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Doodle Jump HD: Very Addictive
Games, Entertainment and Stickers
App
BE WARNED: Insanely addictive! "possibly the best iPhone game ever created" - Touch Arcade From...
The Last Days of Mankind: The Complete Text
Karl Kraus, Fred Bridgham and Edward Timms
Book
Kraus's iconic WWI drama, a satirical indictment of the glory of war, now in English in its entirety...
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated The ABCs of Death (2013) in Movies
Oct 3, 2020 (Updated Oct 3, 2020)
"𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘯𝘶𝘧𝘧 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘮, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘵." - Adam Wingard.
Q > O > T > L > J > I > Y > F > H > R > Z > A > D > G > M > P > S > U > X > B > W > V > C > K > N > E
I know everyone else generally has a distaste for them but I have such a soft spot for horror anthology films. Even the ones I don't really like such as 𝘟𝘟 I always find myself remembering vividly. This one in particular I not only thought was an absolute blast, but it also has a mightily commendable gimmick at the forefront (26 different directors of 26 different nationalities). Legit one of the weirdest, most devilishly fucked-up, humorous, grotesquely fetishistic + scatological horror films I've ever seen - a few of these segments I'm convinced are just actual kink porn lmfao. As you can probably surmise, a handful of the segments aren't so hot but truthfully none of them I thought were even close to awful (well, E was kind of crappy); the vast majority of them I found to be immensely enjoyable and all of them strung together make this a super fun ride as a whole. Guessing which word each director will utilize for their assigned letter is nearly as fun as watching them all play out. Luridly singular, sincerely morbid, and entertaining as hell - I'm fine with being one of the only ones who finds this surreal curio legitimately great.
Q > O > T > L > J > I > Y > F > H > R > Z > A > D > G > M > P > S > U > X > B > W > V > C > K > N > E
I know everyone else generally has a distaste for them but I have such a soft spot for horror anthology films. Even the ones I don't really like such as 𝘟𝘟 I always find myself remembering vividly. This one in particular I not only thought was an absolute blast, but it also has a mightily commendable gimmick at the forefront (26 different directors of 26 different nationalities). Legit one of the weirdest, most devilishly fucked-up, humorous, grotesquely fetishistic + scatological horror films I've ever seen - a few of these segments I'm convinced are just actual kink porn lmfao. As you can probably surmise, a handful of the segments aren't so hot but truthfully none of them I thought were even close to awful (well, E was kind of crappy); the vast majority of them I found to be immensely enjoyable and all of them strung together make this a super fun ride as a whole. Guessing which word each director will utilize for their assigned letter is nearly as fun as watching them all play out. Luridly singular, sincerely morbid, and entertaining as hell - I'm fine with being one of the only ones who finds this surreal curio legitimately great.
wevew - photo video sharing with screen mirroring
Social Networking and Photo & Video
9.0
Rate It
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wevew shares your photos and videos and mirrors your screens so you and your friends can experience...
Legume Nitrogen Fixation in a Changing Environment: Achievements and Challenges
Saad Sulieman and Lam-Son Phan Tran
Book
The world population will grow more rapidly during the few coming years. This must be accompanied by...
Doodle Jump HD
Games
App
BE WARNED: Insanely addictive! "possibly the best iPhone game ever created" - Touch Arcade From...
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Castle: The Detective Card Game in Tabletop Games
Jul 17, 2021
Let’s talk about TV for a second.What would be your all-time favorite TV show? For me, that answer is Castle. I had never heard of it until college, when it was already in its 5th season, but I instantly loved it. I may or may not have gone out and bought all of the seasons to binge watch, and now own all 8 seasons of the show. If you ask me, the series ended too soon, but that’s a conversation for another forum. Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, games. One wonderful Christmas morning, I opened up a present under the tree and found myself face to face with a Castle card game! I didn’t even know that one existed, but I was so eager to play! Does this game based around my favorite TV show actually play well, or does the attempt to turn this show into a game fall flat?
In Castle: The Detective Card Game (referred to as just Castle for the rest of this review) is a murder-mystery card game in which players assume the role of a character from the show, and work to gather evidence and conduct investigations in order to solve the murder at hand! To set up a game, give every player a Character card that represents one of the main characters from the show. Each Character card has a unique Special Ability to be used during play. Shuffle the Suspect cards, and randomly draw five to be placed face-up in the middle of the table. Select one Guilty token and four Not Guilty tokens – shuffle them together face-down and then place one token on each of the Suspect cards. Shuffle the deck of Investigation cards, deal 3 to each player, place the remaining cards into a Draw deck, and the game is ready to begin!
Moving in clockwise order, players will take turns performing one of the following actions: Draw a card, Discard one card to draw two cards, Play a Special Text card, Use your Special Ability, or Confront a Suspect. The first two actions regarding drawing cards are pretty self-explanatory. Throughout the game, you might draw into your hand an Investigation card with Special Text. You may play a Special Text card, and perform the specified action on your turn. Each Character has a Special Ability that can be used once per game, so plan wisely and use it appropriately! The last action, Confront a Suspect, is what the entire game is leading to. In order to Confront a Suspect, you must have the three Investigation cards listed on the bottom of the Suspect card in hand. When performing this action, you will reveal the three requisite Investigation cards, and then you flip the token on that Suspect card. If the token reads Guilty, then you have won the game! If the token reads Not Guilty, perform the action listed on the token, remove that Suspect and token from the game, discard your used Investigation cards, and play continue with a narrowed Suspect pool! The goal is to be the first player to find the Guilty party before the Draw deck runs out of cards.
Pretty straight-forward, right? I think so, and that’s one of the things I really like about this game. The gameplay is fast and simple, and makes for a quick little set collection game. Another neat element of this game is that although it is based around the Castle TV show, you do not need to have watched any of the show to play. Anyone can play and not feel like they are missing any vital information if they haven’t seen the show, and that makes it accessible to all players, not just fans of the show.
Even though I love the show, I have to admit that the gameplay, although fast and simple, is heavily dependent on the luck of the draw. Throughout the game, you are working to collect sets of the necessary Investigation cards for individual suspects, but the only way in which cards are distributed is through drawing them from the deck. There isn’t an offering that you ‘pay’ certain resources for coveted cards, there’s no real way to know in advance what card you are going to draw, etc. It really depends on how the deck was shuffled whether you will be successful or not. There are no real opportunities to strategize, and that keeps the overall gameplay kind of stagnant. Yes, there are Special Text cards and each Character has a unique ability, but deciding when to use them is kind of a shot in the dark due to the dependence on luck.
Let’s talk components for a minute. All of the Investigation and Character cards use photos or stills from the actual TV show. Again, you need not have watched it to play, but the use of the stills makes the game more immersive and nostalgic for those that have seen it. I love looking at the cards and trying to remember from which episode each still is, and if I remember who the killer was in that specific scenario. It’s just a fun little thing. The cards are all of good sturdy quality and will hold up decently in the long run. The Guilty/Not Guilty tokens in this game are some thick and heavy poker chips and they are AWESOME. They are so high quality, I just love to manipulate them, and they add some cool ‘bling’ to the game.
All in all, is Castle a great card game? No, not necessarily. It is a fun little murder mystery game, but not one that requires and real strategy or brain power to successfully play. Do I like it though? Absolutely, because it is based on my favorite show! If you’re looking for a nice filler game, or a game that doesn’t require too much focus, give Castle: The Detective Card Game a shot. That being said, I feel like only fans of the show will be trying this game, but I guess you can prove me wrong! Purple Phoenix Games give this a mischievous 6 / 12.
In Castle: The Detective Card Game (referred to as just Castle for the rest of this review) is a murder-mystery card game in which players assume the role of a character from the show, and work to gather evidence and conduct investigations in order to solve the murder at hand! To set up a game, give every player a Character card that represents one of the main characters from the show. Each Character card has a unique Special Ability to be used during play. Shuffle the Suspect cards, and randomly draw five to be placed face-up in the middle of the table. Select one Guilty token and four Not Guilty tokens – shuffle them together face-down and then place one token on each of the Suspect cards. Shuffle the deck of Investigation cards, deal 3 to each player, place the remaining cards into a Draw deck, and the game is ready to begin!
Moving in clockwise order, players will take turns performing one of the following actions: Draw a card, Discard one card to draw two cards, Play a Special Text card, Use your Special Ability, or Confront a Suspect. The first two actions regarding drawing cards are pretty self-explanatory. Throughout the game, you might draw into your hand an Investigation card with Special Text. You may play a Special Text card, and perform the specified action on your turn. Each Character has a Special Ability that can be used once per game, so plan wisely and use it appropriately! The last action, Confront a Suspect, is what the entire game is leading to. In order to Confront a Suspect, you must have the three Investigation cards listed on the bottom of the Suspect card in hand. When performing this action, you will reveal the three requisite Investigation cards, and then you flip the token on that Suspect card. If the token reads Guilty, then you have won the game! If the token reads Not Guilty, perform the action listed on the token, remove that Suspect and token from the game, discard your used Investigation cards, and play continue with a narrowed Suspect pool! The goal is to be the first player to find the Guilty party before the Draw deck runs out of cards.
Pretty straight-forward, right? I think so, and that’s one of the things I really like about this game. The gameplay is fast and simple, and makes for a quick little set collection game. Another neat element of this game is that although it is based around the Castle TV show, you do not need to have watched any of the show to play. Anyone can play and not feel like they are missing any vital information if they haven’t seen the show, and that makes it accessible to all players, not just fans of the show.
Even though I love the show, I have to admit that the gameplay, although fast and simple, is heavily dependent on the luck of the draw. Throughout the game, you are working to collect sets of the necessary Investigation cards for individual suspects, but the only way in which cards are distributed is through drawing them from the deck. There isn’t an offering that you ‘pay’ certain resources for coveted cards, there’s no real way to know in advance what card you are going to draw, etc. It really depends on how the deck was shuffled whether you will be successful or not. There are no real opportunities to strategize, and that keeps the overall gameplay kind of stagnant. Yes, there are Special Text cards and each Character has a unique ability, but deciding when to use them is kind of a shot in the dark due to the dependence on luck.
Let’s talk components for a minute. All of the Investigation and Character cards use photos or stills from the actual TV show. Again, you need not have watched it to play, but the use of the stills makes the game more immersive and nostalgic for those that have seen it. I love looking at the cards and trying to remember from which episode each still is, and if I remember who the killer was in that specific scenario. It’s just a fun little thing. The cards are all of good sturdy quality and will hold up decently in the long run. The Guilty/Not Guilty tokens in this game are some thick and heavy poker chips and they are AWESOME. They are so high quality, I just love to manipulate them, and they add some cool ‘bling’ to the game.
All in all, is Castle a great card game? No, not necessarily. It is a fun little murder mystery game, but not one that requires and real strategy or brain power to successfully play. Do I like it though? Absolutely, because it is based on my favorite show! If you’re looking for a nice filler game, or a game that doesn’t require too much focus, give Castle: The Detective Card Game a shot. That being said, I feel like only fans of the show will be trying this game, but I guess you can prove me wrong! Purple Phoenix Games give this a mischievous 6 / 12.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Cthulhu Realms in Tabletop Games
Jun 12, 2019
Cthulhu – a theme that is deeply rooted in the board gaming world. There are SO MANY Cthulhu-based games and spin-offs of standard games. Some people really dig the theme, and some people really don’t. So where does this particular game fall on the spectrum? Keep reading to find out!
In Cthulhu Realms, a deck-building game, you are a Cthulhu cultist that is trying to drive your rivals literally insane. By gathering followers, collecting artifacts, and discovering new locations, you will gain enough power to influence the sanity of those who would oppose you! On your turn, you will play cards from your hand to Conjure (acquire new cards from the communal pool), Draw/Discard cards, Gain/Lose Sanity, or Abjure (permanently discard cards from the game). The game ends when a player is reduced to zero sanity – and the player who has retained their sanity is the winner!
I love deck-building games. I really do. I think it’s a neat mechanic that allows you to customize your strategy with every play. So I enjoy playing Cthulhu Realms because of that element. And that’s kind of where my enjoyment ends with this game. Don’t get me wrong – it’s a decent game. I just have a couple of issues with the actual cards and abilities. The cards themselves are very reliant on iconography to communicate powers/abilities. Props to the player boards for having a quick reference for the basic actions, but I still always keep the rule sheet on hand for the in-depth explanation as I play. And even then, the rule sheet still has a bit of ambiguity on how some of the powers work. I wish they’d provided a couple of examples because sometimes I still get confused by certain combinations of icons. Just a little more detail in the rule sheet could alleviate some of the ambiguity of the icon abilities.
For card abilities, each individual card can have anywhere from 1-3 special abilities. The tricky thing is that the abilities do not all have to be used at the same time. So I could use 1 ability from a card, use an ability from a different card, and then come back to my first card and use another of it’s printed abilities. And with a hand of 5 cards every turn (not counting additional cards you may draw…), it can be hard to keep track of which abilities you’ve already used that turn. On top of that, many of the abilities have prerequisites – you can’t use that specific ability unless you’ve already played/have in play the requisite card. Some abilities only have 1 prerequisite, but some have 2, which just adds another layer of bookkeeping to your turns. Not only are you trying to remember which card abilities you’ve already used, but you’re also trying to keep track of your cards/actions that turn that could unlock other card abilities. The rule sheet suggests sliding a card to one side of your play area once you’ve used one of its powers. But again, if it has more than 1 ability on it, you’ve got to remember which ones you’ve used/haven’t used yet, regardless of where they are in your play area. This is a competitive game overall, but with all of these elements to track on your turns, it saps the tension from the game and makes it feel a little more luck-based than strategic.
To alleviate some of my grievances, I think the game could just have more cards with fewer abilities on each. That would make it much easier to execute all of your turns. And eliminate some of the ability prerequisites – having them on most of the abilities just adds another element for you to keep track of, and it feels a little unnecessary. If the turns were a little more clear and concise, I would like this game a lot more. It’s not bad, it just gets bogged down a little bit with too much action on your turns. That’s why Purple Phoenix Games gives Cthulhu Realms a 6/12.
https://purplephoenixgames.wordpress.com/2019/03/22/cthulhu-realms-review/
In Cthulhu Realms, a deck-building game, you are a Cthulhu cultist that is trying to drive your rivals literally insane. By gathering followers, collecting artifacts, and discovering new locations, you will gain enough power to influence the sanity of those who would oppose you! On your turn, you will play cards from your hand to Conjure (acquire new cards from the communal pool), Draw/Discard cards, Gain/Lose Sanity, or Abjure (permanently discard cards from the game). The game ends when a player is reduced to zero sanity – and the player who has retained their sanity is the winner!
I love deck-building games. I really do. I think it’s a neat mechanic that allows you to customize your strategy with every play. So I enjoy playing Cthulhu Realms because of that element. And that’s kind of where my enjoyment ends with this game. Don’t get me wrong – it’s a decent game. I just have a couple of issues with the actual cards and abilities. The cards themselves are very reliant on iconography to communicate powers/abilities. Props to the player boards for having a quick reference for the basic actions, but I still always keep the rule sheet on hand for the in-depth explanation as I play. And even then, the rule sheet still has a bit of ambiguity on how some of the powers work. I wish they’d provided a couple of examples because sometimes I still get confused by certain combinations of icons. Just a little more detail in the rule sheet could alleviate some of the ambiguity of the icon abilities.
For card abilities, each individual card can have anywhere from 1-3 special abilities. The tricky thing is that the abilities do not all have to be used at the same time. So I could use 1 ability from a card, use an ability from a different card, and then come back to my first card and use another of it’s printed abilities. And with a hand of 5 cards every turn (not counting additional cards you may draw…), it can be hard to keep track of which abilities you’ve already used that turn. On top of that, many of the abilities have prerequisites – you can’t use that specific ability unless you’ve already played/have in play the requisite card. Some abilities only have 1 prerequisite, but some have 2, which just adds another layer of bookkeeping to your turns. Not only are you trying to remember which card abilities you’ve already used, but you’re also trying to keep track of your cards/actions that turn that could unlock other card abilities. The rule sheet suggests sliding a card to one side of your play area once you’ve used one of its powers. But again, if it has more than 1 ability on it, you’ve got to remember which ones you’ve used/haven’t used yet, regardless of where they are in your play area. This is a competitive game overall, but with all of these elements to track on your turns, it saps the tension from the game and makes it feel a little more luck-based than strategic.
To alleviate some of my grievances, I think the game could just have more cards with fewer abilities on each. That would make it much easier to execute all of your turns. And eliminate some of the ability prerequisites – having them on most of the abilities just adds another element for you to keep track of, and it feels a little unnecessary. If the turns were a little more clear and concise, I would like this game a lot more. It’s not bad, it just gets bogged down a little bit with too much action on your turns. That’s why Purple Phoenix Games gives Cthulhu Realms a 6/12.
https://purplephoenixgames.wordpress.com/2019/03/22/cthulhu-realms-review/
Main Character (1 more)
Short Chapters
Unnecessarily long (2 more)
The subplot was better than the Main Plot
Supporting Characters not given enough development
About 200 pages too long
After M.R Carey blew me away with the novel THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS i couldn't wait to read the follow up FELLSIDE. Unfortunately i was left a little disappointed, the opening was great setting up the character of Jess Moulson and why and how she has ended up in Fellside Womens prison. But once the opening court case and transfer to Fellside was complete it became a bit lackluster, with the introduction of prison politics, unrounded and redundant characters and Ghosts. Yes Ghosts! the Supernatural element to the story actually makes it feel rather stupid when compared with the darkend side of humanity the reside in the prison.
The book is approximately 500 pages long and i felt like it was a 300 page story dragged out. However if you stick with it the pay is worth it for the best part. Unfortunately the actual climax itself was an absolute mess. I found that about half way through the book i stopped caring about the main plot which focused on the supernatural part and Jess and her promise to the ghost of the little boy she has killed, and i became more interested in the subplots, involving drug smuggling, re-trials and a potential friendship/relationship with her lawyers assistant. I found that we are given some extensive time to characters who are the medical staff in the prison which proved to be way way too much for the relative small role they actual play in the story, and characters that i would have thought would have been more prominent and created much more interesting reading such as Jess' boyfriend John, her cell mate and the Prison Warden were never really fleshed out and barely anything more than inanimate object being pushed in place.
I did enjoy Jess Moulson as a main character, she is presented as a timid, repentant, emotionally and defiantly physically scarred and M.R Carey did make her a stereotypical drop out waster drug user or loud mouth bully inmate and think that is the strong credit here. Her situation does dictate her actions and decisions greatly but unfortunately it does seem like she is the only character that has that depth to her.
The book is approximately 500 pages long and i felt like it was a 300 page story dragged out. However if you stick with it the pay is worth it for the best part. Unfortunately the actual climax itself was an absolute mess. I found that about half way through the book i stopped caring about the main plot which focused on the supernatural part and Jess and her promise to the ghost of the little boy she has killed, and i became more interested in the subplots, involving drug smuggling, re-trials and a potential friendship/relationship with her lawyers assistant. I found that we are given some extensive time to characters who are the medical staff in the prison which proved to be way way too much for the relative small role they actual play in the story, and characters that i would have thought would have been more prominent and created much more interesting reading such as Jess' boyfriend John, her cell mate and the Prison Warden were never really fleshed out and barely anything more than inanimate object being pushed in place.
I did enjoy Jess Moulson as a main character, she is presented as a timid, repentant, emotionally and defiantly physically scarred and M.R Carey did make her a stereotypical drop out waster drug user or loud mouth bully inmate and think that is the strong credit here. Her situation does dictate her actions and decisions greatly but unfortunately it does seem like she is the only character that has that depth to her.