Smashbomb

Search

Search results

All (1151)

Content

Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated Our Wayward Fate in Books

Jan 23, 2020

Our Wayward Fate

Gloria Chao | 2019 | Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult (YA)

8.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

The author/publisher provided a free copy of the book for review purposes - thank you! Receiving a review copy does not guarantee a positive review and therefore do not affect the opinion or content of the review.
I adored <a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/american-panda-by-gloria-chao/">American Panda</a> back in 2018, so when I heard Gloria Chao was releasing a new book, I pretty much slid Our Wayward Fate onto my TBR with no questions asked. (I enjoyed American Panda enough that I got my own copy... only to have my mom "borrow" it. She still hasn't returned it.)

<h2>Gloria Chao is a Queen of Writing Relatable Characters and it continues with her second novel, Our Wayward Fate.</h2>
Chao's latest novel follows Ali Chu, a high school senior living in Indiana and is the only Asian kid in her school; for years, she operates in survival mode in order to blend in with the rest of her classmates, even if she hates dealing with the constant racist stereotypes that are automatically associated with her simply because she's Asian. But she continues to remain silent until she finds out the new kid in school, Chase Yu, is also Taiwanese like her.

Let me take a moment to talk about their relationship!!!
❤ Puns, puns, so many puns
❤ Jokes and wordplay in Mandarin (also I really loved how Chao didn't incorporate a glossary so readers can get what it's like to be someone learning a language through conversation and context)
❤ They're just so cute and competitive together; ugh, my heart can't

<h3>Friends, I saw myself in American Panda, but I also really saw myself in Our Wayward Fate.</h3>
Chao touches on a lot of experiences that I personally went through - it's a book that I would have loved to read back in middle and high school when I occasionally felt like I was alone in my experiences. Much of the experiences Ali goes through hit hardcore emotionally and I really, really wanted to reach through the book just to give Ali a hug. (Here I thought I related to Mei a lot and Ali Chu comes in and knocks it out of the park.)

<h2>Chao's latest novel deals with darker topics while also incorporating her signature humor.</h2>
I love puns, so I'm a little biased toward them. While Our Wayward Fate is chock full of puns (I love them) and incorporates Chao's signature humor from her debut, it also has a darker feel. Our Wayward Fate is a book with family and identity with a retelling of The Butterfly Lovers; it also focuses a lot about miscommunication when we struggle or are unsure when communicating with others.

<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/our-wayward-fate-by-gloria-chao/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>

Kudos

the_mad_meeple (55 KP) rated Arctic Scavengers in Tabletop Games

Feb 19, 2020

Arctic Scavengers

2009 | Bluff, Card Game, Fighting

6.0

(2 Ratings)

Tabletop Game Rating

Hot Heads in the Ice

It was a thursday night and I was round my mate's house ready for my first ever 'gaming session'. Overwhelmed by all the colourful cardboard I realised my expectations of Monopoly and Cluedo were embarrassingly ill-informed.

Arctic Scavengers, the first and last game of the evening, couldn't have been further from my previous gaming experience. A fantastically thematic and competitive deck-building game, it was love at first fight. Deep into a post-apocalyptic winter wasteland, I was soon digging for medicine I would later use to attract hunters and was recruiting brawlers with my charismatic team leaders. After winning the fourth contested resource (a dog sled to add to my grenade) I was hooked and by the time we had thrashed out our final fight I had completed my online checkout.

Pros:
- Simple card drafting game perfect for new players.
- The theme is excellent and match the components brilliantly.
- The length of the game can be controlled by limiting the number of contested resources, allowing for faster play if required (although not recommended).
- The idea of digging for medicine seems hilarious but deciding whether to keep the shovel or take the net can be game-changing and keeps every decision interesting.

Cons:
- The expansions seem to take away from the core game too much for me adding in too many components which alter the base mechanics too much.

The Game

The game is won by the player who has the most people in their clan by the end of the game - after the last contested resource is won.
Playing best with four players, you are required to develop your initial deck in order to fight other players for contested resources and be the strongest clan among the post apocalyptic wasteland.

During each round a player draws 5 cards and is given the opportunity to perform any of the available actions before deciding whether they want to fight for the available 'contested resource'. Able to complete actions such as digging for junk, recruiting new members to their clan or drawing other cards from their hand, Arctic Scavengers is a game where you have to balance the potential to draw a useles refuge, who offers nothing in a fight but increases the size of your clan, with the need to draw brawlers for the fight. Do you choose the versatile scavengers who can do everything, providing you with a variety of options, or go big and recruit thugs for the next fight.

A brilliantly varied game Arctic Scavengers can be played differently every time the lid comes off and no matter who you play against you see something new. I can honestly say that everyone I have played this with have loved it and it is off the shalf at every games night.

I realise that this game will often be compared to other self contained deck-builders such as Dominion and Clank but this is by far my favourite of these and has permanent residence on my shelf for the foreseeable future.