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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2646 KP) rated The Case of the Carnaby Castle Curse in Books

Oct 29, 2025  
The Case of the Carnaby Castle Curse
The Case of the Carnaby Castle Curse
P.J. Fitzsimmons | 2025 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Is Anty’s Favorite Steward a Killer?
When Anty’s favorite steward, Carnaby, doesn’t return to London from his vacation, Anty sets out to find out what is happening. He is surprised to learn that Carnaby’s family owns a castle. But it comes with a curse that has just carried off the patriarch’s new wife. Or was it murder? Anty is determined to find out and clear Carnaby of suspicion.

This book doesn’t play too much into spooky, but it does have some elements that made it fun to read during October. The mystery is strong with several elements that kept me guessing until the end. As always, I appreciated how the mystery was laid out. The suspects could have been a little stronger, but I did still care about the outcome. The writing took me a chapter to get used to, but once I did, I was easily caught up in the story and laughing at the very dry British humor. No matter what time of the year you read this book, you’ll be glad you picked it up.
  
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Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated The Princess Bride: Storming The Castle in Tabletop Games

Jun 12, 2019  
The Princess Bride: Storming The Castle
The Princess Bride: Storming The Castle
2008 | Card Game
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Tabletop Game Rating
You haven’t played this game? Inconceivable! Actually, quite conceivable. I wasn’t really into the board game hobby when this came out in 2008, so of course I did not pick it up at release. I am a big Princess Bride fan, and I probably would have picked it up at release because I’m a sucker for certain IPs. There are few copies of this still floating around for sale, so it can be had at a modest price. However, will you enjoy it? Will it bore you “to the pain”? Read on.

So this game, at its heart, is a racing game. You will be racing your pawn toward Humperdinck’s castle in the middle of the table, and you need to traverse several Path cards depicting different areas in the Princess Bride universe. Each of these Path cards will dictate whether you will need specific equipment/items to gain access, or if they are free of that requirement. If you start your turn at the gates of the castle, or have an item allowing you entry sooner, you win!

Ok, the bad. The components are just not great. The box is flimsy and boring. The insert is laughable. The cards are acceptable quality – don’t expect any better quality than normal playing cards picked up at the dollar store. The art on the cards is also very boring and the ink used on the cards seems to be flaking a bit after just a few plays. Screen grabs on cards are fine to me, but the choices made on some of these cards are very questionable. The pawns are poorly designed and they fall over all the time, which is unfortunate when you have to play on a smaller table.

The good now. Owning a Princess Bride game that I can pull out and actually play and have a decent time is a positive for me. There are other games with this same IP that are… not at all fun. This one actually has some gameplay to it that you can enjoy for a while, and even crave future plays. Yes, it feels a bit like Munchkin in that you are trying to achieve the winning goal and your opponents are trying their hardest to delay you. However, it differs due to the fact that the pile-on is slow and you have to basically forfeit your turn to debilitate your opponent. Is that strategy worth it? I’m not so sure…

Does it make you feel like you are in the story? Not really. Do you shudder when the RUSes and Shrieking Eels come into play? Nah, but they are so formidable in the story! Is the GAME worth it though? Yeah, it is. If you are a fan of the book or movie, this is the best Princess Bride game out there. Will another game come out and knock it off the top spot? I hope so. But for now, I am happy with my copy of the game. Perhaps I will look into blinging it out a bit to make it more epic. That said, Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a swashbuckling 7 / 12.

https://purplephoenixgames.wordpress.com/2019/01/21/the-princess-bride-storming-the-castle-review/