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Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Cartagena in Tabletop Games
Dec 3, 2019
Avast and whatnot! Yar, this be a piratey-themed game of prison escape, and it be very good. You and ye mateys must escape a prison of Cartagena and reach the boat to sail to freedom! But do you have the resources available to navigate the treacherous tunnels to the outside? Or will you have to retreat to bolster your holdings for your final surge? This is Cartagena!
If you know me, you know I’m kind of a sucker for pirate games. Why? I don’t know. I’m not necessarily a fan of pirate-themed things in the real world, but it’s a gaming theme I truly enjoy. I don’t remember exactly where or from whom I heard of this game, but I am very glad I did because I really enjoy it.
During a game of Cartagena you play a “team” of pirates that are escaping a dungeon through a wacky tunnel to get to the getaway boat at the end. You do this by playing cards from your hand that match symbols printed on the tunnel tiles assembled in the middle of the table. When you play a card you must move one of your pirates – any one you wish – to the next closest unoccupied space on the board that matches the symbol on the card you played. If you play a card, let’s say a flag, and there is a pirate already on the next closest flag symbol, you keep moving your pirate along through the tunnel until you reach the next flag without a pirate on it. You have two actions on your turn and you will likely be playing two cards every turn to advance your pirates.
“Easy. This is great! But, now my starting hand is depleted and you told me I couldn’t draw a card at the end of my turn.” Correct. Herein lies the struggle and tension in the game.
If you do not have any cards in your hand, or if you just want to improve your hand, you must move one of your pirates backward through the tunnel to the next pirate behind you. If there is just one pirate when you arrive you draw one card. Two pirates two cards. Three pirates already there? Keep on truckin, matey. You need to continue backward to find a solitary or couple of pirates; there can never be more than three pirates on a space. You then take the amount of cards dependent on existing pirates and continue your turn.
Play continues like this until a player has successfully gotten their pirate crew to the boat and escapes the dungeons in Cartagena.
So like I said, I’m a sucker for pirate-themed games. However, this game could have so many other themes applied to it and it would work just as well. I do not necessarily feel like a pirate as I am playing, but I do appreciate the effort here. What I really enjoy about this game is the fact that it is mechanically very simple, so it works well with many different age groups. In fact, I am sure you can play this with gamers younger than the suggested age of 8 and be completely happy with the result. The rules are very light, the decisions are sometimes very heartbreaking if you do not plan ahead well enough. It will never be considered a brain burner, nor will it be the crown jewel of a collection or game night, but it is fun. Racing your opponents to the end of a tunnel to freedom, but also knowing that you will eventually need to regress to fuel future turns is a great little balancing exercise and I dig it, like a fine treasure chest.
Components? Well, the version we have is akin to the version on the main ratings graphic here, with that box art. The art in the game, however, is much more cartoony (see image below). It’s not BAD, but it’s not amazing either. I believe the newer version has much better art throughout. The cards are of decent quality, as are the tiles that make up the tunnel. The best components are the little pirateeples. Piraeeples? I’m never very good at the -eepling. All in all it’s a small game that packs up easily and quickly and is great to pull out pretty much any time you need a great filler. We at Purple Phoenix Games give this one a swashbuckling 13 / 18.
If you know me, you know I’m kind of a sucker for pirate games. Why? I don’t know. I’m not necessarily a fan of pirate-themed things in the real world, but it’s a gaming theme I truly enjoy. I don’t remember exactly where or from whom I heard of this game, but I am very glad I did because I really enjoy it.
During a game of Cartagena you play a “team” of pirates that are escaping a dungeon through a wacky tunnel to get to the getaway boat at the end. You do this by playing cards from your hand that match symbols printed on the tunnel tiles assembled in the middle of the table. When you play a card you must move one of your pirates – any one you wish – to the next closest unoccupied space on the board that matches the symbol on the card you played. If you play a card, let’s say a flag, and there is a pirate already on the next closest flag symbol, you keep moving your pirate along through the tunnel until you reach the next flag without a pirate on it. You have two actions on your turn and you will likely be playing two cards every turn to advance your pirates.
“Easy. This is great! But, now my starting hand is depleted and you told me I couldn’t draw a card at the end of my turn.” Correct. Herein lies the struggle and tension in the game.
If you do not have any cards in your hand, or if you just want to improve your hand, you must move one of your pirates backward through the tunnel to the next pirate behind you. If there is just one pirate when you arrive you draw one card. Two pirates two cards. Three pirates already there? Keep on truckin, matey. You need to continue backward to find a solitary or couple of pirates; there can never be more than three pirates on a space. You then take the amount of cards dependent on existing pirates and continue your turn.
Play continues like this until a player has successfully gotten their pirate crew to the boat and escapes the dungeons in Cartagena.
So like I said, I’m a sucker for pirate-themed games. However, this game could have so many other themes applied to it and it would work just as well. I do not necessarily feel like a pirate as I am playing, but I do appreciate the effort here. What I really enjoy about this game is the fact that it is mechanically very simple, so it works well with many different age groups. In fact, I am sure you can play this with gamers younger than the suggested age of 8 and be completely happy with the result. The rules are very light, the decisions are sometimes very heartbreaking if you do not plan ahead well enough. It will never be considered a brain burner, nor will it be the crown jewel of a collection or game night, but it is fun. Racing your opponents to the end of a tunnel to freedom, but also knowing that you will eventually need to regress to fuel future turns is a great little balancing exercise and I dig it, like a fine treasure chest.
Components? Well, the version we have is akin to the version on the main ratings graphic here, with that box art. The art in the game, however, is much more cartoony (see image below). It’s not BAD, but it’s not amazing either. I believe the newer version has much better art throughout. The cards are of decent quality, as are the tiles that make up the tunnel. The best components are the little pirateeples. Piraeeples? I’m never very good at the -eepling. All in all it’s a small game that packs up easily and quickly and is great to pull out pretty much any time you need a great filler. We at Purple Phoenix Games give this one a swashbuckling 13 / 18.
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Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019) in Movies
Jun 22, 2019 (Updated Sep 25, 2019)
Have they made a TV series out of this yet? If not, why not? Secret Life Of Pets would be amazingly suited to being a TV series. While the whole film is quite entertaining, there's no denying that the little "intro" bits where we see the pets at home or get little skits outside the main storyline are the best bits. If anyone remembers Garfield & Friends, that's the format I could see it working in. As it is, Secret Life Of Pets 2 is a film of three parts... but not the beginning/middle/end type. We've got three individual storylines that do at least sort of meet up at the end.
There were a lot of teaser trailers for this and sadly it meant a lot of the scenes were pre-seen in some way, shape or form. I was surprised that none of them had any extra footage that was held back. I loved the vet clip and cat training montage, but there wasn't a single new moment to make them even better.
These two scenes in particular stuck out for another reason, they really highlighted the music. It's fun and a little jazzy, but it's also slightly too loud when combined with the speech which means it doesn't feel like it's in the background anymore.
The film starts out with Max getting used to the fact that there's now a child in his home. Initially he's apprehensive but soon he warms to Liam and goes out of his way to protect him from the dangers of the world. His hypersensitivity to everything has made him nervous and he needs to overcome this if he's going to deal with Liam going to pre-school.
Meanwhile, Captain Snowball is involved in his first case, a kitten that's been catnapped... well, a white tiger who has been chained and tormented by a circus. Snowball and Daisy must execute the perfect heist and free Hu from the evil Sergei's clutches.
Our third storyline doesn't fit in with the other two so well but it's possibly my favourite. Max has asked Gidget to look after his favourite toy and in a terrible accident it bounces out of her window and ends up landing in a neighbour's front room. That neighbour is definitely a cat person. Gidget must enlist the help of Chloe to learn how to be a cat so she can infiltrate her home and rescue the toy. This leads to my favourite scene in the whole film. Plan B has to be the best plan anyone has ever come up with, and Gidget really does deserve the admiration for it.
Secret Life Of Pets 2 is another amusing addition to the Illumination catalogue, and it's certainly not the worst. I've seen it twice and it's entertaining enough to watch more than once (although probably not as close together as I saw it). There are enough moments to keep everyone engaged, there are worse ways to spend some time.
What you should do
I think this will be a good option for a family outing, well worth seeing and it seems to be particularly popular with the kids.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
I think I'd want Chloe, even though I'm a bit of a dog person.
There were a lot of teaser trailers for this and sadly it meant a lot of the scenes were pre-seen in some way, shape or form. I was surprised that none of them had any extra footage that was held back. I loved the vet clip and cat training montage, but there wasn't a single new moment to make them even better.
These two scenes in particular stuck out for another reason, they really highlighted the music. It's fun and a little jazzy, but it's also slightly too loud when combined with the speech which means it doesn't feel like it's in the background anymore.
The film starts out with Max getting used to the fact that there's now a child in his home. Initially he's apprehensive but soon he warms to Liam and goes out of his way to protect him from the dangers of the world. His hypersensitivity to everything has made him nervous and he needs to overcome this if he's going to deal with Liam going to pre-school.
Meanwhile, Captain Snowball is involved in his first case, a kitten that's been catnapped... well, a white tiger who has been chained and tormented by a circus. Snowball and Daisy must execute the perfect heist and free Hu from the evil Sergei's clutches.
Our third storyline doesn't fit in with the other two so well but it's possibly my favourite. Max has asked Gidget to look after his favourite toy and in a terrible accident it bounces out of her window and ends up landing in a neighbour's front room. That neighbour is definitely a cat person. Gidget must enlist the help of Chloe to learn how to be a cat so she can infiltrate her home and rescue the toy. This leads to my favourite scene in the whole film. Plan B has to be the best plan anyone has ever come up with, and Gidget really does deserve the admiration for it.
Secret Life Of Pets 2 is another amusing addition to the Illumination catalogue, and it's certainly not the worst. I've seen it twice and it's entertaining enough to watch more than once (although probably not as close together as I saw it). There are enough moments to keep everyone engaged, there are worse ways to spend some time.
What you should do
I think this will be a good option for a family outing, well worth seeing and it seems to be particularly popular with the kids.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
I think I'd want Chloe, even though I'm a bit of a dog person.
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Merissa (13169 KP) rated Half a Soul (Regency Faerie Tales #1) by Olivia Atwater in Books
May 26, 2022 (Updated Jun 13, 2023)
HALF A SOUL is the first book in the Regency Faerie Tales and I honestly can't wait to read more. This was a gentle story with some harsh life lessons for our main character when she learns what war and workhouses are really like in a world where magic exists.
She -- Dora -- sees life through a slightly skewed lens as it is, being a Faerie Lord stole half her soul when she was only a child. Since then, she struggles to feel emotions, apart from "long-tailed ones". Her cousin, Vanessa, is the only warmth in her life and she will do all she can to please her. This includes going to London, although Dora isn't sure if she is going to help Vanessa's chances of finding a husband, or if she is going because of Vanessa's scheme to cure Dora. Either way, they end up in London, with the ton, and Dora has her own adventures whilst Vanessa is at the mercy of the matchmaking mothers.
I found Dora to be a heart-warming character who is aware of her own 'strangeness' but tries her best to fit in to please her cousin. I loved how she was truthful and direct, at a time when it was not fashionable to be so. Elias was the perfect foil for her. She didn't accept his rudeness or be put off by his temper, simply because she wasn't affected by it. Albert, and his mother, Lady Caraway, were jewels in this book and I loved every scene they were in. I was so happy for him!
Rightly or wrongly, I enjoy historical fiction as it is written. I have no idea if the dip of the neckline or the length of the hem is one hundred per cent accurate, and I don't really care. And if it is historically incorrect, so what? So long as the story fits together, and the inconsistencies remain the same throughout (now there's an oxymoron for you), that's all that concerns me.
I loved this story as it guided me along, all coming together nicely at the end. The epilogue was perfect. I sincerely hope to see more of this couple in future books. A fantastic start to a new series by a new-to-me author and absolutely recommended!
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
May 26, 2022
She -- Dora -- sees life through a slightly skewed lens as it is, being a Faerie Lord stole half her soul when she was only a child. Since then, she struggles to feel emotions, apart from "long-tailed ones". Her cousin, Vanessa, is the only warmth in her life and she will do all she can to please her. This includes going to London, although Dora isn't sure if she is going to help Vanessa's chances of finding a husband, or if she is going because of Vanessa's scheme to cure Dora. Either way, they end up in London, with the ton, and Dora has her own adventures whilst Vanessa is at the mercy of the matchmaking mothers.
I found Dora to be a heart-warming character who is aware of her own 'strangeness' but tries her best to fit in to please her cousin. I loved how she was truthful and direct, at a time when it was not fashionable to be so. Elias was the perfect foil for her. She didn't accept his rudeness or be put off by his temper, simply because she wasn't affected by it. Albert, and his mother, Lady Caraway, were jewels in this book and I loved every scene they were in. I was so happy for him!
Rightly or wrongly, I enjoy historical fiction as it is written. I have no idea if the dip of the neckline or the length of the hem is one hundred per cent accurate, and I don't really care. And if it is historically incorrect, so what? So long as the story fits together, and the inconsistencies remain the same throughout (now there's an oxymoron for you), that's all that concerns me.
I loved this story as it guided me along, all coming together nicely at the end. The epilogue was perfect. I sincerely hope to see more of this couple in future books. A fantastic start to a new series by a new-to-me author and absolutely recommended!
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
May 26, 2022
Hadley (567 KP) rated Chosen Ones in Books
Jul 21, 2021
Writing (3 more)
Inconsistencies
Constantly stopping the story
Stereo-typical character
What usually draws readers into a hero versus villain story is to see the hero's fight to victory. The struggle, the refusal to back down - - - we usually put ourselves into this character and root for them to win at any cost. But the Chosen Ones starts us off after our heroes are victorious in the battle against the villain. The heroes are trying to cope with every day life after achieving the most important thing they would ever accomplish, but memories of the war against the Dark One keep them from returning to that normal life.
Sloane is our main character - - - one of the five heroes that was picked by a prophecy years ago to take down the Dark One. One of the effects of battling the villain for her is she now endures PTSD-induced nightmares. We meet her in the midst of one of these nightmares, where she nearly stabs her boyfriend, Matt (also one of the five heroes), with a kitchen knife. And this isn't the first time this has happened: it happens enough that Sloane was put on medication to help with her PTSD, as well as going to therapy.
But with the ten year anniversary of the Dark One's defeat looming ahead, life seems to be getting even harder for the heroes. All the heroes want is to move on and forget the war had ever happened - - - but then something happens that causes them to relive the Dark One's fight all over again.
The heroes end up on a magic-using world called Genetrix where a man going by the name the Resurrectionist is causing the same destruction as the Dark One did on their world. Disoriented and curious, the heroes have no choice but to believe the two main magic users who brought them there, Aelia and Nero. The two seem to be the ones in charge of finding the chosen one to take down the Resurrectionist. But soon after the heroes agree to take down this world's Dark One, they begin to believe that Aelia and Nero are hiding information from them.
The heroes decide to focus on learning to use magic, so they can defend themselves on this world. With the help of siphons, the heroes are able to begin practicing magic for their fight with the Resurrectionist. . . but for Sloane, she is unable to get her siphon to work, instead, she contains an ability that came from a cursed object from their world, a cursed object that wants her back.
This book contains a lot of the problems that went on during 2020, possibly too many of them. Unlike most books released last year, Chosen Ones didn't do a well enough job of hiding reality in plain sight. Chosen Ones also made the mistake of cutting up the story with intermissions of newspaper articles and government reports. Divergent author Veronica Roth disrupted the flow of the story by doing such that it felt like the story continuously came to a stand still.
Chosen Ones also plays up the Young Adult genre tropes. The relationship between Sloane and Mox happens so quickly that it isn't believable to the reader, and the result is awkward to the point of embarrassing. Also, the friendship between the heroes is very flat, so much so that when conflict arises, I was left believing that no one cared if the other one died.
But it was the idea of the story that hooked me as a reader - - - movies, television shows, and other novels normally focus on the heroes during the great fight with the villain, allowing readers to live the war and pick the fighter they want to win. In this novel, the connection with the heroes is severely lacking, especially when the only character development happens to Sloane. Very reminiscent of Mira Grant's 'Feed,' I couldn't bring myself to like the main character. Sloane tries too hard to be a strong and independent woman, she comes off as a teenager trapped in an adult woman's body, even Ines, one of the other female heroes, is a more well-put together character than Sloane is. This is the trope that is killing lead female characters in the Young Adult genre, but I suppose it's better than having the stereo-typical ditzy female lead characters most adult novels have.
Although the synopsis caused me to buy this book, I was really disappointed with the path in which Roth took it down. The biggest issue was how much of 2020's problems were shoved into one book because it took away from what this story could have been. The heroes are blatantly fighting Donald Trump aka the Dark One, and this subject has been done to-death so much that I couldn't get fully immersed into the story. They also fight against people who can do magic, including people who are apparently Wiccans - - - but Roth labels them as 'evil. ' Having known actually Wiccans in my life, I know that they believe in harming none. Roth's stereo-typing of anyone who is not her heroes shows a shallowness that is becoming more prevalent, unfortunately, in female writers.
Chosen Ones could have been so much more than what it was because it just ends up being another empty story that takes on today's problems just to sell a book. With inconsistencies and bad writing throughout, I can't recommend this book to anyone, but if you love YA tropes, then you'll love this one.
Sloane is our main character - - - one of the five heroes that was picked by a prophecy years ago to take down the Dark One. One of the effects of battling the villain for her is she now endures PTSD-induced nightmares. We meet her in the midst of one of these nightmares, where she nearly stabs her boyfriend, Matt (also one of the five heroes), with a kitchen knife. And this isn't the first time this has happened: it happens enough that Sloane was put on medication to help with her PTSD, as well as going to therapy.
But with the ten year anniversary of the Dark One's defeat looming ahead, life seems to be getting even harder for the heroes. All the heroes want is to move on and forget the war had ever happened - - - but then something happens that causes them to relive the Dark One's fight all over again.
The heroes end up on a magic-using world called Genetrix where a man going by the name the Resurrectionist is causing the same destruction as the Dark One did on their world. Disoriented and curious, the heroes have no choice but to believe the two main magic users who brought them there, Aelia and Nero. The two seem to be the ones in charge of finding the chosen one to take down the Resurrectionist. But soon after the heroes agree to take down this world's Dark One, they begin to believe that Aelia and Nero are hiding information from them.
The heroes decide to focus on learning to use magic, so they can defend themselves on this world. With the help of siphons, the heroes are able to begin practicing magic for their fight with the Resurrectionist. . . but for Sloane, she is unable to get her siphon to work, instead, she contains an ability that came from a cursed object from their world, a cursed object that wants her back.
This book contains a lot of the problems that went on during 2020, possibly too many of them. Unlike most books released last year, Chosen Ones didn't do a well enough job of hiding reality in plain sight. Chosen Ones also made the mistake of cutting up the story with intermissions of newspaper articles and government reports. Divergent author Veronica Roth disrupted the flow of the story by doing such that it felt like the story continuously came to a stand still.
Chosen Ones also plays up the Young Adult genre tropes. The relationship between Sloane and Mox happens so quickly that it isn't believable to the reader, and the result is awkward to the point of embarrassing. Also, the friendship between the heroes is very flat, so much so that when conflict arises, I was left believing that no one cared if the other one died.
But it was the idea of the story that hooked me as a reader - - - movies, television shows, and other novels normally focus on the heroes during the great fight with the villain, allowing readers to live the war and pick the fighter they want to win. In this novel, the connection with the heroes is severely lacking, especially when the only character development happens to Sloane. Very reminiscent of Mira Grant's 'Feed,' I couldn't bring myself to like the main character. Sloane tries too hard to be a strong and independent woman, she comes off as a teenager trapped in an adult woman's body, even Ines, one of the other female heroes, is a more well-put together character than Sloane is. This is the trope that is killing lead female characters in the Young Adult genre, but I suppose it's better than having the stereo-typical ditzy female lead characters most adult novels have.
Although the synopsis caused me to buy this book, I was really disappointed with the path in which Roth took it down. The biggest issue was how much of 2020's problems were shoved into one book because it took away from what this story could have been. The heroes are blatantly fighting Donald Trump aka the Dark One, and this subject has been done to-death so much that I couldn't get fully immersed into the story. They also fight against people who can do magic, including people who are apparently Wiccans - - - but Roth labels them as 'evil. ' Having known actually Wiccans in my life, I know that they believe in harming none. Roth's stereo-typing of anyone who is not her heroes shows a shallowness that is becoming more prevalent, unfortunately, in female writers.
Chosen Ones could have been so much more than what it was because it just ends up being another empty story that takes on today's problems just to sell a book. With inconsistencies and bad writing throughout, I can't recommend this book to anyone, but if you love YA tropes, then you'll love this one.
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