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Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated The Independence Incident in Tabletop Games

Jul 2, 2021

The Independence Incident

2021 | Card Game, Deduction, Puzzle

8.0

(1 Ratings)

Tabletop Game Rating

Nicolas Cage is a very polarizing actor, I know, but I kinda like him. Maybe he wasn’t the best Ghost Rider, but I cannot imagine anyone else playing Benjamin Franklin Gates from the National Treasure series of movies. I am a huge fan of those movies, and I will never pass up a chance to watch it or engage in anything remotely similar in real life. Enter The Independence Incident.

The Independence Incident is a 4th of July(ish)-themed escape room type card game. It consists of 18 cards and I will be darned if it isn’t just great.

DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook (as there is none), but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase from your FLGS. -T

To setup, open the flaps of the box containing the cards, navigate to the provided website to launch a web-based companion app, and the game may officially begin!

As I do not wish to spoil anything about the game, I will merely state here that following directions, completing puzzles, and knowing a little something about American history will benefit players immensely. Sorry I cannot say more, I would rather you all experience it for yourselves.
Components. This game consists of 18 double-sided cards and a nifty little box to hold it all. The cards are all nice quality, and feature very specific artwork on them. I have no complaints about the components at all here. Grand Gamers Guild always provide great quality games.

Ok, be mad at me if you like, but I just cannot bring myself to go into great detail about the game mechanics, how to play, or what is really included. Just know that this is probably a game you will play once and pass along, or keep several years between plays so that it doesn’t become too repetitive and easy to solve.

That said, this is a great little card game filled with puzzles I can actually solve! Yes, I needed hints a few times (perhaps a few times too many, as my final score would indicate), but with plenty of time, a little help from some friends, and Trevor Rabin’s soundtrack in the background, I could have score way better.

If you are someone who enjoys escape room-style games and also a lot of Americana thrown in, this one is a must-buy. While you don’t get to steal the Declaration of Independence in the game, you still get the feeling of traipsing across Washington, D.C., to help solve the case/riddle/game. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a stressful 5 / 6. If you are a fan of anything I have mentioned thus far, pick yourself up a copy today!

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Dana (24 KP) rated The Girl of Fire and Thorns (Fire and Thorns, #1) in Books

Mar 23, 2018

This book was very good. I enjoyed listening to it when I had a free chance. I gave it a four out of five because there were a few moments, especially in the beginning, where I found it hard to connect to the characters. Elisa seemed like she was just self-deprecating for a lot of the book and that got tiresome after a while. When she started to grow as a character, I started to like it more. I wish there wasn't that love triangle in the story, but I understand why it had to be there. I just feel like these love triangles are in most books and I want there to be more without it (That's just a personal note) There were even some relationships between characters that I thought were going to pan out to be romantic, but didn't. But who knows, there are other books in the series after all! Some of the puzzles that the characters had to solve I felt were kind of predictable but others were genuinely surprising. I fell in love with so many side characters and I wish we had been able to see more of them throughout the story. While Elisa is a compelling narrator, I felt like the other characters had more to them. This was a great break from the myriad of historical or classic novels that I have had to read recently. If you like fantasy and adventure stories, pick this up. I really recommend it.