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Solomon Wendt (30 KP) rated The Big Book of Madness in Tabletop Games
May 5, 2019
Cooperation (3 more)
Spell Casting
Some randomization
Multiple Difficulties
Small cards (1 more)
Unclear rules/mechanics
This game is made by iello games, makers of Mountains of Madness and King of Tokyo. It is about student magicians that feel they aren't learning enough in their classes and decide to sneak into a library to learn new spells. There, they find a grimoire that contains monsters and accidentally releases them. They must work together to defeat the monsters and seal the book, learning from the books around them to learn new spells and collect elements to cast the spells, all while trying not to give into madness.
The game mechanics feature deck building, spell casting, cooperation, and some randomization of spells available and monsters to defeat. There are schools of magic related to the four elements; air, earth, fire, and water. Each element has two magician students that specializes in that element for a total of 8 different characters, each with their own special ability. There are four decks of spells, again related to the elements, that is randomized during set up, changing what spells are available game to game. Similarly, the monsters you must face are randomized, so the chance of having the same exact game as another is rare. The gameplay remains consistent, though.
Over the course of 6 rounds, players work together to defeat monsters. It is a pure cooperation game. No one has any secret objective and should communicate with other players. Games of this fashion, such as Pandemic, tend to end up having one or two people make all the decisions for the group. It my many plays of the game, I have only had that happen once or twice. The variation in spells, magicians, and elements usually make a player uniquely helpful to the group, allowing players to choose how they want to build their character. Although each magician has an elemental alignment, you can choose to focus on different elements and spells and are not limited to one type of role. Each element of magic has a different role to deal the challenges players face, meaning a good balance can be very beneficial. However, due to the randomization, it is possible either the spells or the monsters leave one of the elements non-essential, but that is fairly uncommon.
Overall, the game is very enjoyable and can be played multiple times with different variations. The difficulty can be adjusted if ot feels it is too hard or easy. My group that plays about once a week are clearing the 2nd difficulty 50% of the time and haven't cleared it with a variation yet. It can be a challenge and has elements of luck and strategy. It is a fun game to play with friends, especially because it is cooperative, and I would recommend adding it to your collection.
The game is 2-5 players and runs 60-90 minutes. It is family friendly and a great game for those who love magic fandoms such as Harry Potter.
The game mechanics feature deck building, spell casting, cooperation, and some randomization of spells available and monsters to defeat. There are schools of magic related to the four elements; air, earth, fire, and water. Each element has two magician students that specializes in that element for a total of 8 different characters, each with their own special ability. There are four decks of spells, again related to the elements, that is randomized during set up, changing what spells are available game to game. Similarly, the monsters you must face are randomized, so the chance of having the same exact game as another is rare. The gameplay remains consistent, though.
Over the course of 6 rounds, players work together to defeat monsters. It is a pure cooperation game. No one has any secret objective and should communicate with other players. Games of this fashion, such as Pandemic, tend to end up having one or two people make all the decisions for the group. It my many plays of the game, I have only had that happen once or twice. The variation in spells, magicians, and elements usually make a player uniquely helpful to the group, allowing players to choose how they want to build their character. Although each magician has an elemental alignment, you can choose to focus on different elements and spells and are not limited to one type of role. Each element of magic has a different role to deal the challenges players face, meaning a good balance can be very beneficial. However, due to the randomization, it is possible either the spells or the monsters leave one of the elements non-essential, but that is fairly uncommon.
Overall, the game is very enjoyable and can be played multiple times with different variations. The difficulty can be adjusted if ot feels it is too hard or easy. My group that plays about once a week are clearing the 2nd difficulty 50% of the time and haven't cleared it with a variation yet. It can be a challenge and has elements of luck and strategy. It is a fun game to play with friends, especially because it is cooperative, and I would recommend adding it to your collection.
The game is 2-5 players and runs 60-90 minutes. It is family friendly and a great game for those who love magic fandoms such as Harry Potter.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Patchwork in Tabletop Games
Jun 12, 2019
Two grandmas duking it out to see who can sew the mightiest quilt of all time! They have a limited time and some questionable patch choices. Can Granny Ethel work in that huge three-button patch? Will Big Mama Sue go for the small square patches to completely fill her rows and columns? Welcome to the duel of the century in Patchwork. Pick your golden oldie and let’s rumble!
This game is a gem. It really is the bee’s knees. So you have in the box a bunch of quilt patch tiles that are in wonky shapes that you have to Tetris together to score points. It’s that simple! Now here are the catches. You can’t just take any ol’ piece you want, not every piece scores, and you have to manage your time track.
DISCLAIMER: I have the fancy button upgrades from the BGG store, so when you see the play pic below it will look a little different than when using the cardboard chips that come in retail. It was a good $5 upgrade methinks. -T
All the polyominoes are arranged in a circle (okay, probably an ellipse like ours usually are) and you are only able to take one of the three patches next to this little pawn in clockwise manner. Then the pawn moves to the location of the selected patch. Once you have your piece, you place it in your gridded player mat (in cream corn yellow or split pea soup green). If you manage to be the first player to complete a 7×7 completed square you get a bonus token worth 7 points. Hot dog!
The second catch is that not every piece will score. Only the pieces that have cute little button icons will score. Every time scoring is done during the game you will receive a button for each button shown in your quilt. As buttons are used for buying the patches from the circle AND they are your VPs at game end, you really have to determine how much a patch is really worth to you.
Finally, every piece you choose from the offering will cost you time to sew it into your quilt. You will move your time track pawn on the tracker ahead as many spaces as the piece shows, and whomever is behind in the time track goes next. The game ends once both players have made it to the end of the time tracker.
Okay, so the theme here for me is a non-issue. I’m not a quilter, and quilting has never been interesting to me. That aside, this game is super great. I really enjoy trying to optimize my turn by choosing patches that provide as many buttons as possible with the least amount of time sacrificed. Sometimes I go for the 7 point bonus token, but sometimes I feel like buttons are the way to go.
We here at Purple Phoenix Games give this one a Matlock-sized 15 / 18.
https://purplephoenixgames.wordpress.com/2019/03/19/patchwork-review/
This game is a gem. It really is the bee’s knees. So you have in the box a bunch of quilt patch tiles that are in wonky shapes that you have to Tetris together to score points. It’s that simple! Now here are the catches. You can’t just take any ol’ piece you want, not every piece scores, and you have to manage your time track.
DISCLAIMER: I have the fancy button upgrades from the BGG store, so when you see the play pic below it will look a little different than when using the cardboard chips that come in retail. It was a good $5 upgrade methinks. -T
All the polyominoes are arranged in a circle (okay, probably an ellipse like ours usually are) and you are only able to take one of the three patches next to this little pawn in clockwise manner. Then the pawn moves to the location of the selected patch. Once you have your piece, you place it in your gridded player mat (in cream corn yellow or split pea soup green). If you manage to be the first player to complete a 7×7 completed square you get a bonus token worth 7 points. Hot dog!
The second catch is that not every piece will score. Only the pieces that have cute little button icons will score. Every time scoring is done during the game you will receive a button for each button shown in your quilt. As buttons are used for buying the patches from the circle AND they are your VPs at game end, you really have to determine how much a patch is really worth to you.
Finally, every piece you choose from the offering will cost you time to sew it into your quilt. You will move your time track pawn on the tracker ahead as many spaces as the piece shows, and whomever is behind in the time track goes next. The game ends once both players have made it to the end of the time tracker.
Okay, so the theme here for me is a non-issue. I’m not a quilter, and quilting has never been interesting to me. That aside, this game is super great. I really enjoy trying to optimize my turn by choosing patches that provide as many buttons as possible with the least amount of time sacrificed. Sometimes I go for the 7 point bonus token, but sometimes I feel like buttons are the way to go.
We here at Purple Phoenix Games give this one a Matlock-sized 15 / 18.
https://purplephoenixgames.wordpress.com/2019/03/19/patchwork-review/
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Aeon's End in Tabletop Games
Feb 22, 2021
Excellent Deck Builder
Aeons End- is a excellent deck builder game that has a intresting twist. Lets talk more about it.
Aeon’s End is a cooperative deck building game in which you and your teammates are attempting to take down a member of The Nameless before it is able to destroy your home city of Gravehold. You do this by adding powerful spells, gems, and relics to your decks and strategically using them in a way that helps you defeat the enemies that come your way.
At the beginning of each game of Aeon’s End, you’ll set up your characters’ unique decks, put together a nemesis deck for the boss monster, and create a supply of cards that players can buy throughout the game. After all of that’s done, you’re ready to play!
Turn order is determined by the turn order deck. At the start of the game and after every turn, you’ll draw a card from this deck to see whose turn it is (the nemesis or a player).
On each turn, you can do one or more of the following actions in any order:
buy a card
play a card
charge up your special ability
focus or open a breach
prep a spell
react to a keyword on a nemesis card.
Aether is the currency in the game. You’ll use it to pay for new cards (spells, relics, and gems), to focus/open breaches, and to gain charges. You’ll start out with some basic cards that give you one aether apiece, but some of the cards you buy from the supply will give you more.
You cast spells in a unique way in this game. Open breaches allow you to prep a spell without paying a cost, while closed breaches need to be focused or opened in order to use them. When you focus a breach, you simply turn it clockwise and pay the “focus” cost written on the card. The spells you prepped can be cast on your next turn; prepped spells in closed breaches must be cast, while those in open breaches don’t have to be if you want to wait until a future turn.
Another unique aspect of this game is the way deck building works. Your deck is never shuffled, so you have to think about the order in which you put cards in your discard pile. When you cast spells or buy cards from the supply, those cards will go directly into your discard pile. When you use gems or relics, you’ll wait until the end of your turn and put them on top of your discard pile in any order. When your draw deck is empty, you simply flip your discard pile to create your new draw deck.
The main way to beat the nemesis is to take its life total down to zero, but you can also win if the nemesis’ deck runs out and there are no nemesis cards in play. You’ll lose if Gravehold is destroyed or if every player is exhausted (i.e. at zero life).
Its a excellent deck builder game. I highly recordmend playing it and owning it.
Aeon’s End is a cooperative deck building game in which you and your teammates are attempting to take down a member of The Nameless before it is able to destroy your home city of Gravehold. You do this by adding powerful spells, gems, and relics to your decks and strategically using them in a way that helps you defeat the enemies that come your way.
At the beginning of each game of Aeon’s End, you’ll set up your characters’ unique decks, put together a nemesis deck for the boss monster, and create a supply of cards that players can buy throughout the game. After all of that’s done, you’re ready to play!
Turn order is determined by the turn order deck. At the start of the game and after every turn, you’ll draw a card from this deck to see whose turn it is (the nemesis or a player).
On each turn, you can do one or more of the following actions in any order:
buy a card
play a card
charge up your special ability
focus or open a breach
prep a spell
react to a keyword on a nemesis card.
Aether is the currency in the game. You’ll use it to pay for new cards (spells, relics, and gems), to focus/open breaches, and to gain charges. You’ll start out with some basic cards that give you one aether apiece, but some of the cards you buy from the supply will give you more.
You cast spells in a unique way in this game. Open breaches allow you to prep a spell without paying a cost, while closed breaches need to be focused or opened in order to use them. When you focus a breach, you simply turn it clockwise and pay the “focus” cost written on the card. The spells you prepped can be cast on your next turn; prepped spells in closed breaches must be cast, while those in open breaches don’t have to be if you want to wait until a future turn.
Another unique aspect of this game is the way deck building works. Your deck is never shuffled, so you have to think about the order in which you put cards in your discard pile. When you cast spells or buy cards from the supply, those cards will go directly into your discard pile. When you use gems or relics, you’ll wait until the end of your turn and put them on top of your discard pile in any order. When your draw deck is empty, you simply flip your discard pile to create your new draw deck.
The main way to beat the nemesis is to take its life total down to zero, but you can also win if the nemesis’ deck runs out and there are no nemesis cards in play. You’ll lose if Gravehold is destroyed or if every player is exhausted (i.e. at zero life).
Its a excellent deck builder game. I highly recordmend playing it and owning it.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated the PC version of Chivalry 2 in Video Games
Jun 13, 2021
Gamers looking for some blood-soaked fun in a Hack and Slash game will be thrilled with the release of Chivalry 2. The game allows up to 64 players to battle in a series of battles to create as much carnage as possible.
After an optional tutorial that goes over everything from lunging, blocking, throwing, and special moves and abilities; players will select from various classes and wade into battle. There are the Archers who attack from the distance and have a blade for up close and personal attacks. While they do not have the armor or impact of a Knight; they can do damage with a well-placed shot and when they upgrade their Bow or earn a Crossbow; can be deadly.
There are also the Knight, Vanguard, and Footman classes who can use weapons ranging from swords, axes, and pikes to take down the enemy. Weapons can be thrown in some instances and players can gain times power-ups to use things such as flaming pots or enhancements that can turn the tide of a battle.
Missions are in stages as players usually have to push a cart, storm a fortress, steal an item, destroy an item, etc. in order to advance to the next stage. Victory or failure is determined by completing or stopping a task within the given timeframe.
Should a player fall in battle which is a frequent hazard; they will have the option to change classes or continue with their current one and return to the battle after an amount of time has passed.
Maps offer players weapons at times from Catapults, Ballistas, Fire, and other weapons ranging from tools to even fish to help turn the tide of battle.
The game has some Gallows humor in it as the blood liberally flows all over characters and the ground as it is not uncommon to see multiple players on a team hacking away on a player.
While the graphics may be a bit dated for gamers; being able to improve your characters and their weapons as you advance in rank and skill is key as aside from an overall rank, each class has its own skill levels so players will have to work their way up in a class to advance rather than succeed in a class they are stronger in to build up one that they are weaker in.
There is a nice mix of maps, missions, and weapons and while some may wish for a bit more variety; I am sure that additional content and features will be coming down the line.
While the game can be frustrating at times as getting killed is a frequent event; as your skills grow and you find new ways to eliminate enemies and creative ways to hone your skills; the game becomes an ideal diversion.
The sound in the game is great as the clash of metal combined with screams and other ambient noises gives the game fun and immersive quality.
While it is not going to be for everyone; Chivalry 2 won me over with its fun and immersive gameplay and irreverent humor.
4 stars out of 5
After an optional tutorial that goes over everything from lunging, blocking, throwing, and special moves and abilities; players will select from various classes and wade into battle. There are the Archers who attack from the distance and have a blade for up close and personal attacks. While they do not have the armor or impact of a Knight; they can do damage with a well-placed shot and when they upgrade their Bow or earn a Crossbow; can be deadly.
There are also the Knight, Vanguard, and Footman classes who can use weapons ranging from swords, axes, and pikes to take down the enemy. Weapons can be thrown in some instances and players can gain times power-ups to use things such as flaming pots or enhancements that can turn the tide of a battle.
Missions are in stages as players usually have to push a cart, storm a fortress, steal an item, destroy an item, etc. in order to advance to the next stage. Victory or failure is determined by completing or stopping a task within the given timeframe.
Should a player fall in battle which is a frequent hazard; they will have the option to change classes or continue with their current one and return to the battle after an amount of time has passed.
Maps offer players weapons at times from Catapults, Ballistas, Fire, and other weapons ranging from tools to even fish to help turn the tide of battle.
The game has some Gallows humor in it as the blood liberally flows all over characters and the ground as it is not uncommon to see multiple players on a team hacking away on a player.
While the graphics may be a bit dated for gamers; being able to improve your characters and their weapons as you advance in rank and skill is key as aside from an overall rank, each class has its own skill levels so players will have to work their way up in a class to advance rather than succeed in a class they are stronger in to build up one that they are weaker in.
There is a nice mix of maps, missions, and weapons and while some may wish for a bit more variety; I am sure that additional content and features will be coming down the line.
While the game can be frustrating at times as getting killed is a frequent event; as your skills grow and you find new ways to eliminate enemies and creative ways to hone your skills; the game becomes an ideal diversion.
The sound in the game is great as the clash of metal combined with screams and other ambient noises gives the game fun and immersive quality.
While it is not going to be for everyone; Chivalry 2 won me over with its fun and immersive gameplay and irreverent humor.
4 stars out of 5
Azan Alarm Clock - Nightstand with Islamic Prayer Times and Push Notification
Utilities and Reference
App
Azan Alarm Clock: The prayer application for all Muslims! Masha Allah. -- THANK YOU for the great...
DragonBox Algebra 5+
Education and Games
App
DragonBox Algebra 5+ - The game that secretly teaches algebra DragonBox Algebra 5+ Is perfect for...
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of Dead by Daylight in Video Games
Jun 20, 2019
A hugely enjoyable, and often frustrating, horror multiplayer
I'll admit first off, that I've put a truly unhealthy amount of hours into Dead By Daylight - I imagine at this point, it's probably around the 700-800 hour mark - certainly enough to have a pretty solid idea of how the game works, and I'll say this - this game is as fun as you make it, and the most important part of that statement is friends.
Communication in DBD is key, and unfortunately, the game is subject to very douchebag-ways of playing (on both the killer and the survivor side).
Playing as one of four survivors can be incredibly frustrating, so jumping in with three friends is an easy fix - and when you're having fun, DBD is an absolute blast, a nice blend of scares, tension, action and teamwork.
Playing as a killer can also be heaps of fun, especially since a number of horror icons have been added as DLC (Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Leatherface, The Pig from Saw, Ghostface), and they sit nicely alongside a humble roster of original killer characters, all with unique powers and perks, that make playing as them, and surviving against them, into an exciting mix of tactics and gameplay.
DBD does seem to have issues with bugs and glitches fairly regularly, but on the flip side, there are also regular patches and updates, from a Dev team that listen to their player base more often than not.
If you love horror games, the I implore you to get involved.
Communication in DBD is key, and unfortunately, the game is subject to very douchebag-ways of playing (on both the killer and the survivor side).
Playing as one of four survivors can be incredibly frustrating, so jumping in with three friends is an easy fix - and when you're having fun, DBD is an absolute blast, a nice blend of scares, tension, action and teamwork.
Playing as a killer can also be heaps of fun, especially since a number of horror icons have been added as DLC (Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Leatherface, The Pig from Saw, Ghostface), and they sit nicely alongside a humble roster of original killer characters, all with unique powers and perks, that make playing as them, and surviving against them, into an exciting mix of tactics and gameplay.
DBD does seem to have issues with bugs and glitches fairly regularly, but on the flip side, there are also regular patches and updates, from a Dev team that listen to their player base more often than not.
If you love horror games, the I implore you to get involved.
Piggy Boom
Games, Entertainment and Stickers
App
Ouch! Your phone just vibrated, someone is attacking your island, Let’s go revenge! Invite your...
The Marinated Meeple (1853 KP) May 7, 2019