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Nicki Minaj: The Empire
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RULE THE WORLD WITH NICKI MINAJ Join the Queen of Rap in a dramatic adventure as you rise from...
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***** Over 1,390 5-star ratings Get over 10,500 free audiobooks, 77,500 old time radio dramas, and...
Le bonheur de lire dès 3 ans: les fondements de la lecture en maternelle
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RENCH ONLY ‘Le bonheur de lire’ offers a fun and catchy gameplay. The child is immersed in a...
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Among the Stars in Tabletop Games
Dec 3, 2021
If there is a mechanic that we at Purple Phoenix Games seem to really love, it is card drafting. One such game that has been a big hit for us (well, at least for 3 of us….) is 7 Wonders. Draft a card, pass the rest to your neighbor, draft another card from those received from your other neighbor, and repeat. Set in the Ancient World, you are working to build the most wondrous city. But Laura, why all the 7 Wonders talk in this review? Well, because Among the Stars gives me major 7 Wonders vibes, but IN SPACE. Keep reading to see what I mean.
Disclaimer: Among the Stars can be played in two different modes – Aggressive and Non-Aggressive. This review covers the core game Non-Aggressive mode of play. -L
Among the Stars is a game of card drafting and tile placement in which players take on the roles of different alien races attempting to build the most efficient space station over the span of 4 years (rounds). After the 4th and final round, players calculate their final scores, and the player with the highest score is the winner! To setup for a game, assemble the Location deck as described in the rules. Each player takes a Main Reactor card and score marker in their chosen color. Score markers are placed at zero on the score board, and players put their Main Reactor card face-up in front of them, along with 2 Energy Cubes. Players choose, or are randomly given, a Race Tile with a special Racial Ability to be used throughout the game. Randomly draw the requisite number of Objective cards and put them face-up near the score board. The game is now ready to begin!
Over the course of 4 rounds, players will be drafting cards and playing them into their Space Station. At the start of each round, every player collects 10 Credits (game currency), and draws a hand of 6 Location cards. Every turn, players will select one card from their hand, place it face-down in front of them, and will pass the remaining cards in their hand to the next player (in either clockwise or counter-clockwise direction, depending on the round). Players will then simultaneously reveal their chosen card and perform one of three actions: Build a Location, Build Power Reactor, or Discard and gain 3 Credits. To Build a Location, you pay its listed cost in Credits and/or Energy and add it to your Space Station. Locations must be placed orthogonally adjacent to an existing Location. When you build a Location, you immediately gain the listed number of VP (tracked on the score board), and may use its ability. Some abilities are immediate and earn you extra VP now, while some are delayed and will be counted at the end of the game. To Build a Power Reactor, you will first discard your selected card for the turn. Pay the 1 Credit cost of a Power Reactor and place it into your Space Station, along with 2 Energy Cubes. Every round, you get 10 Credits, but Energy Cubes do not replenish unless you build more Power Reactors, so keep an eye on your resources! The last possible action is to Discard and gain 3 Credits, and is pretty self-explanatory.
Players continue taking turns (drafting cards, passing cards, and playing cards) until they are left with no cards in hand. The round is now over. Move the round marker to the next space, and begin a new round by drawing another hand of 6 cards. After the 4th round of play, the game ends and final VP are scored. Victory Points have been earned throughout the game, but now any delayed abilities are triggered and scored, Objective points are added, and players gain points for Power Reactors and remaining Credits. The player with the highest score is the winner!
See what I mean about being 7 Wonders in space? The overall gameplay is pretty much the same thing – draft a card, pass cards, play the card – even though thematically they’re on opposite ends of time. That familiarity and simplicity of the gameplay definitely added to my enjoyment of the game. And when I say ‘simplicity’ of gameplay, I do not mean that it is an easy game necessarily. It still requires a decent amount of strategy! Not only do you have to decide what card to draft for maximum benefit, but you also need to figure out exactly where to put it in your Space Station too. Some Locations may give you extra VP for being adjacent to certain other Locations, or they may even earn more VP for distance between two Locations. You’ve got to be thinking in advance, but also able to adapt on the fly. Do you draft a card that you don’t necessarily want because you can see your opponent needs it? Or do you keep your head down and try to fly under the radar? The strategy and mechanics work very well together in creating an engaging and entertaining game.
Components. This game basically just consists of cards, a score board, and some tokens. So even though it’s nothing too fancy or anything, they’re still pretty decent quality! The artwork is thematic and fun to look at, and the layout of the cards is easy to understand. The cards are square, so that makes for some interesting shuffling, but the square shape really lends itself well to the tile-laying aspect of the gameplay. So all in all, good production quality. Just be warned – as the game progresses, it turns into quite a table hog, since you are constantly adding cards to your Space Station. Not a knock on the game, just a heads up so you give yourself plenty of room!
Will Among the Stars replace 7 Wonders for me? Ultimately, no. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a great game, but 7 Wonders just offers a little more strategy that bumps it to a higher level than Among the Stars. To introduce players to these mechanics and gameplay style, I would use Among the Stars because it is a little ‘lighter’ than 7 Wonders, if you ask me. If you are a fan of 7 Wonders and are interested in a more futuristic theme, I would definitely recommend checking out Among the Stars. It’s a neat game that has been hiding on my game shelf without the playtime it deserves. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a stellar 15 / 18.
Disclaimer: Among the Stars can be played in two different modes – Aggressive and Non-Aggressive. This review covers the core game Non-Aggressive mode of play. -L
Among the Stars is a game of card drafting and tile placement in which players take on the roles of different alien races attempting to build the most efficient space station over the span of 4 years (rounds). After the 4th and final round, players calculate their final scores, and the player with the highest score is the winner! To setup for a game, assemble the Location deck as described in the rules. Each player takes a Main Reactor card and score marker in their chosen color. Score markers are placed at zero on the score board, and players put their Main Reactor card face-up in front of them, along with 2 Energy Cubes. Players choose, or are randomly given, a Race Tile with a special Racial Ability to be used throughout the game. Randomly draw the requisite number of Objective cards and put them face-up near the score board. The game is now ready to begin!
Over the course of 4 rounds, players will be drafting cards and playing them into their Space Station. At the start of each round, every player collects 10 Credits (game currency), and draws a hand of 6 Location cards. Every turn, players will select one card from their hand, place it face-down in front of them, and will pass the remaining cards in their hand to the next player (in either clockwise or counter-clockwise direction, depending on the round). Players will then simultaneously reveal their chosen card and perform one of three actions: Build a Location, Build Power Reactor, or Discard and gain 3 Credits. To Build a Location, you pay its listed cost in Credits and/or Energy and add it to your Space Station. Locations must be placed orthogonally adjacent to an existing Location. When you build a Location, you immediately gain the listed number of VP (tracked on the score board), and may use its ability. Some abilities are immediate and earn you extra VP now, while some are delayed and will be counted at the end of the game. To Build a Power Reactor, you will first discard your selected card for the turn. Pay the 1 Credit cost of a Power Reactor and place it into your Space Station, along with 2 Energy Cubes. Every round, you get 10 Credits, but Energy Cubes do not replenish unless you build more Power Reactors, so keep an eye on your resources! The last possible action is to Discard and gain 3 Credits, and is pretty self-explanatory.
Players continue taking turns (drafting cards, passing cards, and playing cards) until they are left with no cards in hand. The round is now over. Move the round marker to the next space, and begin a new round by drawing another hand of 6 cards. After the 4th round of play, the game ends and final VP are scored. Victory Points have been earned throughout the game, but now any delayed abilities are triggered and scored, Objective points are added, and players gain points for Power Reactors and remaining Credits. The player with the highest score is the winner!
See what I mean about being 7 Wonders in space? The overall gameplay is pretty much the same thing – draft a card, pass cards, play the card – even though thematically they’re on opposite ends of time. That familiarity and simplicity of the gameplay definitely added to my enjoyment of the game. And when I say ‘simplicity’ of gameplay, I do not mean that it is an easy game necessarily. It still requires a decent amount of strategy! Not only do you have to decide what card to draft for maximum benefit, but you also need to figure out exactly where to put it in your Space Station too. Some Locations may give you extra VP for being adjacent to certain other Locations, or they may even earn more VP for distance between two Locations. You’ve got to be thinking in advance, but also able to adapt on the fly. Do you draft a card that you don’t necessarily want because you can see your opponent needs it? Or do you keep your head down and try to fly under the radar? The strategy and mechanics work very well together in creating an engaging and entertaining game.
Components. This game basically just consists of cards, a score board, and some tokens. So even though it’s nothing too fancy or anything, they’re still pretty decent quality! The artwork is thematic and fun to look at, and the layout of the cards is easy to understand. The cards are square, so that makes for some interesting shuffling, but the square shape really lends itself well to the tile-laying aspect of the gameplay. So all in all, good production quality. Just be warned – as the game progresses, it turns into quite a table hog, since you are constantly adding cards to your Space Station. Not a knock on the game, just a heads up so you give yourself plenty of room!
Will Among the Stars replace 7 Wonders for me? Ultimately, no. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a great game, but 7 Wonders just offers a little more strategy that bumps it to a higher level than Among the Stars. To introduce players to these mechanics and gameplay style, I would use Among the Stars because it is a little ‘lighter’ than 7 Wonders, if you ask me. If you are a fan of 7 Wonders and are interested in a more futuristic theme, I would definitely recommend checking out Among the Stars. It’s a neat game that has been hiding on my game shelf without the playtime it deserves. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a stellar 15 / 18.
Lenard (726 KP) rated Battle of the Sexes (2016) in Movies
Oct 16, 2017
In 1973, gender inequity was a major issue. The patriachy did not see women as equals and refuse to compensate them at the same rate. Billie Jean King had just won the US Open Championship and had registered the same share as the men's champion. The USLTA however wanted her to appear in a tournament at 12.5 cents on the dollar. She rebeled and along with several other popular female players started a rival tennis organization which eventually found a sponsor in Virginia Slims. At the same time, inveterate gambler and Senior Circuit player Bobby Riggs was facing his own crisis. Watching Billie Jean King on TV one night, Bobby gets an idea to stage a battle of male chauvinist pig versus feminist. Billie Jean does not want to take part in the sideshow. When Margaret Court becomes the #1-ranked woman on the Women's Tour, she takes the challenge. However, she does not have the game to match wits with Bobby and is defeated badly. Billie Jean torn between getting the tour solvent and her love life agrees to a rematch. The final event would be seen by 90 million people with a huge spectacle. Billie Jean used her more cerebral-based game to defeat the piggish Riggs and show the world that women could compete with men.
K-Li (5 KP) rated Betrayal at House on the Hill in Tabletop Games
May 25, 2018
Lots of rules to remember. (1 more)
Depending on a couple factors, the game can last for minutes or hours
Quit following me with that monkey
We recently played this with some friends and loved it. It's a tile game with an RPG element, during which the players construct a creepy mansion, then once activating the Haunt (the mission) one player is turned against everyone else, and the game shifts from tile exploration to a mission.
Each room added to the house has an event to play out, item to pick up or leave there, or omen that may behave like an event or item but also may trigger The Haunt, depending on die rolls.
The part I enjoyed was strategizing once The Haunt was triggered - once it happens, the scenario you play depends on the room you were in, and the cards drawn. The enemy has their own rule book, and everyone else shares another rule book. It really is great fun.
*We were preyed upon by aliens intent on taking us back to the mothership.*
I think the biggest downside to this game is the amount of things to remember, but I've heard the 2nd edition greatly improved on the first, which is what we played.
Each room added to the house has an event to play out, item to pick up or leave there, or omen that may behave like an event or item but also may trigger The Haunt, depending on die rolls.
The part I enjoyed was strategizing once The Haunt was triggered - once it happens, the scenario you play depends on the room you were in, and the cards drawn. The enemy has their own rule book, and everyone else shares another rule book. It really is great fun.
*We were preyed upon by aliens intent on taking us back to the mothership.*
I think the biggest downside to this game is the amount of things to remember, but I've heard the 2nd edition greatly improved on the first, which is what we played.
Christine A. (965 KP) rated We Sold Our Souls in Books
Jan 31, 2019
Creepy novel
Horrorstör was my 4th favorite book I read in 2015. Considering only "Ready Player One", "13 Reasons Why", and "Autopsy Room Four", a little-known work by Stephen King were the only ones to beat it that is quite impressive.
I was so excited when I learned "We Sold Our Souls" by Grady Hendrix was being published. After reading it, I am just as excited to write how much I enjoyed it. First let me say, I am and always will be, a metalhead.
We Sold Our Souls involves a broken up metal band who did not end on the best of terms.As you can imagine, their reuniting is not everyone sitting around and singing Kumbaya. Hendrix through flashbacks shows how the band broke up and why they need to fight together. I would have loved to hear Dürt Würk play. Mentioned throughout the story are well known heavy metal bands that I have to turn up anytime I hear them. Each chapter's title is the name of a metal album.
The novel did not scary me but it was creepy and definitely worth reading. I will be keeping Grady Hendrix at the top of my "authors to read anything they publish" list.
Published on Philomathinphila.com, Smashbomb, Goodreads, Twitter, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble on 1/31/19.
I was so excited when I learned "We Sold Our Souls" by Grady Hendrix was being published. After reading it, I am just as excited to write how much I enjoyed it. First let me say, I am and always will be, a metalhead.
We Sold Our Souls involves a broken up metal band who did not end on the best of terms.As you can imagine, their reuniting is not everyone sitting around and singing Kumbaya. Hendrix through flashbacks shows how the band broke up and why they need to fight together. I would have loved to hear Dürt Würk play. Mentioned throughout the story are well known heavy metal bands that I have to turn up anytime I hear them. Each chapter's title is the name of a metal album.
The novel did not scary me but it was creepy and definitely worth reading. I will be keeping Grady Hendrix at the top of my "authors to read anything they publish" list.
Published on Philomathinphila.com, Smashbomb, Goodreads, Twitter, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble on 1/31/19.
Rikki Hammond (33 KP) rated Dobble in Tabletop Games
Jun 6, 2019
Easy to transport (1 more)
Quick games keep it fresh
Chaotic, Silly Fun
I always take Dobble if I'm going round a friends house, or whip it out if people are coming over, as it's always chaotic fun when it's played.
There are five game modes in Dobble, and they all have the same basic premise: either get rid of all of your cards, or have the most cards at the end.
Every card will have a number of different symbols on them (like a clown or spider,) and every card has one symbol that can be found on the other players cards, and you have to find the match before the other players. This can lead to some hectic games, as everyone scrambles to find their matching symbol at the same time.
Games are over quickly, and the different game modes have enough variety in them, to stop them from being too samey. It could be The Well, where players are trying to get rid of their cards into the middle of a pile first, or Hot Potato, where you don't want to be the last player left with everyone elses cards.
All in all, Dobble is a great party game, but if you're looking for a gentle, calm game, this isn't for you ?.
There are five game modes in Dobble, and they all have the same basic premise: either get rid of all of your cards, or have the most cards at the end.
Every card will have a number of different symbols on them (like a clown or spider,) and every card has one symbol that can be found on the other players cards, and you have to find the match before the other players. This can lead to some hectic games, as everyone scrambles to find their matching symbol at the same time.
Games are over quickly, and the different game modes have enough variety in them, to stop them from being too samey. It could be The Well, where players are trying to get rid of their cards into the middle of a pile first, or Hot Potato, where you don't want to be the last player left with everyone elses cards.
All in all, Dobble is a great party game, but if you're looking for a gentle, calm game, this isn't for you ?.
Anne (15117 KP) rated Warcross in Books
Nov 4, 2019
I’m not sure how to review this without spoilers everywhere!!!
This is not what I expected not completely anyway. I can see how you could start the story the way it started and end that way but it still caught me off guard the same.
Now I understand why some people recommend this if you like Ready Player One, but also say it’s completely different because it very much is.
This starts out as fun and games but turns into something much more than that and I can see a lot of parallels to real life here and some of it makes me a little nervous too.
I’m hoping this isn’t too spoilery of a thing to say but this to me was like a fun gamer story turned into big brother is watching you instead. What was once fun and games turns into real life and hidden dangers there with technology kind of idea.
It’s very intense, stressful and a suspenseful fast paced read once you get started.
I would say it’s worth at least checking it out and then you can decide if it’s worth finishing and your kind of story.
I’m still reeling a bit from having barely finished it, but I’m planning to check out the next book to see how the story continues to unfold.
This is not what I expected not completely anyway. I can see how you could start the story the way it started and end that way but it still caught me off guard the same.
Now I understand why some people recommend this if you like Ready Player One, but also say it’s completely different because it very much is.
This starts out as fun and games but turns into something much more than that and I can see a lot of parallels to real life here and some of it makes me a little nervous too.
I’m hoping this isn’t too spoilery of a thing to say but this to me was like a fun gamer story turned into big brother is watching you instead. What was once fun and games turns into real life and hidden dangers there with technology kind of idea.
It’s very intense, stressful and a suspenseful fast paced read once you get started.
I would say it’s worth at least checking it out and then you can decide if it’s worth finishing and your kind of story.
I’m still reeling a bit from having barely finished it, but I’m planning to check out the next book to see how the story continues to unfold.
Rodney Barnes (472 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of Monster Hunter World in Video Games
Dec 7, 2019
One of the Best Multiplayers
I did not play any of the first Monster Hunter game. My son played it a lot and loved it. He talked me into getting Monster Hunter World and I am glad he did. You are an elite hunter trying to keep the dangerous monsters from taking over. At the same time however, the Monsters are essential to the ecosystem. It is your typical level up type of game but it delivers on many fronts. I love the story and the so called technology of this universe. If you have trouble taking down a monster....no worries. You can call for backup and have a four player team to go on a hunt. There is not a lack of anything to do. You can gather different types of plants, elements and yes bugs to help craft gear. The only thing I don't like is the time you have to wait to call for help. You can't call for backup on the story missions until after a cut scene. Most times the monster is in your face and attacking you when you can call for backup. I could go and on about this game but I won't. It's worth buying....you won't be disappointed