Learn Electronics with Raspberry Pi: Circuits, Games, Toys, and Tools: Physical Computing with Circuits, Sensors, Outputs, and Projects: 2016
Book
Make a variety of cool projects using the Pi with programming languages like Scratch and Python,...
MONOPOLY for iPad
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Too Many Bones
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Too Many Bones comes loaded for bear by breaking into a new genre: the dice-builder RPG. This game...
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HeroQuest Advanced Quest
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Merissa (12069 KP) rated The Stone God (Indulgence #1) in Books
May 26, 2021 (Updated Jul 26, 2023)
Terah has moved to the house she inherited so she can get her life back together again. Some peace sounds very good to her. Instead, a shrine is washed up (literally) and she is charged with taking care of it. Her life changes, in ways too many to mention. Although this is in the Romance genre, at this stage I honestly don't know who is the main male (although I have my own idea) - and I love that!
The pacing is fast and there is a lot that happens. Terah grows immeasurably in this story and still remains true to herself. She is prepared to help the Gods as long as they help her and had better not get in her way. If there were any editing or grammatical errors, I have to say I missed them, being engrossed in the story as I was.
There are pieces scattered all over the board by the end, and I honestly can't wait for book two to see where they will end up. A fantastic story that had me gripped from beginning to end. Absolutely recommended by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
May 26, 2021
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Sea of Clouds in Tabletop Games
Sep 5, 2019 (Updated Jul 1, 2020)
In Sea of Clouds, players are Captains of mighty air pirate ships. That’s right – flying pirate ships! Just like the pirate days of yore, your goal is to recruit the best crew, plunder for treasure and relics, and find the best rum along the way. But be careful because your rival pirate Captains have their eyes on the same prize – so make sure you’ve got a way to outsmart them and sail your way to victory!
Sea of Clouds is a game of card drafting, set collection, and push your luck in which players are trying to amass the most end-game victory points. Played over a series of rounds, players take turns drafting cards, performing bonus actions, and engaging in combat with their neighboring Captains. To setup, each player takes their chosen Captain board, the central board is placed in the middle of all players, and 1 loot card is placed face-down on each of the 3 loot spaces on the central board. The remaining cards are shuffled and create a draw pile. Now you are ready to play!
Each round consists of divvying up shares of loot between all players. On your turn, you will take the face-down card(s) in the #1 loot spot and look at them secretly. Decide whether you want to take the share, or leave it and look at the next one. If you decide to keep the card(s), add them directly around your Captain board in their corresponding spaces. If you decided to leave the share, add 1 card from the top of the draw pile to that share, and then look secretly at the cards in the #2 loot spot. Proceed in the same manner as before with the cards in the #2 and #3 loot spots, if necessary. If none of the shares catch your fancy, draw 1 card from the top of the draw deck to add to your ship. Play continues to the left, and once everyone has had their turn, move the round marker ahead on the central board, and continue on to the next round in the same fashion. At the end of certain rounds of the game, following the divvying of shares, there will be a boarding/combat turn – players will compare the combat strength of their crew (recruited during the divvying of shares) to that of their neighboring Captains. If your crew’s strength is greater than your neighbor, resolve any rewards/effects on your pirate cards. If your strength is less than your neighbor, you lose the combat and do not collect any rewards. Once all combats have been resolved, everyone discards all their crew cards, and the next round begins. At the end of the game, players count up their victory points, and the player who has amassed the most is the winner!
I’m going to get right to the spoilers and say that I love Sea of Clouds. It has some of my favorite mechanics (set collection and card drafting) and it is easy to teach, learn, and play. Do not let the simplicity of play fool you, however, because strategy is definitely a key to victory. One thing that takes this strategy to the next level for me is that there will be times when all players know what cards are in each share of loot. You’ve got to pay attention to which shares your opponents are taking, and figure out a way to stop them from collecting complete sets, or try to force them to collect a share they may not necessarily want. Also, as shares go unclaimed, they get more cards (and eventually money) added to them, so you have to weigh the risks of collecting a share because of one specific card, even though there may be a ‘bad’ card in that share for you. You always have to be adjusting your strategy based on what cards show up in each share, so there is no idle time for any player in this game.
Another neat thing I like about the strategy of this game is that all the cards have backs based on their card type. So all Relic cards have the same back, all Crew cards have the same back, etc. Even though you may not know what is on the other side of the card, you might just take a chance on a share of loot because it has the card types you are trying to get. That’s where the push your luck comes in, because until you look at a share of loot, you aren’t sure if that card is the one you need. Maybe share #1 has a couple cards you could use, but share #2 has a relic card that could be the final one in your set! Are you willing to risk passing up a decent share of loot to see if the next share has what you need? Or maybe the top of the draw deck has the card type you want – would you pass up all 3 shares of loot for one blindly draw card in hopes that it is to your benefit? There is no single ‘right’ way to play, and that is what makes this fun.
The only drawbacks of this game for me are the boarding/combat turns. I like the idea of this player interaction, but it doesn’t always work fairly in my opinion. At the end of each boarding/combat turn, all players discard all of their Crew cards, and you have until the next boarding phase to recruit a new crew. And sometimes, just based on the luck of the draw, you just never get the opportunity to hire anybody. Maybe your opponent takes the share with a Crew member before you get a chance to, or maybe the deck just isn’t evenly shuffled enough to get enough Crew cards out into the playing field. So if you have no Crew, you automatically lose the combat, and that can be detrimental to your strategy – opponents could steal or discard some of your cards, and cause you to lose end-game points. Maybe if there was a draw pile where you could pay a certain amount of gold to hire a Crew member, that would make the game feel a little more fair in the combat department. But ultimately, you’re at the mercy of the luck of the shuffle/draw, and sometimes it just doesn’t balance out.
All in all, I think Sea of Clouds is a great game. It’s a relatively simple game, but one that still requires strategic thought. The push your luck element feels unique in this game because you don’t really lose anything if your luck runs out, you just don’t necessarily get as far as you wanted. The game itself is pretty to look at – the artwork is very well-done and the colors really pop and draw the eye to the cards. This may not be in my Top 10 of favorite games, but it’s one that I will definitely be keeping in my collection. Take a chance on this one if you haven’t so far – it might surprise you. Purple Phoenix Games gives Sea of Clouds a high-flying 12 / 18.
