I was curious to see where Martha Wells would take the Murderbot Diaries with the fifth book, Network Effect. The first four novellas form an arc that could described as Murderbot Finds a Family.
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
Network Effect explores AIs bickering like an old married couple and it’s wonderful
Monday, March 27, 2023
At the Helm totally clicks
This is just my very first impressions of At the Helm. I have a feeling I will be revisiting the game again, particularly after I try out the first two expansions.
Friday, March 24, 2023
Well, at least Betta has pretty fish
First off, I have to admit that one of Betta’s biggest draws for me was the theme. I like betta fish and we’ve owned more than one over the years. (Not at the same time, of course. The little colorful thugs will literally murder each other)
Wednesday, March 22, 2023
Six Billion Demons? Now that’s a lot of demons
Kill Six Billion Demons is…
Monday, March 20, 2023
Shifting Stones is very niche but it does its niche well
Shifting Stones is a puzzle game where, if you’re playing it right, the puzzle will be constantly evolving. Of course, if you make poor moves, you create a snarled mess :)
Friday, March 17, 2023
Hydroracers disappoints me
I’ve been poking around board Game Arena for quick little distractions lately. (At some point, I should find the time to learn some more complex games there) And some of the games have been pretty nifty.
Wednesday, March 15, 2023
Dorrington, forgotten deconstructed detective
Arthur Morrison is one of those forgotten authors who was a fairly big deal in their day. While he’s most famous for writing poverty novels, it’s his mystery work that I’ve actually looked at.
Monday, March 13, 2023
Convenience versus quality
Have mixed feelings about Potato Tomato Carrot. On the one hand, I know it’s a bland little game that doesn’t do anything new. On the other hand, I found it terribly convenient.
Saturday, March 11, 2023
Spell Write: a game of teeny tiny words
Earlier this year, I played inTENse from Q4ia and I found it disappointing. Now I’ve tried another game I got from Q4ia, Spell Write.
Wednesday, March 8, 2023
Hatchet:a book about how much luck it takes to not die
I had been told that Hatchet by Gary Paulsen had helped get kids into reading. I’d never heard of it myself but I see it won a Newberry Honor in 1988. Which, looking up how the Newberry award works, means it was actually the runner-up. Still, good show.
Monday, March 6, 2023
Could Baby Dinosaur Rescue fire Candy Land?
Baby Dinosaur Rescue is a game that is clearly designed for a pre-literate audience.
Friday, March 3, 2023
My February Gaming
I feel like February, from a gaming standpoint, was almost housekeeping for me. A good chunk of the games I learned were Roll and Writes that I’d thought about learning during Dicember.
Wednesday, March 1, 2023
My February PnP
February
Monday, February 27, 2023
One last stab at Ghosts Love Candy Too Roll and Fright
Ghosts Love Candy Too Roll and Fright is a collection of three Roll and Write games themed around friendly ghosts and trick or treaters. I think they started life as stretch goals for a Kickstarter campaign. I waffled about writing about it as one or three blogs but each game is its own thing and I’ve devoted blogs to slighter games.
Friday, February 24, 2023
Even more about Ghosts Love Candy Too Roll and Fright
Ghosts Love Candy Too Roll and Fright is a collection of three Roll and Write games themed around friendly ghosts and trick or treaters. I think they started life as stretch goals for a Kickstarter campaign. I waffled about writing about it as one or three blogs but each game is its own thing and I’ve devoted blogs to slighter games.
Wednesday, February 22, 2023
Ghosts Love Candy Too Roll and Fright part 1
Ghosts Love Candy Too Roll and Fright is a collection of three Roll and Write games themed around friendly ghosts and trick or treaters. I think they started life as stretch goals for a Kickstarter campaign. I waffled about writing about it as one or three blogs but each game is its own thing and I’ve devoted blogs to slighter games.
Saturday, February 18, 2023
What if you made a crossword puzzle but left off most of the letters?
Worder is a nine-card word game, which is a bigger genre than I used to think. It’s by Jason Tagnire, who is the guy behind Button Shy and PnP Arcade. So he’s had quite an effect on my gaming life lol
Wednesday, February 15, 2023
The Sumikko Gurashi movie is a cuddly bedtime story
Sumikko Gurashi is a Japanese franchise whose primary goal is to sell stationary. But it is also a set of adorable cartoon animals that look like they are all shaped like dumplings.
Monday, February 13, 2023
You already know what Sudoku Rush is about
When I looked at Sudoku Rush, the first question that I had to ask myself was ‘Why wasn’t this already a game?’
Friday, February 10, 2023
Why not the Three Musketeers?
I picked up a recent bundle QAGS (the Quick Ass Game System) primarily because I am interesting in Hobomancy. However, that isn't going to keep me from looking at the other games in the system. Incidentally, QAGS has reinforced the idea to me that the biggest building block of an RPG is the story and setting and the mechanics draw my attention the most I when they get in the way of those two things. QAGS looks like a perfectly functional system but I am actually invested in what I can get out of the setting books.
Wednesday, February 8, 2023
No Chainsaw Man in class
I saw students reading Chainsaw Man so I got the manga out of the library. Now that I’ve read the Public Safety Arc (volumes one through eleven), I tell kids to put Chainsaw Man away since it’s not appropriate for middle school.
Monday, February 6, 2023
inTense is a study in flaws
I’ve been getting back into my backlog of games and Roll and Write in general. inTENse felt like a low key place to start.
Friday, February 3, 2023
My January gaming
After learning perhaps too many games in December (Artisans of the Taj Mahal may have not gotten a fair shake from me), I didn’t focus on learning games in January.
Wednesday, February 1, 2023
My January PnP
January wasn’t a crazy month for PnP crafting for me. However, I did get a few things done:
Monday, January 30, 2023
Bandada is so very bingeable
I have seen tne files for a few different versions of Bandada and now I’ve finally played the game. And, having played the game, have kept playing the game over and over :D