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Reviews

Family Board Game Review: Toasted or Roasted

by Linda Wrobel March 7, 2018

The best part of camping is roasting marshmallows over the campfire. In Toasted or Roasted, from Education Outdoors, you are building the campfire and trying to toast marshmallows without them becoming roasted. Toasted or Roasted is for two to four players and is recommended for ages 6 and up.

Game Components

4 Firewood/Campfire Disks (two-sided)
4 Toasting Stick/Toasting Fork Disks (two-sided)
10 Fire Starter Cards
16 Marshmallow Cards
16 Toasted! Cards
8 Roasted! Cards
2 Rain Cards
2 Strong Wind Cards
1 Picnic Table Board

Gameplay

Game setup includes giving each player one Firewood/Campfire Disk, and one Toasting Stick/Toasting Fork Disk. The cards are all shuffled together and each player is dealt four initially. The Picnic Table Board sits in the center and has the draw and discard pile as well as a place for extra fire starters.

There are several objectives to complete in Toasted Or Roasted. First, each player needs light their campfire by playing a Fire Starter card. Once you play a Fire Starter card you flip your Firewood Disk over to the campfire side. Then, each player needs to try and toast 3 marshmallows.

On their turn, players draw a card, bringing their hand to five. If they have a fire starter card they put that down to light their campfire. Then the player flips over their Firewood Disk to the campfire side. However, if another player has a Strong Wind card they can play it immediately to prevent you from lighting your campfire. If they can not light their campfire, the player discards a card.

Once your campfire is lit, on your next turn if you have a marshmallow card you place that on your toasting stick. Other players, on their turns can play a Roasted! Card to ruin your marshmallow or play a Rain Card to put out your campfire. There is a balance on each turn to thwart other players verses working on toasting your own marshmallows, since you can only do on action on your turn.

Toasted or Roasted also has an interesting twist. Once you successfully toast your first marshmallow, you can flip your Toasting Stick over to the Toasting Fork. The Toasting Fork allows you to put two marshmallows on. The only downside is if both your marshmallows become roasted, you must flip the Toasting Fork back to the Toasting Stick side.

The first person to successfully toast three marshmallows wins.

Family Gaming Assessment

Toasted or Roasted is a great light family game. The game has minimal reading so it can easily scale down to players even younger than the recommended 6 years old. My five-year-old plays quite easily, and it could scale down even to 4 year olds. The only caveat is the young players need to understand they will get marshmallows roasted, and they need to be able to handle it if someone “spoils” their marshmallow.

Toasted or Roasted is great family game for younger players, but for older children, this is a bit on the simple side. As a game for multiple ages it works nicely since there is a mix of luck of the cards and strategy.

Conclusion

Toasted or Roasted does a great job at replicating some of the fun of cooking marshmallows over the campfire. For a simple game for younger gamers or a way to recreate the fun of camping it is a great choice.

What do you think? Sound off in the comments and let us know your thoughts!

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March 7, 2018 0 comment

Reviews Video Games

Family Video Game Review – Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King

by Guest Writer February 5, 2018

written by Guest Writer

This Guest Review was written by our goods friend Rob Kalajian! He runs the board game website Pawn’s Perspective! You should definitely check it out!

What would happen if you took an older 16-bit Action RPG, oh, let’s say Zelda: A Link to the Past, crossed it with The Princess Bride, and released it on a modern day system? Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King. That’s what. When I bring up a Link to the Past, it’s not just for comparison sake. Blossom Tales plays like a love song to the classic SNES title. It’s a retro gaming lover’s dream, even if it’s a short one.

If you’re familiar with Zelda: A Link to the Past, or top-down action-RPGs in general, then you know what to expect from Blossom Tales. Players take control of Lily, Knight of the Rose, trying to save her king and kingdom from a dark wizard. You’ve got a sword, shield, and special items to help get Lily through all sorts of puzzles and other sticky situations. One major difference here is that unlike most similar titles that may limit your supply of arrows, bombs, etc…, Blossom Tales doesn’t. Instead, you’ve got a Special Meter that depletes as these items are used. One that recharges rapidly. It gives the game a bit more of a fast-paced feel than those that have come before it.

I mentioned The Princess Bride before. That reference mostly comes from the fact that Blossom Tales is a story being told to two children by their grandfather. As he tells the story the children often interrupt him, arguing with his storytelling technique and offering the player choices on how to change the story in tiny ways. It’s a really cool mechanic, but one that’s a tad underutilized.

Some Concerns

That brings us to the first gripe with the game. The whole idea of the grandfather telling his grandchildren a story that they influence is excellent. The choices given, however, really have a very little effect on the story as a whole. I would have loved to see the choices made have a bit more control over what happens in the game, possibly opening different dungeons or providing the player with some sort of different item or power that they couldn’t have gotten otherwise.

The next issue with the game is its length. You’re only getting a handful of dungeons – four to be exact. The entire game rounds out to about 15 hours of gameplay. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing for the younger gamers in a household, but for those of us who grew up on similar titles, it’s a bit short and straightforward. There are no real story twists that change the world or shake up the main objective.

Putting those two minor complaints aside, Blossom Tales is smooth, polished, and a blast to play. It’s family friendly, and while the game is based on combat there’s nothing explicit here. The game safely falls in its E10+ rating and can be enjoyed by younger players as long as they have the ability to read. While the game certainly feels like it’s aimed at fans of old Zelda games, it certainly has an appeal to new players with it’s colorful, retro styles and approachable gameplay.

Conclusion

Blossom Tales is available on both Steam and the Nintendo Switch at a price of $14.99. There’s really no excuse to pass up on this one. My preference would be the Switch version since it makes it easy to take the game on the go, but both the Switch version and Steam version are identical.

Developer: Castle Pixel

Publisher: FDG Entertainment

Rating: E10+ (Fantasy Violence)

Platform: Switch, PC

MSRP: $14.99

Reviewed On: Switch

FCC Disclosure: A Switch code was provided gratis for this review.

What do you think? Sound off in the comments and let us know your thoughts!

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February 5, 2018 0 comment

Board Games Reviews

Family Board Game Review: Flashlights and Fireflies

by Linda Wrobel January 24, 2018

written by Linda Wrobel

Flashlights and Fireflies is a board game version of flashlight freeze tag for 2-5 players. The game is recommended for ages 6 and up, and is published by Gamewright. In Flashlights and Fireflies, you play the role of children playing flashlight freeze tag in the woods.

The game plays in three quick phases per round, and the game ends when one player reaches home. The board includes three sections; the woods, the firefly field, and the path home.

Game Contents

36 Woods tiles
6 player pawns
6 player tiles
20 firefly tokens
6 flashlight cards
1 game board
1 wooden die

Gameplay

Flashlights and Fireflies plays in rounds, and each round include four phases: hide, catch, shine, and sneak. In the hide phase of the round, you draw woods tiles and hide your player tile, then the tiles (four to start) are laid out face down in front of you. The woods tiles may have woods on them, or a pest that you might find in the woods.

In the catch phase, each player takes turns rolling the die to determine how many firefly tokens they can draw. The firefly tokens have between one and three fireflies on them, or they can have a mosquito. A mosquito token drawn during the catch phase ends the phase for that player.

In the shine phase players take their firefly tokens and place them in front of the other players to find them. For each firefly, the player can turn over one opponent’s tile, then if a player token is found the found player is frozen for the round. If they find trees nothing happens, and if they find a pest the seekers turn immediately ends.

The final phase of the round is sneak, and in this phase, each unfrozen player moves their pawn up the path one step closer to home.

Family Gaming Assessment

Flashlights and Fireflies is a great game for the whole family. The game moves quickly through each round and takes about 20 to 30 minutes to play. The age recommended is 6 and up, but since there is no reading in the game it does scale down nicely to slightly younger players. The artwork is cute, and the tokens and tiles are made of high-quality, thick cardboard.

The game is fairly easy to learn and players are typically very comfortable after one or two rounds. However, it might be worthwhile to do a few rounds of practice with the youngest gamers to help build familiarity. One additional point of note is that the directions are a little wordy and can be confusing initially. Once we played it through once and worked through the phases it was much easier.

Conclusion

For any family with younger gamers, Flashlights and Fireflies is a great addition to their collection. It has simple game play, and does a great job introducing the gaming element of rounds to younger players. The directions can be slightly confusing, but it is worth taking the time to understand the game for a quick and easy game for younger kids. Flashlights and Fireflies is a fun simple game that the whole family can enjoy playing together.

Make sure you check out our other board game reviews!

January 24, 2018 0 comment

Board Games Reviews

Kickstarter Review: Shadow Strike Melee: Ninja Card Game!

by Stephen Duetzmann November 13, 2017

written by Stephen Duetzmann

Shadow Strike Melee: Ninja Card Game is a fast paced bluffing game for up to nine players! It is currently live on Kickstarter, but we were fortunate enough to be given a prototype copy for review purposes.

Gameplay

Shadow Strike Melee puts its players in the shoes of a group of overconfident ninjas in a wild battle. The goal of the game is to outlast all of your opponents as players deal “strikes” to each other using numbered attack cards.

Combat itself plays out like War. Higher valued cards defeat lower valued cards. Ninjas never let things remain that simple though. These ninjas are cocky. Players represent that by playing with their three combat cards facing away from them. This means that everyone else knows more about a players hand than they do!

This information mismatch is the driving force behind the game. You really have to look at your opponents cards and make careful decisions. It might seem safe to attack someone with a hand full of ones and threes, but you don’t necessarily know that your hand isn’t worse! Fortunately, you also have a trio of equipment cards that help manipulate fights in your favor, or rescue you if your cards aren’t helping.

Shadow Strike Melee can be played individually, but our family preferred to partner up and play in teams. This gave us the option of using our equipment cards to help rescue our friends, and take advantage when our opponents get aggressive.

The biggest highlight of the game for us so far has been how fast the games are. Players are eliminated, but no one sits idle for long. The box says that games last around ten minutes, but I think that might even be too long.

Can Kid’s Play The Game?

The short answer is “Yes.” It does involve number comparisons and the equipment cards do have a small amount of text on them. But, this is not a challenging game to play.

One problem that young players MIGHT have is with their hands. You have to hold your hand in a very specific way to make sure that your opponents can see your cards. Younger players might struggle with that and drop cards a bit more often than they normally would. I don’t think this is a deal breaker by any stretch of the imagination, but it is worth keeping an eye on.

The Campaign

The Kickstarter campaign has a little less than three weeks to go and is more than halfway to its goal. You can get yourself a Standard edition of the game with a $20 pledge.

Conclusion

Go for it. This is a great game to get things started on family game night and makes a great party game for larger groups.

alimentazione sana

November 13, 2017 0 comment

Board Games Reviews

Kickstarter Review – Scream or Die

by Stephen Duetzmann October 2, 2017

written by Stephen Duetzmann

Scream or Die is a 2 to 8 player game by Amber Palace Games designed for players ages 8 and up. The game takes between 15 to 20 minutes to play and is very simple to learn and explain. It is currently on Kickstarter with a modest funding goal. We’re happy to report that this is a pretty good game that will be a cute addition to your family’s game collection.

The base game box comes with:

8 monster mats
36 scream tokens
15 dice (three of each color)
8 Candy trackers (two of each color)
Dice bag
Rules booklet

You play as a tiny monster that has been transformed into a child by your boss (who happens to be an evil witch). The only way to break the spell and get returned to normal is to be the first monster to bring her thirteen Halloween candies.

Gameplay

Each round of Scream or Die consists of three phases- Before the Roll, After the Roll, and Scoring.

Before the Roll

The roller removes five random dice from the bag to make a dice pool. Starting with the player to the left of the roller, each player takes turns using their scream tokens to add dice to the pool. They do this by paying the token which forces the roller to pull another die blindly out of the bag.

After the Roll

Each player gets a chance to re-roll dice of their choice. Just as before, starting with a player to the left of the roller, all players take turns using scream tokens to make the roller re-roll dice.

Scoring

Each player gets one candy for each of the monster symbols of theirs that is showing at the end of the round. Players keep track of their candy using the score tracker on their monster mat.

Players continue to play rounds until one person gets thirteen or more pieces of candy.

The game is quick to play, and the push your luck mechanics and dice influencing strategy make it much more fun than a basic dice rolling game. We love the fact that you can play with up to eight players! Our playtesters enjoyed that they were never bored because they had an action to take on every roll.

Another thing we love about Scream or Die is how great it is as a teaching tool. This is a great game for teaching the concept of resource management. It’s very easy to go through scream tokens in the hopes of adding dice that are favorable to you. But, you have to make sure that you are aware of what other players are doing so that they don’t take the lead too quickly. Some of our players forgot to save up some scream tokens to re-roll symbols that were helpful to their opponents towards the end of the game. They were VERY aware of the mistakes they made as they watched their friends rack up the points and win.

The rules include some fun variants for team play and dice drafting to keep things interesting. There is also a simpler family variant that makes scream tokens a little more fair.

Conclusion

Overall, this is a terrific party game, filler game, or introductory game for non hardcore gamers. You can back this game with confidence. We think your family will enjoy this one!

October 2, 2017 0 comment

Board Games Reviews

Family Board Game Review: Rampaging Jotunn

by Linda Wrobel August 15, 2017

written by Linda Wrobel

Rampaging Jotunn is a 2 player viking themed game by Lost Cog with a hex board made of large tiles. The object of the game is to avoid the Jotunn (a magically strong giant from Viking mythology), and protect your village using your army. The Jotunn is a constant variable in the game. The game is for players 8 and up and is expected to take 30 minutes to play.

Game Contents

12 Different land tiles (containing 10 hex spaces with forests, fields, mountains, and on some, a volcano)
1 Center Hex
2 Defense line Hexes
1 blue die
1 red die
I Jotunn (marker and stand)
2 Blue vikings (Marker and stand)
2 Red Vikings (marker and stand)
6 Wooden longhouses (3 red, 3 blue)
2 Terrain Cards
6 Army movement cards (3 red, 3 blue)
73 Rampaging Jotunn playing cards
Rulebook

Gameplay

Setup: To set up the center hex with numbers is placed in the center. This is the Jotunn’s direction indicator. The 12 terrain tiles are shuffled and six are randomly selected. Players take turns placing the tile around the center hex to create the board. Next, players take turns to place their three villages, placing one on each turn. Then, players take turns to place their two armies, and they must put them on an adjacent tile to two of the villages. Each player is given 3 Army Movement Cards, and have a Terrain card for movement reference for the Jotunn and their armies. Players are also dealt five Rampaging Jotunn playing cards. The final step of setup is to place the Jotunn on the center tile and roll to see which number he faces for his starting direction.

During their turn, players have several options.

They can:
- use one of their Army movement cards and move their army (note: once your three movement cards are used you get all three back to use again)
- Play a Jotunn card and move the Jotunn (or follow any special directions on the card)
- Discard 3 cards from your hand to raise an army
At the end of their turn a player draws to bring their Jotunn hand back up to 5, also if the Jotunn was not moved on a players turn it moves forward one space in whatever direction it is facing.
Battles:
- If you move your army onto the hex of another army you both have to roll to “battle” the offensive army gets plus one to their roll and the higher roll wins. The defeated army is removed from the board.
- If the Jotunn lands on an army it instantly defeats the army, and it is removed from the board.
- Should the Jotunn land on a village that has not gotten a defense line hex, it is instantly defeated. With a defense line hex under the village the Jotunn must roll a three or more to defeat the village.
- Armies can also attack an opponent’s village.

If a player loses all their villages they lose the game.

Family Gaming Assessment

Rampaging Jotunn is a good game for the family to play together. The game does take a little time to learn and is not intuitive with some of the multiple steps and mechanics per turn. This game, especially with younger players would benefit from a play through to learn the rules. The age rating is 8 and up, and I agree. An inexperienced gamer on the lower end of the age range will benefit from support with the steps and mechanics until they are more comfortable with the game.Once the rules and mechanics of the game are understood and comfortable the gameplay move smoothly. There is also a notable amount of strategy, mixed with some luck, and that may make it more challenging to play with two different skill levels.

Currently, the game is only available as a two player game. According to the developer, Matthias Bonnici, as of June 2017, that they are looking to do a Kickstarter “soon” for a four player version of Rampaging Jotunn. As a two player game it is more challenging to include the whole family playing, so a four player game is one to watch for on Kickstarter.

Conclusion

The viking theme of Rampaging Jotunn is entertaining and the graphics are appealing to players of all ages. The game was easily mastered in one play through and was engaging to play. The gameplay while a bit complicated to learn more smoothly once a few turns were played. Rampaging Jotunn is a good addition to a family’s game collection, especially if you enjoy the Viking theme.

August 15, 2017 0 comment

Board Games Reviews

Monopoly Gamer: Mario Passes Go, Collects All the Coins

by Guest Writer August 14, 2017

written by Guest Writer

By: Stephen Haberman, TheGeekyHusband

If I were to guess how many coins I collected in video games over my lifetime, I would bet I’d be the Warren Buffet of in-game currencies. When it comes to Monopoly however, I find it difficult to pronounce myself as anything more than an average property connoisseur.

I have played Monopoly all of my life. It started during childhood when they released a “Town of ____” Monopoly for basically every town in America. It continued into my early teens when I was playing on my Gameboy or begging my folks to take us to McDonalds. Even soon after college, my wife and I found new love for the game with “Monopoly City” which moves from cash to credit cards. So, I can say my interest in the game has always existed, but it is a game that can run long, and can feel as if the odds pile up against you.

Now, Monopoly Gamer comes to market with a promise to reinvigorate the title, by incorporating everyone’s favorite plumber into the mix: Mario. Mario is actually not a stranger to the Monopoly world, having already had a Monopoly game rebranded with his likeness before, and having tried to mimic the game’s core mechanics in Nintendo video game releases of Mario Party, as well as Fortune Street.

The problem with a simple rebranding is that the core of what makes Mario familiar and fun is not just the characters, but the collectibles, the power ups, and the journey to defeat all enemies that stand in his way. Monopoly Gamer brings all of those mechanics into this new board game, and does so while also waking up a stagnant Monopoly series.

Power-Ups

How does this differ from other Monopoly games? To start that conversation, we need to talk about power-ups. Power-ups have been added to the game while also replacing a six-sided die. At the beginning of a turn, you’ll roll a power-up die and a six-sided die. The power ups give players the ability to collect coins, force opponents to drop coins, and move forward.

Coins! Coins! Coins!

Coins, the only currency that matters in the mushroom kingdom, have replaced cash, and are rewarded/used for everything.

Rent is paid with coins
Coins are awarded for landing on unique spaces
Picking up coins that players were forced to drop

Boss Battles

It used to be that passing Go over the course of Monopoly was just a way to get some extra cash in your pocket, but now you (and anyone else that passes Go) will be activating the Boss Battles every time around the board. These Boss Battles will reward the victor with additional coins for the end of the game, as well as some fun treats like a free property, or stolen goods from an opponent.

Zone Control

If you played Monopoly, then you know that owning property and getting all of the properties of the same color is a key to victory. It is no different in Monopoly Gamer, but the costs for purchase and rent are much smaller in scale to other version of the game. Also, with the inclusion of Player abilities, power ups and Boss Battles, you could own all the property and still come up short.

Player Select

What tops off the experience is the difference in experience you can have due to the character power-ups. Characters range from the well-known (Mario, Luigi, Peach) to the less familiar (Boo, Diddy Kong). All of them have a unique power up ability, and a unique event that occurs if you should land on the invincibility star space.

Not all characters come with the game by default, though. Mario, Preach, Donkey Kong, and Yoshi come with the base game. Others can be purchased through a $3.99 character pack, which comes with the board figure, a sticker, and the player card with the character’s abilities.

Go!

With all of these new features being added and a pace that really speeds up a game known for dragging on, Monopoly Gamer feels like a game Nintendo and Parker Brothers can be proud to have their names on. The ability to add additional player characters is also a great way to add replayability to this one.

I would recommend this game for any video game fan looking to have something to play when unplugging, or a board game fan with less free time. I would even say the character figures, design and style of the game as a whole will look good on your shelf.

If you have any further questions about the game, please check out a full play through of the game I did with my wife on my Twitch Channel here!

August 14, 2017 0 comment

Board Games Reviews

Kickstarter Review: A Dog’s Life

by Stephen Duetzmann August 8, 2017

written by Stephen Duetzmann

Beton Games

Age Rating: 8+

Players: 2-6

Timeframe: 40 minutes

MSRP: Unknown- Coming Soon to Kickstarter

Style: Family Action Game

A Golden Retriever, a German Shepherd, a Poodle, a Whippet, a Boxer, a Labrador,

and a Fox terrier take a break from their masters to have an adventure in the streets.

They need you, your family, and your friends to guide them on their exciting journey. Walk a mile in their paws and be an canine hero!

Introduction

A Dog’s Life is a game designed by Christophe Boelinger that was released in the early 2000’s and has recently been reimagined and reimplemented by Beton Games. It will be available as a KickStarter on August 8, 2017. This game is true to theme throughout, has mechanics and actions that make it super appealing to young players, and it can still be exciting for older players due to some serious strategy.

1 complete game manual
1 game board
6 pre-painted dog figurines
1 dog catcher car
1 die
6 dog cards
72 action cards (12 for each dog)
6 den cards
6 hunger tokens
15 trash can tokens
24 dog bone tokens
12 newspaper tokens
48 piddle tokens (8 for each dog)

If you are a dog lover, you will be enchanted by the art and the components in this game. The hand painted figurines are adorable, the dog cards give each pup a real personality, and the theme is honored throughout every aspect of the game. The quality of the board, figurines, and tokens is high, and the website mentions more breeds of pups may be available in the future.

Gameplay

Each player chooses a pup figurine and a pup card that they will use to navigate through the city streets. Each pup has a specific number of action points and has strengths and weaknesses that are unique to their personality and help them progress through the game.

On their turn each player has 3 phases that they play through. The first phase is the FOOD phase. The player starts their turn by moving the hunger counter on their dog card down to the left one step. Their pup is now a little bit hungry. Each turn that food is not replenished, the pup gets hungrier and could possibly end up fainting and being taken to the shelter.

The second phase is the DOG STUFF phase. During this phase, players use the action points on their dog card to complete activities. Players have to decide when their dog needs to:

Beg in restaurants, search through trash, deliver newspapers, fight rival hounds, drink from fountains, piddle on lamp posts, or hide from the dogcatcher. Some of the activities in this phase require players to use their action cards to determine the results of their activities. Completing an action is taking a risk and may not always lead to the best result.

The third phase is the DOG CATCHER phase. During this phase players roll the die and move the dog catcher’s car, possibly sending some pups to the dog shelter. Being stuck in the shelter is similar to being in JAIL in a Monopoly game.

The object of the game is to be the first pup to bury three bones successfully in their den.

Is it a Family Game?

The theme and artwork in the game give it a unique feel that is immediately appealing to players young and old. Kids love the idea of playing a game where a dog actually piddles and begs and searches through trash cans. The game is easy to learn in just a few minutes, but there are a lot of choices to make in the game which adds an element of strategy. We definitely think this game requires a few play throughs before children and adults master all of the strategy successfully. There is quite a bit of information in the manual about real dog shelters, a dog’s lifestyle and care, and about specific breeds. We think this is a great learning tool. The game uses minimal text, making it easy for younger players to understand and there are many different ways to win this game so all players have an equal chance.

Conclusion

This game is fun for parents and children to play together, it has a unique and well executed theme, and is easy to learn and play. We think the many variants and options give this game a high replay value and that this is the perfect family game night adventure for parents with children between the ages of 6 and 12.

A Dog’s Life is currently live on Kickstarter.

FCC disclosure: A copy of this game was sent to us by the publisher for the purposes of this review.

August 8, 2017 0 comment

Reviews Switch Wii U

Family Video Game Review – The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

by Stephen Duetzmann August 1, 2017

written by Stephen Duetzmann

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, in my opinion, is the best video game that Nintendo has ever made. I also think that it is on the short list for one of the best games ever made. Longtime readers often accuse me of speaking in hyperbole a lot, but this is no joke. Breath of the Wild is just that darn good. This is the game by which all open world games will be judged moving forward.

The Legend of Zelda is one of the longest running franchises in game history. Each game in the franchise, up until now, has taken a very regimented formula and built upon it. . Link wakes up. He goes to a dungeon. He gets a tool within that dungeon that helps him complete it. He then uses that tool to get to the next dungeon. He finds another tool there. He rinses and repeats until he eventually encounters and defeats some version of Ganon.

Breath of the Wild is a game that was built on one single core principle: nothing is set in stone. Nintendo set out with the purpose of stripping away as many parts of that regimented formula as they could while still maintaining its “Zelda”-ness. I don’t know how they created such a unique game and new feeling game while still regularly reminding players that they are playing a Zelda game. But, they definitely succeeded.

The biggest different between BoTW and other games in the franchise is that (aside from a brief stint on the Great Plateau) players can do as they please. Players are given all of the basic tools they need within the first few hours of the game and are then set free to run off to do… whatever.

This freedom was not only liberating, but it was also a creative force. Everyone playing this game was crafting their own narrative. Players had to come up with whole new ways of discussing their experiences because almost everything you said about the game was a spoiler in one way or another.

Another critical element to the experience in BoTW is its sense of discovery. It feels like every inch of that game was a meaningful encounter, a puzzle, or a signpost sending you on your way to further adventure. There was always something exciting on the horizon for me as I played. In fact, it was easy to find myself distracted that I would set off on a grand mission only to stop halfway through to literally pick flowers.

The days where Link could, on death’s door, slash at some bushes to get a few hearts are gone. Instead, you have to combine ingredients like apples, meat, mushrooms, and other food items to cook healing items. Combining the right ingredients can even result in food that provides stat buffs. You can even combine monster parts to create elixirs. Mastering this system is crucial for anyone who wants to be able to progress through the game. Fortunately, experimentation is almost painless. Ingredients are everywhere and there is a cooking station at every stable.

Nintendo went out of their way to craft Breath of the Wild carefully. Their artistry is visible in every aspect of this game and I cannot wait to see what comes next.

Is it a kids’ game?

Breath of the Wild is rated T for Teen. It does include some mild violence that players can’t really escape. Almost all of the conflict resolution in the game is done at the point of a sword, or club, or arrow.

There are some slightly mature themes and costuming choices running throughout the game, but there is nothing overtly sexual going on.

Can kids play it?

The most important thing to note with Breath of the Wild is that this game is incredibly challenging. The world is not a forgiving one and players will have to contend with armies of monstrous enemies as well as the elements. It is very important that you monitor your child’s frustration level while playing. There is no “easy mode” in this game. Young players can, however, move at their own pace throughout the world. The game is designed so that players will not be constantly under siege from the enemies.

There is some voice acting, but the vast majority of the story and the quest clues are all delivered via text. Players will need to be adept readers to be able to succeed at this game. A lot of the clues depend on subtle word play that might be lost on early readers.

Conclusion

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is the best video game that Nintendo has ever made. I would comfortably recommend this game to anyone who owns either a Nintendo Switch or Wii U. It is a remarkable value when you consider all of the secrets that players can slowly pry out of this massive world. Do yourself a favor and play this game. The reality is that we don’t score games here at EFG, but if we did I have a hard time imagining that we would give it less than a perfect score.

August 1, 2017 0 comment

Board Games Reviews

Board Game Review: Hoagie

by Linda Wrobel July 26, 2017

written by Linda Wrobel

Hoagie is a sandwich building game from Monkeybeak Games. It is a card game for 2 to 5 players that is recommended for ages 5 and up. In this fast paced game each player is trying to build the perfect sandwich without any part getting spoiled by three oogies (pictured on the spoiled food and special action cards).

Game Contents

Fresh Ingredient Cards (bread, lettuce,meat, cheese)\
Spoiled Ingredient Cards
Special Action Cards

Gameplay

Hoagie’s gameplay is very easy and takes just minutes to learn. Each player is dealt a hand if 6 cards to start the game. On each players turn they play a card from their hand. Several actions with the cards can occur, but only one can occur per turn.

The actions include:

The player can play a fresh ingredient in front of themselves to build their sandwich.
The player can replace a spoiled ingredient on their sandwich.
The player can spoil and ingredient on another player’s sandwich.
The player can use a special action card these include:
- Skip:skip any player’s next turn,
- Reverse: reverse the game play order
- Double Play: play 2 additional cards from your hand after a double play card is played

At the end of the players turn they draw back up to 6 card. In order to win, a player must begin their turn with a perfect sandwich, which consists of bread, meat, cheese, lettuce, and bread.

Family Game Assessment

Hoagie is very simple to learn and the only reading needed is on the Skip, Reverse and Double Play cards. Even then, once a younger player is familiar with the picture on each card, the need to read the card is mitigated. The pictures on the spoiled food and special action cards are gross in a silly cartoon way, and are not excessively disgusting or scary, rather Hoagie has a level of gross that kids and adults will find entertaining. The game play is quick paced and the 20 minute time noted on the box is accurate. Hoagie is a light game that can be played with multiple ages all together making it a great game for the whole family. The way the mechanics of Hoagie work, adults and children can easily play together and the children have just as likely a chance of winning as the adults without help. There is some strategy, but there is enough random chance it really is anybody’s game.

Conclusion

Hoagie is a wonderful family game that is great for a range of ages to play together. It is easy for young players, and is fun for older kids and adults as well. This is a great addition to any game collection.

July 26, 2017 2 comments

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