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Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Cybermancy: Virtual Arena in Tabletop Games
Mar 31, 2020 (Updated Mar 31, 2020)
A game of Cybermancy: Virtual Arena (which I will refer to as simply Cybermancy from here on out) is a player-to-player dueling card game where one Cybermancer is attempting to lower the other Cybermancer’s health points (HP) to zero using summoned creatures from their hand. Will you be able to defeat your opponent before they can setup any defenses or enough firepower to punish your HP? Get out there, Cybermancer!
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and I do not know for sure if the final components will be any different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, as there are just too many. You are invited to download the rulebook, back the game through the Kickstarter campaign beginning April 1, 2020, purchase it from your FLGS, or through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T
There is quite a bit of setup to Cybermancy if you care to assemble your team yourself. The rulebook has a number of starter deck suggestions. Players will need to assemble a team of 30 creatures for their deck. From this, draw seven cards to begin. Each player will need to draw five cards each of CPU and RAM cards – these are the currency of the game and what is needed to summon creatures from hand. Each player will need a health tracker and a CPU/RAM tracker. The game is now setup and ready to play!
Cybermancy is a dueling game played over rounds, and each round will follow the same general structure, but may not exactly mimic each other during play. The phases are: Main, Discard, Draw, Refresh, and Advance Power Marker. Generally, the main action of the game takes place during the aptly-named Main phase. This is where players will spend the CPU/RAM cards they have drawn to summon and attack with their creatures. Not all creatures can be summoned and attack in the same round, and creatures can only be summoned if the player spends enough in cards while also respecting the maximum CPU/RAM limitations set in the CPU/RAM tracker. Example: during the first round, only creatures with a 1 CPU / 1 RAM strength can be summoned from hand because the CPU/RAM tracker begins the game at 1 / 1. The last phase of the round is Advance Power Marker (only one), so this is the way CPU/RAM maximum limits are increased.
After the Main phase, the power cards (CPU/RAM) used, and the destroyed creatures will be discarded. The next phase is Drawing one card from each deck (Creature Draw, CPU, RAM) to be added to the players’ pools. To Refresh during the next phase, all Buffered (kneeling) creatures will be stood up to be used next round. Advance the Power token of your choice and you are ready to play the next round.
Rounds continue in this fashion until one Cybermancer has reduced their opponent’s HP to zero and immediately proclaims victory!
Components. Again, this is a prototype copy of the game, so the components may not be 100% similar to what would be shipped as a result of a successful Kickstarter campaign. That said, the first thing I want to do is shout out to the art in this game. The card art is absolutely stellar and engaging. I find myself paying more attention to the art than I should while playing, and to me, that’s not a bad thing. The cards are good quality, the cardboard chits to track buffs and debuffs are okay, and the card layout is mostly good. I say mostly because as I read the summon costs for the creatures, I read them left to right on the top of the creature card, which is CPU then RAM. However, the CPU/RAM tracking card has RAM on top and CPU on bottom. I am already trying my best to strategize for victory, I wish I didn’t have to think about which power is which on that card. The health tracking cards are good, and similar to what you find in Star/Hero Realms and various others. So components are great, aside from my one qualm.
The game is good. You can strategize all you want, but ultimately your turns are limited by the power costs of the creatures and which creatures you have drawn. At the beginning of the game if you do not like what you have drawn for a starting hand a re-draw is possible for all decks. That ability is one and done though, and sometimes it would be helpful to have a flush of the hand and a redraw, or a way to otherwise rid yourself of cards you cannot use yet or just don’t like.
That said, I like Cybermancy quite a bit. I feel like I am playing a video game when I play this game. The art is amazing, the concept and theme are attractive. Being able to invoke the powers of d’Artagnan to combat zombified Kurt Cobain is just so satisfying. If you enjoy dueling card games, or games where you can employ beings of literary and actual history, then this game is certainly for you. Do check out the Kickstarter campaign that is starting April 1, 2020. I am really looking forward to seeing how far this one goes!
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Kyera (8 KP) rated Scarlett Epstein Hates It Here in Books
Feb 1, 2018
Scarlet was suggested to me as a cross between Veronica Mars (who I love) and Daria (who I know next to nothing about). Scarlet writes and reads fanfic about her favourite television show, Lycanthrope High. It's one of those books where you connect with the main character because they <i>get you</i>. The tv show, movie, book comic or video game character that you fall in love with feels like a real person - and Scarlet understands that. Her straight-laced best friend, Avery, not so much. It's a unique take on the high school experience with an awkward protagonist you want to know more about. I suggest you check it out.
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FilmIntuition (33 KP) rated Tomb Raider (2018) in Movies
Aug 31, 2018
Academy Award winner Alicia Vikander picks up the baton left by our previous Lara Croft, Angelina Jolie and has a blast in what is essentially a female spin on INDIANA JONES and NATIONAL TREASURE.
While the film gets pretty ridiculous as it continues, the eye-catching effects and sharp visual visual style, as well as terrific turns by Dominic West and Walton Goggins as her father and the film's villain respectively keep you invested, even if you'll forget it almost as quickly as you've seen it.
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Night Reader Reviews (683 KP) rated The Game Theorists in YouTube Channels
Jan 22, 2020 (Updated Jan 22, 2020)
There is a lot of interesting videos and just about everyone can find something that would interest them on this channel. I just wish the videos for specific games were numbered or something so you know what order to watch them in without having to go through the entire list of uploads to see which one came first. The Five Nights at Freddy's theories were especially bad about playing out of order.
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