Search
Search results
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated One Pink Line in Books
Nov 26, 2018
A Feel Good Kind of Story
Normally, I'm not a women's fiction kind of person. However, I have been pleasantly surprised with the books I've read in this genre, so I decided to give One Pink Line by Dina Silver a go.
I found the plot and world building of One Pink Line to be very well written and enjoyable. As you can already guess from the title, this book deals with pregnancy and is a very straight forward but sweet story. This also wasn't a very long novel. It was enjoyable to read about Sydney's ups and downs with her pregnancy, and it was interesting to read about how Grace felt about everything from her perspective as well. There weren't any plot twists that I can remember, but this book didn't need any to be good. There also weren't any cliff hangers at the end of the book, and all of my questions were answered.
The characters in One Pink Line were all very enjoyable to read about. As I've said before, I enjoyed reading about how Sydney dealt with her pregnancy as well as her feelings with her life, the pregnancy, and her love life. Grace struggled with learning that the dad she had come to know wasn't actually her biological dad. It was interesting to read things from her point of view as show grows up from a 5th grader to a 22 year old woman. I admired Ethan and how loving he was throughout everything. I also loved Ethan's mom and how doting she was.
I enjoyed the pacing very much in One Pink Line. The story flowed very well, and not once did I find myself becoming bored. In fact, I looked forward to each time I could read more about Sydney's and Grace's life.
Trigger warnings for One Pink Line include some profanity, alcohol use, implied sex, and an unwed pregnancy.
All in all, One Pink Line is a feel good kind of story. It is such a sweet book that will definitely leave you with happy feelings long after you've finished it. I would definitely recommend One Pink Line by Dina Silver to all women aged 16+.
I found the plot and world building of One Pink Line to be very well written and enjoyable. As you can already guess from the title, this book deals with pregnancy and is a very straight forward but sweet story. This also wasn't a very long novel. It was enjoyable to read about Sydney's ups and downs with her pregnancy, and it was interesting to read about how Grace felt about everything from her perspective as well. There weren't any plot twists that I can remember, but this book didn't need any to be good. There also weren't any cliff hangers at the end of the book, and all of my questions were answered.
The characters in One Pink Line were all very enjoyable to read about. As I've said before, I enjoyed reading about how Sydney dealt with her pregnancy as well as her feelings with her life, the pregnancy, and her love life. Grace struggled with learning that the dad she had come to know wasn't actually her biological dad. It was interesting to read things from her point of view as show grows up from a 5th grader to a 22 year old woman. I admired Ethan and how loving he was throughout everything. I also loved Ethan's mom and how doting she was.
I enjoyed the pacing very much in One Pink Line. The story flowed very well, and not once did I find myself becoming bored. In fact, I looked forward to each time I could read more about Sydney's and Grace's life.
Trigger warnings for One Pink Line include some profanity, alcohol use, implied sex, and an unwed pregnancy.
All in all, One Pink Line is a feel good kind of story. It is such a sweet book that will definitely leave you with happy feelings long after you've finished it. I would definitely recommend One Pink Line by Dina Silver to all women aged 16+.
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated Don't Drink the Pink in Books
Jun 27, 2019
I love children's picture books. They're so much fun and usually so lighthearted. When I had the opportunity to review Don't Drink the Pink by B.C.R. Fegan, I jumped at the chance. This book sounded like it would be a fun one! I ended up liking it a lot.
At the beginning of Don't Drink the Pink, we're introduced to Madeline on her first birthday where her Grandpa Gilderberry gives her a box of potions telling her not to drink the pink. On every birthday up to her fourteenth, she is allowed to have one potion as long as it isn't pink. These potions give Madeline special abilities. On her fifteenth birthday, Madeline is allowed to finally drink the pink potion. You'll just have to see what happens when Madeline finally is allowed to drink the pink potion. Just be sure to have your tissues ready because it is touching.
The plot for Don't Drink the Pink is definitely entertaining and sure to have children guessing at which ability Madeline will have next. It'll also keep children wondering if and when Madeline can drink the pink potion as well as what will happen when she does. This book uses rhyming language with the last word on every other sentence. I believe this makes the book more fun and will hold a child's attention more. One thing to note, a family member does die in the book which can be quite heavy for a small child. Don't Drink the Pink doesn't go into detail about the death. The wording just mentions that this certain character passed away. I do understand why the author included the death, but it does take away from the lightheartedness of the story. However, Don't Drink the Pink is a lovely story, and that shouldn't be a deal breaker.
Madeline and her grandfather are such sweet lovable characters. It was so endearing to see how close they were. I could feel the love between them coming off the pages. I just wanted to hug them both!
As for the illustrations, I read Don't Drink the Pink on my Kindle Paperwhite, so they were all in black and white which was a shame. The illustrations were drawn very well and were very adorable. The pictures were drawn in a way that a child would love. I just wish I could have had color to the illustrations because I bet with the colors, the illustrations look even more amazing! Another unfortunate circumstance of not being able to have colored illustrations on my Kindle was that my 4 year old wasn't as entertained. However, had we have had colored illustrations, I'm sure he would have loved this story! Kudos to Lenny Wen for his talent when it came to illustrating Don't Drink the Pink. He is definitely talented!
Overall, despite the mention of a character's passing, Don't Drink the Pink is a sweet story. The rhyming is fantastic, and it has a story line that will hold a child's and adult's attention. I would definitely recommend Don't Drink the Pink by B.C.R. Fegan to adults and children between the ages of 3 through 7 although older children may like this book as well.
--
(A special thank you to TaleBlade Press for providing me with an eBook of Don't Drink the Pink by B.C.R. Fegan in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.)
At the beginning of Don't Drink the Pink, we're introduced to Madeline on her first birthday where her Grandpa Gilderberry gives her a box of potions telling her not to drink the pink. On every birthday up to her fourteenth, she is allowed to have one potion as long as it isn't pink. These potions give Madeline special abilities. On her fifteenth birthday, Madeline is allowed to finally drink the pink potion. You'll just have to see what happens when Madeline finally is allowed to drink the pink potion. Just be sure to have your tissues ready because it is touching.
The plot for Don't Drink the Pink is definitely entertaining and sure to have children guessing at which ability Madeline will have next. It'll also keep children wondering if and when Madeline can drink the pink potion as well as what will happen when she does. This book uses rhyming language with the last word on every other sentence. I believe this makes the book more fun and will hold a child's attention more. One thing to note, a family member does die in the book which can be quite heavy for a small child. Don't Drink the Pink doesn't go into detail about the death. The wording just mentions that this certain character passed away. I do understand why the author included the death, but it does take away from the lightheartedness of the story. However, Don't Drink the Pink is a lovely story, and that shouldn't be a deal breaker.
Madeline and her grandfather are such sweet lovable characters. It was so endearing to see how close they were. I could feel the love between them coming off the pages. I just wanted to hug them both!
As for the illustrations, I read Don't Drink the Pink on my Kindle Paperwhite, so they were all in black and white which was a shame. The illustrations were drawn very well and were very adorable. The pictures were drawn in a way that a child would love. I just wish I could have had color to the illustrations because I bet with the colors, the illustrations look even more amazing! Another unfortunate circumstance of not being able to have colored illustrations on my Kindle was that my 4 year old wasn't as entertained. However, had we have had colored illustrations, I'm sure he would have loved this story! Kudos to Lenny Wen for his talent when it came to illustrating Don't Drink the Pink. He is definitely talented!
Overall, despite the mention of a character's passing, Don't Drink the Pink is a sweet story. The rhyming is fantastic, and it has a story line that will hold a child's and adult's attention. I would definitely recommend Don't Drink the Pink by B.C.R. Fegan to adults and children between the ages of 3 through 7 although older children may like this book as well.
--
(A special thank you to TaleBlade Press for providing me with an eBook of Don't Drink the Pink by B.C.R. Fegan in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.)
Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated Bright Pink Ink: New & Selected Poems in Books
Feb 3, 2020
<a href="https://diaryofdifference.com/">Blog</a>; | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/diaryofdifference/">Facebook</a>; | <a href="https://twitter.com/DiaryDifference">Twitter</a>; | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/diaryofdifference/">Instagram</a>; | <a href="https://www.pinterest.co.uk/diaryofdifference/pins/">Pinterest</a>;
<img src="https://diaryofdifference.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Book-Review-Banner-3.png"/>;
<b><i>‘’I was born to destroy everything you ever loved before me.’’</i></b>
It is very hard for me to judge this work and write a book review. It's hard to tell you what I think because I don't feel like I'm an expert in poetry. I love reading poetry, but I don't read it as much. I love poetry, but maybe I don't understand it.
<b><i>Bright Pink Ink: New and Selected Poems</i></b> has a jolly vibe to it, a lot of love & happiness, emotions of loss, missing loved ones and love, as well as a feminist vibe that is refreshing. It was an enjoyable read.
However, it also holds a little bit if monotony with it, very short poems or poems that are written as prose. I encountered a few repetitive sentences on a few occasions and while I know that repeating a line is common in poetry to straighten the meaning and add rhythm - in this occasion it wasn't pleasurable to read.
<b><i>"Maybe I should tell them about my husband's laugh. A sound that erupts as suns inside me till I float - free as dust." </i></b>
I loved <b><i>‘’A poem from 4/14/2015 read on 6/21/2017’’.</i></b> It is written quite well, with two parallel stories happening while you read, in a different timeline. I really enjoyed it, despite the great annoyance that is the date. The only logical date format I know of is day - month - year.
There were a lot of feminist vibes through the poems, which was pleasantly enjoyable. On this topic, <b><i>"Mortal Gods Demand a Sacrifice"</i></b> was my favourite one.
<b><i>"The moon must've thought you were the sun." </i></b>
Thank you to the author Laura Dinovis Berry for sending me a copy of Bright Pink Ink in exchange for an honest review.
<a href="https://diaryofdifference.com/">Blog</a>; | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/diaryofdifference/">Facebook</a>; | <a href="https://twitter.com/DiaryDifference">Twitter</a>; | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/diaryofdifference/">Instagram</a>; | <a href="https://www.pinterest.co.uk/diaryofdifference/pins/">Pinterest</a>;
<img src="https://diaryofdifference.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Book-Review-Banner-3.png"/>;
<b><i>‘’I was born to destroy everything you ever loved before me.’’</i></b>
It is very hard for me to judge this work and write a book review. It's hard to tell you what I think because I don't feel like I'm an expert in poetry. I love reading poetry, but I don't read it as much. I love poetry, but maybe I don't understand it.
<b><i>Bright Pink Ink: New and Selected Poems</i></b> has a jolly vibe to it, a lot of love & happiness, emotions of loss, missing loved ones and love, as well as a feminist vibe that is refreshing. It was an enjoyable read.
However, it also holds a little bit if monotony with it, very short poems or poems that are written as prose. I encountered a few repetitive sentences on a few occasions and while I know that repeating a line is common in poetry to straighten the meaning and add rhythm - in this occasion it wasn't pleasurable to read.
<b><i>"Maybe I should tell them about my husband's laugh. A sound that erupts as suns inside me till I float - free as dust." </i></b>
I loved <b><i>‘’A poem from 4/14/2015 read on 6/21/2017’’.</i></b> It is written quite well, with two parallel stories happening while you read, in a different timeline. I really enjoyed it, despite the great annoyance that is the date. The only logical date format I know of is day - month - year.
There were a lot of feminist vibes through the poems, which was pleasantly enjoyable. On this topic, <b><i>"Mortal Gods Demand a Sacrifice"</i></b> was my favourite one.
<b><i>"The moon must've thought you were the sun." </i></b>
Thank you to the author Laura Dinovis Berry for sending me a copy of Bright Pink Ink in exchange for an honest review.
<a href="https://diaryofdifference.com/">Blog</a>; | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/diaryofdifference/">Facebook</a>; | <a href="https://twitter.com/DiaryDifference">Twitter</a>; | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/diaryofdifference/">Instagram</a>; | <a href="https://www.pinterest.co.uk/diaryofdifference/pins/">Pinterest</a>;
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Tales & Games: The Three Little Pigs in Tabletop Games
Aug 18, 2020
The Wolf always gets a bad rap. Think of all the stories you know that include an anthropomorphic wolf and tell me three that show The Wolf in a positive light. Can’t think of any? Me neither. But they need to eat to survive and it’s tough in these streets! errm, trees! Such is the plight of The Wolf in this one, as he is attempting to wrest the Little Pigs out of their hidey-holes so he can have a nice bacon dinner. And honestly, who can blame him? Bacon!
Tales & Games: The Three Little Pigs (which I will fondly refer to as 3LP for the remainder of this review) is a cute little family dice and take-that game about building houses for maximum points while avoiding The Wolf’s hungry advances. The winner of the game is the Little Piggy who has built the most complete structures using the best materials that afford them the most endgame points.
To setup, sort the building tiles by material type and house level type as shown inside the box cover. Place the dice and spinner nearby. Let the youngest or cutest player go first. The game is now ready to be played!
On a player’s turn they will roll all the dice Yahtzee-style (so with two re-roll attempts), and the remainder of the turn is based on what is rolled. Players are not required to re-roll, but must stop once two or more Wolf symbols are rolled, or after the second re-roll. The player may then use the dice to purchase house materials corresponding to what was rolled. If three doors are rolled, a player may purchase a straw door (which cost two door symbols) or a wooden door (which cost three door symbols). These house parts can be of mixed materials, so once the pieces have been purchased, house construction can then be done.
Should a player roll The Wolf, then the “breath” spinner will be spun. The player who rolled The Wolf dice will choose an opponent AND one of their houses to target. Spin the spinner and destroy all matching pieces in their house. Some children have issues with this, but hey, they should have built more brick sections! Play continues in this fashion taking turns rolling and purchasing and building until several stacks of house sections are gone (depending on player count). All incomplete houses are crumbled, and piggy faces on standing houses are scored to determine the victor! When playing with my kiddo I don’t use the bonus cards, but they are available if playing with older and more strategic players.
Components. As this is one of the famed (and first in the line) Tales & Games Bookshelf games, it has set a standard for the series. These games come in boxes that look like books on the outside, open like a book, and contain a story to be read as a prelude to the game, if wished. The box is very very cool, and the insert is pink and wonderfully designed. The house tiles are thick and colorful, and the pink dice are just a joy to roll. I love the components in this one!
So obviously this is a game really designed to target younger gamers. And though it says 7+ on the box, I have successfully played this with my 3 year old with zero issues. He loves it, and in turn, makes me love it too. Now, I will certainly not pull this out at any given Game Night with adults (unless we have gamer spouses or friends who have NEVER played modern games at all). However, I really do enjoy playing it with my son for now, and for super-newbies. It is colorful, light on rules, offers some choices, and of course, has a touch of luck and take-that. All this while still feeling like you are in the story of The Three Little Pigs. So I say, if you were ever on the fence with this one – get it. Play it with whomever you like and just enjoy it. It is light enough with just a touch of adultness to keep you smiling. But don’t invite your Twilight Imperium or Mage Knight friends. They won’t like it. We at Purple Phoenix Games know how to get down with the simpler games as well, so that’s why we give this one a blown-over 9 / 12.
Tales & Games: The Three Little Pigs (which I will fondly refer to as 3LP for the remainder of this review) is a cute little family dice and take-that game about building houses for maximum points while avoiding The Wolf’s hungry advances. The winner of the game is the Little Piggy who has built the most complete structures using the best materials that afford them the most endgame points.
To setup, sort the building tiles by material type and house level type as shown inside the box cover. Place the dice and spinner nearby. Let the youngest or cutest player go first. The game is now ready to be played!
On a player’s turn they will roll all the dice Yahtzee-style (so with two re-roll attempts), and the remainder of the turn is based on what is rolled. Players are not required to re-roll, but must stop once two or more Wolf symbols are rolled, or after the second re-roll. The player may then use the dice to purchase house materials corresponding to what was rolled. If three doors are rolled, a player may purchase a straw door (which cost two door symbols) or a wooden door (which cost three door symbols). These house parts can be of mixed materials, so once the pieces have been purchased, house construction can then be done.
Should a player roll The Wolf, then the “breath” spinner will be spun. The player who rolled The Wolf dice will choose an opponent AND one of their houses to target. Spin the spinner and destroy all matching pieces in their house. Some children have issues with this, but hey, they should have built more brick sections! Play continues in this fashion taking turns rolling and purchasing and building until several stacks of house sections are gone (depending on player count). All incomplete houses are crumbled, and piggy faces on standing houses are scored to determine the victor! When playing with my kiddo I don’t use the bonus cards, but they are available if playing with older and more strategic players.
Components. As this is one of the famed (and first in the line) Tales & Games Bookshelf games, it has set a standard for the series. These games come in boxes that look like books on the outside, open like a book, and contain a story to be read as a prelude to the game, if wished. The box is very very cool, and the insert is pink and wonderfully designed. The house tiles are thick and colorful, and the pink dice are just a joy to roll. I love the components in this one!
So obviously this is a game really designed to target younger gamers. And though it says 7+ on the box, I have successfully played this with my 3 year old with zero issues. He loves it, and in turn, makes me love it too. Now, I will certainly not pull this out at any given Game Night with adults (unless we have gamer spouses or friends who have NEVER played modern games at all). However, I really do enjoy playing it with my son for now, and for super-newbies. It is colorful, light on rules, offers some choices, and of course, has a touch of luck and take-that. All this while still feeling like you are in the story of The Three Little Pigs. So I say, if you were ever on the fence with this one – get it. Play it with whomever you like and just enjoy it. It is light enough with just a touch of adultness to keep you smiling. But don’t invite your Twilight Imperium or Mage Knight friends. They won’t like it. We at Purple Phoenix Games know how to get down with the simpler games as well, so that’s why we give this one a blown-over 9 / 12.
Louise (64 KP) rated The School For Good and Evil in Books
Jul 2, 2018
After bingeing the Harry Potter series I wasn't ready to let go of the fantasy world, I needed more wizards,witches and fantastical beasts. I saw Regan@peruseproject haul and talk about this book and the premise had me hooked.
It's starts off with two girls from the little village of Gavaldon, Every four years for the past 200 years 2 children are kidnapped by the 'Master'. One good and one bad child, it can be two girls,two boys or one of each are taken from their homes forever and believed to be sent to a school for fairy tales.
There is one child, Sophie who has lived for this moment, she is determined to become a princess and meet her Prince Charming and leave the dreary village for good. Sophie is beautiful,the most beautiful girl in Gavaldon and strives for perfection for she knows her time has come and to make sure she is picked she makes sure she carries out good deeds on a daily basis like befriending Agatha.
Agatha is the complete opposite from Sophie, she is not beautiful, she wears black frumpy clothes and keeps to herself. The night the 'Master' comes, children are locked up whereas Sophie encourages it by opening her window and leaving cookies. Agatha tries to rescue Sophie from the Master but just ends up being caught as well, hoping that they will be able to find their way home again.
All is not as planned, when Sophie is dropped into a river of Sludge she finds she has been put in the wrong school and there must have been a mix up of some sort as Agatha has been put in the good school. Sophie is to train to become a witch, henchman or some horrendous creature. With lessons on uglification and surviving Fairy-tales, she instantly seeks out the Headmaster to explain the mishap. Agatha is also out of her comfort zone with glamorous girls in pink dresses with only boys and manicure's on their minds, she wants to return home to Gavaldon as soon as possible but first she has to persuade Sophie. The master has other plans, will Sophie eventually get to the good side? will Agatha get to home?
The two castles are amazing, in the front of the book you get a map to view the two sides of the school. The good side, you have glass rooms,rooms made out of candy, groom rooms, everything possible to make you a princess. On the evil side, you have dungeons and torture chambers which smell of damp. The teachers in the school are composed of a two-headed dog that can remove their heads and attach to other bodies, there are werewolves, fairies, gargoyles,witches and princesses.
Sophie believes that she has been put into the wrong school however as you she develops throughout the book there are sides to her that are not always good. She was angry that she was put in the wrong school,I mean she has dreamed about this her whole life and will do anything to get there.
Agatha is an outcast in the school of good because she doesn't conform to wearing pink dresses and swooning whenever a boy is in the vicinity. However she is a really caring character and doesn't believe that she could ever be beautiful and nor do the others in the good school.
Then there is the love interest - of course there was going to be one! His name is Tedros and he is the most handsome boy in the school of good and not to forget King Arthur's son. He instantly gets all the girls attention, even Sophie's from the other side of the school.
I only had some minor problems with the book, I felt that the author was trying to describe too much at once and it became quite confusing to keep up with. The vanity in this book was overwhelming it set a clear line between ugly and beautiful. This is a middle grade book - impressionable teenagers are going to be reading this. You don't need to be beautiful on the outside the be a princess... it's what on the inside that counts.
This book was fast paced, easy to read (at points) and definitely worth a read if you love fairy tales.
Overall I rated this 3.5 out of 5 stars
It's starts off with two girls from the little village of Gavaldon, Every four years for the past 200 years 2 children are kidnapped by the 'Master'. One good and one bad child, it can be two girls,two boys or one of each are taken from their homes forever and believed to be sent to a school for fairy tales.
There is one child, Sophie who has lived for this moment, she is determined to become a princess and meet her Prince Charming and leave the dreary village for good. Sophie is beautiful,the most beautiful girl in Gavaldon and strives for perfection for she knows her time has come and to make sure she is picked she makes sure she carries out good deeds on a daily basis like befriending Agatha.
Agatha is the complete opposite from Sophie, she is not beautiful, she wears black frumpy clothes and keeps to herself. The night the 'Master' comes, children are locked up whereas Sophie encourages it by opening her window and leaving cookies. Agatha tries to rescue Sophie from the Master but just ends up being caught as well, hoping that they will be able to find their way home again.
All is not as planned, when Sophie is dropped into a river of Sludge she finds she has been put in the wrong school and there must have been a mix up of some sort as Agatha has been put in the good school. Sophie is to train to become a witch, henchman or some horrendous creature. With lessons on uglification and surviving Fairy-tales, she instantly seeks out the Headmaster to explain the mishap. Agatha is also out of her comfort zone with glamorous girls in pink dresses with only boys and manicure's on their minds, she wants to return home to Gavaldon as soon as possible but first she has to persuade Sophie. The master has other plans, will Sophie eventually get to the good side? will Agatha get to home?
The two castles are amazing, in the front of the book you get a map to view the two sides of the school. The good side, you have glass rooms,rooms made out of candy, groom rooms, everything possible to make you a princess. On the evil side, you have dungeons and torture chambers which smell of damp. The teachers in the school are composed of a two-headed dog that can remove their heads and attach to other bodies, there are werewolves, fairies, gargoyles,witches and princesses.
Sophie believes that she has been put into the wrong school however as you she develops throughout the book there are sides to her that are not always good. She was angry that she was put in the wrong school,I mean she has dreamed about this her whole life and will do anything to get there.
Agatha is an outcast in the school of good because she doesn't conform to wearing pink dresses and swooning whenever a boy is in the vicinity. However she is a really caring character and doesn't believe that she could ever be beautiful and nor do the others in the good school.
Then there is the love interest - of course there was going to be one! His name is Tedros and he is the most handsome boy in the school of good and not to forget King Arthur's son. He instantly gets all the girls attention, even Sophie's from the other side of the school.
I only had some minor problems with the book, I felt that the author was trying to describe too much at once and it became quite confusing to keep up with. The vanity in this book was overwhelming it set a clear line between ugly and beautiful. This is a middle grade book - impressionable teenagers are going to be reading this. You don't need to be beautiful on the outside the be a princess... it's what on the inside that counts.
This book was fast paced, easy to read (at points) and definitely worth a read if you love fairy tales.
Overall I rated this 3.5 out of 5 stars
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Daring Dustbunnies in Tabletop Games
Mar 3, 2021
I have never once entertained the thought that every time I run the vacuum cleaner I may be sucking up fluffballs that are psychically linked to magical beings. Why have I never thought of this before learning of this game’s existence? What kind of egocentric human am I?? Well no more! I now care about each pile of dust accumulating under my couches and will strive to keep them there as long as I can. Or at least as long as my wife allows.
Daring Dustbunnies is a card-driven racing game for two to five players. In it players assume the roles of mystical rabbits whose fate is linked to colored fluffballs attempting to get close to the vacuum without being sucked up into it. Through timely card play the mystical hares can eke out a win or suffer the ultimate fate of being sucked into the evil Hoover (not a sponsor) of death.
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 will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. Like what you read? You may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
To setup place the Start tile and Vacuum tile on the table with room tiles between depending on the number of players. The gold, silver, and bronze medals, all six fluffballeeples, cat, and dog tokens will be placed on or near the modular board. Each player will be dealt two character cards, choosing one to represent themselves and the other to be flipped as a resource and Fate token organizer. Fate tokens are dealt to each player. The players will look at the Fate cards and then place them face-down on their inactive character tile. Each player receives one Wire token, three starting Static tokens, and four Move cards. The remaining Move cards and Charms cards are to be shuffled and set in decks near the board. The player who last used a vacuum will be the starting player and the game may begin!
On a turn the active player will choose one of their Move cards to play and resolve. Move cards typically show a numeric value and color of fluffball to be moved. Should the player throw a 1 of Pink, then the pink fluffballeeple is moved one space closer to the vacuum tile. If there are no other fluffballs on this space the player will perform the space’s special action. This could include playing an extra Move card, flipping the top Move card and resolving, dumping a Move card from hand, taking or giving a Move card from hand from/to another player, or moving another fluffball one space forward. If a fluffball lands on a space containing another fluffball the moving fluff instead receives a number of Static tokens equal to the number of other fluffballs on the space.
Some Move cards do not move fluffballs. Instead they may activate the Cat or Dog, which forces fluffballs either toward the vacuum or away from it, respectively (darn cats). Some cards are Talismans which force the active player to reveal their Fate card for the remainder of the round. This is important because maneuvering fluffballs in order to keep their own Fated fluff free from the vacuum is a perilous task for the player. Once their Fate token is revealed other players may then focus Move on that color fluff in order to knock out its player for the round.
Once a fluffball approaches the vacuum tile and is forced to move into it, the fluffball stops at the Tube of Destiny. Within this tube fluffballs are able to be saved with savvy cardplay, but one more Move card played matching the fluffball’s color is a death sentence to to the Bag of Beyond. Fluffballs in the Bag may not be saved by any means.
Ways a fluffball can be saved from the Tube are by Charm cards, Wire tokens, and character special abilities (possibly). Charm cards may be played before or after a Move card has been played on any turn. They are powered by Static tokens (game currency) and can offer a multitude of special powers. Wire tokens are provided at game setup and can move a fluffball backwards (away from the vacuum) for a cost of ALL the player’s Static. All characters will have special abilities printed on their character tiles, and are able to be used once per round. As each game lasts three rounds, these are very powerful.
Play continues with each player taking turns playing their cards, using Charms and special abilities, and refilling their hand of cards once all cards in hand have been played until all end of round conditions are met. The fluffball closest to the vacuum without being inside it is awarded a Gold medal, the next closest the Silver, and next closest the Bronze. At the end of three rounds players compare numbers of medals won and determine the winner!
Components. I want to start by saying I absolutely adore the theme and art style of this game. How quirky and wonderful is this theme? And it is so colorful and stinking cute! I just smile a giddy smile every time I play this because I am just having so much fun getting into the theme and using the components. That said, this game uses a lot of different components and the quality is very very good across the board. The only real minor quibble I have is the design of the Static tokens. They are supposed to be placed below the Fate token on the backside of the character tile, but that area of the tile coupled with the busy Static token design sometimes causes my eyes to go a little funny. It’s very busy-on-busy. If only one item was busy and the other a little more plain I would be completely happy with the components.
The gameplay is very unique and enjoyable. Yes, I know several games that use cardplay to move tokens along a race track. But usually in games like that the goal is to be the first across the finish line. Here the player wants their linked fluffball to be closest to the finish line without actually passing it. This little twist is something I very much appreciate and causes players to adopt different strategies than one might normally utilize.
The different special powers of the characters and Charms cards are also aspects that help raise this game’s favor. Add in the abilities of the Cat and Dog and now there are so many options for players to choose as they play the game. I know Andy Hopwood, designer, takes pride in his ability to offer games with familiar playability but with a twist. Daring Dustbunnies is no different, but is also quite a bit different than what I was expecting.
I happen to very much love this game. My 4-year-old son and I also play a watered-down version of the game without the special powers and Charms (because he can’t read yet), and he absolutely adores it. In fact, my boy enjoys just carrying the vacuum tile around the house as he would a treasured stuffie. If THAT doesn’t say “great game,” I don’t know what does.
Wait, yes I do know what does. I can say it. Daring Dustbunnies is a great game! As I am learning more about Andy Hopwood’s games I am starting to appreciate the wonderful designs and this one is one of his best, in my opinion. If you are looking for a cute and excellent game with an inventive theme and familiar gameplay, but with a twist, then you need to look into Daring Dustbunnies. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a frantically Fated 16 / 18. Play it with your littles. Play it with your significant other(s). Play it with family and friends. I have a feeling all will enjoy it.
Daring Dustbunnies is a card-driven racing game for two to five players. In it players assume the roles of mystical rabbits whose fate is linked to colored fluffballs attempting to get close to the vacuum without being sucked up into it. Through timely card play the mystical hares can eke out a win or suffer the ultimate fate of being sucked into the evil Hoover (not a sponsor) of death.
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 will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. Like what you read? You may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
To setup place the Start tile and Vacuum tile on the table with room tiles between depending on the number of players. The gold, silver, and bronze medals, all six fluffballeeples, cat, and dog tokens will be placed on or near the modular board. Each player will be dealt two character cards, choosing one to represent themselves and the other to be flipped as a resource and Fate token organizer. Fate tokens are dealt to each player. The players will look at the Fate cards and then place them face-down on their inactive character tile. Each player receives one Wire token, three starting Static tokens, and four Move cards. The remaining Move cards and Charms cards are to be shuffled and set in decks near the board. The player who last used a vacuum will be the starting player and the game may begin!
On a turn the active player will choose one of their Move cards to play and resolve. Move cards typically show a numeric value and color of fluffball to be moved. Should the player throw a 1 of Pink, then the pink fluffballeeple is moved one space closer to the vacuum tile. If there are no other fluffballs on this space the player will perform the space’s special action. This could include playing an extra Move card, flipping the top Move card and resolving, dumping a Move card from hand, taking or giving a Move card from hand from/to another player, or moving another fluffball one space forward. If a fluffball lands on a space containing another fluffball the moving fluff instead receives a number of Static tokens equal to the number of other fluffballs on the space.
Some Move cards do not move fluffballs. Instead they may activate the Cat or Dog, which forces fluffballs either toward the vacuum or away from it, respectively (darn cats). Some cards are Talismans which force the active player to reveal their Fate card for the remainder of the round. This is important because maneuvering fluffballs in order to keep their own Fated fluff free from the vacuum is a perilous task for the player. Once their Fate token is revealed other players may then focus Move on that color fluff in order to knock out its player for the round.
Once a fluffball approaches the vacuum tile and is forced to move into it, the fluffball stops at the Tube of Destiny. Within this tube fluffballs are able to be saved with savvy cardplay, but one more Move card played matching the fluffball’s color is a death sentence to to the Bag of Beyond. Fluffballs in the Bag may not be saved by any means.
Ways a fluffball can be saved from the Tube are by Charm cards, Wire tokens, and character special abilities (possibly). Charm cards may be played before or after a Move card has been played on any turn. They are powered by Static tokens (game currency) and can offer a multitude of special powers. Wire tokens are provided at game setup and can move a fluffball backwards (away from the vacuum) for a cost of ALL the player’s Static. All characters will have special abilities printed on their character tiles, and are able to be used once per round. As each game lasts three rounds, these are very powerful.
Play continues with each player taking turns playing their cards, using Charms and special abilities, and refilling their hand of cards once all cards in hand have been played until all end of round conditions are met. The fluffball closest to the vacuum without being inside it is awarded a Gold medal, the next closest the Silver, and next closest the Bronze. At the end of three rounds players compare numbers of medals won and determine the winner!
Components. I want to start by saying I absolutely adore the theme and art style of this game. How quirky and wonderful is this theme? And it is so colorful and stinking cute! I just smile a giddy smile every time I play this because I am just having so much fun getting into the theme and using the components. That said, this game uses a lot of different components and the quality is very very good across the board. The only real minor quibble I have is the design of the Static tokens. They are supposed to be placed below the Fate token on the backside of the character tile, but that area of the tile coupled with the busy Static token design sometimes causes my eyes to go a little funny. It’s very busy-on-busy. If only one item was busy and the other a little more plain I would be completely happy with the components.
The gameplay is very unique and enjoyable. Yes, I know several games that use cardplay to move tokens along a race track. But usually in games like that the goal is to be the first across the finish line. Here the player wants their linked fluffball to be closest to the finish line without actually passing it. This little twist is something I very much appreciate and causes players to adopt different strategies than one might normally utilize.
The different special powers of the characters and Charms cards are also aspects that help raise this game’s favor. Add in the abilities of the Cat and Dog and now there are so many options for players to choose as they play the game. I know Andy Hopwood, designer, takes pride in his ability to offer games with familiar playability but with a twist. Daring Dustbunnies is no different, but is also quite a bit different than what I was expecting.
I happen to very much love this game. My 4-year-old son and I also play a watered-down version of the game without the special powers and Charms (because he can’t read yet), and he absolutely adores it. In fact, my boy enjoys just carrying the vacuum tile around the house as he would a treasured stuffie. If THAT doesn’t say “great game,” I don’t know what does.
Wait, yes I do know what does. I can say it. Daring Dustbunnies is a great game! As I am learning more about Andy Hopwood’s games I am starting to appreciate the wonderful designs and this one is one of his best, in my opinion. If you are looking for a cute and excellent game with an inventive theme and familiar gameplay, but with a twist, then you need to look into Daring Dustbunnies. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a frantically Fated 16 / 18. Play it with your littles. Play it with your significant other(s). Play it with family and friends. I have a feeling all will enjoy it.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Millennial Manatees in Tabletop Games
Mar 11, 2021
I am totes Gen X. Tail end, mind you, but still not a Millennial. That said, I can still appreciate things I have missed out on due to age gaps and generational differences. I want to make so many jokes right now but I genuinely do not want to offend anyone, let alone an entire generation of people. So I won’t. Enjoy the review.
Millennial Manatees is a worker-placement(ish) card(ish) game for one to four players. In it players are assuming roles of manatees tasked with paying off their identical student loan debt: 20 coins. The first player to make wise venture investments and create the best ROI will be crowned the winner! Please keep reading. This game is not at all a powerhouse economic simulation. It’s a fun game with manatees, avocado toast, and IT COMES IN A FANNY PACK.
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 fanny pack. 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 directly from the publisher (or Amazon if you wish) or from your FLGS. -T
To setup carefully empty the contents of the fanny pack game box(?) and unfold the game board. Upon it will be placed separated (but shuffled) face-up decks for Basic, Salty, and Big Mood venture cards. Next to these shuffle the Volunteer cards and place the deck face-down. Shuffle the remaining Manatee cards and place somewhere around the game board. Each player chooses a color of manatee and takes all the components matching its shirt color. Unlike the photo below place all “fanatee pack” tokens with the 7 coins side face-up and each player will start the game with three coins. The players will set their debt trackers at the starting position of the debt track, and the first player receives the avocado toast token. Yes, the big one you see below.
Each round begins with the avocado toast holder and continues around the table. The first player will place their manateeple (ooh I like that one) on any card or printed space on the game board. Options include: Basic, Salty, or Big Mood venture cards, Volunteer cards, Boomer Handout board space, Take the Toast board space, and Pay Back Student Debt board space. Once the current toast holder has placed their manateeple the next player may place on any other non-occupied space or card available. Note: the Pay Back Student Debt space is always available for any number of manateeples.
For the cost in coins printed on the cards, the Basic, Salty, and Big Mood venture cards can be purchased and placed in the player’s tableau of cards. This represents the player investing in certain business ventures in the hopes of earning more coins in the long run. Once a player has a venture card in front of them the card will specify how it will be activated and the benefit therein. Many cards allow the player to collect coins, but sometimes cards allow for stealing of other players’ coins or other nefarious doings.
The volunteer cards are drawn face-down and once read by the drawing player are kept face-down in their tableau until the proper game phase activates it or the player plays it to the discard pile.
Once a player decides they want to pay down their debt they will visit the Pay Back Student Debt space on the board. When they do this they will immediately use ALL coins they have earned and apply it directly to their debt by moving their tracker down the line by the amount paid.
By placing the manateeple on the Take the Toast space, that player simply takes the toast token and becomes the first player of the next round. By placing the manateeple on the Boomer Handout space the player will gain one coin during the Manatee phase.
The Manatee phase consists of the first player flipping the top card of the Manatee deck. Most of the cards in this deck are art depictions of manatees in different attire and hairstyles. When a Manatee card is flipped during this phase, all players reference any venture cards in their tableau to see if the manatee will trigger their card. For example, a manatee may be dressed in an orange shirt, wearing sunglasses, and holding a yoga mat. For those players whose venture cards are triggered by any of these items, their cards will bestow their benefits. There are two other types of cards in this deck as well, but I will let you experience these when you play.
Turns continue in this fashion of placing manateeples in unique spaces or cards, resolving any immediate effects, playing volunteer cards, flipping and resolving Manatee cards, and paying down student debt until one player has paid off the entire sum and wins the game! Then the hardest part of the game will commence: attempting to put all the components back in the fanny pack so that they are not damaged. Good luck.
Components. This game has some pretty spectacular components coupled with some really great art. Obviously, having a game packaged in a fanny pack is just delightful, even though I typically despise non-boxed games. Secondly, all the wooden manateeples and avocado toast tokens are just amazing to behold and handle. The cards are good quality and the game features incredible art throughout. I am a big fan of this art style – it is very cartoony and very cool. This theme is just perfection and the game that lies beneath the theme is very surprising.
I say the game beneath the great art and theme is surprising because I was completely not expecting to like this one as much as I do. At its heart it is a very light worker-placement game with hints of take that and based on using currency as victory points. I like all of those mechanics quite a bit, so combining these with aforementioned art and theme works for me on another level.
I feel this game is something I can bring out with almost any crowd of adults and have a smashing great time. There are so many little jokes packed into this little game that make me giggle every time I see them. And come on, a first player token that is avocado toast? It’s too good! I love all the colors assaulting my eyes, and I love all the hate-placement that happens, and I didn’t know that I love manatees as much as I now do.
Look, I am usually pretty positive about the games I play. But I also play a lot of stinkers. This one, thankfully, delivers a super fun game experience in an hour or less, even though the theme is absolutely ridiculous. But I also find that so charming. If you are looking for that special WOW game that is relatively light but incredibly satisfying to play, I strongly recommend checking out Millennial Manatees. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one 10 / 12 soy super americanos (is that a thing?). Display the pink fanny pack with pride next to all your super-serious games and watch as your visitors flock to it and ask what it is. Then play it with them and watch them fall in love as we did. I am very happy to now have this one in my collection.
Millennial Manatees is a worker-placement(ish) card(ish) game for one to four players. In it players are assuming roles of manatees tasked with paying off their identical student loan debt: 20 coins. The first player to make wise venture investments and create the best ROI will be crowned the winner! Please keep reading. This game is not at all a powerhouse economic simulation. It’s a fun game with manatees, avocado toast, and IT COMES IN A FANNY PACK.
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 fanny pack. 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 directly from the publisher (or Amazon if you wish) or from your FLGS. -T
To setup carefully empty the contents of the fanny pack game box(?) and unfold the game board. Upon it will be placed separated (but shuffled) face-up decks for Basic, Salty, and Big Mood venture cards. Next to these shuffle the Volunteer cards and place the deck face-down. Shuffle the remaining Manatee cards and place somewhere around the game board. Each player chooses a color of manatee and takes all the components matching its shirt color. Unlike the photo below place all “fanatee pack” tokens with the 7 coins side face-up and each player will start the game with three coins. The players will set their debt trackers at the starting position of the debt track, and the first player receives the avocado toast token. Yes, the big one you see below.
Each round begins with the avocado toast holder and continues around the table. The first player will place their manateeple (ooh I like that one) on any card or printed space on the game board. Options include: Basic, Salty, or Big Mood venture cards, Volunteer cards, Boomer Handout board space, Take the Toast board space, and Pay Back Student Debt board space. Once the current toast holder has placed their manateeple the next player may place on any other non-occupied space or card available. Note: the Pay Back Student Debt space is always available for any number of manateeples.
For the cost in coins printed on the cards, the Basic, Salty, and Big Mood venture cards can be purchased and placed in the player’s tableau of cards. This represents the player investing in certain business ventures in the hopes of earning more coins in the long run. Once a player has a venture card in front of them the card will specify how it will be activated and the benefit therein. Many cards allow the player to collect coins, but sometimes cards allow for stealing of other players’ coins or other nefarious doings.
The volunteer cards are drawn face-down and once read by the drawing player are kept face-down in their tableau until the proper game phase activates it or the player plays it to the discard pile.
Once a player decides they want to pay down their debt they will visit the Pay Back Student Debt space on the board. When they do this they will immediately use ALL coins they have earned and apply it directly to their debt by moving their tracker down the line by the amount paid.
By placing the manateeple on the Take the Toast space, that player simply takes the toast token and becomes the first player of the next round. By placing the manateeple on the Boomer Handout space the player will gain one coin during the Manatee phase.
The Manatee phase consists of the first player flipping the top card of the Manatee deck. Most of the cards in this deck are art depictions of manatees in different attire and hairstyles. When a Manatee card is flipped during this phase, all players reference any venture cards in their tableau to see if the manatee will trigger their card. For example, a manatee may be dressed in an orange shirt, wearing sunglasses, and holding a yoga mat. For those players whose venture cards are triggered by any of these items, their cards will bestow their benefits. There are two other types of cards in this deck as well, but I will let you experience these when you play.
Turns continue in this fashion of placing manateeples in unique spaces or cards, resolving any immediate effects, playing volunteer cards, flipping and resolving Manatee cards, and paying down student debt until one player has paid off the entire sum and wins the game! Then the hardest part of the game will commence: attempting to put all the components back in the fanny pack so that they are not damaged. Good luck.
Components. This game has some pretty spectacular components coupled with some really great art. Obviously, having a game packaged in a fanny pack is just delightful, even though I typically despise non-boxed games. Secondly, all the wooden manateeples and avocado toast tokens are just amazing to behold and handle. The cards are good quality and the game features incredible art throughout. I am a big fan of this art style – it is very cartoony and very cool. This theme is just perfection and the game that lies beneath the theme is very surprising.
I say the game beneath the great art and theme is surprising because I was completely not expecting to like this one as much as I do. At its heart it is a very light worker-placement game with hints of take that and based on using currency as victory points. I like all of those mechanics quite a bit, so combining these with aforementioned art and theme works for me on another level.
I feel this game is something I can bring out with almost any crowd of adults and have a smashing great time. There are so many little jokes packed into this little game that make me giggle every time I see them. And come on, a first player token that is avocado toast? It’s too good! I love all the colors assaulting my eyes, and I love all the hate-placement that happens, and I didn’t know that I love manatees as much as I now do.
Look, I am usually pretty positive about the games I play. But I also play a lot of stinkers. This one, thankfully, delivers a super fun game experience in an hour or less, even though the theme is absolutely ridiculous. But I also find that so charming. If you are looking for that special WOW game that is relatively light but incredibly satisfying to play, I strongly recommend checking out Millennial Manatees. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one 10 / 12 soy super americanos (is that a thing?). Display the pink fanny pack with pride next to all your super-serious games and watch as your visitors flock to it and ask what it is. Then play it with them and watch them fall in love as we did. I am very happy to now have this one in my collection.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Prowler's Passage in Tabletop Games
May 19, 2021
Night in the city – guards patrol the streets, protecting the extraordinary wealth found across all the city districts. Your goal? To infiltrate the districts and steal the valuable items for yourself. But with the heightened security measures, you’ve got to find an alternate route for entry… tunnels! Burrow underneath the city in a network of passages and grab all the valuable goods you want! Better move fast, though, because your thieving rival has had the same idea and is already on the prowl to steal the wealth for himself.
Prowler’s Passage is a 2-player game of area majority, route building, and set collection in which players are trying to plunder the city and amass more wealth than their rival thief. Played over a series of rounds, players take turns building a passage, collecting items, and gaining influence over certain city districts. To setup the game, place the control track between the 2 players, and randomly select and place 6 board hexes as described in the rulebook. Place 3 random Achievement cards face-up next to the control board. Place the Statues and Control markers in their corresponding starting spaces, populate the board with item tiles, and each player receives 13 passage sections in their chosen color. The game is ready to begin!
On your turn, you will perform 3 actions, beginning with placing a passage. Take a passage section from your supply and place it on any pathway on the board that has an item tile on it. It is important to note that you can place your passages anywhere on the board, as long as there is an item tile in that space – your passages are not required to create a continuous, unbroken pathway. After placing your passage, collect the item tile from the pathway where you just placed your passage. Finally, each pathway is adjacent to 2 city districts. Move the Control markers for the corresponding adjacent city districts one space toward your side of the control track. Play moves on to your opponent, and the game continues as such. There are 2 scoring phases, one in the middle of the game, and the other at the game’s end. You score points for continuous passages, statues collected, sets of items gathered, city districts (if you have majority control), and fulfillment of achievement cards. All scoring items are worth different point values, so check the rulebook for the specifics of how everything is scored. At the end of the game, total up points from both scoring phases, and the player with the most points is the winner!
For a small, 2-player only game, Prowler’s Passage packs quite the punch. It is essentially a tug-of-war between players as they try to gain control of the 5 city districts and amass the most wealth. But instead of using brute strength to pull the districts in your favor, you use strategy. Every passage you put into play moves the adjacent 2 city district Control markers one space in your favor. So you have to strategize what passage placements are the most beneficial for your overall scoring, and most detrimental to your opponent. And since passages do not need to be played in a continuous line, your strategy can be more open-ended instead of limiting you to only certain future placements. Aside from gaining control of the city districts, you also receive points for collecting sets of item tokens. That’s just another layer of strategy added that takes this game to the next level. Not only do you have to decide what passage placements are best for you, you need to figure out what item tokens you want and if you are willing to risk letting go of certain district influence in order to complete an item set.
One thing that I love about Prowler’s Passage is that it is a game of open information. There are no hidden objectives, secret powers, or unknowns overall. Everything is laid out and plainly visible to both players. You can see exactly what your opponent is doing, and they can see what you are doing. So your strategy must be two-fold – putting yourself in a good position, while also attempting to stifle the progress of your opponent. Can you anticipate the strategy of your opponent, or will they be able to keep you off their trail? And as the game progresses and passage placement options dwindle, you really have to kick your strategy into overdrive to squeeze out as many points as you can before the end of the game!
The biggest drawback for me regarding this game is the actual scoring. Each city district is scored in a unique way unlike any of the other districts. So when I play, I find myself referring back to the rulebook during both mid-game and end-game scoring to check how to score everything. It’s not as intuitive as I would like, and it just slows the game down when tallying up scores. The other thing that can be a drawback is that since there are so many strategic options, it could lead to some serious AP in players. Every move affects several other factors, so you really have to be thinking deeply and in advance for each of your turns. Which is cool – I love trying to figure out the best strategy for success. But at the same time, it could bring the game to a screeching halt as one player must decide between so many options. It’s supposed to be a quick game, but overthinking is definitely a possibility.
The components of the game are nice and sturdy overall. The colors of some components don’t match perfectly, and that can lead to some confusion. The Purple city district has a nice Purple meeple, but the corresponding tile sections look more Pink to me. The Brown meeple is fine, but the city tiles have some pinkish hues. Just a little mismatching, but nothing that an edited printing can’t fix!
Overall, I would have to say that I really like Prowler’s Passage. There are many strategic options and ways to score points, and you must be able to adjust your strategy on the fly to answer back to your opponent. There is no single right strategy, and discovering different options is fun for me. Aside from the color matching in the components, and the possibilities for serious AP, this game is a great one. Enough strategy, scoring options, and player interaction to keep both players engaged, but not so difficult that you have to devote an entire game night to play one single game. I’m glad that I was able to get Prowler’s Passage in my collection, and it is high on my 2-player-only games list. Purple Phoenix Games gives it a sneaking 9/12.
Prowler’s Passage is a 2-player game of area majority, route building, and set collection in which players are trying to plunder the city and amass more wealth than their rival thief. Played over a series of rounds, players take turns building a passage, collecting items, and gaining influence over certain city districts. To setup the game, place the control track between the 2 players, and randomly select and place 6 board hexes as described in the rulebook. Place 3 random Achievement cards face-up next to the control board. Place the Statues and Control markers in their corresponding starting spaces, populate the board with item tiles, and each player receives 13 passage sections in their chosen color. The game is ready to begin!
On your turn, you will perform 3 actions, beginning with placing a passage. Take a passage section from your supply and place it on any pathway on the board that has an item tile on it. It is important to note that you can place your passages anywhere on the board, as long as there is an item tile in that space – your passages are not required to create a continuous, unbroken pathway. After placing your passage, collect the item tile from the pathway where you just placed your passage. Finally, each pathway is adjacent to 2 city districts. Move the Control markers for the corresponding adjacent city districts one space toward your side of the control track. Play moves on to your opponent, and the game continues as such. There are 2 scoring phases, one in the middle of the game, and the other at the game’s end. You score points for continuous passages, statues collected, sets of items gathered, city districts (if you have majority control), and fulfillment of achievement cards. All scoring items are worth different point values, so check the rulebook for the specifics of how everything is scored. At the end of the game, total up points from both scoring phases, and the player with the most points is the winner!
For a small, 2-player only game, Prowler’s Passage packs quite the punch. It is essentially a tug-of-war between players as they try to gain control of the 5 city districts and amass the most wealth. But instead of using brute strength to pull the districts in your favor, you use strategy. Every passage you put into play moves the adjacent 2 city district Control markers one space in your favor. So you have to strategize what passage placements are the most beneficial for your overall scoring, and most detrimental to your opponent. And since passages do not need to be played in a continuous line, your strategy can be more open-ended instead of limiting you to only certain future placements. Aside from gaining control of the city districts, you also receive points for collecting sets of item tokens. That’s just another layer of strategy added that takes this game to the next level. Not only do you have to decide what passage placements are best for you, you need to figure out what item tokens you want and if you are willing to risk letting go of certain district influence in order to complete an item set.
One thing that I love about Prowler’s Passage is that it is a game of open information. There are no hidden objectives, secret powers, or unknowns overall. Everything is laid out and plainly visible to both players. You can see exactly what your opponent is doing, and they can see what you are doing. So your strategy must be two-fold – putting yourself in a good position, while also attempting to stifle the progress of your opponent. Can you anticipate the strategy of your opponent, or will they be able to keep you off their trail? And as the game progresses and passage placement options dwindle, you really have to kick your strategy into overdrive to squeeze out as many points as you can before the end of the game!
The biggest drawback for me regarding this game is the actual scoring. Each city district is scored in a unique way unlike any of the other districts. So when I play, I find myself referring back to the rulebook during both mid-game and end-game scoring to check how to score everything. It’s not as intuitive as I would like, and it just slows the game down when tallying up scores. The other thing that can be a drawback is that since there are so many strategic options, it could lead to some serious AP in players. Every move affects several other factors, so you really have to be thinking deeply and in advance for each of your turns. Which is cool – I love trying to figure out the best strategy for success. But at the same time, it could bring the game to a screeching halt as one player must decide between so many options. It’s supposed to be a quick game, but overthinking is definitely a possibility.
The components of the game are nice and sturdy overall. The colors of some components don’t match perfectly, and that can lead to some confusion. The Purple city district has a nice Purple meeple, but the corresponding tile sections look more Pink to me. The Brown meeple is fine, but the city tiles have some pinkish hues. Just a little mismatching, but nothing that an edited printing can’t fix!
Overall, I would have to say that I really like Prowler’s Passage. There are many strategic options and ways to score points, and you must be able to adjust your strategy on the fly to answer back to your opponent. There is no single right strategy, and discovering different options is fun for me. Aside from the color matching in the components, and the possibilities for serious AP, this game is a great one. Enough strategy, scoring options, and player interaction to keep both players engaged, but not so difficult that you have to devote an entire game night to play one single game. I’m glad that I was able to get Prowler’s Passage in my collection, and it is high on my 2-player-only games list. Purple Phoenix Games gives it a sneaking 9/12.
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated The Book in Books
Jun 7, 2018
(This review can be found on my blog <a href="http://themisadventuresofatwentysomething.blogspot.com/">The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl</a> towards the end of December).
The Book by Jessica Bell is a book that I've been wanting to read for awhile. The synopsis really intrigued me. I was thrilled when I won a copy of The Book. Luckily, this book didn't disappoint.
Bonnie is a 5 year old girl. While her mother Penny is pregnant with Bonnie, John, Bonnie's dad, starts a journal (referred to as the book) where he writes his thoughts and wishes for Bonnie. However, Penny is the one who starts writing in it more than John. However, things don't go as planned. When John and Penny split up, the book becomes Penny's release for her feelings. Bonnie notices that her mom always cries when writing in the book, so she thinks the book is what is causing Penny's sadness. Bonnie sees her mom and her mom's boyfriend, Ted, fighting over the book, so Bonnie just wants to get rid of the book. Little do all the adults know how their actions will affect Bonnie.
I love the title! It's super mysterious but such a fitting tile. I think Ms. Bell did a fantastic job at picking this title.
I'm also a fan of the cover. I like the shadow of the child, which I believe to be Bonnie, with words written over it. I also like the pink (my favorite color) and the font.
Jessica Bell does a fantastic job with the world building. I felt like she creates the world of a 5 year old almost perfectly. I did find it strange that Bonnie's parents refer to themselves by their first name instead of mom and dad when writing things to Bonnie, but that's just me.
The pacing starts off a little slow, but before I realized it, it had really grabbed me and pulled me into the story. After that, the pace never slows down nor does it speed up where I didn't know what was going on.
The plot was very original which made for a refreshing read. It was interesting to read everyone's thoughts through journal entries (Penny and John) and through Bonnie's point of view. I also would've never predicted the ending of The Book!
The characters were all well written and rounded. I felt for Penny when she was torn between two men and doing what was best for Bonnie. I felt for John who wanted to be there for his daughter yet his hands were tied. I felt for Ted who was oblivious to what was going on around him through no fault of his own. I mostly felt for Bonnie who, due to her age, didn't know why everyone was acting the way they were over this book. Bell captures the emotion of each character perfectly!
Bell writes like a 5 year old would think when it came time for Bonnie's point of view. I found this annoying sometimes, but I understand why it needed to be done. It needed to be done to really capture the essence of Bonnie. There were times when I felt that Bonnie was acting or thinking like that of an older child, but this could've just been a personal thing as all children develop at different levels. Other then that, I found the dialogue to be very interesting. It also flows very smoothly and never feels rushed.
Overall, The Book is a fantastic and emotional read. It has an original plot line with memorable characters and fantastic dialogue.
I'd recommend this book to those aged 18+ who are after a read with an original story with a lesson to be learned.
I'd give The Book by Jessica Bell a 4.5 out of 5.
The Book by Jessica Bell is a book that I've been wanting to read for awhile. The synopsis really intrigued me. I was thrilled when I won a copy of The Book. Luckily, this book didn't disappoint.
Bonnie is a 5 year old girl. While her mother Penny is pregnant with Bonnie, John, Bonnie's dad, starts a journal (referred to as the book) where he writes his thoughts and wishes for Bonnie. However, Penny is the one who starts writing in it more than John. However, things don't go as planned. When John and Penny split up, the book becomes Penny's release for her feelings. Bonnie notices that her mom always cries when writing in the book, so she thinks the book is what is causing Penny's sadness. Bonnie sees her mom and her mom's boyfriend, Ted, fighting over the book, so Bonnie just wants to get rid of the book. Little do all the adults know how their actions will affect Bonnie.
I love the title! It's super mysterious but such a fitting tile. I think Ms. Bell did a fantastic job at picking this title.
I'm also a fan of the cover. I like the shadow of the child, which I believe to be Bonnie, with words written over it. I also like the pink (my favorite color) and the font.
Jessica Bell does a fantastic job with the world building. I felt like she creates the world of a 5 year old almost perfectly. I did find it strange that Bonnie's parents refer to themselves by their first name instead of mom and dad when writing things to Bonnie, but that's just me.
The pacing starts off a little slow, but before I realized it, it had really grabbed me and pulled me into the story. After that, the pace never slows down nor does it speed up where I didn't know what was going on.
The plot was very original which made for a refreshing read. It was interesting to read everyone's thoughts through journal entries (Penny and John) and through Bonnie's point of view. I also would've never predicted the ending of The Book!
The characters were all well written and rounded. I felt for Penny when she was torn between two men and doing what was best for Bonnie. I felt for John who wanted to be there for his daughter yet his hands were tied. I felt for Ted who was oblivious to what was going on around him through no fault of his own. I mostly felt for Bonnie who, due to her age, didn't know why everyone was acting the way they were over this book. Bell captures the emotion of each character perfectly!
Bell writes like a 5 year old would think when it came time for Bonnie's point of view. I found this annoying sometimes, but I understand why it needed to be done. It needed to be done to really capture the essence of Bonnie. There were times when I felt that Bonnie was acting or thinking like that of an older child, but this could've just been a personal thing as all children develop at different levels. Other then that, I found the dialogue to be very interesting. It also flows very smoothly and never feels rushed.
Overall, The Book is a fantastic and emotional read. It has an original plot line with memorable characters and fantastic dialogue.
I'd recommend this book to those aged 18+ who are after a read with an original story with a lesson to be learned.
I'd give The Book by Jessica Bell a 4.5 out of 5.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Dumbo (2019) in Movies
Jun 22, 2019 (Updated Sep 25, 2019)
It may have been a mistake to see the original animated version before seeing this live-action offering. It's incorrect to say it's a remake, they've taken a 64-minute movie and stripped out the principle idea and made a completely new film that's near two hours long.
I'm going to start with the moaning, but bear with me because it'll get better, I promise.
Let's address the elephant in the room, no not Dumbo, but the fact that they made something live action when it's almost entirely talking animals. (And yes, I'm already concerned for Lion King.) To actually get some human characters in there they've turned it on its head and made the story about the circus and its family. I don't have a problem with them doing this but everything I saw in the run-up to the film made me believe that it was a remake and not an adaptation. Possibly I just got caught up in all the hype of the other remakes Disney are producing. but it did colour my impression.
It's evident that Disney have tried to account for the fact that people won't be getting what they loved so much from the original, everywhere there are nods to the original. All of this is sadly far from that nostalgic fun, instead it felt like a bit of a slap in the face. "Hey look!! Remember this bit?!!" There's a quick nod to the storks, Dumbo getting drunk, and possibly the creepiest of them all, that happy-go-lucky train... you really should have left that one alone.
We're also severely lacking in those wonderful songs. I had heard the Arcade Fire version of Baby Mine in a trailer and it gave me goosebumps, but while it's a lovely scene in the film the song itself doesn't hold nearly enough weight. Disney to me is as much about the music as it is about the story and in this instance they've dropped the ball.
With Tim Burton at the helm it was going to be bleak... but geez! Mum's dead, Dad's missing an arm from war... and that mad elephant scene? "I want to go bigger than spanking an animated child." "I don't think we can have a scene where we spank a child in this day and age." "No, you're right, first thing we're going to need is a coroner." There were a lot of things in this that cut a very fine line, and I think that it's crossed over into a film that isn't really for kids anymore.
Despite these quibbles they've managed to do something magical with Dumbo. All of that magic from the animated version is still there in this little fella. I don't know how you get that much emotion out of something that isn't there, it was wonderful. Dumbo's reactions to feathers throughout, that eyes wide excitement, and when he sees Colette "flying" up to him... honestly, I don't know how to describe it. Hands down my favourite bit has to be the pink elephants bit, Dumbo watching intently and his head bobbing along was so pure.
I still don't know how I feel about the acting in Dumbo, beyond our little pachyderm I was underwhelmed by the whole thing. I wasn't particularly fond of the child characters. They seemed to decide that Milly should be a role model to other little girls, "you can be a scientist", but I don't know that making a role model out of someone who isn't exactly likeable is the way to go with this. They've also given Milly and her brother, Joe, the appointment of elephant trainers, and that frustrated me no end too, but for completely over thought reasons.
Danny Devito was a treat, his character is obviously intended to be dislikeable but is allowed to get some redemption in the end, which was nice to see. His scenes with the monkey were particularly fun.
This review has taken me so long to write, I think that's mainly because I just don't know about these human characters. Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell), V.A. Vandervere (Michae Keaton) and Colette Marchant (Eva Green) all just don't do anything for me... they seem very much like padding for a film that probably shouldn't have been made.
I don't want to run into any major spoilers, but that ending... it needs mentioning... it's ridiculous and clichéd. There was a perfectly good ending point they could have taken but sadly someone made the choice that the "happy ever after" ending needed to be spelt out for everyone.
I am torn about this film. You couldn't have remade the original exactly as it was, mild racism and a drunk minor just aren't going to cut it in a kids film. Potentially there is a new version in there somewhere, but I'm not sure that this dark human heavy one was the way to go.
What you should do
It's the Easter holidays, those kids need to be entertained somehow, Dumbo would not be the worst choice you could make.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
I don't think I have room for a baby elephant, so if someone could just cut all the footage of him together and give me a DVD containing all those good feelings that would be great.
I'm going to start with the moaning, but bear with me because it'll get better, I promise.
Let's address the elephant in the room, no not Dumbo, but the fact that they made something live action when it's almost entirely talking animals. (And yes, I'm already concerned for Lion King.) To actually get some human characters in there they've turned it on its head and made the story about the circus and its family. I don't have a problem with them doing this but everything I saw in the run-up to the film made me believe that it was a remake and not an adaptation. Possibly I just got caught up in all the hype of the other remakes Disney are producing. but it did colour my impression.
It's evident that Disney have tried to account for the fact that people won't be getting what they loved so much from the original, everywhere there are nods to the original. All of this is sadly far from that nostalgic fun, instead it felt like a bit of a slap in the face. "Hey look!! Remember this bit?!!" There's a quick nod to the storks, Dumbo getting drunk, and possibly the creepiest of them all, that happy-go-lucky train... you really should have left that one alone.
We're also severely lacking in those wonderful songs. I had heard the Arcade Fire version of Baby Mine in a trailer and it gave me goosebumps, but while it's a lovely scene in the film the song itself doesn't hold nearly enough weight. Disney to me is as much about the music as it is about the story and in this instance they've dropped the ball.
With Tim Burton at the helm it was going to be bleak... but geez! Mum's dead, Dad's missing an arm from war... and that mad elephant scene? "I want to go bigger than spanking an animated child." "I don't think we can have a scene where we spank a child in this day and age." "No, you're right, first thing we're going to need is a coroner." There were a lot of things in this that cut a very fine line, and I think that it's crossed over into a film that isn't really for kids anymore.
Despite these quibbles they've managed to do something magical with Dumbo. All of that magic from the animated version is still there in this little fella. I don't know how you get that much emotion out of something that isn't there, it was wonderful. Dumbo's reactions to feathers throughout, that eyes wide excitement, and when he sees Colette "flying" up to him... honestly, I don't know how to describe it. Hands down my favourite bit has to be the pink elephants bit, Dumbo watching intently and his head bobbing along was so pure.
I still don't know how I feel about the acting in Dumbo, beyond our little pachyderm I was underwhelmed by the whole thing. I wasn't particularly fond of the child characters. They seemed to decide that Milly should be a role model to other little girls, "you can be a scientist", but I don't know that making a role model out of someone who isn't exactly likeable is the way to go with this. They've also given Milly and her brother, Joe, the appointment of elephant trainers, and that frustrated me no end too, but for completely over thought reasons.
Danny Devito was a treat, his character is obviously intended to be dislikeable but is allowed to get some redemption in the end, which was nice to see. His scenes with the monkey were particularly fun.
This review has taken me so long to write, I think that's mainly because I just don't know about these human characters. Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell), V.A. Vandervere (Michae Keaton) and Colette Marchant (Eva Green) all just don't do anything for me... they seem very much like padding for a film that probably shouldn't have been made.
I don't want to run into any major spoilers, but that ending... it needs mentioning... it's ridiculous and clichéd. There was a perfectly good ending point they could have taken but sadly someone made the choice that the "happy ever after" ending needed to be spelt out for everyone.
I am torn about this film. You couldn't have remade the original exactly as it was, mild racism and a drunk minor just aren't going to cut it in a kids film. Potentially there is a new version in there somewhere, but I'm not sure that this dark human heavy one was the way to go.
What you should do
It's the Easter holidays, those kids need to be entertained somehow, Dumbo would not be the worst choice you could make.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
I don't think I have room for a baby elephant, so if someone could just cut all the footage of him together and give me a DVD containing all those good feelings that would be great.