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Hamsters vs. Hippos
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Tabletop Game
The hamsters have escaped their enclosure at the zoo and are making a run for it! Suddenly they come...
Mark Halpern (153 KP) rated Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) in Movies
Jan 12, 2018
A good sequel
Most sequel's leave bored or really disappointing but, in this case I was very happy with it. The movie is made to be more modern. Instead of a board game it is made into a video game and has great cast. 4 High School teens that are from 4 different cliques are given detention and find an old video game and of course hook it up to an old tv and get sucked into the game. Well their lives do a complete 180 for characters of the the game (the nerd who is weak is strong and fearless, The jock who was strong is the small and weak sidekick, The popular pretty girl is now a fat older man lol and the shy girl is now the kick ass hot girl) and have to work together to use their particular set of skills to return the jewel of Jumanji to it's rightful place. The movie is filled with a great cast who is not only funny but have to kind of change their own selves to mimic the kids that they have become. To me Jack Black has the greatest range and to play the character he does shows how far he can go.
pecotter (3 KP) rated Train to Busan (2016) in Movies
Sep 19, 2017
A gripping Korean zombie film
I was excited to watch Train to Busan the moment I saw the trailer for it. I am a huge fan of horror and zombie films and this one looked different.
I was pretty into it as soon as I started to watch it, I was pulled in and couldn't take my eyes from the screen from the moment the characters first board the train.
There were little details here and there that I loved including the fact that one character has a brand new Nintendo Ds (I love Nintendo).
Most zombie movies bore me after a while and I don't care too much for the characters, but in Train to Busan I was rooting for several of them.
I also loved the fact they were on a train, that was ont of the reasons I wanted to watch this film, I wanted to see exactly how they were gonna survive in such a small space.
I highly recommend this film, give it a try even if you don't like the look of it and it might surprise you.
I was pretty into it as soon as I started to watch it, I was pulled in and couldn't take my eyes from the screen from the moment the characters first board the train.
There were little details here and there that I loved including the fact that one character has a brand new Nintendo Ds (I love Nintendo).
Most zombie movies bore me after a while and I don't care too much for the characters, but in Train to Busan I was rooting for several of them.
I also loved the fact they were on a train, that was ont of the reasons I wanted to watch this film, I wanted to see exactly how they were gonna survive in such a small space.
I highly recommend this film, give it a try even if you don't like the look of it and it might surprise you.
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated The Serpent (The Gameshouse, #1) in Books
Apr 27, 2018
The Gameshouse is a novella series by Claire North, author of Touch and several other books. She is a stunning writer with a distinct and mysterious writing style that engages the reader and forces them to think harder and harder with every passing page.
The first novella, The Serpant, proved a beautiful introduction to the world in which the Gameshouse resides, which is our world, except not. It’s a world in which there are cunning, clever, devious, and skilled players using our world as a game board. The game might be an election, a war, or something more simple such as hide and seek. But they play for more than money. They play for years of their lives, their love of the taste of strawberries, a memory, the affections of the person they last loved, the richness of the color purple… or something more detrimental: if I win, you take my asthma. If you win, I take your constant migraines.
The story begins with a beautiful portrait and backstory of our main character Thini, who later becomes a crucial piece in a bigger game. Her game is played, the game is won, and the world goes on.
Read my review of the whole series here: http://haleymathiot.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-gameshouse.html
The first novella, The Serpant, proved a beautiful introduction to the world in which the Gameshouse resides, which is our world, except not. It’s a world in which there are cunning, clever, devious, and skilled players using our world as a game board. The game might be an election, a war, or something more simple such as hide and seek. But they play for more than money. They play for years of their lives, their love of the taste of strawberries, a memory, the affections of the person they last loved, the richness of the color purple… or something more detrimental: if I win, you take my asthma. If you win, I take your constant migraines.
The story begins with a beautiful portrait and backstory of our main character Thini, who later becomes a crucial piece in a bigger game. Her game is played, the game is won, and the world goes on.
Read my review of the whole series here: http://haleymathiot.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-gameshouse.html
The Marinated Meeple (1853 KP) rated Terraforming Mars in Tabletop Games
May 22, 2018
I love the science behind the cards (4 more)
fun to imagine
Building an engine and working with the cards
finding and exploiting synergies
managing your resources and timing.
can feel lucky based on cards that come up or don't come up. (1 more)
NEEDS to have an aftermarket system of keeping the cubes in place.
One of my favorite games right now.
I adore this game. I have so many good tings to say about it. The fact that all the cards are based on hypothetical science is amazing. Who doesn't love the Idea of throwing asteroids at the planet, or building a city with a dome, or even shooting lasers. The boards require an extra component in my mind and that is a board with raised edges to keep the cubes from accidentally moving around. This is the biggest detriment. You can find them online for about $5 -10 a piece. I love this game, and it's much better with these and I found it absolutely worth it. But I think if I was lukewarm on it, this might piss me off. Definitely try before you buy, but it's an amazing game. And there is an APP being developed now for it, so be on the lookout for that soon.
Peter Russell (61 KP) rated Scythe in Tabletop Games
Mar 13, 2019
The best mix of many board games
This game has so much going for it and by far is my favorite game on my shelf right now. First off, just looking at and opening the box, the artwork is fantastic. I bought the artbook for the game just because I wanted more of the art. Next, mechanics of the game. Each player has a choice of what unique pair of actions they will take in a turn. A turn consists of:
1) Choosing a block of actions that said player had not chosen last turn
2) Choosing a top level action from chosen block
3) choosing a bottom level action of chosen block.
These action range from creating and placing workers, mechs or buildings, resource generation, or doing something that would initiate combat (usually moving). There are many different strategies to win, whether through ecnomics or military domination. Each play through is unique.
I highly recommend getting all expansions for uncreased play variety as well as the Broken Token organizer, which reduces setup time for 30 minutes to 5 minutes. Other items that really enhance the gameplay are metal coins as well as realistic resources from stonemaier games
1) Choosing a block of actions that said player had not chosen last turn
2) Choosing a top level action from chosen block
3) choosing a bottom level action of chosen block.
These action range from creating and placing workers, mechs or buildings, resource generation, or doing something that would initiate combat (usually moving). There are many different strategies to win, whether through ecnomics or military domination. Each play through is unique.
I highly recommend getting all expansions for uncreased play variety as well as the Broken Token organizer, which reduces setup time for 30 minutes to 5 minutes. Other items that really enhance the gameplay are metal coins as well as realistic resources from stonemaier games
Slade Jeffries (11 KP) rated Betrayal at Baldur's Gate in Tabletop Games
Mar 21, 2019
Just as great as the original with a fantasy twist.
Betrayal at Baldur's Gate is a fantastic game. The original Betrayal game is my all time favorite game and I was worried this game would be a cheap reskin, but I was mistaken. Baldur's sets itself apart with a few changes to the game that actually work very well. Now playable characters have abilities based on their class that are actually very useful. Instead of exploring a house you are exploring a city which has lots of cool areas to find and secrets to uncover. The best part about all the Betrayal games is the fact that almost every play through can be different because of the way scenarios are randomized. Every scenario I have played has been fun and completely different from others. The quality of the pieces is also fantastic the tokens are on thick cardboard that is very sturdy. Now this game is a little difficult for people new to more complex board games like this, and maybe there could be a better way to explain the rules to new players. All in all Betrayal at Baldur's Gate is a fantastic game that you will play again and again, while probably never playing the same scenario twice.
Red Otter (340 KP) rated Terraforming Mars in Tabletop Games
Jun 1, 2019
Terraforming Mars is one of the current hallmarks of today's tabletop gaming. It's based around building an engine to turn Mars into a livable land using cards. As a sci-fi lover, its theme is fantastic. Its art.... Is mostly stock pictures, which doesn't bother me too much, but could be a nitpick for other folks. It's component quality is okay, but the player boards, thanks to the squares that are your primary tokens/markers, can easily be bumped and ruin your board. I highly recommend getting 3rd party player boards that have recesses to solve this problem.
Every turn, every player draws cards and decides which ones they want to keep. Then use resources to either terraform mars or improve their engine using cards. The game length can be highly dependent on group. I've talked to people who have games last up to four hours as people focus solely on engines versus terraforming Mars actually. My personal meta has it around 1.5 hours (with expansions). The early game can be very slow and sometimes you just never draw the cards you need for your planned engines.
Still though, I love this game for its heavy emphasis on theme and on how good a powerful engine can be.
Every turn, every player draws cards and decides which ones they want to keep. Then use resources to either terraform mars or improve their engine using cards. The game length can be highly dependent on group. I've talked to people who have games last up to four hours as people focus solely on engines versus terraforming Mars actually. My personal meta has it around 1.5 hours (with expansions). The early game can be very slow and sometimes you just never draw the cards you need for your planned engines.
Still though, I love this game for its heavy emphasis on theme and on how good a powerful engine can be.
Ross (3284 KP) rated Me1 vs Me2 Snooker with Richard Herring in Podcasts
Jan 16, 2018
It's surprisingly unsettling to listen to a man playing himself at snooker
On the surface, there is no comedy in this podcast. it really is a man commentating on himself playing snooker against another version of himself in his cluttered basement. Both players take on slightly different characteristics and playing style but otherwise seem pretty well matched (both quite poor).
The snooker itself is by the by, the real hook here is how Herring speaks when he is concentrating on playing and trying to commentate.
The moments that cause a laugh are when he (the referee) can't remember the rules, or whose turn it is, or when one of the players knocks the ironing board over etc. Or when Herring's natural comedic mind makes a comment or connection when he's concentrating and he blurts something out.
I love how when interviewing himself he doesn't put on a different voice, or even pause before the other "me" starts speaking.
Not his funniest work, but then he never said it would be a comedy podcast. Now at frame number 82, he seems to be sticking to his promise to keep doing it until nobody downloads it any more.
The snooker itself is by the by, the real hook here is how Herring speaks when he is concentrating on playing and trying to commentate.
The moments that cause a laugh are when he (the referee) can't remember the rules, or whose turn it is, or when one of the players knocks the ironing board over etc. Or when Herring's natural comedic mind makes a comment or connection when he's concentrating and he blurts something out.
I love how when interviewing himself he doesn't put on a different voice, or even pause before the other "me" starts speaking.
Not his funniest work, but then he never said it would be a comedy podcast. Now at frame number 82, he seems to be sticking to his promise to keep doing it until nobody downloads it any more.