Search
Search results
Acanthea Grimscythe (300 KP) rated Long Black Veil in Books
May 16, 2018
Last month, I received my first physical review copy of a book: Long Black Veil by Jennifer Finney Boylan. I heard about the title through a friend of mine and, after I reading its synopsis, I felt excited. Despite the story's label as a thriller, the majority of the story focuses on Judith Carrigan and her secrets. The plot's so-called mystery is a minor detail in this narrative.
I don't do a lot of research before I read a recommended book. For the most part, I look at its genre, the back cover blurb, and its general rating. I don't read other reviews until after I complete the book. By doing this, I avoid pre-conceived notions of a story's characters. With that in mind, there are details of this book I will not discuss. Some of this is due to a desire to keep this spoiler free. Others are not my story to tell. These facts help to define Judith as a character, but they do not exonerate her.
A dark past isn't uncommon. For Judith, there are skeletons in her closet capable of destroying her entire life. She can either sacrifice what she has built and save an innocent man or let things unfold. It is this latter option that she leans toward and, as a result, she strikes me as being nearly as selfish as Flynn's Amy Dunne in Gone Girl. I have mixed feelings about Long Black Veil because of this. Part of me wants to comfort Judith while another part of me wishes to throttle her.
Despite centering around Judith instead of the decades old mystery than haunts her, Boylan excels at creating an intriguing narrative. It's the passion with which she writes Judy that warms my heart to her, that provides me with the ability to feel even a modicum of sympathy for her struggles. Like all of us, Judy has a right to happiness. Boylan pens Judith beautifully as she reaches for that penultimate feeling that eludes many of us.
In stark contrast to my complaint regarding the story centering around Judith, Boylan somehow manages to give readers too many insights into this unraveling mystery. The story beings with six characters. Seven, to be technical. Throughout its pages, we end up with no less than six different perspectives. This makes it a difficult to follow at times, especially in regards to Judith's memories. (Again, this is a detail you will discover by reading the book, so I will not divulge it.)
Boylan succeeds, despite the plethora of perspectives, at keeping the story moving along. The further in you read, the more twists you encounter - some of which threw me off entirely. While this is not one of my favorite titles and likely will not merit a re-read, it was not unpleasant.
I would like to thank Blogging for Books for providing me with a copy of this book for the purpose of unbiased review.
I don't do a lot of research before I read a recommended book. For the most part, I look at its genre, the back cover blurb, and its general rating. I don't read other reviews until after I complete the book. By doing this, I avoid pre-conceived notions of a story's characters. With that in mind, there are details of this book I will not discuss. Some of this is due to a desire to keep this spoiler free. Others are not my story to tell. These facts help to define Judith as a character, but they do not exonerate her.
A dark past isn't uncommon. For Judith, there are skeletons in her closet capable of destroying her entire life. She can either sacrifice what she has built and save an innocent man or let things unfold. It is this latter option that she leans toward and, as a result, she strikes me as being nearly as selfish as Flynn's Amy Dunne in Gone Girl. I have mixed feelings about Long Black Veil because of this. Part of me wants to comfort Judith while another part of me wishes to throttle her.
Despite centering around Judith instead of the decades old mystery than haunts her, Boylan excels at creating an intriguing narrative. It's the passion with which she writes Judy that warms my heart to her, that provides me with the ability to feel even a modicum of sympathy for her struggles. Like all of us, Judy has a right to happiness. Boylan pens Judith beautifully as she reaches for that penultimate feeling that eludes many of us.
In stark contrast to my complaint regarding the story centering around Judith, Boylan somehow manages to give readers too many insights into this unraveling mystery. The story beings with six characters. Seven, to be technical. Throughout its pages, we end up with no less than six different perspectives. This makes it a difficult to follow at times, especially in regards to Judith's memories. (Again, this is a detail you will discover by reading the book, so I will not divulge it.)
Boylan succeeds, despite the plethora of perspectives, at keeping the story moving along. The further in you read, the more twists you encounter - some of which threw me off entirely. While this is not one of my favorite titles and likely will not merit a re-read, it was not unpleasant.
I would like to thank Blogging for Books for providing me with a copy of this book for the purpose of unbiased review.
mmb02191 (81 KP) rated the PC version of Kingdom Come Deliverance in Video Games
Jan 24, 2019
Story (3 more)
Skill Tree
Historical accuracy
Characters
New favorite game
This game, right from the beginning, is beautiful, immersive, and really freaking hard (but in the best of ways).
You start out as Henry, and you suck. At everything. I fell off my horse a couple times, can't read, died immediately when trying to fight a soldier. It was great.
This game isn't your usual game where you're a hero expected to beat some evil force. Truth is, you're a peasant, and no one outside of Skalitz (your home town) really likes you all that much.
You don't know how to really do anything, from the obvious like swordfighting (you're a peasant...) to things like reading and even speech (convincing people of things)
This game has such a realistic leveling up system. You get better at skills the more you practice them, just like in real life.
At the beginning, Henry barely knows how to hold a bow, it going all over the screen and the arrows going definitely NOT where you want them to go. It would take my 20 shots to kill a stationary rabbit....
But you get better. You improve. Henry learns through hard work and sweat. His hand steadies, his aim improves (with help from you of course!) and soon you're catching plenty of (illegally poached) animals.
Unlike many games, fighting is not always the answer. Sometimes you have to be creative with your solutions to issues instead of just swinging a sword. Maybe persuade the guard to let you go, or bribe him.
Another mechanic that is very realistic, you have to make sure Henry takes care of himself. He needs to eat and sleep, but shouldn't overeat or drink, or he will feel sluggish. If you're in a fight and covered with blood, people aren't going to trust you, and are going to freak out a little. Make sure you keep Henry clean! There are water troughs that you can find to splash some water on yourself, or go to a bathhouse for a more thorough cleaning.
Overall, this is the best game I have ever played. There is always something to do, and once I am playing, I can't stop.
You start out as Henry, and you suck. At everything. I fell off my horse a couple times, can't read, died immediately when trying to fight a soldier. It was great.
This game isn't your usual game where you're a hero expected to beat some evil force. Truth is, you're a peasant, and no one outside of Skalitz (your home town) really likes you all that much.
You don't know how to really do anything, from the obvious like swordfighting (you're a peasant...) to things like reading and even speech (convincing people of things)
This game has such a realistic leveling up system. You get better at skills the more you practice them, just like in real life.
At the beginning, Henry barely knows how to hold a bow, it going all over the screen and the arrows going definitely NOT where you want them to go. It would take my 20 shots to kill a stationary rabbit....
But you get better. You improve. Henry learns through hard work and sweat. His hand steadies, his aim improves (with help from you of course!) and soon you're catching plenty of (illegally poached) animals.
Unlike many games, fighting is not always the answer. Sometimes you have to be creative with your solutions to issues instead of just swinging a sword. Maybe persuade the guard to let you go, or bribe him.
Another mechanic that is very realistic, you have to make sure Henry takes care of himself. He needs to eat and sleep, but shouldn't overeat or drink, or he will feel sluggish. If you're in a fight and covered with blood, people aren't going to trust you, and are going to freak out a little. Make sure you keep Henry clean! There are water troughs that you can find to splash some water on yourself, or go to a bathhouse for a more thorough cleaning.
Overall, this is the best game I have ever played. There is always something to do, and once I am playing, I can't stop.
Feral Sins (The Phoenix Pack #1)
4.0
Rate It
Book
If your inner wolf and your body react rather enthusiastically to a psychotic Alpha male who’s own...
KittyMiku (138 KP) rated Final Notice: A Political Thriller in Books
May 23, 2019
Final Notice by Van Fleisher is a book that hits you hard with facts of life today in the United States. It begs the question, "What would you do if you knew you had one week to die?" Although reading the book for enjoyment had been very enlightening, I found it raised many common issues of today's world into light. However, it also made me think about the different issues that could come with knowing when I would die and how would I react. Though uncertain what I would do in that situation, Fleisher has some pretty good ideas on how some people would go about their final days. In the book, you can see how guns, anger, and other situations could affect such a decision, as well as, how different parties would react to such. With advancing technology, I wouldn't be surprised if someone who read this was able to create the VT2 like in the book. After all, who doesn't want to know when they will die?
The book follows a great many of characters, all having their own personality and involvement in one way or another to a device that would inform you of your impending death. It would give you a notice so that you could get your affairs in order, or so its creator had intended for it to do. You get to read about how the some people reacted poorly while others just let their end meet them. You also get to see how the government and other agencies (like the press and the public) are affected by the actions of some of the people who knew their end would be soon. In Final Notice, the reader will see how some of the gun laws, racism, and other bigoted treatment can affect the way someone will carry out their final days. Although the book is mainly about the device that can detect with accuracy your time of death, the reader will find themselves completely relating to stand points and often agreeing with certain characters over others. I know I spent a lot of time wishing Vince, a main character you can learn to love, was real so that I could have some of the conversations he often had with his group of friends.
In fact, I found that there were a lot of characters that I could admire and see many others feeling the same way. Most stood for what they believed in, even when others were not as supporting. It gives me hope that even if a device like this came to us now, that maybe as a society we could still do what is right for our fellow man, and start fighting back peacefully against those who wronged us. But as seen in the book, there is also a chance that it could make things worse as well. Having such realistic details on how people could react, had my interest the whole time, especially when a new character was involved.
I had found this book to be an amazing representation of how the United States of America is now. Though it was considered to already have happened, based on the time line being in Obama's presidency, I was able to relate to a few characters and their opinions on the people around them. I enjoyed being able to connect to characters and see that, although they aren't real, there are good people out there wanting to stop some of the wrong doings of others the way I wish to. I often found myself lost in the book, not able to put it down because I just couldn't wait for the next thing to happen. With all the realistic situations these characters went through, and all the gut wrenching suspense, I found it to be a real page turner, which is what I want out of a good book. However, I did find that I longed to hear more about some characters that apparently weren't as important to the story as others. So, I do believe that could have been improved, but over all I found this book to be enticing.
I would rate this book to be 4 stars out of 4 stars. There didn't seem to have any errors, and it often used a plethora of words that I enjoyed seeing instead of all the basic words you can find. I even had to look up a few as I don’t see them often. From the beginning, Fleisher had mapped out the main idea of the book with easy understanding and had slipped in issues we have in our world without a problem. It ran so smoothly together, that it made me feel like it was possible that this book wasn’t fiction at all. I would definitely recommend this book to all my friends, and I have already recommended it to my husband and family. It’s a rather short book, but the ideas and heart in it, makes it a savory delight in my eyes.
Final Notice by Van Fleisher is a must read in my mind. With great story telling and a beautiful way of words, the reader can easily get lost in this fiction work. It was dealt with care and professionalism and it shows. I, again, will state that everyone should read this book at least once if you have interest in how people and the world around you would react if there was such a device. This is by far one of the best books I read, and I hope you will feel the same after reading it yourself.
The book follows a great many of characters, all having their own personality and involvement in one way or another to a device that would inform you of your impending death. It would give you a notice so that you could get your affairs in order, or so its creator had intended for it to do. You get to read about how the some people reacted poorly while others just let their end meet them. You also get to see how the government and other agencies (like the press and the public) are affected by the actions of some of the people who knew their end would be soon. In Final Notice, the reader will see how some of the gun laws, racism, and other bigoted treatment can affect the way someone will carry out their final days. Although the book is mainly about the device that can detect with accuracy your time of death, the reader will find themselves completely relating to stand points and often agreeing with certain characters over others. I know I spent a lot of time wishing Vince, a main character you can learn to love, was real so that I could have some of the conversations he often had with his group of friends.
In fact, I found that there were a lot of characters that I could admire and see many others feeling the same way. Most stood for what they believed in, even when others were not as supporting. It gives me hope that even if a device like this came to us now, that maybe as a society we could still do what is right for our fellow man, and start fighting back peacefully against those who wronged us. But as seen in the book, there is also a chance that it could make things worse as well. Having such realistic details on how people could react, had my interest the whole time, especially when a new character was involved.
I had found this book to be an amazing representation of how the United States of America is now. Though it was considered to already have happened, based on the time line being in Obama's presidency, I was able to relate to a few characters and their opinions on the people around them. I enjoyed being able to connect to characters and see that, although they aren't real, there are good people out there wanting to stop some of the wrong doings of others the way I wish to. I often found myself lost in the book, not able to put it down because I just couldn't wait for the next thing to happen. With all the realistic situations these characters went through, and all the gut wrenching suspense, I found it to be a real page turner, which is what I want out of a good book. However, I did find that I longed to hear more about some characters that apparently weren't as important to the story as others. So, I do believe that could have been improved, but over all I found this book to be enticing.
I would rate this book to be 4 stars out of 4 stars. There didn't seem to have any errors, and it often used a plethora of words that I enjoyed seeing instead of all the basic words you can find. I even had to look up a few as I don’t see them often. From the beginning, Fleisher had mapped out the main idea of the book with easy understanding and had slipped in issues we have in our world without a problem. It ran so smoothly together, that it made me feel like it was possible that this book wasn’t fiction at all. I would definitely recommend this book to all my friends, and I have already recommended it to my husband and family. It’s a rather short book, but the ideas and heart in it, makes it a savory delight in my eyes.
Final Notice by Van Fleisher is a must read in my mind. With great story telling and a beautiful way of words, the reader can easily get lost in this fiction work. It was dealt with care and professionalism and it shows. I, again, will state that everyone should read this book at least once if you have interest in how people and the world around you would react if there was such a device. This is by far one of the best books I read, and I hope you will feel the same after reading it yourself.
touchAble Mini
Music and Productivity
App
touchAble is THE controller app for Ableton Live. Countless artists around the globe - from bedroom...
Songbot: On-Demand Talk Shows & Songs
News and Music
App
Songbot is a powerful tool that can search every radio station in the world for the song you want to...
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated A Quilter's Diary: Written in Stitches in Books
Apr 27, 2018
Description (from Amazon): Ever wanted to write the story of your life? With fabric as your paper and a needle as your pen, you can chronicle your most memorable moments. Bestselling author Mimi Dietrich explains how to tell your personal story or the story of someone special to you in extraordinary quilts.
* Construct the pieces of your life in fabric with your choice of 100 pieced and appliquéd block patterns
* Let Mimi guide your designs with inspiring questions and themes 24 categories include family, friends, holidays, hobbies, and more
* A gallery of quilts, plus Mimi s unique setting tips, will help you launch your own ideas
A Quilter’s Diary is a simple guide book to telling your life story in quilt blocks. Mimi tells you how to pick the blocks, arrange the quilt in order, and make each square special and unique to you.
There are tons of blocks to pick from, and she encourages you to branch out from her suggestions and take a creative license, showing examples and giving ideas.
(Here is one page from the book with some ideas for a “hobby” quilt block. See the books on the left? Guess what’s going on my quilt!)
(photo url: http://lh3.ggpht.com/_-sER6e5xCaQ/S0K4VzGxaBI/AAAAAAAABgc/i_AHcoFr-hU/DSCN0052_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800)
Some of the quilt squares that are suggested are: Heritage, Childhood, Parents, Grandparents, First Love, True Love, Wedding, Children, Pets, Seasons, Travel, Dreams and wishes… and tons more. Each theme has seven or eight ideas for you to use, or you can create your own using the theme.
Every quilt block has questions that you can answer to inspire you. They make you think about important things and decide what kind of square you’d like to make.
There was also some basic quilt making instructions and appliqué and embroidery instructions that are clear and concise with very good illustrations.
Then there were photographs of quilts. Oh the quilts were just beautiful! So artistic in every way.
This book had my mouth watering and my fingers itching for fabric and embroidery floss. The idea of a quilt as a diary and a permanent keepsake is an old one, but it looks so much less intimidating through this book because of the way it’s presented.
This book is incredibly inspiring, and I intend to start my own quilt diary. It will take years to finish because I don’t have much to share right now, but I’m sure as life goes on, with the help of this book, I’ll have a very special and unique keepsake when it’s finally done.
About the Author:
Mimi Dietrich is a nationally known teacher and the author of many best-selling books, including Martingale & Company's all-time best-seller, Happy Endings. Her books have sold over a half million copies to date. This is her 15th book for Martingale and Company
~Haleyknitz
* Construct the pieces of your life in fabric with your choice of 100 pieced and appliquéd block patterns
* Let Mimi guide your designs with inspiring questions and themes 24 categories include family, friends, holidays, hobbies, and more
* A gallery of quilts, plus Mimi s unique setting tips, will help you launch your own ideas
A Quilter’s Diary is a simple guide book to telling your life story in quilt blocks. Mimi tells you how to pick the blocks, arrange the quilt in order, and make each square special and unique to you.
There are tons of blocks to pick from, and she encourages you to branch out from her suggestions and take a creative license, showing examples and giving ideas.
(Here is one page from the book with some ideas for a “hobby” quilt block. See the books on the left? Guess what’s going on my quilt!)
(photo url: http://lh3.ggpht.com/_-sER6e5xCaQ/S0K4VzGxaBI/AAAAAAAABgc/i_AHcoFr-hU/DSCN0052_thumb%5B2%5D.jpg?imgmax=800)
Some of the quilt squares that are suggested are: Heritage, Childhood, Parents, Grandparents, First Love, True Love, Wedding, Children, Pets, Seasons, Travel, Dreams and wishes… and tons more. Each theme has seven or eight ideas for you to use, or you can create your own using the theme.
Every quilt block has questions that you can answer to inspire you. They make you think about important things and decide what kind of square you’d like to make.
There was also some basic quilt making instructions and appliqué and embroidery instructions that are clear and concise with very good illustrations.
Then there were photographs of quilts. Oh the quilts were just beautiful! So artistic in every way.
This book had my mouth watering and my fingers itching for fabric and embroidery floss. The idea of a quilt as a diary and a permanent keepsake is an old one, but it looks so much less intimidating through this book because of the way it’s presented.
This book is incredibly inspiring, and I intend to start my own quilt diary. It will take years to finish because I don’t have much to share right now, but I’m sure as life goes on, with the help of this book, I’ll have a very special and unique keepsake when it’s finally done.
About the Author:
Mimi Dietrich is a nationally known teacher and the author of many best-selling books, including Martingale & Company's all-time best-seller, Happy Endings. Her books have sold over a half million copies to date. This is her 15th book for Martingale and Company
~Haleyknitz
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Hunters of the Lost Creatures in Tabletop Games
May 8, 2022
If you are reading this, then we can agree on a few things: board games are cool and interesting, silly themes are usually fun, and we are all kids at heart. I appreciate other gamers so much because we all share a common bond of experiencing good and bad games, good and bad rules, as well as good and bad explanations of these rules. I would spoil it up top here if I let on which of these categories our featured game falls into, right? So keep reading.
Hunters of the Lost Creatures is a silly set collection card game for three to four players. In it, players assume the roles of zoological park curators charged with collecting unique creatures for their parks. They do this by bidding on and drafting creature cards, playing take-that style cards on their opponents, and blocking their cards from being manipulated by others.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and I do not know for sure if the final components will be any different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, as there are just too many. You are invited to download the rulebook, back the game through the Kickstarter campaign, or through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T
To setup, players choose one hunter card from each of the four hunting zones: Sea, Forest, Plains, and Air, as well as three “Park Closed” cards. The creature cards are to be split by zone and shuffled, with one special card (Turnado and Cat-a-Pult) added. These shuffled decks are then placed on the table and the top card revealed from each deck. Players decide turn order and the game may begin!
Hands are mostly played simultaneously, with players choosing either a hunter or special card from their hand and placing it face-down in front of themselves. All cards are revealed simultaneously and the card effects are applied. If a player has revealed a hunter, and no other players have the same-colored background/terrain type, that player receives the matching card from those on offer and places it in their park (tableau), or ANY OTHER PLAYER’S park. If ALL players have chosen the same terrain type hunters, the card on offer is removed from the game entirely. However, if not all hunters match, but at least one matches, the matching hunters’ players receive no cards.
Should a player choose to play a special card, their effects are triggered once per game. These include Turnado (switch any two creatures in any two parks), Cat-a-Pult (discards any creature from any player’s park), Thieves (steal any one terrain-matching creature and places it in the Thieves player’s park) and Closed Park (protects the player from the effects of aforementioned special cards). Again, these special cards may only be played once per game, so special consideration is needed as part of their strategy.
The game continues in this fashion of players throwing cards, messing with each other using special cards, and protecting themselves from said special cards until only one stack of creature cards remains. The game ends and points are tallied per the scoring table in the rulebook. The winner is promoted to Head Creature Park Guy and is carried around by the other players. Okay, that’s not at all true. They just win the game.
Components. Again, this is a prototype copy of Hunters of the Lost Creatures, so all components shown here are subject to change at any time. That said, I received a huge deck of cards in a cute black cloth bag. The cards are all decent quality, and not super glossy, which I appreciate. The art on these cards are all whimsical and silly, which match the silly and punny titles for each. Some of these punny titles can be seen in our photos, with my favorites being the Dandylion (a well-“dressed” weed with a cane and lion face) and the Cougar (which is subtle, but portrays an adult apex big cat with a smaller and younger cat hanging on it). If you enjoy these somewhat intellectual, and sometimes visual, puns you will enjoy these cards.
What I have found in playing through this several times is that it is best when all players are taught the game backwards…ly. I mean to say that players need to know the premise, but most importantly, the scoring system before even the setup. Points are scored for having a run of 1-2-3, a straight of 0-1-2-3-10, at least one card from each terrain type, and for the printed value on the cards. It is more than simply collecting all the favorite cards or even highest value 10 cards. So there is strategy in collecting the best assortment of creatures for scoring purposes, which is great because otherwise this game is not really a game at all.
As players play their hunters to draft creatures, I have found that many players choose to chase the same cards over and over. It becomes obvious that most players will be vying for the value 10 cards, so the players who figure this out and grab the second best card is usually happier with the hand. Of course, more strategy is employed once the special cards are played, as they each mess with opponents in different ways. So even though I may not have acquired that 10 of Forest, I might grab the Turnado and switch out a value 0 or -10 card for that sparkling value 10. Wait, negative 10? Yep. Sometimes life just smacks you around and you get stuck with a -10 card to really punish your great play. Not that it ever happened to me, and not that I would be bitter about it.
The real game hinges on the usage of the special cards. When do you play them? Whom do you target? Turnabout is fair play, after all, and no alliances can be formed whilst playing Hunters of the Lost Creatures. Now, it is hinted at in the rulebook that preview copies ship with entry-level rules, which mean (to me) that more advanced rules may be coming in the final game, or at least some variants to spice up the gameplay. If true, then this game becomes much more interesting to me. Don’t get me wrong. I have enjoyed almost all of my plays, but be warned that playing with spiteful gamers may end poorly for a fun-filled game night.
All in all, I am excited to see how the campaign for Hunters of the Lost Creatures fares, as I believe many gamers and non-gamers alike will enjoy it. I would be super jazzed to grab a final copy if it does in fact ship with alternate or advanced rules, or if the creatures of the same value had unique names and art. That would really satisfy. Keep the bag or go traditional cardboard box, it matters not to me. Just beef up the card quality, add even more uniqueness and fanciful art and you’ve got a fan in me. Grab your copy during the Kickstarter campaign launching May 10, 2022!
Hunters of the Lost Creatures is a silly set collection card game for three to four players. In it, players assume the roles of zoological park curators charged with collecting unique creatures for their parks. They do this by bidding on and drafting creature cards, playing take-that style cards on their opponents, and blocking their cards from being manipulated by others.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and I do not know for sure if the final components will be any different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, as there are just too many. You are invited to download the rulebook, back the game through the Kickstarter campaign, or through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T
To setup, players choose one hunter card from each of the four hunting zones: Sea, Forest, Plains, and Air, as well as three “Park Closed” cards. The creature cards are to be split by zone and shuffled, with one special card (Turnado and Cat-a-Pult) added. These shuffled decks are then placed on the table and the top card revealed from each deck. Players decide turn order and the game may begin!
Hands are mostly played simultaneously, with players choosing either a hunter or special card from their hand and placing it face-down in front of themselves. All cards are revealed simultaneously and the card effects are applied. If a player has revealed a hunter, and no other players have the same-colored background/terrain type, that player receives the matching card from those on offer and places it in their park (tableau), or ANY OTHER PLAYER’S park. If ALL players have chosen the same terrain type hunters, the card on offer is removed from the game entirely. However, if not all hunters match, but at least one matches, the matching hunters’ players receive no cards.
Should a player choose to play a special card, their effects are triggered once per game. These include Turnado (switch any two creatures in any two parks), Cat-a-Pult (discards any creature from any player’s park), Thieves (steal any one terrain-matching creature and places it in the Thieves player’s park) and Closed Park (protects the player from the effects of aforementioned special cards). Again, these special cards may only be played once per game, so special consideration is needed as part of their strategy.
The game continues in this fashion of players throwing cards, messing with each other using special cards, and protecting themselves from said special cards until only one stack of creature cards remains. The game ends and points are tallied per the scoring table in the rulebook. The winner is promoted to Head Creature Park Guy and is carried around by the other players. Okay, that’s not at all true. They just win the game.
Components. Again, this is a prototype copy of Hunters of the Lost Creatures, so all components shown here are subject to change at any time. That said, I received a huge deck of cards in a cute black cloth bag. The cards are all decent quality, and not super glossy, which I appreciate. The art on these cards are all whimsical and silly, which match the silly and punny titles for each. Some of these punny titles can be seen in our photos, with my favorites being the Dandylion (a well-“dressed” weed with a cane and lion face) and the Cougar (which is subtle, but portrays an adult apex big cat with a smaller and younger cat hanging on it). If you enjoy these somewhat intellectual, and sometimes visual, puns you will enjoy these cards.
What I have found in playing through this several times is that it is best when all players are taught the game backwards…ly. I mean to say that players need to know the premise, but most importantly, the scoring system before even the setup. Points are scored for having a run of 1-2-3, a straight of 0-1-2-3-10, at least one card from each terrain type, and for the printed value on the cards. It is more than simply collecting all the favorite cards or even highest value 10 cards. So there is strategy in collecting the best assortment of creatures for scoring purposes, which is great because otherwise this game is not really a game at all.
As players play their hunters to draft creatures, I have found that many players choose to chase the same cards over and over. It becomes obvious that most players will be vying for the value 10 cards, so the players who figure this out and grab the second best card is usually happier with the hand. Of course, more strategy is employed once the special cards are played, as they each mess with opponents in different ways. So even though I may not have acquired that 10 of Forest, I might grab the Turnado and switch out a value 0 or -10 card for that sparkling value 10. Wait, negative 10? Yep. Sometimes life just smacks you around and you get stuck with a -10 card to really punish your great play. Not that it ever happened to me, and not that I would be bitter about it.
The real game hinges on the usage of the special cards. When do you play them? Whom do you target? Turnabout is fair play, after all, and no alliances can be formed whilst playing Hunters of the Lost Creatures. Now, it is hinted at in the rulebook that preview copies ship with entry-level rules, which mean (to me) that more advanced rules may be coming in the final game, or at least some variants to spice up the gameplay. If true, then this game becomes much more interesting to me. Don’t get me wrong. I have enjoyed almost all of my plays, but be warned that playing with spiteful gamers may end poorly for a fun-filled game night.
All in all, I am excited to see how the campaign for Hunters of the Lost Creatures fares, as I believe many gamers and non-gamers alike will enjoy it. I would be super jazzed to grab a final copy if it does in fact ship with alternate or advanced rules, or if the creatures of the same value had unique names and art. That would really satisfy. Keep the bag or go traditional cardboard box, it matters not to me. Just beef up the card quality, add even more uniqueness and fanciful art and you’ve got a fan in me. Grab your copy during the Kickstarter campaign launching May 10, 2022!
Nail Salon Game: Beauty Makeover - Nails Art Spa Games for Girls
Lifestyle and Games
App
Welcome to the best nail art salon in the city! Become the most prominent nail artist, create...
The Complete Guide To Clinical Aromatherapy and The Essential Oils of The Physical Body: Essential Oils for Beginners
8.0
Rate It
Book
Let me ask you.... What's the most important thing you are looking for from your book about...