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The 7th Continent
The 7th Continent
2017 | Adventure, Card Game, Exploration, Horror, Science Fiction
Great art, map looks brilliant as it builds up as you explore (2 more)
Massive amount of gameplay
Great open world adventure
Roguelike - could be frustrating to have to restart especially on the longer curses (1 more)
A lot of cards, sorting them after a game is a bit of a faff
A Cool Adventure Survival game
7th Continent is an amazing and ambitious adventure / exploration game that is a lot more challenging than it appears.


On the surface, it looks like a card version of a choose your own adventure book, exploring and revealing a whole island as you find clues to lift a curse.


When you start playing however, you reveal a very tight card management and action optimization game that can be very unforgiving. This is both a great thing or a frustrating one depending on your view.


If you just want a light exploration game more like a CYOA book, or struggle finding card combos and optimal actions, this game might not be for you.


However, if you want a deeper game that rewards careful planning and finding the synergy between cards, 7th Continent is a rewarding experience.


The premise is simple - explore the island and try to find the right clues to lift a curse, one of several to choose from.


You start with an action deck of 35+ cards which also functions as your party's health. Everything you do requires you to discard cards from the deck. There is a big push your luck element here as every action requires a certain number of stars in order to succeed and every action card contains a varying number of stars. Do you play safe and draw more cards to minimise risk but drain more health or do you draw less and hope you succeed.


Every time you draw action cards, you can choose one to keep in your hand. These can be skills to help you control the deck or items you can build to make exploration and encounters easier.


You will find hunting spots along the way where you might find food to eat and replenish your action deck by returning cards from the discard pile but be warned, hunting also has it's own risks.


The action deck also contains 6 curse cards. These do nothing initially except reduce the chance of succeeding an encounter but, once all your action cards are discarded, you shuffle the discard pile and start drawing from that. If you ever draw a curse card from the discard, it's game over.


This is where the meat of the game is. You need to balance drawing cards and exploring the island with finding beneficial combos and cunning tricks to replenish the action deck. You won't be able to investigate every nook and cranny on the island in one game but, because of the roguelike nature, while you don't carry over any items between games, you can use your knowledge of the island to make your progress quicker. The more you play, the more familiar you get with the island and you know where to go to hunt, what things are worth looking at and what you should avoid.


The curses themselves are varied and play anywhere from 3 to 30 hours! This is great as it means there is a ton of play time but also a point of frustration as having to restart from the beginning after getting 10 hours into a curse can really put people off.


On the whole, I love it. 7th Continent really captures the feel of Jules Verne, HG Wells and that era of fiction. The way the map cards align seamlessly to reveal a complete landscape looks fantastic on the table and I enjoy the old school option of drawing maps and taking notes as I play.


I certainly recommend giving this game a try if you can.
  
The Woman in the Window
The Woman in the Window
A.J. Finn | 2018 | Thriller
9
8.0 (41 Ratings)
Book Rating
Anna has what's called Agoraphobia, meaning that she has anxiety leaving her house. Therefore, anything that needs to be done outside the house, she has done for her. Any medications she needs, groceries, etc., they are delivered to her house. She can't even bare to open a window because it would trigger her phobia. You learn there are different reasons for this kind of phobia.

Loss of a loved one.

Tragic accident.

Or...it could be something else entirely.

Ann also talks to other people with the same phobia and tries to also council them. You don't find out till much later as to why Anna who was a child psychologist now cannot bare to leave her home. She suffers from depression and is on multiple medications. She's separated from her husband, whom also has their daughter with him.

And she drinks...a lot.

One of the things I liked about Anna is her love for old movies. I loved how Finn incorporated some lines from different movies, including Alfred Hitchcock. Anna witnesses a murder in her neighbors house across the street. Try as she may, nobody takes her seriously and blame it on the medication she takes with alcohol.

“You can hear someone’s secrets and their fears and their wants, but remember that these exist alongside other people’s secrets and fears, people living in the same room.”

I kind of felt bad for her, but sometime during the story, I started to get frustrated with her as well. I really got a Girl on a Train feel. The main character always needs a drink or has to drink something in order to keep herself together, even though the alcohol doesn't help her situation at all.

On a different note, Girl on a Train was highly depressing.

The more the story progressed the more intrigued I got because there were quite a few twists that I honestly didn't see coming and I found myself yelling, 'WHAT?' Glad I was only listening to a book in the car and not in my house where someone could look at me funny. Not that people don't do that anyway, but such as life as a bookworm, I don't care.

“The definition of insanity, Fox, Wesley used to remind me, paraphrasing Einstein, is doing the same thing again and again and expecting different result.”

I've read a few psychological thrillers and while they were good, none kept me on my toes like this one. So many things happen with Anna and they come in bits and pieces but eventually make up a whole puzzle. You almost start to believe that perhaps Anna didn't see someone being murdered...maybe she did have an illusion.

Did it happen?

You have to read and find out.

I'd definitely give this 4 1/2 stars. Finn's writing in Anna's point of view is brilliant. You are inside her head and you are seeing everything through her eyes. She may start to ramble from time to time, but that just shows that she's still someone who is suffering. Other characters that play a major role in her life you don't know all that much...but you learn who they are in the end.

It's a long book, but every minute of it was well worth the listen. I will say that toward the beginning it was more like Girl on a Train, but it slowly morphs into Alfred Hitchcock's, Rear Window. I will say that I look forward to A.J. Finn's next novel.
  
Monopoly: The Walking Dead
Monopoly: The Walking Dead
2013 | Economic, Entertainment, Territory Building
I'll be honest, I'm a sucker for a themed version of Monopoly so a Walking Dead version really appealed. Although it's a good version, personally its not my favourite.

For starters, this is based on the original comics/graphic novels so there is quite a bit in this that won't be familiar to fans of the show (like me). It's not as easy to get into a themed game like this when you don't know everything about the subject. I also think that the themed items (money, properties and chance/community chest cards) are a little weak compared to other themed versions out there. Although this could just be because I'm not as big a fan of The Walking Dead as I thought! What I did love was the tokens, it's a little dark and disturbing to get to play as Lucille or a bucket of body parts.


The rest of the gameplay is standard Monopoly fare as expected, but maybe this is one made for die hard Walking Dead fans.
  
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Britt Smith (36 KP) rated Dredd (2012) in Movies

Mar 12, 2018 (Updated Mar 12, 2018)  
Dredd (2012)
Dredd (2012)
2012 | Action, Sci-Fi
Pure action (2 more)
True to the comic
MaMa
Yeah.
What's not to love here? A fan of the comic, I had the chance to see the movie in 3D and it is one of the best cinema experiences ever (and the best action to date). Carl Urban does absolute justice to the character, and the movie itself does Mega-City 1 right. If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor.

Also, favorite female villain of all time goes to Ma-Ma. Best put by Lena Headey when she said "I think of her like an old great white shark who is just waiting for someone bigger and stronger to show up and kill her. She's ready for it. In fact, she can't wait for it to happen. And yet no one can get the job done. She's an addict, so she's dead in that way, but that last knock just hasn't come. This big, fat, scarred shark moving through the sea and everyone flees and she's like, 'Will someone just have the balls to do it? Please?'"
  
The Black Cauldron (1985)
The Black Cauldron (1985)
1985 | Adventure, Animation, Fantasy
9
7.5 (55 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Dark Disney Movie
In the 80's disney released alot of dark twisted movie. Like "The Watcher in the Woods", "Dragonslayer", "Something Wicked This Way Comes" and "Return to Oz". This movie is. Including with those movies. This movie is dark and twisted. But at the same time, its a excellent animation movie. About love, betrayal, mystical power and evil vs. good. Its like "Robin Hood" mix with "The Sword in the Stone". Combine those two films you get this film.

The plot: In the land of Prydain, lowly pig herder Taran (Grant Bardsley) dreams of becoming a gallant knight. Young Taran receives his heroic calling when the evil Horned King (John Hurt) kidnaps Hen-Wren, a prophesying pig that had been entrusted to Taran. Now, with help from his furry sidekick Gurgi and Princess Eilonwy, Taran must locate the magical black cauldron before the Horned King is able to use its mystical powers to summon an army of the undead.

Its a very underrated animation film, that i highly recordmend watching it.
  
Days That I'll Remeber: Spending Time with John Lennon and Yoko Ono
Days That I'll Remeber: Spending Time with John Lennon and Yoko Ono
Jonathan Cott | 2013 | Biography, Music & Dance
(0 Ratings)
Book Favorite

"Jonathan Cott is somebody we all know in our circle to be a quiet genius. Rolling Stone asked him to interview us a few times. This book is a collection of those interviews. Nothing more. Reading it, I thought “Wow, we weren’t bad at all.” Because most writers wanted to sensationalize us, thinking that if they didn’t do that, it might be boring – and nobody would buy the book! So their ‘interviews’ usually came out nothing like what we were like. I have never recommended any books about John and Yoko. But this book made me choke up. I heard John in my ears and felt him in my heart. This is a good book for Lennon fans. And I.. Well, I come out as the second banana (okay, okay!) You will get an inkling of two people in love, sometimes making daring remarks, yet not forgetting to protect each other in the interviews. In fact, this is really the way we were, folks! Have a good read."

Source
  
Tootsie (1982)
Tootsie (1982)
1982 | Comedy, Drama
I have heard raves about this film for what feels like most of my life. I'm not sure why I waited so long to watch it, but I'm damn glad I did. I LOVED this film. Dustin Hoffman is a powerhouse and I love seeing Bill Murray and his quick quips - they never fail to make me laugh. I think this film says a lot about society in the deeper layers. Dustin's character Michael creates a character, Dorothy, to audition for parts because he's been somewhat blackballed by the industry. In his mind, being a woman is the way to work again. The irony is that it seems women are far more competitive in industries like entertainment because of the way we are ridiculed and broken down, piece by piece. I find it interesting the being Dorothy was the way Michael was able to work. It doesn't seem that plausible these days.

Overall, I think this is a must-see, just for the laughs and the rollercoaster ride Dustin Hoffman takes you on. He's brilliant and it shows.