Search
Search results
Lumos (380 KP) rated Betrayal at House on the Hill in Tabletop Games
Mar 21, 2018 (Updated Apr 5, 2018)
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.
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.
Yeamo: My Career in Black and White
Book
Former Hull FC centre and prolific try-scorer Kirk Yeaman was born in the city in September 1983 and...
Hidden Leaders
Tabletop Game
The island of Oshra is in turmoil. Following the death of the Emperor, the conflict between the Hill...
Ross (3284 KP) rated YAHTZEE® With Buddies in Apps
Nov 8, 2017
Everyone loves a bit of Yahtzee don't they?! Well you can now play against people in face-to-face matches or in tournaments.
Playing in tournaments is good - your score is ranked against everyone else who has joined the tournament and you win prizes (XP or scratchcards or power-ups) based on how well you did.
Face-to-face battles just become annoying - you end up playing one turn and then waiting for your opponent to take their turn. As this is more of a one-player game, this seems odd. They should just let you play the whole card and then compare scores to decide the winner. There really is no tension to be had from comparing scores over the space of hours or days.
Playing in tournaments is good - your score is ranked against everyone else who has joined the tournament and you win prizes (XP or scratchcards or power-ups) based on how well you did.
Face-to-face battles just become annoying - you end up playing one turn and then waiting for your opponent to take their turn. As this is more of a one-player game, this seems odd. They should just let you play the whole card and then compare scores to decide the winner. There really is no tension to be had from comparing scores over the space of hours or days.
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated Ready Player One (2018) in Movies
Aug 19, 2018
The acting is horrible (3 more)
The characters in this film are not very bright
More of an 80's circle jerk
Almost completely different to the book
Horrible Film
I loved the book of Ready, Player One. The book is amazing. However, the movie is one big pile of poop. The acting is abysmal. The characters seem to be really dumb in the film. It takes them forever to figure out something simple even though they've had years to figure it out. The casting is horrible too. The characters look nothing like how they are described in the book. The film changed the plot almost completely compared to the book.
My husband and I turned this off after watching the first 30 minutes. We both hated it. It was a waste of half an hour and a waste of money.
My husband and I turned this off after watching the first 30 minutes. We both hated it. It was a waste of half an hour and a waste of money.
You Send Me: The Life and Times of Sam Cooke
Daniel Wolff, S.R. Crain, Cliff White and G. David Tenenbaum
Book
When Sam Cooke was shot dead in a cheap motel in Hollywood, he was one of America's most successful...
Mural
John Berger, Mahmoud Darwish and Rema Hammami
Book
Mahmoud Darwish was the Palestinian national poet. One of the greatest poets of the last...
poetry
David McK (3854 KP) rated Monster Hunter (2020) in Movies
Apr 10, 2023
If you mention bad video-game adaptations, there's usually one director that comes to mind (Paul WS Anderson), and one actor (Milla Jovovich).
This being, at the time of writing, their latest.
Based on the video game series by Capcom (yes, the same people who did the Resident Evil games) which - I have to admit - I've never actually played, it's very easy to spot the influences of said game on the film, which (in the film) sees Jovovich's US Ranger Lt Artemis and her men transported to an alien environment infested by, you guessed it!, various icky monsters. It's also extremely easy to spot the influences of other, far far better, 'creature features': think Starship Troopers, Tremors or even Aliens to name but three!
Perhaps, as a non-player of the game, I'm just not the target audience ...?
This being, at the time of writing, their latest.
Based on the video game series by Capcom (yes, the same people who did the Resident Evil games) which - I have to admit - I've never actually played, it's very easy to spot the influences of said game on the film, which (in the film) sees Jovovich's US Ranger Lt Artemis and her men transported to an alien environment infested by, you guessed it!, various icky monsters. It's also extremely easy to spot the influences of other, far far better, 'creature features': think Starship Troopers, Tremors or even Aliens to name but three!
Perhaps, as a non-player of the game, I'm just not the target audience ...?
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Polemic in Tabletop Games
Nov 19, 2019
Apples to Apples. Cards Against Humanity. What Do You Meme? These are all party card games that are based upon similar card play: the active player plays a card and the rest of the players play cards to influence the active player to choose their response. Typically it is the funniest or, in the case of CAH, most disgusting and obscene cards that win. But what if we flip this party game model on its head a bit? Does it make for a better game or more enjoyable play? Let’s find out.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game and its NSFW expansion for the purposes of this review. These are final components, and the game is available from the publisher and other online retail stores. Also, I do not intend to explicitly cover every rule for the game, but to give an idea of game flow and play. -T
To setup a game of Polemic, each player will choose a color of cards and receive the small deck of the same color. Each player’s deck will include a Like, Dislike, and numbered cards 0-6. Shuffle the Topic cards (or Adult Topic cards – optional expansion) and place them face down in the middle of the playing surface – my band and I used a chair when we played. Choose who will be the first active player and you are ready to play!
The active player will draw a Topic card and read the provided topics silently. They will choose one topic to play, announce it to the group and lay the card in a discard pile. Now every player (active player included) will choose whether they Like or Dislike the topic. Simple as that. However, the players will also need to choose a card describing how many of the players will Like the topic. Herein lies the game.
You see, it’s not just deciding whether you Like the topic or not, but it’s also reading and knowing your fellow players to guess how many of them will also Like the topic. Example from photo below: I choose “dogs” as my topic. Obviously I Like dogs, so I will play my Like card and another numbered card as my guess to how many total players will Like dogs. It should be all of them, but I suppose there are those who are cat people as well. All players will reveal their Like/Dislike and numbered guess simultaneously and those that guessed the number of Likes correctly will each get one point. The game continues in this fashion until you run out of time to play or you have hit the agreed-upon point total for victory.
Components. To reiterate, we were provided a copy of this game along with the Adult Topics Pack. This game is a box with a bunch of cards. A ton of Topic cards are provided and enough personal decks for up to six players. The rules are also printed on a card. I LOVE this. The cards are good quality and I might even consider sleeving my personal decks as they are handled A LOT. I have no issues with the components at all.
Here’s the deal. We hear so many times that a game is a CAH-killer. And I, for one, hope that to be true every single time. While Polemic is not really akin to CAH, I can see how it would be classified similarly. However, Polemic is SUCH a great game of discovering what your playmates are into and what they think you enjoy as well. I would be remiss if I didn’t insist on also picking up the Adult Topics Packs, but be warned: once you go NSFW you may not want to play any other way. Unless you’re playing with your grandparents or in-laws or something. Then just be smart about what you choose to play with them. That said, Purple Phoenix Games (with help from 10 of Soul) give this one a resounding 11 / 12. Pick this up now before they are sold out.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game and its NSFW expansion for the purposes of this review. These are final components, and the game is available from the publisher and other online retail stores. Also, I do not intend to explicitly cover every rule for the game, but to give an idea of game flow and play. -T
To setup a game of Polemic, each player will choose a color of cards and receive the small deck of the same color. Each player’s deck will include a Like, Dislike, and numbered cards 0-6. Shuffle the Topic cards (or Adult Topic cards – optional expansion) and place them face down in the middle of the playing surface – my band and I used a chair when we played. Choose who will be the first active player and you are ready to play!
The active player will draw a Topic card and read the provided topics silently. They will choose one topic to play, announce it to the group and lay the card in a discard pile. Now every player (active player included) will choose whether they Like or Dislike the topic. Simple as that. However, the players will also need to choose a card describing how many of the players will Like the topic. Herein lies the game.
You see, it’s not just deciding whether you Like the topic or not, but it’s also reading and knowing your fellow players to guess how many of them will also Like the topic. Example from photo below: I choose “dogs” as my topic. Obviously I Like dogs, so I will play my Like card and another numbered card as my guess to how many total players will Like dogs. It should be all of them, but I suppose there are those who are cat people as well. All players will reveal their Like/Dislike and numbered guess simultaneously and those that guessed the number of Likes correctly will each get one point. The game continues in this fashion until you run out of time to play or you have hit the agreed-upon point total for victory.
Components. To reiterate, we were provided a copy of this game along with the Adult Topics Pack. This game is a box with a bunch of cards. A ton of Topic cards are provided and enough personal decks for up to six players. The rules are also printed on a card. I LOVE this. The cards are good quality and I might even consider sleeving my personal decks as they are handled A LOT. I have no issues with the components at all.
Here’s the deal. We hear so many times that a game is a CAH-killer. And I, for one, hope that to be true every single time. While Polemic is not really akin to CAH, I can see how it would be classified similarly. However, Polemic is SUCH a great game of discovering what your playmates are into and what they think you enjoy as well. I would be remiss if I didn’t insist on also picking up the Adult Topics Packs, but be warned: once you go NSFW you may not want to play any other way. Unless you’re playing with your grandparents or in-laws or something. Then just be smart about what you choose to play with them. That said, Purple Phoenix Games (with help from 10 of Soul) give this one a resounding 11 / 12. Pick this up now before they are sold out.