Minecraft Creeper Crunch Cereal
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Posted on September 18th, 2020 by
You know you’ve hit the big time when you have your own breakfast cereal. And Minecraft has definitely hit the big time ten times over. It’s one of the most popular games ever made. I’ve never played it myself, but that’s only because I’m purposely staying away from it as I’m afraid I would get addicted to it. I’m bad enough as it is with Animal Crossing! I would especially like to try Minecraft now that there is a Pac-Man update to it! Anyway, so when I saw the very last box of a Minecraft cereal at Wal-Mart, I knew I had to get it and review it! I wonder if this stuff is hard to find now, like the Mario cereal used to be?
Unplugged: Pandemic – The Boardgame
Posted on September 12th, 2020 by
The world-wide Covid-19 pandemic has been ever present over the past year, forcing many families to stay home together for extended periods of time, perhaps putting a strain on relationships for all those cooped up together. While a cutthroat game of Monopoly might just make things worse, perhaps a cooperative game (where everyone wins or loses together) might be in order. Pandemic burst onto the boardgame scene in 2008, with its success spawning an entire line of Pandemic-themed cooperative games where players must work together to protect the world from an encroaching disaster. While the theme of a Pandemic may be too close to home for some, the games respectively deal with the issues at hand and may serve as a surrogate way for gamers to put themselves into an active role in the game’s fictional pandemic.
Street Fighter World Warrior Encyclopedia: Arcade Edition
Posted on September 11th, 2020 by
Udon Entertainment publishes a lot of artbooks and comics featuring Capcom characters, especially ones from the Street Fighter series. I was lucky enough to get a review copy of one of their newest artbooks, the Street Fighter World Warrior Encyclopedia: Arcade Edition! It features information and artwork of every character in the series! So let’s take a look at it! Plus a surprise bonus!
The Games of the Turbo Grafx-16 Mini Wrap Up
Posted on September 4th, 2020 by
Throughout the whole month of August, I took a look at all the games in the Turbo Grafx-16 Mini! There were so many that I had to split them into five parts! So for your convenience, here are links to all the articles all in one place in case you missed anything.
Unplugged: Tales from the Loop (RPG)
Posted on July 28th, 2020 by
Imagine a game set in the 80s where kids on bikes explore their local town. While dealing with every-day problems of parents, bullying, and homework they simultaneously need to sort out strange, otherworldly happenings that somehow just don’t seem to grasp the attention of the adults. One’s first thought may be to think of the Netflix series, Stranger Things but I’m actually referring to the role playing game, Tales from the Loop. The Tales from the Loop role playing game (tagline: Roleplaying in the ‘80s That Never Was) was actually conceived as a stretch goal of a Kickstarter project over a year before the Netflix series ever aired. The Kickstarter project actually set out to compile the hauntingly nostalgic art of Simon Stålenhag of Sweden. His images contrast the everyday life of living in a small town in the 80s, juxtapositioned with what-if images of robots and alien technology. The two art books were easily funded, and a stretch goal was set out (and met) to create a role-playing game based on the art. In a serendipitous moment, the role playing book was released just a few short months after the Stranger Things series and the hype from the Netflix series helped to push the role playing game into the limelight. Jump forward a few years, and publishers have now released a Starter Edition of the game, containing premade characters, the basic rules, dice, and a short playable scenario. Combined with Simon Stålenhag’s surreal art, the box serves as an excellent introduction to the core mechanics and standard backstory for the game. (One final aside, we’ve now come full circle for both Tales from the Loop and Stranger Things. You can watch Tales from the Loop on Amazon Prime and there’s a version of the D&D RPG based on the Stranger Things series on Netflix.)
Tales from the Loop (Roleplaying in the ‘80s That Never Was)
Publisher: Free League Publishing
(Review copy provided by Free League Publishing)
Cary’s Best Games of 2020 SO FAR Awards Show!
Posted on July 24th, 2020 by
WORST. YEAR. EVER. I think we can all agree that 2020 has been one of the worst years in our lifetime, what with the Coronavirus, quarantines, riots and looting, and much more. Some days I wonder if we’ll EVER get through this. But there is one good thing about this year so far. We’ve had quite a lot of really good games come out the first half of this year! Normally I like to write a blog this time of year with my favorite games of the year so far, because the holiday titles and E3 announcements usually take precedence by the end of the year. Of course, because of the Coronavirus there was no E3 this year, and as of this writing we still don’t know what big games will be out for Christmas. Just another reason why this year sucks. So I don’t know how much different my list will be by the end of the year. But keep in mind that this is my list and my picks only, no outside opinions and whatnot. And if a game isn’t on my list, it either just didn’t appeal to me or I haven’t played it yet. Can’t play ‘em all, you know! But with that out of the way, let’s take a look at my picks.
Unplugged: A Trio of Cat Boardgames
Posted on July 23rd, 2020 by
In the past few decades we’ve seen the power of cats. Take a popular item and stick a cat on it, and its popularity grows. Examples include Garfield (whose creator took a look and decided a cat-comic would sell well) and an extremely popular cat-based card game. (A cat game who must not be named – I fail to see the attraction of its randomness.) Today I want to take a look at a few cat-themed games that I’ve encountered in the past year or so. Cat Lady has players drafting cards off of a 3×3 grid to score points at the end of the game. Kibble Scuffle has players playing cats around feeding bowls in order to trigger a feeding phase. The Lady and the Tiger is a slight outlier, as only half of its richly illustrated cards show a tiger. It is also more than one game in a box as it contains five different games that can be played using the cards and glass tokens in the box. The three games span a wide variety of play styles, so there is sure to be one (or more) fit for your gaming needs.
Unplugged: The Castles of Burgundy (Boardgame)
Posted on July 21st, 2020 by
As with all entertainment, some things just seem to settle into the role of a classic. The Castles of Burgundy, a boardgame released in 2011, is one such game. Released in 2011, it remains high on many boardgame favorite lists and is currently ranked 14th overall at the popular web site, Boardgamegeek.com. The game centers around a set of dice and each player’s personal game board, displaying a hexagonal grid. Players roll dice and then use them to place tiles on their board. Each type of tile grants special abilities and players must make the best use of these special abilities to score points over the course of the game. Turns are quick and, once grasped, the rules are straightforward making this a richly rewarding game to play. The game has also spawned other versions, such as a simpler, fully dice based roll & write style game called The Castles of Burgundy: The Dice Game.
The Castles of Burgundy (& The Castles of Burgundy: The Dice Game)
Publisher: Alea
Ages: 12+ (10+)
Players: 2-4 (1-5)
Time: 30-90 mins (15-30 min)
(Review copy provided by Alea)
The Ladies of Gals Fighters
Posted on May 22nd, 2020 by
Recently I reviewed Gals Fighters, one of the best games on the NEO GEO Pocket Color. I loved that little handheld, and I’m glad they ported this game to the Switch! It took a more silly, lighthearted tone. Female fighters from other SNK series compete in the Q.O.F. (Queen of Fighters) tournament to win a talisman that grants any wish. But the stories they gave to each of the characters and their wishes are pretty silly, and since I like talking about silly fighting game characters, I thought I’d make a separate blog about them!
Pac-Man Loot Box
Posted on May 8th, 2020 by
We’re ending Loot Box Week on a high note, as I’ve saved the best for last. Well, you all may know how much I like Pac-Man, so it’s the best for me anyway. I first saw this Pac-Man Loot Box before Christmas at Target, but it was too expensive. So after Christmas I got it on sale. Even then, it’s the most expensive loot box I’ve ever bought, at 20 bucks. And the paper packaging around it was gone, too. But I said, “Aw what the heck” and bought it anyway! So let’s take a look inside!
