Geekly News: October 19, 2018

Published on October 19, 2018October 18, 2018 by KyraLeave a comment

Doctor Strange 2

A couple of Marvel Cinematic Universe teasers occurred during conventions last weekend. The first was Director Benedict Wong stating that he started “film stuff” for Doctor Strange sequel and hopes to start filming by the end of the year.

That’s a bit odd because Disney/Marvel hasn’t officially announced Doctor Strange 2. From the sound of it, it’s in at least the pre-production stage. Mr. Wong didn’t specify if “filming by the end of the year” meant 2018 or 2019. That will play into Doctor Strange 2’s release date. If it’s 2018, it may be released around the same time as the third Guardians of the Galaxy installment.

Is Loki Dead?

The second bit of rumor came from Comic Con in Chicago. I won’t get into too many spoilers with Avengers: Infinity War on the off chance that the three or four people who haven’t seen it yet read this, but the way Loki meets his end at the beginning of the film has led to some speculation.

One fan theory calls attention to Loki trying to stab Thanos with a blade in his left hand, instead of his right and that leads to some believing that he was using a projection of himself. Tom Hiddleston must not have heard the theory, because according to Screen Rant, Hiddleston looked visibly surprised when someone asked him about it. Hiddleston’s said, “Your guess is as good as mine.”

That isn’t confirmation one way or the other. In fact, Hiddleston could be getting into the trickster character one last time.

Season 7 will be Orange is the New Black’s Final One

Netflix announced that the seventh season of Orange is the New Black will be the last.

This doesn’t come as a surprise as the hit show was renewed for three seasons in 2016, and the creative team has always hinted at a seven-season run, but Netflix confirmed it this week. Creator Jenji Kohan told Deadline, “After seven seasons, it’s time to be released from prison. I will miss all the badass ladies of Litchfield and the incredible crew we’ve worked with. My heart is orange but fade to black.”

Video Games

Soulcalibur 6 (PS4, Xbox One, PC)

The Soulcalibur series returns today with a reboot of sorts. A lot of classic characters will join the fray with newcomers Grøh, Azwel, and Geralt of Rivia (of The Witcher fame). The other big addition will be the new mechanic known as the Reversal Edge. Soulcalibur has finally joined the trend in modern fighting games with emphasizing defense.

Movies

Mid90s

Jonah Hill is another actor making his directorial debut with this coming of age comedy. He also penned Mid90s and if nothing else, this movie will have a great 90s soundtrack.

Halloween

What is with comedic actors branching out into other avenues of film? I’m liking it. Danny McBride cowrote the script to the latest installment of Halloween. Most critics have given the film positive reviews, stating that it’s the best Halloween sequel and marks a return to form for the franchise. It follows the classic slasher formula; I may give it a chance.

Can You Ever Forgive Me?

If the last two entries didn’t clinch this week as the week of comedians spreading their wings, this last one does. Melissa McCarthy stars in this dark biographical comedy about a failing writer who forges letters of famous people to make ends meet. The premise alone makes me interested.

TV

Friday, October 19, 2018

Lore (Amazon)

I watched the first season of Lore and if you can get past the cadence of the narrator’s voice, it’s a joy. Seriously, the narrator sounds like a cross between an automated voice and William Shatner hamming it up. Lore shows the history of popular myths, fables, and urban legends. It gets into the weeds to find the basis of these tales and sometimes, it shows us why they persist today. I’ll definitely watch this one, but I’ll have to take it in waves as I get reacclimated to the narrator.

Wanderlust (Netflix)

The BBC was treated to this Toni Collette vehicle last month and Netflix is airing it for folks outside the UK today. The main characters struggle with a fading sex life, so Collette (who plays a therapist) and her husband (played by Steven Mackintosh) decide to start dating other people.

Monday, October 22, 2018

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (CW)

Another week, yet another Arrowverse TV show. I was never into Legends of Tomorrow. The show acted as a depository of characters the series killed off but wanted to keep the actors employed. I’m also not a huge fan of time-travel and the plot issues it creates.

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Native America (PBS)

If watching documentaries makes me a nerd, then I’m a nerd. PBS begins its four-part mini-series about the indigenous people of the United States. Native America travels back 15,000 years to show how Native Americans designed cities aligned to stars. It explores their unique systems of science and spirituality, and that’s just the beginning. Yes! I just set my DVR.

Thursday, October 25, 2018

Legacies (CW)

Legacies is a spin-off show of The Originals, which was itself a spin-off show of The Vampire Diaries. Something tells me that Legacies will feature werewolves and vampires. This franchise has a lot of fans, but I may have to start with The Vampire Diaries if I’m able the chain of events that led the series to Legacies. But maybe not.

Board Games

Impact: Battle of Elements

With Strike off the market, Impact hopes to fill the void. The idea is simple. Players start with so many dice. They chuck their dice into a battle arena (the box) and if other people’s dice match the symbol they rolled, they claim those dice. If none of the dice match what they rolled, they lose all their dice. Last player rolling wins. There’s a little more to it than that, but very little. Still, a lot of people love this game and it lives on with a different skin with Impact: Battle of Elements.

Underwater Cities

This last entry is an odd but intriguing one. With land coming at a premium, the people of Underwater Cities starting building under the sea. Players try their best to compensate for their citizens adapting to this new lifestyle. I could talk about the worker placement aspect and action point allotment, but the fun in Underwater Cities derives from this near-future sci-fi concept.

That’s all we have for news this week. Be kind to one another and have a geeky week.

My Favorite Game Mechanics: Fallout Shelter

Published on October 18, 2018September 8, 2024 by KyraLeave a comment

Old Uncle Geekly is trying a new trick. This week’s favorite game mechanic comes from video games, Fallout Shelter in particular.

On the surface Fallout Shelter shares a lot of commonalities with other free-to-play games/apps like Clash of Clans. Players download it for free and it offers in game purchases for players to get better at the game faster than they would by investing only time. But the one thing that separates this game from other free-to-play games is also the one thing that makes it uniquely Bethesda. The player competes against the game, not other players.

When one logs off of Clash of Clans or a Clash of Clans clone, logging back in allows them to see what other players did to their defenses while they were offline. This sometimes leads to players paying for repairs (tying up a worker to repair counts as “paying”) and regrouping. There’s usually a tournament included in games of this ilk and only the best players—or the ones willing to pay to win—fair well in these tournaments. There’s a reason people scoff at these games as “pay to win.” The only way to get ahead in a game like that is to pay something. Fallout Shelter eliminates that style of play.

Sure, you could pay to get better things faster in the game, but the only player you can see is yourself. Fallout Shelter allows players to do things at their own pace. It doesn’t apply the pressure of a tournament.

Now I’m not saying that I don’t enjoy the occasional competitive free-to-play game, but Fallout Shelter’s brand of leveling up your vault dwellers how you see fit and sending them out on missions or exploring the wastes fit with Bethesda’s gaming catalogue. This isn’t just a free-to-play game. This is a Bethesda free-to-play game.

Is it for everyone? No. Did some gamers download it because they saw the word Fallout? Of course. Am I a Bethesda fanboy? You know it. But it’s the Bethesda open-world RPG flavor of Fallout Shelter that makes me interested in the game, and I hope other free-to-play games follow suit.

Player versus environment may be my favorite game mechanic, but I promised at least one more mechanism and here it goes. When Fallout Shelter first hit the app store, it bragged about players not having to wait for construction. Again, games like Clash of Clans have players build items and then they must wait real-world minutes or even hours for those items to be constructed. It’s a time waster. Well, you could pay gems (which end up being real-world money) to instantly build an item, but that ruins the idea of “free-to-play.” Fallout Shelter doesn’t have players wait for construction. If you have the resources, you build the room within your vault immediately.

While immediate construction was a huge selling point for the game, it opened new game mechanisms: push your luck and managing vault dwellers. Players didn’t wait on construction, they waited on their rooms to produce resources like food and water that their people needed.

The more dwellers one sent to a room, the faster that room produced the resource. This is a clever way of adding yet another resource (workers) to the game system. One could also “push their luck” by rushing production in a room. If one succeeds, the game gives them more resources. If the rush fails, the game generates some crisis (radroaches, a room fire, or deathclaws) the player must resolve.

It’s subtle, but the push your luck and managing vault dwellers mechanisms are excellent additions. Come to think of it, they may be just as important as making Fallout Shelter player versus environment.

I guess I had more than one favorite mechanism for Fallout Shelter after all. I’m sure I got lost somewhere while I searched the wastes. If I did, slap upside the head with a radscorpion barb. Or you could always say something in the comments.

Batman Starter Stories

Published on October 16, 2018September 8, 2024 by Kyra1 Comment

With wave after wave of comic book movies hitting theatres, interest in superhero characters has probably never been higher in the mainstream. Some people who’ve familiarized themselves with the big screen versions of the Avengers or the Justice League may be tempted to delve into the comics, but that can be intimidating. Most of the iconic superheroes in the industry have decades of stories behind them, so new readers may have no idea where to begin. With that in mind, Kyle and I have decided to publish recommendations for new comics readers, jumping-off points, so-to-speak, for understanding the basics of the characters in question.

This week, we’ll cover Batman. With three-quarters of a century’s worth of history, there’s a lot to know about the character, but the good news is most of the truly important moments in Bat-canon aren’t that old, comparatively speaking. Here’s my list of graphic novels and/or story arcs you can read to get all you need to about Batman and the world of Gotham.

Year One (written by Frank Miller/illustrated by David Mazzucchelli)

Year One is pretty much what you’d expect from the title. It’s the story of Bruce Wayne’s beginnings as Batman, his first year. It covers his struggle with the crime families that predate the arrival of the supervillains, as well as his conflict with a corrupt Gotham Police Department. Parts of it aren’t really considered canon anymore, or never were, but modern canon never seems to stray too far from what Frank Miller established here. This is also a great story for understanding the dynamic between Batman and commissioner Gordon.

The Killing Joke (written by Alan Moore/Illustrated by Brian Bolland)

This is one of the most famous Batman stories ever told. It’s a window into The Joker, and a brief insight into the dynamic between hero and villain. This one comes with a warning to readers who are sensitive to the topic of sexual abuse, as Barbara Gordon, Jim’s daughter and alter ego of Batgirl, is shot and photographed in various stages of undress by The Joker. Do you remember Christopher Nolan’s film, The Dark Knight? The Joker wanted to prove that Harvey could be corrupted, made as insane as he is. That concept is straight out of The Killing Joke, only the target isn’t Harvey. It’s Jim Gordon, and he uses his daughter to achieve that. The Killing Joke also is the jumping off point to Barbara’s time as the character called Oracle, which is often referenced in Batman comics.

Hush (written by Jeph Loeb/illustrated by Jim Lee)

This one is a solid read, and good for beginners for a couple of reasons. First, because as Jeph Loeb is wont to do, it runs through just about the entire Batman Rogues Gallery in the course of the story. You’ll get a little bit of pretty much everyone here. Second, because this book also has an appearance by Superman, and the dynamic between Batman and Superman is one of the more fun things to consider in modern DC comics.

The Long Halloween (written by Jeph Loeb/illustrated by Tim Sale)

This is just a great Batman book in general, but it’s also a good introduction to another one of Batman’s iconic rogues, Two-Face (Harvey Dent). This is also a great read for anyone looking to explore Catwoman as a character.

Knightfall (written and illustrated by various)

This one is a bit of cheat as it refers to a long arc within the comics, but one that is often called upon in modern Batman storytelling. Remember when I referenced the Christopher Nolan movies? Well, this one is what The Dark Knight Rises draws from most. It’s the story of Batman having his back broken by Bane, his recovery, and his reclamation of the Batman mantle. It’s actually not one of my favorites, but it’s worth reading to get a bigger picture of the network that is The Bat Family, and why Bane holds a special place among Bruce Wayne’s enemies.

Death in the Family (written by Jim Starlin/illustrated by Jim Aparo)

This one isn’t to be confused with Death of the Family (Snyder/Capullo). Don’t get me wrong, Death OF the Family is terrific, but it’s not for this list. Death IN the Family is an important arc for Batman because it covers the death of Robin. If you’re new to Batman Comics, you may not realize there have been many Robins. In Death in the Family, Batman’s second Robin, Jason Todd, is murdered by the Joker. In later comics, Jason Todd’s death is undone, and the character exists today as Red Hood, but understanding the history established in Death in the Family is key to understanding that dynamic within the Bat Family.

That’s my list for new readers of Batman. How do some of our seasoned Batman readers feel about it? Did I miss any? Did I include some you don’t agree with? Challenge me to a duel, or maybe just tell us in the comments.

3 Lists of 3 Video Game Enemies Made of Weak Sauce

Published on October 15, 2018September 8, 2024 by KyraLeave a comment

Video game villains or enemies can’t all be made of the finer things like Final Fantasy VI’s Kefka, Shadow of the Colossus’ Dormin or even Bowser. This week your uncle Geekly’s three list of three will cover the video game enemies who bleed weak sauce.

These are the guys you can bludgeon with one strike of your foam hammer, and they’ll pass out. We’ll start with ones you can find in many different video game franchises.

Pathetic Generic Enemies

Rats

Why does it always have to be rats? These little rodents don’t put up much of a fight unless they swarm the field. To be fair, that’s what a lot of games do with rats to make them more of a menace, but rats still don’t strike fear in the hearts of virtual heroes. My eyes get wide when I see them in an Elder Scrolls game. Heck, I picked the Fighter’s Guild quest line first in Morrowind, because of the rats.

A couple of well-placed swings will send the hoards to rat heaven where the streets are made of Cheez-Its, and it rains cheese fondue.

Skeletons

While you’ll see another undead come up next, skeletons are a classic video game enemy. I’m not exactly sure what holds them together, especially since they can’t take a licking. Super Mario Bros’ Dry Bones fall apart and somehow get back together after taking a couple of breaths(?).

Skeletons aren’t that sneaky either because you can hear their bones rattling across an empty tomb, and that’s where one would normally find one. At least the player has to look down at their feet—or non-existent feet if you’re playing Elder Scrolls—to see a rat after hearing it squeak.

There’s a reason why Undertale’s Sans came out of nowhere: skeletons aren’t supposed to be tough.

Zombies

Zombies are the undead version of rats. A single zombie doesn’t scare the typical gamer, one shot to the head usually does the trick, but that’s not what makes zombies formidable. It’s the throng of zombies—or is it the herd or hoard?—that makes people drop soft serve in their Underoos.

Still, zombies are overdone. They may be more overdone than rats and skeletons at this point, especially since many video games change what they call zombies. Draugr. Feral ghouls. Clickers. Infected. They’re still zombies.

Pitiful Unique Enemies

Slimes (Dragon Quest)

Slimes are one of the first things fans of Dragon Quest think of. They’re iconic. They also consist of nothing but weak sauce in the shape of a poop emoji. There’s a reason slimes are often your first enemy when starting a Dragon Quest game. They’re easy.

Keep smiling though. You’re the poop.

Goombas (Super Mario Brothers)

Yep. The mushroom shaped goombas are another example of an iconic video game enemy that’s too easy to kill. All Mario has to do is jump on them, and that’s a good thing because that’s all Mario can do at the beginning of most Super Mario Brothers games. One word: squish.

Mudcrabs (Elder Scrolls)

If an Elder Scrolls entry doesn’t start a player with rats, it’ll start them with mudcrabs. Let’s mix it up and start the player character in a half-flooded dungeon and pit them against half rats and half mudcrabs.

Mudcrabs are just crabs who live in mud. Despite their shell, they’re easy to defeat. The only thing that would scare me is if my character somehow contracted mudcrabs. That would scare me a lot more than Ataxia.

Ridiculously Easy Boss Enemies

Alduin (Elder Scrolls)

Man, I’m beating up on Elder Scrolls with these lists. I’m sorry, Bethesda. I promise that I like your games. I’m a huge Bethesda fanboy, but they’ve made some stinker enemies. The build-up to Alduin in Skyrim was fantastic, but Alduin himself must’ve read the word of weakness right before the main storyline’s final battle.

I’ve had tougher battles getting rid of mudcrabs.

Human Reaper Larva (Mass Effect 2)

Mass Effect is another series I love, but it’s another case of the final villain of the game (Mass Effect 2 to be specific) not living up to its billing. Cast as the most powerful and terrifying race, the vision gamers built of reapers in the minds was shattered when fighting this simplistic enemy. It wasn’t terrifying. It took no time at all to beat. I’m thinking human DNA wasn’t the best one to choose from. Countless hours of making reapers sound awesome wasted.

343 Guilty Spark (Halo 3)

He’s a tiny AI that’s cast as comic relief in the final installment of the Halo trilogy. This game is what the entire series built up toward, and guess who the ultimate boss turned out to be? The tiny AI that was supposed to be comic relief and takes three hits to take out. His name is even 343 Guilty Spark. Bungie is guilty of making a lame villain.

There’s plenty of weak sauce to go around. I spread a little on my hot dogs every game night. Which villains do you think are weak sauce? Let us know in comments, and if you like more daily, weak write-ups, subscribe for updates.

Is this progress?

Published on October 14, 2018October 13, 2018 by KyraLeave a comment

Kyle: Writing

Another week and another three trios of flash fictions (triplets) that are told from three different viewpoints. I edited another five, and I have enough for a book length work of these short stories. I hear rejection bells in the not-so-distant future.

Since I was focused on these triplets this past week, I didn’t get as much work done on my novel that uses this form and I’m sure Jim will have some form of discipline. I thought I heard the crack of a bull whip coming from my front yard.

Kyle: Games

More play testing this week. It can get boring but like editing one’s writing, it’s important to the craft. “No Jack” is close to blind play testing, and “Wildflowers” should be in Drew’s hands by now.

Thanks again, Drew. Feel free to tell me how confusing the rule book is and that the game’s tiles make great coasters.

That’s all I have for this week. We’ll be back tomorrow and the rest of the tomorrows this week with some brand-new content. Be kind to one another and stay geeky.

5 Great Mega Man Bosses

Published on October 13, 2018October 11, 2018 by KyraLeave a comment

Mega Man doesn’t get as much love as other classic video game characters. Mario, Sonic, Link and even Samus have enjoyed more publicity and fame. Maybe this is due to the games being too difficult. I don’t know how many hours I wasted trying to time one jump. Perhaps it’s the character design or the fact that Capcom couldn’t decide on how to spell Mega Man (MegaMan or Megaman). It could even be that Mega Man’s enemies are more popular than the original character.

To celebrate the first new Mega Man game in over a decade good old Uncle Geekly will break down five of the best Mega Man bosses from the previous 10 numbered games. These are personal preferences and they’re not even in any kind of order. Seriously, not even in chronological order. Let’s get to these robot Highlanders.

Fire Man (Mega Man 1)

Fire Man’s theme music captures the frantic nature of a player jumping and dashing through a hazardous work zone and the industrial robots helping to defend his stage. Fire Man’s look is classic. He almost looks like a robot version of Firestorm. He even thinks he’s the hero, which gives him even more character. The “Flame of Justice” makes for a good Mega Man foil.

Metal Man (Mega Man 2)

I always liked the look of Metal Man’s circular blades cutting through the air. He’s another classic design, but what separates him from many Mega Man villains is his sardonic wit. I don’t know of many Mega Man villains who love tearing down fellow robots. “Sorry. Were you expecting some kind of formal intro first? I’m Metal Man, the robot that Cut Man should’ve been.” Oh! Take that, Cut Man.

Skull Man (Mega Man 4)

His name says it all: Skull Man. He has a skull or ghost motif and happens to have one of the most diverse strategies. While most Mega Man bosses will initiate an attack as soon as Mega Man enters their realm, Skull Man waits for the Blue Bomber to make the first move. His is one of the most difficult boss battles and that makes sense. Skull Man is one of a few robots with combat as their only function. This lack of a life outside combat plays into his character.

Elec Man (Mega Man 1)

I could’ve gone with Quick Man because speed kills in Mega Man, but I had to go with the robot who inspired Quick Man’s design: Elec Man. He’s the original speed demon and electricity boss. As the robot built to control the voltage of nuclear power plants, he was considered Dr. Light’s greatest creation. With that being the case Elec Man is an egomaniac. But in the most sadistic way.

Knight Man (Mega Man 6)

Sometimes you want a robot dressed up like a knight. Knight Man doesn’t have much in the way of backstory, but he’s one of the most unique robot designs in the series and the counterattacks players must time (he’s only vulnerable when he attacks) make his battle one of the series most memorable.

These are your uncle Geekly’s favorite Mega Man bosses. If you don’t like the robots I chose, I’ll challenge you to a duel with some of your favorite Mega Man bosses, or you can let us know in comments.

Geekly News: October 12, 2018

Published on October 12, 2018October 12, 2018 by KyraLeave a comment

There aren’t as many big headlines this week in Geekly News, so we’ll go with some short news blurbs followed by new releases. Let’s kickoff this ball game with a New York Comic Con panel and a trailer.

Good Omens

Principal photography on the upcoming Amazon series Good Omens (based on the collaborative novel by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman) began over a year ago, but audiences didn’t catch a glimpse of any video until a panel at last week’s New York Comic Con. This series should be another solid one for Amazon who has slowly garnered a fine collection of native programming.

With American Gods and an upcoming Sandman movie, Neil Gaiman has been on a role with his creations finding their way on the silver and small screens. Is a Books of Magic or a Black Orchid movie far behind?

Batwoman Costume Revealed

The CW’s annual crossover event won’t occur until December 9^th, but that didn’t stop the network from leaking its first glimpse of Ruby Rose as Batwoman. Like many other heroes in the Arrowverse, Batwoman will make her first appearance this year during the crossover event, but she’s scheduled to have her own series beginning next season.

The Arrowverse has dabbled with an LGBT superhero, Mr. Terrific, in the past, but Batwoman will mark the first take that an LGBT superhero will take center stage.

Video Games

Friday, October 12, 2018

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (PS4, Xbox One, PC)

The latest Call of Duty has picked up a few tricks from the popular Fortnite. Previous installments of Call of Duty had player respawn (or have players’ characters revive) shortly after dying. This led to gun combat being fast paced and devalued long-distance shooting or snippers. We’ll have to see how this latest Call of Duty fares.

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Starlink: Battle for Atlas (Switch, PS4, Xbox One)

This is another wait and see title. Starlink takes the failing “toys-to-life” video game genre (games like Skylanders that have players buy real-life toys and use them in video games) and makes it new and exciting by adding an open-world—or open-universe—element. The toy spaceships and pilots look interesting, but I prefer the Switch copy for this game, as characters from Nintendo’s Star Fox series will make an appearance. Heck, with Star Fox as part of the cast, I’d do a barrel roll.

Movies

First Man

This film has received critical acclaim for Ryan Gosling’s performance of the first man on the moon Neil Armstrong and Clair Foy’s as his wife Janet Shearon. It’s also been at the center of an American flag controversy. First Man looks to be a lightning rod of buzz.

That was bad. First Man does intrigue me, and I’ll probably watch it at some point.

Bad Times at the El Royale

The premise may sound familiar (seven strangers who each hide dark secrets manage to stay at the same shady hotel), but the cast make this neo-noir mystery thriller sound like it’ll be fun if nothing else. Bad Times at the El Royale is another one I wouldn’t mind seeing.

Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween

I never watched the first Goosebumps movie, but I heard it was a modest success. Jack Black makes another appearance as R. L. Stine. That’s something, I guess.

TV

Friday, October 12, 2018

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (CW)

The fourth and final season of this stellar comedy musical begins tonight. Don’t try to text, message, or call me. I’ll be washing my hair—which is code for watching Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

The Haunting of Hill House (Netflix)

Shirley Jackson knew how to write horror of all kinds. The short story that first garnered her attention and put her on the map was “The Lottery” and it’s a great psychological horror story. “The Haunting of Hill House” is a supernatural horror classic that Stephen King cited as the best horror story written in the 20^th century. I’ll go with that and I’ll definitely see if this Netflix offering measures up.

The Romanoffs (Amazon)

I’ve talked about The Romanoffs last week in our 3 Lists of 3. The stellar cast and odd premise (several people believe they’re part of the Russian royal family) has piques my interest.

Titans (DCU)

Titans, as in the adult versions of Teen Titans, was supposed to air on various cable networks before landing on the DCU’s new streaming service. Every company wanting their own streaming service burns my corn, but if DCU streaming can make enough quality programming, I may consider it. I’m most likely to download the app for a free trial and binge everything in a weekend.

Sunday, October 14, 2018

Charmed (CW)

Truth time: I watched the original. I even watched the original Charmed not that long ago and got embarrassed for ever having watched it. Charmed was a CW (then WB) mainstay and a lot of the tropes and clichés one can find in CW shows today pretty much originated with Charmed. I may watch an episode or two and catch a glimpse of this trio of witchy sisters.

Monday, October 15, 2018

Arrow (CW)

Yep, the Arrowverse is still at it. I lost interest in these shows for some time, but like Charmed, I may tune in once or twice for old times’ sake.

Constantine: The Legend Continues (CW Seed)

It feels like yesterday when I lamented NBC cancelling the live-action TV show Constantine. Did it have its issues? Sure, but the series picked up steam and got canned before reaching full strength. Fans of the series were ticked, and the CW has brought back Matt Ryan (who played John Constantine) for this upcoming animated series. I think the CW Seed app offers free streaming for certain episodes. I’ll have to check on Monday or Tuesday. Or I could always wait for another free trial period.

Board Games

Solenia

Belgian publisher Pearl Games originally intended to release this game as Sun-Moon but settled on the name Solenia. The game consists of 16 rounds where players play cards with holes in the middle of them onto a modular board. The holes reveal a resource that players are trying to pick up or deliver and players gain points for delivering goods.

All of this is fairly standard for gamers, specifically Euro-style gamers, but the most interesting aspect of Solenia—besides the see-through cards—is its modular board. The tiles are double-sided with day and night scenes. These tiles cycle between day and night throughout the game, so players must plan their moves based on when they can perform actions. I’ll try to demo this game before long.

That’s all we have for this week. Be kind to each other and stay geeky.

Unpopular Opinion: Women Only Board Game Design Contests Are Good for the Hobby

Published on October 11, 2018October 10, 2018 by Kyra1 Comment

When Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG) listed a women’s only board game design contest in July 2018 (here’s the link), the contest was shared by multiple websites and game design forums. I’m a member of several of these forums, and the backlash was eye-opening.

Heated discussions on social media can turn ugly. Many of the people who shared this contest—not expressing that they supported it or why, even though sharing the contest was a form of support—had to delete their posts within hours. Some reshared and disabled comments so internet trolls couldn’t respond. A lot of what these trolls said isn’t repeatable, but there were some sentiments—that weren’t overtly sexist—that occurred frequently and here are two of the most prominent.

1) Women should challenge themselves and submit to board game design contests that are open to everyone.

2) Contest or Design Group “Fill-in-the-blank” is better because it’s truly inclusive.

Let’s start with the first comment. Who says that women aren’t participating in other board game design contests? There aren’t as many women game designers as men board game designers, it’s a male dominated field, but I’ve heard of at least a handful of women board game designers who submit to plenty of other design challenges and contests. There have been several women who’ve won. There have been a few female designers who were part of blockbuster tabletop games like T.I.M.E. Stories. These voices are unique in part because they have different life experiences, and the board game community could and should do more to give these voices a platform to be heard.

I don’t just design board games. I also write fiction, non-fiction, and poetry and submit to various literary journals. Many of these journals will have calls for submissions from minorities, and a similar backlash can occur. I’m not sure why. There are countless journals to submit to that will accept entries from anyone. If I see a listing for one that doesn’t apply to me, I skip it or if I know someone that the listing would apply to, I let them know about it. It costs me nothing. But the opportunity for someone else, especially someone who belongs to a minority, could be invaluable.

I know of hundreds of board game design contests. AEG’s Women Game Designers Wanted listing is the first time I’ve seen a woman specific challenge. It costs nothing to support this contest, but a lot can be gained.

The second comment type is more insidious. It accuses the contest of not being inclusive and devalues it, but the people who made this type of comment never have to worry that Design Group “Fill-in-the-blank” has no one else at the table who looks like them. Sure, everyone is welcome in Design Group “Fill-in-the-blank,” but some people feel more welcome than others. There’s a reason contests that encourage minorities to participate exist. They’re needed.

Most people in the board game community would agree that more women designers are needed, but despite what the backlash would suggest, a contest like AEG’s might bring more women to the table and make the hobby more inclusive. It helps to normalize women tabletop game designers. The more women who join the table, the less contests like AEG’s needs to exist. But even if minority contests persist, what does it cost someone to ignore the contest if it doesn’t apply to them or send the listing to a friend?

That second type of comment might do more damage to distance women game designers from the hobby. The writer of that type of comment doesn’t understand the obstacles for a woman designer or doesn’t care. If one doesn’t have someone like one’s self at Design Group “Fill-in-the-blank,” one is less likely to join. It’s intimidating. Having a minority specific design contest is more inclusive. It leads to a minority being less of a minority by positive normalization.

As of this write-up, AEG’s Women Game Designers Wanted is still open (until the end of November 2018). I encourage everyone who can apply to apply. And if the listing doesn’t apply to you, share it with a friend.

Worker Placement Starter Games

Published on October 9, 2018October 6, 2018 by Kyra1 Comment

Good old uncle Geekly likes to put little pawns to work with worker placement games. These games tend to get strategic as players place their pawns on spaces to claim an action during a turn and prevent other players from taking that action for a turn. That’s where the fun of most worker placement games derives. The tension of not wanting someone to take the action you need can get intense, and the ability to choose something you need before someone can block you is a great feeling.

But worker placement games can get nasty as some folks will take actions to keep someone else from taking them, not because they need to take them. These games can get convoluted too when more elements are added.

Fortunately, your good old uncle Geekly has some worker placement games that aren’t as cutthroat–for the most part–and are easy to learn. These are some great starter worker placement games.

Stone Age

Caylus may be the first game to use worker placement, but Stone Age is by far, more approachable. Players control cave people who are trying to build a rudimentary village in three phases. During the first phase, player’s pawns (or workers) are sent out to various areas to collect stone or wood or make new workers in the local hut. Brown chicken, brown cow.

The second phase has players roll dice equal to the number of workers they placed in areas to see how many of that resource they collected. The more workers in the area, the more dice a player gets to roll. In the third phase, players must have enough food to feed their population or they lose resources or points. Gamers will find feeding workers as a common thread in worker placement games. These designers must be hungry when they’re making these games.

Stone Age does a good job of introducing new gamers to a lot of the core concepts of worker placement—even the use of dice, because dice placement is a thing that we’ll see real soon. The theme is easy to get into and the mechanisms make sense for what the players are doing in the game. I don’t know how many games have me go to a quarry to make bread. Really? How many bread-making quarries do you know?

Doughnut Drive-Thru

Stone Age may be obsessed with feeding people, but Doughnut Drive-Thru has food as its theme. Yeah, give me a Coated Baby. That’s a glazed doughnut, sicko.

Doughnut Drive-Thru also happens to be the smallest game by far on this list and calling it a worker placement game is a little bit of a misnomer. It’s more of an action selection game, but the challenge of taking an action so your opponent can’t is still at the heart of any worker placement game, and that’s the center of Doughnut Drive-Thru.

On their turn, players are trying to learn new doughnut recipes, preparing a donut, or serving a donut. To take any of these actions a player places one of two wooden doughnut pieces they begin the game with on one of these actions. The trick is to time when you want to take these actions because when an action has no further spaces with which to place a wooden doughnut, players can’t take that action. You’re left with the choice of taking a different one of the two actions or taking all the wooden doughnuts—or taking enough doughnuts so their total doughnuts equal two—and waiting until next turn to take the action they want.

Doughnut Drive-Thru is fast-paced. Very fast-paced. It may even be the better game to begin with for a simple worker placement game. But it is a bit of a cheat. Don’t worry. Uncle Geekly eats plenty of doughnuts on his cheat day.

Fabled Fruit

Ah. This is another more recent game. I like Friedemann Friese’s style and not just his love of green and his wanting to use the letter F in as many game titles as he can. Fable Fruit keeps things light and simple but also adds legacy and dual-purpose cards to the genre. Players only have one worker in Fabled Fruit, an animeeple (a wooden animal pawn) to place on a group of six action cards. These action cards serve two purposes—they’re dual-purpose after all—and players either complete the juice action located on the bottom of the card (by turning in the fruit required, pictured) or they can claim the action on the top of the card like “draw two fruit.”

Man, what is with all the food in worker placement games?

Players go through a deck of 60 or so unique action cards (four of each action) and as soon as an action card is claimed in any game, it’s taken out of the deck. You’ll have to play the game a second time to ever see that card again and that’s where the legacy aspect comes into play. Prior games affect what happens in future games. Don’t use the “draw two fruit” action as a juice card too many times, or you won’t be able to draw two fruit again.

Fabled Fruit is clever and adds a splash of other popular game types and mechanisms, but also happens to be the easiest game on this list to learn. In short, it’s a tasty blend.

Great. Now I’m thirsty.

Final Thoughts

It’s difficult to come up with easy to learn worker placement games with depth. I had to go with slightly more complicated games than usual, but they still have some wide appeal. Stone Age, Doughnut Drive-Thru, and Fable Fruit explore different aspects of worker placement. I just wished they didn’t focus on food so much.

Know of any other great beginner worker placement games? Hold a rally and tell it to the workers, or you could let us know in the comments.

Tabletop Games for Fall 2018

Published on October 8, 2018October 6, 2018 by KyraLeave a comment

As you may know, good old uncle Geekly likes tabletop games, so we couldn’t go too long without making a three list of three for board games.

We’ll get the game rolling with Worker Placement games.

The first list of these lists of three took the most time. I started from the bottom of boardgamegeek (BGG) and searched for a game that I liked. It took about an hour to find my first one, so here it goes.

Underrated Tabletop Games

Doughnut Drive-Thru (6.25 out of 10 on BGG)

I couldn’t believe Doughnut Drive-Thru was as low as 6096 on BGG. Okay, I can believe it. Die rolls to determine whether you can prepare a specialty doughnut or serve one doesn’t sit well with many modern board gamers, but despite the rampant use of luck, there’s plenty of tactical choices with Doughnut Drive-Thru, and it’s a great, simple game to introduce new gamers to the worker placement mechanism. Plus, I like the fun art. Kawaii!

Starfall (6.36 out of 10 on BGG)

Starfall is most likely 5464 on BGG because it’s less about star gazing and more about finding constellations and somehow purchasing them with stardust. Finally, I have some way of unloading my spare stardust.

The game makes little to no sense with its subject matter, but it’s a solid game. I like it a lot and there may be other games in the overrated list that get away with not holding their theme as closely as they should. Starfall is also another pretty game and at $20-$25, it goes for a nice price. Unless that’s 25 stardust. I’m not sure of the stardust to US dollar exchange rate.

Batman: Gotham City Strategy Game (6.08 out of 10 on BGG)

Yep, there’s a trend. Batman: Gotham City Strategy Game is much lower at 4066 on BGG than it should be because it has a misleading title. Players don’t take on the guise of Batman, they’re members of Batman’s rogues gallery like the Joker, Penguin, and Two Face. That’s not a bad thing. I can do the Joker.

If you listen real closely, you can almost hear Harley Quinn outside my window.

The game can also become too much of a brain burner as the “strategy” in the game’s title alludes to, and some elements in the game step a little bit away from the source material. If a player gets too strong, Batman—who is a non-player-controlled element of the game—will target the leader. It gives the game balance, but players may feel a little less super. Still, Batman: Gotham City Strategy Game is solid, and being evil can put a smile on your face.

Overrated Tabletop Games

Gloomhaven (8.97 out of 10 on BGG)

It’s easy to pick the top-rated game on BGG as overrated, but it doesn’t mean that Gloomhaven isn’t at least a bit overrated. It’s certainly not for everyone. It destroys any other dungeon crawl—Descent can hardly be found on many people’s top 10 lists since Gloomhaven’s release—but the hype around Gloomhaven colored the game as having more of a story and being more character-driven than it ended up being. So, I guess I’d blame the hype, even though any game could use a hype man.

Agricola (8.02 out of 10 on BGG)

I liked Agricola when it first came out, but there have been countless games—including Uwe Rosenberg’s follow-up Caverna: The Cave Farmers—that do a better job than Agricola at scratching a worker placement/farming game itch and yet, Agricola is still well in the top 20 of all tabletop games on BGG. My biggest pet peeve is that Agricola insists that everyone play the game the same way and do everything that’s in the game. So what if I want to be the best pig farmer in the game? That’s my prerogative and don’t ask questions about my pig fetish. Squee!

Eclipse (7.97 out of 10 on BGG)

Eclipse is another case of hype and mistaken identity. Many folks claimed it was a short Twilight Imperium, but it’s too much of a Euro game—games that are obsessed with balance and don’t have enough of a “this is awesome” vibe—to be a quick TI. Further still, the game can get needlessly fiddly. There are too many rules for a game that isn’t supposed to take as long as TI. I don’t care what Appendix IX, Paragraph 12, Line 31 says. Help!

Anticipated Upcoming Tabletop Games

Gen7: A Crossroads Game (TBD)

There isn’t a release date for Gen7: A Crossroads Game yet, but the inclusion of the words “A Crossroads Game” got me excited in a special place—of my heart, you sickos. Plaid Hat Games promised years ago of a gaming series featuring the Crossroads story-based system that originated in Dead of Winter (2014). All they’ve done so far has been pumping expansions for the tabletop juggernaut, but it looks as if there will be a true sequel no later than early 2019. Gen7 is a lost in space game, which could be interesting, and a lot different from Dead of Winter’s zombie theme. Another Crossroads Game would be far out.

KeyForge (Holidays 2018)

While Gen7 is part of a series I like, KeyForge is the latest game by a designer I like Richard Garfield (of Magic: the Gathering fame). Recently, I’ve had a chance to pre-game release demo KeyForge, so this write up will change as a result. I’m still interested in this game, so it qualifies for this list. KeyForge hits many of the same notes as Magic, but players are forging keys, hence in the name, instead of defeating their opponents. The game is also sold by the deck, not by boosters, and each deck is unique.

KeyForge does its best to streamline Magic game mechanisms as players draw cards and ready (or untap) at the end of their turns. This does enough to make this game difficult for a Magic veteran to wrap their brain around—I had issues keeping things straight—and it cleans up some of Magic’s timing.

KeyForge won’t be for everyone. Preconstructed decks mean that players won’t have the option of building their own decks, but I’m sure the community will push back on this and there may be a way for players to merge decks. And I love the game’s price point. I tend to buy Magic starter decks and a few boosters per set. KeyForge’s business model mirrors this type of consumption. It’s a more cost-effective Magic.

Guardians Chronicles (October 2018)

Ah, we come to one of my favorite game types: shuffle building (combining small decks or pods to form a large one). Come to think of it, I have a lot of favorite game types. Anyway, Guardians Chronicles is another Plaid Hat Games release and I may be just as excited for it as I am for Gen7. I also like the superhero theme—there aren’t enough games with this theme—but I’m a little considered about the game being competitive. So long as the superheroes attack villains, I’m okay, but if the superheroes attack each other, that may defeat the purpose of superheroes. We’ll have to see how Guardians Chronicles plays out, but I’m definitely playing a game or two.

Are there any tabletop games you think are overrated or underrated? Which tabletop games do you look forward to in the coming months? And which ones of those games would you like to lose to your uncle Geekly? Mwah-ha-ha! Let us know in the comments.