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Please Fix the Teleporter
Please Fix the Teleporter
2020 | Action, Kids Game, Racing, Real-time, Science Fiction
Captain Gerf and Emperor Korlax are trapped inside the teleportation beam? Again? Who forgot to install the upgrade module? Uh oh, it was me… Well now I need to get to work fixing this infernal teleporter because my captain and his captured enemy keep coming aboard all different. They are all shouting at me, “PLEASE FIX THE TELEPORTER!”

Please Fix the Teleporter is a quick real-time action/dexterity card game for 1-4 players, but in this preview I will be tackling it as a solo experience. In it players are teleportation specialists charged with repairing a malfunctioning teleportation beam that is displaying strange mix-and-match features of the two persons attempting to board the craft. By matching the images on the display six times the Captain and his quarry can board safely and in one piece.

DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and I do not know for sure if the final components will be any different from these shown. You are invited to back the game through the Kickstarter campaign,or through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T


To setup for a solo game choose one color of body part tiles and place them in front of the player. Shuffle the deck of scrambled cards and deal six face-down. Have a timer handy (Alexa, Siri, or Google also work well) and the game may begin!
Gameplay is simple: flip over one card, match the card with the body tiles to recreate the image and then flip over the next card. Repeat these steps until all six cards have been matched and then stop the timer. Based on the table on the back of the rulesheet the player may determine how well they fared. For example, the highest score that may be achieved is five stars, which is earned by completing the game in under 30 seconds.

Once the game is over, the player will most certainly wish to play again, so multiple games may be played in order to earn that glorious five star rating.


Multiplayer rules are almost exactly the same except instead of dealing six cards at the beginning, the first player to match and claim five cards will be the winner.
Components. This game is a bunch of cards and four tiles per player. The cards are nice squares and the tiles are chunky cardboard. What sets this game apart for me is the art style. The art here, as you have seen, is so crazy and wonky and I just love it! The colors used are some of my favorites and it just looks amazing on the table. I have zero complaints for components and art.

Gameplay is similarly loved. This one is so quick and easy that anyone can play and be great at it. It takes mere seconds to teach and each player will want to play more and more, even the solo player. I cannot really comment on strategy, as this game really doesn’t lend itself to any sort of strategic play. It is a free-for-all to match the cards and move on to the next. I like being frantic.

So if you are at all like me and love these little “refreshers,” as I like to call them, check this one out. It will fit perfectly between two heavy hitters to refresh the players for the next game. Or will perfectly balance your night of solo play. Are you into theme nights? I am. What a great addition to an outer space themed game night! Quick and easy with excellent art. This one is a winner, even if I never manage to actually fix the dang teleporter.
  
The Midnight Sky (2020)
The Midnight Sky (2020)
2020 | Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
7
6.6 (12 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Moody and Atmospheric
Ever since his stint on ER, I have been a fan of George Clooney’s - and not just because he is charming and charismatic on film - but because I find that he brings an interesting facet to whatever character he inhabits
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And with his latest effort THE MIDNIGHT SKY (Directed by Mr. Clooney, as well) he does not disappoint as his performance - and his Direction - are fascinating to watch.

Based upon the novel by Lily Brooks-Dalton, THE MIDNIGHT SKY tells the tale of a lone scientist (Clooney) in a remote, arctic research station, who is one of the few remaining people on an Earth that has become uninhabitable. He rushes to warn some returning astronauts to avoid their home planet.

A thoughtful, moody film. THE MIDNIGHT SKY will not be everyone’s cup of tea - and you have to be in the mood for something somewhat slow and contemplative - but if you are, you will be rewarded with a rich tapestry of visuals and performances that will be, ultimately, fulfilling.

Let’s start with what works - George Clooney. His direction and his performance as Augustine, the scientist, are both sparse and compact. Neither of these facets have an extraneous movement or tone and they work hand-in-hand to deliver the film that Clooney, obviously intends to give us.

Visually, this film is beautiful to look at - inter cutting the vast emptiness of space to the vast, snowy emptiness of the Arctic. The images that Clooney was able to create was well worth watching this film for.

Clooney was also fortunate enough to cast a variety of stellar performers in a film that has very few roles, so the ones that are there better deliver the goods - and they do. From Ethan Peck (Spock in Star Trek:Discovery) who plays the young Clooney in a flashback (I am very glad they chose to do this as opposed to “de-aging” Clooney) to the Astronauts: Felicity Jones, David Oyelowo (who I continue to like more and more every time I see him), Kyle Chandler and Tiffany Boone. All strike the right tone for the moodiness of this film.

Special notice should be made for Damien Bechir’s astronaut, Sanchez. He was terrific in the limited screen time he had and elevated every scene he was in. Bechir has become one of those performers who I get excited about when I see that he is going to be involved in a screen project.

What doesn’t work? Well…as I stated before…the pacing. It is slow (almost coming to a stop) at times. Since this is a film that will be streamed via Netflix, I can see many, many folks grabbing their phones at times, which is too bad, for the moodiness - and pace - worked for me (or at least the for the mood I was in while watching this).

My other issue with this film is the contrived circumstances that both Clooney and the Astronauts find themselves in. It isn’t enough that Clooney has to journey across rugged Arctic terrain to find a more powerful antennae to communicate with the Astronauts, we have to throw in cracking and melting ice to it. And, of course, just as the Astronauts connect with Clooney, a surprise meteor shower damages the communication array. These contrivances just wasn’t need for the type of movie this film was trying to be. It’s almost as if the Studio Heads said “it’s too slow and talky - put some action in this thing”.

But, if you are able to stay with this film, the ending pays off very well, indeed. I found that it earned it’s ending and I walked away moved and satisfied.

Letter Grade: B

7 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(OfMarquis)