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    Nota for iPad

    Nota for iPad

    Music and Entertainment

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    App

    As seen on Apple's iPad TV commercial, Gizmodo, CNet, TUAW and Smoking Apples! Nota is a set of...

    WolframAlpha

    WolframAlpha

    Reference and Education

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    App

    Remember the Star Trek computer? It's finally happening--with Wolfram|Alpha. Building on 25 years of...

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Gilbert (11 KP) rated Game Of Thrones in TV

Sep 1, 2017  
Game Of Thrones
Game Of Thrones
2011 | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Everything about this show is fantastic! (0 more)
That the next season will be the last :-( (0 more)
GAME OF THRONES
Game of Thrones: Song of Ice and Fire series novelizations by George RR Martin was my second first serious Fantasy series (Lord of the Rings was my first) and I fell in love with it after Book One. Now with this HBO hit TV series, I recommend reading the books to understand the background of the characters because it'll be confusing if you don't know who's who. Especially for those who start late in the season and don't know what the hell is going on in the series. With the books though, you get a glimpse of who's who and their backgrounds. The characters come alive in the books as well as in the TV show. I think with the books you get more background knowledge of who's playing in the game of thrones. The families including the Starks, Targayens, and the Lanisters will make more sense if you follow the books. (Really don't have to read the whole series to understand what's going on but if you want to follow characters in the TV series, it'll help with who's backstabbing who and why). I highly recommend the TV show to all fans of George RR Martins fantastical Fantasy Series!
  
Cthulhu Wars
Cthulhu Wars
2015 | Fantasy, Fighting, Horror, Miniatures
Well balanced (2 more)
Fantastic models
Interesting mechanics
Takes a while to get going (1 more)
Not to be taken lightly
Risk, but with outer planer beings and more death
So,
This game is pretty epic to play.
A basic knowledge of Lovecraftian lore definitely helps, however not essential.

You need a bit a patience whilst setting up and the first few rounds. You also really need to read a good chunk of the instruction book.
HOWEVER.

There has been a lot of tweeking with this game before putting it out, as I've played a few games now and found that anything odd or "broken" is easily explained in the FAQ's that you don't need to read on set up.

The models and artwork are pure horrifying beauty. Probably the best artwork I have seen in a table top game.


The game is easy to set up, but a working brain does help when playing, as you have to keep an eye on EVERYTHING.

All of the factions have been balanced wonderfully, some have raw strength but is countered by intelligent play.


If you like anything Lovecraft, this game is definitely for your.
War/strategy game fans. It's great with an interesting twist on the traditional war games.
Model lovers... great models. My DM has used them in some D&D/ Pathfinder sessions.
  
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Sam (74 KP) rated A Place Called Here in Books

Mar 27, 2019  
A Place Called Here
A Place Called Here
9
8.8 (6 Ratings)
Book Rating
I’m a massive fan of Cecelia Ahern and I hadn’t even heard of this one until I saw it at a charity book stall at the hospital. So, for 50p, I definitely couldn’t resist.

This is one of Ahern’s more abstract novels, based on the idea that all lost things that people have stopped looking for end up in the same place – a little village called ‘Here’.

Sandy is a private investigator who has always had to find missing things since a girl from school went missing when she was younger. She was always losing things but always made a task out of trying to find every single one, hardly ever giving up. She finds herself in a strange place, surrounded by missing people and objects, and no knowledge of how to get home.

Jack’s brother is missing, and he enlists on Sandy’s help to find him. Only, Sandy never shows up when they arrange to meet.

Sandy is the person to go after the missing people, so who will look for her when she goes missing?

I loved reading this and loved the question it raised over what really happened to Sandy when she went missing. The book is based on such a unique idea and made an interesting read and one of my favourite books of 2017.
  
Braveheart (1995)
Braveheart (1995)
1995 | Drama, History, War
Action (2 more)
Swordplay
Freedom
Historically inaccurate (1 more)
Gibson's accent
Hold... Hold... HOOOLLLLDDDD!
Contains spoilers, click to show
As a story this is a great film, unfortunately people who have limited or no knowledge of Scottish History take this film as a portrayal of all things Scottish around this time.

So to save some confusion:
Longshanks died well after Wallace
The French Princess did not exist
The Bruce wasn't a traitor
Wallace wasn't the leader until after Stirling Bridge
Woad hadn't been worn for about 1000 years
It didn't start with the death of his wife

So now I have this off my chest, to the film itself. It is an epic and one of the films that you must see before you die, just like Shawshank, High Noon and Inside Out.

The story of the one group persecuting another, and a man coming back to his village after spending time abroad learning taking revenge on the death of his secret wife cumulating in open rebellion and war is a common story told many times in cinema history. What makes this is the scenery and the cinematography.

The fight scenes show the brutality and barbarity of war in this era in history. This does it expertly!

If you want something more historically accurate look at Rob Roy with Liam Neeson, if you want a chill film this is the one for you.
  
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ClareR (5681 KP) rated The Girl Who Came Out of the Woods in Books

May 3, 2019 (Updated May 3, 2019)  
The Girl Who Came Out of the Woods
The Girl Who Came Out of the Woods
Emily Barr | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, Thriller, Young Adult (YA)
8
7.5 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
Arty (Artemis) has grown up in a clearing in an Indian forest with eleven other people. They name themselves after Gods and Goddesses and have almost entirely shut themselves off from the outside world. Arty and the other children have never left the clearing. It’s an idyllic life, until an illness strikes the camp. It’s highly contagious, and all of the inhabitants except for Arty and one of her ‘brothers’, Zeus, die. Arty and Zeus are alone in the world, until Zeus’ aunt comes to claim him, leaving Arty utterly alone.
This is the story of Arty finding her family and her place in a strange world.
I really enjoyed this. Arty has such a simplistic view of life, but this makes her a genuine, caring person - she has a lot to learn. She has no knowledge of money, transport, and has led a sheltered life.
Alongside her story are excerpts of a mystery person who appears to be locked in a room. I couldn’t understand what the connection was to begin with, but it all became clear - a very clever addition to the book.
This is a lovely story, and well worth a read.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book to read and review, and to The Pigeonhole who ensured that I actually got it read!
  
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Lumos (380 KP) rated Betrayal at House on the Hill in Tabletop Games

Mar 21, 2018 (Updated Apr 5, 2018)  
Betrayal at House on the Hill
Betrayal at House on the Hill
2004 | Adventure, Exploration, Horror, Miniatures
I love Betrayal at House on the Hill. It is similar to the game Elder Sign in that you are trying to complete a mission but rolling dice to defeat obstacles, but this game throws a twist at you… after a little while, one of your party members turns on you and suddenly it becomes everyone against them!

 I like the way the items and events that occur throughout the game are very well thought out and work thematically with what happened and in what room (for example: it makes sense that you might find a spooky book in the library or a rotting corpse in the graveyard). I do like that one player becomes the enemy (although it causes me anxiety every time that that will be me and I will mess it up). I think this gives the game a unique spin and causes members (that aren’t involved in the haunt) to work together to defeat them. Each game is different and follows a different haunting. There are different books to read depending on if you are the evil player or not, Both sides have a different goal that the other doesn't know about. There is some common knowledge but it almost becomes two separate games against each other. A very well thought out game that is fun and challenging with a high replay level.
  
Firefly: The Game
Firefly: The Game
2013 | Entertainment, Science Fiction, Space, Travel
Lots of variety in games. (0 more)
Not the most useful instructions. (0 more)
Shiny.
There is a LOT to this game. Like, a lot. Setting everything up requires roughly at least a four foot square space not including each player’s own Firefly board. Basically, it is BIG.
In the simplest game mode (‘First time in the captain’s chair.’) you need the board, which is huge, the plastic ships, around 3 decks of cards, money and crew (all provided). Admittedly, the instructions are not awfully clear and you may end up creating your own variations which work better than the ‘official’. A first game should be dedicated to learning the rules and how to play before any competition starts.
However, once you know what you’re doing you can have several hours of fun. You need to do jobs for money, spend it on upgrades and crew to complete goals, often go to a place and buy or sell something. Think Monopoly meets Risk. Upgrades to Firefly ships are fairly balanced, ones that allow stealthy movements reduce movement range, while increasing range may increase fuel consumption. Although, some are more imbalanced than others, but nothing is ‘game breaking’.
Overall a fun game that takes a little time to really get into.
(Oh, no real knowledge of the series or the expanded universe is required.)