Saturday Morning Cartoons That Should Return

Published on November 3, 2018September 8, 2024 by KyraLeave a comment

A petition helped to bring back Saturday morning cartoons to broadcast stations in 2017, so that got your uncle Geekly thinking about Saturday morning cartoons that should make a return on ABC, CBS, Fox, or NBC. Bring back our crudely drawn cartoons.

This list is a little difficult as many cartoons that aired on Saturday mornings originally have been relaunched on several streaming services and premium networks. I’m also unsure about any plans to bring back these shows. One never knows what’ll happen.

Darkwing Duck

Darkwing Duck split its time as an after-school cartoon and a Saturday morning cartoon, but I’m including it because it was fun and one of the few Disney cartoons that didn’t use preexisting characters. And these original characters became so popular that one can find many of DW’s greatest foes on the 2017 DuckTales relaunch.

These cameos led to unfounded rumors of a Darkwing Duck reboot in 2018. The outcry that the rumors were false may lead to a reboot after all. Until then, DW fans will have to read the new comic book series.

The Tick

Okay. This is the second comic book spoof cartoon show on this list, but The Tick’s just as good, if not better, than Darkwing Duck. Yes. There’s an interesting live action show available on Amazon Video, so I guess The Tick has gotten a reboot, but there’s something special about the original cartoon.

I’m not sure if a reboot could ever capture the magic of the original, probably not, but someone should make this happen. Amazon’s The Tick, while good in many ways, isn’t as funny or down-right silly as Fox’s cartoon Tick.

Sym-Bionic Titan

Sym-Bionic Titan aired between 2010-2011. It’s by far the newest cartoon on this list, and your uncle Geekly has little reason to watch a cartoon when he was this age but screw it. This show was excellent. Judge me all you want. It’s a hybrid of Voltron and high school antics brought together by Genndy Tartakovsky, the mind behind Samurai Jack.

While I think certain shows benefit from a short run, Sym-Bionic Titan’s one season wasn’t enough, and if Tartakovsky’s previous gem’s timeline holds for Sym-Bionic Titan, there may be a second season any day now.

X-Men

Batman the Animated Series is a far better series and more influential than the X-Men Animated Series, but some cartoon Batman has been on the air continuously since the last episode of Batman TAS aired. X-Men hasn’t received an animated series since 2009 and even that was a spin-off, Wolverine and the X-Men.

Like many other cartoons on this list, I’m uncertain if a new X-Men cartoon could capture half the magic of the original, but nine years (as of this write-up) is a long time between cartoons.

I’m not including the X-Men anime (2011) or The Super Hero Squad Show (2009) as they either took very different approaches with the characters.

Histeria!

Have you ever wondered what would happen if someone combined School House Rock with a kid-friendly Saturday Night Life? Histeria! might be the outcome. The show’s creator Tom Ruegger was a writer for Batman: The Animated Series and a key developer for Animaniacs (which is getting its own reboot), and the cast included original SNL member and writer Laraine Newman and the incomparable voice actor Billy West (Futurama). The show was fun and informative.

Histeria! deserves a reboot or at least, a means for viewers to see the original. I haven’t seen a DVD collection for it, and In2TV took down streaming episodes in 2009.

This list was so difficult. I’d look up Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? and find that there’s a reboot scheduled for 2019. Then I’d think of Rocky and Bullwinkle, but that’s been rebooted too. So many of the better Saturday morning shows never went away, or they’d find life in some other way. Even so, I’m sure I missed a fair share of shows. Pound the table and curse the names of the ones I missed, or you could pound the keys of your keyboard and let me know in comments.

An Unpopular Opinion: The Hate for Monopoly has Gone Too Far

Published on November 1, 2018September 8, 2024 by KyraLeave a comment

For the tabletop uninitiated Monopoly hate may sound like lunacy, it’s the bestselling game of all time, but in the board game community, saying that Monopoly is a good game is akin to claiming that one prefers the prequels to the original Star Wars trilogy.

Monopoly’s average score on Board Game Geek hovers around 4.3 out of a possible 10. It’s rated 15,760 out of a qualifying, as in enough reviews, 15,763 games. Tic-Tac-Toe may be the most famous game rated below Monopoly. Tic-Tac-Toe! Many true analog gamers hate Monopoly. Hate may not be a strong enough word. They loathe the game.

Keep in mind that a 4.3 rating tallies up several people who gave the game a perfect 10 and still, there are plenty of people giving it a 1 or a 0 to bring the overall score to below average, but the hate may have gone too far.

Yes. Monopoly shows its age. It takes a fair amount of time to play. 80-85% of modern games play in a fraction of the time it takes to play Monopoly and the games that take as long as, or longer than, Monopoly create a world, a story, characters, or all three for players to latch onto. Yes, modern gamers have—for the most part—moved beyond simple roll and move. They want more choices and not leave huge decisions to a simple roll of the dice. And yes, Monopoly is one of the hardest and therefore worst games to teach someone as their first board game and countless people are introduced to board games with Monopoly—more on that in a minute—and the game does a good job of ruining friendships and familial bonds. How many games of Monopoly end with someone getting upset and quitting? But it doesn’t deserve to be in the bottom four rated games. There’s a reason, beyond licensing, that Monopoly is a classic.

Monopoly is a balanced game. If you look beyond the roll and move mechanism, it has deep strategy. It teaches math and introduces people to a market place. Countless designers have been inspired by Monopoly. Yes, plenty of modern game designers avoid making a game like Monopoly, some of them may actively make a game that isn’t Monopoly, but one can’t ignore the cultural significance of the evergreen game. I wonder how many game designers today began with a Monopoly clone or tweaked the game with their own house rules, and for those of you who may question Monopoly’s balance it’s a house rule that disrupts the game’s balance the most. The worst house rule of all time is one that’s included with the base game today: money on Free Parking.

Little good can come from playing the game with money under Free Parking. If the leader lands on the space, they get further ahead of the other players, creating a runaway leader. If someone trailing by a lot lands on the space, they’re given the equivalent of a meaningless run during a 10-run baseball game, right before the mercy rule to end the game would occur, and now they have to keep playing a game they know they’re going to lose. That isn’t fun. It definitely isn’t fun when “I’m smarter than you” cousin Justin won’t let you call the game early. I don’t care if I landed on Free Parking, Justin. You own the blue, yellow, and green monopolies and they all have hotels. I’m just going to give you all my money the next turn. I quit!

Never play Monopoly with money on Free Parking, but one can’t hold the sins of Free Parking against the original Monopoly.

Other house rules and new game variants do more to modernize this older game. Holding an auction before the roll of dice adds strategy and can speed things up; you don’t have to wait for someone to land on each space for each property to be owned and money exchanges hands quickly. Some newer versions of Monopoly have express dies that shake up things a bit. If you can find 2007’s Monopoly: Tropical Tycoon DVD Game, I’d highly recommend playing it. Besides the inclusion of a DVD, players have jobs and individual powers that give them unique advantages. It’s a game that shows that there’s a lot of design space with Monopoly because of its universal theme.

So, why all the hate? There are countless games ahead of Monopoly that are broken and unbalanced. Plenty of older games hold a higher rating than Monopoly too. True. The hate may come from Monopoly tearing friends and family apart. Player elimination in a longer game is a tough pill to swallow. Just ask Risk. One hates being eliminated early from a long game and being forced to watch, but I’d wager the hate comes from Monopoly’s place as one of the first games people play.

Monopoly is a tough game to learn. How many kids under the age of ten would know how to calculate 10% of their total assets for Luxury Tax? How many people can add up what they owe for maintenance in their head? Even if you can, would you want to? There are few modern games that require players to use a calculator or tax their brain with needless math, and it’s this barrier to entry that turns off a lot of would-be board game enthusiasts from the hobby.

I’ve lost count of the many people who don’t play board games who’ve said that they’ve only played Monopoly and board games aren’t their thing. If you played Monopoly as your first or only board game, I could see someone not liking board games. Tabletop gamers resent Monopoly because it has single-handedly prevented them from sharing their hobby.

Monopoly isn’t a beginner board game, but that doesn’t mean that it’s a game that’s so below average that it gets rated beneath unbalanced and broken games.

Is there another board game that gets too much hate? Does Monopoly deserve all the hate it gets? Let us know in comments.

Hulk Starter Stories

Published on October 30, 2018September 7, 2024 by KyraLeave a comment

Despite his superhero persona, the Hulk is often viewed as a monster and many of his stories range between Hulk as a hero and as the hunted. He’s one of the rare Marvel heroes who started with their own solo series and then got absorbed into an anthology series (Tales to Astonish), only to receive a solo series again. Marvel often doesn’t know how to handle the green goliath, so it can be difficult to find which stories to read first.

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here with a guide of starter Hulk stories.

Hulk: Gray (written by Jeph Loeb/art by Tim Sale; 2003-2004)

Loeb and Sale usually do a great job showing a hero’s formative years, and Hulk: Gray is no exception. For those who don’t know Hulk’s origin as well as other Marvel character’s this series delves into the accident that created him and his early struggles and failures to control his powers.

Hulk: Gray only ran for six issues, but readers get a good understanding on how at odds Banner is with his counterpart. It’s a quick and must read.

Planet Hulk (written by Greg Pak/art by Carlo Pagulayan and Aaraon Lopresti; 2006-2007)

Yes! This story should look familiar for Thor: Ragnarok fans. Humanity deems Hulk too dangerous to remain on Earth, so he’s jettisoned on an alien planet Sakaar. Once there, the locals enslave him and force the Hulk to fight in gladiatorial combat against other aliens. Planet Hulk is one of the wildest and best Hulk stories.

The story builds intrigue on who sent Hulk to the planet—I won’t spoil it here, but it’s eye-opening—and watching the Hulk battle to liberate Sakaar from the Red King is satisfying. Throw in Hulk getting married and a Hulk baby and you have a romp that’s well worth the read.

World War Hulk (written by Greg Pak/art by John Romita Jr.; 2007)

Remember the intrigue from Planet Hulk? Yeah, World War Hulk shows what happens when the Hulk discovers who sent him to Sakaar and the subsequent war. While this mini-series displays some intricate combat, it also manages to show a mindful Bruce Banner who remains trapped inside all the Hulk’s rage.

It’s a side of the Hulk that readers don’t get to see that often and it’s refreshing.

Indestructible Hulk (written by Mark Waid/art by Leinil Francis Yu; 2012-2014)

This story may seem out of place as it was published a good five years after World War Hulk, but Indestructible Hulk does a great job of showing why humanity may fear the Hulk enough to send him to another planet.

The Hulk chooses to do some good and allies with S.H.I.E.L.D.. This partnership leads to some of the Hulks battles, but as the title implies, the Hulk gains so much strength that he becomes indestructible. I won’t spoil the shocking reveal at the end, but this series shows how the Hulk struggles to be a hero, but he’s ultimately a force of nature.

Hulk: Destruction (written by Peter David/art by Jim Muniz; 2005)

The Hulk doesn’t have as many villains as other heroes in comics, but the Abomination (featured in the movie The Incredible Hulk) must be one of the key few, and Hulk: Destruction does a great redefining the two’s relationship.

Peter David also happens to be a long-time The Hulk writer and this mini-series does a good job showing what he can do with the character.

Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk (written by Damon Lindelof/art by Leinil Francis Yu; 2005-2009)

The infrequent schedule of this mini-series left a lot of readers miffed at the time of its original run, but the six issues have been completed, and no collection of Hulk stories would be complete without including at least one battle between Hulk and Wolverine. Heck, Wolverine was first introduced as a Hulk foil.

Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk shows how insane these battles get. It opens with Wolverine torn in half, his legs on top of a mountain. Yikes!

I could have done with so many flashforwards and flashbacks in a short series like this (Lindelof is one of Lost’s co-creators, so I guess he likes using a lot of these), but Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk gives insight to the brutality of these two primal beings.

That’s my list for new Hulk readers. Did I miss any stories or include some that I shouldn’t? Send me a smoke signal atop a mountain—preferably not the one the Hulk traveled to—or let us know in the comments. And wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

3 Lists of 3 Halloween Tabletop Games

Published on October 29, 2018October 30, 2018 by KyraLeave a comment

It’s that time of year where gamers want to be spooked or maybe fight back against the things that go bump in the night. Happy Halloween, folks. Your uncle Geekly gets a little ahead of himself sometimes, but Halloween must be around the corner.

Since it’s the time for ghosts and goblins, let’s do a three lists of three for board games that use a horror, ghost, or spooky theme. Don’t worry. Uncle Geekly ain’t afraid of no ghosts.

Exploration and Investigation Games

Mansions of Madness 2^nd Edition

Of the three games in this list, no one game combines exploration and investigation as well as Mansions of Madness 2^nd Edition. This app-assisted Cthulhu game (you’ll see a lot more of Cthulhu on this list) can set the right mood for Halloween, but beware that Mansions takes a long time to play. Even short scenarios can take hours. Any time spent with Mansions of Madness is time well spent.

There are plenty of other, shorter games on this list. Mansions of Madness is the main course.

Betrayal at House on the Hill

My family and I play Betrayal at House on the Hill at least once every Halloween. It has a nice blend of horror and suspense genres in its various scenarios. The game can get unbalanced at times, but exploring the house is a lot of fun and perfect for a little spook time.

The Widow’s Walk expansion isn’t necessary, but some famous game designers like Christopher Badell (Sentinels of the Multiverse), Rob Daviau (grand master of all Legacy games), and Jonathan Gilmour (Dead of Winter) chip in with some new haunts. Betrayal at Baldur’s Gate is a standalone Dungeon and Dragons variant to the classic Betrayal, so if D&D is more your thing, it does a great job of combining the two genres.

T.I.M.E. Stories

This one’s a little of a cheat. T.I.M.E. Stories isn’t necessarily a horror game, but it does exploration and investigation better than most games on this list, and the first scenario occurs in an asylum, so that gets a little spooky.

If you’re not familiar with T.I.M.E. Stories, think of it as a mash up of Assassin’s Creed and Quantum Leap. Players get sent a specific time/space by a secret organization and they have finite time to fix something or right a wrong. This setup allows for a lot of various themes and that makes T.I.M.E. Stories more diverse than many other games on this list.

Bust Some Ghosts or Goblins or Zombies Games

Dead of Winter

The goal of a most Dead of Winter scenarios may not revolve around busting zombies, but zombies will be busted along the way. To be fair, the zombies have an easy time overrunning the players, so players don’t usually feel that empowered, but when they do, it’s a great feeling.

Characterization and a good story—thanks to the Crossroads game system—do a lot to separate Dead of Winter from a lot of other horror or spooky games. It’s worth the play, especially if it’s cold outside.

Ghost Stories

Plenty of gamers get frustrated with Ghost Stories. It’s easily the most difficult game on any of these lists—in terms of how brutal it is to the players—and what’s worse is that players are typically lulled into a false sense of security. But Ghost Stories is one of the best ghost themed games on the market.

It almost works like a tower defense game with nightmare fuel bombarding the players each turn. The players assume the roles of Kung-Fu masters. It’s the power these masters possess that gives players that false sense of security I mentioned earlier, but the variable powers work well in this title. I’m glad Ghost Stories is back in print. Just in time for Halloween.

Elder Sign

Sometimes you just want to chuck some dice. There will be other dice games in the third list, but those dice games are quick and don’t offer much in the way of brain burning. Elder Sign combines dice rolling with high strategy.

As the name implies, Elder Sign is another Cthulhu title—I may have to come up with a third one of these for the last list, so I’ll have one Cthulhu game in each list—but Elder Sign feels like the players are going head-to-head against an elder god more than most other games of its type. That’s why it’s on our “Bust some ghosts or goblins or zombies” list. I like to kick Cthulhu’s butt, but to be fair, he usually kicks mine.

Quick, Fun, and Light Games

Zombie Dice

I’ve talked about Zombie Dice before, but it’s a great, quick game where players push their luck as zombies trying to eat brains. Mmm…brains.

Zombie Dice also has a small footprint—it doesn’t take up much space on the table—so you could play it while going Trick or Treating. But not in the street. Never play dice games in the middle of the street.

Don’t Mess with Cthulhu

Yes! I completed the Cthulhu trio. Don’t Mess with Cthulhu is a quick, social deduction game where some players are trying to figure out who’s summoning Cthulhu and other players are trying to summon the elder god.

Luck plays a huge factor in this game, but it’s so silly and fast that you won’t mind. When Don’t Mess with Cthulhu hits the table, my family rarely plays just one game.

King of Tokyo

I had to go a little off-topic again with King of Tokyo. Players control large monsters or kaiju. The gameplay resembles Yahtzee if Yahtzee had a King of the Hill aspect added to it—hence the title King of Tokyo. Sure, the game includes player elimination, but at fifteen to twenty minutes a game, one doesn’t have to wait long before exacting their revenge.

King of Tokyo is another fun party game that’s hard to play just one game of.

There are so many Halloween ready tabletop games I could’ve included. What are some of yours? Are there any categories your uncle Geekly left out of these three lists of three? I won’t answer the loud knock on my door, but you could let me know in comments.

Halloween Costumes I’d Like to Wear One Day

Published on October 27, 2018October 20, 2018 by KyraLeave a comment

It’s Halloween time and your uncle Geekly has made Halloween costumes in the past. Okay. They were cosplays for various conventions and if Halloween was around the corner, so be it. Geekly’s gone as Hinata (Naruto), some failed attempts at a few others, and many times dressed as Medieval farmhand #3, but there are plenty of Halloween costumes Geekly hasn’t tried making and would like to at some point.

**C-3PO (Star Wars)**

It’s a classic, but there’s a reason it’s a classic. We’re talking actual metal. None of that phony plastic stuff. Yes. The stay at least five feet away from him on a stormy night 3PO. If it doesn’t creak or squeak, it doesn’t count. With so many remote control R2-D2s on the market this costume would be a blast.

Solid Snake (Metal Gear Solid)

I’ve tried this one before, but never went out in public with it. No. I’m not talking the camouflage wearing Snake everyone knows and loves. I’m talking about the Snake everyone likes most but is afraid to admit it: cardboard box Snake. Yeah. I have a pair of BDU paints and combat boots from my days in the service. All I need is a large box and getting the box is half the fun. I can’t think of anything better than to walk up to a sales associate and ask for a box big enough to fit a grown man. You can’t ask what it’s for.

Sasori (Naruto)

We went from the simplest to the most difficult. If I were to dress as Sasori, it’d have to be the entire thing. We’re talking his tank puppet Hiruko, a hundred puppets for his Red Secret Technique, his various other human puppets (the Third Kazekage and his parents) and turning my own body into a puppet. Okay, I may have gone too far.

Big Daddy (Bio Shock)

Another one that must be made of metal. Hmm. That would make it a little difficult to maneuver. Something other than metal might be okay, but it must have an authentic look with little sisters and all that. I’ve seen this done many times, but the best had to have been at Gen Con. Maybe I can borrow the costume. Do you think there’d be a listing on Craig’s List?

Sheogorath (Elder Scrolls)

Sheogorath’s costume may or may not be that complicated, but I like any excuse to speak and think like the Daedric Prince of Madness. I’m constantly doing the Fish Stick.

These are your uncle Geekly’s bucket Halloween costumes of sorts. Let me know what yours are or if you’ve been any of these characters, message me your contact info or you can just leave a comment. I’d advise not to leave any personal information.

Geekly News: October 26, 2018

Published on October 26, 2018October 26, 2018 by KyraLeave a comment

Iron Fist and Luke Cage Cancelled

I just missed Iron Fist’s cancellation last week, and Luke Cage joins it this week. This may or may not be a sign of things to come with Marvel-Netflix’s shows. Several factors led into the decision to cancel the Heroes for Hire (Luke and Danny). I’ll try to keep this brief.

Disney still intends on beginning its own streaming service soon and is looking to reclaim the licenses of many of their characters; this also incited the proposed Fox buy-out. Netflix ordered fewer episodes of future Luke Cage and Iron Fist seasons as an effort to lower costs (fewer episodes mean less money for the license), but lowering costs means that they would give Disney less money and that makes Disney less interested in maintaining the agreement. But the chief reason may be that Netflix has matured (as a television network of sorts) to a point where they don’t overpay for licenses they don’t need or want, and they’re less likely to continue shows that don’t earn them new subscribers or downloads. Early Marvel shows like Daredevil and Jessica Jones brought in new subscribers, but Luke Cage and Iron Fist struggled.

Netflix still has the license to use Luke Cage and Iron Fist in their shows, so the cancellation of their individual series doesn’t mean that fans won’t see them on other Marvel-Netflix shows. Of course, things could change if Disney insists on reclaiming as many Marvel licenses as possible. The Mouse House could rescind their Netflix licenses or make the premiums for keeping any licenses untenable for Netflix.

Marvel Game Universe (MGU) Announced

And now for some lighter news. Spider-Man for the PS4 (released last month) is the official launch of an interconnected series of games that will feature Marvel Universe characters. The Marvel Game Universe, or MGU, will function in many ways like the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Spider-Man acting as 2008’s Iron Man.

Rumors swirl with numerous game developers attached to various Marvel properties. Sony’s Insomniac will continue with future Spider-Man games, but they’ll take on at least another character or two, Square Enix (of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest fame) will produce Marvel titles (and Sony hinted that they may be involved with the larger project), and Rock Steady (Batman Arkham series) has been mentioned as well. I’m not sure who’ll be in the final production line as far as developers, but the main Avengers and stars of future Marvel films are a safe bet for getting their own games, and if the results of future Marvel games are as good as Spider-Man, it’ll be a fun ride.

Video Games

Red Dead Redemption 2 (PS4, Xbox One)

The long wait for Red Dead Redemption 2 is now over. This game is a prequel to the first Red Dead Redemption (2010) and follows the story of outlaw Arthur Morgan of the Dutch Van der Linde gang. Let’s hope this Western ends in a more positive light.

My Hero: One’s Justice (Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC)

My Hero Academia gets the fighting game treatment. There’s a strong possibility that I’ll pick this one up on the secondary market. Plus Ultra!

Call of Cthulhu (PS4, Xbox One, PC)

This game will share more with the 1981 pen and paper role-playing game than the H. P. Lovecraft short story of the same name. What makes me interested is that Cyanide game studio contacted the original writers of the 1981 RPG, so this survival horror/role-playing game has some serious roots.

Movies

Hunter Killer

This one sounds like a good old-fashioned action adventure and that’s okay sometimes. The Russian president is captured and a U. S. submarine must rescue him while avoiding World War III.

TV

Friday, October 26, 2018

Castlevania (Netflix)

The first season of this Netflix original anime followed the source material closely, but it dragged in a few places. I’m hoping the second season will build on a promising cliffhanger.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (Netflix)

Sabrina the teenage witch has largely been a comedic character and in 2014, Archie Comics gave her a grittier reboot. I can’t wait to see how Kiernan Shipka and the rest bring this reimagining of the character to life.

Wednesday, October 31, 2018

Stan Against Evil (IFC)

This series is still on? I kid—sort of—because this series can scratch the itch left by a dearth of new Evil Dead material. I’ve always liked John C. McGinley (“Scrubs”), so I may give this comedy-horror series another shot.

Tell Me a Story (CBS App)

I like the premise of Tell Me a Story. This series takes the world’s most beloved fairy tales and reimagines them as dark and twisted psychological thrillers. Unfortunately, CBS is at it again with making some of its content only available on its streaming service. Ugh!

Board Games

5 Colors

This is an understated card game. The game is played with a deck of 100 cards, 20 cards of each of the titular 5 Colors. Players simultaneously play a card from their hand. The most played color gets scored and each player that played the most commonly played color gains points on the card they played. It’s simple to understand, but once players catch on with how to play, the strategy begins.

Atlandice

Atlandice has a lot more going on than 5 Colors. This game’s main feature is a rondel (a circular device that changes throughout a game) and in the center of the rondel is a doom clock. Players draft dice and items during their turn, trying to get the most points before rooms get swallowed by a flood and the doom clock ends the game.

It’s an interesting game with a lot going on. I can’t wait to get my hands on it and get a closer look.

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

My Favorite Game Mechanic: Mansions of Madness

Published on October 25, 2018October 20, 2018 by Kyra1 Comment

Have I mentioned that the Geekly household likes cooperative games? I have? We’re a family of sore losers and think the other people at the table are cheating. I mentioned that too? Well, we’re also fans of puzzles and like the occasional Lovecraftian horror game. Ha! That’s new.

When I think of those criteria, I think of Mansions of Madness 2^nd Edition, but there’s a specific mechanism that brings out the best in that game: integrating an app.

You know what they say about not being able to beat them. Many games use apps as game night assistants, but Mansions of Madness 2^nd Edition uses the medium to create ambiance with mood-setting background music. It adds character to the game. Not just with the music, but with the variety in each area’s setup and whatever algorithm that tells the app that the players of this game have done specific puzzles in the past, it’s time to mix it up. It even randomizes the solution of each scenario, so someone can play the game more than once and get a different outcome.

Okay. Some of these features aren’t executed as well as they could be, but Mansions of Madness 2^nd Edition harkens a new age in tabletop games. I don’t think we’ll get too many of these type games at once, but there’s enough in Mansions of Madness to make someone excited for a third edition or how other games will incorporate apps in the future.

There’s plenty more to like of Mansions of Madness besides its app integration. The exploration, discovery, and puzzle-solving are well done. The Geekly household likes to rotate who takes the role of narrator each turn so that everyone gets a turn. If there’s another gripe I’d have with Mansions of Madness’s app it’d be that they could’ve included more voice acting (as in various actors or more of it so that a player at the table wouldn’t have to roleplay)—but more roleplaying isn’t a bad thing. Ham on, Hammy.

The Mansions of Madness’s app works well overall. I’m encouraged by what I’ve seen in this game and other games like Beasts of Balance, the One Night Ultimate series, Alchemists, and World of Yo-Ho. This is a trend I don’t see going away soon and if Mansions of Madness is the start of a new wave of games, I’m okay with that as a change-up, but I still like my classic analog games.

That’s what I have as my favorite game mechanism for Mansions of Madness 2^nd Edition. There are plenty more that I could include. What are some of yours? Maybe there’s another tabletop game that uses a companion app better. You can challenge me to a leg wrestle or tell me about it in comments.

Card Drafting Starter Games

Published on October 23, 2018September 8, 2024 by KyraLeave a comment

Your uncle Geekly likes card drafting games; they’re one of his favorite game types. I admit that I say this a lot, but I do like a good card drafting game. Card drafting can take many forms and some of the games that use this mechanism can get involved and not very new player friendly.

Fortunately, old Uncle Geekly is here with another group of starter games: card drafting edition.

Okay. I thought that would’ve sounded better than it did. Oh, well. These are the best games to teach someone who’s never played a card drafting game before.

Azul

Azul is a bit of a cheat. Players aren’t drafting cards, they’re drafting tiles, and that makes sense because the game’s theme is tile laying a Portuguese wall. Oddly enough, Azul has tile laying as a theme, but the tile laying or placement mechanism is downplayed. Anyway, various colored tiles are drawn from a bag and four of them are placed on 7 cardboard discs that are accessible to each player. Players take turns claiming similar tiles on each disc and adding them to their player boards. Each board has the same wall pattern and the player to finish a row of tiles initiates the end of game.

The scoring can get a little fiddly at times, but Azul is a quick game that’s easy to learn, and you’ll see plenty of set collection and chain effects (of which Azul has plenty) crop up in other games on this list and other card drafting games not on this list.

Jaipur

I could’ve gone with Splendor here and most of what I say about Jaipur could apply to Splendor, but Splendor gets too much press and Jaipur doesn’t get enough. Jaipur has a supply or market place with five cards. Players take turns taking cards from the market or swapping 2 to 5 cards between the market and their hand. One can also sell every card of a specific commodity (each card has a different commodity depicted on it) and when they do, they take point chips of the commodity from the bank. As soon as four pools of point chips are depleted, the game ends and the player with the most points wins.

Like Azul and Splendor, Jaipur is a quick play. It’s my representative game for the rapid market place games that use card drafting. Unlike Splendor, Jaipur doesn’t have as much of a runaway leader problem and is a little more forgiving on new players. Plus, I really like the camel card addition.

Sushi Go

In many respects, Sushi Go is a simplified 7 Wonders. It’s a simple game of deal so many cards to the players around the table and each player simultaneously picks the card the want to draft. They place the card they want face down on the table and pass their hand to the next player at the table. Once everyone has picked a card, everyone reveals the card they picked, and it adds it to their tableau (or scoring area). The cards have various scoring methods and picking the right combination of scoring method leads to victory.

Sushi Go’s theme is silly, the gameplay is lightning fast, and the rules are easy enough that a 7 or 8-year-old would have no issues playing. If you’re new to tableau building, simultaneous card drafting (and there’s a lot of games that fit this bill besides 7 Wonders), learn Sushi Go before tackling something more complex.

Final Thoughts

Card drafting is one of your uncle Geekly’s favorite gaming types. There are plenty more introductory card drafting games I could’ve included. If you have an issue with any of the games on my list, say JK Geekly twenty-seven times in a mirror and there’s a chance I might appear. Or you could let me know in the comments.

3 Lists of 3 Video Games

Published on October 22, 2018September 8, 2024 by KyraLeave a comment

Good old, uncle Geekly may be more into tabletop games, but he still plays the occasional video game. For all you video game fans, here’s a three lists of three. Hold your anger for the end.

Underrated or Overlooked Video Games or Video Game Franchises

Persona/Shin Megami Tensei

Persona may gain some traction in the States after 2017’s Persona 5, but this series has been cranking out old-school RPG hits for some time. Each game is a standalone experience that centers around a group of students battling otherworldly evils from another dimension in between class periods. With turn-based gameplay, unique monster designs, and Eastern humor the Persona series is one of the reasons I don’t mind other classic RPGs like Final Fantasy have shifted away from their roots. Persona does a great job of keeping the tradition alive.

World of Goo

World of Goo is an indie, puzzle game that didn’t set the world on fire like Angry Birds, but its physics engine may be just as good. Honestly, I prefer World of Goo. Players control the flow of goo to an exit point and the quicker a player can do that, the more points they earn. A minimum score is required to finish a level, of course, and like most puzzle games, World of Goo’s levels start easy and grow in difficulty. You also get new versions of goo. You can never have enough goo.

This game has been ported to plenty of newer systems, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to find. It was even a Nintendo Switch launch title.

Dragon Quest

If you can’t tell, I’m a huge RPG fan and since I live in the states, Final Fantasy dominated the genre. But Dragon Quest is every bit the classic RPG franchise. Heck, if you lived on the other side of the planet, Dragon Quest would’ve been bigger than Final Fantasy. Yeah, it’s that huge.

The art design comes courtesy of Dragon Ball Z’s Akira Toriyama, so the worlds are gorgeous and character designs quirky, fun, and familiar. Turn-based battles? Yep. Random battles? Usually. Dragon Quest knows who their core audience is and does a great job of catering to it. If you get the chance, play Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King—by far one of the series’ best—and look out for Dragon Quest XI which should be out this holiday season.

Overrated Video Games or Video Game Franchises

Assassin’s Creed

The concept of someone going back in time and inhabiting the body of an assassin sounds neat. Assassin’s Creed does a great job of putting players in a certain timeline. But the story gets too convoluted for its own good and guest appearances by Da Vinci, Machiavelli, and the occasional pope doesn’t do enough to make the story or the characters interesting.

What’s left are some great set pieces, but “Cool, this game has sabres” and “I can kill someone with a bayonet in this one” and “Tomahawks! What?” can only make a game fun for so long.

The Sims

How has this one lasted this long? I’m fine with the life simulation, but after a while, a player must realize that The Sims is a life simulation. Oh, crap. I almost crapped myself. My sim got too tired and fell asleep on the kitchen floor. Hey, they’re getting frisky under those sheets. I guess that’s entertaining for a little while, but my enjoyment with the series has waned over the years.

Maybe I’m just bitter because I can no longer trick my sim into a swimming pool, remove the ladder so they can’t get out, and allow them to drown. Yeah, I may have issues.

Warcraft

No, not World of Warcraft, the original real-time strategy game Warcraft. Now, the first three games are classics—well, at least the third one—but one must admit that Warcraft III enjoys most of its continued success due to the mods the modding community has done in the years since its release. Heck, the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) genre may never have come to fruition without Warcraft III.

But Warcraft’s story began with some solid character development and with the juggernaut that was World of Warcraft and the subsequent Warcraft relaunch, Blizzard put more attention on character customization instead of development. A craptacular Warcraft movie had gamers flock to Warcraft III, but the story leading up to the third installment was canned, and the third one hasn’t aged well—in terms of story as well as graphics.

Upcoming Video Games to Look Out For

Starfield (2019?)

Not much is known about Bethesda’s big space game, except that it’s a big space game that may be in the mold of Elder Scrolls or Fallout. We don’t even have a release date. All I know is that I’m okay with a slightly longer wait for the Elder Scrolls VI if Starfield can live up to Bethesda’s high standards.

Hold on. Did I just say that I’m okay with a longer Elder Scrolls wait? Yep. I’d rather Bethesda not pull a BioWare with Mass Effect: Andromeda.

Wolfenstein: Youngblood (2019)

Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus flew under the radar in 2017 and that’s a shame. Bethesda did a bang-up job with that one. Wolfenstein: Youngblood will be a cooperative game set in the 1980s. I’m not sure what more to expect, but it looks as if Bethesda plans to stretch their creative muscles.

Huh. That’s two Bethesda games in a row. I couldn’t possibly go for a third.

Kingdom Hearts III (2019)

I like RPGs, but Kingdom Hearts III is on this list for Season’s sake. She—like thousands of fans—has been waiting 13 years for the next numbered title of this Final Fantasy meets Disney game series. Square-Enix and Disney have leaked some of the worlds and characters. Frozen, The Little Mermaid, Monsters Inc., Toy Story, Pirates of the Caribbean, Tangled, and Sleeping Beauty are some of the Disney properties that’ll make an appearance.

I didn’t want to like Kingdom Hearts because I have a complicated relationship with Disney, but the series works. That many fans can’t be wrong. Right?

Are there any video game series we missed with our lists? Which upcoming games do you look forward to the most? Let us know in the comments.

5 Strange or Head Scratching Tabletop Game Mechanisms

Published on October 20, 2018September 8, 2024 by KyraLeave a comment

Your uncle Geekly had an issue staying on task with this write-up—perhaps he needs a mind recalibration. When thinking of some of the oddest game mechanisms in tabletop, the first four came to mind right away as unique at this point, but the fifth mechanism has made its way in plenty of games and it always made me scratch my head. So here are 5 game mechanisms that are strange or head scratchers.

Terra

We’re not talking about Bezier Games trivia game Terra, this is Days of Wonder’s Terra that’s a semi-cooperative game where players try to save the world. A self-destruct button available to all players rests within reach of everyone at the table. While the main goal is to earn a collective win by saving the planet in Terra, the player with the most points gets a solo win. What’s keeping someone with no chance of winning from pressing that button? Good old, uncle Geekly comes from a long line of sore losers. I don’t suspect we’d ever win a game.

Mamma Mia!

While Terra has a questionable game mechanism, Mamma Mia’s is just off. Gamers play cards face up from their hands to a discard pile. Once all the cards in the deck have been played, the deck is flipped over and players gain the points indicated on the cards. It’s a simple twist to a common game mechanism, but it’s difficult to wrap your head around it or come up with a good strategy. It almost makes you want to say, Mamma Mia, here I go again.

Filthy Rich

Ah! It wouldn’t be a strange tabletop game mechanism list without including Richard Garfield. Filthy Rich may be the oddest game in Garfield’s repertoire. It’s played with a binder and 4 pages of Ultra Pro card protector pages (the kind you use to showcase collectible cards). Players add cards that represent billboards in their binder and score points if the numbers on their cards get rolled. I don’t know if I’ve ever heard of another billboard game, let alone one that uses a binder. I’m half tempted to use my Magic cards.

Graphic Novel Adventures

It’s too bad this one’s only available on Kickstarter and the campaign finished several months ago. Van Ryder Games’ five graphic novel series combines elements of escape rooms and choose your own adventure stories with comics. These books could start a new trend, and there’s also no way that comic book and gaming stores won’t carry them in the next six months or so. Be on the lookout.

Witch of Salem

Witch of Salem represents a game mechanism that doesn’t make sense in any game: keeping information to yourself in a cooperative game. In Witch of Salem, players deal with forces of evil coming through gates and if I find out whether the evil originates from a specific gate, I can’t tell you that it’s coming from that gate, even though we may be on the same space and I can save my teammate the trip. Why wouldn’t I tell them? We’re working together.

Shadows Over Camelot does a similar thing with cards and the values on them. The cards range from 1-5, but players can’t say what’s in their hand and this leads to people saying things like “I have a big card in my hand.” That would be a 5. “I have a middle card.” That’s a 3. “I have a below middle card.” Two. That’s a two. Why not just say, two?

I could’ve added more than these five, but your uncle Geekly wants to hear your thoughts. Are there any other mechanisms that make you scratch your head? Let us know in comments.