Author: Kyra

Kyle Kyra (they/them) writes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. They live in a sleepy Nebraska town. Yes, corn lives outside their back door. They hold a BFA in creative writing from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and their work has appeared in Menacing Hedge, Spank the Carp, Danse Macabre, The Door is a Jar, The Collidescope, and other journals and anthologies.

Tabletop Game Review: Flip 7

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Flip 7 takes the premise of Blackjack and extends it to party game proportions. Flip over cards one by one without flipping the same number twice. While the game choices are simple (hit or stay), the ramifications of your actions aren’t. Are you the type of player to play it safe and bank points before you bust, or will you risk it all for the bonus by flipping over seven unique cards in a row? Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. We’ll review Flip 7 in a moment, but before we draw our first card, let’s discuss Flip 7’s fine print.

The Fiddly Bits

Designer: Eric Olsen
Publisher: The Op Games; KOSMOS
Date Released: 2024
Number of Players: 3-18
Age Range: 6 and up
Setup Time: Nominal
Play Time: 10-20 minutes

Game Mechanisms

Card Game
Party Game
Push Your Luck

Game Setup

Shuffle the deck and choose a player to be the Dealer for the round.

In turn order, the Dealer deals one card face up to each player, including themselves. If an Action card is drawn, resolve it immediately (more on Action cards in the Game Flow section). Once any Action cards are resolved, continue dealing until everyone has been dealt a card. Not everyone will have a Number card (a card with a number). Some players may have multiple cards because of other Action cards.

Game Flow

The Dealer now offers each player in turn the option to “Hit” (deal them another card) or “Stay” (exit the round and bank their points). If you Hit, put the Number cards in a single row with Score Modifier cards.

Flip 7 features a special deck of cards. It’s Number cards range from 0 to 12. There are copies of each card equal to the card’s value. For example, there are 12 copies of the 12 Number card and 5 copies of the 5 Number card. Zero is the only exception; there’s only one copy of the 0 Number card. Flip 7’s deck also contains Score Modifier cards (Times 2 which doubles your point value and the rest adding a flat number to your score). Flip 7 also has three Action cards: Freeze, Flip Three, and Second Chance. Second Chance allows you to ignore one bust (drawing the same Number card). Flip Three allows the player to choose a player (even themselves) to draw three cards in a row. Freeze cards are given to a player to force them to stay for the round (they will not be able to draw more cards).

Remember: Players bust (don’t receive points and are eliminated from the round) if they draw two of the same Number card.

The round continues until one of two criteria are met. 1) There are no active players because all players have busted or chosen to stay. 2) One player can Flip 7 number cards, ending the round immediately.

At the end of each round, players score points. Add the value of all your Number cards. Adjust your score with any Score Modifier cards. If you Flip 7 Number cards during the round, score an additional 15 points.

When starting the next round, set all cards from the previous round aside. Do not shuffle them back into the deck. Pass the remaining cards in the deck to the left, that player becomes the new Dealer. When the deck runs out, shuffle all discards to form a new deck. If you need to reshuffle mid-round, leave all cards in front of the players where they are.

At the end of the round when at least one player reaches 200 points, the player with the most points wins.

Review

Flip 7 has taken the tabletop gaming community by storm. I can see why. It has a simple premise (party game Blackjack) and easy-to-understand choices each turn and round. Flip 7 is necessary for the tabletop community. In practice, Flip 7 is the game I can play with my grandma and my four-year-old niece. It’s the most gateway of gateway games.

Since this is the case, I’ve played Flip 7 a ton over the past several months. Seriously, Flip 7 was released during the holiday season (December 2024), I’m writing this in early May (we write many of our reviews weeks, if not months, in advance), and I’ve played this game with 10 different game groups and over 150 times. That’s about 30 times every month. I’ve almost played Flip 7 once every day. One of those months was February, so I’ve definitely played Flip 7 once every day. Frankly, I’m sick of playing Flip 7. It’s a good filler game, but I haven’t seen a game with this much crossover appeal.

And that’s a strength for Flip 7. It’s one of the few games I can get everyone on board playing. That’s why it’s necessary for the tabletop community and for tabletop gaming. But does it convince non-gamers to try other games that aren’t Flip 7? I’m unsure.

But I do like the inclusion of Action cards. There are three copies of each Action card. Freeze seems mean, but it could be pivotal in stopping someone who had an easy rise to the top of the scoring track; it’s a decent catch-up game mechanism of sorts but this can devolve into targeting the leader (like Munchkin). Players can only hold onto one Second Chance. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen a player forced to give a second copy of Second Chance to an opponent. Those cards have a way of finding the same player. But Flip Three has the most strategic value. During the early game, you may want to target yourself. Later in the game, you’ll want to choose someone else and force them to bust. Is this enough strategy? Probably not for many tabletop gamers.

I can see that people who can count cards have an advantage in Flip 7, but that takes the fun out of the game. While the rules don’t forbid someone from looking at the discard, it goes against the soul of Flip 7. The Number cards value equaling the number of copies in the deck is clever, and the game doesn’t overstay its welcome—unless you’ve played it over 150 times in a handful of months.

Flip 7’s box says 3+ players. Its entry on BoardGameGeek lists it as 3-99 players. The rulebook suggests that if you have more than a dozen players, use a second copy of Flip 7. While this may be technically true, the game plays best at 5-6 players. Flip 7 would overstay its welcome if you included over a dozen players. It would take forever for twelve people to determine whether they should hit or stay. There isn’t much else to Flip 7, but I’d be bored if I had to wait for eleven other people to make that simple choice. And forget 98 other people. I’d walk away from the table.

Too Long; Didn’t Read

While not my first or second choice of filler game, Flip 7 has enough crossover appeal to appease the masses. It doesn’t have enough strategy for hardcore tabletop gamers, but Flip 7 is the kind of game I can get my grandma or four-year-old niece to play. Therefore, Flip 7 is a good game to keep on hand for non-gamers.

Whatcha Reading, Geekly? August 2025

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Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here. It’s Wednesday again, so we have another post from the Whatcha Reading series. Today, we’ll have our writers share what they’ve been reading over the past month. Feel free to share what you’ve been reading in the comments, because we’re all part of the Geekly Gang.

Kyra’s Reads

Kyra’s Comics

I picked up a handful of comic books and graphic novels at the recent Comic Con Nebraska. FairSquare Graphics’ stand stood out to me. Founded in 2019 by Fabrice Sapolsky (co-creator of Spider-Man Noir), Kristal Adams Sapolsky (consulting producer for various Hulu and Netflix shows), and Ethan Sapolsky, FairSquare’s mission is to produce comics for underrepresented groups. And they sure do deliver.

I love FairSquare Graphics’ production value. Each book (even the comic books) has a sturdy, soft finish. The art is stunning. But the stories. It’s all about the stories. 2024’s A Boy Named Rose was a finalist for an Eisner Award. I’m happy to see queer stories like A Boy Named Rose in comic books (or rather, a trade, graphic novel). There needs to be more, and that’s part of FairSquare’s mission. Set in 1920, A Boy Named Rose exists in an era where it was difficult for someone to express their gender and love freely. The title character, Rose, grew up in Le Jardin (The Garden) and has lived a life of greater self-expression. Rose has blossomed within Le Jardin’s protective walls. Rose’s coming-of-age gender fluid story touches numerous people who are stuck within the confines of a world not yet ready to accept them. A Boy Named Rose offers hope. And if you might be struggling with your identity or know someone who does, maybe even a hug.

Gaelle Geniller’s art elevates A Boy Named Rose’s narrative. I can’t imagine one without the other. I enjoyed all the gorgeous dance scenes. They were liberating. And as a gender non-confirming person who’s been interviewed, I felt every moment of Rose answering the reporter’s questions. I loved how the reporter’s cigarette smoke obscured what Rose was saying. That’s so relatable.

I love Black Girl Magik’s banter. It makes sense Black Girl Magik would sport excellent banter. Writer (and FairSquare Graphics’ cofounder) Kristal Adams Sapolsky is also a stand-up comedian. You can catch her on Season 2 of Laugh After Dark on Amazon Prime Video. Black Girl Magik has a hilarious premise. “Incel Whisperer,” Moriyah Pleasant, is helping one of her clients to score a date, when her client’s would-be date winds up being an Alchemist from another dimensional. Magical shenanigans ensue after the Alchemist passes, and her mystical and sentient tool (usually in the shape of a hammer) chooses Moriyah as its new Alchemist.

Holy Beyoncé, Black Girl Magik is a fun ride. I’m glad I picked up the first two issues (the only two available at the time of writing this post) and had the chance for Kirstal Adams Sapolsky to sign them. I highly recommend A Boy Named Rose and Black Girl Magik, and I’ll be checking out more of FairSquare Graphics’ titles. If you’re interested in FairSquare Graphics, check out their website.

Kyra’s Poetry

I often revisit poetry collections. You never know what you’ll find during a subsequent read after several years. I first read Miles Waggener’s Afterlives almost a decade ago; it’s time for a reread. Waggener has amazing command over diction and enjambment. Afterlives offers vivid imagery and poems that change gears, both metaphorically and with speed. These poems flow. I love it. The pictures Waggener paints vacillate from brutal to gorgeous, but they always feel lived in and human.

I’ll share I quick snippet of “Grooming” from Afterlives.

Well into the hairdresser’s
nervous breakdown, she snapped
the smock around my neck, and in
locks and curls, the hair, more hair
than I have grown in many lifetimes,
fell onto the tiles, and I grew thin
in the oily hum of the clippers,
in the perfume of tattooed Carlotta.

I love how you can read the above in its entirety and gain one message, and then read each line as a separate entity. The language used here reflects what you may find in Afterlives. If you can find a copy of Afterlives, you should give it a try. Phoenix Suites and Sky Harbor by Miles Waggener may be easier to find, and also well worth the read.

Kyra’s Non-Fiction

Ah, Jeff Vandermeer’s Wonderbook is an excellent resource for anyone wanting to write a science fiction or fantasy novel. Wonderbook provides thought-provoking images and writing prompts/exercises, while giving the reader numerous ways of looking at the writing craft. Wonderbook gives me the vibe of a writer’s companion for the Codex Seraphinianus, only you’re supposed to understand what you’re reading. Lol

Loaded with graphs/charts, art, and writing advice from dozens of popular speculative fiction authors, Wonderbook offers a little bit of everything. No matter how you learn, Wonderbook has you covered. And Wonderbook is a living document. Vandermeer and company update Wonderbook’s online companion page. If you’ve ever wanted to write speculative fiction, you should check out Wonderbook.

That’s all I have for this month’s Whatcha Reading. Let’s see what Season’s been reading.

Season’s Reads

season’s comics

I decided to switch things up this month. Normally, I’m down for a good romance story. Is Love the Answer? scratched that itch differently. Chika is asexual, and all of her friends go on dates. But she doesn’t want to go on dates. She thinks there’s something wrong with her, so she studies psychology to figure out why she doesn’t want to be involved with anyone romantically. She discovers much about herself, but none of it is clear-cut.

Is Love the Answer? felt realistic. I appreciated the ambiguity of how Chika expresses herself. She didn’t know who she was, which is relatable to most audiences.

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here again. That’s all our writers have for Whatcha Reading this month. Let us know what you’ve been reading. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Cozy Video Game Review: Kitaria Fables

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Kitaria Fables by Indonesian indie game studio Twin Hearts combines a farming sim like Stardew Valley with a mild adventure game. Players assume the role of a cat hero Nyanza (or Nyan for short), hence the name Kitaria, as Nyan upgrades his weapons and armor and learns new abilities to save the Empire.

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. We’re covering a video game today that’s unlike most we’ve covered in the past. Kitaria Fables is a cozy game. Full disclosure: I’ve picked up this game on sale for multiple systems (Steam, Switch, and PlayStation 4), but I’ve played the most on PS4. Cozy games have taken off in the past few years, and I’m here for it. I love a good cozy game. But how does Kitaria Fables stack up against our review criteria?

Mechanisms

Mechanisms: 7/10

Kitaria Fables has solid game mechanisms, but there’s a reason it’s often compared to Stardew Valley—I compared Kitaria Fables to Stardew Valley in the opening paragraph of this review. Kitaria Fables borrows many mechanisms, its graphic design, and some of its perspective from Stardew Valley. All of the mechanisms Kitaria Fables borrows are well done. But I can’t give it top marks.

Still, Kitaria Fables adds a few things to the Stardew Valley formula to make it stand out. Not the least of which is the adventure aspects. Gone are the procedurally generated mines. In their place are regions to explore and enemies to vanquish. Enemies will drop items to use for upgrade materials. So far, this sounds like a typical adventure game, but Kitaria Fables opts to go with ability upgrades instead of leveling.

Players can trade out Nyan’s magic abilities at any time. The only downside is that more powerful spells usually cost more magic gems. In the top left-hand corner, you’ll see Nyan’s health. Magic gems are displayed below Nyan’s health bar. Nyan can gain more magic gems by physically attacking enemies, so there’s a push-pull with varying Nyan’s combat style.

I’ve seen other games use custom move-sets similar to Kitaria Fables’ setup (like the Cat Quest series), but Kitaria Fables does just enough to separate itself from its competition. But not enough to escape a slightly above average score.

Gameplay Loop: 8/10

This score should come as no surprise. Kitaria Fables combines Stardew Valley and Cat Quest. I didn’t think of Cat Quest before writing this review (funny how both games have cat protagonists). With Stardew Valley and Cat Quest as inspiration, Kitaria Fables has a high gameplay loop score. All enemies (including bosses like the one pictured above) respawn at the beginning of each day, so it’s easy to grind Nyan to god-like powers.

Kitaria Fables has a couple of obtuse missions. I was stuck a handful of times and used trial and error to figure out what the game meant for me to do. But those moments were few and didn’t detract from the overall experience. And the NPCs rebooted their routine every in-game day in addition to the enemies respawning. If I couldn’t figure out something one day, I could try again the next. This is one of the reasons why Kitaria Fables is a cozy game. It induces little to no stress.

Narrative: 3/10

The Empire, the Calamity, Capital City, and other generic terms left me wanting. Kitaria Fables doesn’t have much of a story, and the story it has can get grown-inducing. I’m unsure if this lack of story comes from poor localization or if Kitaria Fables wanted generic names and storylines to make it easy for people from different backgrounds to follow. Either way, I’m unimpressed. Kitaria Fables has one big twist. I won’t spoil it here, even though that’s unnecessary. The big reveal is obvious.

Storytelling: 5/10

I can’t tell which score should be higher, narrative or storytelling. I’m giving storytelling an average score. That seems right. Kitaria Fables does a good job of executing its story, but it just has a forgettable story. Still, look at the adorable animal people. I love characters like Caramel, a brown furred mouse child who lives in Paw Village. Caramel will ask Nyan for a piece of candy. If you give him candy, you’ll unlock a mission. If you refuse to give him candy, you’ll unlock a different mission. This happens to be one of the obtuse story branches I mentioned in the gameplay loop section. You can unlock both missions. All you must do is interact with Caramel on two different occasions.

User Interface: 8/10

Kitaria Fables has an easy-to-use interface. During combat, Nyan will have items (to include healing items) and spells/moves assigned to hot keys. While not in combat, Nyan can pull up a menu (on the left-hand side of the screen) that will have clearly marked tabs. Players will receive different options depending on whether Nyan interacts with an NPC or an object (like a mirror to change Nyan’s appearance) or doesn’t interact with anything.

Players can pin items (if they find them in a store) to know how much of an item they need for an upgrade. This is standard stuff, but you’d be surprised how many games forget to include a pin object option. Kitaria Fables does a great job of incorporating good practices from other games with its user interface. The only reason I knock the game down a point is the Switch version. If you pick up Kitaria Fables on PlayStation 4 or Steam, go ahead and raise this score. The Switch version isn’t too difficult to navigate, but it’s lacking.

Graphics: 8/10

Kitaria Fables features charming graphics, but it doesn’t take top marks because Twin Hearts may have lowered the graphic quality to fit on the Switch. Honestly, if Kitaria Fables exclusively came out for the Switch 2 and PlayStation 5 (three or four years later), the graphics score could be even higher. Older systems may have held back the graphics, but that doesn’t mean that Kitaria Fables’ look is anything but enchanting.

I also love Kitaria Fables’ colorful world. Each zone feels unique: lush forests, dank swamps, and barren deserts. Kitaria Fables mixes up its enemies in quirky ways to match the various biomes. Despite some technical limitations, Kitaria Fables has gorgeous graphics.

Audio: 8/10

When I first booted Kitaria Fables, the music didn’t grab me. It was there and pleasant. But the more I played, the more Kitaria Fables’ soundtrack grew on me. Kitaria Fables’ soundtrack isn’t one of those wow you when you first hear it soundtracks. It’s one of those slow-burning soundtracks. I wasn’t surprised to see the Kitaria Fables’ soundtrack available on vinyl. It can be infectious.

Replay Factor: 6/10

I enjoyed my time with Kitaria Fables. Heck, I blew through the game in a few days and picked it up on multiple platforms. But I wouldn’t call Kitaria Fables a game with high replay value. I can hope that I’ll forget specifics about Kitaria Fables and return to the game in several years. While a solid game, Kitaria Fables’ linear story (with no alternative storylines) makes it a one-time play game. And that’s okay.

Aggregated Score: 6.6

Kitaria Fables delivers a well-constructed video game that combines elements of Stardew Valley and Cat Quest. I enjoyed a lot of the colorful characters and the gorgeous set pieces. And cats, who doesn’t love cat people? While I wouldn’t expect a game with a ton of replay value, Kitaria Fables is a great one-time play game, especially if it’s on sale.

Geekly News: August 10, 2025, Spider-Man: Brand New Day Update

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Happy Sunday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another week of Geek News. A lot has been happening in the tabletop/board game industry this past week, but I may take another week to gather some thoughts. Something to look forward to for next week. XD Instead, we have a couple of MCU updates this past week, and of course, we’ll discuss this past week’s new releases. There were some good ones. But first, let’s discuss the rumors and leaks for Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Several Spider-Man: Brand New Day Rumors and Leaks

We already received word from Michael Mando that he will return in Spider-Man: Brand New Day as Matt Gargan, Scorpion. Mando even teased that he will be sporting a comic book accurate Scorpion costume, he’ll be involved in the alien symbiote story teased during a post-credit scene for Spider-Man: No Way Home. While Tom Hardy may be done with the Venom character, the alien symbiote does exist in Earth-616 (the MCU). The alien symbiote that is Venom has bonded with more characters than Eddie Brock and Peter Parker in Marvel comics. One of those other characters is Matt Gargan, so Mando saying his character will be involved with the alien symbiote makes sense. And Peter bonding with the alien symbiote aligns with the original 1980s Secret Wars, which will be a future MCU movie.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s director, Destin Daniel Cretton, and his camp have already shared multiple leaks about the upcoming Spider-Man movie. They plan to bring two comic books to life: Amazing Spider-Man #134 and Amazing Spider-Man #345.

Amazing Spider-Man #134 has Tarantula on the cover, and Tarantula was confirmed to be in Spider-Man: Brand New Day months ago by Marvel’s merchandising firm. Scorpion was also featured in this comic book, and we’ve received word from Michael Mando, who plays Scorpion in the MCU, that he will be in the next Spider-Man movie, so the leak is accurate, but this brings us to the second comic book.

Amazing Spider-Man #345 has Boomerang on the cover, and he was also leaked in a similar fashion to Tarantula and Scorpion. But look at the top of this issue (pictured above). Venom returns. It looks as though Cretton intends to include Venom, or at least the alien symbiote, in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Spider-Man’s next cinematic outing looks like it’ll be packed with villains. Earlier this year, a savage Hulk was leaked to appear in the film, and Shang-Chi (the protagonist of director Cretton’s first MCU film) is also set to return. We’ll keep you posted if we find out any more about Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Chris Hemsworth Clarifies Recent Thor Video

Chris Hemsworth will reprise his role as Thor for Avengers: Doomsday, and the actor recently shared a video titled “Thank You! The Legacy of Thor,” which ignited speculation that he might be preparing to hang up the hammer for good, after Avengers: Doomsday. Heck, I’ve seen speculation that Thor could be one of the MCU heroes Doctor Doom slays in the upcoming crossover movie.

But Chris Hemsworth clarified that he will return in Thor 5, which will most likely be set in Valhalla. Valhalla is the Asgardian version of heaven, so there’s a chance Thor could perish in Avengers: Doomsday and then star in a fifth Thor installment. Rumors suggest that Natalie Portman will also star in Thor 5, and since her character Jane Foster perished at the end of Thor: Love and Thunder, this furthers speculation that Thor 5 will take place in Valhalla. We’ll have to wait and see.

Gradius Releases on Multiple Platforms

Konami partnered up with M2 to deliver the perfect 40th Anniversary celebration for Gradius. Gradius Origins compiles most entries of the series into a single title. Gradius Origins chronicles Gradius from its arcade roots in the mid-80s all the way to the brand-new spin-off, Salamander 3. The game features over a dozen different game variations. It includes numerous quality of life additions and historical artwork.

Gradius Origins is available on PC, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 5.

Tiny Bookshop Releases on Steam

Tiny Bookshop looks like it’ll be right up my alley. I love books and cozy video games. I even like resource management games. Tiny Bookshop includes all three of those things. Leave everything behind and open a tiny bookshop by the sea. Stock your Tiny Bookshop with different books (some of them are real-world classics) and items. Take in scenic locations and run your cozy second-hand bookshop while getting to know the locals.

And what would a second-hand bookshop be without the occasional cat? Yes! Tiny Bookshop gives you the experience of running your own bookstore. If Tiny Bookshop sounds like something you’d be interested in, the game has a playable demo on Steam. Meow!

Prequel Game Mafia: The Old Country Releases

The upcoming Xbox Series X game, Mafia: The Old Country is a prequel to the original Mafia trilogy. It explores the origins of mob life in the United States, transporting players back to the birthplace of one particular crime family.

Set in 1900s Sicily and following one man’s ascent from an underling to a mafioso, Mafia: The Old Country offers a new angle to the Mafia formula. Narrative-driven, Mafia: The Old Country provides a singular Mafia experience. While not Grand Theft Auto 6 (which got pushed back to May 2026), Mafia: The Old Country scratches a similar itch. It’s available on PC, Xbox Series X, and PlayStation 5.

Care Bears: Unlock the Magic Deck Builder Game Launches on KickStarter

Care Bears receive the deck-building game treatment. Care Bears: Unlock the Magic Deck Builder Game has players spread caring and compassion while facing off against unpredictable weather, wild creatures, and the mischievous Bluster and his Bad Crowd. The game features multiple difficulty settings, perfect for younger players and gamers who want more of a challenge.

Like most deck builders, each player begins with a basic deck in Care Bears. You can purchase new cards with Wish (stars), and prevent Bluster and his Bad Crowd from spreading uncaring with Care (hearts). Care Bears hasn’t received a major tabletop game since the Eighties (there have been some reskinned games like Monopoly and an odd Chutes & Ladders-like game a couple of years ago), so Care Bears: Unlock the Magic Deck Builder Game is great for Care Bears fans who’ve been waiting for a deeper Care Bears board game experience.

Care Bears: Unlock the Magic Deck Builder Game has multiple pledge levels that range from $34 (for the base game, plus shipping) to the massive All-In Pledge of $400. But the best bang for your buck may be the popular Care-a-Lot Expansion Edition ($119) that includes all base Care Bears (to include Grumpy and Tenderheart Bear) and a neoprene playmat. If you’re interested in Care Bears: Unlock the Magic Deck Builder Game, check out its KickStarter page.

Vines and Flowers: Blooming Harmony Sprouts on KickStarter

Vines and Flowers: Blooming Harmony offers 3d tile placement. What? Players take turns taking tiles from the offering and then collectively building a pergola. Watch your vines and flowers climb and trigger effects, scoring you points, on your way to victory.

I love how Vines and Flowers: Blooming Harmony turns tile placement on its head by simply adding a vertical axis. The game has stunning table presence. Tell me you wouldn’t gravitate toward this game. You’d have to know what the players were doing.

Newcomer, Whales Entertainment, has done a great job with Vines and Flowers: Blooming Harmony’s production value. While you can enjoy Vines and Flowers with cardboard pieces ($35 pledge), this Kickstarter campaign includes an exclusive wooden pieces upgrade for a $45 pledge. I’m watching this campaign closely. If you’re interested in Vines and Flowers: Blooming Harmony, check out its KickStarter page.

The Voynich Puzzle Set to Launch on GameFound

Publisher Salt and Pepper has been releasing some fantastic games on GameFound this year. We covered The Battle of the Divas, and The Voynich Puzzle looks like it’ll be another amazing game with an interesting theme.

In The Voynich Puzzle, players reconstruct the mysterious Voynich Manuscript. All the art is inspired by this ancient text, and I love that The Voynich Puzzle includes actual puzzle pieces. We don’t know much about the game’s mechanisms yet (it’s set to launch on Monday or Tuesday), but the production value looks fantastic and thematic, and Salt and Pepper has been on a roll. They’re a well-respected board game publisher with titles like Resist! and Witchcraft! to their credit.

I may have to pick up a copy of The Voynich Puzzle for the artwork alone. We don’t yet know what pledge levels The Voynich Puzzle will have, but if you’re interested in this title, too, you can follow The Voynich Puzzle’s GameFound page.

That’s all the Geek News we have for this week. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day, Geekly Gang.

5 Famous Indigenous Video Game Characters

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Happy Indigenous Peoples’ Day! Geekly is marking the occasion by listing some of our favorite indigenous video game characters. Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. This list was a little more difficult to compile than one would first expect. There are plenty of indigenous people in video games. Unfortunately, many of them lean into cultural stereotypes. We’ll do our best to avoid stereotypical indigenous video game characters. With that disclaimer in place, let’s get to our list of 5 famous indigenous video game characters.

Honorable Mention: Poundmaker (Civilization 6)

Pîhtokahanapiwiyi, better known by the title of “Poundmaker,” doesn’t quite make our list because he was an actual Cree leader during the late 19th Century. Poundmaker advocated the rights of indigenous people at a time when the Canadian government was starving them and encroaching on their land. Though he didn’t hold his position for long, Poundmaker would be arrested for alleged treason. He was exonerated in 2019. Poundmaker earned the respect of the indigenous community. When Civilization 6 added the Cree as a playable civilization, they gave the honor of Cree leader to Poundmaker, a real-life Cree hero.

5) Connor (Assassin’s Creed Franchise)

Ubisoft didn’t play it safe when they moved the Assassin’s Creed story to the American Revolution. Instead of glorifying the colonists, Assassin’s Creed 3 shifted the focus toward how indigenous people were affected by a morally ambiguous war that had nothing to do with them. Ratonhnhaké:ton (aka Connor) is an assassin who worked tirelessly to defend his people from colonial oppression. Connor is divided between two worlds, which provides an interesting and unexplored perspective in video games for one of the most significant wars in American history.

4) Mina “Thunderbird” Sky (Rainbow Six Siege)

Video games don’t tend to feature indigenous characters. This trend goes double for indigenous women, so Rainbow Six Siege‘s introduction of Mina “Thunderbird” Sky was a boon. Mina Sky is a Canadian Air Force pilot originally from the Nakota tribe of Saskatchewan. She proudly wears traditional facial tattoos of her people. Her codename “Thunderbird” derives from an old legend about a powerful bird that often protected the Nakota people. Thunderbird is a fitting name for an operator who protects her Nakota and Rainbow Six families.

3) Nuna (Never Alone)

Upper One Games’ Never Alone takes inspiration from a famous Inuit legend. The hero seeks an end to perpetual winter. While traditionally the hero is portrayed as a man, Never Alone casts the role to a young girl. Nuna has to face harsh Arctic weather with only a white fox for company. She faces trials from puzzles to combat, but proves resilient. Rather than using skill points, Never Alone doles out progression through the telling of Inuit stories. This is fitting with the game’s theme of keeping cultural stories alive.

2) Thunderbird (Thunderbird Strike)

The Thunderbird is a mythological creature for various indigenous cultures. Often portrayed as an eagle-like creature, the thunderbird has immense power and serves as a guardian of the natural order. Game designer Elizabeth LaPensée takes this setup for her game Thunderbird Strike, where players control the legendary bird as it defends the land from the oil industry and restores life. Thunderbird Strike modernizes a famous legend and addresses real-life issues of industrial encroachment on indigenous land.

1) Tommy Towadi (Prey)

The original Prey (2006)–not Bethesda’s 2017 spiritual successor, also called Prey–had a story built around an odd mix of indigenous spiritual beliefs and science fiction. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the game has an indigenous protagonist. “Tommy” Towaldi can spiritually reach places others can’t. He often uses this skill to evade death and outwit his alien captors. Interestingly, a game in 2006 featured an indigenous protagonist. Most games that included indigenous characters in 2006 would’ve put them in stereotypical clothes. Tommy wears a leather jacket and jeans. He happens to be indigenous, and Prey (2006) explores his culture well. Almost two decades later, and Tommy still resonates with gamers.

So, what do you think? Who are your favorite indigenous video game characters? Are there any games that feature indigenous characters we should try? Let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Eyes of Wakanda Review

Published on by Kyra2 Comments

Happy Friday, Geekly Gang! Marvel Studios Animation released its fifth project in its short four years of existence with Eyes of Wakanda. This series looks amazing. The premise of time-hopping through history, showing Wakanda’s secret spies, the Hatut Zaraze (War Dogs), retrieving Wakanda’s advanced technology, sounds exciting. And Eyes of Wakanda is fun, I can see where storyboard artist Todd Harris wanted to go with Eyes of Wakanda’s story, but the reduced episode run makes it difficult for the Eyes of Wakanda to find its stride.

The War Dogs’ mission is to sneak into outside countries and recover lost Vibranium artifacts that, if they fall into the wrong hands, could expose or bring harm to Wakanda. The Hatut Zaraze do their best to keep Wakanda hidden from the outside world. This idea dovetails into the first Black Panther film; Killmonger found a Wakandan artifact on display in a museum. More on this moment later. Eyes of Wakanda’s first season features four key moments in Wakandan history: the Bronze Age, the Trojan War, the beginning of China’s Ming dynasty, and the First Italo-Ethiopian War. Each episode leans into the region’s cultural aesthetics. Eyes of Wakanda shows accurate depictions of the people who lived in each location during that time. I can’t say it enough, the art style is fabulous.

I also like how these four episodes are stand-alone stories. You don’t need to watch either of the Black Panther movies or do any other MCU homework. Everything you need to know is contained in four half-hour episodes. The first and final episodes of Eyes of Wakanda’s first season stand out above the middle two. I like the idea of reintroducing Iron Fist in the third episode–there’s hope we’ll have another Iron Fist sighting in the MCU–but the middle two episodes don’t do as much to explore Wakanda. The first episode shows how far advanced Wakanda is from the rest of a Bronze Age society. The fourth directly ties into Black Panther and Killmonger (this is the artifact, the axe, Killmonger steals from the museum). I have mixed feelings about forcing Eyes of Wakanda to connect with Black Panther, but the MCU is going to MCU. The bookend episodes also delve further into their protagonists.

In the first episode, we follow failed Dora Milaje candidate Noni, while the fourth episode centers on eager Wakandan Prince Tafari. I didn’t see the same character development in the middle two episodes. Or at least, the middle two didn’t stand out as much.

Eyes of Wakanda’s short run works against it. A couple more episodes like the first and fourth could’ve allowed Eyes of Wakanda to find its footing. Several television shows need at least two or three episodes to “really get going,” and I got that vibe from Eyes of Wakanda. With a larger episode order, Marvel Studios Animations could’ve shown more sides of Wakanda.

Still, what’s here is fun, and two hours isn’t a long investment for an animated series. And I can’t stress how amazing Eyes of Wakanda’s animation is. To this point, What If? was Marvel Studios Animations’ crowning achievement for art style and direction. Eyes of Wakanda gives What If? a run for its money. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.