Amanda Palmer recommended Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles in Music (curated)
Debbiereadsbook (1617 KP) rated The Good Green Earth (Colors of Love #3) in Books
Sep 29, 2019
This is book three in the Colors of Love series, but save for the hockey player and the agent (Arn) there is not real connection, so you don't need to read Lost In Indigo or Touch of a Yellow Sun before this one.
I enjoyed this one, as much as book two, but not as much as book one, and the same reason applies.
Only Nathan has a voice. Now I know I say it often enough, but here I think I'm justified!
Nathan is a force of nature and he plows himself into Bran's business while doing his community service. Bran is still grieving the loss of his husband two years before. Nathan decides he wants Bran but Bran is in a position of power over Nathan and Bran doesn't want Nathan, or so he says.
But I wanted to hear from Bran, about how he feels about the attraction to Nathan, a much younger man. About his grief for the loss of his husband. About taking the steps he does to, not remove his husband, but to allow Bran and Nathan to move on, without his presence. And Bran doesn't have that voice.
I enjoyed watching Nathan get to the root cause of his behaviour, felt for him when he finally lets it all out, when we hear what happened. Wanted to punch the brother so bloody hard though!
I don't know if there will be any more of this series, but I hope so. I'm enjoying watching these hockey players meet the men who will colour their world!
4 solid stars
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
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Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Five Tribes in Tabletop Games
Jun 21, 2019 (Updated Dec 17, 2019)
DISCLAIMER: There are several expansions for this game. Though we have them in our collection, for this review we are only using the base game. Should we decide to review the expansions in the future we will add that information here or link to the full review. -T
Five Tribes is a game of area control, auction/bidding, card drafting, and set collection with a modular board. At the beginning of each round, players bid coins to determine turn order – the higher you bid, the earlier you get to go in the round. On your turn, you will select a tile, pick up all the meeples on it, and move them around the board – dropping only one on each subsequent tile, a la Mancala mechanic. There are strict rules regarding meeple movement and placement, so strategy is key in deciding the best path to VPs each turn. When you place your final meeple on a tile, take all meeples of that same color from the tile into your hand. If that completely clears the tile, place one of your camels on it to indicate that it is under your control. Each meeple color represents a different tribe, and each tribe grants the player certain powers when collected – i.e. gathering resources, gaining gold, or invoking Djinn powers. After you use your meeple power, you also have the opportunity to use the power of your ending tile, whether it is under your control or not. The game ends when a player has placed their final camel, or if there are no more legal moves to be made. VPs are tallied, and the player with the highest score wins!
As a kid, I played Mancala A LOT. I’m not entirely sure why. I learned it at school, caught the bug, and started playing it a ton at home too. Five Tribes takes Mancala and makes it 1000x better. The pick-up-and-drop mechanic is integral to the game, but there is so much strategy required that you will never be bored playing Five Tribes. You have to follow movement/placement rules, you have to figure out what meeple power you’d like to use on a given turn, you also have to decide if there’s a certain tile power you need – all while the board is constantly changing between each player’s turn. That’s why bidding for turn order can be so important! If you see a move that will earn you tons of VP, are you willing to spend your hard-earned gold (VP) to ensure that you can make that move? Or are you content with saving your gold and capitalizing on opportunities that may be presented later in the round? The board is constantly changing, and your strategy must follow suit if you are to have any hope of winning! There is no single strategy for a guaranteed win every game, and that keeps Five Tribes refreshingly fun and engaging.
The one negative I have about Five Tribes is that there is kind of a learning curve to this game. There are so many moving elements, different iconography, and special powers that it can be overwhelming for a new player. After a couple of plays, it is easier to remember the intricacies of the game, but at first it can be kind of daunting. Not a huge negative, just something to keep in mind when pulling it out for newer players!
Overall, I love Five Tribes. The gameplay is engaging, the strategic options are diverse and seemingly limitless, and the components are awesome quality. I only just got this game for Christmas last year, but it’s making its way up the ranks in my list of favorite games! If you haven’t already, give this game a try – there’s more to it than meets the eye! Purple Phoenix Games gives Five Tribes a fantastic 21 / 24.




