http://www.flickr.com/groups/playingwiththequeen/pool/
For those who read this blog via tumblr or buzz, you may not know we have an awesome flickr pool full of gameventures and gamecitement. Do join us there, check out some photos and add your own!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Catacombs Solo Quest
Remember these? I read them late into the night, they were some of the best flights of fancy I had as a preteen. I mean, Faerie Mound of Dragonkind! Swoon! And Gnomes-100, Dragons-0? Hilarious and full of magical blueprints for gnome launchers and the like. Amazing.
Check it out, lots more info here!
http://www.gamebooks.org/show_series.php?id=68
Check it out, lots more info here!
http://www.gamebooks.org/show_series.php?id=68
These large-format gamebooks were one of TSR's last forays into the form. Each book contains about 150 pages and numerous illustrations. Three of the books are set in various Advanced Dungeons & Dragons settings, while two (including the unpublished fifth volume) are inspired by the Top Secret/S.I. role-playing game. Rules vary from book to book, but each volume includes some extra items used during play (multiple character bookmarks for the AD&D adventures and a flap full of "clues" like computer printouts and maps for the Top Secret book) and a combat system. The AD&D adventures use twelve-sided dice while the Top Secret one uses ten-sided ones; in either case, dice rolls are printed on the bottoms of the pages so that players without dice may flip through the book at random to generate numbers.
The State of My Social Games
Played Bioshock 2 and Resident Evil 5 DLC this weekend, but we'll be talking about that in a sweet upcoming podcast here on this site.
Instead I will tell you what's captivated me the most in the Great Social Games Frenzy of '10 (as it shall be known in the history books)
Farmville is hanging in there with the awesome graphics and innovative things to collect. But it doesn't excite me the way...
RESTAURANT CITY does! Oh, Restaurant City. They have a new magic theme so now my restaurant looks like a gypsy castle.
Whee! Is that awesome or what? I tell you, life is grand here in the future. It would be sooo much more awesome if I had more cafe-money, stay tuned as I invest in more floating animated delites!
Garden World is pretty fun, I am inventing tons of new flowers every day. Like many games, this now has me thinking about cross-pollinatng IN REAL LIFE. Do gardens work that way?
Country Story WAS a huge drag and at the bottom of my list, but they revamped it! Yay for the dynamicism of social games. Now that I don't run out of energy every 5 minutes, it's worth playing.
Enchanted Island continues to tickle my fancy even though its the silliest gave evar and you can only play for a minute at a time. It's the addictive everlasting levelling up to make more and more awesome plants with magic, dragon scales and phoenix feathers. FUN!
I check on Fairyland every day now, a very slow game of growing flowers and attracting wildlife.
Zoo World is really fun, another 5 minutes a day of effort puts you in a steady stream of levelling up 100 different elements. Breeding, training, buying gear/employees, and visiting other friends for tons o' money!
The Summoning continues to reign supreme. Check out my badass character! Srsly she'll kick your ass with those items she's got on.
Instead I will tell you what's captivated me the most in the Great Social Games Frenzy of '10 (as it shall be known in the history books)
Farmville is hanging in there with the awesome graphics and innovative things to collect. But it doesn't excite me the way...
RESTAURANT CITY does! Oh, Restaurant City. They have a new magic theme so now my restaurant looks like a gypsy castle.
Whee! Is that awesome or what? I tell you, life is grand here in the future. It would be sooo much more awesome if I had more cafe-money, stay tuned as I invest in more floating animated delites!
Garden World is pretty fun, I am inventing tons of new flowers every day. Like many games, this now has me thinking about cross-pollinatng IN REAL LIFE. Do gardens work that way?
Country Story WAS a huge drag and at the bottom of my list, but they revamped it! Yay for the dynamicism of social games. Now that I don't run out of energy every 5 minutes, it's worth playing.
Enchanted Island continues to tickle my fancy even though its the silliest gave evar and you can only play for a minute at a time. It's the addictive everlasting levelling up to make more and more awesome plants with magic, dragon scales and phoenix feathers. FUN!
I check on Fairyland every day now, a very slow game of growing flowers and attracting wildlife.
Zoo World is really fun, another 5 minutes a day of effort puts you in a steady stream of levelling up 100 different elements. Breeding, training, buying gear/employees, and visiting other friends for tons o' money!
The Summoning continues to reign supreme. Check out my badass character! Srsly she'll kick your ass with those items she's got on.
iPhone/iPod Touch games list for kiddies
I just saw a nice list of iPhone/iPod Touch games for kids. The cool thing is that this list does not include anything my family is currently playing! New games!
Friday, February 19, 2010
Obsidian Portal - Campaign Wiki
My buddy Robert, who is a GM for an extensive D&D campaign, came by tonight. I pressed him for more details about his game, and he said he had written a lot of the campaign up at the wiki Obsidian Portal, specifically his pages: Spheres of the Multiverse. Read up on some awesome adventures! Robert raved about how great the wiki is for writing out on several subjects at once, because a new window pops up for you to extrapolate on each new subject with the click of a button, and makes its own wiki page from there. It sounds like a great tool for any writer to organize their world, I know I could use something like that.
Obsidian Portal is the award winning, free to use, online platform for running and organizing your table top role-playing games. What’s more you can build campaigns, find players, and utilize our tools, tips, and extensive gamer community to get the most out of your tabletop gaming experience. Obsidian Portal supports over 100 game systems, and it will work with your game. Creating an account is easy, and every campaign gets a shared blog\wiki to showcase its story, as well as integrated tools to help track NPCs, locations, treasure, and all the other little things that make up an RPG.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Now Playing
Resident Evil 5, DLC "Lost in Nightmares" - although it takes place in RE1 and I hear you can unlock Barry in multiplayer.
We played in 2 player mode with Chris and Jill, we only saw a few zombies in the first 2 chapters. It's mostly clue gathering and fitting together, although I managed to die horribly a few times from traps and other natural causes.
So far, this is a rip roaring RE1-style good time. New fans and old should be pleased. AND, its not So Damn Hard I Can't Get Anywhere In It, like the main Resident Evil 5 is ;)
We played in 2 player mode with Chris and Jill, we only saw a few zombies in the first 2 chapters. It's mostly clue gathering and fitting together, although I managed to die horribly a few times from traps and other natural causes.
So far, this is a rip roaring RE1-style good time. New fans and old should be pleased. AND, its not So Damn Hard I Can't Get Anywhere In It, like the main Resident Evil 5 is ;)
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Social Games Stats
Someone here last week asked if social games are mostly a female thing. This article answers your question!
http://mashable.com/2010/02/17/social-gaming-survey/
Note that “social games” are web-based games like Mafia Wars and FarmVille that you play on social networks like Facebook, not Xbox 360 action games like Gears of War or Halo...
The survey found that 55% of social gamers are female and 45% are male. Females are more avid gamers, too; 38% of females said they play multiple times a day, but just 29% males said the same. Women are more likely to play with people they know (68% vs. 56% for males), and men are more likely to play with strangers (41% vs. 33%) than women are.
There were more insights in the survey beyond gender. Facebook is the most popular destination for online games, with 83% of respondents saying they have played games there. Twenty-eight percent have purchased in-game currency with real-world money. The average gamer has played six social games, and more than 50% of gamers started playing a game because a friend recommended it or because they saw a friend playing it in a news feed or other social stream.
One hundred million people are playing these games and about $1 billion in revenue is expected this year.
http://mashable.com/2010/02/17/social-gaming-survey/
Note that “social games” are web-based games like Mafia Wars and FarmVille that you play on social networks like Facebook, not Xbox 360 action games like Gears of War or Halo...
The survey found that 55% of social gamers are female and 45% are male. Females are more avid gamers, too; 38% of females said they play multiple times a day, but just 29% males said the same. Women are more likely to play with people they know (68% vs. 56% for males), and men are more likely to play with strangers (41% vs. 33%) than women are.
There were more insights in the survey beyond gender. Facebook is the most popular destination for online games, with 83% of respondents saying they have played games there. Twenty-eight percent have purchased in-game currency with real-world money. The average gamer has played six social games, and more than 50% of gamers started playing a game because a friend recommended it or because they saw a friend playing it in a news feed or other social stream.
One hundred million people are playing these games and about $1 billion in revenue is expected this year.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Rio Grande Games?
An online pal mentioned playing "Rio Grande games" all weekend, curious, I looked it up. Hmm these look worth getting!
http://www.riograndegames.com/
http://www.riograndegames.com/
Monday, February 15, 2010
Catan: Settled.
This weekend my friend brought over Settlers of Catan. He's an expert at the game and so helped us with the rules and showed us how to stragtegize. What a fun game! I don't really like Risk or many other turn based get-territory kind of games, but I love this one. I wonder what the difference is? Maybe its that it lasted about 3 hours instead of 9 or 10 ;) But I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to playing again.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Casual Games on Apple devices
The big hit Christmas gift this year with our family was an iPod touch. Ostensibly bought as a remote control for our new iMac (first Apple in the house), it quickly became my 6-year-old's favorite thing of all time ever.
Watching him over the last few months, it is clear to me that I need to develop an iPhone app where you download, arrange, and delete apps. By far, that is his favorite thing to do with the device.
But now that the dust of rapidly installed and quickly tested apps settles, we have some good games that keep our attention.
We really enjoy air hockey together (real air hockey, and on a good table!), and while Glow Hockey is certainly not a replacement, the two-player option in the paid app is actually playable and fun.
I paid for and finally beat Atsumari, a nice-looking logic game that was more fun before I figured out a trick to solving the puzzles. The level called equilibrium took me much longer than it should have, but I didn't cheat, which is a sign that I enjoy the game enough that I would feel bad cheating. I'm always up for well-done logic puzzles since re-discovering them with the Professor Layton games on DS.
Watching him over the last few months, it is clear to me that I need to develop an iPhone app where you download, arrange, and delete apps. By far, that is his favorite thing to do with the device.
But now that the dust of rapidly installed and quickly tested apps settles, we have some good games that keep our attention.
We really enjoy air hockey together (real air hockey, and on a good table!), and while Glow Hockey is certainly not a replacement, the two-player option in the paid app is actually playable and fun.
I paid for and finally beat Atsumari, a nice-looking logic game that was more fun before I figured out a trick to solving the puzzles. The level called equilibrium took me much longer than it should have, but I didn't cheat, which is a sign that I enjoy the game enough that I would feel bad cheating. I'm always up for well-done logic puzzles since re-discovering them with the Professor Layton games on DS.
Weekend Boardgames
I had high hopes to play many board games this, my birthday weekend. Alas, we played only two, but they were good.
First up was our second game of Chateau Roquefort, a good looking game that combines aspects of memory and collecting (and little to no luck).
You play a team of up to four mice in an old derelict chateau, hunting for the only thing in life that really matters - cheese. The cheese is hidden under two layers: roof tiles of various shapes that must be removed during your turn, and a clever floor tile system that allows players to shift cheese and mouse-traps around underneath their mice.
Remembering previously revealed cheese is key, and tracking those remembered tiles through multiple shifts in different direction will eventually be, I think, what keeps us interested in this game as we get better at it, but for now we are playing with permanently removed floor tiles. While this removes the memory aspect of the game, it is still fun, and has allowed our littlest (4 years old) to win both games we've played.
And keeping (unintentionally) on the same theme, we picked up a used copy of Mousetrap for $4. We didn't actually play the game. I wanted to see if all the pieces were present, and once the Rube Goldberg machine was set up, the kids just kept triggering the marbles and watching the trap come down. Physics is fun!
First up was our second game of Chateau Roquefort, a good looking game that combines aspects of memory and collecting (and little to no luck).
You play a team of up to four mice in an old derelict chateau, hunting for the only thing in life that really matters - cheese. The cheese is hidden under two layers: roof tiles of various shapes that must be removed during your turn, and a clever floor tile system that allows players to shift cheese and mouse-traps around underneath their mice.
Remembering previously revealed cheese is key, and tracking those remembered tiles through multiple shifts in different direction will eventually be, I think, what keeps us interested in this game as we get better at it, but for now we are playing with permanently removed floor tiles. While this removes the memory aspect of the game, it is still fun, and has allowed our littlest (4 years old) to win both games we've played.
And keeping (unintentionally) on the same theme, we picked up a used copy of Mousetrap for $4. We didn't actually play the game. I wanted to see if all the pieces were present, and once the Rube Goldberg machine was set up, the kids just kept triggering the marbles and watching the trap come down. Physics is fun!
Which to Play First? BioShock 2 vs. Mass Effect 2
I'm outraged to hear Mass Effect 2 is far superior to the original, having chosen to play BS2 first vs. ME2 (the other people in my house having chosen ME2 first). So far BS2 is NOT better than the original - but I hear through the grapevine its a slow first 10 hours and then 'its on' in the last 3 hours, story wise. Not that I'm not TOTALLY LOVING it (halfway through Pauper's Drop) but I can't say it's a vast improvement on the last one.
I wasn't going to bring this up...but then I got riled.
I just read this on twitter:
This article really pissed me off...it is a glaring example of how most of the media, and possilby many gamers, are thinking about games. Boy vs. Girl...Blue vs. Pink. Guns vs. Unicorns. Spatial cognition vs. social relations.
Why is the author assuming these 70% female casual games are Pink and Long Haired? Why were those the images the website linked to? Casual games can refer to puzzles, murder mysteries, haunted mansions, wizard towers, hidden objects, card games, deserted islands...
This Queen of Hearts blog has lots of women, and I thought about marketing it as such, but I don't want to. It's against the very point.
This is all stuff my friend Lehanna started me thinking about, along with sending me many links to Jezebel coverage:
Games are games and brains are brains. I like playing rogue assassins and am obsessed with treasure collecting (see my user name). I love sniper gunts and anti personnel ammo and mininukes.
The whole "girls play becasue their boyfriends do" angle makes me ill. The people I date tend to like video games because like me, they love fun, and games are fun. I don't play because they do - we ALL play because we ALL like fun. We all have brains and like being challenged and figuring out problems people before us have crafted for us to play with and solve.
http://jezebel.com/5443722/act-like-you-know-nielsen-research-confirms-that-women-buy-systems-and-play-games
http://jezebel.com/5381665/why-is-marketing-to-female-gamers-considered-challenging
more on this later!
@theborderhouse Why are most casual gamers women? http://bit.ly/actM8Llinking to: http://borderhouseblog.com/?p=1414
This article really pissed me off...it is a glaring example of how most of the media, and possilby many gamers, are thinking about games. Boy vs. Girl...Blue vs. Pink. Guns vs. Unicorns. Spatial cognition vs. social relations.
Why is the author assuming these 70% female casual games are Pink and Long Haired? Why were those the images the website linked to? Casual games can refer to puzzles, murder mysteries, haunted mansions, wizard towers, hidden objects, card games, deserted islands...
This Queen of Hearts blog has lots of women, and I thought about marketing it as such, but I don't want to. It's against the very point.
This is all stuff my friend Lehanna started me thinking about, along with sending me many links to Jezebel coverage:
Games are games and brains are brains. I like playing rogue assassins and am obsessed with treasure collecting (see my user name). I love sniper gunts and anti personnel ammo and mininukes.
The whole "girls play becasue their boyfriends do" angle makes me ill. The people I date tend to like video games because like me, they love fun, and games are fun. I don't play because they do - we ALL play because we ALL like fun. We all have brains and like being challenged and figuring out problems people before us have crafted for us to play with and solve.
http://jezebel.com/5443722/act-like-you-know-nielsen-research-confirms-that-women-buy-systems-and-play-games
http://jezebel.com/5381665/why-is-marketing-to-female-gamers-considered-challenging
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Ponzi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponzi_scheme
Just today I found out the definition of the word Ponzi and its soo true! Just the other night my friend said to me, "Girl, get to playing Ponzi again!" (Ponzi is a Facebook game where you run a business) because he makes a percentage of my profits! And you really need your friends to earn $ in your Pyramid to boost your starting business. This game is genius, its like W.o.W. for people who don't want a time commitment (it takes about 5 minutes to play, and to properly keep up you check in once or twice a day) - your friends are leaning on you to succeed, and they'll let you know at the coffeeshop they want you to hurry back and play more! What kind of genius marketing is that?
Mostly I'm playing BS2 on mah new Xbox (just got past the Carnie-esque level), but no spoilers here. Wait for our podcast about it! But it was super fun creating my avatar and starting to earn my first achievements and gamer points. I love social games within a platform like gamer points, competing with friends online.
Just today I found out the definition of the word Ponzi and its soo true! Just the other night my friend said to me, "Girl, get to playing Ponzi again!" (Ponzi is a Facebook game where you run a business) because he makes a percentage of my profits! And you really need your friends to earn $ in your Pyramid to boost your starting business. This game is genius, its like W.o.W. for people who don't want a time commitment (it takes about 5 minutes to play, and to properly keep up you check in once or twice a day) - your friends are leaning on you to succeed, and they'll let you know at the coffeeshop they want you to hurry back and play more! What kind of genius marketing is that?
Mostly I'm playing BS2 on mah new Xbox (just got past the Carnie-esque level), but no spoilers here. Wait for our podcast about it! But it was super fun creating my avatar and starting to earn my first achievements and gamer points. I love social games within a platform like gamer points, competing with friends online.
Friday, February 12, 2010
A Real Live Girl!
It's like the end of pinocchio...this weekend I am getting my very own XBox 360, I intend to start my own gamer profile and be shamefully behind on gamer points. Look for a 'rupee groupie' friend invite soon! Gosh I'm so excited to dress my avatar...and play BioShock 2 alllll weekend!
Edit: My new user name is RupeeGroupie, add me yo!
Edit: My new user name is RupeeGroupie, add me yo!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Working for the Weekend
My obsessive Facebook gaming is forced into a more relaxed pace during the workweek. How IS a girl to prioritize when every game fills your Notificications with promises of gifts and threats of expiration, petulant for your imminent return?
Well I'll tell you what I do:
#1 Restaurant City. This game is of serious importance to me, I can't quite say why, a combo of cooking and tracking down the ever missing ingredient I suppose. Every evening it's on my list of things to do - MORE money for MORE ingredients for MORE money!
#2 Farmville gifts. This is just so fun. I'm sad to say it makes me feel so loved and popular to have 15 gifts in my inbox, even if it's from someone I haven't seen since college, and it's an e-heart. I assure you I've never gotten more valentines wishes collectively in my life than I have this year, still a week before v-day, thanks to Farmville. Maybe its wrong but it feels so right.
#3 Ponzi - its just so easy and fun. I admit i have a little crush on the Ponzi girl.
That's all I'm dedicated to when I have pressing life stuff. Last weekend however, I was slacking hard and played the heck out of Happy Habitat, The Summoning, and Zoo World. The Summoning, BTW, is a html-based RPG that is sooo fun! I'm in my first dungeon (after a month of playing), kicking giant spider ass and taking names! None of the other RPG's have appealed to me yet, mostly because you have to fuss with armies and I'm interested in rogue adventuring.
In other gamer news, Clay is playing Mass Effect 2 right now and his dude has on armor with a Dragon Age logo on it, that he got as part of an Xbox download. It is so funny! Like when Mac was on on Lost.
Well I'll tell you what I do:
#1 Restaurant City. This game is of serious importance to me, I can't quite say why, a combo of cooking and tracking down the ever missing ingredient I suppose. Every evening it's on my list of things to do - MORE money for MORE ingredients for MORE money!
#2 Farmville gifts. This is just so fun. I'm sad to say it makes me feel so loved and popular to have 15 gifts in my inbox, even if it's from someone I haven't seen since college, and it's an e-heart. I assure you I've never gotten more valentines wishes collectively in my life than I have this year, still a week before v-day, thanks to Farmville. Maybe its wrong but it feels so right.
#3 Ponzi - its just so easy and fun. I admit i have a little crush on the Ponzi girl.
That's all I'm dedicated to when I have pressing life stuff. Last weekend however, I was slacking hard and played the heck out of Happy Habitat, The Summoning, and Zoo World. The Summoning, BTW, is a html-based RPG that is sooo fun! I'm in my first dungeon (after a month of playing), kicking giant spider ass and taking names! None of the other RPG's have appealed to me yet, mostly because you have to fuss with armies and I'm interested in rogue adventuring.
In other gamer news, Clay is playing Mass Effect 2 right now and his dude has on armor with a Dragon Age logo on it, that he got as part of an Xbox download. It is so funny! Like when Mac was on on Lost.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Exciting News All Around
1. Tune in soon to this blog for a podcast series with industry professionals and dedicated fans!
2. BioShock2 is coming out tomorrow! One of my favorite games of 2009 (when I played it - it was made in 2007), the story and elaborate fantastic atmosphere had me artistically wowed, and the gameplay was captivating too. I expect BS2 to take it to the next level, or at least maintain the awesome level they summited with the original. Check out this gorgeous Cult of Rapture site and get pumped!
2. BioShock2 is coming out tomorrow! One of my favorite games of 2009 (when I played it - it was made in 2007), the story and elaborate fantastic atmosphere had me artistically wowed, and the gameplay was captivating too. I expect BS2 to take it to the next level, or at least maintain the awesome level they summited with the original. Check out this gorgeous Cult of Rapture site and get pumped!
http://www.2kgames.com/cultofrapture/home.php
Army of Two...Two
Army of Tutu?
Regardless, my love and I played "Army of Two: The 40th Day" together this weekend, and I do reccomend it to any gamer couple or gamer platonic duo as a relationship exercise.
You tend to divide early in the level and conquer separately, but must come back together to advance to the next level or checkpoint - be it helping each other over obstacles or working together to move heavy object. Often one team member must snipe from the roof (that's me) while the shotgun guy goes and obliterates on the ground floor (that's my dove).
This game is not mindless - when I start to zone out, I die (on easy). I really enjoy this game as an A+ shooter for the differences in gun handling, position, and silent kills. That I get to play in cooperation with someone is icing on the cake.
Regardless, my love and I played "Army of Two: The 40th Day" together this weekend, and I do reccomend it to any gamer couple or gamer platonic duo as a relationship exercise.
You tend to divide early in the level and conquer separately, but must come back together to advance to the next level or checkpoint - be it helping each other over obstacles or working together to move heavy object. Often one team member must snipe from the roof (that's me) while the shotgun guy goes and obliterates on the ground floor (that's my dove).
This game is not mindless - when I start to zone out, I die (on easy). I really enjoy this game as an A+ shooter for the differences in gun handling, position, and silent kills. That I get to play in cooperation with someone is icing on the cake.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Gamer Thrills at Crossroads Mall
Did you know there is a Queen of Hearts flickr stream here? Feel free to join and start posting your gamer pix!
http://www.flickr.com/groups/playingwiththequeen/
This weekend I went to the Crossroads Mall and discovered the game was totally afoot!
http://www.flickr.com/groups/playingwiththequeen/
This weekend I went to the Crossroads Mall and discovered the game was totally afoot!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Only tangentially game-related (*)... but f-ing cool
Huzzah. I want to dislike Arnold. I really do. But when he does stuff like this, I just can't.
(*) I feel certain that if Conan were alive today (not Arnold), he would be a serious gamer.
(*) I feel certain that if Conan were alive today (not Arnold), he would be a serious gamer.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
POWER SWOON
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7xME0aFbC4
This is the teaser-trailer for Fallout: New Vegas
OHH, have I mentioned Fallout 3 is my FAVORITE GAME OF ALL TIME EVER? This is the game that pushed me from "Gamer" to "Huge giant gamer nerd who avoids social events to run home and play Fallout."
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Boardgames we play
OK, so I've seen 'what are we playing' posts, and since I barely have time to buy boardgames and read their rules (barely, but I do manage it!), I don't get to play too many, but here is what we are playing these days:
Pandemic - An awesome cooperative game for 2-5 players (6 players I believe with the expansion On The Brink that we don't have yet). We've played this many times with adults as well as my 6-year-old son. He really digs it! It can be hard in the beginning, so we adjusted the rules to make it even easier than it recommends, but now that we have the hang of it, we are able to win at full difficulty.
Carcassonne: The Castle - I've played this with my son several times. It is a 2-player game, which is what drew me to it; I think most 2-player only games tend to play better with two players than 2-5 player games play with two players (if that makes any sense). You set up a castle wall to surround the play area and act as a scoring track. Inside the castle walls, from start spaces, you play randomly drawn tiles and score points for completing features (it is a Carcassonne game). We often discuss how to play tiles together, and there don't really seem to be too many 'bad' tiles, so the randomness of tile draw isn't a factor (young kids don't like randomness in games).
Pandemic - An awesome cooperative game for 2-5 players (6 players I believe with the expansion On The Brink that we don't have yet). We've played this many times with adults as well as my 6-year-old son. He really digs it! It can be hard in the beginning, so we adjusted the rules to make it even easier than it recommends, but now that we have the hang of it, we are able to win at full difficulty.
Carcassonne: The Castle - I've played this with my son several times. It is a 2-player game, which is what drew me to it; I think most 2-player only games tend to play better with two players than 2-5 player games play with two players (if that makes any sense). You set up a castle wall to surround the play area and act as a scoring track. Inside the castle walls, from start spaces, you play randomly drawn tiles and score points for completing features (it is a Carcassonne game). We often discuss how to play tiles together, and there don't really seem to be too many 'bad' tiles, so the randomness of tile draw isn't a factor (young kids don't like randomness in games).
Universal wishlist item
We can all add this to our wishlists. The perfect gift for any and all. You can't have enough, regardless of how well you save.
EEE Baby Tigers!
In their mad dash for more players, Facebook social games are giving away all kinds of things you usually have to use your credit card to get (something I will not do!)
Today Restaurant City, one of Facebooks most addictive games, is giving away a SECOND baby tiger for the second day in a row. My life is complete.
We gave away a cute tiger cub yesterday, everyone loved it but these little cubs like company, so we're giving away another one to our fans today! Take care of this tiger and share the news with your friends! Click here to get your new tiger cub: http://playfi.sh/bomrXC
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Photos from Game Guru
Yesterday I went to Game Guru in Seattle, WA. It's a bit of a drive from where I live but WELL WORTH the trip.
FIRST of all, this fellow fixed our broken console for an insanely cheap price. And then, oh then! The toys, the old school devices, the feeling that if you couldn't download or port all your favorite old games online, just come to Game Guru and they would have that title right there in the store, in its original 1980s box.
'Wood paneled' GameCube
A mario brick! Adorable!
Ollld schooool
Mario Goomba keychain!
Fix it yourself!
Donkey Kong Barrels
Killa
Not just old school! Guru's picks include the latest and greatest!
LOL
Aand, drumroll please! Sparkling N64 sign, so majestic I had to take a video.
FIRST of all, this fellow fixed our broken console for an insanely cheap price. And then, oh then! The toys, the old school devices, the feeling that if you couldn't download or port all your favorite old games online, just come to Game Guru and they would have that title right there in the store, in its original 1980s box.
'Wood paneled' GameCube
A mario brick! Adorable!
Ollld schooool
Mario Goomba keychain!
Fix it yourself!
Donkey Kong Barrels
Killa
Not just old school! Guru's picks include the latest and greatest!
LOL
Aand, drumroll please! Sparkling N64 sign, so majestic I had to take a video.
Microsoft confirms Game Room rating ceiling
Microsoft confirms Game Room rating ceiling
Last week it was rumored that Microsoft's Xbox 360 and PC Game Room would "never feature" titles with an ESRB rating higher than E10+; today Microsoft confirmed to Joystiq the current plan is to only add titles that correspond to the application's ESRB rating. Rather than submit each individual title for review, Microsoft has opted to submit the Game Room application to the ESRB, netting it an E10+ rating, ensuring higher-rated titles would not see life in the virtual arcade.
Last week it was rumored that Microsoft's Xbox 360 and PC Game Room would "never feature" titles with an ESRB rating higher than E10+; today Microsoft confirmed to Joystiq the current plan is to only add titles that correspond to the application's ESRB rating. Rather than submit each individual title for review, Microsoft has opted to submit the Game Room application to the ESRB, netting it an E10+ rating, ensuring higher-rated titles would not see life in the virtual arcade.
Monday, February 1, 2010
No More Heroes 2
This review makes it sound like a renter, much like it's predecessor. An absolutely wonderful game you can finish quickly and never replay. But, oh, the wonderful feeling of using your wiimote as a light saber handle! The IRL-feeling fighting in the original game is unparralled, I'm drooling over the thought of a sequel.
http://kotaku.com/5461307/no-more-heroes-2-desperate-struggle-review-repetitious-rebel
http://kotaku.com/5461307/no-more-heroes-2-desperate-struggle-review-repetitious-rebel
What Did You Play with your Weekend?
This weekend I was couch-bound after an ouchy medical procedure. Not wanting to move much I kept my laptop in it's proper place (my lap) and played Facebook social games all weekend.
Here's a list of what I played with a rating of 1-5 "stars."
One star means 'I didn't get into it' - not necessarily that it's a bad game.
4-5 Stars mean you should check it out and add me as neighbor ASAP ;)
Bejeweled Blitz **
Ponzi, Inc *****
Cafe World ***
Castle Age *
Country Story **
Crazy Planets *
Dragon Wars *
Enchanted Island ***
Fairyland *
Farm Country *
Farm Town *
Farmville *****
Fishville ***
Garden World *
Happy Aquarium **
Happy Habitat ****
Happy Island - will NEVER load!
Happy Pets *
Latte Land ****
myFarm *
Ninja Saga *
Pet Society **
Petville ****
Ponzi, Inc ****
Restaurant City *****
Restaurant Life **
Roller Coaster Kingdom ***
SPP Ranch! ***
Sky City *
The Summoning ***** (JOIN MY GUILD! PLEEEASE!)
Tiki Farm **
Zoo World ***
Here's a list of what I played with a rating of 1-5 "stars."
One star means 'I didn't get into it' - not necessarily that it's a bad game.
4-5 Stars mean you should check it out and add me as neighbor ASAP ;)
Bejeweled Blitz **
Ponzi, Inc *****
Cafe World ***
Castle Age *
Country Story **
Crazy Planets *
Dragon Wars *
Enchanted Island ***
Fairyland *
Farm Country *
Farm Town *
Farmville *****
Fishville ***
Garden World *
Happy Aquarium **
Happy Habitat ****
Happy Island - will NEVER load!
Happy Pets *
Latte Land ****
myFarm *
Ninja Saga *
Pet Society **
Petville ****
Ponzi, Inc ****
Restaurant City *****
Restaurant Life **
Roller Coaster Kingdom ***
SPP Ranch! ***
Sky City *
The Summoning ***** (JOIN MY GUILD! PLEEEASE!)
Tiki Farm **
Zoo World ***
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