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Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Of Knights & Ninjas in Tabletop Games
Jan 23, 2020
Little-known factoid about me: I am a Knight. Not from England, and not due to my daring heroics in war, but a Knight Templar of the Grand Commandery in the York Rite of Freemasonry. Politics and conspiracy theories aside, becoming a Knight was a highlight of my life, and something I will forever treasure. And speaking of treasure and Knights Templar (read your history, kids), we all know that one of the biggest foes of the Knights in olden times were the nefarious Ninjas. Or maybe it’s just fun to think about and play a game where these factions are represented.
Of Knights & Ninjas is a card game about claiming enough treasure to ascend to kinghood and rule all the lands. You can accomplish this by sending forces to your opponents’ realms and stealing their glorious gems. The first lord to amass 10 gems will have sufficient wealth to assume the kinghood and rule all realms!
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and the final components may be different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, but to give our readers an idea of how the game plays. If you would like to read the rulebook in full, you may visit the publisher’s website, purchase the game through the publisher, back the game through the Kickstarter campaign, or through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T
To setup, each player will take five gems of their preferred color in front of them. Shuffle the large deck of cards, and deal each player four cards (this rule was updated after our play-throughs). You are now ready to play!
On your turn, you will draw two cards from the deck (unless it’s the first draw of the game – that player will draw just one). You must now play a card to the table or discard a card from your hand. Cards that you can play from your hand will each have different abilities, and thankfully the designer will be providing a reference sheet for these, as there are many cards with wildly different abilities. This is also why I will not be explaining the entire rulebook.
Typically you will be able to play Fortify cards (castles, archers), Attack cards (knights, ninjas, etc), Respond cards, and Special cards (minstrels, jesters, etc). Fortify cards protect your gems from certain Attack cards, like an Archer only being able to attack another Archer, or a Dragon being able to attack a Castle – but not if an Archer is stationed there (logic). Although, a Ninja can scale a Castle wall, and a Catapult can destroy a Castle altogether (but not that pesky Archer that happens to be sitting on top)…
Attack cards are just that: they Attack. Each Attack card will show a number in a starburst icon in the upper right hand corner that signifies how many gems they are able to steal. Once an opponent is declared and an Attack card played, let’s say a 1-power Peasant, the defender may then play a card with the Respond keyword (which will also have a starburst number) to offset the number of stolen gems. If the attacker chooses, they may continue playing Attack cards against the same opponent in order to draw out all the Respond cards and come away with some sweet, sweet gems.
But maybe once all is said and done, and gems are about to change hands, another opponent plays a Special card – a Highwayman, for example. These characters will steal all the gems that are about to change hands (as if he was robbing the gem carriage en route to the new owner). But then again, perhaps yet ANOTHER opponent plays a Highwayman as well, and steals those gems a second time! You just never know when these Special cards will come out and how they may affect the best laid plans.
Play continues in this fashion until one player has amassed the 10 gems they require to win the game!
Components. Again, we were provided a prototype copy of this game, and we understand that components can change during the course of a successful Kickstarter campaign. That said, this game is a ton of cards and some plastic gem pieces. The art is stellar – cartoony, but whimsical and fun. The card layouts make sense and are very easy to read and understand. The gems are colorful and fun to play with. I only have one concern/suggestion/wish for the components here. I wish the individual card’s abilities were somehow printed on the cards themselves. That would alleviate the need for a reference sheet, but it would then detract from the cute art on the cards. So, maybe that wouldn’t be so great after all. I’m torn on that.
All in all, this game is super fun to play. It will be chaotic one moment, and strategically tense the next. Being able to whittle an opponent’s hand down to nothing and then slapping them with a King card to steal a huge chunk of gems is just so sneakily satisfying. Or sending your Ninja to infiltrate their unArchered (I know it’s not a word) Castle and slither away with the goods. Don’t get too attached to your gems, because you may find yourself without for several rounds. You can always rebuild, but make haste as your opponents will keep you down if you let them.
If you are a fan of games that are cute, fun, and relatively quick with a quirky, but light-hearted theme, then definitely check this one out.
Of Knights & Ninjas is a card game about claiming enough treasure to ascend to kinghood and rule all the lands. You can accomplish this by sending forces to your opponents’ realms and stealing their glorious gems. The first lord to amass 10 gems will have sufficient wealth to assume the kinghood and rule all realms!
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and the final components may be different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, but to give our readers an idea of how the game plays. If you would like to read the rulebook in full, you may visit the publisher’s website, purchase the game through the publisher, back the game through the Kickstarter campaign, or through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T
To setup, each player will take five gems of their preferred color in front of them. Shuffle the large deck of cards, and deal each player four cards (this rule was updated after our play-throughs). You are now ready to play!
On your turn, you will draw two cards from the deck (unless it’s the first draw of the game – that player will draw just one). You must now play a card to the table or discard a card from your hand. Cards that you can play from your hand will each have different abilities, and thankfully the designer will be providing a reference sheet for these, as there are many cards with wildly different abilities. This is also why I will not be explaining the entire rulebook.
Typically you will be able to play Fortify cards (castles, archers), Attack cards (knights, ninjas, etc), Respond cards, and Special cards (minstrels, jesters, etc). Fortify cards protect your gems from certain Attack cards, like an Archer only being able to attack another Archer, or a Dragon being able to attack a Castle – but not if an Archer is stationed there (logic). Although, a Ninja can scale a Castle wall, and a Catapult can destroy a Castle altogether (but not that pesky Archer that happens to be sitting on top)…
Attack cards are just that: they Attack. Each Attack card will show a number in a starburst icon in the upper right hand corner that signifies how many gems they are able to steal. Once an opponent is declared and an Attack card played, let’s say a 1-power Peasant, the defender may then play a card with the Respond keyword (which will also have a starburst number) to offset the number of stolen gems. If the attacker chooses, they may continue playing Attack cards against the same opponent in order to draw out all the Respond cards and come away with some sweet, sweet gems.
But maybe once all is said and done, and gems are about to change hands, another opponent plays a Special card – a Highwayman, for example. These characters will steal all the gems that are about to change hands (as if he was robbing the gem carriage en route to the new owner). But then again, perhaps yet ANOTHER opponent plays a Highwayman as well, and steals those gems a second time! You just never know when these Special cards will come out and how they may affect the best laid plans.
Play continues in this fashion until one player has amassed the 10 gems they require to win the game!
Components. Again, we were provided a prototype copy of this game, and we understand that components can change during the course of a successful Kickstarter campaign. That said, this game is a ton of cards and some plastic gem pieces. The art is stellar – cartoony, but whimsical and fun. The card layouts make sense and are very easy to read and understand. The gems are colorful and fun to play with. I only have one concern/suggestion/wish for the components here. I wish the individual card’s abilities were somehow printed on the cards themselves. That would alleviate the need for a reference sheet, but it would then detract from the cute art on the cards. So, maybe that wouldn’t be so great after all. I’m torn on that.
All in all, this game is super fun to play. It will be chaotic one moment, and strategically tense the next. Being able to whittle an opponent’s hand down to nothing and then slapping them with a King card to steal a huge chunk of gems is just so sneakily satisfying. Or sending your Ninja to infiltrate their unArchered (I know it’s not a word) Castle and slither away with the goods. Don’t get too attached to your gems, because you may find yourself without for several rounds. You can always rebuild, but make haste as your opponents will keep you down if you let them.
If you are a fan of games that are cute, fun, and relatively quick with a quirky, but light-hearted theme, then definitely check this one out.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Libertalia in Tabletop Games
Sep 5, 2019 (Updated Dec 2, 2019)
(Sung to the tune of “Rainbow Connection”) Why are there so many games about pirates? Why do I love them so much? (end music) Well I will tell you. Libertalia is one of the first pirate games I ever collected and played. I was finally able to introduce it to Laura recently and you can see by the ratings graphic that she really enjoyed it too. But why? It’s just another pirate game, right?
Libertalia pits the players against each other to become the wealthiest pirate captain by manipulating crew members and using their strengths to secure the almighty booty. The game takes place over three weeks, and each round of play is equal to one week. There are six playable days where captains will be selecting crew members to contribute their special abilities for gain and treachery to other captains.
DISCLAIMER: I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rule book, 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 from the publisher directly or from your FLGS. -T
To setup the game lay out all boards in the center of the table, choose which color pirate you would like to represent and take all corresponding color components, fill the booty spaces on the bottom of the ship board with enough booty tokens for one per player per box, and give each player ten doubloons worth of starting money. The youngest player now shuffles their deck thoroughly and deals themselves nine random cards. They player then reads out the numbers of cards they have drawn so that all players will have a matching hand of cards of the same numbers. Example: the youngest player draws 9 – 12 – 16 – 19 – 20 – 21 – 22 – 25 – 29. Each player will remove those exact cards from their decks to form the matching starting hand. You are now ready to play!
All captains will simultaneously choose one card from their hand to play for the “day.” The youngest player collects all played cards and arranges them numerically from lowest to highest (with numbers in the gray box area breaking ties). The Day now begins with any Day time specific abilities triggering on cards that show the matching Day symbol beginning with the lowest numbered card and ending with the highest (we will call it “initiative” for the purposes of this review). It could be taking doubloons, or otherwise affecting other cards. Once complete, the booty tokens for that Day are claimed in reverse initiative order (highest to lowest) and Dusk abilities are triggered. When all captains are satisfied with their booty (or oftentimes NOT satisfied) any Night special abilities are triggered and performed as well as the Cutlass and Spanish General token abilities. Those that have been discarded (slain) are placed under the play mat on the left side (where one can find the graveyard), and all surviving pirates retire to the “Den” where they may still be of service at the end of the week or even end of the game. At the end of the sixth Day/Night any pirates alive in the Den with a Day of Rest anchor icon will trigger their special abilities. The youngest player then draws and relays the next six cards to setup the next round and you are off for week #2. Play continues in this way for six Days over three Weeks.
Components. The game has a fair amount of different components, but they are all quite good. The punchboard components (boards, booty tokens, doubloons) are all a good thickness and quality. They look so good that my 3-year-old son wanted to play with them and add them to his gold doubloon collection. Yes, he has a gold doubloon collection in a treasure box. The cards and play mats are of good quality too. The art on this game is absolutely stellar. It is so realistic and wonderful that you actually get caught up in the piratey theme and wanting to score that sweet booty. (I’m done with the booty jokes I think)
So this was my first pirate board game I ever purchased, and I obviously still have it in my collection, so it’s good right? Absolutely! This is one of the best pirate-themed games I have ever played and I am certainly not alone. As of today Libertalia is ranked #2 in pirate themed games on BGG by rank (I believe Friday is disqualified because that’s not really a pirate game to me). The interplay between the pirates you can choose in your limited hand each round, but captains may choose different combinations of pirates to use each hand and each round that you sometimes forget that they had not yet used their Surgeon, and this is such a great time for them to use it. Bloody sneaky powder monkey!
Libertalia is that rare game that you instantly fall in love with, and when you try to share your love of it with others, you can see their eyes light up over the brilliance of design and deep appreciation of the art and components. If I ever get into seriously blinging out my games, you better believe Libertalia will be one of the first I treat. Purple Phoenix Games gives Libertalia a buccaneer’s loot of 21 / 24.
Libertalia pits the players against each other to become the wealthiest pirate captain by manipulating crew members and using their strengths to secure the almighty booty. The game takes place over three weeks, and each round of play is equal to one week. There are six playable days where captains will be selecting crew members to contribute their special abilities for gain and treachery to other captains.
DISCLAIMER: I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rule book, 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 from the publisher directly or from your FLGS. -T
To setup the game lay out all boards in the center of the table, choose which color pirate you would like to represent and take all corresponding color components, fill the booty spaces on the bottom of the ship board with enough booty tokens for one per player per box, and give each player ten doubloons worth of starting money. The youngest player now shuffles their deck thoroughly and deals themselves nine random cards. They player then reads out the numbers of cards they have drawn so that all players will have a matching hand of cards of the same numbers. Example: the youngest player draws 9 – 12 – 16 – 19 – 20 – 21 – 22 – 25 – 29. Each player will remove those exact cards from their decks to form the matching starting hand. You are now ready to play!
All captains will simultaneously choose one card from their hand to play for the “day.” The youngest player collects all played cards and arranges them numerically from lowest to highest (with numbers in the gray box area breaking ties). The Day now begins with any Day time specific abilities triggering on cards that show the matching Day symbol beginning with the lowest numbered card and ending with the highest (we will call it “initiative” for the purposes of this review). It could be taking doubloons, or otherwise affecting other cards. Once complete, the booty tokens for that Day are claimed in reverse initiative order (highest to lowest) and Dusk abilities are triggered. When all captains are satisfied with their booty (or oftentimes NOT satisfied) any Night special abilities are triggered and performed as well as the Cutlass and Spanish General token abilities. Those that have been discarded (slain) are placed under the play mat on the left side (where one can find the graveyard), and all surviving pirates retire to the “Den” where they may still be of service at the end of the week or even end of the game. At the end of the sixth Day/Night any pirates alive in the Den with a Day of Rest anchor icon will trigger their special abilities. The youngest player then draws and relays the next six cards to setup the next round and you are off for week #2. Play continues in this way for six Days over three Weeks.
Components. The game has a fair amount of different components, but they are all quite good. The punchboard components (boards, booty tokens, doubloons) are all a good thickness and quality. They look so good that my 3-year-old son wanted to play with them and add them to his gold doubloon collection. Yes, he has a gold doubloon collection in a treasure box. The cards and play mats are of good quality too. The art on this game is absolutely stellar. It is so realistic and wonderful that you actually get caught up in the piratey theme and wanting to score that sweet booty. (I’m done with the booty jokes I think)
So this was my first pirate board game I ever purchased, and I obviously still have it in my collection, so it’s good right? Absolutely! This is one of the best pirate-themed games I have ever played and I am certainly not alone. As of today Libertalia is ranked #2 in pirate themed games on BGG by rank (I believe Friday is disqualified because that’s not really a pirate game to me). The interplay between the pirates you can choose in your limited hand each round, but captains may choose different combinations of pirates to use each hand and each round that you sometimes forget that they had not yet used their Surgeon, and this is such a great time for them to use it. Bloody sneaky powder monkey!
Libertalia is that rare game that you instantly fall in love with, and when you try to share your love of it with others, you can see their eyes light up over the brilliance of design and deep appreciation of the art and components. If I ever get into seriously blinging out my games, you better believe Libertalia will be one of the first I treat. Purple Phoenix Games gives Libertalia a buccaneer’s loot of 21 / 24.
My Town : Dance School
Entertainment and Games
App
Welcome to My Town's new Dance School, a must have addition to your Town. Practice in ballet lesson,...
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Fold-it in Tabletop Games
Dec 28, 2021
When it comes to cooking, I am definitely no master chef. Up until recently, ‘cooking’ for me consisted of merely putting frozen food into the oven…. Don’t judge! I am taking strides to expand my culinary skills though, so slowly but surely I’ll become a (hopefully) decent chef. That being said, when I saw a cute little food game called Fold-It, I figured that I should at least be able to handle these game recipes. Does it hit the spot, or does it get the chop?
Fold-It is a real-time dexterity puzzle game in which players are trying to fold their Recipe Cloth to match the current Order Card. Setup is simple – give each player a Recipe Cloth and 3 Star Tokens. Choose whether you want to play with the Basic or Advanced Order Cards (or a mix of both types) and shuffle the deck. Place a number of Fold-It tokens in the middle of the table to equal one fewer token than number of players. The game is now ready to begin!
Played over a series of rounds, players will be racing to complete the current Order Card the fastest. How? By folding their Recipe Cloth! Each Recipe Cloth is printed with a 4×4 grid of different dishes. The Order Cards each show a combination of 1-4 dishes. When an Order Card is revealed, all players will then try to fold and arrange their Recipe Cloth so that only the dishes from the Order Card are displayed. You can fold your cloth horizontally or vertically along the columns, and the cloth is double-sided to help accomplish your goal as well. Once you have folded your Recipe Cloth so that the dishes match the Order Card, grab one of the Fold-It tokens from the center of the table. When all the Fold-It tokens have been claimed, check each completed Recipe Cloth to verify that it is correct. If your Recipe Cloth matches, then you are in the clear! But if you made a mistake and had grabbed a Fold-It token, lose one of your Star tokens. *womp womp* The remaining player who was not able to grab a Fold-It token in the round discards one of their 3 Star tokens as well. The round is now over, and a new round begins by revealing the next Order Card. Play continues in this fashion until only one player remains with Star tokens. That player is declared the winner!
I have to admit that Fold-It surprised me, in a good way. I picked it up from a “Buy, Sell, Trade” Facebook group and really wasn’t expecting much from the gameplay. But when I actually got it to the table, I had a blast with it! The theme is cute, the gameplay is quirky, and it’s actually trickier than it looks. Some of the orders require you to fold the cloth in unique ways, and it can kind of be a brain burner. Add in the real-time racing element, and you’ve got an exciting game on your hands. Is it the most amazing and strategic game that I’ve ever played? No. But it’s pretty engaging for a light and fast filler game.
The components are pretty straight-forward. Cardboard tokens, nice sturdy cards, and actual cloth for the Recipe Cloth. The artwork is colorful and cute, and the tokens and cards will withstand many plays. I do especially like the Recipe Cloths too. The fact that they are actual cloth means that you won’t be worried about creasing issues from constant folding and unfolding between rounds and games. The cloths are double-sided as well to give you a boost for strategy as well. I will point out that all cloths are printed the exact same way, so it’s not like a Bingo board that varies between players. Everyone has the same tools with which to work each round, and everyone is on an even playing field that way. Nice components overall, in my opinion!
All in all, am I happy with my Fold-It purchase? Yes. It’s a quirky little filler game that is engaging and entertaining for all players. Yeah, there’s a player elimination element, but the game overall is so fast that the eliminated player(s) won’t be sitting around for long. Who knew that folding a piece of cloth could get your heart racing so fast? Fold-It is definitely a game that I’ll pull out when I need something quick and simple, or with which I can introduce people to the hobby. I guess if you play it too much, it would get kind of stale, but I don’t see that happening for me. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a tasty 4 / 6.
Fold-It is a real-time dexterity puzzle game in which players are trying to fold their Recipe Cloth to match the current Order Card. Setup is simple – give each player a Recipe Cloth and 3 Star Tokens. Choose whether you want to play with the Basic or Advanced Order Cards (or a mix of both types) and shuffle the deck. Place a number of Fold-It tokens in the middle of the table to equal one fewer token than number of players. The game is now ready to begin!
Played over a series of rounds, players will be racing to complete the current Order Card the fastest. How? By folding their Recipe Cloth! Each Recipe Cloth is printed with a 4×4 grid of different dishes. The Order Cards each show a combination of 1-4 dishes. When an Order Card is revealed, all players will then try to fold and arrange their Recipe Cloth so that only the dishes from the Order Card are displayed. You can fold your cloth horizontally or vertically along the columns, and the cloth is double-sided to help accomplish your goal as well. Once you have folded your Recipe Cloth so that the dishes match the Order Card, grab one of the Fold-It tokens from the center of the table. When all the Fold-It tokens have been claimed, check each completed Recipe Cloth to verify that it is correct. If your Recipe Cloth matches, then you are in the clear! But if you made a mistake and had grabbed a Fold-It token, lose one of your Star tokens. *womp womp* The remaining player who was not able to grab a Fold-It token in the round discards one of their 3 Star tokens as well. The round is now over, and a new round begins by revealing the next Order Card. Play continues in this fashion until only one player remains with Star tokens. That player is declared the winner!
I have to admit that Fold-It surprised me, in a good way. I picked it up from a “Buy, Sell, Trade” Facebook group and really wasn’t expecting much from the gameplay. But when I actually got it to the table, I had a blast with it! The theme is cute, the gameplay is quirky, and it’s actually trickier than it looks. Some of the orders require you to fold the cloth in unique ways, and it can kind of be a brain burner. Add in the real-time racing element, and you’ve got an exciting game on your hands. Is it the most amazing and strategic game that I’ve ever played? No. But it’s pretty engaging for a light and fast filler game.
The components are pretty straight-forward. Cardboard tokens, nice sturdy cards, and actual cloth for the Recipe Cloth. The artwork is colorful and cute, and the tokens and cards will withstand many plays. I do especially like the Recipe Cloths too. The fact that they are actual cloth means that you won’t be worried about creasing issues from constant folding and unfolding between rounds and games. The cloths are double-sided as well to give you a boost for strategy as well. I will point out that all cloths are printed the exact same way, so it’s not like a Bingo board that varies between players. Everyone has the same tools with which to work each round, and everyone is on an even playing field that way. Nice components overall, in my opinion!
All in all, am I happy with my Fold-It purchase? Yes. It’s a quirky little filler game that is engaging and entertaining for all players. Yeah, there’s a player elimination element, but the game overall is so fast that the eliminated player(s) won’t be sitting around for long. Who knew that folding a piece of cloth could get your heart racing so fast? Fold-It is definitely a game that I’ll pull out when I need something quick and simple, or with which I can introduce people to the hobby. I guess if you play it too much, it would get kind of stale, but I don’t see that happening for me. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a tasty 4 / 6.
City Pizza Delivery Boy
Games and Entertainment
App
Enjoy one of the latest City Pizza Delivery Boy game. This bike pizza driving simulator is designed...
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Popcorn Dice in Tabletop Games
Aug 18, 2021
Two things everyone in my little family likes: popcorn and dice games. My daughter would eat popcorn all day if you let her. She takes after her dad. My son would play dice games all day if you let him. I like to let him as much as possible. Once I saw that Van Ryder Games was coming out with a marriage of these two beloved things, I knew I had to get my hands on it for preview.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is an advance retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
Popcorn Dice is a very light dice chucker where the winner is the player with the most amount of points at the end of the game. Setup could not be simpler: place all the dice in the popcorn bucket and pass it to the starting player. Done. Let’s make some corn!
The active player shakes up the popcorn bucket and then dumps out the dice on the play surface (I would normally use the word “table,” but we have actually played this on many different surfaces). Every die face showing the golden kernel icon is placed back in the bucket: it’s not fully popped yet. All dice showing the single Pop! icon is placed in the player’s score pile to be counted later. Each Burnt dice face showing can be countered with one Double Pop! icon, with both dice being placed back in the cup. If there are no Burnt faces, then the remaining Pop! and Double Pop! dice can be placed in the score pile. However, if at any time four Burnt dice are unable to be canceled with the Double Pop! then the turn is over and ZERO points are scored. Similarly, if no dice (upon a subsequent re-roll) are moved to the score pile, the turn is over, but the player may count up their score pile dice. The active player may continue rolling as many times as they wish or are forced to stop due to unwanted dice rolls. The first player to 30 points signals the end of the game. Every player continues the round so each takes the same number of turns, and the player with the most points wins!
Components. This game is a plastic bucket in the shape of old timey popcorn buckets and a pile of dice. The bucket is nice and very sturdy, and the dice are great! They are big and chunky (like the size of King of Tokyo, if memory serves) and the icons are mostly clear. I say mostly because The Double Pop! and single Pop! icons are white ink on off-white colored dice. They can sometimes be hard to distinguish, especially if playing under less-than-favorable lighting. Other than that, I totally dig the look and style of this game.
When I say that my son and I played this 23 times the first day we received it, I am not at all exaggerating. My kid LOVES Popcorn Dice, and it plays differently from other dice games. I was just expecting this to mimic earlier dice games like Martian Dice and Zombie Dice. Thankfully, this one is lighthearted enough for my children, and still keeps the adults very satisfied. And let me know if you ever accomplish The Perfect Pop.
It is so simple to play, and that’s the beauty of it. I’m talking 10 minutes with toddlers. When you need something super quick and easy, and maybe to bring in absolute gaming beginners, you cannot lose with Popcorn Dice. Have some youngsters tagging along with their parents to game night? Show them Popcorn Dice and watch them be entertained nearly the entire night trying to pop the best batch of corny goodness. If you need that one little game in your collection that can work in many many different scenarios, then consider adding Popcorn Dice to your collection. Grab your copy here: Popcorn Dice from Van Ryder Games.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is an advance retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
Popcorn Dice is a very light dice chucker where the winner is the player with the most amount of points at the end of the game. Setup could not be simpler: place all the dice in the popcorn bucket and pass it to the starting player. Done. Let’s make some corn!
The active player shakes up the popcorn bucket and then dumps out the dice on the play surface (I would normally use the word “table,” but we have actually played this on many different surfaces). Every die face showing the golden kernel icon is placed back in the bucket: it’s not fully popped yet. All dice showing the single Pop! icon is placed in the player’s score pile to be counted later. Each Burnt dice face showing can be countered with one Double Pop! icon, with both dice being placed back in the cup. If there are no Burnt faces, then the remaining Pop! and Double Pop! dice can be placed in the score pile. However, if at any time four Burnt dice are unable to be canceled with the Double Pop! then the turn is over and ZERO points are scored. Similarly, if no dice (upon a subsequent re-roll) are moved to the score pile, the turn is over, but the player may count up their score pile dice. The active player may continue rolling as many times as they wish or are forced to stop due to unwanted dice rolls. The first player to 30 points signals the end of the game. Every player continues the round so each takes the same number of turns, and the player with the most points wins!
Components. This game is a plastic bucket in the shape of old timey popcorn buckets and a pile of dice. The bucket is nice and very sturdy, and the dice are great! They are big and chunky (like the size of King of Tokyo, if memory serves) and the icons are mostly clear. I say mostly because The Double Pop! and single Pop! icons are white ink on off-white colored dice. They can sometimes be hard to distinguish, especially if playing under less-than-favorable lighting. Other than that, I totally dig the look and style of this game.
When I say that my son and I played this 23 times the first day we received it, I am not at all exaggerating. My kid LOVES Popcorn Dice, and it plays differently from other dice games. I was just expecting this to mimic earlier dice games like Martian Dice and Zombie Dice. Thankfully, this one is lighthearted enough for my children, and still keeps the adults very satisfied. And let me know if you ever accomplish The Perfect Pop.
It is so simple to play, and that’s the beauty of it. I’m talking 10 minutes with toddlers. When you need something super quick and easy, and maybe to bring in absolute gaming beginners, you cannot lose with Popcorn Dice. Have some youngsters tagging along with their parents to game night? Show them Popcorn Dice and watch them be entertained nearly the entire night trying to pop the best batch of corny goodness. If you need that one little game in your collection that can work in many many different scenarios, then consider adding Popcorn Dice to your collection. Grab your copy here: Popcorn Dice from Van Ryder Games.
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Lifestyle and Games
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*** Become a famous ice princess dress designer! *** Develop your own ice fashion in a “fantasy...
Nail Art Beauty Salon Game: Cute Designs and Manicure Ideas for Girls
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kelsey (8 KP) rated The Adventure Zone in Podcasts
May 29, 2019
A Natural 20!
I stumbled about TAZ through tumblr; I kept seeing people post about it and had absolutely no idea of what it was, just that people adored it. After weeks of being confused, I decided to look into it, and wow, just WOW. I don't think a podcast has ever gotten me so hooked. The first arc, Balance, spans 69 episodes under the Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition tabletop role-playing game (or TTRPG) system. The McElroys are relatively D&D rookies (though they've had their brief involvements with the game), and so rule-breaking is abound. It's hardly a fault of the podcast, but I wouldn't listen to this one if you want to really learn D&D and its intricacies/how to play. This podcast is far more about the storytelling aspect of the game, which the McElroy family handles FANTASTICALLY. I laughed and cried real tears listening to the first arc of their podcast, I fell in love with so many characters. Clint, Justin, and Travis all have created wonderful player-characters that are engaging and oh-so-fun to root for, and Griffin SHINES as a creative Dungeon Master, with settings and NPCs that are unforgettably fun and interesting.
Balance has since ended, and now the podcast has moved on to other TTRPGs like Fate (TAZ: Commitment), Powered By the Apocalypse (TAZ: Dust), and Monster of the Week (TAZ: Amnesty). Commitment and Dust are two short-run "test-drives" run by Clint and Travis respectively, and I personally adored a departure from the 5e system to not only be introduced to different TTRPGs, but to hear the DM-ing (or now GM-ing) styles of the other McElroys. In Amnesty, Griffin once again takes the reigns to run the game, and at the posting of this review, Amnesty is being considered the "second season" for TAZ. For some, these diversions from the 5e system may not work, but I recommend listening. They're just as creative and fun as Balance was, though different. I recommend coming in with an open mind, as going from the way Balance was to now, the show is quite different, but the heart is still there and the stories are still stunning.
If those aren't your speed, though, the McElroys post bonus games (like Four Sherlock Holmes) that are meant to be silly one-shot arcs AND they host a number of live-shows that bring back the beloved Balance characters into hilarious one-shot adventures, so you're never short of a dose of Magnus, Taako, and Merle. Being honest, the live shows are some of the funniest things I've listened to. They're marvelously fun, and the added time pressure of the show adds to the comedy. They also really bring back the actual-play atmosphere that sometimes gets lost during edited episodes.
I cannot recommend TAZ enough. Being honest, it pretty much saved my life. It brought (and still brings) me so much joy, and it encouraged me to try out TTRPGs--seriously, I took up DMing because of TAZ, and now I run TTRPG games weekly.
Do yourself a favor, roll perception with advantage and give this one a listen.
Balance has since ended, and now the podcast has moved on to other TTRPGs like Fate (TAZ: Commitment), Powered By the Apocalypse (TAZ: Dust), and Monster of the Week (TAZ: Amnesty). Commitment and Dust are two short-run "test-drives" run by Clint and Travis respectively, and I personally adored a departure from the 5e system to not only be introduced to different TTRPGs, but to hear the DM-ing (or now GM-ing) styles of the other McElroys. In Amnesty, Griffin once again takes the reigns to run the game, and at the posting of this review, Amnesty is being considered the "second season" for TAZ. For some, these diversions from the 5e system may not work, but I recommend listening. They're just as creative and fun as Balance was, though different. I recommend coming in with an open mind, as going from the way Balance was to now, the show is quite different, but the heart is still there and the stories are still stunning.
If those aren't your speed, though, the McElroys post bonus games (like Four Sherlock Holmes) that are meant to be silly one-shot arcs AND they host a number of live-shows that bring back the beloved Balance characters into hilarious one-shot adventures, so you're never short of a dose of Magnus, Taako, and Merle. Being honest, the live shows are some of the funniest things I've listened to. They're marvelously fun, and the added time pressure of the show adds to the comedy. They also really bring back the actual-play atmosphere that sometimes gets lost during edited episodes.
I cannot recommend TAZ enough. Being honest, it pretty much saved my life. It brought (and still brings) me so much joy, and it encouraged me to try out TTRPGs--seriously, I took up DMing because of TAZ, and now I run TTRPG games weekly.
Do yourself a favor, roll perception with advantage and give this one a listen.