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Dean (6927 KP) rated Black Water: Abyss (2020) in Movies
Oct 2, 2021
Lacking bite
Well the first film done in 2007 was an OK creature feature about a group stuck in a remote location with a giant Croc for company. Only difference this time is its set under ground in a Cave system with rising water.
Not enough Croc action and just appears to be a normal size one. You might be confused thinking you are watching The Descent at times or other similar films. It plays out pretty much as you expect. Check out @Rogue (2008) instead.
Not enough Croc action and just appears to be a normal size one. You might be confused thinking you are watching The Descent at times or other similar films. It plays out pretty much as you expect. Check out @Rogue (2008) instead.
DamsonRain (94 KP) rated Zen Koi 2 in Apps
Dec 17, 2018
Easy to pick up and put down. (3 more)
Relaxing
Strangely addictive
Soothing music
Fun little time-waster
I came across this app a while ago and for some reason, i csnt seem to stop playing.
There is nothing too challenging about this, you simply have to guide your koi around the pond, feeding it certain aquatic creatures.
As the game progresses, your koi will grow, the pond will expand and eventually your little koi will breed.
There are many colour variations of koi that can be need. Once your pond has grown to optimum size, your koi will evolve into a dragon.
The difference between Zen Koi and Zen Koi 2, is that in the second incarnation of the game you are still able to interact with your dragon in s limited fashion. You are able to guide them around a small patch of sky, collecting essence, which you can then use to decorate your pond.
There is nothing too challenging about this, you simply have to guide your koi around the pond, feeding it certain aquatic creatures.
As the game progresses, your koi will grow, the pond will expand and eventually your little koi will breed.
There are many colour variations of koi that can be need. Once your pond has grown to optimum size, your koi will evolve into a dragon.
The difference between Zen Koi and Zen Koi 2, is that in the second incarnation of the game you are still able to interact with your dragon in s limited fashion. You are able to guide them around a small patch of sky, collecting essence, which you can then use to decorate your pond.
Jonas Carpignano recommended The Leopard (1963) in Movies (curated)
Kevin Wilson (179 KP) rated Kindle Paperwhite E-reader in Tech
Jul 14, 2018
Looks like paper (3 more)
Supports many formats
Easy to use
Great battery
Great product, decent price
If you want to read ebooks then this is the perfect device. The battery lasts weeks, the brightness is perfect, the weight is just right.
The screen makes it feel like your reading on paper and you only have to touch the screen to change the page. You have the ability to change font and size to make it easier for yourself. The lighting and screen is great allowing to read in direct sunlight and in the dark.
It supports different formats like e-pub and also gives you access to the Amazon store to download from there. You can sort all your books into collection to make everything easy to find. Your also given access to Goodreads to help you find recommendations.
The only downside for me is the lack of colour because I would have loved to be able to read comics on here but I can use my phone for that so it's not too big of a deal. They have kept the screen and specs simple to let the battery last which is important.
The device is a good size. Big enough so your not struggling to read but small enough for it to be easy to take it out with you. I wish it came in different colours except black because it does seem to scratch or get dirty easy but since then I have gotten a case.
I'd say height wise it's about the same size as my hand but a tiny bit bigger width. Screen a little smaller due to the bezzells. (I think that's the right word and hopefully right spelling)
It charges fairly quickly using a typical android charger and the price is fairly decent too.
You can get 2 types. 1 with ads and 1 without. I got the type with and I have to say it doesn't make a difference. All it does is show ads on the screen when you put it in standby. Doing this allows amazon to sell it cheaper. You can remove the ads for a payment of £10 which is the price difference between the 2 devices anyway.
At time of writing it is currently £110 in uk with ads and WiFi only. I do not see the point of 3G when all you have to do is download the books at home. Free WiFi is all over now anyways. Ad-free is £120 but like I say the ads are not distracting so I'd say go for the cheaper.
Overall I highly recommend. Only reason for it not being a 10 is the not option for comics and the lack of colours.
The screen makes it feel like your reading on paper and you only have to touch the screen to change the page. You have the ability to change font and size to make it easier for yourself. The lighting and screen is great allowing to read in direct sunlight and in the dark.
It supports different formats like e-pub and also gives you access to the Amazon store to download from there. You can sort all your books into collection to make everything easy to find. Your also given access to Goodreads to help you find recommendations.
The only downside for me is the lack of colour because I would have loved to be able to read comics on here but I can use my phone for that so it's not too big of a deal. They have kept the screen and specs simple to let the battery last which is important.
The device is a good size. Big enough so your not struggling to read but small enough for it to be easy to take it out with you. I wish it came in different colours except black because it does seem to scratch or get dirty easy but since then I have gotten a case.
I'd say height wise it's about the same size as my hand but a tiny bit bigger width. Screen a little smaller due to the bezzells. (I think that's the right word and hopefully right spelling)
It charges fairly quickly using a typical android charger and the price is fairly decent too.
You can get 2 types. 1 with ads and 1 without. I got the type with and I have to say it doesn't make a difference. All it does is show ads on the screen when you put it in standby. Doing this allows amazon to sell it cheaper. You can remove the ads for a payment of £10 which is the price difference between the 2 devices anyway.
At time of writing it is currently £110 in uk with ads and WiFi only. I do not see the point of 3G when all you have to do is download the books at home. Free WiFi is all over now anyways. Ad-free is £120 but like I say the ads are not distracting so I'd say go for the cheaper.
Overall I highly recommend. Only reason for it not being a 10 is the not option for comics and the lack of colours.
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated Mostly Mittens: Ethnic Knitting Designs from Russia in Books
Apr 27, 2018
Rating: 4.5
Mostly Mittens starts off with a very interesting (brief) summary of the history of the Komi people, why they knit in the fair isle style, how the patterns came around, and lots of very interesting history about this fantastic art.
The book is basically all knitting graphs. A knitting graph is like graph paper with squares filled in to represent which stitch is knit in which color. There are basic instructions at the beginning of the book, then each pattern gives the tools needed and the graph, but the basic instructions are the same for all of them.
The patterns are all unique and intricate, but very easy to follow once you understand what you’re doing. Fair isle is very relaxing and fun, not to mention warm since the extra threads add a second, third, and at times a fourth layer of warmth to the mittens.
Many knitting books try to teach people how to knit, or try to offer pictures and explanations of certain more advanced stitches in knitting. This one does not—and it’s something I appreciate. The book is aimed for the educated knitter who knows how to use double-pointed needles, read a pattern, and understand the difference between a inc 1 and a M1 etc. It’s nice to read a book that is aimed for the level I’m at, rather than one that tries to take a brand-new knitter and make them a pro overnight. There is a list of abbreviations in the back, because all knitters abbreviate slightly different. There’s also a list of resources in the back.
My only complaint is that the basic instructions aren’t written in a very clear manner, nor are the instructions for the knit-on cast-on. Luckily the photos and drawings are wonderful, and you can pretty much understand the concept. Plus, if you’re using this book, you are already pretty experienced.
In the back there are four hat patterns, and instructions to take the mitten graphs and turn them into hats! With 36 mitten graphs, 4 sets of hats, and a million color variations, imagine what you could do with this book!
Basically, this book makes my fingers twitch and my mouth water. I’ve got to get me some fingering weight wool and size two double-pointed needles…
Recommendation: Intermediate to Experienced knitters who don’t mind using small needles. No size 15 for these! Size 0-3 are the ones you’ll use.
Mostly Mittens starts off with a very interesting (brief) summary of the history of the Komi people, why they knit in the fair isle style, how the patterns came around, and lots of very interesting history about this fantastic art.
The book is basically all knitting graphs. A knitting graph is like graph paper with squares filled in to represent which stitch is knit in which color. There are basic instructions at the beginning of the book, then each pattern gives the tools needed and the graph, but the basic instructions are the same for all of them.
The patterns are all unique and intricate, but very easy to follow once you understand what you’re doing. Fair isle is very relaxing and fun, not to mention warm since the extra threads add a second, third, and at times a fourth layer of warmth to the mittens.
Many knitting books try to teach people how to knit, or try to offer pictures and explanations of certain more advanced stitches in knitting. This one does not—and it’s something I appreciate. The book is aimed for the educated knitter who knows how to use double-pointed needles, read a pattern, and understand the difference between a inc 1 and a M1 etc. It’s nice to read a book that is aimed for the level I’m at, rather than one that tries to take a brand-new knitter and make them a pro overnight. There is a list of abbreviations in the back, because all knitters abbreviate slightly different. There’s also a list of resources in the back.
My only complaint is that the basic instructions aren’t written in a very clear manner, nor are the instructions for the knit-on cast-on. Luckily the photos and drawings are wonderful, and you can pretty much understand the concept. Plus, if you’re using this book, you are already pretty experienced.
In the back there are four hat patterns, and instructions to take the mitten graphs and turn them into hats! With 36 mitten graphs, 4 sets of hats, and a million color variations, imagine what you could do with this book!
Basically, this book makes my fingers twitch and my mouth water. I’ve got to get me some fingering weight wool and size two double-pointed needles…
Recommendation: Intermediate to Experienced knitters who don’t mind using small needles. No size 15 for these! Size 0-3 are the ones you’ll use.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Everything, Everything (2017) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
Eighteen-year-old Maddy's world is small. It's the size of a house.
Maddy has a rare form of SCID, an immuno-deficiency disease that means she can't leave the house because a chance encounter could kill her. The only people she sees are her mother, her nurse Carla, Carla's daughter Rosa and members of an online support group.
When as family move in next door, Maddy is bewitched by the son. He's friendly, he's funny, and he's handsome. Communicating through their bedroom windows, they exchange numbers and start texting. Carla notices the difference in Maddy, and is persuaded to let Olly in the house, but only under her condition that they stay on opposite sides of the room.
Maddy wants to see the ocean more than anything else in the world. She has to see what's out there to truly know she's alive, even if it kills her. But when she buys two plane tickets to Hawaii for herself and Olly, she doesn't realise how much it will change her life.
This one is based on the YA novel Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon... you guessed it, haven't read this one either. I didn't know anything about it when I went to see it, mainly picked this one up because of the fact it was book related.
This was a beautiful film. (Yes, of course I cried) There's friendship, love, heartache. One of the problems was that there were really only two ways this film was going, and writers/movie makers aren't quite a cynical about things as I am when it comes to endings, so there wasn't really much chance that she was going to die for love.
Amandla Stenberg in the lead also wasn't quite my cup of tea. She played the naive side of the character well, but at the beginning when she was narrating... I just didn't find her a very good orator.
The subject matter was very different, and I really think the diversity in YA books has taken a massive step in that respect. It's touching on topics that very rarely see mainstream attention and that's a great thing. It also does one of my favourite things, which is enticing people to pick up books, so this one is a winner all round for me.
Maddy has a rare form of SCID, an immuno-deficiency disease that means she can't leave the house because a chance encounter could kill her. The only people she sees are her mother, her nurse Carla, Carla's daughter Rosa and members of an online support group.
When as family move in next door, Maddy is bewitched by the son. He's friendly, he's funny, and he's handsome. Communicating through their bedroom windows, they exchange numbers and start texting. Carla notices the difference in Maddy, and is persuaded to let Olly in the house, but only under her condition that they stay on opposite sides of the room.
Maddy wants to see the ocean more than anything else in the world. She has to see what's out there to truly know she's alive, even if it kills her. But when she buys two plane tickets to Hawaii for herself and Olly, she doesn't realise how much it will change her life.
This one is based on the YA novel Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon... you guessed it, haven't read this one either. I didn't know anything about it when I went to see it, mainly picked this one up because of the fact it was book related.
This was a beautiful film. (Yes, of course I cried) There's friendship, love, heartache. One of the problems was that there were really only two ways this film was going, and writers/movie makers aren't quite a cynical about things as I am when it comes to endings, so there wasn't really much chance that she was going to die for love.
Amandla Stenberg in the lead also wasn't quite my cup of tea. She played the naive side of the character well, but at the beginning when she was narrating... I just didn't find her a very good orator.
The subject matter was very different, and I really think the diversity in YA books has taken a massive step in that respect. It's touching on topics that very rarely see mainstream attention and that's a great thing. It also does one of my favourite things, which is enticing people to pick up books, so this one is a winner all round for me.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Samsung Galaxy S10 in Tech
Mar 11, 2019 (Updated Mar 18, 2019)
Impressive
I'll begin by saying that I upgraded from an S8 to an S10. So my opinion of the S10 is based on my experience of the S8.
Looks wise, this phone is stunning. The virtually bezel-less display looks amazing and the cut out hole for the front camera works surprisingly well. I love that they've kept the edge screen too. The back of the phone with the new cameras layout looks very sleek and the prism white version that I opted for looks beautiful. The gorilla glass casing too feels so smooth and makes for a very nice phone to hold. My only criticism, which in all fairness goes for all phones not just the S10, is that this is a stunning phone but because it's not indestructible, it has to have a chunky ugly case and/or screen protector to protect it. Which for me spoils the enjoyment of having a phone that's both nice to look at and hold, and I just wish they'd find a way of making the phone more durable. Size wise it's ever so slightly bigger than the S8 but yet feels just as thin and light.
The display is visually flawless and vivid, and the processor is impressively fast. I'd thought my old S8 was fine and quick to use, but I can really see the difference in the processing speed in this. Storage capacity now comes at 128GB as standard - how we used to cope with phones with 16GB I'll never know. The cameras are definitely better than the S8 and more than good enough for what I use them for, with some manual features that would put some digital cameras to shame. The battery seems much improved although it's still early days to see whether it depletes over time. The new interface itself looks noticeably different but without making any major changes, and I really like it. And I'm glad they haven't done anything drastic. The only change I don't like is to Bixby, but I've never been a fan so its hardly worth caring.
I'm intrigued with features like the wireless power share, although I'm not sure when I'd get the chance to test this out. For me though the biggest feature change is the fingerprint sensor in the screen. And at the moment, I'm going to need a little convincing. Having the fingerprint sensor built into the sensor is a smart move and is definitely a much better location than the back like the S8. However it seems a little too specific and temperamental sometimes. If you don't put your finger in exactly the right place/position, it doesn't work. It doesn't even seem to like it when you are doing the right thing. I may reserve judgement on this for a while and hope that this is down to me getting used to a different type of sensor.
The only other glitch that I've spotted is with the use of headphones and Spotify. The headphone controls & screen lock don't seem to register with Spotify immediately and cutout or dont work. Annoying, but I have figured out a quick fix by using the lock screen controls first before using the headphones. With this being a new phone, I'm hoping this will get resolved in an update soon.
In short, this is a stunning looking phone that works well and is very slick. It may not have a massive amount of new features, but phone technology advances do appear to be slowing down and this is a much better upgrade than the S9 claimed to be.
Edit: I completely forgot another slightly irritating feature (or lack of) on the S10 - they've removed the LED indicator! I always loved this about the earlier Samsungs and while I know you have the AED to check notifications, it's not quite the same as a multicoloured flashing LED...
Looks wise, this phone is stunning. The virtually bezel-less display looks amazing and the cut out hole for the front camera works surprisingly well. I love that they've kept the edge screen too. The back of the phone with the new cameras layout looks very sleek and the prism white version that I opted for looks beautiful. The gorilla glass casing too feels so smooth and makes for a very nice phone to hold. My only criticism, which in all fairness goes for all phones not just the S10, is that this is a stunning phone but because it's not indestructible, it has to have a chunky ugly case and/or screen protector to protect it. Which for me spoils the enjoyment of having a phone that's both nice to look at and hold, and I just wish they'd find a way of making the phone more durable. Size wise it's ever so slightly bigger than the S8 but yet feels just as thin and light.
The display is visually flawless and vivid, and the processor is impressively fast. I'd thought my old S8 was fine and quick to use, but I can really see the difference in the processing speed in this. Storage capacity now comes at 128GB as standard - how we used to cope with phones with 16GB I'll never know. The cameras are definitely better than the S8 and more than good enough for what I use them for, with some manual features that would put some digital cameras to shame. The battery seems much improved although it's still early days to see whether it depletes over time. The new interface itself looks noticeably different but without making any major changes, and I really like it. And I'm glad they haven't done anything drastic. The only change I don't like is to Bixby, but I've never been a fan so its hardly worth caring.
I'm intrigued with features like the wireless power share, although I'm not sure when I'd get the chance to test this out. For me though the biggest feature change is the fingerprint sensor in the screen. And at the moment, I'm going to need a little convincing. Having the fingerprint sensor built into the sensor is a smart move and is definitely a much better location than the back like the S8. However it seems a little too specific and temperamental sometimes. If you don't put your finger in exactly the right place/position, it doesn't work. It doesn't even seem to like it when you are doing the right thing. I may reserve judgement on this for a while and hope that this is down to me getting used to a different type of sensor.
The only other glitch that I've spotted is with the use of headphones and Spotify. The headphone controls & screen lock don't seem to register with Spotify immediately and cutout or dont work. Annoying, but I have figured out a quick fix by using the lock screen controls first before using the headphones. With this being a new phone, I'm hoping this will get resolved in an update soon.
In short, this is a stunning looking phone that works well and is very slick. It may not have a massive amount of new features, but phone technology advances do appear to be slowing down and this is a much better upgrade than the S9 claimed to be.
Edit: I completely forgot another slightly irritating feature (or lack of) on the S10 - they've removed the LED indicator! I always loved this about the earlier Samsungs and while I know you have the AED to check notifications, it's not quite the same as a multicoloured flashing LED...
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Journey of the Emperor in Tabletop Games
Jun 13, 2019
Do you think you know how to party? I thought I did, too. Then I played Journey of the Emperor, where you are planning an exciting party of journeys for the Emperor and their friends. They are all relying on YOU to provide them with the best journeys seeing exciting animals, beautiful flowers, and colorful lanterns along the way. But will you be able to plan wisely in the limited time you have been given? Let’s find out.
We were very excited to receive this game from Laboratory H for preview before they began their Kickstarter campaign. We love games with an Asian influence, and it seemed to have touches and inspirations from Tokaido, another favorite of ours. What we received is its own beast with great art and components.
So like I alluded to in my intro, you play a party planner drafting the best path cards to build the most killer journeys for your Emperor. You are dealt a hand of path cards – big, beautiful cards – that can feature different combinations of Journey Start, Journey End, animals, and lanterns icons. To assist you in focusing your strategy, you are also dealt four Emperor’s Favorites cards, from which you will keep two and discard the others. From the large stack of remaining path cards you reveal six as an offer and the game can begin.
On your turn you will be drafting cards from the offer, playing cards from your hand, and trying to complete objectives for points on your Emperor’s Favorites and Journey Start and End cards. These cards have scoring conditions printed on them to help tailor your play. So a Journey End card could have a picture of a flower on it (as all Start and End cards do) with a scoring condition of 3 points for every tiger icon on this completed Journey (I want to call this a “scoring panel” for this review to make it easier). So then you want to concentrate on getting as many tiger icons into this Journey to score tons of points. Or perhaps a Journey Start card will have a different flower, and state that you get 21 points for every set of tiger, dragon, and turtle icons. Either way, you now have a goal to achieve and you spend the game trying to amass the most points from these scoring opportunities and those found on your Emperor’s Favorites cards, which have similar scoring iconography. Most points at game end wins!
While this seems easy and that there is no inherent strategy, let me introduce the wrinkle. You can only score points from completed journeys. Each completed journey has at least a Journey Start and Journey End card. These cards will be adjacent to each other to form a pathway through the cards. You may never add a path card to your journey between two existing cards, but they can be added to the edges of a journey – either at the beginning or the end. If you add to the beginning, you will completely cover up the Journey Start card’s scoring panel so that you can create an uninterrupted path. Herein lies the strategy. At what point do you take the plunge and cover up a scoring panel to add to your journey? Yes, you can get way more points by doing this, but in a 4-player game you only have EIGHT turns. So do you feel like you will be able to draft just the right cards to maximize your scoring or will you falter and not be able to complete a journey in time, thus forfeiting any points you could have scored? Oh, you clever game…
Components. This is a smaller card game. The Emperor’s Favorites cards are about the mini size you would find in OG Ticket to Ride. The path cards are much larger and similar to the tarot sized cards, if not even taller. Both are of great quality with the wonderful linen finish (that I’m learning is more polarizing than I originally thought, but I love it!). Our review copy came with a few scoring sheets to tally the final scores – which we didn’t use correctly but still arrived at the correct final scores. The art in this game is truly breathtaking. The details in the murals in just the backgrounds of the path cards are amazing, and the flowers and animals are really really incredible. If we had one small gripe about the art, it was mentioned that someone could not tell much of a difference between the tiger and the dragon icons on the path cards. I didn’t have much of a problem deciphering the difference, but they are very similar in color and style, so I can see how others may view this as an issue for them.
DISCLAIMER: These are preview copy components, and I do not know if the final components will be similar or different, or if the Kickstarter campaign will alter or add anything through stretch goals. That said, I am very satisfied with the components provided in this game.
This is a really good game. A lot more thinky than Tokaido (using a similar theme), and ultimately more enjoyable because you really feel you have control over your turns and aren’t just going for the best available at the time. You actually have to employ strategy here in order to be competitive. And although this is not a spiteful take-that game, you most certainly can foil your opponents’ plans indirectly by drafting their much-needed path cards. The art is amazing, the game is a great length, and you really want to keep playing. To me, that is the mark of a really good game. All that said, I would recommend this one if you are looking for a quick game that gives you all the good feelings of Tokaido but also scratches more of a gamer’s itch for actual strategy. Oh, and it’s absolutely beautiful.
We were very excited to receive this game from Laboratory H for preview before they began their Kickstarter campaign. We love games with an Asian influence, and it seemed to have touches and inspirations from Tokaido, another favorite of ours. What we received is its own beast with great art and components.
So like I alluded to in my intro, you play a party planner drafting the best path cards to build the most killer journeys for your Emperor. You are dealt a hand of path cards – big, beautiful cards – that can feature different combinations of Journey Start, Journey End, animals, and lanterns icons. To assist you in focusing your strategy, you are also dealt four Emperor’s Favorites cards, from which you will keep two and discard the others. From the large stack of remaining path cards you reveal six as an offer and the game can begin.
On your turn you will be drafting cards from the offer, playing cards from your hand, and trying to complete objectives for points on your Emperor’s Favorites and Journey Start and End cards. These cards have scoring conditions printed on them to help tailor your play. So a Journey End card could have a picture of a flower on it (as all Start and End cards do) with a scoring condition of 3 points for every tiger icon on this completed Journey (I want to call this a “scoring panel” for this review to make it easier). So then you want to concentrate on getting as many tiger icons into this Journey to score tons of points. Or perhaps a Journey Start card will have a different flower, and state that you get 21 points for every set of tiger, dragon, and turtle icons. Either way, you now have a goal to achieve and you spend the game trying to amass the most points from these scoring opportunities and those found on your Emperor’s Favorites cards, which have similar scoring iconography. Most points at game end wins!
While this seems easy and that there is no inherent strategy, let me introduce the wrinkle. You can only score points from completed journeys. Each completed journey has at least a Journey Start and Journey End card. These cards will be adjacent to each other to form a pathway through the cards. You may never add a path card to your journey between two existing cards, but they can be added to the edges of a journey – either at the beginning or the end. If you add to the beginning, you will completely cover up the Journey Start card’s scoring panel so that you can create an uninterrupted path. Herein lies the strategy. At what point do you take the plunge and cover up a scoring panel to add to your journey? Yes, you can get way more points by doing this, but in a 4-player game you only have EIGHT turns. So do you feel like you will be able to draft just the right cards to maximize your scoring or will you falter and not be able to complete a journey in time, thus forfeiting any points you could have scored? Oh, you clever game…
Components. This is a smaller card game. The Emperor’s Favorites cards are about the mini size you would find in OG Ticket to Ride. The path cards are much larger and similar to the tarot sized cards, if not even taller. Both are of great quality with the wonderful linen finish (that I’m learning is more polarizing than I originally thought, but I love it!). Our review copy came with a few scoring sheets to tally the final scores – which we didn’t use correctly but still arrived at the correct final scores. The art in this game is truly breathtaking. The details in the murals in just the backgrounds of the path cards are amazing, and the flowers and animals are really really incredible. If we had one small gripe about the art, it was mentioned that someone could not tell much of a difference between the tiger and the dragon icons on the path cards. I didn’t have much of a problem deciphering the difference, but they are very similar in color and style, so I can see how others may view this as an issue for them.
DISCLAIMER: These are preview copy components, and I do not know if the final components will be similar or different, or if the Kickstarter campaign will alter or add anything through stretch goals. That said, I am very satisfied with the components provided in this game.
This is a really good game. A lot more thinky than Tokaido (using a similar theme), and ultimately more enjoyable because you really feel you have control over your turns and aren’t just going for the best available at the time. You actually have to employ strategy here in order to be competitive. And although this is not a spiteful take-that game, you most certainly can foil your opponents’ plans indirectly by drafting their much-needed path cards. The art is amazing, the game is a great length, and you really want to keep playing. To me, that is the mark of a really good game. All that said, I would recommend this one if you are looking for a quick game that gives you all the good feelings of Tokaido but also scratches more of a gamer’s itch for actual strategy. Oh, and it’s absolutely beautiful.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Ticket to Ride in Tabletop Games
Jan 9, 2020
I am one of the remaining few who reviewers who haven’t put in their two cents on Ticket to Ride. Why? Is it bad? No. Am I lazy? No. It’s really because I don’t think I have anything new to say about it that hasn’t already been said a hundred times. So this review on this game will be a little different from me. Instead of going over the rules and such (however truncated they typically are from me) I will question how well this game has aged for me.
Ticket to Ride is one of those games that has really hit it big in the mass market. You can find it all over in big box stores, in FLGS, online, secondary market, just everywhere. But why? And for this long? Ticket to Ride (TTR) came out in 2004. A mere 15 years ago. While that doesn’t really sound like a long time, in contrast to today’s game industry it is an eternity. With thousands upon thousands of games being released into the market through direct publish, Kickstarter/crowd funding, and big releases at conventions it’s hard to believe that you can still find this hanging with the exciting, fresh new games.
What I truly believe is magical about this game is its simplicity. “You have two main options: take some cards or play some cards.” When you can start a teach of a game by saying that, your players are invested right away because they know you aren’t going to bog them down with rules upon rules. “If you decide to take cards you can take these colored train cards or you can take new route ticket cards.” So now players have two choices from gaining cards. “If you decide to play cards you need to play cards of a color and number matching whichever route between two connecting cities on the map you like.” Done. The game is explained. Yeah, you can fight me about the endgame scoring stuff like longest route and whatnot, but for new gamers, you have explained this classic in three sentences. It’s so beautiful when a game allows you to teach it so quickly.
But that surely means that this is an easy game, right? With so few rules and such. Well, no. It’s not really “easy” at all. While your main rules are light, the strategy and tactics during play can cause feelings of joy and delight as well as frustration and concern as you see someone claim the route you need to connect to two cities on the map. Of course, you can’t explain that to your new players right away. You want them to experience these feelings organically and fully. It’s what makes TTR a really great game: having your well-laid plans just shot to smithereens by the guy who can’t tell the difference between the white train cars and the wild rainbow train cars.
DISCLAIMER: I play with the 1910 expansion, which is a MUST. The larger cards are way easier to play with. See photo below with comparisons from base game on bottom with the larger 1910 cards above. YMMV, but I will always play using this expansion. -T
Components. Let’s compare components to some current or newer games. The game board is laid out really well, and the artwork is sparse and not over-busy on the board. This is a HUGE plus for me. I like nothing more than for the board to offer thematic elements and feeling without pelting my eyes with too much distraction. The cards were a bad choice. Not because the art or the quality on them is bad – because that’s not what I am saying. The size of the cards was a poor choice. I did purchase the 1910 expansion and simply will not play my copy without it. I recently played TTR for GenCan’t 2019 at my FLGS with OG base cards and found myself dreaming of the 1910 cards. The score tracker discs are of industry-standard quality for scoring discs. The plastic train car pieces are still just as wonderful to handle and play with as are many other more modern components. Seriously just as good. TTR components (and really, most of the time Days of Wonder components in general) are really great.
So do I still enjoy playing it? You betcha, don’tcha know. I still love seeing the board in front of me, agonizing over the route tickets I am dealt, and trying to decide if I should go for the New York to Los Angeles, or keep it simple with multiple routes along the Mississippi River. I still love the panic that ensues when I see people hoarding train cards, just knowing that they will soon be on the attack and their train car collection will dwindle to almost endgame levels in too few rounds for me to complete my masterpiece. I guess I still really love it.
Is Ticket to Ride my favorite game? No. But I’ll tell you what. I hadn’t played it in a couple years, and after this weekend’s play, it has moved up on my list by several spaces. It still holds a special place in my heart, and also the hearts of my team. That’s why Purple Phoenix Games gives Ticket to Ride a retrospective 20 / 24. It’s still great!
Ticket to Ride is one of those games that has really hit it big in the mass market. You can find it all over in big box stores, in FLGS, online, secondary market, just everywhere. But why? And for this long? Ticket to Ride (TTR) came out in 2004. A mere 15 years ago. While that doesn’t really sound like a long time, in contrast to today’s game industry it is an eternity. With thousands upon thousands of games being released into the market through direct publish, Kickstarter/crowd funding, and big releases at conventions it’s hard to believe that you can still find this hanging with the exciting, fresh new games.
What I truly believe is magical about this game is its simplicity. “You have two main options: take some cards or play some cards.” When you can start a teach of a game by saying that, your players are invested right away because they know you aren’t going to bog them down with rules upon rules. “If you decide to take cards you can take these colored train cards or you can take new route ticket cards.” So now players have two choices from gaining cards. “If you decide to play cards you need to play cards of a color and number matching whichever route between two connecting cities on the map you like.” Done. The game is explained. Yeah, you can fight me about the endgame scoring stuff like longest route and whatnot, but for new gamers, you have explained this classic in three sentences. It’s so beautiful when a game allows you to teach it so quickly.
But that surely means that this is an easy game, right? With so few rules and such. Well, no. It’s not really “easy” at all. While your main rules are light, the strategy and tactics during play can cause feelings of joy and delight as well as frustration and concern as you see someone claim the route you need to connect to two cities on the map. Of course, you can’t explain that to your new players right away. You want them to experience these feelings organically and fully. It’s what makes TTR a really great game: having your well-laid plans just shot to smithereens by the guy who can’t tell the difference between the white train cars and the wild rainbow train cars.
DISCLAIMER: I play with the 1910 expansion, which is a MUST. The larger cards are way easier to play with. See photo below with comparisons from base game on bottom with the larger 1910 cards above. YMMV, but I will always play using this expansion. -T
Components. Let’s compare components to some current or newer games. The game board is laid out really well, and the artwork is sparse and not over-busy on the board. This is a HUGE plus for me. I like nothing more than for the board to offer thematic elements and feeling without pelting my eyes with too much distraction. The cards were a bad choice. Not because the art or the quality on them is bad – because that’s not what I am saying. The size of the cards was a poor choice. I did purchase the 1910 expansion and simply will not play my copy without it. I recently played TTR for GenCan’t 2019 at my FLGS with OG base cards and found myself dreaming of the 1910 cards. The score tracker discs are of industry-standard quality for scoring discs. The plastic train car pieces are still just as wonderful to handle and play with as are many other more modern components. Seriously just as good. TTR components (and really, most of the time Days of Wonder components in general) are really great.
So do I still enjoy playing it? You betcha, don’tcha know. I still love seeing the board in front of me, agonizing over the route tickets I am dealt, and trying to decide if I should go for the New York to Los Angeles, or keep it simple with multiple routes along the Mississippi River. I still love the panic that ensues when I see people hoarding train cards, just knowing that they will soon be on the attack and their train car collection will dwindle to almost endgame levels in too few rounds for me to complete my masterpiece. I guess I still really love it.
Is Ticket to Ride my favorite game? No. But I’ll tell you what. I hadn’t played it in a couple years, and after this weekend’s play, it has moved up on my list by several spaces. It still holds a special place in my heart, and also the hearts of my team. That’s why Purple Phoenix Games gives Ticket to Ride a retrospective 20 / 24. It’s still great!
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Hamsters vs. Hippos in Tabletop Games
Oct 1, 2021
Deeply consider this question: what is your natural predator? We are the top of the food chain, right? Right? And what we all learned in school is that some animals are herbivores, some are carnivores, and some are omnivores. At least in the Midwest, that’s what we were taught. Now, I don’t remember ever being taught that hippopotamuses (hippopotami?) eat anything other than grass. However, I have been wrong so many times in my life that I am interested to find out why they would snack on fleeing hamsters. Perhaps a board game can help me!
Hamsters vs. Hippos is a press-your-luck tile flipping game where players are cute little hamsterinos escaping the zoo and nearing freedom. However, along the way they must traverse the hippo enclosure. Typically hippos only eat grass, but in this game universe they are attracted to the delectable little rodents and are as hangry as my kids after a day at the playground. The hamster who can collect the most lotus flowers from the hippo lily pads at the end of the game will be the winner and be able to escape the zoo in peace. All other players will be snacked.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
To setup, determine the appropriate grid size for the number of players per the rulebook. Shuffle all the lily pad tiles face-down, place them in the grid, then place upon them nine lotus flower tokens. Each player will select their hamsteeple and mat and the game may now begin!
Hamsters vs. Hippos is played over four rounds and each turn players will have two actions they must complete. For the first action, each hamster must move onto the grid to explore a face-down tile, or explore another face-down tile if already on the grid. For the second action the hamster may continue exploring new tiles or be taken off the grid to score their collected lotus flowers. Movement can be orthogonally or diagonally, but every time they move, the hamsters must move to an unexplored tile. Flipping these tiles will reveal empty lily pads, some special actions to be taken, lotus flowers to be collected, or hippos that end the hamster’s round and makes the hamster forfeit their collected lotus flowers this round.
The game continues in this fashion over four rounds where hamsters are moving onto and off the grid, moving around the grid, collecting flowers, and possibly being eaten. At the end of the fourth round players total their lotus flowers they were able to keep and the hamster with the most lotus flowers wins!
Components. This one is easy. This game is a bunch of lily pad tiles, some cardstock player mats, wooden lotus flower tokens, and cute little hamsteeples. The tiles are good quality, the player mats are big and nice, and the hamsteeples are precious. I enjoy the lighthearted art style quite a bit – even the angry-looking hippo tiles. My only issue lies with the lotus flower tokens. They are very thin painted wooden tokens in two colors – pastel pink (worth 1 VP)and slightly darker pastel purple (worth 3 VP). I am not colorblind, but I like to make mention of items I would think are not colorblind friendly. The difference in color is not great enough, even for me of acceptable color differentiation. Another thing about these is they are very thin and delicate. Normally this isn’t an issue for me, but this is clearly a game my children want to play. When they play this with me I am always holding my breath just waiting for them to break a lotus flower. It hasn’t happened yet, but I might see about adding sturdier components to my copy when I play with little ones.
Game play is very very light. This is purely a press-your-luck game of deciding to move to a tile, flipping it over, and hoping for the best. There are a few special action tiles that can help mitigate the luck factor a little, but most of the time it’s a leap before you look scenario. That may turn off a large faction of gamers, but I will be playing this primarily with my children (who are nowhere near the suggested age of 8+). I could have reviewed this under our Kids Table series, but it doesn’t seem to be marketed specifically to children. As a game for adults, this is novelty at best, but for children it’s a decent press-your-luck style game. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a 4 / 6, but only because it works so well with kids. If I didn’t have children I couldn’t see myself playing it a whole lot at all. Consider this when you look at the amazing cover art and intriguing theme. It’s good for what it is, but will not be for all collections and play groups.
Hamsters vs. Hippos is a press-your-luck tile flipping game where players are cute little hamsterinos escaping the zoo and nearing freedom. However, along the way they must traverse the hippo enclosure. Typically hippos only eat grass, but in this game universe they are attracted to the delectable little rodents and are as hangry as my kids after a day at the playground. The hamster who can collect the most lotus flowers from the hippo lily pads at the end of the game will be the winner and be able to escape the zoo in peace. All other players will be snacked.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
To setup, determine the appropriate grid size for the number of players per the rulebook. Shuffle all the lily pad tiles face-down, place them in the grid, then place upon them nine lotus flower tokens. Each player will select their hamsteeple and mat and the game may now begin!
Hamsters vs. Hippos is played over four rounds and each turn players will have two actions they must complete. For the first action, each hamster must move onto the grid to explore a face-down tile, or explore another face-down tile if already on the grid. For the second action the hamster may continue exploring new tiles or be taken off the grid to score their collected lotus flowers. Movement can be orthogonally or diagonally, but every time they move, the hamsters must move to an unexplored tile. Flipping these tiles will reveal empty lily pads, some special actions to be taken, lotus flowers to be collected, or hippos that end the hamster’s round and makes the hamster forfeit their collected lotus flowers this round.
The game continues in this fashion over four rounds where hamsters are moving onto and off the grid, moving around the grid, collecting flowers, and possibly being eaten. At the end of the fourth round players total their lotus flowers they were able to keep and the hamster with the most lotus flowers wins!
Components. This one is easy. This game is a bunch of lily pad tiles, some cardstock player mats, wooden lotus flower tokens, and cute little hamsteeples. The tiles are good quality, the player mats are big and nice, and the hamsteeples are precious. I enjoy the lighthearted art style quite a bit – even the angry-looking hippo tiles. My only issue lies with the lotus flower tokens. They are very thin painted wooden tokens in two colors – pastel pink (worth 1 VP)and slightly darker pastel purple (worth 3 VP). I am not colorblind, but I like to make mention of items I would think are not colorblind friendly. The difference in color is not great enough, even for me of acceptable color differentiation. Another thing about these is they are very thin and delicate. Normally this isn’t an issue for me, but this is clearly a game my children want to play. When they play this with me I am always holding my breath just waiting for them to break a lotus flower. It hasn’t happened yet, but I might see about adding sturdier components to my copy when I play with little ones.
Game play is very very light. This is purely a press-your-luck game of deciding to move to a tile, flipping it over, and hoping for the best. There are a few special action tiles that can help mitigate the luck factor a little, but most of the time it’s a leap before you look scenario. That may turn off a large faction of gamers, but I will be playing this primarily with my children (who are nowhere near the suggested age of 8+). I could have reviewed this under our Kids Table series, but it doesn’t seem to be marketed specifically to children. As a game for adults, this is novelty at best, but for children it’s a decent press-your-luck style game. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a 4 / 6, but only because it works so well with kids. If I didn’t have children I couldn’t see myself playing it a whole lot at all. Consider this when you look at the amazing cover art and intriguing theme. It’s good for what it is, but will not be for all collections and play groups.
