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Dice Forge
Dice Forge
2017 | Ancient, Dice Game, Fantasy
Dice are customizable. (3 more)
Components are nice.
Game has short play time.
Everyone rolls on everyone's turn. Results in little to no downtime.
Dice sides are hard to get off if the game is new. (1 more)
Almost no distinct difference between which die is for sun and which is for moon. Very hard to tell the color difference.
Most Interesting Dice Game I've Played
Players: 2-4
Ages: 8+
Time: 45 minutes

Dice: Guys they are customizable!!! Each side of the dice comes off! You can change them. It's so cool. As you play you have to strategize which die to put your new sides on. Which sides to buy with your gold, and think about what your chances are for rolling that side a lot to benefit you the most. I mean they are basically lego dice. It's amazing.
Componemts: The dice are solid but roll a little different than normal dice. You really have to give them a good roll. If you just lasily through them, sometimes they just end up on the same side it was already on because they are larger and heavier than normal smaller dice.
Play Time: 45 minutes is what it says on the box. If you are just playing the game, acurrate. But if you have to teach the game too. It takes longer. The longest part of teaching the game i found is the cards. The gameplay has a simple flow but the cards are all just symbols and I found I needed the reference guide in the rulebook closeby almost every time I play. The symbols just don't explain enough for each card.
Downtime between turns: There is little to none. On your turn, everyone rolls and then the active player may buy new dice sides or buy a card. The only waiting is for the active player to strategize in what they want to buy. But you can be thinking of that on their turns as well.
  
When We Were Vikings
When We Were Vikings
Andrew David MacDonald | 2020 | Fiction & Poetry
9
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
narration voice (0 more)
When We Were Vikings is about Zelda, a high functioning 21 year old diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome, who is a Viking enthusiast trying to figure out her life quest. Zelda lives with her brother Gert after both of their parents died when they were young. Gert and his on again/off again girlfriend Annie, whom Zelda calls AK47, make up Zelda's main tribe. Together, they try to figure out their legacies.

Andrew David MacDonald delivered an amazing story. I absolutely adored the character of Zelda. The way she loved Vikings and applied the Viking culture to make it through life's difficulties was endearing. I loved Zelda and I just wanted her to succeed. Her blunt, unembellished language was easy to read and refreshing. Whether it's telling off thugs or talking about sex and periods, Zelda says what she thinks.

Her brother Gert also tried to figure out how to not only live his life and figure the world out, but also tried to help Zelda figure hers out. He attempted to work with the cards he'd been dealt, but in all honesty, he seemed to constantly grab from the pile ones that just made life harder - he was always making messes that others were cleaning up after, even Zelda herself. I just wanted to sit him down and tell him to get it together and keep it together.

This book had a lot of concepts in it that worked for me. The characters are both quirky and realistic. It's endearing and heartwarming; it's full of love and hate. Some portions of the book made me laugh out loud while others made me want to slam the book shut out of frustration. It had some light themes but also some pretty dark themes. When We Were Vikings earned a spot on my Recommended Fiction List.

"...The point is you're willing to give it a try. That's what makes someone a legend."
  
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Janeeny (200 KP) rated Lanny in Books

Aug 5, 2019  
Lanny
Lanny
Max Porter | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy
7
9.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
I have to admit, when I first started reading this book I did stop several times, look at the cover and the blurb and think “What the heck am I reading?”

This is the first Max Porter novel I have read. He has a very interesting way of laying out his prose which baffles the brain at first, but once you adapt to the flow you just float along with the story. The book is broken up into three parts, and each part is told in a different but distinctive way.

Lanny is a young boy with a gift, a very peculiar gift that his parents can’t quite figure out. So Lanny’s mother enlists the help of ‘Pete’ a local grizzled artist to teach the boy and harness some of his ‘eccentricities’. However, a mysterious event soon throws the lives of Lanny’s parents, Pete, and indeed the whole village in to utter chaos. Questions are asked, relationships are closely examined, but what really lies beneath all that goes on in this little village just outside of London.

One aspect of the book I admired was in part two, after the main turning point of the story. This part of the book is told in sporadic paragraphs of peoples thoughts and deeds during the event. It’s not always clear whose thought or deed you’re reading (and it’s not always necessary to know) but through this episodic storytelling you build up a picture not only of what is happening but how the people involved are feeling about it.

This was very cleverly written and the way that Porter plays with words builds up a very vivid image of the events happening in ‘Lanny’. What Porter has shown us is that in order to tell a good story you don’t necessarily have to write in a smooth and progressive way, sometimes you just have to throw words at the pages and see what sticks!
  
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Kaz (232 KP) Aug 5, 2019

This is a book I've wanted to read for a while. It sounds challenging, but possibly worth a go at reading. Great Review!

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Sarah (7800 KP) rated Dolittle (2020) in Movies

Feb 26, 2020 (Updated Feb 26, 2020)  
Dolittle (2020)
Dolittle (2020)
2020 | Adventure
Perfect... for kids
The trailer for this didn't fill me with much confidence, and I was even more concerned after hearing about the troubles even getting it to the screen, and I'm afraid to say it lived up to my rather low expectations.

Right from the opening scene, its obvious this film has been made solely for children. The plot is basic and predictable and a lot of the action and gags are very childish and puerile. Even Emma Thompson's narration made me feel like I was watching a kids educational show. I appreciate it's difficult to make a film suitable for kids and adults alike, but Disney and Pixar have proved it's possible without being infantile - sadly Dolittle doesn't. There are a few moments that I did have a small giggle at, but most of the gags I found either too obvious or childish to be funny. Weirdly enough I found Kevin the squirrel and his logs hilarious.

The cast themselves I found underused, or rather odd choices - some of the voice actors of the animals to me seemed a little out of place. That probably wasn't helped by how distractingly odd the animals looked when they were talking, and with the CGI ranging from pretty good to decidedly dodgy. Antonio Banderas was wasted as King Rassouli and Michael Sheen was hamming it up to the extremes, but it's Robert Downey Jnr that deserves a notable mention... for how terrible his accent is. I love RDJ, but his Welsh accent ranges from ok to downright horrendous. I couldn't even tell from the trailer what sort of accent he was doing it was that bad. And the problem with this is the accent took away all of the fun and charisma you'd expect from his performance.

The one benefit of this film is that it's fairly short, so it doesnt drag too much. Your kids will love it, but as an adult I wouldn't expect much.
  
    Feelings - For Kids

    Feelings - For Kids

    Education and Games

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

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