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Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Yes! Broccoli! in Tabletop Games
Mar 25, 2020
I’m sure you saw the title of this review and thought I had lost my mind. Well, I thought I had lost my mind when I saw the description of this one and immediately was excited to play it. Not that broccoli is my favorite food, but I do love it. My son, however, loves broccoli. Wait, he LOVES broccoli. Hopefully now you can understand why I would be excited to play a card game about health food geared toward children to teach them about good vs bad food items. I love my kids, and I love games. When I can combine those, I am a happy guy.
Yes! Broccoli! is a card game for 2-5 players that incorporates blind bidding, special player powers (in advanced games), and drafting elements. The hidden benefit from this game is that healthy food cards are worth more points while the junk food cards are worth negative points (boo and hiss).
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 from the publisher directly, or from your FLGS if stocked. -T
To setup a basic game, each player will take a personal deck of cards numbered 1-8 of the same color border (I choose orange or purple). These are the cards that will be used during the game. Shuffle the large stack of food cards as a draw deck. Draw a number of cards equal to the number of players, determine the starting player and the game is ready to be consumed!
The players will all choose one of their bid cards from their hand and place them face-down in front of them. Once all have chosen, all bid cards will be revealed simultaneously. The highest-bid card’s player will then choose one of the drawn food cards to take into their score pile. That winning player now acts as the dealer and will draw and reveal the next set of cards upon which the players will bid. As the players play all their numbered cards, they may win food cards worth many points, or they may be saddled with negative values as well. These are the junk food cards that nobody wants. Except my son, who wanted all the Candy T-Rex cards, even knowing that it will affect his score. Some people play to win. Others play to have a good time. I admire that about him. Play continues in this fashion until all bid cards have been played. Count up the points won/gathered and determine a winner! This is the basic game to be played with new players or young children.
To play a more advanced game, setup will be the same, except each player will also be dealt two special ability cards to be used during the game. These cards are very powerful, and can only be used once during the game. As this adds a new and thinky layer to the basic game, it is only recommended for older children or adult play. Examples of these special abilities are having the lowest-bid card win instead of highest card, or doubling a bid amount, or adding/subtracting three to/from a current bid.
Components. This game is a big stack of cards in a small (but appropriately-sized) box. The cards are great, and while I would prefer plastic cards for my young kids, children who can respect game components will be just fine. The art on these cards is super cute and I found myself just smiling while I was playing because not only is this game educational for youngsters, but it’s fun to look at while playing too. I made a parenthetical comment about the box being appropriately-sized, and I mean it. I appreciate when a game doesn’t try to be bigger on the shelf for that extra “presence” at the game store. When I open a box and more than 50% is air, it is very irksome to me. How wasteful. Well, not here. We have nothing bad to say about these components at all.
So while most kids may not appreciate the backstabbiness of the special abilities, adults certainly will. That said, when playing with the intended audience of children, we found that Yes! Broccoli! was a huge hit! We are still working on the younger kids and breaking them of the, “yes, the cake princess is very pretty, but you really don’t want to take her into your score pile.” Winning and losing really doesn’t matter much in the Lopez household, but gaming experiences do, and though my son doesn’t win this one ever, he loves it, and I love playing it with him. So I consider this a win, and though our official Purple Phoenix Games rating has a caloric value of 8 / 12, I do believe you will enjoy this little card game – ESPECIALLY if there are little ones in your life. Purchase it directly from the publisher at Gangway Games. You can use it as a precursor to Munchkin and Cutthroat Cavern, or as a stepstone to bidding games like Biblios and No Thanks!
Yes! Broccoli! is a card game for 2-5 players that incorporates blind bidding, special player powers (in advanced games), and drafting elements. The hidden benefit from this game is that healthy food cards are worth more points while the junk food cards are worth negative points (boo and hiss).
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 from the publisher directly, or from your FLGS if stocked. -T
To setup a basic game, each player will take a personal deck of cards numbered 1-8 of the same color border (I choose orange or purple). These are the cards that will be used during the game. Shuffle the large stack of food cards as a draw deck. Draw a number of cards equal to the number of players, determine the starting player and the game is ready to be consumed!
The players will all choose one of their bid cards from their hand and place them face-down in front of them. Once all have chosen, all bid cards will be revealed simultaneously. The highest-bid card’s player will then choose one of the drawn food cards to take into their score pile. That winning player now acts as the dealer and will draw and reveal the next set of cards upon which the players will bid. As the players play all their numbered cards, they may win food cards worth many points, or they may be saddled with negative values as well. These are the junk food cards that nobody wants. Except my son, who wanted all the Candy T-Rex cards, even knowing that it will affect his score. Some people play to win. Others play to have a good time. I admire that about him. Play continues in this fashion until all bid cards have been played. Count up the points won/gathered and determine a winner! This is the basic game to be played with new players or young children.
To play a more advanced game, setup will be the same, except each player will also be dealt two special ability cards to be used during the game. These cards are very powerful, and can only be used once during the game. As this adds a new and thinky layer to the basic game, it is only recommended for older children or adult play. Examples of these special abilities are having the lowest-bid card win instead of highest card, or doubling a bid amount, or adding/subtracting three to/from a current bid.
Components. This game is a big stack of cards in a small (but appropriately-sized) box. The cards are great, and while I would prefer plastic cards for my young kids, children who can respect game components will be just fine. The art on these cards is super cute and I found myself just smiling while I was playing because not only is this game educational for youngsters, but it’s fun to look at while playing too. I made a parenthetical comment about the box being appropriately-sized, and I mean it. I appreciate when a game doesn’t try to be bigger on the shelf for that extra “presence” at the game store. When I open a box and more than 50% is air, it is very irksome to me. How wasteful. Well, not here. We have nothing bad to say about these components at all.
So while most kids may not appreciate the backstabbiness of the special abilities, adults certainly will. That said, when playing with the intended audience of children, we found that Yes! Broccoli! was a huge hit! We are still working on the younger kids and breaking them of the, “yes, the cake princess is very pretty, but you really don’t want to take her into your score pile.” Winning and losing really doesn’t matter much in the Lopez household, but gaming experiences do, and though my son doesn’t win this one ever, he loves it, and I love playing it with him. So I consider this a win, and though our official Purple Phoenix Games rating has a caloric value of 8 / 12, I do believe you will enjoy this little card game – ESPECIALLY if there are little ones in your life. Purchase it directly from the publisher at Gangway Games. You can use it as a precursor to Munchkin and Cutthroat Cavern, or as a stepstone to bidding games like Biblios and No Thanks!
Paul Kellett (118 KP) created a post in Solo Gamers
May 9, 2019
Annie Chanse (15 KP) rated The Chosen (Black Dagger Brotherhood #15) in Books
May 25, 2018
Blehc. Definitely not Ward's best...
Contains spoilers, click to show
Yechk. I honestly did not care for 90% of this book. The whole thing kind of pissed me off really.
Although, in general, I love the BDB books and the characters in those books (with only a few exceptions), this one was just... blah. There were really no sympathetic characters that made me want to read forward or 'root' for them. Xcor is semi-relatable with his awful upbringing, but he is kind of like a rip-off of V and Z, so there's no real flair there.
Quinn goes off the damned deep end and kinda makes you hate him.
Blay's hurt feelings and arguments make sense, I guess. He is really the only character I understood in this book.
V is all emo lonely, woe-is-me, should I or shouldn't I cheat?! and that is nothing if not hella boring.
And. DO. NOT. Get. Me. Started. On. Fucking. Layla. Her whole story arc just infuriates me. I mean, seriously? And she can't even understand why Quinn is so furious? Oh, and, you are told you're to leave your kids because you endangered them by being with a murderous traitor, and the FIRST THING you do is hunt down said murderous traitor and move him into your place?! Really? No matter how Ward wants to spin it, you are a horrible freaking mother, and you absolutely do not deserve to be around your kids ever again. Let me lose my son over a man? I would NEVER see that man again unless it was to cut his sac off to prove we were done and try to get my kid back. ...eye roll... Seriously, she's the worst.
The sideplot with Tres and Trez? Waaaaay too fairy tale, happy ending that honestly? Seems like a way for Ward to backtrack and try to appease fans that were irate at how "The Shadows" ended and also, it went nowhere, fell flat, and seemed waaay superfluous.
The Tohr/Xcor "twist"? At this point in the series... pretty predictable Ward behavior.
Really, the only interesting bit of this book were the 10 pages or so involving Lassiter's new gig in what is SEEMINGLY leading up to the actual defeat of the Omega, which I assume will also signal the end of the books. I never thought I'd say this, but maybe that's a good thing. Ward is truly off her game lately, and the BDB is getting a bit stale. Maybe it's time for an ending.
Although, in general, I love the BDB books and the characters in those books (with only a few exceptions), this one was just... blah. There were really no sympathetic characters that made me want to read forward or 'root' for them. Xcor is semi-relatable with his awful upbringing, but he is kind of like a rip-off of V and Z, so there's no real flair there.
Quinn goes off the damned deep end and kinda makes you hate him.
Blay's hurt feelings and arguments make sense, I guess. He is really the only character I understood in this book.
V is all emo lonely, woe-is-me, should I or shouldn't I cheat?! and that is nothing if not hella boring.
And. DO. NOT. Get. Me. Started. On. Fucking. Layla. Her whole story arc just infuriates me. I mean, seriously? And she can't even understand why Quinn is so furious? Oh, and, you are told you're to leave your kids because you endangered them by being with a murderous traitor, and the FIRST THING you do is hunt down said murderous traitor and move him into your place?! Really? No matter how Ward wants to spin it, you are a horrible freaking mother, and you absolutely do not deserve to be around your kids ever again. Let me lose my son over a man? I would NEVER see that man again unless it was to cut his sac off to prove we were done and try to get my kid back. ...eye roll... Seriously, she's the worst.
The sideplot with Tres and Trez? Waaaaay too fairy tale, happy ending that honestly? Seems like a way for Ward to backtrack and try to appease fans that were irate at how "The Shadows" ended and also, it went nowhere, fell flat, and seemed waaay superfluous.
The Tohr/Xcor "twist"? At this point in the series... pretty predictable Ward behavior.
Really, the only interesting bit of this book were the 10 pages or so involving Lassiter's new gig in what is SEEMINGLY leading up to the actual defeat of the Omega, which I assume will also signal the end of the books. I never thought I'd say this, but maybe that's a good thing. Ward is truly off her game lately, and the BDB is getting a bit stale. Maybe it's time for an ending.
Mel Rodriguez recommended GoodFellas (1990) in Movies (curated)
This is both a very unique and fairly faithful retelling of the classic Beauty and the Beast fairytale. Hunted takes place in Russia and our main character Yeva (Beauty) is a huntress. She is headstrong, kind, caring, has a bit of a temper and can be vengeful - but overall I quite liked her character.
Like the classic tale, Beauty is the youngest of three sisters and daughter of a merchant. In some versions, she also has three brothers and her sisters are unkind - but that is not the case in this retelling. They live in a nice house until a shipping gamble costs them everything. They are forced to move to their father's old hunting cabin, which is a three-day walk from their current home. Her father used to be a hunter, but his wife believed that it was too dangerous and asked him to stop. Despite that, as a child Beauty was allowed to go hunting with her father and learned to love it. Unfortunately, as she grew her father decided that it was not the way a lady should purport herself and no longer allowed her to hunt.
After the loss of their fortune, Yeva and her family must learn to make due with less. Her father takes up hunting again and goes off to catch game for them to store for the winter. Unfortunately, when he returns he is distraught and swears that the Beast he saw when he was younger is stalking him. When he doesn't return from his second trip, Yeva sets out to find him and this is where the story adopts some significantly different elements from the original tale.
In the original, the father enters a castle and accepts his host's hospitality, but upon leaving takes a single rose for his daughter Beauty and is told he has a choice. He shall either be condemned to death for it or he must stay in the castle. While these are not the events that lead to Yeva's time in the castle, nevertheless she ends up imprisoned there. Over time, she and the Beast grow to know one another - but her treatment isn't as kind overall as the original.
I really enjoyed the tales that Yeva told while she was in captivity because they built the lore of the world and gave us a look into what the characters had grown up listening to. Although Yeva spent most of her time as the castle, I do wish that we were able to get to know the other characters like her sisters a little better. They seem very kind, but relatively one-dimensional. As a result of the Beast's curse, I don't feel like we got to know him as well as we could have. I would have loved to watch him grow and connect with him as Yeva does so that I could feel that </i>yes, they could fall in love.</i> I liked Yeva, but her dog Doe-Eyes was probably my favourite character. The dog was so cheerful and loyal that you couldn't help but love her.
The world that Yeva knows is not one we get to see very often in young adult literature. It is a melding of Russia, with its unique environment and folklore, with a more fantastical world. Yeva tells tales of the Firebird, sees a creature that is half dragon and half woman, and learns to listen to the music of that other world. The world itself reminds me a lot of the Grisha trilogy, although the plots and characters are nothing alike. I would love to experience more of the lore that built this enchanted world in the form of novellas.
I would highly recommend this to young adult/teen readers who enjoy fairytales and retellings, especially ones with a unique take on the tale that includes a lot of culture and lore.
Like the classic tale, Beauty is the youngest of three sisters and daughter of a merchant. In some versions, she also has three brothers and her sisters are unkind - but that is not the case in this retelling. They live in a nice house until a shipping gamble costs them everything. They are forced to move to their father's old hunting cabin, which is a three-day walk from their current home. Her father used to be a hunter, but his wife believed that it was too dangerous and asked him to stop. Despite that, as a child Beauty was allowed to go hunting with her father and learned to love it. Unfortunately, as she grew her father decided that it was not the way a lady should purport herself and no longer allowed her to hunt.
After the loss of their fortune, Yeva and her family must learn to make due with less. Her father takes up hunting again and goes off to catch game for them to store for the winter. Unfortunately, when he returns he is distraught and swears that the Beast he saw when he was younger is stalking him. When he doesn't return from his second trip, Yeva sets out to find him and this is where the story adopts some significantly different elements from the original tale.
In the original, the father enters a castle and accepts his host's hospitality, but upon leaving takes a single rose for his daughter Beauty and is told he has a choice. He shall either be condemned to death for it or he must stay in the castle. While these are not the events that lead to Yeva's time in the castle, nevertheless she ends up imprisoned there. Over time, she and the Beast grow to know one another - but her treatment isn't as kind overall as the original.
I really enjoyed the tales that Yeva told while she was in captivity because they built the lore of the world and gave us a look into what the characters had grown up listening to. Although Yeva spent most of her time as the castle, I do wish that we were able to get to know the other characters like her sisters a little better. They seem very kind, but relatively one-dimensional. As a result of the Beast's curse, I don't feel like we got to know him as well as we could have. I would have loved to watch him grow and connect with him as Yeva does so that I could feel that </i>yes, they could fall in love.</i> I liked Yeva, but her dog Doe-Eyes was probably my favourite character. The dog was so cheerful and loyal that you couldn't help but love her.
The world that Yeva knows is not one we get to see very often in young adult literature. It is a melding of Russia, with its unique environment and folklore, with a more fantastical world. Yeva tells tales of the Firebird, sees a creature that is half dragon and half woman, and learns to listen to the music of that other world. The world itself reminds me a lot of the Grisha trilogy, although the plots and characters are nothing alike. I would love to experience more of the lore that built this enchanted world in the form of novellas.
I would highly recommend this to young adult/teen readers who enjoy fairytales and retellings, especially ones with a unique take on the tale that includes a lot of culture and lore.
ClareR (6256 KP) rated The Prophets in Books
Jan 5, 2021
I’ve agonised over writing something about this. How can whatever I write possibly do this book any justice? It’s beautiful, it’s haunting and it’s terrible. I don’t mean that it’s bad-terrible. I mean that it’s a book that I wish never had to be written. What is terrible, is mans inhumanity to man.
The story centres around the slaves on the Elizabeth Plantation (also known as ‘Empty’ to the slaves), and in particular, Samuel and Isaiah. They are betrayed by the other slaves, as if by revealing their love, it will make their lives safer. Of course this is not the case, as we see when we read the chapters centred around some of the other slaves. We learn about the inhumane treatment of the slaves by their immoral white owners (or toubabs, as they are called by their black slaves). I felt that the white people in this book had a mad, mentally unhinged quality about them: after all, how else could you reconcile treating human beings worse than animals?
I found the chapters written from the African people’s perspective, as they were free then captured and imprisoned, so interesting. It made them even more real to me. These were real people (as opposed to the animals that they were seen as by the slavers) with families, traditions, lives, loves and beliefs. The scenes on board the slave ships were harrowing.
It has taken me over a week to tackle this review. This book really affected me deeply, and there were many times that I had to put the book down and walk away. Then, I would feel guilty that I had the luxury of doing just that, unlike the slaves who lived every moment of their lives as some white mans possession to do with as he saw fit.
I can’t believe that this is a debut novel. The writing is beautiful, even in the most horrific moments. The magical elements add a suggestion of hope and the indomitable spirit of these people. And the ending is just perfection. I’m sure that this book will win awards - it SHOULD win - and I’m glad that I’ve had the opportunity to read it.
Many thanks to the publisher for granting me access to this book via NetGalley. It has been a privilege to read it.
The story centres around the slaves on the Elizabeth Plantation (also known as ‘Empty’ to the slaves), and in particular, Samuel and Isaiah. They are betrayed by the other slaves, as if by revealing their love, it will make their lives safer. Of course this is not the case, as we see when we read the chapters centred around some of the other slaves. We learn about the inhumane treatment of the slaves by their immoral white owners (or toubabs, as they are called by their black slaves). I felt that the white people in this book had a mad, mentally unhinged quality about them: after all, how else could you reconcile treating human beings worse than animals?
I found the chapters written from the African people’s perspective, as they were free then captured and imprisoned, so interesting. It made them even more real to me. These were real people (as opposed to the animals that they were seen as by the slavers) with families, traditions, lives, loves and beliefs. The scenes on board the slave ships were harrowing.
It has taken me over a week to tackle this review. This book really affected me deeply, and there were many times that I had to put the book down and walk away. Then, I would feel guilty that I had the luxury of doing just that, unlike the slaves who lived every moment of their lives as some white mans possession to do with as he saw fit.
I can’t believe that this is a debut novel. The writing is beautiful, even in the most horrific moments. The magical elements add a suggestion of hope and the indomitable spirit of these people. And the ending is just perfection. I’m sure that this book will win awards - it SHOULD win - and I’m glad that I’ve had the opportunity to read it.
Many thanks to the publisher for granting me access to this book via NetGalley. It has been a privilege to read it.
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated So Sad Today: Personal Essays in Books
Apr 27, 2018
So Sad Today is a compilation of essays by Melissa Broder that narrates the interior monlologue of a person with mental ilness trying to survive and handle and deal with day to day life. Broder deals with a mariad of issues from sex and sexual identity, to masturbation, to anxiety attacks, to an addiction to the internet.
It was fascinating, enlightlening, entertaining, and relatable. It was violently truthful and brutally honest.
There are two sides of me responding to this book in two different ways.
The fememist inside me wants every young person to read this book for three reasons:
1. you are not alone in what you think it sweirdness and strangeness.
2. Here is someone who has experienced things you are curious about. Live vicariously throug her and learn from her mistakes but do not make the same choices.
3. This book is both a journal and a love letter, and it’s from her to you, so read it understanding it as both.
The other part of me sees the stuff she’s dealing with and ache for her. Broder is dealing with issues and trying to answer questions with no guidance and no purpose and no direction. It’s a battle I’ve never had to fight because I don’t seek for my fulfillment from me, I find it in my identity in Christ. And that part of me that sees her hungry and seeking and lost and confused really wants to take her out to coffee. So Melissa, if you get a chance to read this, I’d like to take you to coffee. Or we could just text. :)
Content/recommendation: mature and adult content. Lots of swearing and sex. 16+
It was fascinating, enlightlening, entertaining, and relatable. It was violently truthful and brutally honest.
There are two sides of me responding to this book in two different ways.
The fememist inside me wants every young person to read this book for three reasons:
1. you are not alone in what you think it sweirdness and strangeness.
2. Here is someone who has experienced things you are curious about. Live vicariously throug her and learn from her mistakes but do not make the same choices.
3. This book is both a journal and a love letter, and it’s from her to you, so read it understanding it as both.
The other part of me sees the stuff she’s dealing with and ache for her. Broder is dealing with issues and trying to answer questions with no guidance and no purpose and no direction. It’s a battle I’ve never had to fight because I don’t seek for my fulfillment from me, I find it in my identity in Christ. And that part of me that sees her hungry and seeking and lost and confused really wants to take her out to coffee. So Melissa, if you get a chance to read this, I’d like to take you to coffee. Or we could just text. :)
Content/recommendation: mature and adult content. Lots of swearing and sex. 16+
b.Young (97 KP) rated Return to Oz (The Falken Chronicles Book 3) in Books
May 15, 2018
Quick read (3 more)
A wrong is righted
Sirio Falken
Fantastic ending
Piers Platt did it again!
Holy moly! Piers Platt can most definitely write a great story!!!
I read straight through this one in less than 4 hours and I highly recommend The Falken Chronicles to anyone looking for an awesome sci-fi adventure!
Return to Oz had a perfect balance of action and suspense and left me with an array of emotions at the end.
I absolutely love the transformation of Sirio Falken throughout the entire series, but in this one, we get to really see him for who he is and it was refreshing!
In Escape from Olympus (Book 2) Falken meets the daughter of a man (Sef Weaver) he was in Oz with in Escape from Oz (Book 1).
Return to Oz picks up with the two of them discussing her father and when Falken learns that Weaver did not make it out of Oz, Falken hatches a plan to help Weaver return to his family before he is sentenced to life in prison for good.
To be honest, I didn't know how Falken was going to be able to help Weaver by going back to Oz, or how he was going to get back to Oz at all. But what was clear was that he was willing to do anything to help his friend get out of Oz and back to his family.
It was a treat to get to visit Oz again with Falken under different circumstances. With old friends and enemies, along with some new ones, and a story that was beautifully concluded (but left me still wanting more Sirio Falken) Return to Oz was a ride I'd take again, right along with the whole Falken Chronicles.
I read straight through this one in less than 4 hours and I highly recommend The Falken Chronicles to anyone looking for an awesome sci-fi adventure!
Return to Oz had a perfect balance of action and suspense and left me with an array of emotions at the end.
I absolutely love the transformation of Sirio Falken throughout the entire series, but in this one, we get to really see him for who he is and it was refreshing!
In Escape from Olympus (Book 2) Falken meets the daughter of a man (Sef Weaver) he was in Oz with in Escape from Oz (Book 1).
Return to Oz picks up with the two of them discussing her father and when Falken learns that Weaver did not make it out of Oz, Falken hatches a plan to help Weaver return to his family before he is sentenced to life in prison for good.
To be honest, I didn't know how Falken was going to be able to help Weaver by going back to Oz, or how he was going to get back to Oz at all. But what was clear was that he was willing to do anything to help his friend get out of Oz and back to his family.
It was a treat to get to visit Oz again with Falken under different circumstances. With old friends and enemies, along with some new ones, and a story that was beautifully concluded (but left me still wanting more Sirio Falken) Return to Oz was a ride I'd take again, right along with the whole Falken Chronicles.
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