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Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Five Tribes in Tabletop Games
Jun 21, 2019 (Updated Dec 17, 2019)
The Sultan of Naqala has ruled for many years, keeping the city prosperous and living in peace. Comprised of five different tribes, all inhabitants work and live together in harmony. But now the Sultan has died, and word of his passing has traveled far and wide – a magnificent city without a ruler? Who could pass that up? You make your way to Naqala to put in a bid for the throne, but others have heard the news and shown up with your same idea! Can you use your wit and devise a strategy to manipulate the tribes to your benefit? Or will a competitor undermine your attempts and win the tribes over to their side? Only one can be victorious – to whom will the tribes show preference? Play Five Tribes to find out!
DISCLAIMER: There are several expansions for this game. Though we have them in our collection, for this review we are only using the base game. Should we decide to review the expansions in the future we will add that information here or link to the full review. -T
Five Tribes is a game of area control, auction/bidding, card drafting, and set collection with a modular board. At the beginning of each round, players bid coins to determine turn order – the higher you bid, the earlier you get to go in the round. On your turn, you will select a tile, pick up all the meeples on it, and move them around the board – dropping only one on each subsequent tile, a la Mancala mechanic. There are strict rules regarding meeple movement and placement, so strategy is key in deciding the best path to VPs each turn. When you place your final meeple on a tile, take all meeples of that same color from the tile into your hand. If that completely clears the tile, place one of your camels on it to indicate that it is under your control. Each meeple color represents a different tribe, and each tribe grants the player certain powers when collected – i.e. gathering resources, gaining gold, or invoking Djinn powers. After you use your meeple power, you also have the opportunity to use the power of your ending tile, whether it is under your control or not. The game ends when a player has placed their final camel, or if there are no more legal moves to be made. VPs are tallied, and the player with the highest score wins!
As a kid, I played Mancala A LOT. I’m not entirely sure why. I learned it at school, caught the bug, and started playing it a ton at home too. Five Tribes takes Mancala and makes it 1000x better. The pick-up-and-drop mechanic is integral to the game, but there is so much strategy required that you will never be bored playing Five Tribes. You have to follow movement/placement rules, you have to figure out what meeple power you’d like to use on a given turn, you also have to decide if there’s a certain tile power you need – all while the board is constantly changing between each player’s turn. That’s why bidding for turn order can be so important! If you see a move that will earn you tons of VP, are you willing to spend your hard-earned gold (VP) to ensure that you can make that move? Or are you content with saving your gold and capitalizing on opportunities that may be presented later in the round? The board is constantly changing, and your strategy must follow suit if you are to have any hope of winning! There is no single strategy for a guaranteed win every game, and that keeps Five Tribes refreshingly fun and engaging.
The one negative I have about Five Tribes is that there is kind of a learning curve to this game. There are so many moving elements, different iconography, and special powers that it can be overwhelming for a new player. After a couple of plays, it is easier to remember the intricacies of the game, but at first it can be kind of daunting. Not a huge negative, just something to keep in mind when pulling it out for newer players!
Overall, I love Five Tribes. The gameplay is engaging, the strategic options are diverse and seemingly limitless, and the components are awesome quality. I only just got this game for Christmas last year, but it’s making its way up the ranks in my list of favorite games! If you haven’t already, give this game a try – there’s more to it than meets the eye! Purple Phoenix Games gives Five Tribes a fantastic 21 / 24.
DISCLAIMER: There are several expansions for this game. Though we have them in our collection, for this review we are only using the base game. Should we decide to review the expansions in the future we will add that information here or link to the full review. -T
Five Tribes is a game of area control, auction/bidding, card drafting, and set collection with a modular board. At the beginning of each round, players bid coins to determine turn order – the higher you bid, the earlier you get to go in the round. On your turn, you will select a tile, pick up all the meeples on it, and move them around the board – dropping only one on each subsequent tile, a la Mancala mechanic. There are strict rules regarding meeple movement and placement, so strategy is key in deciding the best path to VPs each turn. When you place your final meeple on a tile, take all meeples of that same color from the tile into your hand. If that completely clears the tile, place one of your camels on it to indicate that it is under your control. Each meeple color represents a different tribe, and each tribe grants the player certain powers when collected – i.e. gathering resources, gaining gold, or invoking Djinn powers. After you use your meeple power, you also have the opportunity to use the power of your ending tile, whether it is under your control or not. The game ends when a player has placed their final camel, or if there are no more legal moves to be made. VPs are tallied, and the player with the highest score wins!
As a kid, I played Mancala A LOT. I’m not entirely sure why. I learned it at school, caught the bug, and started playing it a ton at home too. Five Tribes takes Mancala and makes it 1000x better. The pick-up-and-drop mechanic is integral to the game, but there is so much strategy required that you will never be bored playing Five Tribes. You have to follow movement/placement rules, you have to figure out what meeple power you’d like to use on a given turn, you also have to decide if there’s a certain tile power you need – all while the board is constantly changing between each player’s turn. That’s why bidding for turn order can be so important! If you see a move that will earn you tons of VP, are you willing to spend your hard-earned gold (VP) to ensure that you can make that move? Or are you content with saving your gold and capitalizing on opportunities that may be presented later in the round? The board is constantly changing, and your strategy must follow suit if you are to have any hope of winning! There is no single strategy for a guaranteed win every game, and that keeps Five Tribes refreshingly fun and engaging.
The one negative I have about Five Tribes is that there is kind of a learning curve to this game. There are so many moving elements, different iconography, and special powers that it can be overwhelming for a new player. After a couple of plays, it is easier to remember the intricacies of the game, but at first it can be kind of daunting. Not a huge negative, just something to keep in mind when pulling it out for newer players!
Overall, I love Five Tribes. The gameplay is engaging, the strategic options are diverse and seemingly limitless, and the components are awesome quality. I only just got this game for Christmas last year, but it’s making its way up the ranks in my list of favorite games! If you haven’t already, give this game a try – there’s more to it than meets the eye! Purple Phoenix Games gives Five Tribes a fantastic 21 / 24.
Joe Julians (221 KP) rated Titanic (1997) in Movies
Jan 30, 2018
A Masterclass of Cinema
At some point between 1997 and, say a few years ago, not liking Titanic became the "cool" thing to do. Despite it's almost overwhelming popularity when it was released, as the years have gone by, fewer will admit their love for this film and some people will actively slate it. Each to their own of course, everyone is entitled to like or dislike anything, but for me, I'll never understand how this can be viewed as anything other than a masterclass of cinema.
This is an epic, grandiose and utterly captivating thing to watch. The cast are perfect- every single one of them. I can't think of a single actor that puts a foot wrong throughout it's admittedly hefty run time. The script is wonderfully and meticulously researched and the set design is incredible. Every detail of the ship was looked at and recreated and whilst there are a few inaccuracies, the Titanic feels real again so many years after the real one went down.
I mentioned the run time and that's often one of the problems that is mentioned when people take issue with Titanic. It is long- perhaps too long. The modern-day sequences that bookend the film could maybe have done with some trimming down, but when I watch this, there's hardly any moment that I could single out as not needing to be there.
In many ways, Titanic is the perfect film. You get the love story dominating the first half, but if you aren't invested in that, the second gives you the sinking and nearly 21 years on, it's still breath taking to watch.
I haven't even mentioned the score yet- it's beautiful. This was James Horner's best work by far, so good in fact that I don't think the film would be anywhere near as memorable were it not for the amazing work he put in here. Celine Dion may be the first name people think of when the music from Titanic is mentioned, but it's certainly Horner that deserves every single bit of credit.
This is an epic, grandiose and utterly captivating thing to watch. The cast are perfect- every single one of them. I can't think of a single actor that puts a foot wrong throughout it's admittedly hefty run time. The script is wonderfully and meticulously researched and the set design is incredible. Every detail of the ship was looked at and recreated and whilst there are a few inaccuracies, the Titanic feels real again so many years after the real one went down.
I mentioned the run time and that's often one of the problems that is mentioned when people take issue with Titanic. It is long- perhaps too long. The modern-day sequences that bookend the film could maybe have done with some trimming down, but when I watch this, there's hardly any moment that I could single out as not needing to be there.
In many ways, Titanic is the perfect film. You get the love story dominating the first half, but if you aren't invested in that, the second gives you the sinking and nearly 21 years on, it's still breath taking to watch.
I haven't even mentioned the score yet- it's beautiful. This was James Horner's best work by far, so good in fact that I don't think the film would be anywhere near as memorable were it not for the amazing work he put in here. Celine Dion may be the first name people think of when the music from Titanic is mentioned, but it's certainly Horner that deserves every single bit of credit.
Sheridan (209 KP) rated Halo: Hunters in the Dark in Books
Jul 9, 2017
Very Enjoyable
Having a massive video gaming background, I'm finding it strange that I never really bothered with Halo. I'm beginning to wonder why that is... It's an interesting world to say the least. My Dad let me borrow this novel after he read it because he knows I love my sci-fi. If I'm honest I was a little skeptical about it, having never actually played Halo I was worried it wouldn't make much sense, but it was quite good, it wasn't bogged down with too much information, yet still explained things so that someone who hasn't ever played Halo could still enjoy the novel. I liked the characters and all their differences from each other. Some interactions between characters were particularly amusing at times. If I had one negative thing to say about this one was the ending was a tad predictable. I knew how it was going to go from around the end of chapter ten. Other than that it was an interesting read with a few gripping moments that had me walking around with my nose in the book :) You like sci-fi and aliens? Pick this one up, it's not overly taxing to weave your way through the Halo world, and it's enjoyable too.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley. Unfortunately I didn't read it in time so I finally just went out and got the book instead.
I am a huge fan of Tim Burton & The Nightmare Before Christmas is one of my all time favorite movies. When I saw this up for review on Netgalley, I just knew I had to read it. The best thing about Mangas are the fact that you read it backwards. It's pretty fun to go the opposite way and experience something different.
When reading this book, I realized just how much I love the movie and I'm now thinking that I haven't spent nearly enough time watching or listening to this movie. The artwork that Jun Asuka did was spectacular. It was extremely well done and did honor to the movie. The only thing that drove me a little crazy was that the entire songs were missing. I know, I shouldn't need to read them all but it just felt like something was missing every time a song would come up and then be glossed over.
Ultimately, this was a lot of fun, the artwork was beautiful and it was a fun way to go back to one of my favorite movies.
I am a huge fan of Tim Burton & The Nightmare Before Christmas is one of my all time favorite movies. When I saw this up for review on Netgalley, I just knew I had to read it. The best thing about Mangas are the fact that you read it backwards. It's pretty fun to go the opposite way and experience something different.
When reading this book, I realized just how much I love the movie and I'm now thinking that I haven't spent nearly enough time watching or listening to this movie. The artwork that Jun Asuka did was spectacular. It was extremely well done and did honor to the movie. The only thing that drove me a little crazy was that the entire songs were missing. I know, I shouldn't need to read them all but it just felt like something was missing every time a song would come up and then be glossed over.
Ultimately, this was a lot of fun, the artwork was beautiful and it was a fun way to go back to one of my favorite movies.
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Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated The Big Book of Madness in Tabletop Games
Jun 12, 2019
Man, this game looks great! The components are really cool! The premise is excellent, and something that is somewhat underused! This is going to be amazing! We get to be Harry Potter and his friends tracking down baddies and using spells to squish them back in their book!
Except, it totally misses the mark for me. -100 points to Grifflepuffinclaw.
So here you are minding your own business at magic college, when you happen past The Big Book of Madness and its pages fly open, releasing monsters onto the campus. Being the heroes that you are training to become, you leap into action to use your spells to reign them back into the book and save the day… hopefully before lunch in the caf. (Purists, I know that’s not exactly the premise, take a cold shower.)
This game uses some clever mechanics, like a shared pool of spell cards that can be used on anyone’s turn to help them with their plans, deck building (which is my favorite mechanic), variable player powers, and a super-sweet book that is assembled while setting up. The shared pool is the best part of this game. You can send cards from your hand right into the shared pool of cards that are available to everyone on their turn, should they need them to defeat curses.
We are no strangers to co-op games, so this was an easy win in my head. But, for some unfathomable reason, my playmates refused to put cards into the shared pool. Y U NO HLAP MEH, FREN?? I am almost positive that the shared pool is the key to victory, but after several plays of this game, I don’t think any of us really want to try anymore. That being said, I have since gotten rid of this game and am excited to see what will fill its shoes as the next great-looking co-op with a shared resource pool. Sorry IELLO, I typically love your products.
Purple Phoenix Games gives The Big Book of Madness a big ol score of 8 / 12.
https://purplephoenixgames.wordpress.com/2018/12/10/the-big-book-of-madness-review/
Except, it totally misses the mark for me. -100 points to Grifflepuffinclaw.
So here you are minding your own business at magic college, when you happen past The Big Book of Madness and its pages fly open, releasing monsters onto the campus. Being the heroes that you are training to become, you leap into action to use your spells to reign them back into the book and save the day… hopefully before lunch in the caf. (Purists, I know that’s not exactly the premise, take a cold shower.)
This game uses some clever mechanics, like a shared pool of spell cards that can be used on anyone’s turn to help them with their plans, deck building (which is my favorite mechanic), variable player powers, and a super-sweet book that is assembled while setting up. The shared pool is the best part of this game. You can send cards from your hand right into the shared pool of cards that are available to everyone on their turn, should they need them to defeat curses.
We are no strangers to co-op games, so this was an easy win in my head. But, for some unfathomable reason, my playmates refused to put cards into the shared pool. Y U NO HLAP MEH, FREN?? I am almost positive that the shared pool is the key to victory, but after several plays of this game, I don’t think any of us really want to try anymore. That being said, I have since gotten rid of this game and am excited to see what will fill its shoes as the next great-looking co-op with a shared resource pool. Sorry IELLO, I typically love your products.
Purple Phoenix Games gives The Big Book of Madness a big ol score of 8 / 12.
https://purplephoenixgames.wordpress.com/2018/12/10/the-big-book-of-madness-review/
Path on - Swipe to Type
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6.0
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Introduced by official App Store Facebook!!! Now your pictures can have a thousand words with Path...
This is both a very unique and fairly faithful retelling of the classic Beauty and the Beast fairytale. Hunted takes place in Russia and our main character Yeva (Beauty) is a huntress. She is headstrong, kind, caring, has a bit of a temper and can be vengeful - but overall I quite liked her character.
Like the classic tale, Beauty is the youngest of three sisters and daughter of a merchant. In some versions, she also has three brothers and her sisters are unkind - but that is not the case in this retelling. They live in a nice house until a shipping gamble costs them everything. They are forced to move to their father's old hunting cabin, which is a three-day walk from their current home. Her father used to be a hunter, but his wife believed that it was too dangerous and asked him to stop. Despite that, as a child Beauty was allowed to go hunting with her father and learned to love it. Unfortunately, as she grew her father decided that it was not the way a lady should purport herself and no longer allowed her to hunt.
After the loss of their fortune, Yeva and her family must learn to make due with less. Her father takes up hunting again and goes off to catch game for them to store for the winter. Unfortunately, when he returns he is distraught and swears that the Beast he saw when he was younger is stalking him. When he doesn't return from his second trip, Yeva sets out to find him and this is where the story adopts some significantly different elements from the original tale.
In the original, the father enters a castle and accepts his host's hospitality, but upon leaving takes a single rose for his daughter Beauty and is told he has a choice. He shall either be condemned to death for it or he must stay in the castle. While these are not the events that lead to Yeva's time in the castle, nevertheless she ends up imprisoned there. Over time, she and the Beast grow to know one another - but her treatment isn't as kind overall as the original.
I really enjoyed the tales that Yeva told while she was in captivity because they built the lore of the world and gave us a look into what the characters had grown up listening to. Although Yeva spent most of her time as the castle, I do wish that we were able to get to know the other characters like her sisters a little better. They seem very kind, but relatively one-dimensional. As a result of the Beast's curse, I don't feel like we got to know him as well as we could have. I would have loved to watch him grow and connect with him as Yeva does so that I could feel that </i>yes, they could fall in love.</i> I liked Yeva, but her dog Doe-Eyes was probably my favourite character. The dog was so cheerful and loyal that you couldn't help but love her.
The world that Yeva knows is not one we get to see very often in young adult literature. It is a melding of Russia, with its unique environment and folklore, with a more fantastical world. Yeva tells tales of the Firebird, sees a creature that is half dragon and half woman, and learns to listen to the music of that other world. The world itself reminds me a lot of the Grisha trilogy, although the plots and characters are nothing alike. I would love to experience more of the lore that built this enchanted world in the form of novellas.
I would highly recommend this to young adult/teen readers who enjoy fairytales and retellings, especially ones with a unique take on the tale that includes a lot of culture and lore.
Like the classic tale, Beauty is the youngest of three sisters and daughter of a merchant. In some versions, she also has three brothers and her sisters are unkind - but that is not the case in this retelling. They live in a nice house until a shipping gamble costs them everything. They are forced to move to their father's old hunting cabin, which is a three-day walk from their current home. Her father used to be a hunter, but his wife believed that it was too dangerous and asked him to stop. Despite that, as a child Beauty was allowed to go hunting with her father and learned to love it. Unfortunately, as she grew her father decided that it was not the way a lady should purport herself and no longer allowed her to hunt.
After the loss of their fortune, Yeva and her family must learn to make due with less. Her father takes up hunting again and goes off to catch game for them to store for the winter. Unfortunately, when he returns he is distraught and swears that the Beast he saw when he was younger is stalking him. When he doesn't return from his second trip, Yeva sets out to find him and this is where the story adopts some significantly different elements from the original tale.
In the original, the father enters a castle and accepts his host's hospitality, but upon leaving takes a single rose for his daughter Beauty and is told he has a choice. He shall either be condemned to death for it or he must stay in the castle. While these are not the events that lead to Yeva's time in the castle, nevertheless she ends up imprisoned there. Over time, she and the Beast grow to know one another - but her treatment isn't as kind overall as the original.
I really enjoyed the tales that Yeva told while she was in captivity because they built the lore of the world and gave us a look into what the characters had grown up listening to. Although Yeva spent most of her time as the castle, I do wish that we were able to get to know the other characters like her sisters a little better. They seem very kind, but relatively one-dimensional. As a result of the Beast's curse, I don't feel like we got to know him as well as we could have. I would have loved to watch him grow and connect with him as Yeva does so that I could feel that </i>yes, they could fall in love.</i> I liked Yeva, but her dog Doe-Eyes was probably my favourite character. The dog was so cheerful and loyal that you couldn't help but love her.
The world that Yeva knows is not one we get to see very often in young adult literature. It is a melding of Russia, with its unique environment and folklore, with a more fantastical world. Yeva tells tales of the Firebird, sees a creature that is half dragon and half woman, and learns to listen to the music of that other world. The world itself reminds me a lot of the Grisha trilogy, although the plots and characters are nothing alike. I would love to experience more of the lore that built this enchanted world in the form of novellas.
I would highly recommend this to young adult/teen readers who enjoy fairytales and retellings, especially ones with a unique take on the tale that includes a lot of culture and lore.
Farm Frenzy 2: Pizza Party
Games and Entertainment
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Attention! This version may not be compatible with iPhone 7!...