to take any face-up card from the Exploration row, if there are any, or you have the option to reveal the top card of the Exploration deck. If you reveal the top card and it is a green Discovery card, you may choose to take it and reap the rewards, or you can choose to push your luck and draw another card hoping for something better. If you draw a red Danger card, you must immediately take it and suffer the consequences, thus ending your turn. The Exploration row can only ever have 3 face-up cards at a time, so knowing when to push your luck or when to take a safe card is key.
The game continues in the normal fashion, with these additional actions, until a player has earned 21 or more VP. Along with the base game VP, the expansion allows players to earn VP for hired Pilots and Exploration cards. When the game end is triggered, players will then score their Secret Mission cards and VP earned from Exploration cards, and the player with the highest total is declared the winner!
Official recommendation: If you’ve read our review of Tiny Epic Galaxies, and it’s newest iteration, Tiny Epic Galaxies Blast Off!, then you’ll know that we absolutely love this game. The gameplay is excellent, the theming is on point, and the mechanics are engaging. That being said, is the Beyond the Black expansion necessary? If you, like us, are serious fans of the base game, I would say yes. This expansion builds upon the great elements of the base game, and provides even more opportunities for strategy in your gameplay. Should you hire this Pilot now, and for which Advanced Ship? You’re allowed to replace Pilots in future turns, but what if you replace someone and then regret it? How far are you willing to push your luck to Explore uncharted space? The benefits are nice, but the consequences can be brutal. The gameplay is elevated by the inclusion of these new elements, and is not bogged down by unnecessary additions. When first introducing this game to people, I would probably just use the base game to build an understanding of the gameplay. But beyond that (see what I did there?), I would highly recommend grabbing a copy of the Beyond the Black expansion to include in your future plays of this awesome little space game.
Greg Kirkpatrick (52 KP) rated Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails in Music
Sep 6, 2017
Production (3 more)
Song Writing
Atmosphere
Storytelling
A self-fulfilling prophecy (1 more)
Not nearly safe for work
Visionary
The Downward Spiral is one of the last great works of art produced in the 20th century.
Moving beyond the abrasive noise of the Broken/Fixed era while making callbacks to the dark pop music of Pretty Hate Machine and showcasing the ambient music that would eventually win Trent Reznor an Oscar; standout tracks on the The Downward Spiral are as varied as the scorching Mr Self-Destruct, the groove of Heresy and Closer or the celestial beauty of A Warm Place and the title track.
The album also features an ambition and aesthetic that still informs Nine Inch Nails over twenty years later.
Moving beyond the abrasive noise of the Broken/Fixed era while making callbacks to the dark pop music of Pretty Hate Machine and showcasing the ambient music that would eventually win Trent Reznor an Oscar; standout tracks on the The Downward Spiral are as varied as the scorching Mr Self-Destruct, the groove of Heresy and Closer or the celestial beauty of A Warm Place and the title track.
The album also features an ambition and aesthetic that still informs Nine Inch Nails over twenty years later.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Dirty Work (1933) in Movies
Feb 19, 2019
A cautionary tale of hubristic science operating beyond the constraints of morality, and poor health and safety standards too. Stan and Ollie's latest venture is sweeping people's chimneys for them; they pitch up at the home of mad scientist Professor Noodle who is working on a rejuvenation elixir.
Not quite one of the boys' first-rate shorts - obviously there is boundless potential in the notion of Laurel and Hardy as chimney sweeps (Ollie falls down the chimney, off the roof, etc, etc, while Stan destroys the interior decorations of the house), but the mad scientist plotline feels oddly grafted on and the concluding scenes are peculiar rather than funny. First two-thirds makes the film more than worthwhile, though.
Not quite one of the boys' first-rate shorts - obviously there is boundless potential in the notion of Laurel and Hardy as chimney sweeps (Ollie falls down the chimney, off the roof, etc, etc, while Stan destroys the interior decorations of the house), but the mad scientist plotline feels oddly grafted on and the concluding scenes are peculiar rather than funny. First two-thirds makes the film more than worthwhile, though.
Kari Bendler (2 KP) rated Skyscraper (2018) in Movies
Mar 5, 2019
Its action-y. Stuff blows up, things fall down, crazy "that could never happen" plot. Is it entertaining? Yes. Would I watch it again on another platform? Probably. Is it going to get added to the 100 movies you must see before you doe? No.
The gist: if you like action movies and ate looking to be entertained for a bit, you won't be sad that you watched this movie.
The gist: if you like action movies and ate looking to be entertained for a bit, you won't be sad that you watched this movie.
Alicia S (193 KP) rated Hard Beat (Driven, #7) in Books
Sep 28, 2018
Kristy has done it again... yet another fabulous book but one of my absolute favorite authors! Hard Beat, while part of the Driven series, was very different from the rest of the books she has written. While surely different, like all of her books, I was sucked in from page one. Totally different storyline, tough girl meets soft guy and under the most intense situation. The constant head-butting from these two was so much fun to read.. while Tanner & Beaux's connection is apparent right from the start. I LOVE that this was written from his POV and was of course beyond thrilled to have appearances of Rylee & Colton ;-) Amazing read, HIGHLY recommended!!!