Anyone know if the Splendor board game app on iOS is as bad as the reviews say?
Played the game Splendor with a couple friends and really enjoyed it. I found it on the App Store for like 2 bucks, so I was thinking about downloading it. The only issue is that the reviews make the game seem unplayable. Miscalculated points, incorrect chip distribution, crashes, and unlimited building among other things. I have no way of know is these have been adjusted or if the game is still broken like the reviewers say. I has more 1 star reviews than anything else, but they are are legitimate gameplay issues. Does anyone own the app who can inform me as to the realistic condition of the Splendor app? I need to practice before we undoubtedly play again soon!
@arstechnica: Somehow, many #AmazonPrimeDay deals are still trucking along. You can get one of our favorite board games, Splendor, for instance: https://t.co/wNMafStyGE Find our game review in the latest Ars board game guide, btw: https://t.co/KnMErhGuve https://t.co/hXOOeEYHzx
Why are classic titles never recommanded by analysts when they make lists, are they that bad?
I am no boardgame specialist at all, but I really love board games and now that I have a bit more income in life I was ready to buy some more to add to my collection. I have been watching MANY Youtube videos about top 100 games of all time, top 10 essential games, games of the decade and videos like that to find out some games that I would want to buy, and to my great surprise, I never find any of the games that I own that I thought were classics. Settlers of CatanSmash upTicket to Ride King of New York/Tokyo Magic Maze Splendor Edit : Betrayal at the house on the hill The only games that I own that I saw mentioned somewhere were 7 wonders and Sheriff of Nottingham So to sum it up my question is : Are Settlers, Smash, Ticket, King, Maze and Splendor bad games for 2020 standards and I'm missing out on everything, or are list makers snobs that don't want to choose such obvious picks
When does Tabletalk and Meta-Gaming become part of the game?
A few days ago a user posted a story about how his family were egregiously bending the rules, and even willfully misinterpreting them: https://www.reddit.com/boardgames/comments/lapuf1/i_am_never_playing_another_board_game_with_my_sos/ The overwhelming consensus of users could be summarized as "If it's not in the rulebook, you can't do it." Rulebooks are set of prescriptive guidelines that limit player behavior to outlined mechanics, no more, no less. I agree with this sentiment, in fact our hobby would likely not function if not for this simple social construct... but is that actually true? You see, there's a very murky aspect of our hobby, particularly when playing games outside the Euro-sphere, but not exclusively; That issue is the fact that you are playing with PEOPLE. Tabletalk and Meta-gaming behaviors of some form are an inevitable part of any group, in my opinion, and for some games they wouldn't function without it. Obviously, some trading and negotiation games build it into their systems, while others simply allude to it being a possibility. Sidereal Confluence is by definition, driven by player negotiation. Scythe has a single line in the rulebook that says you can exchange coins if you like but I've never seen anyone actually do it... Then there's games like Inis, which I have seen described MANY times as a game of "negotiation and shifting alliances"... yet not ONCE in the rulebook are either of those things mentioned. The only time discussion is remotely alluded to in the rules is for the resolution of clashes, but that could have easily been rephrased to be a bluffing mechanic where the clash ends when both players "pass" rather than "agree to end." It isn't a negotiation game in the rules, but it is in practice for many game groups, and more power to them for making it work in a way they find engaging, thematic, and experiential (I don't get it, but good for them). I've heard many reviewers and fans praise all sorts of other games for being great, but only if you add in negotiation, Tabletalk, houserules, creative storytelling, or other metagame behaviors that enhance the game for their group, despite those not being expressly in the rules as intended. This leads me to my question for all you boardgamers, when is Tabletalk or other Metagaming behaviors acceptable to you or your group? ---------------------------- Here are some scenarios for you to ponder. Would you allow negotiation, or other metagaming behaviors... -Only when expressly allowed? (Twilight Imperium 4, Rising Sun, Sidereal, Chinatown, Bohnanza, Sheriff of Nottingham, Cheating Bee...etc) -So long as it stays in game? (would you king-make in GoT2e for preferable treatment in the next game or a foot rub later?) -When thematically appropriate? (Inis is ok but you wouldn't coordinate in Azul) -Always; Everything is negotiable so long as it's not forbidden? (Would you offer to discard a specific tree from your hand in Arboretum or play with your hand face-up to for mutually beneficial treatment) -Even if it's clearly against the games intent, but technically isn't illegal? (Think Hanabi superfans with their hidden communication language) -In zero sum games where it's strategically advantageous to cut a player off? (Evolution or Risk could see players banding together to take down the leader who would otherwise be unstoppable) -Even if it obfuscates information meant to be public, because it could be human nature or honest mistakes? (Stacking resource cubes or coins to make it harder to see, or keeping cards facedown in a pile so others don't know how many are left, or picking up components to read or rearrange so that no one ever can get a complete understanding of what's in the active play area?) -Even if it reveals potentially game-changing information not expressly said to be hidden? (counting the remaining number of cards in a deck that serves as a game-end timer) -In high conflict games, but not low-interaction or low-complexity ones? (let players negotiate spots in Glen More or bird cards in Wingspan) -If it makes it more fun and doesn't change or even enhances the core decision process? (My group is very particular about how to place chips and cards in Splendor so they are easy to read) -Including the sharing of hidden information voluntarily? (Secret objectives in games like Argent, or Archipelago) -To "bash-the-leader" where you point out someone's successes or vulnerabilities and encourage others to take advantage? (Root basically.) -When there are shared resources or pools, but it's not in the rules? (Brass with its market mechanics, or Takenoko where every player controlling the same pandas and Gardners) -For the sake of an inside joke? (Think word or party games where certain categories are really iffy) -So long as it doesn't needlessly prolong the game? (I once lost a 7-hour game of Risk in college despite holding Australia and Asia... I didn't even take second! I'm still mad, over a decade later) -So long as you don't gain an unfair advantage? (could you take notes to track what cards have been played in The King is Dead?) -So long as you don't leverage the behaviors of other players? (Let's say I have a perfect memory of every card played in a game and know what the last few cards in the deck must be... is it ok for me to tell the current player so that he makes a different choice more to my advantage? What if I don't tell them? How about if you think a player is needlessly restricting themselves, everything is legal, but they have misinterpreted a rule or situation to their own disadvantage?)
Introducing our new feature series: For the Win! 🔥
“For the Win” is a series of blog posts taking a deep dive look at a particular board game, video game, or roleplaying game supplement. Don’t confuse this post with a simple review - the goal of this series is to take a deep look at the mechanics of a game, the moving parts that come together to create the experience of playing a particular game, and most importantly TEACH YOU TO WIN. 😈 For the first installment, we'll be taking a look at the board game Splendor: https://gamer-monkeys.com/a/blog/for-the-win-splendor #splendorgame#boardgamestrategy#gamermonkeysftw Splendor cards and chips
Best online games for multiplayer with elderly/senior parents who enjoy, say, Catan Universe?
http://www.reddit.com/boardgames/comments/kpf1tb/best_online_games_for_multiplayer_with/ Hi everyone! Big board game geek here thanks to parents that raised me with card games and simple American board games. Once I discovered Catan, I brought it home and taught them and they've played thousands of rounds. Ditto for Carcassonne and a few other more modern (but simple) board games. Since covid, I can't visit home and play in person, but I set them up steam accounts and Catan Universe accounts and it's been great to play every week. With step-by-steps written down, they can now smoothly log in and accept a game invite and play just fine. That said, some variety other than Catan would be really nice, especially since it'd be nice to keep playing online games with them once covid passes (due to living in different states). They just want to spend time with their kid. I'd love ideas for ONLINE board games (or similar to board games) with an interface that is SENIOR FRIENDLY. Senior friendly meaning: (1) not tiny print if you have to read the cards regularly, so for example Dominion is out even though they learned the physical version 10 years back; and (2) ideally minimal need to control a complicated camera or go toooo deep into various menu layers during play (though they could probably learn). Also nothing too CPU/GPU intensive, but they've got a couple desktops that run simple stuff fine. FYI, TableTopSimulator is not forgiving enough: too many degrees of freedom for camera, movement, hotkeys to flip/shuffle, being able to deduce when something went wrong because a couple cards aren't quite stacked -- that stuff would likely confuse and frustrate them at this point. They know Carcassonne (and play the physical one regularly) but the Steam version by Asmodee hasn't worked for me yet (my friend and I tried multiplayer for a couple nights in a row and it failed to connect us every time). Is it normally reliable for multiplayer and I just had bad luck? I also don't know if that Steam version interface requires too much active camera movement (zooming / panning a lot? they get a bit confused when their base view in Catan Universe gets off from default)...but would be worth experimenting since they know the rules already. They've played some other simple board games like Ticket to Ride (physical game now too hard for them to hold all the little cards), Castle Panic, Monarch, and old-fashioned card games like canasta / hand&foot / hearts / spades. I haven't seen Castle Panic or Monarch online. How good is the Ticket to Ride interface on Steam in terms of controllability by a senior? (Assuming I set up their account for them and just gave them their login info to write next to their computer) Would Love Letter be pretty simple to pick up for games at this level, and is the online implementation on Steam decent? Is there a good online implementation of Dixit (that isn't on TableTopSimulator)? I thought Splendor would be fairly easy to learn and would work well in an online interface (I play the TTS version and used to have the physical), but the Asmodee implementation on Steam has a ton of bad reviews that it kicks a player after 60 seconds AFK. (My mom often steps away from Catan 3 times a game to use the restroom or get water, for example, and my dad has to think things through really slowly). If they've fixed that and the reviews aren't up to date, please let me know because that one seems really promising. What other (digitized) board games am I missing that would be worth considering?? Thanks so, so much in helping me connect to my aging parents who are hiding out during this pandemic and just want to connect with their kid in some way. Also open to card games I suppose, and maybe non-board video games if there's something truly simple for an older senior (can't require reaction time, super precise clicks, complicated camera movement, etc.). THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for any ideas you can provide (or experiences you can share). Old people need to enjoy board games during the pandemic too, especially since their lives are most as risk from in-person stuff so I imagine many are feeling cooped up and cut off and want to connect with family in this way.
So I started gaining a lot of interest in board games about 1.5 - 2 years ago. I remember I purchased Codenames randomly 2.5 years ago and had a really great time playing with my family when I went back home. Because of that success, I bought some other ones I found interesting. I discovered BoardGameGeek&boardgames and really learned how many different types of games there were! Since then I bought Bang! The Dice Game, Betrayal at House on the Hill, Forbidden Desert, Splendor, Ticket to Ride, and others. After playing my own games and playing with friends at our local boardgame shop, I discovered that I absolutely love Splendor, Bang!, Skull, Deception: Murder Hong Kong, Quacks, etc. I played things like Root and Betrayal at House on the hill several times, but never enjoyed it. Every time I see a "heavy" game, they don't seem interesting to me. I find myself always gravitating towards games that don't take as long, have a small amount of mechanics, but have a good amount of depth. So here's the thing... I obviously know that there is nothing wrong with my preference or anybody else's preference, but I'm starting to get annoyed with the light vs heavy topic. When researching new games, I constantly hear the phrase "great intro game for new players". Like I've put countless hours in playing a wide variety of games these pasts 2 years, but I don't find myself wanting to "upgrade" to heavy games like everyone says. It's frustrating to me when the only games I see on BGG hot list are Gloomhaven, Spirit Island, Nemesis, etc. I really have no interest in those, but all I ever see is the attempt to try and get people who only play lighter games to reach the point of wanting to play heavy games. Anybody else feel the same way? I feel like I'm alone in this sometimes. Where do I go to see discussion/videos on mostly "light" games without comparing the game to other biggeheavier games? A quick note too.. I completely understand that it's ok for me to only like light games, but then why can't a review of a game like Blueprints or Splendor not talk about how it's just a good 'starter' game or 'new player' game. Why can't it just be a good game period? I would love to see more lists and discussions for games like these :)
"Tipping Points" - those seminal games and experiences that shaped you into the gamer you are today. What were your tipping points? - courtesy of the Dads On A Map podcast
So on the most recent episode of the Dads on a Map podcast hosts James and Sanchez started talking about the "tipping points" in their boardgaming lives, swapping fun, personal stories that resonated with them to this day. From Pandemic Legacy S1 with the wife to Ticket to Ride with the kids, then component-excitement with The Gallerist to playing Splendor at a first Meet-up, or discovering dexterity games with Crokinole and prototyping Pax Pamir 2E at a con... and especially their shared love for 18xx. It was also cool hearing about how each "phase" tended to evolve and influence later moments in their boardgaming experiences. This got me thinking about my own tipping points, like:
Ars Technica's review on Gloomhaven compelled me to KS the second printing and I distinctly remember thinking "wow am I really spending $100 on a boardgame of all things". However, it was shipped to me soon after...
My wife and I started hanging out with another couple that introduced us to Betrayal at House on the Hill and Codenames but especially Champions of Midgard. My wife and I loved this game because there was this whole new world that blended compelling decisions with the excitement of dice rolling. Gloomhaven hit the table not long after and through the looking glass we went...
Addiction to content producers came soon after. Cardboard Reality was my early favorite podcast because the diverse tastes, insightful analysis and easy banter was immediately inviting. They absolutely raved over this little game called Pax Renaissance, which sounded incredibly intriguing (coinciding with a time when I was the go-to Game of Thrones authority amongst my friends). It took me two solid weeks of video playthroughs, rereading the manual and serious forum diving to finally feel like I had a tenuous grasp on what I was doing. This was also during a time when my collection was only about 10-12 games so I could really focus on just one game at a time. The oblique nature of interactions just blew my mind, setting the stage for...
Immersion into Root'sdesigner diaries. I don't know how many times I've reread these. My digital and analog gaming tastes already tended deeply towards asymmetry (Monday Night Combat, XCOM, Overwatch, Starcraft, Spirit Island, etc.) so Root seemed right up my alley. But Cole Wehrle's thoughts on not just game design but game philosophy was utterly fascinating. Here was an ethos that was simultaneously intuitive yet groundbreaking. He is unquestionably my favorite game designer, despite the fact that Phil (or Matt?) Eklund's games rate higher in my personal rankings. But that could possibly change with Cole's next project...
These were all major moments that really defined my tastes and influenced the games I'm drawn to, the people I play with and the topics I enjoy discussing. So I'd love to hear from fellow gamers... what were some of the most memorable sessions, people, games and events that shaped and evolved you into the player you are today? [One final note: wanted to give a big shout-out to James and Sanchez and the great Dads on a Map community they've brought together, that itself was borne from the Cardboard Reality crew. As a new dad myself (shout-out to the 1yo that just learned to point) I immediately loved the premise of the podcast but then they just reinforced that with a lot of chatter about Pax, 18xx and Hamilton. I highly recommend listening to at least their stories on tipping points, where they also covered Modern Art, Fresh Fish, The Search For Planet X and Pan AM. All are welcome, being a parent is not required!]
Intelligent Systems has created a delivery that results in one of those changes that benefit the industry and its players: the Fire Emblem saga might not be one that was made for everyone ... but this may change with Fire Emblem: Three Houses
It is strange to talk about pacing and bloat and a slow-moving plot when the turn-based battles are built on a foundation of ‘taking your time to make the right move’. But in adding so much and painting on such a large canvas, it’s hard not to eventually feel a little lost or stuck in Fire Emblem: Three Houses.
In reinventing Fire Emblem for a new console generation, Three Houses doubles down on its philosophy of player choice, but neglects to make all choices equally valid.
If you’ve had a Fire Emblem-shaped hole in your heart till now, Fire Emblem: Three Houses will leave you breathless, sleepless, and eager for more. I know I’ll be lost in this new world for months to come.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses doesn't change how it plays on the battlefield, but its greatest advancements lie in the moments between the horror of war. The bonds forged between comrades in arms, the drive to really get to know the cast who you spill blood with and the opportunity to truly learn about the finality of death all combine across a vast and sweeping fantasy epic that'll leave you breathless by the time the credits finally roll.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses can best be summed up as a carefully crafted mix of old and new that feels comfortable to pick up, though perhaps its new mechanics take a while to get accustomed to.
It’s a shame that between breaths, Three Houses fails to capitalise on what has made the series so popular up until today, and we hope the franchise lives to get stronger, smarter and prettier as it sees more Nintendo Switch releases. As it stands, we think series veterans will be able to find enjoyment in this game, but we find it difficult to recommend it to newcomers.
I cannot stress enough how much Fire Emblem: Three Houses exemplifies the "RPG" part of the acronym "SRPG." While strategy is indubitably a large part of Fire Emblem's DNA, the vast majority of my enjoyment was found having lunch with classmates and getting to know them better, or doing errands while running around the lovely academy grounds. This is a world you can absolutely lose yourself to for months on end, but if you find menus tedious, you might be reticent to the modern relationship-heavy Fire Emblem formula that's cemented in Three Houses.
Three Houses is so vibrant that I didn't really mind the lack of difficulty. I was too invested in the characters, and looking forward to the next major plot point too much to really care. It can be bloated, messy, and unnecessarily padded with content at times, but when it comes to the core strengths of Fire Emblem - its character-driven epic fantasy, tight tactical battles and a full harem of both waifu and husbandos, Intelligent Systems have delivered something truly resonant with this one.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses is one of the greatest chapter of the series. With a deep and elaborate gameplay, this new episode represents another extraordinary game avaliable only on Nintendo Switch.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses is the most fascinating tactical RPG with interesting battles and story, great world and charismatic characters. If you are not indifferent to the genre of role-playing games, this project should not be missed.
The academic theme suits Fire Emblem very well. Developing the potential of our charismatic students, we feel like authentic teachers, and fighting with all these characters in such epic and deep battles, after shaping them in the classroom, is a real joy.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses is an excellent management title that catches you by the variety and depth of the gameplay. Although its main value is to allow the player to control so many factors in a simple and intuitive way, he perfects the formula with a very varied and complex narrative. In addition, it is one of the greatest exponents of turn-based combat games, since its battles have a learning curve suitable for engaging us for long hours. On the other hand, aesthetically has little to be ashamed of, since the really important sections are solved in a brilliant way like the CGI or the character design. Undoubtedly, a video game that requires dedication, but in return gives great doses of joy that result in many hours of deep management and exciting fighting.
A disappointingly clumsy attempt to evolve the Fire Emblem formula, that takes little advantage of being on the Switch, but the anime melodrama and fun combat still entertains.
I have never beaten a sixty-hour game and immediately wanted to jump back in for round two. Fire Emblem: Three Houses pulls you in with its rock-solid grid-based combat. But it keeps you invested by offering rich characters, deep squad customization, and an enthralling story that keeps you guessing. It’s is easily the best RPG of 2019—so far.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses is unrivaled in its scope and execution on Nintendo Switch to resoundingly deliver strategic perfection, whether at home or on the move.
There was a lot riding on it, but we can confidently say that Fire Emblem: Three Houses has managed to live up to the hype and will stand as a highlight in the series for years to come.
Combining the crapshoot of your ending with a few technical problems drags the whole game down. The actual character arcs, complete with fully voiced interactions, do a great job of accounting for the limitations, thankfully. Three Houses is certainly worth seeing through, but it is way more about the journey than the end.
The lack of map diversity doesn't take away from the visual splendor of the game, though. While much of Three Houses is seen from an overhead perspective, initiating combat zooms the camera in, showing off gorgeously animated soldiers in combat. During a particularly tense battle, Claude, the house leader of the Golden Deer, tosses an arrow into the sky before catching it and firing off a critical hit to take out a pesky enemy pegasus moving in on my healer. These flashy moments happen all the time and are unique to the two dozen classes in the game, so there's always some new animation to get pumped over.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses features some of the most refined and enjoyable battle mechanics the series has seen since its successful renaissance with Awakening. But the renewed focus on support relationships gets in the way of what some may have valued most from the franchise – the strength of its strategic design and the battles themselves. Regardless, it's hard to argue that Three Houses is the best Fire Emblem since Awakening, so it's still worth your time, even if you'll have to spend it wisely.
The series found a comfortable stride in the handheld world, and moving away from that isn’t always a strong step – so it’s a good thing that the Switch is a little bit of both worlds. The game is great for playing in short bursts, with even ten to fifteen minutes feeling like enough to really get something done, even if it’s just returning a bunch of lost items to your units in the monastery to boost your support links. The characters are endearing and help draw you into the world and its story, complete with divine mysteries to carry you through the school year.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses succeeds in bringing a breath of fresh air into a saga that is perhaps too anchored to its own style, it does so by renewing the experience without losing sight of the deep strategic soul that has always been the trademark of Intelligent Systems' works. The pace of the game may seem a bit diluted to the most fundamentalist fans, but the overall result is, in our opinion, absolutely convincing and worthy.
With the Switch's delightful dual abilities, Three Houses fittingly bookends the series' triumphant run on the 3DS and becomes the first big-screen outing in over a decade. It also surpasses them all. A masterpiece of strategy, story-telling and intertwining relationships, Three Houses deserves to make Intelligent Systems a household name.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses is a triumphant RPG experience and one of the greatest games you can play on Nintendo Switch right now. It takes the series' formula and propels it forward with some fascinating new changes, and every single system works in tandem to create something rather stunning. Technical blemishes aside, Intelligent Systems has really outdone itself here.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses is, quite possibly, the most ambitious JRPG you’ll play this year. And perhaps the most impressive part about the whole game is that it actually manages to deliver on that ambition.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses soars on to Switch with a fully-realized school setting, deep character customization, and multiple full-length campaigns. While it loses momentum in the second half, it still manages to come off as a striking reinvention of the well-worn Fire Emblem formula. That makes its first real console appearance in more than a decade a triumph.
Whatever path you choose, Fire Emblem: Three Houses is an absolute blast. It’s the best Fire Emblem title since Awakening, and it goes straight onto my list of must-play Switch games.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses is a tactical role-playing gem that manages to offer up one of the most engaging gameplay loops in recent memory, while also being buoyed by an epic narrative that boasts an endearing cast of characters
Album of the Year #1: clipping. - There Existed an Addiction to Blood
Artist:clipping. Album:There Existed an Addiction to Blood Listen/Purchase: Bandcamp Spotify Google Play Music Tidal iTunes/Apple Music YouTube Background - provided by yung_hokage_stef Comprised of rapper, actor, film producer, Tony award-winning thespian and frequent Sesame Street guest Daveed Diggs, alongside noise producers Jonathan Snipes and Bill Hutson, clipping. is an experimental hip-hop group hailing from Los Angeles, California. Since their inception in 2009, the trio has steadily released numerous projects to online audiences, each receiving acclaim from music publications and experimental fans alike, and in doing so have built up one of the most unique and critically celebrated discographies of the decade. Known primarily for their incorporation of harsh noise elements, clipping. have continuously rejected the comfort of familiar time signatures, standard song structures and catchy beats in lieu of hideously distorting them beyond recognition with unlikely inspiration from early avant-garde musicians such as John Cage and Pierre Schaeffer. Ambient art rap for the apocalypse, if you may. And yet, despite their near-inhospitable soundscape, clipping. have remained firmly rooted within hip-hop, proudly embracing the genre’s spirit of interconnectivity, anti-establishment and DIY ethics. From collaborations ranging from Hellfyre Club to Gangsta Boo, a consistent use of out-of-the-box samples, and ever-present political undertones, clipping’s discography is more like the music of yesteryear reprogrammed for a digital age in which every point of history has coalesced into one. Sonic Youth spliced with ODB. Kendrick Lamar aboard the Event Horizon. And now, Afrocentric mythos on Elm Street. Though clipping. consistently push the envelope by seemingly tearing down every expectation of what rap music should be, they simultaneously harken back to its earliest and purest forms. It doesn’t take long to see how Public Enemy collaborators The Bomb Squad’s harsh, music-concrète-inspired production holds as much influence on their sound as industrial pioneers like Throbbing Gristle. Their first release in 2013 saw the group turning West Coast hip-hop on its head with the mixtape midcity, depicting the inner-city life and gang culture of California in perhaps the most disorienting and oppressive way imaginable. The G-funk of Long Beach and the bounce of Bay Area hyphy remained only in spirit as Diggs wove nihilistic passages of drugs, sex, and violence smothered between brash walls of static and ear-piercing synths, sometimes resembing a beat. Like E-40 on a Merzbow record, this dichotomy of old-school hallmarks blended with the hellish pulse of the future was enough for midcity to garner considerable online coverage and favourable reviews despite minimal promotion. They signed to the record label Sub Pop three months later. With Sub Pop’s backing they wasted no time getting to work on their self-titled debut, CLPPNG, taking the ideas they had with midcity and weaving them into a more digestible offering without compromising the abrasive qualities that drew fans in initially. With the harsh noise infusion taking a slight back seat this time around, clipping. focused their efforts on earworm hooks and upbeat instrumentals that were just fringe enough to keep the party going while making you question what the hell you were listening to. If a commercial rap album was manufactured by the deep web, it would materialize as CLPPNG. Released in 2014, it would go on to receive glowing reception, finding its way onto several year-end lists. In between tours of Broadway juggernaut Hamilton where Diggs starred as both Thomas Jefferson and Marquis de Lafayette, clipping. dropped the hypersexual EP Wriggle to tide fans over until the release of their upcoming full-length, Splendor & Misery, slated to drop later that year in 2016. An Afrofuturist space opera, Splendor & Misery tells the story of a lone survivor of an uprising on board an intergalactic slave ship where the AI becomes infatuated with the protagonist. A soundtrack born from a barely living hull, the survivor wrestles between relinquishing his freedom in hopes of salvation, or sentencing himself to a lonely existence in the black ocean of space. Intertwining the slave songs of the Underground Railroad with 2001: A Space Odyssey, it’s an incredibly ambitious work of art that feels more like a play than an album at various points. Aside from clipping.’s typical critical fanfare, Splendor & Misery would go on to receive a nomination for the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation in Short Form, the first album in the award’s history to earn that honour since 1970. Aside from releasing aquatic musical novella “The Deep” in 2017 (also nominated for a Hugo Award), clipping. would remain relatively quiet for the next three years. On August 14, 2019, their vow of silence would be broken when they dropped the song “Nothing is Safe” paired with the announcement of their upcoming third studio album There Existed an Addiction to Blood. Billed as a “transmutation of horrorcore”, listeners prepared for a revisiting of classic horror tropes through the lens of clipping.’s dystopian workings, supported by assisting singles “La Mala Ordina” and “Blood of the Fang”. Unleashed a few weeks later on October 18, There Existed an Addiction to Blood would arrive just in time for All Hallow’s Eve. Review - provided by yung_hokage_stef Much discussion can be had from the title of the album alone, There Existed an Addiction to Blood. On the surface, it clearly echoes vampiric imagery, supported by the numerous wooden stakes on the album’s cover. But with a few Google searches, one comes to find that the title pays homage to Bill Gunn’s 1973 experimental horror film Ganja & Hess, specifically a line from “The Blood of the Thing” composed by Sam Waymon for the film’s OST. Regarded as a landmark within African-American independent cinema, Ganja & Hess tells the story of Dr. Hess Green, an anthropologist studying an ancient civilization of blood-worshippers originating from Africa, the Myrthians. After his assistant attacks him with a Myrthian ceremonial dagger, Hess discovers his newfound immortality as a vampire, and with that an insatiable sanguine thirst. Amidst struggling to cope with his addiction, his assistant’s wife, Ganja, comes to Hess looking for her husband who has since killed himself. The two quickly form a bond, with Hess turning Ganja into a vampire, and they soon begin to live out their ghastly lives together. Unfortunately for Gunn, Ganja & Hess was the exact opposite of what its financiers had hoped for. Hot on the heels of box-office hits like Blacula and Blackenstein, a modest budget of $350,000 was supplied to create a cheap, sufficient black horror film that would satisfy audiences with mainstream horror schlock and blaxploitation tropes. Instead they got a challenging, albeit rewarding piece on addiction, religion, black identity and cultural assimilation/extinction. To the chagrin of Gunn, the film’s producers pulled it from release shortly after its first post-Cannes Film Festival premiere, where its length was cut drastically, its name changed, its rights sold to another company, and it was ultimately forgotten (though it has found a home amongst cult audiences). Why bring all this up? Because the inspiration Gunn’s film has on clipping.’s newest outing goes far beyond a title. Much like Ganja & Hess, There Existed an Addiction to Blood uses the classic horror iconography of violence, mortality and the paranormal as a vehicle for something far more poignant and political. Topped off with masterful storytelling, mind-bending flows and production that is both breathtaking and bone-chilling, clipping.’s third LP is a contorted portrait of the fragility of life within a city stained with shit, piss, and of course, blood. In true clipping. fashion, the project begins with an “Intro” track, typically characterized by Diggs setting the stage for what's to come through snappy rapid-fire flows, essentially a capella save for some ambiance and background noise. Over the sound of what appears to be somebody digging a grave, Diggs details a rushed story in second-person about a former drug dealer haunted by past ghosts, the scent of death approaching. Aside from being an enticing introduction, if you’re a first time listener it’s an apt summation of Diggs’ capabilities as an MC. In a near-robotic fashion, Diggs’ breakneck vocals start and stop on a dime, with the ability to switch between intricate flows fluently as his sharp, careful diction enunciates each and every word with a precision that demands your attention. Amongst clipping.’s organized chaos, Diggs is alarmingly calm and calculated. While his all-too-perfect delivery has been criticized in the past for being monotone and hollow, I think it’s a perfect match for There Existed an Addiction to Blood’s grisly themes as he approaches the macabre with the numbed ease of a seasoned killer. A testament to the trio’s appreciation of horror media and its history, the following 10 tracks each contain their own concepts inspired by specific films or tropes, but still ultimately come together. Take “Nothing is Safe” for example. A faithful ode to the works of John Carpenter, “Nothing is Safe” features a sparse piano-based instrumental eerily reminiscent of the score to Halloween. Continuing the Carpenter homage, Diggs bases the plotline of the track on a clever reimagining of Assault on Precinct 13), a personal favourite of his. The original film follows a team of police officers tasked with defending a defunct precinct from swarms of gang members in response to brutal police killings. The album, however, puts things in reverse. The protagonists are now gang members holed up in a trap house, taking turns keeping watch as they continue their drug-dealing duties. To the dismay of our protagonists, it's not long before things go south, starting with just one casualty, and then eventually a full-blown police raid as the surviving members are picked off one-by-one while they stare imminent death in the face. It's an excellently paced track, with Diggs’ nimble vocals slowly becoming more hostile as the night draws on, and when all hell breaks loose, the ominous chorus becomes backed by 80’s horror movie synths. The transformation of police officers into inhuman predators is simple but effective, but it also iterates on a common thread found throughout There Existed an Addiction to Blood. For a genre that regularly defies the laws of nature, much of the horror clipping. shines a light on is all too real. The squalor of poverty, the looming threat of law enforcement, the depravity of gang conflict, the specter of white supremacy. Struggles of survival in spite of all this is what propels each individual narrative that clipping. offers here to the fullest effect. The Ed Balloon-assisted “He Dead” finds a small-time trapper on a run for his life from cops, likened to werewolves, as he scrambles to find his allegorical silver bullet amidst a sea of racist profiling and violence. An all-too-common result of the mistreatment of minorities via the powers that be, subtle nods to PTSD and anxiety are given but brushed aside as our lead shifts gears to one thing and one thing only: “stay alive at all costs”. An excerpt from Ed Balloon’s intro carries the point home:
'Cause they don't think you matter, oh no They want to take your power, oh no And make you even lesser, oh no And add you to the number Don't let them get close They're screamin' out murder You've got to be cautious Before they destroy ya
Conversely, “The Show” transports us to the set of a fabled online "red room" where unlucky contestants get horrifically mutilated for the viewing pleasure of others. Equal parts Saw and Videodrome, Diggs presents the listener with gory details of his victims’ torture over a clunky mechanical beat of whirrs and drones. Broken bones, flayed flesh, all to the tune of paying customers, and it does a formidable job of displaying how easy it is to be dehumanized when you're merely pixels on a screen for someone else's entertainment. Now, while it’d be unwise to label There Existed an Addiction to Blood as simply horrorcore, it does aim to scare, even with its heavier implications. Horror is a genre where sound design is many times more important than what's actually on screen, and with its pantheon containing some of film’s most iconic soundtracks and effects, one should expect an album that is equally memorable. Thankfully, the work of Snipes and Hutton on this album is brilliant, combining their trademark noise and usage of ambiance with a darker, more sinister sound pioneered from the cassettes of Memphis hip-hop. The end product is a score that is stunning, if only for how downright disturbing it manages to get. Snipes and Hutton’s production stays loyal to Diggs’ ill-omened air, elevating already-morbid vignettes into something hideously captivating. Whether an urgent tense rhythm or a drumless vacuum of dread, There Existed an Addiction to Blood’s instrumentals compliment Diggs every step of the way. “Club Down”, the byproduct of Vaudeville Villain and Night of the Living Dead swapping zombies for drug addicts, is a production highlight. Diggs sets the stage for a city rife with trash, drifters, and criminal activity, and though his harrowing account does more than enough to make the listener uneasy, it's the restless, carefully built atmosphere that makes this track a standout. Beginning with hefty industrial clangs and a gravelly bassline, it’s not long before the odd reverb-heavy scream gets thrown into the mix. Things only ramp up from here as Diggs, certain of the city’s implosion, becomes nearly enveloped by the screaming, the cries for help getting louder as the gutter rises to the surface. By the end of the track the shrieks have echoed into each other creating an endless stream of pain and suffering that doesn’t let up until the very last second. It’s easily the most frightening song I’ve heard in recent memory, and its execution shows Snipes and Hutton’s understanding of the nuance it takes to craft something truly terrifying. On a lighter note, There Existed an Addiction to Blood also continues clipping’s tradition of inventive audio techniques. The most notable example is “Run for Your Life”, a tale in which a kleptomaniac tries to evade a murderous drug queenpin after doing her wrong. The track relies almost exclusively on ambient recordings of a downtown area, but occasionally the sound of a car driving by can be heard blasting a Three 6 Mafia-type beat from its speaker as it passes the narrator (in a recent AMA they confirmed that they actually recorded real cars driving by them playing the instrumentals). This is what serves as the rhythm for Diggs’ flow, and its diegetic use, along with the ambiance, brings the urban setting to life. This song isn’t about somebody scrambling for survival, the song is somebody scrambling for survival. Another sonic layer is added to the fray when guest star La Chat enters. The music heard in passing becomes the backbone of the beat as La Chat raps from the perspective of the pursuer, transporting the listener into her car, the very same car from which the music was playing from earlier! While reinforcing the self-contained world building without seeming gimmicky, it’s an ingenious artistic choice that adds much to the track and makes it yet another highlight on the production side. Even with numerous releases under their belt at this point, it’s endearing to see clipping. as eager to innovate as they were when they first broke out. The hip-hop spirit that clipping. carries with themselves still rings true on There Existed an Addiction to Blood, most notably with its guest appearances. In contention for most unexpected collaboration of 2019, “La Mala Ordina” features Benny the Butcher and El Camino of Buffalo’s Griselda collective. A reference to the 1972 crime drama The Italian Connection, “La Mala Ordina” exposes the rap tropes of the gangster lifestyle with its harsher, more cruel realities, making several allusions to Mafia-related matters. Doing his best Leatherface impression, Diggs rhymes of cracked skulls, peeled skin and dismembered limbs like an unhinged hitman, calling out all glorified “actors” who fail to understand the gravity of the set they supposedly claim. While Camino and Benny pull off solid performances, their verses aren’t that much different from what they usually offer, and I do wish they played more into the theme of the track (especially with a stage name like “the Butcher”). Regardless, the fact that this pairing simply exists still makes it one of their more notable guest appearances. Painting the mob life as a grainy, sleazy slasher film and recruiting two artists that embody the mafioso styles of 90’s East Coast rap is a smart concept, bridging the seemingly incompatible worlds of horror films and organized crime into something very fluid. It continues with the aforementioned La Chat feature, which has clipping. paying respect to the city where sampling Halloween is a rite of passage: Memphis, Tennessee. Host to artists such as Tommy Wright III, Al Kapone, and of course Three 6 Mafia and its associates, Memphis, while perhaps not the birth place of horrorcore, served as a breeding ground for the subgenre in the 90’s. Hundreds upon hundreds of cassette tapes would spawn from the region at its peak, featuring double time flows, satanic subject matter and lo-fi production, like the audio equivalent of a cursed VHS tape. Memphis is an absolute treasure trove of the stuff, and anybody willing to dig a bit beyond the reach of modern streaming services will find a scene that is bountiful as it is twisted (in fact I even did a writeup on some lesser known tapes from the city a while back). On the topic of La Chat, her appearance on There Existed an Addiction to Blood is clipping. coming full circle, melding old-school traditions with cybernetic bedlam. Aside from her inclusion, the likes of horrorcore pioneers Geto Boys, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony and Brotha Lynch Hung can be heard all over this album in Diggs' flow, mannerisms and subject matter, revealing yet another tether that keeps the otherwise astral trio grounded. Though it’s packed with subliminal stances beneath all its guts and gore, There Existed an Addiction to Blood’s political angles are at their most overt on “Blood of the Fang”. Returning once again to Ganja & Hess, “Blood of the Fang” samples the titular line from the film’s OST throughout the song, interspersed between Diggs’ bars and breaks in the beat. It’s a fitting use, as the topic at hand is indeed a need for blood. Not involving ancient vampires however, but rather, the history of bloodlust towards African-Americans brought forth by white supremacists. In a political climate where the deep American tradition of racism has more willingly emerged from its hiding places as of late, “Blood of the Fang” is clipping.’s militant call to arms against those who perpetuate it. Serving as a celebration of black empowerment by way of the Black Panther Party, Diggs pays tribute to the numerous activists who fought to reject the normalized ideals of white nationalism whilst urging others to follow suit. There are no dissenting “opinions”, respectful debates or nebulous “both sides” cop-outs. Quoting Malcolm X, Diggs reiterates that the civil liberties of black people is something that will be fought for, “by any means”. The first verse is structured as an origin story for the Black Panthers, referencing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the subsequent founding of the Panthers in 1966. Brief recounts of the opposition faced are alluded to, but the most striking aspect of this section is the framing used to portray the Panthers. With the opening line
Drink it up, fifty years 'bout enough, time to come back...'
it’s as if Diggs is summoning them from the depths, depicting them as a primordial force amid slumber, patiently waiting in the shadows for whatever cursed act awakes them. It’s an extremely powerful metaphor given that the Panthers were dissolved, but certainly not forgotten through their cultural impact, while also playing into the campy horror aesthetic. After a nod to social activist Angela Davis, the song bursts into a lively chorus sampling a work song from the Bongili people of the Congo Republic, furthering “Blood of the Fang”’s Afrocentric themes. Diggs rolls with the topic of revolution, and by the third verse has assembled a newly resurrected Black Panther Party, back from the dead, unclaimed by the murderous attempts of White America. Like an undying Jason Voorhees in the eyes of racists, the reanimated likes of George Jackson and Bobby Seale to David Hillard and Afeni Shakur have risen from their graves, thirsty for blood and ready to strike. The song is a lot to grasp, squeezing several historical metaphors into three tight verses, but the hook sums it up flawlessly:
Look back, blood on the ground Look straight, they still shooting' Jump back, still here Now what that tell you 'bout death? Death ain't shit, you got to-
The history of black people in America is bloody to say the least, with the usual suspects being slavery and Jim Crow laws, among other things. Despite overcoming said hurdles, their long lasting effects cut deep. What’s more, in the present gun violence towards black people is still an all-too common occurrence in the form of police brutality and domestic terrorism. But still, the fight against racism persists, for not even the great equalizer of death is enough to stop those who spit in the face of oppression. It is hopeless and optimistic. Desolate and empowering. This is without a doubt one of clipping.’s finest pieces. Lastly, I felt that this review wouldn’t be complete without glossing over “Piano Burning”, the album’s closer. Its audio of a piano...burning. For 18 minutes. This track serves as a tribute to composer Annea Lockwood’s 1968 performance art piece of the same name. After contacting Lockwood herself for permission to recreate the composition, clipping. proceeded to follow its instructions and do just that. I’m not going to pretend I understand it, and admittedly it’s something I’ve only sat through once, skipping it on every subsequent listen. I doubt it’ll get many spins from anybody, but I do commend clipping. for adding it nonetheless. It’s something that could easily be viewed as pretentious or detrimental to the album’s experience, and yet, clipping. saw fit to incorporate it into their vision out of love for the music experimentation they hold so dear to themselves. As the piano is softly reduced to ash you are left with nothing but dead stillness, a ghostly but oddly welcome respite from the onslaught of death and decay you just bore witness to. For the second time this decade, clipping. have managed to take the medium of the concept album to a plane few artists would dare travel to. Lacking neither the theatrics nor the pure musical foundation to direct whatever splintered views they conjure, the trio regularly draws attention to previously dismissed perspectives while inspiring new ones. Much like a horror film, There Existed an Addiction to Blood to many will be viewed as abhorrent, distasteful and downright unenjoyable to engage with. But for those willing to stand in the crossfire of clipping.’s digital warpath, an electrifying, forward thinking and politically charged love-letter to outsider art can be found. Favourite Lyrics
They hunt as a pack and they packin' more firepower than you ever imagined The pack on your back rattles back and forth, no slack Go faster, go faster, they masters of trapping and You just a trapper who went for a Masters And dropped out when it didn't matter no more Your body of work didn't embody bodyin' bodies And watchin' them pile on the floor So what them books got you but dreams of everything lost? What does sleep bring you but screams at night when you toss? And turn hope into stone, your motto embossed Stay alive at all costs
“He Dead”
Rock, paper, ice pick, nice trick, no homonym Cutouts from a magazine, make letters for your mom n’ them Who remember arts and crafts, these killers is artisans With an arsenal to elevate your arteries, start again Rock, paper, zip tie, that slow burn, that drip dry That fissures in your field of vision make your world a fish-eye That round edge make it worser when the bubble burst you just cry Laid out on the floor without a tongue, trying to ask why Rock, paper, gunshot, classic out in some spots If you prefer the sweet life maybe you can die like gum drops Smooth and round and melting if you're left out when the sun's hot This is the preferred method of smart killers and dumb cops
“La Mala Ordina”
The symphony is tectonic, it shifts as the Earth is settlin' Precious metals are mined and a million minds have been meddlin' with time In the hopes of getting a golden noose for the neck Golden goose from a fairy tale, shittin' Fabergé eggs
“Club Down”
Fist in the sky if you ready, dice a ofay like confetti They thought you was playin' Though really the game was more trainin' There finna be (Blood) And much of it blues Time to fly, 'cause you know time fickle So cold, finna snow, swing a icicle Takin' out a police or a politician issuing a statement sayin' Turn it on a dime or get the nickel And it ain't just money, B, this ain't honey Sweet, but it's funny to think of them wantin' to speak When this pain is deep and ingrained in (Blood)
“Blood of the Fang”
Talking Points
Much of the subject matter on this album (at least on the surface) could easily be viewed as edgy and repulsive. Do you find it easier to overlook and go along with content that’s rather unpleasant when it’s intentionally done in the name of being scary or unsettling, much like with a horror film?
Does this album have enough merit to rise above the pigeonholed categorization of a “Halloween rap album” and stand on its own, or could you only see yourself spinning this whenever October comes around?
What is it about clipping.'s music that you find allows them to utilize rather outlandish backdrops (a sentient space station, the paranormal etc.) in an evocative and effective manner when drawing parallels with more grounded topics such as racism or civil rights?
Given that this album is heavily inspired by a cult-classic independent horror flick, are there any obscure horror films you feel more people should know about?
The collection - https://i.imgur.com/UBZT8Re.jpg Tabletop gaming has been a part of my life since I can remember. One of the earliest games I can recall playing as a very young child was a 1980s edition of Memory: Animal Families - those green mottled cards are indelibly stored in my long term memory. I also have fond memories of my grandma teaching me so many variants of Solitaire while she babysat us - we'd end up doing 'tournaments' over an afternoon where we'd see who could progress the furthest through a predetermined series. As I got older, my family also played party games like Scattergories, Trivial Pursuit, and Taboo. There was of course the occasional game of Monopoly or Risk, and various flavors of poker sprinkled throughout. But the world of board gaming was really opened up to me in 2005, when a coworker offered to play a game called Sea3d on our computers over lunch. He went on to explain it was based on a board game called Settlers of Catan. And to this day I still own the Mayfair 3rd Edition I had subsequently went out to purchase and show to my wife. Little did I know that the purchase would lead me to where I'm at today, eventually forcing me to move our board games out of the closet and onto a proper Kallax shelf. And here I am - having been involved in modern board gaming for 15 years now, with (properly accounting my BGG collection) 73 games and 46 expansions large or small. Over the years, the collection has been on its path of growth to this point, but has seen its share of culling underwhelmers out. Not shown in picture is Star Trek: Ascendancy and a briefcase of poker chips, as well as my likely-to-sell pile. 10 of my favorites:
Brass: Birmingham - Great industry-themed gameplay that rewards anticipating and creating demand.
Cribbage - Classic card game with back-and-forth scoring opportunities, calling for strategy to determine how to best set yourself up and avoid being setup.
Endeavor: Age of Sail - Fantastic strategy to weight ratio. The variable setup makes for different strategies each game. An interesting expansion was recently fulfilled on KS.
Lisboa - A heavy euro with an excellent blend of theme. Seeing how all the systems work together while trying to capitalize on others actions is quite enjoyable.
Pax Pamir (Second Edition) - Simple mechanics but deep strategy in changing the game state, all while walking a thin line toward victory.
Star Realms - Great sci-fi deck builder where players at different skill levels can still have enjoyable matches, but does favor the skilled. Mostly play digital, but enjoy breaking out the cards.
Tichu - Great team card-shedding game. Those four different cards and the option to wager points adds so much strategy in how each game plays out.
Tigris & Euphrates - Excellent abstract game of area control and battles. Seems to have a Chess-level strategy to it and requires attention to lowest scoring category.
Welcome To... - Excellent flip-and-write game that scales well. Even in losing, it's still just fun to see how the neighborhood planning turned out, and is quick enough to start another game.
World's Fair 1893 - An area control game that does what it sets out to do extremely well - light but tactical. Great theme and scales well.
Good impressions so far after a few plays:
City of the Big Shoulders - I really liked the worker placement mechanic of each player choosing actions to add to the board. Also the satisfaction from producing and trying to invest in the best companies.
Endeavor: Age of Expansion - Substantial changes to overall strategies, and an interesting addition of starting nations that point towards a particular strategy.
Grand Austria Hotel - At first I thought it was too restrictive or punishing, but then I started seeing the strategic combinations after a few plays. (Similar to how I initially felt about Troyes)
Pipeline - I enjoyed that although money in the game is tight it never felt punishingly difficult. Contracts, upgrades, and pipe availability provide interesting decision paths.
Rurik: Dawn of Kiev - Really satisfying mechanic of auction programming. Seems like it has very balanced variable powers and agendas.
Cooling down:
Arboretum - I thought I would really like the cutthroat-style play, but I can't shake this feeling that I want something more from it. Not sure what exactly.
Captain Sonar - Was such a blast when I first played, but it really needs the full 8 people and they all need to be invested in their roles.
Coimbra - To be fair, I've only played this once, yet by the end of the game all of us had this feeling of "I'm not sure how I arrived at my score." Seems interesting with the dice and cards, but maybe a little too much going on. (looking at you, diplomas)
Likely to sell soon (not pictured):
Memoir '44 - Really had a good time when I first bought it and the expansions. Now, I just can't find opportunities to bring it back out, with other 1v1s more accessible for my friends. I do want to give this one or two last plays before I would sell it off, though. A bit sentimental because it's one of the first few games I purchased.
Race for the Galaxy - I see the deeper strategy in this game, I really do. I just feel like there's just too much of snowballing tableaus and fortuitous draws to make me really enjoy it for what it is. App version is sufficient for me now.
Sol: Last Days of a Star - Found a great local deal on this and really wanted to like it after the glowing reviews I read. The end game just seems way too anti-climactic as scores are already clear by that point. I never played with any of the aggressive cards which might help, but unfortunately don't think I'll get around to it.
Splendor - I think this one is just played out. Once the strategy of what to focus on was realized, it lost a lot of the fun. Also for whatever reason, it always killed group conversation.
Been a while / Need to break out again soon:
Exodus Fleet - Interesting bidding game with tableau-building and a sci-fi theme.
Firenze - Good decision making on which towers to build, what cards to collect, and when to finish a tower.
Gunkimono - Really like the tactical abstract play, but probably will only ever play with 3-4 players.
Joraku - A blend of trick-taking and area control. Still need to explore these connections.
Nexus Ops - An older sci-fi combat game with secret objectives and helpful mechanisms when losing a battle.
Ragusa - Interesting take on worker placement. Some spaces provide can provide actions on other players turns which requires balance on what spaces to 'invest' in.
Star Wars: Destiny - Really faulted this game for its CCG model for the longest time. But after seeing the really fun gameplay, I did end up purchasing around 250 cards on the secondary market. Satisfied with where I'm at for casual play, which is fortunate now that they pulled the plug.
Triassic Terror - Obtained this one as a blind freebie through a FLGS promotion. Really surprised when I learned it was about dinosaurs and area control! Movement is a little clunky, but seemed interesting enough.
Shame and Guilt (no plays):
Bruxelles 1897 - A fairly recent purchase.
City of the Big Shoulders: Burden of Destiny expansion - A fairly recent purchase.
Condottiere - Had this one for a year now, was really hoping to get the older edition and happened upon it while traveling in France.
High Society - Currently competing to break in against familiarity with Medici and Cover Your Assets.
Now Boarding - Still looking for a good opportunity to break this out.
Star Trek Ascendancy - Andorian Empire expansion - Next game of STA, whenever that may be.
Star Trek Ascendancy - Vulcan High Command expansion - Seems like these were rushed based on some points of clarity needed. Next game of STA, whenever that may be.
Tiny Towns: Fortune expansion - A fairly recent purchase.
The most recent addition to my collection is Paris Connection. I'd been debating on whether or not to try another winsome train game, after having found Mini-Rails (no longer own) a little too light and deterministic by the end. Fortunately with Jitsi and designing some custom 'tokens' in playingcards.io I was able to try this recently with a group in the midst of quarantine. I found it pretty enjoyable with some decent decision making and strategy despite the lower weight. My biggest regret is probably selling San Juan years ago. After downloading the app on my phone a few years back, now I really do appreciate the streamlined approach and accessibility that it offers over its cousin, Race for the Galaxy. Lately I've found I've scrutinized my purchasing much, much more than when I went through a resurgence about 6 years ago. Anymore when I see something that piques my interest, I'll usually ask myself, "What similar games do I have already? And what does it offer over those?" More and more, finding time to learn new rules and then try to present them in a way that won't fatigue my regular group is getting challenging - I certainly don't want to overwhelm my supportive friends. So when I buy something, it needs to seem like it will be worth it. All in all, I've really enjoyed the hobby and look forward to continuing on!
I really got into the hobby around March 2017 when I received Small World, Lords of Waterdeep, and Betrayal at House on the Hill for my birthday. I had played games before, but didn’t start buying and really playing until around this time. In June 2017, I downloaded BG Stats and started recording my plays. On July 16, 2019, I hit 100 unique games played. This is my ranking of those games. I’m putting the number of plays for each game so that you may see at what point my judgment is coming from. Sometimes a game needs multiple plays, sometimes one is enough. 20-11: https://www.reddit.com/boardgames/comments/cjdnev/the_top_100_that_no_one_asked_for_2011/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app 10. Gloomhaven - 16 Plays – I wanted this game just to have it. BGG number 1, tons of hype, tons of stuff, and a genre I didn’t have or have had even played. The idea of just owning Gloomhaven appealed to me. I like playing games the most, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t also like curating a collection. I watched the review from Shut Up & Sit Down and the card play instantly intrigued me; it just seemed so simple. Pick two cards, play the top half of one and bottom of the other. This game looks like a bear, but if you have someone experienced playing who can handle the monster movement and all the little rules, you can teach this game very quickly. I get that it’s not for everyone. The setup can suck, the scenarios can take a long time, the scenarios are a tad repetitive because the goal is usually just “kill everything”, and it’s the f word….fiddly. The experience is so rich though. I love the discussion of how to tackle the problem at hand. I love that your characters have certain traits that you have to adapt to and certain goals that may be beneficial for you, but not the team. The leveling up is so much fun, you get to make your character even better, you become more powerful, you’re watching it grow. I think the story has been a mess. Mainly, it’s because of the “choose your own path” that the plots get broken up. I read the scenario text to the party, but I’m not sure anyone listens or if anyone cares. It doesn’t matter, the game still feels like it has a narrative and purpose, if not to just fulfill characters missions and see them play out. I love Gloomhaven. 9. Azul - 19 Plays – This is my under an hour game of choice. I want to play this with gamers, family, coworkers, it doesn’t matter. This is the perfect game for non-gamers if they’re willing to play something and it’s the perfect filler for gamers. The rules are easy to teach and it’s not hard to do well on your first play, perfect for non-gamers. The drafting is interesting and mean if you want it to be. The tile placement creates tough decisions and deeper strategy than you first realize, perfect filler for gamers. I really like to see the depression on my friends face when he sees 5 red tiles coming his way in 3 turns and he has nowhere to put them but the floor of negative points. Hahahaha, suck it Alex. I love Azul. 8. Raiders of the North Sea - 5 Plays – I was told in at least two of my past lists that I needed to play Raiders of the North Sea…I am a man of the people. This is my absolute favorite worker placement game. More interesting and less basic than Lords of Waterdeep. More streamlined and elegant than Architects of the West Kingdom. And plays into its theme more than Viticulture. You get one worker. One. Place that worker, take the action, pick up another worker, and take that action. That’s a super cool way for action allocation. Another worker placement game that doesn’t necessarily block out anything, but you can block the order which can be just as harmful and because different color workers do different things, you could hurt someone that way. If they need to draw cards and they need a gray worker for their next turn, but you put a black worker on the draw cards space, well, tough. I’ve added the Halls of Heroes expansion and it truly makes the game better. Some expansions can make a game too convoluted and some just add more of the same. I think Raiders’ expansions get it right. I love Raiders of the North Sea. 7. Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game - 23 Plays – Let me be honest for a second. I mean, I haven’t been lying up to this point, that’d be a weird thing to do. But this is honest too, this game is in my top 10 strictly because it’s Marvel. I have the Core set, Paint the Town Red, Dark City, Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man and Secret Wars Volume 1 currently and I will continue to get expansions because I want all the heroes and villains. This game is a semi co-op, but I strictly play it as co-op. We count up our points at the end, but we don’t play trying to be the ultimate winner, we play to win as a team. Spider-Man doesn’t care about being the best hero, he just wanted to be a part of the Avengers. I love all of the different mechanics that have been instituted. The millions of scheme and mastermind and hero combinations really provide a different experience each game. The strategy does usually remain the same…get stars early, get hits late, cull when possible. So, that’s a bit of a knock, but the schemes and masterminds can disrupt that a little bit. Some plays can be impossible to win and some can be impossible to lose. I just have a great time playing a game with my favorite characters of all time and discovering new villains and trying to stop them from whatever they’re up to. I’m not sure this game would be top 10 with another theme, but that’s ok, because it is Marvel and it’s great. I love Legendary: Marvel. 6. Clans of Caledonia - 13 Plays – The milk faction is overpowered. I did see it lose in the last game I played though in what I considered a weird victory for myself and the reason I love this game. This game is all about the money. You want to be taking as many actions as possible and actions cost money. You have to know what contracts to take, when to upgrade, when to buy and sell and when you should be putting out buildings or animals to produce instead of buying. You also need to focus on the end of round scoring, where others are placing their buildings so you can feed off them and end of game scoring. There’s a ton to focus on. The game is very easy to teach for the most part. Every action is simple and takes 10 seconds to execute. But let’s get back to my last play and what made it so bizarre. I got a lot of contracts early that mainly focused on meat, so I was filling those contracts when they were cheaper, but because I had to slaughter my cows and sheep, I really had nothing on the board come round 4 and 5. This is usually a huge issue for a multitude of reason. Nothing on the board means little production, which means little income, which means less actions and it means not having settlements (important for end game). I was set up the opposite of what I wanted. I thought I was going to be in last for sure. I was the first to pass and would sit there for 20 minutes waiting for the round to end and I had the fisherman clan, so my workers couldn’t be upgrade to make more money. I thought I was in a huge hole. But I wasn’t. I completed 5 or so contracts in the first 2, maybe 3 rounds. I finished with 6 contracts, which got me points for the most. I also mentioned all of my contracts had meat, which was one of the end round scorings. And finally, most of my contracts were of the rarest goods, which scores more than the other contracts of the other players. I won without having actions, or money, or land and that’s what I love about this game. Everything I thought was necessary for a viable strategy can be turned upside down. I love Clans of Caledonia. 5. Concordia Venus - 4 Plays – Another newer game to me and another game that was put on my radar by Shut Up and Sit Down. I don’t always agree with SUSD, but they’re so entertaining that I’ll watch everything, and I can usually tell if I’ll like a game whether they also like it or not. The next three games, they did not like very much. I feel like a broken record here, but Concordia delivers simple mechanics with strategic depth. The hand management is so awesome. You may want to hold on to cards until someone plays their Diplomat so they can’t copy your awesome card. But the awesome card is awesome and it’s always better to do something awesome than not do something awesome. I love that scoring doesn’t happen until the end. You think you’re doing well, but so does everyone else. I can’t wait to play the team version of this game, which is the reason I finally pulled the trigger. A euro game that is played in teams was so interesting. But I’m fine never playing the team game. I’ll play base Concordia any day. I love Concordia. 4. Root - 5 Plays – The theme probably could’ve been anything, but I’m so glad its woodland creatures. I have so much fun explaining this game. The capitalist cats rule over everything, they’re the power player, but no one likes them. The birds are the previous regime, built on order and honor looking to return to previous glory. The mice, rabbits and foxes hate both parties. They’re the common man, looking to rise up and take back the forest for themselves. The raccoon doesn’t give a crap about anyone. He’s only looking for personal prosperity and will help whoever will help him, one of the great board game characters of all time. The otters are merchants, looking to make a quick buck off the war. And finally the lizards, the cult, and a faction that is hard to win with but harder not to have fun with. This game is super asymmetric and that can be hard to learn and teach and strategize for. Most factions follow the same basic rules for movement, fighting and crafting though. Everyone has the same goal in mind. Get to 30 points. Now the 30 points is going to be achieved differently by every faction, but the real problem is knowing how quickly each factions can get points and knowing when to stop them. That’s why I think Root is best with the same group as much as possible. I would suggest switching factions each game, so that you learn what makes each tick. Five plays in and I’m now starting to see the strategy of each faction. Example, it’s not a benefit to attack the raccoon because you can’t get points by doing it, but you have to. Someone has to. Or he’s going to leapfrog to victory. The game requires the players to balance themselves, which is hard to do without multiple plays. I’m looking forward to playing this in my monthly Root group and discovering all that it has to otter, I mean offer. I love Root. 3. Terraforming Mars - 15 Plays – If I had a consensus ranking of my friends who have played games with me, I think Terraforming Mars would be number 1. No matter who I introduce it to, they love it instantly and have requested to play it again. I haven’t had it for very long and already have 15 plays. The game isn’t short either, which speaks to how well they like it because most people don’t want to play a three hour game. It doesn’t bother me, but I’m just saying most people. I did have to establish a “No Terraforming Mars after 10 PM” rule after we finished a game at 2:30 AM and I was waking up at 6 AM for work, and I still had dishes to do! The drafting is great for one distinct reason, you can hate draft and it doesn’t really hurt you. You keep the card from someone else, but you don’t have to buy it, you just discard it. Don’t tell me drafting is what prolongs the game either. It adds a few minutes every round sure, but everyone is handpicking their cards so their engines get going faster. I enjoy engine building and I enjoy drafting, so this hits home. It’s not without its flaws, but they’re fairly minor. The components are trash. I refused to play with the player boards. I had to order some wooden ones off Etsy before I was even willing to play. The expansions aren’t great, besides Prelude, Prelude is essential. The expansions are ok, but we rarely choose to play with them. We’re pretty much fine with the base game as it stands. It’s an elegant engine builder with as much interaction as your group decides it wants. I love Terraforming Mars. 2. Scythe - 29 Plays – MY FLAIR ISN’T NUMBER 1!? WHAT A FRAUD! Look, I picked my flair when I first found this sub and I haven’t changed it. It’s still my number two. I think some people lost some money here though. I had been in the hobby for like 3 or 4 months when I bought Scythe. I wanted a big box, hyped game to finally break out of my “gateway game” phase. I actually got this on Prime Day in 2017 when there was glitch and I got this, Pandemic Legacy and Splendor for $60 total. I was so excited when it came, I instantly set up a 5 player game night for Scythe. After that first play, I was hooked. The setting and art was beautiful. The components were supreme. This felt like a board gamer’s board game. Pieces on a map that could fight, but that’s a red herring. You have to remember the time period of this game is post war. The people are sick of war. The goal is to be the most prosperous, which comes with running a well-organized and popular country. Don’t ignore battles completely though, you still have to prepared for any threat or be ready to go after someone that’s about to make a big move. I understand this game isn’t for everyone. It can be slow to start. It looks like a straight up war game when it isn’t. I’ve played this game multiple times with someone who hates it and those experiences have been awful. Scythe is so much more enjoyable when everyone embraces the theme and mechanics. If someone doesn’t, then you can pretty much ignore them and that’s not going to be fun for anyone. I’d rather not play Scythe, than play it with someone who doesn’t like it and they think they’re doing me a favor, because I know how fun it can be when all players like it. I played the Fenris campaign with 3 friends and it was some of the best board gaming ever because of how into it we were. I have completely upgrade Scythe. Legendary box, Broken Token insert, realistic resources, metal coins, painted minis, and every expansion besides the modular board. To summarize, everything about Scythe is great to me. The art, the components, the action efficiency, the subtle interactions, the not so subtle interactions, the scoring, the theme, the campaign…it’s all great. I love Scythe. 1. Pandemic Legacy Season 1 - 16 Plays – We did it guys. My number one game is Pandemic Legacy Season 1. The best gaming experience I have ever had was playing through this with my cousins and one of my best friends. I stated earlier that I thought Pandemic was a near perfect design already, but now each game has changes and surprises and discovery. The twist had me out of my chair. That was such a cool moment. We went 12-4 in our 16 plays, but every game was close. Yea, the story is pretty linear. Every person gets the same story at the same point in time, but that doesn’t matter. I was engaged with the story. Each added element every month gave us something new to work with. We had some great “pulled that out of your butthole” moves after conversing for 15 minutes when what we should do finally just clicked. I shadowboxed my copy and I look at it every day and think about the special moments that came from it. I loved Pandemic Legacy Season 1. That’s it. 100 games. I will be writing an epilogue of sorts soon. Thanks for reading.
I posted a bunch of deals yesterday, but it wasn't clearly a holiday sale. Those same publishes have added more games, and new publishers have added games today. I guess a holiday post is in order. I do not post all sales, just popular applications and ones I personally follow (I try to avoid junk apps and icon packs). If you don't see a sale here you think I should track or share, please let me know with a comment or message! King of Dragon Pass is a great text village management / story game. Other two Reigns games added, all three are trial and error story driven games I felt. I will update this post, so just check back here. -------- Updates -------- Newest update at the top, oldest update at the bottom. 12/27
12/26 Looks like Square is starting their Dragon Quest sale. Some of the historic low prices for a few of the DQ games are incorrect, I'll try to manually check them later. It appears though most of the titles are a little higher than the previous historic lows. These, like the FF series, do not go on sale often. If you want them within the next six months, now is the time. If you don't mind waiting half a year for possibly a better price, then skip this sale.
12/25 No new deals today. Some Final Fantasy games are no longer on sale. 12/24 Bloons TD 6 is one of the most recommended tower games. It has been free before, only once. Definitely worth the dollar. Evening Update: Planescape was added, it is a long and great RPG similar to the Baldur's Gate entries. XCOM is the PC port of the remaster. It includes the DLC for free from the PC. I believe it is compatible with Nvidia Shield, at least people reported it was but I cannot test that myself. Kingdom Rush series is another great tower defense series. All are pretty decent.
12/22 Stardew Valley is the game to grab today if you're alright with the SNES style graphics. It is like older versions of Harvest Moon. It's a lengthy game, but might be too slow for people looking for an action type game. It has received numerous updates, so definitely worth picking up at this discount. Doom & Destiny and Doom & Destiny Advanced are two different games in a series. I have not played through them fully, but both were well received. Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 are now on sale, both are great and lengthy RPGs. Saves can be exported for PC, if you own that version and vice versa. Both are better on tablet, though playable on a larger phone. Agent A is an episodic game that finally had the last episode released recently. It has been well received, but I have not purchased it yet. I own Goat Simulator on PC, but have not tried the mobile ports. I cannot give a good review or answer questions about them.
12/21 No sales posted yet for today. Delta Touch was decreased by a penny from $2.50 to $2.49, but I think that was just making the price in line with other apps. I assume more deals will go live the 23rd, 24th, and 25th. Notes for today. Nova Launcher is the launcher I use, and seems to have the most customization. It might be overkill for very casual users though.
12/20 Moon Reader is definitely my preferred ebook reader on Android. Iron Marines has in app purchases for additional heroes, but they're not required to finish the campaign. The game is like Starcraft lite mixed with tower defense in my opinion.
12/19 Continued again Know what's nice about holiday sales on other storefronts? Typically all the sales go live at one time. Here we go with Headup games, Taito, and a few others. Most Bridge Constructor games are fun physic puzzlers. Golf Peaks was a game that had me hooked for a while solving all it's puzzles. Door Kickers is a great top down strategy planning game, think Rainbow Six but you outline the path your officers take to secure hostages or kill suspects.
12/19 Continued More games were added since my original post for today. Listing them here so they don't get lost for people checking back. Don't miss Motorsports Manager Mobile 3 being free. D&D Lords of Waterdeep is a worker placement board game. It is pretty deep, and for $2 should be a good buy for anyone interested in board games. It does have DLC that expands the base game, but try the base game first. Fort Sumter is like Twilight Struggle, but Civil War focused. Retro Winter Sports is a simple game, but extremely hard to fully beat the AI on, only good for local competitive play I felt.
12/18 & 12/19 Notes for today: I like board games, let's talk about those quickly. Raiders of the North Sea has never been on sale, but is highly reviewed by PocketTactics. Now is the time to grab it if interested. New games by Asmodee are on sale for the first time as well: Dream Home, Gang of Four, and Takenoko. Takenoko is a highly reviewed game, so it might be worth checking out of the three. Final Fantasy series is on sale. New record lows for some. The app page will not show it is "on sale", please look at my regular price listed here to see how it was adjusted. Other Square classics, Chrono Trigger (updated SNES version), Secret of Mana (SNES version), and Adventure of Mana (remake of a different named game) are all on sale, many for a historical low. VALKYRIE PROFILE: LENNETH is on sale for the first I believe in a year.
To go along with Griffin's comments, here is just about every performer who got cited for multiple performances in one year by the big film critics associations (NYFCC, LAFCA, National Society, NBR, and Boston).
Hey all, so going along with the opening minutes of the episode on The Witches of Eastwick, Griffin talked about a performance that got grouped in with a bunch of other acclaimed ones for a critics win as part of an actor's big year. He said this was even weirder to him than Nicholson getting acknowledged for his brief Broadcast News performance, and confirmed in the episode comments that he still hadn't figured it out. So, that inspired me to go through some of the big critics awards contenders throughout the years to see which ones really stuck out to all of us. I decided to go through the biggeoldest organizations out there since they tend to be the ones that get most of the attention, so that ended up including New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC), Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA), National Society of Film Critics (NSFC), National Board of Review (NBR), and Boston Society of Film Critics (BSFC). I have it listed out by: 1st Line - Actor's name 2nd Line - The organization(s) that honored them, the year, and category 3rd Line - The films honored Anyway here goes: Harry Andrews NBR - 1965 Supporting Actor The Agony and the Ecstasy/The Hill Ingrid Bergman NYFCC - 1945 Best Actress The Bells of St. Mary’s/Spellbound Cate Blanchett NBR - 2001 Supporting Actress LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring/The Man Who Cried/The Shipping News Jim Broadbent LAFCA and NBR - 2001 Supporting Actor Iris/Moulin Rouge! Yul Brynner NBR - 1956 Best Actor Anastasia/The King and I/The Ten Commandments Geneviève Bujold LAFCA - 1988 Supporting Actress Dead Ringers/The Moderns Jessica Chastain NYFCC, LAFCA, and NSFC - 2011 Supporting Actress The Help/Take ShelteThe Tree of Life Julie Christie NBR - 1965 Best Actress Darling/Doctor Zhivago Patricia Clarkson NSFC, NBR, and BSFC - 2003 Supporting Actress Pieces of April/The Station Agent George Clooney NYFCC - 2009 Best Actor Fantastic Mr. Fox/Up in the Air Toni Collette BSFC - 2002 Supporting Actress About a Boy/The Hours Tom Conti NBR - 1983 Best Actor Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence/Reuben, Reuben Marion Cotillard NYFCC, NSFC, and BSFC - 2014 Best Actress The Immigrant/Two Days, One Night Penélope Cruz LAFCA - 2008 Supporting Actress Elegy/Vicky Cristina Barcelona Joan Cusack BSFC - 1988 Supporting Actress Married to the Mob/Stars and Bars/Working Girl Hope Davis NYFCC - 2003 Best Actress American SplendoThe Secret Lives of Dentists Judy Davis NYFCC - 1991 Supporting Actress Barton Fink/Naked Lunch Judy Davis BSFC - 1992 Supporting Actress Husbands and Wives/Where Angels Fear to Tread Daniel Day-Lewis NYFCC and NBR - 1986 Best Supporting Actor My Beautiful Laundrette/A Room with a View Robert De Niro NYFCC - 1990 Best Actor Awakening/Goodfellas Gérard Depardieu NSFC - 1983 Best Actor Danton/The Return of Martin Guerre Laura Dern NYFCC and NSFC - 2019 Supporting Actress Little Women/Marriage Story Melvyn Douglas LAFCA - 1979 Supporting Actor Being There/The Seduction of Joe Tynan Kirsten Dunst BSFC - 1994 Supporting Actress Interview with the Vampire/Little Women Michael Fassbender LAFCA - 2011 Best Actor A Dangerous Method/Jane Eyre/Shame/X-Men: First Class Jane Fonda LAFCA - 1978 Best Actress California Suite/Comes a Horseman/Coming Home Frederic Forrest NSFC - 1979 Supporting Actor Apocalypse Now/The Rose Jamie Foxx NSFC - 2004 Best Actor Collateral/Ray John Gielgud LAFCA and NSFC - 1985 Supporting Actor Plenty/The Shooting Party Brendan Gleeson BSFC - 1998 Best Actor The General/I Went Down Tom Hanks LAFCA - 1988 Best Actor Big/Punchline Sally Hawkins NSFC - 2017 Best Actress The Shape of WateMaudie Anne Heche NBR - 1997 Supporting Actress Donnie Brasco/Wag the Dog Dustin Hoffman NSFC - 1979 Best Actor Agatha/Kramer vs. Kramer Philip Seymour Hoffman NBR - 1999 Supporting Actor Magnolia/The Talented Mr. Ripley Ian Holm BSFC - 1985 Supporting Actor Brazil/Dance with a StrangeDreamchild/Wetherby Anthony Hopkins LAFCA and NBR - 1993 Best Actor The Remains of the Day/Shadowlands Dennis Hopper LAFCA - 1986 Supporting Actor Blue Velvet/Hoosiers Isabelle Huppert NYFCC, LAFCA, NSFC, and BSFC - 2016 Best Actress Elle/Things to Come Anjelica Huston LAFCA, NSFC, and BSFC - 1990 The Grifters/The Witches Michael Keaton NSFC - 1988 Best Actor Beetlejuice/Clean and Sober Catherine Keener LAFCA - 2005 Supporting Actress The 40-Year-Old Virgin/The Ballad of Jack and Rose/Capote/The Interpreter Catherine Keener BSFC - 2005 Supporting Actress The 40-Year-Old Virgin/The Ballad of Jack and Rose/Capote Harvey Keitel NSFC - 1991 Supporting Actor Bugsy/Thelma & Louise/Mortal Thoughts Grace Kelly NYFCC and NBR - 1954 Best Actress The Country Girl/Dial M for MurdeRear Window Deborah Kerr NYFCC - 1947 Best Actress Black Narcissus/I See a Dark Stranger Frank Langella NBR - 1970 Supporting Actor Diary of a Mad Housewife/The Twelve Chairs Angela Lansbury NBR - 1962 Supporting Actress All Fall Down/The Manchurian Candidate Charles Laughton NYFCC - 1935 Best Actor Mutiny on the Bounty/Ruggles of Red Gap Jennifer Jason Leigh NYFCC and BSFC - 1990 Supporting Actress Last Exit to Brooklyn/Miami Blues William H. Macy BSFC - 1998 Supporting Actor A Civil Action/Pleasantville/Psycho John Malkovich NSFC and BSFC - 1984 Supporting Actor The Killing Fields/Places in the Heart Lee Marvin NBR - 1965 Best Actor Cat Ballou/Ship of Fools James Mason NBR - 1953 Best Actor The Desert Rats/Face to Face/Julius CaesaThe Man Between Matthew McConaughey NYFCC and NSFC - 2012 Supporting Actor Bernie/Magic Mike Frances McDormand LAFCA and BSFC - 2000 Supporting Actress Almost Famous/Wonder Boys Robert Mitchum NBR - 1960 Best Actor Home from the Hill/The Sundowners Julianne Moore NBR - 1999 Supporting Actress An Ideal Husband/Magnolia/A Map of the World Julianne Moore LAFCA - 2002 Best Actress Far From Heaven/The Hours Bill Murray LAFCA - 1998 Supporting Actor Rushmore/Wild Things Jack Nicholson NYFCC and NSFC - 1974 Best Actor Chinatown/The Last Detail Jack Nicholson NYFCC - 1987 Best Actor Broadcast News/Ironweed/The Witches of Eastwick Jack Nicholson LAFCA - 1987 Best Actor Ironweed/The Witches of Eastwick Bill Nighy LAFCA - 2003 Supporting Actor AKA/I Capture the Castle/Lawless Heart/Love Actually Edward Norton LAFCA, NBR, and BSFC - 1996 Supporting Actor Everyone Says I Love You/The People vs. Larry Flynt/Primal Fear Peter O’Toole NBR - 1972 Best Actor Man of La Mancha/The Ruling Class Sean Penn NBR - 2003 Best Actor 21 Grams/Mystic River Joaquin Phoenix NBR - 2000 Supporting Actor GladiatoQuills/The Yards Brad Pitt NYFCC and NSFC - 2011 Best Actor Moneyball/The Tree of Life William Powell NYFCC - 1947 Best Actor Life with FatheThe Senator Was Indiscreet Marjorie Rambeau NBR - 1955 Supporting Actress A Man Called PeteThe View from Pompey’s Head Miranda Richardson NYFCC - 1992 Supporting Actress The Crying Game/Damage/Enchanted April Ralph Richardson NBR - 1949 Best Actor The Fallen Idol/The Heiress Jason Robards NBR - Best Actor 1962 Long Day’s Journey Into Night/Tender is the Night Amy Ryan LAFCA - 2007 Supporting Actress Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead/Gone Baby Gone Albert Salmi NBR - 1958 Supporting Actor The Bravados/The Brothers Karamazov Jean Simmons NBR - 1953 Best Actress The Actress/The Robe/Young Bess Kevin Spacey NYFCC - 1995 Best Supporting Actor Outbreak/Se7en/Swimming with Sharks/The Usual Suspects Kevin Spacey NBR - 1995 Best Supporting Actor Se7en/The Usual Suspects Dean Stockwell NYFCC, NSFC, and BSFC - 1988 Best Supporting Actor Married to the Mob/Tucker: The Man and His Dream Meryl Streep NYFCC - 1979 Supporting Actress Kramer vs. KrameThe Seduction of Joe Tynan Meryl Streep LAFCA, NSFC, and NBR - 1979 Supporting Actress Kramer vs. KrameManhattan/The Seduction of Joe Tynan Meryl Streep NSFC - 2006 Supporting Actress The Devil Wears Prada/A Prairie Home Companion Emma Thompson NBR - 1995 Best Actress Carrington/Sense & Sensibility Billy Bob Thornton NBR - 2001 Best Actor Bandits/The Man Who Wasn’t There/Monster’s Ball Spencer Tracy NBR - 1958 Best Actor The Last Hurrah/The Old Man and the Sea Kathleen Turner LAFCA - 1984 Best Actress Romancing the Stone/Crimes of Passion Liv Ullmann NBR - 1968 Best Actress Hour of the Wolf/Shame Liv Ullmann NYFCC - 1972 Best Actress Cries and Whispers/The Emigrants John Williams NBR - 1954 Supporting Actor Dial M for MurdeSabrina Michelle Williams NYFCC - 2016 Supporting Actress Certain Women/Manchester by the Sea Joanne Woodward NBR - 1957 Best Actress No Down Payment/The Three Faces of Eve
Social distancing is helping me instill a love of board games with my kids. What are your favorite games to play with your kids?
My oldest daughter is 10 and my second oldest son is 9. We have played games off and on before the social distancing in the US started. There have often been challenges to this. Sometimes we’d start a game and then the kids would get bored, or we had very kiddish / boring games that my wife and I gritted our teeth through to play with the kids. Once we knew we would be quarantined for an undetermined amount of time, we decided to once again try and break out some games we hadn’t really tried with the kids before. So, I brought up from the basement Catan, Patchwork and Splendor. The first night, we tried Catan with everyone and I played Patchwork with my daughter. It was like watching something special happen. Catan was very wel received and my son actually won the game. My daughter didn’t want to stop playing. A couple nights later, we tried Splendor and again, my daughter has been hooked ever since. (Probably because she always creams us and I still haven’t figured out how.) Then a couple nights after that, I bought Villainous on a whim. That game was amazing. Everyone had a blast and we have played it a few times since with great joy. After that, we bought Sushi Go! and we’ve broken out Smash Up and honestly...this is just amazing for our family. The kids are playing all these new games constantly, they browse with me on this subreddit and BoardGameGeeks, asking me different questions about the games. They love watching Youtube videos of game reviews. I never thought this could happen because they seemed so disinterested in games before but now they’re absolutely hooked! So back to my main question...what are some other games the kids might enjoy that we as parents will have a blast playing too? Thanks!
Splendor is a game of chip-collecting and card development. Players are merchants of the Renaissance trying to buy gem mines, means of transportation, shops—all in order to acquire the most prestige points. Splendor is a game of open information: you know what gems and bonuses opponents have, so figuring out what card he/she is aiming for is not exactly rocket science. Gameplay is most strategic with 2 players where you have to base your actions on the other player, not so much on the board itself. 4 player game features a more changing board – many cards can change out of your turn. We were introduced to Splendor by a board game obsessed friend of the family. We enjoyed playing it with him so much that we ordered our own copy. I'd say our board gaming preferences are somewhat refined, because thanks to this friend we've played a LOT of games, and Splendor has been one of our favorites for a long time. Splendor review: How it plays. One of Splendor's many positive qualities is that it only takes a minute or two to set up. In the centre of everyone are three decks of cards, each at different tiers. A must-try for everyone. No joke. Super easy to get into, quick to play, and surprisingly interesting! Splendor board game – 2-4 player experience of pure awesomeness. And a little brain work. And poker chips collection, and those beautiful cards. I play it with my family members, pretty much weekly. One of the interesting things about Splendor is its player scaling. With two players, Splendor can be a very strategic game. Blocking your opponent by reserving a card can be just as important a move as claiming a development card you’ve had your eye on. With two players, the race in Splendor should be tight. Splendor review: Verdict. Splendor is one of the best board games available to buy right now, in our opinion. It has really broad appeal – it's competitive, but not cut-throat; it's engaging Splendor really is an all-rounder and a game that you will play again and again, maybe not all the time, but it certainly will come out a lot and will be a lot of fun every time you play it. x. Product from Amazon, Publisher may get a commission. AdChoices. 6.6. This is our Splendor review. Splendor is a card-based resource management road to victory points strategy game. You are gem merchants of the Renaissance buying items like transportation, shops and mines to create the best operation. Splendor is one of those strategy staples like Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride or Carcassonne. I gave the board game a 9/10 and REALLY enjoy playing it, so I have a feeling I'll like this too assuming the video game adaptation is stable. I'm at work at the moment, but will more than likely be recording a video later.
A show about my love for my wife, my love for board games and what I'm doing to bring the two together. Today's episode I'm gonna talk about Splendor, a fun... Assine o canal: https://www.youtube.com/jackexplicadorConheça o Meeple Maniacs Radiocast: https://itunes.apple.com/tt/podcast/meeple-maniacs/id977473791?mt=2... Hi everyone! Splendor by Marc Andre and published by @SpaceCowboys is an amazing gateway game and I'm so happy to finally have this video for you! It's one o... Visit SU&SD for more cardboard antics: http://bit.ly/SUSDMachiVsSplendorBuy Machi Koro: http://bit.ly/BuyMachiKoro // Buy Splendor: http://bit.ly/BuySplendor... Splendor is a multiplayer boardgame of resource management designed by Marc Andre' and published by Space Cowboys in 2014.Splendor is an easy to learn and fu... Board Game Club 2019 วันนี้เควินจะมาแนะนำวิธีการเล่นเกมค้าเพชรหรือ Splendorนั่นเอง เป็นเกมที่ ... hello everyone i am the Board Game nuT. this is my review and how to play splendor including the 5 player variant EVER PLAYED SPLENDOR? CHECK OUT THIS REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY! https://gleam.io/pKFo0/dungeon-mizer-splendor-board-game-giveaway
