Another year is almost over - and what an eventful year it has been. It is time to talk about everything that has happened, the events I attended and the games I played, give you all an update on the financial state of the blog and maybe share some sneak peeks for the year ahead. So, here goes...
Ho, ho, ho and a bottle of rum! That was the song that accompanied the small boat being rowed by a motley crew of scallywags. We were heading to our secret pirate treasure island to retrieve the loot we had stashed over many, many years. The problem was, none of us knew exactly where we had buried our spoils. We had packed plenty of shovels though to make short work of this small patch of land. After we pulled up on shore and spread out on the island, it was time to dig for Gold n' Grog by Jake A Smith from Next Adventure Games.
This week, Hope Thompson joins us on the blog with her review of a game about the fashion show held in 1973 in Versailles, France that pitted newcomer American designers such as Anne Klein, Halston, Oscar de la Renta, Stephen Burrows and Bill Blass against the stalwart French designers such as Yves Saint Laurent, Hubert de Givenchy, Emanuel Ungaro, Pierre Cardin and Christian Dior. Hope's father, David Thompson, talks to her about her experience of playing The Battle of Versailles by Eloi Pujadas and Ferran Renalias from Salt & Pepper Games.
The 60s in England were a time of new music trends and dramatic changes in fashion and art. Celebrities from around the world would flock to the country's capital London to immerse themselves in this wave of cultural changes. From there, these superstars would travel the width and breadth of the country using a train line catering to the well-off. While the luxurious railway carriages were reserved only for the VIPs, the less fortunate had to jostle for space in cattle class and hope they would get a glimpse of their idols. These were the days of The Royal Limited by Scott Almes from Button Shy.
There was all sorts of Xiaochi and other street food on offer, as well as a variety of speciality drinks. It was still rather quiet, but already the stall owners were busy. The streets were heavy with the scent of various herbs, spices and all sorts of wonderful flavours. As it was getting darker, more and more people found their way into the wonderful maze of this amazing Taiwan Night Market by Zong-Ger from Good Game Studio.
There was a lot of yapping and barking, jumping and tail-wagging. Everyone was excited, but eventually, everyone settled down and lined up in a neat row. There were a few last-minute alterations, with dogs having to change spaces. However, when everyone was ready, it was time to choose the best dog, the winner of this Puppy Pile by Mike A Pratt from Thing 12 Games.
Oliver KinnePost read time 5 min readLeave a Comment on Last Bug Standing in the Circle of Doom! (Saturday Review)It was either us or them. We were the only two teams on a planet far, far away, a planet that was crawling with bug-eyed monsters or BEMs as we had started to call them. My navigator moved around the directional grid to guide the vehicle across the planet's surface and allow the gunner to take aim at one of the weird inhabitants of this rock in space. We had to be careful though. We had to target the right BEMs to come out victorious in this fight to the end. It was all about who was going to be the Last Bug Standing in the Circle of Doom! by Bez Shahriari from Surprised Stare Games.
The house smelled of cinnamon, golden syrup and ginger. It was no surprise, because our oven was full of gingerbread rectangles on two trays. It wasn't long until they were done and needed to come out of the oven to cool down. We had small bowls full of sweets and a piping bag ready to decorate them. Suddenly, I had an idea. Rather than building a traditional house, we could instead make Gingerbread Towers by Jessica Metheringham from Dissent Games.
Using chopsticks isn't easy. A lot of people are uncomfortable with or have no experience using them. However, like so many things in life, it's all a matter of practice. So rather than embarrassing yourself in front of a restaurant full of people who seemingly have no problem picking up their food with two wooden sticks and transporting it to their mouths, you could just learn how to use them in the comfort of your own home with family or friends who might also want to master them. To answer the challenge and make it a fun experience, here is Chop Stacks by Dax Gazaway from Red Flag Game Studio.
Siberia: a vast area of over 13 million square kilometres, which consists of taiga, tundra and even temperate forests. From the north of this region, where temperatures regularly drop below -25°C, come reports of a massive meteor having crashed. Not only that, the team who went to investigate the impact crater lost contact and never returned. Rumours are spreading of a strange parasite that possesses all living things in the region. After a team sent to rescue the first group also fails to return, heroes from the now long-forgotten war in Europa decide to explore for themselves. They borrow mechs and head to base camp. From there, they start their Expeditions by Jamey Stegmaier from Stonemaier Games.
