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Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Gizmos in Tabletop Games
Apr 20, 2021
I have absolutely never been very good at science. At least not in school. So when I started reading the rule for Gizmos and found out it was set at a science fair I thought I was doomed. Well, turns out you don’t really need to know anything about science to enjoy this one or be decent at playing. So if you are like me and don’t remember anything besides the Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell, then read on about a great game called Gizmos.
Gizmos is a card drafting, energy collecting, engine building game about, well, building engines. Players will be attempting to draft machine parts from an offer pyramid and build them onto their master jalopy machine using energy marbles in order to chain actions together and maximize their turns. The victorious player is they that claims the most VP from cards and bonus VP tokens at the end of the game.
To setup, assemble the energy dispenser (the marble gumball machine looking component) and place it on the table. Fill it with all the marbles and marvel at the first six that come out into a chute display. Separate and shuffle the card decks by their backs and set out four cards of level I, three cards of level II and two cards of level III. Determine starting player and give them the starting tableau board. Each player will receive a tableau board, an energy ring, and a starting gizmo to be placed under the File section of their board. The game may now begin!
On a player’s turn they will be completing one action from the four actions printed on their player board: File, Pick, Build, and Research. The File action is used when a player chooses a card from the gizmo pyramid (from any level) and places it in their Archive – an imaginary area to the right (or even above I’ve found) their player board. At the beginning of the game players will be able to hold just one gizmo in their Archive, but as they draft and build Upgrades, this number can increase. When choosing the Pick action, the player will simply choose one of the energy marbles from the dispenser chute and place them in their energy ring. Initially rings are only able to hold five marbles, but this also can be increased on future builds. To Build a gizmo into a player’s machine, the player will spend a specific color and number of energy marbles printed on the chosen gizmo card to place the card into their player tableau. These gizmos could possibly be Upgrades, energy Converters, or upgrades to the File, Pick, and Build actions. Pay the energy marble to the dispenser supply. Players will choose to Research when they do not like the gizmos on display in the gizmo pyramid. Researching allows players to draw the top cards from any face-down level deck and choose one to either File or Build.
The game is super simple to this point, but this is where the true strategy and tactics come into play. Though there will always be nine gizmos on display during a player’s turn, the value of these gizmos are in how they are used in the player tableau. Yes each gizmo allows for some benefit, but successful players will be able to utilize these benefits to create chain reactions. When an action is spent to do a thing, gizmos in play in the tableau will sometimes link to the action, or to the placement of a certain type of card, or a certain energy type (color) of gizmo built. It is mastering these chain reactions that creates next-level strategizing and separates the players from the champions. Play continues on in this fashion until a player has built their fourth level III gizmo or their 16th gizmo in total. Count up VP from built gizmos and bonus tokens earned from built gizmos throughout the game to see who wins the science fair (is that what happens at science fairs? People win those, right?)!
Components. So the gizmo cards are fine, and the cardboard components are fine as well. The marbles are interesting and bubbled plastic (or resin, I told you I’m not great at science) and come in great colors. The true star component here is that energy marble dispenser. It is absolutely brilliant. The game comes with assembly instructions, thankfully, but once it’s built, it’s built forever. It packs neatly back into the box, and the insert is very very well done. The artwork on this is surprisingly secondary to me. In fact, I don’t really remember even looking at much of the artwork on the gizmo cards as I was playing because I concentrate so much more on the effects of the gizmos and trying to figure out my next move to really sit and gawk at the art. The iconography takes a little time to get used to, but once you have seen it in action for a few rounds, you catch on quickly. All in all, a fine set of components, but with the insert and dispenser, now a great set of components.
I adore this game! I love engine builders, and the chain reactions you can create with your gizmos are excellent and can be very powerful. You can try to generate tons of bonus VP from your gizmos, or concentrate on versatile energy marbles using a bunch of Converters, or simply go guns blazing on everything you can afford to try to blitz to 16 gizmos built. Whatever your play style, Gizmos can certainly allow you to play your way while giving you choices upon choices to make each turn.
With all these positives, I had to find a negative, right? Well, ok, yes, but it’s super minor to me here. I don’t really feel like the theme is very immersive. Not once have I felt like I am building a machine in order to win a science fair, but I do feel like I need to maximize my turn every time in order to grab more energy, or to build better Upgrades and Converters so I can grab any gizmo I want and build it right away. So, theme is there, but not at all strong.
Though the theme is just okay, the game play certainly is stellar. This one has everything I like in an engine building game, and has unique and interesting components. Would I like it more if the theme was different. I doubt it. The game play is just so good that the theme and artwork takes a back seat for me, and that’s super weird for me to type. Should you be looking for a great engine building game that looks awesome on the table, has cool components, and allows you to play differently every game, then go find yourself a copy of Gizmos. Purple Phoenix Games gives it an energetic 21 / 24. Now if only my 4-year-old could keep the energy marbles in the chute or the ring and not on the floor…
Gizmos is a card drafting, energy collecting, engine building game about, well, building engines. Players will be attempting to draft machine parts from an offer pyramid and build them onto their master jalopy machine using energy marbles in order to chain actions together and maximize their turns. The victorious player is they that claims the most VP from cards and bonus VP tokens at the end of the game.
To setup, assemble the energy dispenser (the marble gumball machine looking component) and place it on the table. Fill it with all the marbles and marvel at the first six that come out into a chute display. Separate and shuffle the card decks by their backs and set out four cards of level I, three cards of level II and two cards of level III. Determine starting player and give them the starting tableau board. Each player will receive a tableau board, an energy ring, and a starting gizmo to be placed under the File section of their board. The game may now begin!
On a player’s turn they will be completing one action from the four actions printed on their player board: File, Pick, Build, and Research. The File action is used when a player chooses a card from the gizmo pyramid (from any level) and places it in their Archive – an imaginary area to the right (or even above I’ve found) their player board. At the beginning of the game players will be able to hold just one gizmo in their Archive, but as they draft and build Upgrades, this number can increase. When choosing the Pick action, the player will simply choose one of the energy marbles from the dispenser chute and place them in their energy ring. Initially rings are only able to hold five marbles, but this also can be increased on future builds. To Build a gizmo into a player’s machine, the player will spend a specific color and number of energy marbles printed on the chosen gizmo card to place the card into their player tableau. These gizmos could possibly be Upgrades, energy Converters, or upgrades to the File, Pick, and Build actions. Pay the energy marble to the dispenser supply. Players will choose to Research when they do not like the gizmos on display in the gizmo pyramid. Researching allows players to draw the top cards from any face-down level deck and choose one to either File or Build.
The game is super simple to this point, but this is where the true strategy and tactics come into play. Though there will always be nine gizmos on display during a player’s turn, the value of these gizmos are in how they are used in the player tableau. Yes each gizmo allows for some benefit, but successful players will be able to utilize these benefits to create chain reactions. When an action is spent to do a thing, gizmos in play in the tableau will sometimes link to the action, or to the placement of a certain type of card, or a certain energy type (color) of gizmo built. It is mastering these chain reactions that creates next-level strategizing and separates the players from the champions. Play continues on in this fashion until a player has built their fourth level III gizmo or their 16th gizmo in total. Count up VP from built gizmos and bonus tokens earned from built gizmos throughout the game to see who wins the science fair (is that what happens at science fairs? People win those, right?)!
Components. So the gizmo cards are fine, and the cardboard components are fine as well. The marbles are interesting and bubbled plastic (or resin, I told you I’m not great at science) and come in great colors. The true star component here is that energy marble dispenser. It is absolutely brilliant. The game comes with assembly instructions, thankfully, but once it’s built, it’s built forever. It packs neatly back into the box, and the insert is very very well done. The artwork on this is surprisingly secondary to me. In fact, I don’t really remember even looking at much of the artwork on the gizmo cards as I was playing because I concentrate so much more on the effects of the gizmos and trying to figure out my next move to really sit and gawk at the art. The iconography takes a little time to get used to, but once you have seen it in action for a few rounds, you catch on quickly. All in all, a fine set of components, but with the insert and dispenser, now a great set of components.
I adore this game! I love engine builders, and the chain reactions you can create with your gizmos are excellent and can be very powerful. You can try to generate tons of bonus VP from your gizmos, or concentrate on versatile energy marbles using a bunch of Converters, or simply go guns blazing on everything you can afford to try to blitz to 16 gizmos built. Whatever your play style, Gizmos can certainly allow you to play your way while giving you choices upon choices to make each turn.
With all these positives, I had to find a negative, right? Well, ok, yes, but it’s super minor to me here. I don’t really feel like the theme is very immersive. Not once have I felt like I am building a machine in order to win a science fair, but I do feel like I need to maximize my turn every time in order to grab more energy, or to build better Upgrades and Converters so I can grab any gizmo I want and build it right away. So, theme is there, but not at all strong.
Though the theme is just okay, the game play certainly is stellar. This one has everything I like in an engine building game, and has unique and interesting components. Would I like it more if the theme was different. I doubt it. The game play is just so good that the theme and artwork takes a back seat for me, and that’s super weird for me to type. Should you be looking for a great engine building game that looks awesome on the table, has cool components, and allows you to play differently every game, then go find yourself a copy of Gizmos. Purple Phoenix Games gives it an energetic 21 / 24. Now if only my 4-year-old could keep the energy marbles in the chute or the ring and not on the floor…
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated The Grimm Masquerade in Tabletop Games
Apr 8, 2021
Have you ever been to a proper masquerade? I have not, though I would enjoy it, I think. I would enjoy it even more if I were competing against the other attendees to figure out who is who (and avoid having to do those Victorian square dances). But what if I were actually fairytale folk cavorting around with others trying to gain artifacts that speak to me while refusing any artifacts that may hurt me. Well now you understand my plight and the premise of this game.
The Grimm Masquerade is a hidden role competitive bluffing game for two to five players. In it player take on the roles of well-known fairytale folk attending a magical masquerade thrown by The Beast (I mean, he has a name, right? Not just “The Beast…”). Attendees are tasked with trying to unmask other attendees while earning magical roses in the process. The winner is the player who can earn the most roses at the end of three rounds of bluffing and guessing, unless one player is able to earn 10 roses before the end.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. Also, this review concentrates on the two-player variant for the game as I played it mostly with my wife. -T
To setup, place the main board showing all the fairytale folk in the middle of the table. Each player will receive two (one if playing multi-player rules) Character cards, all Evidence Markers of their chosen color, and Reference cards. Around the board is placed the remaining Character cards, the Artifact deck, the stack of Broken Mirror tokens, the pile of roses, and the Action Board with two random Action cards revealed on either side. For the two-player game six Artifact cards are revealed in a line and each player will choose one Artifact for each of their two characters they are playing. The unchosen Artifacts will form the discard pile near the Artifact draw pile. Whomever most recently wore a costume will be the lead player and the game may begin!
The game is played in rounds, with each turn of a round consisting of two steps. First, the active player draws an Artifact card and decides to keep it in their face-up tableau of Artifacts for all to see or give the Artifact to another player. Then the active player will draw a second card and either keep or give, whichever is opposite of their first choice. For example, should the first card drawn be kept, the next card would need to be given away. Each character has one Boon suit (which they love), and one Bane suit (which they despise). If at any time a character receives a card to create a matching pair in their tableau they must indicate whether that Artifact is in fact their Bane suit or not. They do this by placing one of their Evidence Markers on the character who owns that suit’s Bane value. However, if the player is actually the character who has that suit as their Bane, they have been unmasked and will play their other character in hopes of winning with them.
Should a player receive a card that would cause a set of three matching suit cards, they must indicate that they have either won the round or that they are not the character that matches that suit’s Boon value. For example, should a player receive their third Treats card they must declare they have won the round (if they happen to be Red Riding Hood), or that they are not indeed Red Riding Hood by placing an Evidence Marker on Red Riding Hood.
After this card play at the beginning of their turn the active player may choose to discard a matching pair of Artifact cards in order to activate an Action available (optional step). The Actions available are on the revealed Action cards on either side of the Action Board (which also shows an always-available Action of Point the Finger). So by discarding a pair of Crowns, for example, a player could utilize the Action card Eavesdrop in order to force the other player(s) to place Evidence Markers on characters they are NOT. This gives the active player more insight into who the other player(s) may actually BE.
Once cards have been drawn and the optional Actions taken, play passes to the next player. Players win the round by collecting three matching Boon Artifact cards or by unmasking all other characters in play. Whichever player wins the round also takes the Rose Trophy depending on which of the three rounds was just completed (value 1 for the first round, 3 for the second, and 5 for the third). At the end of the third round players count up their total roses (unless one player has earned 10 or more at the end of a previous round) and whomever has collected the most is the winner of The Grimm Masquerade!
Components. I have to say, every game I have played by Druid City Games has had amazing components, and this one is certainly no different. All the cardboard pieces, the cards, and the wooden discs are all excellent quality. But what I want to concentrate on here is the perfect choice to employ Mr. Cuddington for the art. Every time I see Mr. Cuddington on the credits for a game I know I am going to love looking at it on the table. They just have amazing style and everything is so detailed and perfectly matched for the setting. This FEELS like a Grimm’s Fairy Tales game for sure, and I love it.
It is definitely no secret that I love this one. I enjoy hidden role games to begin with (The Resistance: Avalon also being one of my favorites), and this setting feels excellently matched to the genre and the execution is wonderful. I really have a great time sussing out who is who and giving those final Artifacts in order to unmask players that are perceived to be leading is so fulfilling. Being able to spend matching cards in order to use Actions is also great design, especially when you can bluff by discarding your Boon cards to throw opponents off your trail. So much deceit in a fun package.
If you have few hidden role games and you want something with a light theme and relatively quick playtime, please do yourself a favor and check out The Grimm Masquerade. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a playful 15 / 18. If you are like us and enjoy games where you control some information and can guess other players’ identities, but also like games where you can still play on even when you have been found out, this one is for you. If only this could support even more players, I could see it unseating Avalon for me. As it is, I may still end up using this one more often than Avalon unless I have a larger group of people at the table. That is a big statement from me as Avalon is a proven winner and has been a staple of my collection for years. But The Grimm Masquerade is that good. Play it and let me know if you agree.
The Grimm Masquerade is a hidden role competitive bluffing game for two to five players. In it player take on the roles of well-known fairytale folk attending a magical masquerade thrown by The Beast (I mean, he has a name, right? Not just “The Beast…”). Attendees are tasked with trying to unmask other attendees while earning magical roses in the process. The winner is the player who can earn the most roses at the end of three rounds of bluffing and guessing, unless one player is able to earn 10 roses before the end.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. Also, this review concentrates on the two-player variant for the game as I played it mostly with my wife. -T
To setup, place the main board showing all the fairytale folk in the middle of the table. Each player will receive two (one if playing multi-player rules) Character cards, all Evidence Markers of their chosen color, and Reference cards. Around the board is placed the remaining Character cards, the Artifact deck, the stack of Broken Mirror tokens, the pile of roses, and the Action Board with two random Action cards revealed on either side. For the two-player game six Artifact cards are revealed in a line and each player will choose one Artifact for each of their two characters they are playing. The unchosen Artifacts will form the discard pile near the Artifact draw pile. Whomever most recently wore a costume will be the lead player and the game may begin!
The game is played in rounds, with each turn of a round consisting of two steps. First, the active player draws an Artifact card and decides to keep it in their face-up tableau of Artifacts for all to see or give the Artifact to another player. Then the active player will draw a second card and either keep or give, whichever is opposite of their first choice. For example, should the first card drawn be kept, the next card would need to be given away. Each character has one Boon suit (which they love), and one Bane suit (which they despise). If at any time a character receives a card to create a matching pair in their tableau they must indicate whether that Artifact is in fact their Bane suit or not. They do this by placing one of their Evidence Markers on the character who owns that suit’s Bane value. However, if the player is actually the character who has that suit as their Bane, they have been unmasked and will play their other character in hopes of winning with them.
Should a player receive a card that would cause a set of three matching suit cards, they must indicate that they have either won the round or that they are not the character that matches that suit’s Boon value. For example, should a player receive their third Treats card they must declare they have won the round (if they happen to be Red Riding Hood), or that they are not indeed Red Riding Hood by placing an Evidence Marker on Red Riding Hood.
After this card play at the beginning of their turn the active player may choose to discard a matching pair of Artifact cards in order to activate an Action available (optional step). The Actions available are on the revealed Action cards on either side of the Action Board (which also shows an always-available Action of Point the Finger). So by discarding a pair of Crowns, for example, a player could utilize the Action card Eavesdrop in order to force the other player(s) to place Evidence Markers on characters they are NOT. This gives the active player more insight into who the other player(s) may actually BE.
Once cards have been drawn and the optional Actions taken, play passes to the next player. Players win the round by collecting three matching Boon Artifact cards or by unmasking all other characters in play. Whichever player wins the round also takes the Rose Trophy depending on which of the three rounds was just completed (value 1 for the first round, 3 for the second, and 5 for the third). At the end of the third round players count up their total roses (unless one player has earned 10 or more at the end of a previous round) and whomever has collected the most is the winner of The Grimm Masquerade!
Components. I have to say, every game I have played by Druid City Games has had amazing components, and this one is certainly no different. All the cardboard pieces, the cards, and the wooden discs are all excellent quality. But what I want to concentrate on here is the perfect choice to employ Mr. Cuddington for the art. Every time I see Mr. Cuddington on the credits for a game I know I am going to love looking at it on the table. They just have amazing style and everything is so detailed and perfectly matched for the setting. This FEELS like a Grimm’s Fairy Tales game for sure, and I love it.
It is definitely no secret that I love this one. I enjoy hidden role games to begin with (The Resistance: Avalon also being one of my favorites), and this setting feels excellently matched to the genre and the execution is wonderful. I really have a great time sussing out who is who and giving those final Artifacts in order to unmask players that are perceived to be leading is so fulfilling. Being able to spend matching cards in order to use Actions is also great design, especially when you can bluff by discarding your Boon cards to throw opponents off your trail. So much deceit in a fun package.
If you have few hidden role games and you want something with a light theme and relatively quick playtime, please do yourself a favor and check out The Grimm Masquerade. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a playful 15 / 18. If you are like us and enjoy games where you control some information and can guess other players’ identities, but also like games where you can still play on even when you have been found out, this one is for you. If only this could support even more players, I could see it unseating Avalon for me. As it is, I may still end up using this one more often than Avalon unless I have a larger group of people at the table. That is a big statement from me as Avalon is a proven winner and has been a staple of my collection for years. But The Grimm Masquerade is that good. Play it and let me know if you agree.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Tutankhamun in Tabletop Games
Jul 9, 2021
Tutankhamun (per dictionary.com, the pronunciation is as such: [ toot-ahng-kah-muhn ]) is regularly shortened and often referred to as “King Tut.” My real question is that if the first syllable is “toot,” why do we not call him King Toot? I have a 5 year old boy and a 2 year old girl at the time of this writing, so I can tell you EXACTLY why we don’t call him King Toot, but that’s for another discussion. Never having played the original version, will I enjoy this new version of the game by world-renowned designer Dr. Reiner Knizia?
In Tutankhamun, players take on the roles of Egyptian priests attempting to cleanse their souls by gifting the sarcophagus with relics found along the Nile River. The priest who can cleanse their soul quickest will be proclaimed the next High Priest and winner of the game!
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
To setup, place the King Tut sarcophagus on the table somewhere inside the box bottom. From this starting place (or you could place these components last I suppose), begin the laborious job of creating the Nile from the trapezoidal Relic TIles. This part took me a good several minutes each game. Place out the Underworld Mat near the start of the Nile, and place upon it the two Guardian Statue standees. From there give every player a reference card, have them choose a player color, place their boats at the start of the Nile, and Canopic Jar scoring markers on the appropriate space along the box bottom score track. The game may now begin!
Tutankhamun is played in turns starting with the starting player and proceeding clockwise. The starting player will choose ANY Relic Tile to collect and move their boat to that location. Once collected, the player will check to make sure there are still matching Relics along the Nile. If so, then play continues to the next player. If the active player had collected the last Relic of that type still active in the game, then the Relic type is scored.
Each Relic Tile features art of a Relic, a God, or a Scarab Ring. Relics come in sets, and when the final Relic of its type is collected, scoring immediately follows. Whichever player possesses the most Relic Tiles of the one being scored will earn points (or rather, negative points, as the priests are trying to cleanse their souls down to the winning score of zero) equal to the number printed on the tile. That number stands for the score earned as well as the number of Relics of that type in the game. The player with the second most Relics of the scored type will score half the number printed on the tile. All others do not score.
God Tiles feature art of one of five ancient Egyptian Gods: Osiris, Isis, Ra, Thoth, and Horus. Each of these Gods provide the collecting player with special powers to be used during the turn, and are always positive for the player.
Finally, Scarab Ring tiles are special in that they feature no number upon them. There are 10 tiles in the game, and as soon as a player collects one they immediately score one point (or one negative point). These tiles are not thrown into the box bottom, as the other scoring tiles are once scored, but are kept with the players to be scored at the end of the game. The player holding the most Scarab Tiles scores five negative points.
Any tile along the Nile that has been passed by all players is deposited onto the Underworld Mat and not added to the box bottom with the King Tut sarcophagus. Tiles may still be collected from the Underworld by permission of the Gods being collected in-game. Whichever priest is able to dwindle down their points and cleanse their soul first will win the game and become the next High Priest of Egypt!
Components. I am more and more becoming a fan of everything 25th Century Games is putting out. This is certainly no exception. I have seen photos of the original versions of this game, entitled Tutankhamen (with an E at the end instead of a U) and this game was certainly begging for a renovation. All the components have updated art, more vibrant colors, and the game even includes luxurious (and completely unnecessary) components. These are the very cool, but very unnecessary King Tut sarcophagus, and the Guardian Statue standees that add nothing to the gameplay but definitely help set the mood and theme. That all said, this version looks amazing on the table and has nearly infinite setup configurations!
What I like most about the game is the fact that on a player’s turn they can literally move forward to ANYWHERE along the Nile to gather whatever Relic they wish. They can pass up a tile or twelve along the way to snatch exactly what they want. However, the quicker a player reaches the sarcophagus does not automatically make them the winner. No, they still need to reduce their soul spirit score to zero in order to win (or be closest by the time all players reach the final spot). Conversely, dilly-dallying along the River just picking up every available tile also will not guarantee a victory. Specializing in a select few items may be the ticket to a victory, or setting oneself to win a couple types and win runner-up on the remainder may be a great path to victory.
Unlike many other games with this lazy race mechanic, the player furthest back does NOT get to keep taking turns to catch up (I’m looking at you, Tokaido), but rather just means that player has many more options ahead of themselves than the other players have. This is very interesting to me, and definitely something worth exploring more. It makes for tough turns when players have to really crunch which options are best for them: take the tile right ahead of them, diversify vs bolster the collection, or hate block another player by taking what you know they need. Ahh, so beautiful are the choices given!
At the end of the day (and this review), Purple Phoenix Games gives this one an Obama-meme-where-he-is-drinking-a-beer-and-giving-a-thumbs-up 5 / 6. I would certainly not have purchased this game in its original form had I seen it in a game store. However, with the changes made to make it more pretty, I would have given it a chance. I am so very glad I have the opportunity to play this a lot, as I can see this getting to the table allllllll the time. It is right up my alley, and I place it high among other Knizia games. Long live King Toot!!
In Tutankhamun, players take on the roles of Egyptian priests attempting to cleanse their souls by gifting the sarcophagus with relics found along the Nile River. The priest who can cleanse their soul quickest will be proclaimed the next High Priest and winner of the game!
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
To setup, place the King Tut sarcophagus on the table somewhere inside the box bottom. From this starting place (or you could place these components last I suppose), begin the laborious job of creating the Nile from the trapezoidal Relic TIles. This part took me a good several minutes each game. Place out the Underworld Mat near the start of the Nile, and place upon it the two Guardian Statue standees. From there give every player a reference card, have them choose a player color, place their boats at the start of the Nile, and Canopic Jar scoring markers on the appropriate space along the box bottom score track. The game may now begin!
Tutankhamun is played in turns starting with the starting player and proceeding clockwise. The starting player will choose ANY Relic Tile to collect and move their boat to that location. Once collected, the player will check to make sure there are still matching Relics along the Nile. If so, then play continues to the next player. If the active player had collected the last Relic of that type still active in the game, then the Relic type is scored.
Each Relic Tile features art of a Relic, a God, or a Scarab Ring. Relics come in sets, and when the final Relic of its type is collected, scoring immediately follows. Whichever player possesses the most Relic Tiles of the one being scored will earn points (or rather, negative points, as the priests are trying to cleanse their souls down to the winning score of zero) equal to the number printed on the tile. That number stands for the score earned as well as the number of Relics of that type in the game. The player with the second most Relics of the scored type will score half the number printed on the tile. All others do not score.
God Tiles feature art of one of five ancient Egyptian Gods: Osiris, Isis, Ra, Thoth, and Horus. Each of these Gods provide the collecting player with special powers to be used during the turn, and are always positive for the player.
Finally, Scarab Ring tiles are special in that they feature no number upon them. There are 10 tiles in the game, and as soon as a player collects one they immediately score one point (or one negative point). These tiles are not thrown into the box bottom, as the other scoring tiles are once scored, but are kept with the players to be scored at the end of the game. The player holding the most Scarab Tiles scores five negative points.
Any tile along the Nile that has been passed by all players is deposited onto the Underworld Mat and not added to the box bottom with the King Tut sarcophagus. Tiles may still be collected from the Underworld by permission of the Gods being collected in-game. Whichever priest is able to dwindle down their points and cleanse their soul first will win the game and become the next High Priest of Egypt!
Components. I am more and more becoming a fan of everything 25th Century Games is putting out. This is certainly no exception. I have seen photos of the original versions of this game, entitled Tutankhamen (with an E at the end instead of a U) and this game was certainly begging for a renovation. All the components have updated art, more vibrant colors, and the game even includes luxurious (and completely unnecessary) components. These are the very cool, but very unnecessary King Tut sarcophagus, and the Guardian Statue standees that add nothing to the gameplay but definitely help set the mood and theme. That all said, this version looks amazing on the table and has nearly infinite setup configurations!
What I like most about the game is the fact that on a player’s turn they can literally move forward to ANYWHERE along the Nile to gather whatever Relic they wish. They can pass up a tile or twelve along the way to snatch exactly what they want. However, the quicker a player reaches the sarcophagus does not automatically make them the winner. No, they still need to reduce their soul spirit score to zero in order to win (or be closest by the time all players reach the final spot). Conversely, dilly-dallying along the River just picking up every available tile also will not guarantee a victory. Specializing in a select few items may be the ticket to a victory, or setting oneself to win a couple types and win runner-up on the remainder may be a great path to victory.
Unlike many other games with this lazy race mechanic, the player furthest back does NOT get to keep taking turns to catch up (I’m looking at you, Tokaido), but rather just means that player has many more options ahead of themselves than the other players have. This is very interesting to me, and definitely something worth exploring more. It makes for tough turns when players have to really crunch which options are best for them: take the tile right ahead of them, diversify vs bolster the collection, or hate block another player by taking what you know they need. Ahh, so beautiful are the choices given!
At the end of the day (and this review), Purple Phoenix Games gives this one an Obama-meme-where-he-is-drinking-a-beer-and-giving-a-thumbs-up 5 / 6. I would certainly not have purchased this game in its original form had I seen it in a game store. However, with the changes made to make it more pretty, I would have given it a chance. I am so very glad I have the opportunity to play this a lot, as I can see this getting to the table allllllll the time. It is right up my alley, and I place it high among other Knizia games. Long live King Toot!!
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated The Imposter Kings in Tabletop Games
May 1, 2021
If there is one thing that I love about board gaming, it’s strategy. Planning out and executing a long-term plan, only to have your opponents throw a wrench in it, thus forcing you to re-strategize on the spot? That’s my JAM. So when I heard about The Imposter Kings, I knew it was right up my alley. After getting to play it, did it live up to my expectations? Or is it an imposter that doesn’t hold up? Keep reading to find out!
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -L
The Imposter Kings is a card game for 2-4 players in which players are attempting to gain and maintain control of the throne, accumulating a total of 7 points to win the game. There are some slight rules variations between 2-, 3-, and 4-player games, but the overall gameplay is the same. This review will focus on the 2-player rules. To setup for the game, assemble the deck as described in the rules for your chosen player count. In a 2-player game, the deck is comprised of 18 cards. Each player is given a King card, and one player’s will be the True King. The True King merely determines the first player for the round. Shuffle the deck and deal 8 cards to each player. There will be 2 cards leftover, and those will go into the center of the play area, one face-up and one face-down. This lets the players know which card is not in either players hand, as well as a random unknown card in neither players’ hand. Each player will select a card from their hand to be their Successor, and will place it face-down next to their King, and they will also select one card from their hand to discard face-down. The game is now ready to begin!
On your turn, you will play any card from your hand to the Court (play area) that is of an equal or higher value than the card played previously. The last-played card to the Court is considered to be on the Throne. All cards in Imposter Kings are numbered 1-9, and each card has an associated special ability. Once you play a card to the Court, you may/must use the ability (if optional/mandatory). These special abilities can alter the Court and gameplay by Disgracing cards (flipping them face-down to ‘reset’ the number line), swapping cards with other players, playing a lower-numbered card on top of a higher number etc. The round continues in this fashion, with players alternating, until one player is no longer able to play a card to the Court. That player loses the round, and the winning player receives a number of points, depending on certain aspects. The deck is reshuffled, the True King is passed to the loser of the round, and a new round commences. The first player to reach 7 points is the ultimate winner!
That details the basics of the gameplay, but there are a few special things to keep in mind. Certain cards will force players to play a card to their Antechamber – face-up in front of them. If ever you have a card in your Antechamber at the beginning of a turn, you must play it to the Court, regardless of its value. This can be a good strategic way to trap your opponent into playing a specific card on their next turn! Sometimes a card will need to be Condemned – it is then placed face-down in front of you, and then removed from play on your next turn. Another good way to eat up an opponent’s turn! If you ever get to a point in the round when you are unable to play a card to the Court, you may choose to use your King power – it allows you to flip your King over to Disgrace the card currently on the Throne, and take your Successor into your hand (hopefully giving you a chance to keep playing in the round!). However, there is an Assassin card in the game!! If you have the Assassin, you can reveal it when your opponent decides to use their King – thus assassinating them and immediately winning the round. Lots of tricksy ways to make sure you end up on the Throne!
So all in all, how does The Imposter Kings hold up? Fairly well, actually. For being a simple and relatively fast card game, there is a lot of strategy required for success. You have to decide which cards/powers to use when, while also trying to deduce what your opponent has in their hand. Can you trap them and force the round to end? Or have they kept a dark horse in hand for just this situation? There is a lot more to The Imposter Kings than meets the eye, and that makes it a fun challenge. The first time I played this game, it reminded me of a similar game by ButtonShy titled Hierarchy. The concept and gameplay are similar, but the biggest difference is that The Imposter Kings can be played with 3 and 4 players. That adds another element of strategy/chaos to the game, as there are more cards to deduce, more opportunities for the Court to change between your turns, and just more strategy in general. Hierarchy is strictly a 2-player game, but The Imposter Kings allows you to play with more people. With higher player counts, new and unique cards are added to the starting deck, offering even more abilities and strategic options for play. The gameplay scales with player count, and that keeps it engaging.
Let me touch on components for a minute. This is a retail version of the game, and the production quality is very nice! The game comes in a nice small box, and the deck of cards is sturdy in hand. The artwork is interesting, the text is clear, and the cards are color-coded based on their value. The coloring really helps with quick visual identification of what cards are in play. The game also comes with some reference cards for the various abilities, and those were much appreciated. The rulebook had a couple of areas of ambiguity, but watching the videos on the BGG page for The Imposter Kings helped answer any questions I might have had. All in all, good production quality!
So as you can probably tell from this review, I generally like The Imposter Kings. The gameplay is strategic, engaging, and its 3-4 player variants offer some unique twists that the 2-player just cannot handle. This is a game that I can see myself bringing out when I have newer gamers at my table. The gameplay is simple, yet strategic, and it is not overwhelming to learn or play. It definitely makes players think, and even now I’m thinking about what strategy I might try next game. If you are looking for something relatively simple, yet surprisingly strategic, consider checking out The Imposter Kings. Purple Phoenix Games gives it a royal 8 / 12.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -L
The Imposter Kings is a card game for 2-4 players in which players are attempting to gain and maintain control of the throne, accumulating a total of 7 points to win the game. There are some slight rules variations between 2-, 3-, and 4-player games, but the overall gameplay is the same. This review will focus on the 2-player rules. To setup for the game, assemble the deck as described in the rules for your chosen player count. In a 2-player game, the deck is comprised of 18 cards. Each player is given a King card, and one player’s will be the True King. The True King merely determines the first player for the round. Shuffle the deck and deal 8 cards to each player. There will be 2 cards leftover, and those will go into the center of the play area, one face-up and one face-down. This lets the players know which card is not in either players hand, as well as a random unknown card in neither players’ hand. Each player will select a card from their hand to be their Successor, and will place it face-down next to their King, and they will also select one card from their hand to discard face-down. The game is now ready to begin!
On your turn, you will play any card from your hand to the Court (play area) that is of an equal or higher value than the card played previously. The last-played card to the Court is considered to be on the Throne. All cards in Imposter Kings are numbered 1-9, and each card has an associated special ability. Once you play a card to the Court, you may/must use the ability (if optional/mandatory). These special abilities can alter the Court and gameplay by Disgracing cards (flipping them face-down to ‘reset’ the number line), swapping cards with other players, playing a lower-numbered card on top of a higher number etc. The round continues in this fashion, with players alternating, until one player is no longer able to play a card to the Court. That player loses the round, and the winning player receives a number of points, depending on certain aspects. The deck is reshuffled, the True King is passed to the loser of the round, and a new round commences. The first player to reach 7 points is the ultimate winner!
That details the basics of the gameplay, but there are a few special things to keep in mind. Certain cards will force players to play a card to their Antechamber – face-up in front of them. If ever you have a card in your Antechamber at the beginning of a turn, you must play it to the Court, regardless of its value. This can be a good strategic way to trap your opponent into playing a specific card on their next turn! Sometimes a card will need to be Condemned – it is then placed face-down in front of you, and then removed from play on your next turn. Another good way to eat up an opponent’s turn! If you ever get to a point in the round when you are unable to play a card to the Court, you may choose to use your King power – it allows you to flip your King over to Disgrace the card currently on the Throne, and take your Successor into your hand (hopefully giving you a chance to keep playing in the round!). However, there is an Assassin card in the game!! If you have the Assassin, you can reveal it when your opponent decides to use their King – thus assassinating them and immediately winning the round. Lots of tricksy ways to make sure you end up on the Throne!
So all in all, how does The Imposter Kings hold up? Fairly well, actually. For being a simple and relatively fast card game, there is a lot of strategy required for success. You have to decide which cards/powers to use when, while also trying to deduce what your opponent has in their hand. Can you trap them and force the round to end? Or have they kept a dark horse in hand for just this situation? There is a lot more to The Imposter Kings than meets the eye, and that makes it a fun challenge. The first time I played this game, it reminded me of a similar game by ButtonShy titled Hierarchy. The concept and gameplay are similar, but the biggest difference is that The Imposter Kings can be played with 3 and 4 players. That adds another element of strategy/chaos to the game, as there are more cards to deduce, more opportunities for the Court to change between your turns, and just more strategy in general. Hierarchy is strictly a 2-player game, but The Imposter Kings allows you to play with more people. With higher player counts, new and unique cards are added to the starting deck, offering even more abilities and strategic options for play. The gameplay scales with player count, and that keeps it engaging.
Let me touch on components for a minute. This is a retail version of the game, and the production quality is very nice! The game comes in a nice small box, and the deck of cards is sturdy in hand. The artwork is interesting, the text is clear, and the cards are color-coded based on their value. The coloring really helps with quick visual identification of what cards are in play. The game also comes with some reference cards for the various abilities, and those were much appreciated. The rulebook had a couple of areas of ambiguity, but watching the videos on the BGG page for The Imposter Kings helped answer any questions I might have had. All in all, good production quality!
So as you can probably tell from this review, I generally like The Imposter Kings. The gameplay is strategic, engaging, and its 3-4 player variants offer some unique twists that the 2-player just cannot handle. This is a game that I can see myself bringing out when I have newer gamers at my table. The gameplay is simple, yet strategic, and it is not overwhelming to learn or play. It definitely makes players think, and even now I’m thinking about what strategy I might try next game. If you are looking for something relatively simple, yet surprisingly strategic, consider checking out The Imposter Kings. Purple Phoenix Games gives it a royal 8 / 12.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Fort in Tabletop Games
Jul 27, 2021
One activity my 5-year-old son will never tire of: building forts. Mostly pillow/blanket-based, but all I am doing is grooming him for an eventual treehouse fort of his own in the backyard someday. What an excellent theme for a game, and when I had a chance to speak with Brooke from Leder Games about reviewing this one, I absolutely jumped for joy for the opportunity. No guessing whether we like a game here at Purple Phoenix Games – we put our ratings right on the first graphic of every review, so you know already that I love Fort. Let’s see why.
Fort is a hand management, deck-building game with a follow mechanic for two to four players. In it, players are assuming the roles of everyday kids trying to build their forts, play with their toys, and eat pizza with their buddies. The winner of the game is they who is able to score the most victory points (VP) at the end of the game, which can end in one of three different fashions.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
To setup, each player chooses a player color and takes all items belonging to them, including the Best Friends cards from the stack. Every other component is then separated by type and cards shuffled. Per the rules, some decks of cards will only have a certain amount on the table, whereas the main deck of kid cards is always used. Each player will draw eight kid cards from the deck to add to their Best Friends and shuffle them. They will also place their score markers on the 0 space of the Victory Track board. Randomly determine the starting player and give them the coveted First Player card, and the game may now begin!
Fort is played in turns, with each turn consisting of five phases (the first phase is skipped on the first turn). The first phase is Cleanup. To Cleanup, the active player takes all kid cards remaining in their Yard and places them in their own discard pile. Next, the active player will Play a kid card from their hand. On each card is a space for up to two actions to be taken: the public action on top and the private action on bottom. The player may complete both, but MUST complete at least one of the actions in its entirety. If using the public action of the card, then other players at the table may also follow the action by discarding one card of the matching suit of the card originally played. However, the leader (active player) may also play additional cards from their hand, of the same suit, in order to boost the effects of the actions. Followers may not. These actions include gaining “stuff” (pizza and toys) to be placed in their Stuff area or backpack, trashing cards in their hands, or gaining VP.
After the players have Played cards, the next phase is Recruit. The active player may choose any kid card that exists in the Park (the space underneath the Victory Track that is always full of kids), another player’s Yard (the space above the player’s main board that they neglected to play with their previous turn), or they may simply draw a kid card blindly from the Park deck. These kids are sent directly to the discard pile to be drawn on a later turn.
Finally, phases four and five end a player’s turn. Phase four is Discard, where the active player will discard all their Best Friends, kid cards they played this turn, and recruited kids. The kid cards leftover that were not used are sent to the player’s Yard above their main boards to possibly be stolen by another player during their Recruit phase. After Discarding, the final phase is Draw, where the active player will draw another hand of five cards to prepare to follow other players and to prepare for the next round. Fort continues in this fashion of each player taking turns and following others’ actions until one player earns 25 VP on the track, any player increases their Fort to level 5, or the Park deck becomes empty. All players will finish their turns so that they all have played an equal amount of turns, and then the players total their scores to crown the winner!
Components. This game has super great components. The little pizza and toys bits are awesome, the double-layered boards are cool, and the art is amazing as well. If it looks familiar in style, it’s because you have seen this art on Root, Oath, and Vast, among others. I love it so much and it is a perfect match for this theme. I really have little negative to say about Fort except that I wish the player colors were different. The orange and yellow are a little close in hue, and the brownish/olive is drab. Everything else, though, *chef’s kiss.
It is probably no surprise why I love this one. Deck-building has long been one of my favorite mechanics, and I have always enjoyed the follow mechanic found in Tiny Epic Galaxies and Villages of Valeria. Mix those up with much more going on and an excellent theme and it’s definitely a big time winner for me. I think what puts me over the edge here is that cards can be used for a couple different actions, and they can be boosted with the right strategies. Get your deck in order to really maximize each turn and the game opens up for you. Several times I have been able to focus my deck and really pound some powerful abilities, but it certainly doesn’t always work out for me, especially when others catch on to what I am doing and hate-draft me into other tactics.
If you are into a fresh new look at deck-building and enjoy more wacky themes, as I do, then I urge you to check out Fort. Officially, Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a playful 5 / 6, but even though it probably won’t break into my Top 10, I do think it will come to the table more often than most games in my Top 10. So should I reconsider my Top 10? Hmm. Anyway, Fort is awesome and everyone I have played with seem to agree with me. So grab a copy or two for yourself. Heck, the gift-giving season is fast approaching, and I know these fit very well under trees and other significant symbols of festivities…
Fort is a hand management, deck-building game with a follow mechanic for two to four players. In it, players are assuming the roles of everyday kids trying to build their forts, play with their toys, and eat pizza with their buddies. The winner of the game is they who is able to score the most victory points (VP) at the end of the game, which can end in one of three different fashions.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
To setup, each player chooses a player color and takes all items belonging to them, including the Best Friends cards from the stack. Every other component is then separated by type and cards shuffled. Per the rules, some decks of cards will only have a certain amount on the table, whereas the main deck of kid cards is always used. Each player will draw eight kid cards from the deck to add to their Best Friends and shuffle them. They will also place their score markers on the 0 space of the Victory Track board. Randomly determine the starting player and give them the coveted First Player card, and the game may now begin!
Fort is played in turns, with each turn consisting of five phases (the first phase is skipped on the first turn). The first phase is Cleanup. To Cleanup, the active player takes all kid cards remaining in their Yard and places them in their own discard pile. Next, the active player will Play a kid card from their hand. On each card is a space for up to two actions to be taken: the public action on top and the private action on bottom. The player may complete both, but MUST complete at least one of the actions in its entirety. If using the public action of the card, then other players at the table may also follow the action by discarding one card of the matching suit of the card originally played. However, the leader (active player) may also play additional cards from their hand, of the same suit, in order to boost the effects of the actions. Followers may not. These actions include gaining “stuff” (pizza and toys) to be placed in their Stuff area or backpack, trashing cards in their hands, or gaining VP.
After the players have Played cards, the next phase is Recruit. The active player may choose any kid card that exists in the Park (the space underneath the Victory Track that is always full of kids), another player’s Yard (the space above the player’s main board that they neglected to play with their previous turn), or they may simply draw a kid card blindly from the Park deck. These kids are sent directly to the discard pile to be drawn on a later turn.
Finally, phases four and five end a player’s turn. Phase four is Discard, where the active player will discard all their Best Friends, kid cards they played this turn, and recruited kids. The kid cards leftover that were not used are sent to the player’s Yard above their main boards to possibly be stolen by another player during their Recruit phase. After Discarding, the final phase is Draw, where the active player will draw another hand of five cards to prepare to follow other players and to prepare for the next round. Fort continues in this fashion of each player taking turns and following others’ actions until one player earns 25 VP on the track, any player increases their Fort to level 5, or the Park deck becomes empty. All players will finish their turns so that they all have played an equal amount of turns, and then the players total their scores to crown the winner!
Components. This game has super great components. The little pizza and toys bits are awesome, the double-layered boards are cool, and the art is amazing as well. If it looks familiar in style, it’s because you have seen this art on Root, Oath, and Vast, among others. I love it so much and it is a perfect match for this theme. I really have little negative to say about Fort except that I wish the player colors were different. The orange and yellow are a little close in hue, and the brownish/olive is drab. Everything else, though, *chef’s kiss.
It is probably no surprise why I love this one. Deck-building has long been one of my favorite mechanics, and I have always enjoyed the follow mechanic found in Tiny Epic Galaxies and Villages of Valeria. Mix those up with much more going on and an excellent theme and it’s definitely a big time winner for me. I think what puts me over the edge here is that cards can be used for a couple different actions, and they can be boosted with the right strategies. Get your deck in order to really maximize each turn and the game opens up for you. Several times I have been able to focus my deck and really pound some powerful abilities, but it certainly doesn’t always work out for me, especially when others catch on to what I am doing and hate-draft me into other tactics.
If you are into a fresh new look at deck-building and enjoy more wacky themes, as I do, then I urge you to check out Fort. Officially, Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a playful 5 / 6, but even though it probably won’t break into my Top 10, I do think it will come to the table more often than most games in my Top 10. So should I reconsider my Top 10? Hmm. Anyway, Fort is awesome and everyone I have played with seem to agree with me. So grab a copy or two for yourself. Heck, the gift-giving season is fast approaching, and I know these fit very well under trees and other significant symbols of festivities…
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Dreams of Tomorrow in Tabletop Games
Sep 17, 2020
Let’s talk about dreams. They can range from simply reliving a stressful day at work, to remembering THAT embarrassing moment from your past, to maybe even discovering that you have superpowers. In your dreams, there are endless possibilities – but what if they meant something more? According to Dreams of Tomorrow, our dreams actually serve a bigger purpose!
Dreams of Tomorrow is game of set collection that utilizes a shifting rondel (I had to look up the definition too) in which players are working to weave a series of dreams into a complete Dream Sequence. Set in the future, players take on the roles of Dream Engineers, who are tasked with creating Dream Sequences to be sent to the past in an effort to save the future. Can you weave the most powerful Dream Sequence to alter the path of your present life, or is the future doomed to fall?
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -L
To setup the game, place the Collective Consciousness (the rondel) in numerical order within reach of all players. Reveal a number of Dream cards from the Dream deck, based on the number of players, and these cards will create the communal Dreamscape. Each player receives a player card, cubes, and meeple in their chosen color, and sets their resources to the starting numbers, as described in the rulebook. All players begin with their meeples in the first space of the rondel, and in clockwise order, will select and pay for a Dream from the Dreamscape to be placed in their Dream Catcher (waiting area). Once all players have selected a Dream, and adjusted their resources accordingly, the game is ready to begin.
Dreams of Tomorrow is played over a series of rounds in which players will take turns performing 2 actions: Move and Take Action. Movement happens sequentially around the rondel, and players may choose how many spaces to move. To move 1-3 spaces is free, but to move more than 3 spaces will cost a number of resources. When a player decides to end their movement, they will then take the action indicated on the space on which they landed. These actions include: Gaining resources, Catching a Dream, Weaving a Dream, or Activating a Dream Ability. Gaining resources is pretty self-explanatory, and there is one neat thing to note: even if it is not your active turn, most of the rondel spaces have a Shared Effect, which grants an off-turn action to all non-active players. Catching a Dream means that you pay the requisite resources and select a Dream from the Dreamscape. Any caught Dreams go into your Dream Catcher until you are able to perform the Weave a Dream action. When you Weave a Dream, you again pay the requisite resources displayed on the Dream card and move the Dream from your Dream Catcher into your Dream Sequence (play area). To Activate a Dream Ability, you select a Dream card in your tableau, and use the ability printed on it. It is important to note that once Dreams are woven into your Dream Sequence, they will overlap each other, and only one Dream Ability will ever be available for use, so create that sequence wisely! Play continues in turns until one player has woven a Dream Sequence of five Dreams total. The round ends once all players have taken the same number of turns, and then final points are counted. The player with the highest score is the winner!
So all-in-all, how is Dreams of Tomorrow as a whole? I actually was very surprised at how much I enjoyed this game. When reading through the rules, it seemed kind of complicated and I was a bit worried before my first play. Once you actually get playing, however, the game is pretty intuitive and simple to play. One thing I particularly enjoyed about this game is its iconography. With only three resources and four actions, there are only seven icons of which to keep track. It keeps the cards from being cluttered with text, and makes the costs/abilities clear to understand. The iconography of the Dream Abilities, however, can be a liiiittle more complicated, but the game does come with Reference Cards which explain what every single icon means!
Another neat thing I enjoyed about this gameplay is the addition of Shared Effects. Even if you are not the active player, you will always gain some resource on everyone else’s turn. That adds an extra element of strategy because you have to amass your own resources for Dreams, but you have to be careful not to be giving your opponents too much extra help for themselves! Probably my favorite part of Dreams of Tomorrow are the actual Dream Abilities themselves. Performing the regular turn actions are pretty straight-forward, but Dream Abilities are more special and allow you to do even more on your turn. For example, some Dream Abilities allow you to change directions, move extra spaces, or even alter the Collective Consciousness, re-arranging the cards in a way to benefit you and hopefully hinder your opponents. The Dream Abilities are literal game-changers, and they really keep all players on their toes.
Talking about components, this game is of a pretty good quality. The cards are nice and sturdy, the player boards are decent, and the meeples and cubes are your standard wooden tokens. I’ve said in reviews before, but I always appreciate when games include Reference Cards for players, and Dreams of Tomorrow certainly delivered on theirs. The cards are clear, concise, and helpful during play. The artwork of this game is very vibrantly colorful and just plain pretty to look at. I found myself getting distracted by admiring the artwork, or catching Dreams based on their artwork, instead of taking their point-values or resources requirements into consideration. Oops. That’s just my bad, but the artwork really helps make the game more immersive.
Overall, I would say that Dreams of Tomorrow is a great little game. Admittedly, the rulebook is kind of daunting and seems a little overly complicated at first, but once you get into an actual game, it flows very quickly and easily. After just one turn, I got exactly what was happening and had no further questions about the gameplay. It really went above and beyond my expectations, and is one that I definitely look forward to bringing out in future game nights. Purple Phoenix Games gives it a dreamy 10 / 12. Check this one out if you haven’t before, it may just be the game of your dreams. (Ha, get it?)
Dreams of Tomorrow is game of set collection that utilizes a shifting rondel (I had to look up the definition too) in which players are working to weave a series of dreams into a complete Dream Sequence. Set in the future, players take on the roles of Dream Engineers, who are tasked with creating Dream Sequences to be sent to the past in an effort to save the future. Can you weave the most powerful Dream Sequence to alter the path of your present life, or is the future doomed to fall?
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -L
To setup the game, place the Collective Consciousness (the rondel) in numerical order within reach of all players. Reveal a number of Dream cards from the Dream deck, based on the number of players, and these cards will create the communal Dreamscape. Each player receives a player card, cubes, and meeple in their chosen color, and sets their resources to the starting numbers, as described in the rulebook. All players begin with their meeples in the first space of the rondel, and in clockwise order, will select and pay for a Dream from the Dreamscape to be placed in their Dream Catcher (waiting area). Once all players have selected a Dream, and adjusted their resources accordingly, the game is ready to begin.
Dreams of Tomorrow is played over a series of rounds in which players will take turns performing 2 actions: Move and Take Action. Movement happens sequentially around the rondel, and players may choose how many spaces to move. To move 1-3 spaces is free, but to move more than 3 spaces will cost a number of resources. When a player decides to end their movement, they will then take the action indicated on the space on which they landed. These actions include: Gaining resources, Catching a Dream, Weaving a Dream, or Activating a Dream Ability. Gaining resources is pretty self-explanatory, and there is one neat thing to note: even if it is not your active turn, most of the rondel spaces have a Shared Effect, which grants an off-turn action to all non-active players. Catching a Dream means that you pay the requisite resources and select a Dream from the Dreamscape. Any caught Dreams go into your Dream Catcher until you are able to perform the Weave a Dream action. When you Weave a Dream, you again pay the requisite resources displayed on the Dream card and move the Dream from your Dream Catcher into your Dream Sequence (play area). To Activate a Dream Ability, you select a Dream card in your tableau, and use the ability printed on it. It is important to note that once Dreams are woven into your Dream Sequence, they will overlap each other, and only one Dream Ability will ever be available for use, so create that sequence wisely! Play continues in turns until one player has woven a Dream Sequence of five Dreams total. The round ends once all players have taken the same number of turns, and then final points are counted. The player with the highest score is the winner!
So all-in-all, how is Dreams of Tomorrow as a whole? I actually was very surprised at how much I enjoyed this game. When reading through the rules, it seemed kind of complicated and I was a bit worried before my first play. Once you actually get playing, however, the game is pretty intuitive and simple to play. One thing I particularly enjoyed about this game is its iconography. With only three resources and four actions, there are only seven icons of which to keep track. It keeps the cards from being cluttered with text, and makes the costs/abilities clear to understand. The iconography of the Dream Abilities, however, can be a liiiittle more complicated, but the game does come with Reference Cards which explain what every single icon means!
Another neat thing I enjoyed about this gameplay is the addition of Shared Effects. Even if you are not the active player, you will always gain some resource on everyone else’s turn. That adds an extra element of strategy because you have to amass your own resources for Dreams, but you have to be careful not to be giving your opponents too much extra help for themselves! Probably my favorite part of Dreams of Tomorrow are the actual Dream Abilities themselves. Performing the regular turn actions are pretty straight-forward, but Dream Abilities are more special and allow you to do even more on your turn. For example, some Dream Abilities allow you to change directions, move extra spaces, or even alter the Collective Consciousness, re-arranging the cards in a way to benefit you and hopefully hinder your opponents. The Dream Abilities are literal game-changers, and they really keep all players on their toes.
Talking about components, this game is of a pretty good quality. The cards are nice and sturdy, the player boards are decent, and the meeples and cubes are your standard wooden tokens. I’ve said in reviews before, but I always appreciate when games include Reference Cards for players, and Dreams of Tomorrow certainly delivered on theirs. The cards are clear, concise, and helpful during play. The artwork of this game is very vibrantly colorful and just plain pretty to look at. I found myself getting distracted by admiring the artwork, or catching Dreams based on their artwork, instead of taking their point-values or resources requirements into consideration. Oops. That’s just my bad, but the artwork really helps make the game more immersive.
Overall, I would say that Dreams of Tomorrow is a great little game. Admittedly, the rulebook is kind of daunting and seems a little overly complicated at first, but once you get into an actual game, it flows very quickly and easily. After just one turn, I got exactly what was happening and had no further questions about the gameplay. It really went above and beyond my expectations, and is one that I definitely look forward to bringing out in future game nights. Purple Phoenix Games gives it a dreamy 10 / 12. Check this one out if you haven’t before, it may just be the game of your dreams. (Ha, get it?)
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Vendarla in Tabletop Games
Oct 6, 2020
The kobolds and dragons have taken over the mountain that once belonged to the noble dwarves in this land. The Queen has decided it’s time to take it back. She needs as many fine-crafted armory items as possible using the materials found in the mountain, but she will be pleased with the first craftsperson to finish three of them for her army. Are you prepared to brave the mountain’s dangers in order to secure the materials needed to craft her required items, or will the dragons and kobolds prove too difficult for you to overcome? This is Vendarla.
Vendarla is a press-your-luck, hand management, set collection card game where players are working against one another to collect the proper materials to craft three Queen’s Armory items while avoiding kobold warriors and thieves, as well as several dragons guarding the mountain.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and the final components may be different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, as there are just too many. You are invited to back the game through the upcoming Kickstarter campaign, order from your FLGS, or purchase through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T
To setup, follow the rulebook advice for your number of players, but generally Vendarla will be setup on the table in different areas: the Market, the Mountain, the Queen’s Armory, and the gold stash. Each player will receive five gold, and their choice of either two or three (depending on play count) Queen’s Armory items to begin working on during the game. Determine first player by giving the dragon token, shown below, to the player who most recently watched a dragon movie and the game is ready to begin!
On their turn a player will choose whether to visit the Market or the Mountain. When a player visits the Market, they may choose to purchase any previously sold materials, sell their own materials, purchase items for use in mountain runs, or exchange Queen’s Armory item cards.
Should the player instead wish to visit the Mountain, they will flip over a mountain card from the giant stack of mountain cards and decide how to continue. If a material card was flipped, the player may choose to take that card or continue flipping cards. This action can be replicated until up to 10 cards have been flipped. The active player will then need to choose a card (or two if they have a Backpack equipped) to place face-up in their play area. Each other player at the table, in player order, will then be allowed to take a material or gold card from the flipped offering by paying the active player one gold.
Should the active player flip over a second kobold warrior for the turn, they must stop flipping unless they had previously purchased from the market a kobold repellent or Ironsides (dwarven warrior) to combat it. If the kobold warrior, or the kobold thief for that matter, is overcome by ANY player then the active player may continue flipping cards from the mountain. Should the player flip a dragon card over, they may use a previously purchased Dragon Charm to charm the dragon back to sleep or taking the dragon card into their play area and suffering a negative 10 points at game end.
Play continues in this fashion of active player visiting the Market to take actions for themselves only, or visiting the Mountain to excavate materials to be used to craft their Queen’s Armory items and opponents also being able to follow the action using their flipped materials. Once a player has the proper materials to craft their Queen’s Armory items on their turn, they may, and the player who crafts their third item will trigger the end of the game. Players will finish the turn, count up their points and a winner will be declared!
Components. Again, this is a prototype copy of the game, so what we were provided may or may not be the same as the final version of the game. That said, this game is a ton of cards, and some gold coins. The card are fine quality, but I would probably want to sleeve them, as they are handled a bit and are a little thin. The gold coins are thick cardboard and look great. Speaking of looking great, the art in Vendarla is really really good. I love the art style used and the colors are vibrant and lovely. Though I had no problems with the iconography, my wife did a few times. Luckily, handy reference cards are included and that solved any questions we had with iconography. All in all the components are good, and the game looks great.
The “flip cards until you have to stop, choose to stop, or flip over something bad” is a mechanic that is used in many games, and in Vendarla I truly enjoy it because for every “bad” card another card may be able to neutralize it. And the best part about that is the neutralizing card can come from ANY player. Why would someone want to lull the dragon back to sleep on someone else’s turn? Well perhaps a material was flipped that they need to complete an item craft and they want to make sure they have a chance to get it for one measly coin. I love that. I also love games that include ways for other players to be involved in each turn taken. This isn’t a “multiplayer solitaire” game. Yeah you could go to the restroom during other players’ turns, but you may miss out on that elusive gem you need for your items.
I found that playing this I had to find a good balance between keeping my Market items stocked and going to the Mountain to grab materials. There may be several turns in a row, especially in the beginning of the game, where your turns are just flipping over a kobold warrior for which you are unprepared to handle and forfeiting your turn, but as the game progresses you will be hopefully be outfitting yourself appropriately.
While this game seems very involved and you may think there are many tiny rules when reading the rulebook, it plays really quickly. In my two-player games with my wife the games were 30 minutes or less, INCLUDING the teach the first time.
So even though I have a prototype copy of the game, I will certainly be holding onto this one and pulling it out quite a bit. When you can get a great play experience out of 30 minutes and feel like you did something interesting, I feel that’s a sign of a great game. If you are looking for a game that fills a hole in your collection (or even want to replace Port Royal, as I did), please check out the Kickstarter campaign for Vendarla launching October 27, 2020. If you like fantasy themed card games with press your luck and set collection, this one is for you!
Vendarla is a press-your-luck, hand management, set collection card game where players are working against one another to collect the proper materials to craft three Queen’s Armory items while avoiding kobold warriors and thieves, as well as several dragons guarding the mountain.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and the final components may be different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, as there are just too many. You are invited to back the game through the upcoming Kickstarter campaign, order from your FLGS, or purchase through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T
To setup, follow the rulebook advice for your number of players, but generally Vendarla will be setup on the table in different areas: the Market, the Mountain, the Queen’s Armory, and the gold stash. Each player will receive five gold, and their choice of either two or three (depending on play count) Queen’s Armory items to begin working on during the game. Determine first player by giving the dragon token, shown below, to the player who most recently watched a dragon movie and the game is ready to begin!
On their turn a player will choose whether to visit the Market or the Mountain. When a player visits the Market, they may choose to purchase any previously sold materials, sell their own materials, purchase items for use in mountain runs, or exchange Queen’s Armory item cards.
Should the player instead wish to visit the Mountain, they will flip over a mountain card from the giant stack of mountain cards and decide how to continue. If a material card was flipped, the player may choose to take that card or continue flipping cards. This action can be replicated until up to 10 cards have been flipped. The active player will then need to choose a card (or two if they have a Backpack equipped) to place face-up in their play area. Each other player at the table, in player order, will then be allowed to take a material or gold card from the flipped offering by paying the active player one gold.
Should the active player flip over a second kobold warrior for the turn, they must stop flipping unless they had previously purchased from the market a kobold repellent or Ironsides (dwarven warrior) to combat it. If the kobold warrior, or the kobold thief for that matter, is overcome by ANY player then the active player may continue flipping cards from the mountain. Should the player flip a dragon card over, they may use a previously purchased Dragon Charm to charm the dragon back to sleep or taking the dragon card into their play area and suffering a negative 10 points at game end.
Play continues in this fashion of active player visiting the Market to take actions for themselves only, or visiting the Mountain to excavate materials to be used to craft their Queen’s Armory items and opponents also being able to follow the action using their flipped materials. Once a player has the proper materials to craft their Queen’s Armory items on their turn, they may, and the player who crafts their third item will trigger the end of the game. Players will finish the turn, count up their points and a winner will be declared!
Components. Again, this is a prototype copy of the game, so what we were provided may or may not be the same as the final version of the game. That said, this game is a ton of cards, and some gold coins. The card are fine quality, but I would probably want to sleeve them, as they are handled a bit and are a little thin. The gold coins are thick cardboard and look great. Speaking of looking great, the art in Vendarla is really really good. I love the art style used and the colors are vibrant and lovely. Though I had no problems with the iconography, my wife did a few times. Luckily, handy reference cards are included and that solved any questions we had with iconography. All in all the components are good, and the game looks great.
The “flip cards until you have to stop, choose to stop, or flip over something bad” is a mechanic that is used in many games, and in Vendarla I truly enjoy it because for every “bad” card another card may be able to neutralize it. And the best part about that is the neutralizing card can come from ANY player. Why would someone want to lull the dragon back to sleep on someone else’s turn? Well perhaps a material was flipped that they need to complete an item craft and they want to make sure they have a chance to get it for one measly coin. I love that. I also love games that include ways for other players to be involved in each turn taken. This isn’t a “multiplayer solitaire” game. Yeah you could go to the restroom during other players’ turns, but you may miss out on that elusive gem you need for your items.
I found that playing this I had to find a good balance between keeping my Market items stocked and going to the Mountain to grab materials. There may be several turns in a row, especially in the beginning of the game, where your turns are just flipping over a kobold warrior for which you are unprepared to handle and forfeiting your turn, but as the game progresses you will be hopefully be outfitting yourself appropriately.
While this game seems very involved and you may think there are many tiny rules when reading the rulebook, it plays really quickly. In my two-player games with my wife the games were 30 minutes or less, INCLUDING the teach the first time.
So even though I have a prototype copy of the game, I will certainly be holding onto this one and pulling it out quite a bit. When you can get a great play experience out of 30 minutes and feel like you did something interesting, I feel that’s a sign of a great game. If you are looking for a game that fills a hole in your collection (or even want to replace Port Royal, as I did), please check out the Kickstarter campaign for Vendarla launching October 27, 2020. If you like fantasy themed card games with press your luck and set collection, this one is for you!
It’s about 6 weeks since I finished season 3 of this incredible show from Netflix. I have been putting off writing about it, because I wanted to let it settle. And also because I have a hell of a lot to say about it. I am gonna try and be comprehensive, without giving too much away in terms of spoilers. I am going to assume you have seen some of it, or have heard the hype, at least. If you haven’t got around to it yet, then all I can say is: what are you doing with your entertainment life? Get on it, now! It is as ubiquitous as Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, or The Wire, and sits comfortably in that group for consistent quality and lasting impressions.
Season one first aired in July 2017. I heard good things very quickly, albeit with some hesitation. It was dark, sometimes literally, utilising a trademark washed-out effect visually, that instantly gave it a bleak feel, which was not to everyone’s taste, but I loved. General consensus had it that the writing was great; the situation and concept drew you in from minute one. In fact, I believe the first episode is one of the best pilots seen in the last decade, bar none. It made no bones about what we were to expect from the start: intelligent dialogue, a lot of tension and a hefty chunk of jaw-dropping brutality.
Jason Bateman has enjoyed a remarkable career in the last ten years, putting behind him a patchy child-star and B actor tag, to emerge as the go to guy for deadpan comedy pathos, rivalled only, perhaps by Paul Rudd. Ozark is Bateman’s show in many regards, fulfilling his ambition to produce and direct as well as act, and he is a superb central pivot to the show, as hard nosed accountant turned drug cartel puppet, Marty Byrde. He excels in all three roles on every level, and if you are a fan of his lighter work, chances are you will fall head over heels for his dubious charm in Ozark.
But, whilst he is the lynchpin of the show, and a compelling character in every subtley drawn way, there is so much more to the show than him. Laura Linney, as his initially timid wife, Wendy, is never less than interesting. Perfectly cast, utilising her skill for portraying strong yet flawed women at every turn; she grows into a character so full of contradictions and conflicts, that you change your mind whether you like her or not almost episode to episode. Time will tell, but she may yet emerge in season 4 as the most fully realised character in the show, depending on how her arc ends. The potential is huge, and despite a CV of solid roles over the years, this could be the defining work of her career. It’s already close.
Then there are the kids in this very modern nuclear family, Charlotte and Jonah, played by Sofia Hublitz and Skylar Gaetner. These characters could have been set decoration in lesser hands, but in this show they are given the chance to grow and become pivotal to the ongoing story in remarkable ways. There is nothing stereotypical about either of them, and the two young actors more than rise to the challenge of matching the more experienced pros. Many a show has been ruined by miscast youths that can’t match the more sophisticated adult content, but I remain impressed by these two, both as characters and actors. Again, they have the scope to go into very fascinating places within the story when season four emerges.
The true strength of the show, however, may lie in its consistently solid output of great supporting characters. Julia Gartner, as older than her years redneck with ambitions to rise above it, Ruth, has garnered all the plaudits, quite rightly. You grow to like her in usual ways. At first mistrusting her and then ended up 100% on her side. At times, she is the only one making sense and making the right decisions. The continual ways she is forced to grow up fast and bounce back from traumatic situations is so beautifully handled, that when she does show her vulnerable side it is at once shocking and heart- rending.
A lot of characters come and go; some forever, much quicker than you anticipated… for the sake of non spoilers, I won’t go into a who’s who here, but many meet a very sticky end, and it isn’t always who you think it will be. Especially by season 3, which largely drops the dark filter on the camera lens, but cranks up the body count exponentially, you start to feel that no one is safe, and anyone can go at any minute. Except, when they do, and why they do, is so well interwoven into the plot that you forget to look for the sucker punch and are still left with your jaw hitting the floor.
There were moments on season three where I was actually talking to the screen, begging certain characters not to do what they were doing; a sure sign of complete emotional investment. A big part of that was the addition of Tom Pelphrey as Wendy’s brother, who from the start puts a genius new spin on the family dynamic, becoming intertwined in interesting and ultimately devastating ways. His character takes a while to warm up, but by mid-season he is guaranteed to be your favourite person in it. And in episode 9, he delivers a monologue and a performance that I would quite honestly say is one of the absolute best things I’ve ever seen in a TV show.
I was moderately outraged then, to see he wasn’t rewarded with at least a nomination for the 2020 Emmy Awards. An oversight rather than a snub, for sure, but when Bateman, Linney and Garner all got nominated and he didn’t it felt like a real injustice, and a lot of online vitriol reflected that. Such a shame, especially if it turns out to be the best work he ever does – and I can’t imagine anything better, but who knows where he will go from here.
By the end of season 3 I felt exhausted. Each episode is slightly over an hour long, but can feel like you just watched a self contained movie. The quality certainly feels that way. I was both elated and shocked by the way it was left on a cliff edge, and relieved that I could take a break from it now. Although, waiting potentially up to two years to see how the story ends now seems like a long wait.
And it will be the end, one way or another, as the production announced season four will be the last, however stretching from 10 to 14 episodes, divided into 2 halves of 7; a trick Breaking Bad also did in its fifth and final season. I love that idea. Knowing the finish line is coming, rather than having it stretch out for years until the ideas and the momentum have long run out. Dexter springs to mind: a show that should have ended two seasons earlier, for sure.
I can really only see two ways it can go from here: either everyone dies, and that seems quite likely right now, or they win big. There simply is no inbetween I can imagine that would be satisfying. And I’m on the fence which I will prefer… The only certainty is that I will be very excited indeed when it comes around. And shows that make you feel that way are rare. In the meantime, I’m gonna watch a lot of comedies. I need a laugh after this…
Season one first aired in July 2017. I heard good things very quickly, albeit with some hesitation. It was dark, sometimes literally, utilising a trademark washed-out effect visually, that instantly gave it a bleak feel, which was not to everyone’s taste, but I loved. General consensus had it that the writing was great; the situation and concept drew you in from minute one. In fact, I believe the first episode is one of the best pilots seen in the last decade, bar none. It made no bones about what we were to expect from the start: intelligent dialogue, a lot of tension and a hefty chunk of jaw-dropping brutality.
Jason Bateman has enjoyed a remarkable career in the last ten years, putting behind him a patchy child-star and B actor tag, to emerge as the go to guy for deadpan comedy pathos, rivalled only, perhaps by Paul Rudd. Ozark is Bateman’s show in many regards, fulfilling his ambition to produce and direct as well as act, and he is a superb central pivot to the show, as hard nosed accountant turned drug cartel puppet, Marty Byrde. He excels in all three roles on every level, and if you are a fan of his lighter work, chances are you will fall head over heels for his dubious charm in Ozark.
But, whilst he is the lynchpin of the show, and a compelling character in every subtley drawn way, there is so much more to the show than him. Laura Linney, as his initially timid wife, Wendy, is never less than interesting. Perfectly cast, utilising her skill for portraying strong yet flawed women at every turn; she grows into a character so full of contradictions and conflicts, that you change your mind whether you like her or not almost episode to episode. Time will tell, but she may yet emerge in season 4 as the most fully realised character in the show, depending on how her arc ends. The potential is huge, and despite a CV of solid roles over the years, this could be the defining work of her career. It’s already close.
Then there are the kids in this very modern nuclear family, Charlotte and Jonah, played by Sofia Hublitz and Skylar Gaetner. These characters could have been set decoration in lesser hands, but in this show they are given the chance to grow and become pivotal to the ongoing story in remarkable ways. There is nothing stereotypical about either of them, and the two young actors more than rise to the challenge of matching the more experienced pros. Many a show has been ruined by miscast youths that can’t match the more sophisticated adult content, but I remain impressed by these two, both as characters and actors. Again, they have the scope to go into very fascinating places within the story when season four emerges.
The true strength of the show, however, may lie in its consistently solid output of great supporting characters. Julia Gartner, as older than her years redneck with ambitions to rise above it, Ruth, has garnered all the plaudits, quite rightly. You grow to like her in usual ways. At first mistrusting her and then ended up 100% on her side. At times, she is the only one making sense and making the right decisions. The continual ways she is forced to grow up fast and bounce back from traumatic situations is so beautifully handled, that when she does show her vulnerable side it is at once shocking and heart- rending.
A lot of characters come and go; some forever, much quicker than you anticipated… for the sake of non spoilers, I won’t go into a who’s who here, but many meet a very sticky end, and it isn’t always who you think it will be. Especially by season 3, which largely drops the dark filter on the camera lens, but cranks up the body count exponentially, you start to feel that no one is safe, and anyone can go at any minute. Except, when they do, and why they do, is so well interwoven into the plot that you forget to look for the sucker punch and are still left with your jaw hitting the floor.
There were moments on season three where I was actually talking to the screen, begging certain characters not to do what they were doing; a sure sign of complete emotional investment. A big part of that was the addition of Tom Pelphrey as Wendy’s brother, who from the start puts a genius new spin on the family dynamic, becoming intertwined in interesting and ultimately devastating ways. His character takes a while to warm up, but by mid-season he is guaranteed to be your favourite person in it. And in episode 9, he delivers a monologue and a performance that I would quite honestly say is one of the absolute best things I’ve ever seen in a TV show.
I was moderately outraged then, to see he wasn’t rewarded with at least a nomination for the 2020 Emmy Awards. An oversight rather than a snub, for sure, but when Bateman, Linney and Garner all got nominated and he didn’t it felt like a real injustice, and a lot of online vitriol reflected that. Such a shame, especially if it turns out to be the best work he ever does – and I can’t imagine anything better, but who knows where he will go from here.
By the end of season 3 I felt exhausted. Each episode is slightly over an hour long, but can feel like you just watched a self contained movie. The quality certainly feels that way. I was both elated and shocked by the way it was left on a cliff edge, and relieved that I could take a break from it now. Although, waiting potentially up to two years to see how the story ends now seems like a long wait.
And it will be the end, one way or another, as the production announced season four will be the last, however stretching from 10 to 14 episodes, divided into 2 halves of 7; a trick Breaking Bad also did in its fifth and final season. I love that idea. Knowing the finish line is coming, rather than having it stretch out for years until the ideas and the momentum have long run out. Dexter springs to mind: a show that should have ended two seasons earlier, for sure.
I can really only see two ways it can go from here: either everyone dies, and that seems quite likely right now, or they win big. There simply is no inbetween I can imagine that would be satisfying. And I’m on the fence which I will prefer… The only certainty is that I will be very excited indeed when it comes around. And shows that make you feel that way are rare. In the meantime, I’m gonna watch a lot of comedies. I need a laugh after this…
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Artemis Fowl (2020) in Movies
Jun 13, 2020
Disney: "We're making a film of Artemis Fowl!"
Me: *wildly switches from happiness to devastation about the possibilities*
Artemis Fowl's father, Artemis Fowl Snr., has gone missing, the media is portraying him as a criminal and calling for answers. Shocked and confused by what's happening Artemis Jnr. receives a phone call from his father's kidnapper and must hand over an item to secure his release. But he's no idea what the item is, or where, he's about to learn a great deal about fantastical things in a very short space of time and meet an odd selection of new friends.
So... I'm going to break this down into two parts, the first bit will be just about the film and the second will be me ranting about the film in conjunction with the book... *calm thoughts* Let us begin.
From the very beginning I was thrown, the opening in no way seems like a family film and I was wondering if by avoiding reading about it all beforehand that I'd got the wrong idea about what to expect.
With such a good cast backing up our newcomers I had medium hopes for what was going to hit our screens...
Ferdia Shaw takes on the part of Artemis Fowl Jnr., putting aside the comparison between the two versions until later, the performance isn't bad but it's quite forgettable. The same sadly goes for Lara McDonnell as Holly Short. Neither one has much of a presence on screen and I think that's mostly to do with the fact that Artemis and Holly are both rather bland in the whole story.
There's something oddly appealing about Josh Gad as Mulch but I'm not sure that giving him such a large role as narrator worked. It's never really clear why he's given that role and the scene's where we cut back to him talking are given a strange noir look that doesn't match with the rest of the film. Even so, I'm willing to concede that he's my favourite character as he has just enough humour to carry it.
Judi Dench as Commander Root was a little bit of a challenge to see. Root is a gruff but caring character, the trouble come in the fact that the change comes quite unnaturally at times.
One of the main failings is that there are times when the script feels poor, the dialogue is a little forced and doesn't fit with the characters, couple that with a variety of scenes that don't fit with the style of everything else and the fact that some pieces could be removed without really affecting anything around it and I'm left less than inspired by the film.
I did like the look of Haven City, the animation of the overhead view looked really promising. As we got into the city though I couldn't help but think it looked a little cheap and the aesthetic wasn't great. Effects, in general, were not good if I'm honest, particularly when you get to the siege on Fowl manor, when the siege is ending it comes with some chaos that is a perfect example of this coupled with another example of how the story glosses over an explanation of what's happening that could have offered some extra development for characters. (Specifically in this instance, Foley, who was woefully underused. He might not have been as majestic as a Brosnan centaur but he deserved better than the film gave him.)
By the end a lot of things get resolved seemingly by fairy magic because it's not clear how any of it happens. Potentially it's something that I wouldn't have noticed as there's a certain amount of this kind of wrapping up that you can forgive, but by this point I was so frustrated by everything that I was spotting everything.
I'm aware I'm waffling more than I intended so let me "briefly" mention things regarding the book...
The film is, in my opinion, only vaguely based on the book. It has kept ideas and pieces of story while removing and adding characters to varying degrees. Notably Artemis' mother is gone and his father is there instead. Removing mum makes Juliet's inclusion surplus to requirements, I can understand wanting to keep her for a young female character for viewers to identify with, but the role she ends up with is bland and in no way lives up to the book's version. The blandness also extends to her brother, Butler, and that's partly because of the major change they made...
Artemis. He is barely recognisable in comparison. He's a jeans-wearing, surfing, tween? He's much more casual than the original and this fluffier version doesn't have the same edge that book Artemis does. In their revamp they have changed his story and I very quickly felt like it could have been a sequel to the books, Artemis Snr. felt more like the Artemis from the books grown up and he was teaching his son about all the things he learnt. Part of the thing I enjoyed about the books is that Artemis was always an anti-hero of sorts, he was very difficult to like at times because of his actions, film Artemis is a little bit jumbled in this respect as they give him a very clear reason for the things he does so when he tries to show that tough side it doesn't have any impact.
There are a lot of differences, but I will leave that analysis for someone who is much more thorough at scouring the books and film than I am. I'll be keeping my eye out for other reviews with the comparisons in, if you spot any then please leave a link in the comments below.
When it came to scoring this I thought about it on two levels.
As a film from such a big company I was quite shocked by the quality of script and effects, there was a baddie that didn't really participate in anything and there were scenes and characters which weren't needed... and to finish it off in such an obvious set up for a sequel... I was done. I had marked it down for a generous score of 2 stars, that's normally my "I didn't like it but I can see why other people might" score, but I can't quite see what would appeal to people in it if I'm honest.
As an adaptation of the book I was too frustrated by the changes they made to Artemis, they essentially changed the fundamentals of the character and that had a knock-on effect to other characters as well. No one came out unscathed, but even though Mulch was heavily adapted I was glad that some of his humour was still there. Scoring on this basis I would have given it 1 star, but again, that felt generous to me.
In the end I will always score something on my enjoyment, in this instance it seems fair to even out the two scores. They've taken a great book and removed most of its personality, the final product was not exciting to watch and I don't think I could bring myself to watch a sequel.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2020/06/artemis-fowl-movie-review.html
Me: *wildly switches from happiness to devastation about the possibilities*
Artemis Fowl's father, Artemis Fowl Snr., has gone missing, the media is portraying him as a criminal and calling for answers. Shocked and confused by what's happening Artemis Jnr. receives a phone call from his father's kidnapper and must hand over an item to secure his release. But he's no idea what the item is, or where, he's about to learn a great deal about fantastical things in a very short space of time and meet an odd selection of new friends.
So... I'm going to break this down into two parts, the first bit will be just about the film and the second will be me ranting about the film in conjunction with the book... *calm thoughts* Let us begin.
From the very beginning I was thrown, the opening in no way seems like a family film and I was wondering if by avoiding reading about it all beforehand that I'd got the wrong idea about what to expect.
With such a good cast backing up our newcomers I had medium hopes for what was going to hit our screens...
Ferdia Shaw takes on the part of Artemis Fowl Jnr., putting aside the comparison between the two versions until later, the performance isn't bad but it's quite forgettable. The same sadly goes for Lara McDonnell as Holly Short. Neither one has much of a presence on screen and I think that's mostly to do with the fact that Artemis and Holly are both rather bland in the whole story.
There's something oddly appealing about Josh Gad as Mulch but I'm not sure that giving him such a large role as narrator worked. It's never really clear why he's given that role and the scene's where we cut back to him talking are given a strange noir look that doesn't match with the rest of the film. Even so, I'm willing to concede that he's my favourite character as he has just enough humour to carry it.
Judi Dench as Commander Root was a little bit of a challenge to see. Root is a gruff but caring character, the trouble come in the fact that the change comes quite unnaturally at times.
One of the main failings is that there are times when the script feels poor, the dialogue is a little forced and doesn't fit with the characters, couple that with a variety of scenes that don't fit with the style of everything else and the fact that some pieces could be removed without really affecting anything around it and I'm left less than inspired by the film.
I did like the look of Haven City, the animation of the overhead view looked really promising. As we got into the city though I couldn't help but think it looked a little cheap and the aesthetic wasn't great. Effects, in general, were not good if I'm honest, particularly when you get to the siege on Fowl manor, when the siege is ending it comes with some chaos that is a perfect example of this coupled with another example of how the story glosses over an explanation of what's happening that could have offered some extra development for characters. (Specifically in this instance, Foley, who was woefully underused. He might not have been as majestic as a Brosnan centaur but he deserved better than the film gave him.)
By the end a lot of things get resolved seemingly by fairy magic because it's not clear how any of it happens. Potentially it's something that I wouldn't have noticed as there's a certain amount of this kind of wrapping up that you can forgive, but by this point I was so frustrated by everything that I was spotting everything.
I'm aware I'm waffling more than I intended so let me "briefly" mention things regarding the book...
The film is, in my opinion, only vaguely based on the book. It has kept ideas and pieces of story while removing and adding characters to varying degrees. Notably Artemis' mother is gone and his father is there instead. Removing mum makes Juliet's inclusion surplus to requirements, I can understand wanting to keep her for a young female character for viewers to identify with, but the role she ends up with is bland and in no way lives up to the book's version. The blandness also extends to her brother, Butler, and that's partly because of the major change they made...
Artemis. He is barely recognisable in comparison. He's a jeans-wearing, surfing, tween? He's much more casual than the original and this fluffier version doesn't have the same edge that book Artemis does. In their revamp they have changed his story and I very quickly felt like it could have been a sequel to the books, Artemis Snr. felt more like the Artemis from the books grown up and he was teaching his son about all the things he learnt. Part of the thing I enjoyed about the books is that Artemis was always an anti-hero of sorts, he was very difficult to like at times because of his actions, film Artemis is a little bit jumbled in this respect as they give him a very clear reason for the things he does so when he tries to show that tough side it doesn't have any impact.
There are a lot of differences, but I will leave that analysis for someone who is much more thorough at scouring the books and film than I am. I'll be keeping my eye out for other reviews with the comparisons in, if you spot any then please leave a link in the comments below.
When it came to scoring this I thought about it on two levels.
As a film from such a big company I was quite shocked by the quality of script and effects, there was a baddie that didn't really participate in anything and there were scenes and characters which weren't needed... and to finish it off in such an obvious set up for a sequel... I was done. I had marked it down for a generous score of 2 stars, that's normally my "I didn't like it but I can see why other people might" score, but I can't quite see what would appeal to people in it if I'm honest.
As an adaptation of the book I was too frustrated by the changes they made to Artemis, they essentially changed the fundamentals of the character and that had a knock-on effect to other characters as well. No one came out unscathed, but even though Mulch was heavily adapted I was glad that some of his humour was still there. Scoring on this basis I would have given it 1 star, but again, that felt generous to me.
In the end I will always score something on my enjoyment, in this instance it seems fair to even out the two scores. They've taken a great book and removed most of its personality, the final product was not exciting to watch and I don't think I could bring myself to watch a sequel.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2020/06/artemis-fowl-movie-review.html
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Ad Astra (2019) in Movies
Sep 28, 2021
Impressive visuals, but rather disappointing as an overall package.
Like father, like son?
I really love sci-fi films with high ambitions. “Psychological” sci-fi like “Solaris” for example. And “Arrival” topped my movie list for 2016. In similar vein, “Ad Astra” is also a movie concerning attempted contact with alien life. So I had high hopes for it. But would this Sci-fi epic ultimately challenge my brain again, or end up in the “Crystal Skull” sin bin with a dodgy alien meeting?
The Plot
Set a few years into the future, Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) is the son of a legend. H. Clifford McBride (Tommy Lee Jones) was a space exploration pioneer. His picture hangs in the NASA hall of fame next to Buzz Aldrin’s. McBride senior went missing presumed dead near Neptune during a mission. The mission was to get outside the Sun’s heliosphere to scan for potential alien transmissions from nearby solar systems.
But something went badly wrong, and now the earth (and potentially all human life migrating into the solar system) is at risk from massive electromagnetic bursts arising from Neptune. Is Clifford alive and involved in the emerging crisis? The authorities send Roy on a secret mission to Mars to try to communicate with his father.
Majestic cinematography
Let’s start with a real positive. The cinematography here is first rate. Hoyte Van-Hoytema – well known for “Interstellar“, “Spectre” and “Dunkirk” – knocks this out of the park. In the same manner as “Blade Runner 2049“, many of the frames of this film could be blown up and placed on art gallery walls around the world.
Add to that some cracking film editing from John Axelrad and Lee Haugen, and some beautiful sound design and I predict the movie should feature strongly in the technical awards at the Oscars.
But “science fiction” has the word “science” in it….
I’d like to park my physics brain sometimes when I go to the movies, but I just can’t. So I really need sci-fi films to live up to the science part of their name. There are a number of areas, particularly at the back end of the film, when credibility goes out the window.
I can’t really say more here without giving spoilers, so I will leave them to a “Spoiler section” below the trailer…. don’t read this if you haven’t seen the film!
What IS this movie trying to be?
In my view the film is pretty schizophrenic in nature. This is what confused me about the trailer, jumping from a cerebral sci-fi vibe to moon buggy shoot-outs.
On one hand, its the standard (but always interesting) tale of a child abandoned by a hero-father and his attempts to reconcile what that’s done to his life and relationships. How can he ever square that circle without contacting his dad? As the film’s tag-line goes “The answers we seek are just outside our reach”.
On the other there are episodes of action that would fit happily into an action scene from Star Trek.
The two elements never really gel, leading to the feeling of the film having been written as a set of disconnected pages and the writers then saying “Hey, Jimmy, once you’ve finished making us the tea, could you just write a few lines to join those pages up into a shooting script?”. Then later, “What do you mean Jimmy you used BOTH piles of paper?!”.
The greatest sin of all
Unfortunately, the film commits a cardinal sin in my book. Those of you who follow my blog regularly might know what I’m going to say….
Voiceovers! I BLOODY HATE THEM!! It’s at the very extreme of what the great Mark Kermode calls “show don’t tell”.
Here, we don’t just have a little Brad Pitt set-up intro and he then shuts up. He just drones on and on and on with his inner thoughts. At least Matt Damon in “The Martian” got away with it by cleverly filming his video blog. And it’s not as if there isn’t a prime opportunity to use that device here! He is constantly having to talk to a computer to do his regular psychological tests! But that option is not picked up.
BIG BLACK MARK!
But the film has its moments
Bubbling under all of this are some stand-out moments where, for me, the film soared. One of them (ultimately setting me up for as much of a disappointing fall as some of the characters!) is the stunning opening shots aboard the “Sky Antenna” structure. Impressive and exciting, with falling bits of metal playing Russian Roulette with Roy’s iife.
Another strength for me is Brad Pitt. I’ve seen wildly differing views on this, but for me its a quiet but strong acting performance. There are many scenes when he has no lines, his inner (and our outer) voice gives it a miss, and he acts the socks off his peers. What with “Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood” its been a really good year for Pitt. I suspect “Hollywood” might be the one though that gets him his fourth acting Oscar nomination.
For a 2019 film, it’s actually a very male-heavy film, made more so by Pitt’s love-interest (Liv Tyler) being given virtually nothing to do other that look a bit sulky from a distance. I’m not even sure she gets a single line in the whole film! (“Miss Tyler – please sign for your script”. “But, there’s nothing in the envelope?”. “Quite Miss Tyler, Quite”).
The only decent female role goes to Ruth Negga as the Mars colony leader. Even then, she only has limited screen time and although having the title “Mars CEO” really doesn’t seem to have much power.
Elsewhere, its great to see both Tommy Lee Jones and Donald Sutherland back on the big screen again.
Final Thoughts
As any veteran RAF person will know, “Ad Astra” is Latin for “To the stars”. In space terms this is less “to the stars” and more “just beyond your front door”.
James Gray‘s film undoubtedly has high ambitions but, through its spasmodic script, never really gets there. It has the beauty of “Gravity” but none of the refinement; there’s an essence of “Space Odyssey” in places, but it never goes for the mystical angle; it has the potential to reflect the near-insanity through loneliness of “Silent Running” but never commits fully to that storyline. But if its novelty you’re looking for, it ticks the “floating monkeys in space” box!
I think it’s worth seeing on the big screen just for its visual beauty and Pitt’s performance. And as a major block-buster sci-fi film I enjoyed it to a degree. But for me it had just so many irritations that it failed to live up to my high expectations. A great shame and a frustrating disappointment.
But at least it’s great news for Richard Branson and Virgin Atlantic shareholders. They can be assured that the future is bright for their “long distance” flights in the future!
I really love sci-fi films with high ambitions. “Psychological” sci-fi like “Solaris” for example. And “Arrival” topped my movie list for 2016. In similar vein, “Ad Astra” is also a movie concerning attempted contact with alien life. So I had high hopes for it. But would this Sci-fi epic ultimately challenge my brain again, or end up in the “Crystal Skull” sin bin with a dodgy alien meeting?
The Plot
Set a few years into the future, Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) is the son of a legend. H. Clifford McBride (Tommy Lee Jones) was a space exploration pioneer. His picture hangs in the NASA hall of fame next to Buzz Aldrin’s. McBride senior went missing presumed dead near Neptune during a mission. The mission was to get outside the Sun’s heliosphere to scan for potential alien transmissions from nearby solar systems.
But something went badly wrong, and now the earth (and potentially all human life migrating into the solar system) is at risk from massive electromagnetic bursts arising from Neptune. Is Clifford alive and involved in the emerging crisis? The authorities send Roy on a secret mission to Mars to try to communicate with his father.
Majestic cinematography
Let’s start with a real positive. The cinematography here is first rate. Hoyte Van-Hoytema – well known for “Interstellar“, “Spectre” and “Dunkirk” – knocks this out of the park. In the same manner as “Blade Runner 2049“, many of the frames of this film could be blown up and placed on art gallery walls around the world.
Add to that some cracking film editing from John Axelrad and Lee Haugen, and some beautiful sound design and I predict the movie should feature strongly in the technical awards at the Oscars.
But “science fiction” has the word “science” in it….
I’d like to park my physics brain sometimes when I go to the movies, but I just can’t. So I really need sci-fi films to live up to the science part of their name. There are a number of areas, particularly at the back end of the film, when credibility goes out the window.
I can’t really say more here without giving spoilers, so I will leave them to a “Spoiler section” below the trailer…. don’t read this if you haven’t seen the film!
What IS this movie trying to be?
In my view the film is pretty schizophrenic in nature. This is what confused me about the trailer, jumping from a cerebral sci-fi vibe to moon buggy shoot-outs.
On one hand, its the standard (but always interesting) tale of a child abandoned by a hero-father and his attempts to reconcile what that’s done to his life and relationships. How can he ever square that circle without contacting his dad? As the film’s tag-line goes “The answers we seek are just outside our reach”.
On the other there are episodes of action that would fit happily into an action scene from Star Trek.
The two elements never really gel, leading to the feeling of the film having been written as a set of disconnected pages and the writers then saying “Hey, Jimmy, once you’ve finished making us the tea, could you just write a few lines to join those pages up into a shooting script?”. Then later, “What do you mean Jimmy you used BOTH piles of paper?!”.
The greatest sin of all
Unfortunately, the film commits a cardinal sin in my book. Those of you who follow my blog regularly might know what I’m going to say….
Voiceovers! I BLOODY HATE THEM!! It’s at the very extreme of what the great Mark Kermode calls “show don’t tell”.
Here, we don’t just have a little Brad Pitt set-up intro and he then shuts up. He just drones on and on and on with his inner thoughts. At least Matt Damon in “The Martian” got away with it by cleverly filming his video blog. And it’s not as if there isn’t a prime opportunity to use that device here! He is constantly having to talk to a computer to do his regular psychological tests! But that option is not picked up.
BIG BLACK MARK!
But the film has its moments
Bubbling under all of this are some stand-out moments where, for me, the film soared. One of them (ultimately setting me up for as much of a disappointing fall as some of the characters!) is the stunning opening shots aboard the “Sky Antenna” structure. Impressive and exciting, with falling bits of metal playing Russian Roulette with Roy’s iife.
Another strength for me is Brad Pitt. I’ve seen wildly differing views on this, but for me its a quiet but strong acting performance. There are many scenes when he has no lines, his inner (and our outer) voice gives it a miss, and he acts the socks off his peers. What with “Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood” its been a really good year for Pitt. I suspect “Hollywood” might be the one though that gets him his fourth acting Oscar nomination.
For a 2019 film, it’s actually a very male-heavy film, made more so by Pitt’s love-interest (Liv Tyler) being given virtually nothing to do other that look a bit sulky from a distance. I’m not even sure she gets a single line in the whole film! (“Miss Tyler – please sign for your script”. “But, there’s nothing in the envelope?”. “Quite Miss Tyler, Quite”).
The only decent female role goes to Ruth Negga as the Mars colony leader. Even then, she only has limited screen time and although having the title “Mars CEO” really doesn’t seem to have much power.
Elsewhere, its great to see both Tommy Lee Jones and Donald Sutherland back on the big screen again.
Final Thoughts
As any veteran RAF person will know, “Ad Astra” is Latin for “To the stars”. In space terms this is less “to the stars” and more “just beyond your front door”.
James Gray‘s film undoubtedly has high ambitions but, through its spasmodic script, never really gets there. It has the beauty of “Gravity” but none of the refinement; there’s an essence of “Space Odyssey” in places, but it never goes for the mystical angle; it has the potential to reflect the near-insanity through loneliness of “Silent Running” but never commits fully to that storyline. But if its novelty you’re looking for, it ticks the “floating monkeys in space” box!
I think it’s worth seeing on the big screen just for its visual beauty and Pitt’s performance. And as a major block-buster sci-fi film I enjoyed it to a degree. But for me it had just so many irritations that it failed to live up to my high expectations. A great shame and a frustrating disappointment.
But at least it’s great news for Richard Branson and Virgin Atlantic shareholders. They can be assured that the future is bright for their “long distance” flights in the future!