1-2-3 Magic (Thomas Phelan)

According to author Thomas Phelan, "1-2-3 magic is a simple, precise and effective way of managing- gently and firmly- the behavior of children in approximately the two-to-twelve-year-old range."  His basic parenting philosophy: "effective parents have two important qualities.  They are:
1. Warm and friendly on the one hand [I'll love you and take care of you]
2. Demanding and firm on the other" [I expect something from you]

Parents use these qualities for their three parenting jobs:

1. controlling obnoxious behavior
2. encouraging good behavior
3. strengthening your relationship with your children

Everyone has problems disciplining their children.  Phelan argues that this is because many parents have the "little adult assumption" towards their kids- expecting them to be able to understand and reason like adults.  You can tell a parent has this assumption when during discipline they do too much talking [trying to reason with the kids] and display too much emotion [often yelling when the kids don't listen].

The solution?  1-2-3 magic.  When a child is acting up for any reason, rather than explain the wrong, simply say "that's 1."  If they keep it up, "that's 2."  If it continues, "that's 3" and put them in timeout (for as many minutes as their age, or longer if the offense warrants it).  Don't demand an apology, don't explain or rationalize, don't yell.

I don't know how effective this is.  Phelan argues that half of kids will catch on right away and become wonderfully behaved super-children capable of impressive feats and more.  The other half, he says, will fight at first but eventually catch on.  I'll try it this week . . . but I'm doubtful.

Gotta run- kids are acting up.

Rating: B

Lords of Scotland

Today's game review is of the 2010 release, Lords of Scotland.  For 2-5 players, it takes 30 minutes.

Game Overview
The king's throne lies empty, begging for a strong leader to unite bickering clans and assume the right to rule.  Muster your clans, use their powers if you can, and ascend to the top!

In Lords of Scotland, you amass and play armies (clan cards).  Each clan card has a bloodline (family name), strength (number 1-12) and power (based on the bloodline).  See below examples.

example cards; image from here

Simplified Gameplay
After setting up the table according to the rules (establishing a draw pile, recruit row, support row, and discard pile) and drawing 5 cards, the game is played over a series of skirmishes.  Each skirmish lasts 5 rounds.  One round gives each player a turn in clockwise order, during which you prepare by:
- recruiting (drawing a card from the recruit row) or
- mustering (playing a card to the table)

At the end of the 5 rounds, sum the strength of your played cards (doubling the total if they're all of one bloodline) and compare the total to your opponents'; highest total wins and claims a supporter from the support row.  These are clan cards randomly selected and displayed on the side of the table, the value of which equals its strength (remember: numbered 1-12).  The player with the second highest total picks the next supporter and so on until each player has a supporter.  You can pick any supporter you wish on your turn; generally, you'll choose the highest valued.  Then your played cards are discarded, recruit/support rows discarded (and replenished), and a new skirmish begins; the first player to accumulate 40 total power in supporters wins the throne!

One nuance to the game is clan powers.  When you muster (play a card), you can play it face up or face-down.  If you play it face up and it's the lowest strength played so far that skirmish, you can activate its power.  The powers inject fun twists into the game, allowing you to draw cards, switch army members with another player, take a second supporter at the end of the skirmish, and more.

Since you can replenish your hand only through recruiting during the game, you have manage it carefully.  And since the support row is randomly selected, there are some skirmishes you may want to focus on recruiting because the potential victory points are low.  So plan carefully.

Review
I like this game.  It takes a skirmish or two to get the hang of it, but it's simple with fun twists, nice variety, strategic depth, and good interaction.  Highly recommended.

Rating: A

Isle of Skye

Today's game review is of the 2015 release, Isle of Skye.  For 2-5 players, it takes 30-60 minutes.

Overview
You are a chieftain, charged with leading your clan to glory.  To do so, you will build your kingdom by laying landscape tiles to expand your territory.  Each landscape tile will have type(s) of terrain (pasture, mountain, water) and a combination of other features (road, whiskey barrel, sheep, cattle, farm, ship, lighthouse, broch, or victory parchments).  Each turn, you'll acquire these tiles and position them in your kingdom for maximum impact. Choose and place carefully- each game has different victory conditions, denoted by four scoring tiles (chosen randomly from sixteen available)- which will guide your decisions.

game in progress; image from here

Simplified Gameplay
The youngest player is the first player for round one.  Each round has the following phases:

1. Income
• Each player takes from the bank 5 gold (for their castle) + gold for whiskey barrels on connecting roads + [in later rounds] gold based on the number of players ahead of you on the victory track
2. Draw Tiles and Set Prices
• Each player randomly selects 3 tiles from the bag, laying them in front of their screen (see illustration above).  Assign a discard marker to one and monetary values to the other two (at least one gold for each).
3. Discard a Tile
• Each player discards the tile chosen with the discard marker.  Now each player has 2 tiles in front of them.
4. Buy a Tile
• Starting with the first player, each player in clockwise order can buy exactly one tile from another player.  The price of the tile is the value assigned by that opponent in step 2; give that amount of gold to that player and take the tile (the player returns the money he assigned to that tile to his pool as well).  You don't have to buy one if you don't want to.
• If nobody buys your tile(s), you get them, but you must give the money you assigned to them to the bank- you effectively bought them for that amount.
• Based on these rules, you'll end up with 0-3 tiles to place in the next phase.
5. Build
• Each player places their acquired tile(s) according to the game rules (terrain edges must match, though roads don't need to; you must place a tile adjacent to one already in your kingdom)
6. End of Round and Scoring
• All players receive points based on the scoring tiles of the current round (the game board shows which of the four tiles is used for scoring in a given round- each round is different). 

The next player (clockwise order) then becomes the first player, the round marker is advanced, and the next round begins.  The game lasts five rounds (for 5 players) or six rounds (for 2-4 players).  After the final round, additional points are scored if you have any scrolls on your tiles or remaining gold.  Highest point total wins!  Check out the full rules here if interested.

a kingdom in progress; image from here

Review
This is a great game.  It's like Carcassonne, but (in my opinion) more fun, with lots of choice and variety.  Assigning monetary value to your tiles is key to the game, and takes some thought- pricing them too high or low has risks.  The varied victory tiles mean no game is ever the same, and you have to pay attention to the round, too, as that dictates which victory tiles are scored.  I see why this game won awards (Kennerspiel des Jahres- the 'thinking game' of the year).  The only downside is the amount of things going on- it can overwhelm some players.

Rating: A

Treasure Island (Robert Louis Stevenson)

Young Jim Hawkins is in for a surprise when Billy Bones comes to stay at his parents' inn.  Billy tells Jim of a vast treasure, but dies of fright after an encounter with his former shipmates before more can be said.  Jim finds a map of the treasure island and, with the help of local adults, prepares for the adventure of a lifetime.  But after the ship gets underway, Jim finds that the crew (led by Long John Silver) may have other plans.  Will he have the wit to survive?

A classic, I loved this adventure tale, penned in the 1880s.  Many modern pirate stereotypes can be traced to it.  It reads quickly, is well written, and captivating the entire way.  Another winner from Victorian Britain.

Rating: A

Clank!

Today's game review is of the 2016 release, Clank!  For 2-4 players, it takes 30-60 minutes.

Overview
You are a thief, longing to be tops in the realm.  There's a dungeon filled with loot and of course a dragon guarding it all.  Need I say more?

In Clank!, your goal is to earn the most points by delving into the dungeon, grab one artifact plus what loot you can in the various rooms you'll explore, and get outta there before the dragon comes and puts a damper on the fun.  Of course, competing thieves, monsters, and other challenges are down there, too.  But it's not all bad- there's a market and allies who can be quite helpful . . . though sometimes the best things you can do make a lot of noise (symbolized by adding 'clank' cubes to a bag).  Whenever the dragon attacks, a certain number of cubes are taken at random from the bag, and you take damage whenever your color is drawn.  So plan carefully!  You die if your health meter reaches zero.

A deck building game combined with a dungeon crawler, Clank! has players using cards to move from room to room in search of secrets and artifacts.  Some chambers can be accessed only via certain means, and the paths can be fraught with monsters.  So make sure your deck can address all of these challenges (more on this later).

the board with some cards; image from here

There are effectively three board areas: outside, inside the dungeon (but above ground), and the depths.  You cannot leave the dungeon until you go into the depths and take one artifact.  Then you can hang out to grab more loot or high tail it back to fresh air.  What will you choose?


Simplified Gameplay
You start the game with a shuffled 10-card deck of fixed cards (see image below).  On your turn, you draw 5 and must play all of them on your turn (even ones that may have a negative effect) in any order.  Generally cards give you one (or more) of three resources: skill (needed to buy cards to add to your deck), swords (to fight monsters), and boots (to move around the dungeon).  Some can give you money, too, which you can use in the market to buy cool objects.  Play your cards, use your resources to buy/fight/move, and strategize accordingly.  Used (and purchased) cards are placed in your discard pile, to be shuffled into your deck and used again when the deck runs out.  Make sure you get the right mixture of skill, swords, and boots . . . all the skill in the world won't matter if you can't move from room to room.

starting cards; image from here

Turns proceed clockwise.  Any player who gets out of the dungeon gets 20 points, and the first to do so starts the countdown to ending the game.  The other players have 5 turns to get out, marked by increasing dragon attacks.  If you end up above ground (but still inside the dungeon), your points are tallied but without that 20-point bonus true escapees enjoy.  But if you're in the depths at game's end, you're annihilated [in the game] and you get no points.

Points are awarded at game's end by adding the value of your artifact, loot, money, and certain cards in your deck (labeled with points on them).

Review
I really like this game, which combines deck building with dungeon crawling in a fun way.  If you like Dominion, you'll love this.  The point system is well constructed (with lots of ways to earn them) so that it's not all about speed- I was the first out of the dungeon, with a decent artifact, and finished third.  This will be a staple in my collection.

Rating: A

Castlevania: Season 1

It's 1476 in Wallachia.  The Church has killed Dracula's wife, burning her as a witch.  The count has sworn revenge by releasing an army of demons on the countryside.  Trevor Belmont, of the renowned monster hunter family, vows to destroy Vlad.  But to do so, he will require help from an unlikely source . . .

Having enjoyed several releases in the Castlevania video game line, I was intrigued to see Netflix release a 4-episode Castlevania animated series.  It was okay.  The art was good, and I was drawn into the story.  On the downside, it was horribly violent and profane in places (it's rated M), and not much happens in four episodes . . . it felt more like a long introduction, with the meat of the story to come.  To that end, they've agreed to produce eight more episodes.  I think I'll check them out.

Rating: B-

The Book of Lost Tales (J.R.R. Tolkien)

The Book of Lost Tales is a two-volume set collecting J.R.R. Tolkien's first drafts of his writings on Middle Earth.  These in more finished form became The Silmarillion, which covers the early days of this enchanting universe, giving us insight into some events and personalities referenced in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

I couldn't get through these books.  I enjoyed the foreword, but the tales themselves are boring and difficult to read at best.  In many cases, multiple versions of a tale are presented, showing the evolution of it.  In short, these books are for Tolkien fanatics who gobble up every scrap of writing the man produced.  The rest of us can content ourselves with his finished products.

Rating: C-

An Impression of Depth

The Argonath from The Lord of the Rings; image from here

You know what you like.  Do you know why?  Sometimes there's an obvious reason, easily traced to familial or cultural influence.  Other times, it can be difficult to determine the genesis of a given interest.  As I've been trying to plow through Tolkien's Book of Lost Tales (review forthcoming), I stumbled across something in the foreword that gave me an 'ah hah!' moment on why I'm so captivated by The Lord of the Rings universe;*  it comes down to "an impression of depth."

Professor T.A. Shippey argues that "one quality which [The Lord of the Rings] has in abundance is the Beowulfian 'impression of depth'."  J.R.R. Tolkien himself explains:

Part of the attraction of [The Lord of the Rings] is, I think due to the glimpses of a large history in the background: an attraction like that of viewing far off an unvisited island, or seeing the towers of a distant city gleaming in a sunlit mist.  To go there is to destroy the magic, unless new unattainable vistas are again revealed.

That's it!  That's one reason I enjoy such tales.  It's not just a hero's quest.  Many times in the stories- like when the fellowship passes the Argonath (see above picture)- we're reminded that Frodo's journey is but a small piece of a much larger story- a history glimpsed but unexplained.  A casual mention of a long-dead king, the passing of ruined monuments, evidence of battles fought long ago . . . all of it speaks to the vastness of the overall story.  Perhaps this is why I'm fascinated by ruins- ancient, medieval, or fictional (I muse on that subject here).  And this vastness (with associated mystery) also explains why I like Star Wars and King Arthur studies.

This echoes our experience in the real world . . . "for now we see in a mirror dimly" (1 Corinthians 13:12).  There's much in this world we don't understand, and no amount of historical understanding, scientific discovery or technological breakthrough will reveal it to us.  For now, we know in part.  And this begs another question.

In fiction, both Shippey and Tolkien argue that trying to tell all the stories in a given universe destroys them:

To tell these [inset stories] in their own right and expect them to retain the charm they got from their larger setting would be a terrible error . . .- Shippey 

A story must be told or there'll be no story, yet it is the untold stories that are most moving. -Tolkien

Is this true in the real world?  Will all ever be revealed to us in the next life?  Or will it remain a murky shadow, as we bask in the light of our Lord?  We shall see.


*I've previously blogged (here) to explore some reasons why I like fantasy in general.

Spider-man: Homecoming

Peter Parker (a sophomore in high school) is eager for more.  Having tasted action (and tried his new spidey suit, gift of mentor Tony Stark) in Captain America 3, Peter feels ready to take the next step and become an Avenger.  After repeated entreaties to Tony go unanswered, Spidey seeks to prove his worth when he discovers Vulture (a maker of/dealer in alien weaponry) right in his hometown of Queens.  But after a series of mishaps, is young Peter in over his head?

With a pleasing mix of action, suspense, humor, story, and surprises, this is a fantastic film.  It centers around the theme of maturity and the need for growth.  Peter knows he has great powers, and he feels ready to use them.  But he's just a kid, unfamiliar with his own abilities and limits- and those of the world around him.  Failing to start small and "build up his game," as Tony demanded, Peter soon finds himself messing with things he doesn't understand.  "I just wanted to be like you," he pleads to Tony, who replies "I wanted you to be better."  Stark cares about the inner man- when Peter says "I'm nothing without my suit," Tony retorts "if you're nothing with the suit, then you shouldn't have it."  We all need time to grow- even Spider-man.

I enjoyed the theme and seeing Spider-man repeatedly fall short (reminds me of . . me, minus the super powers).  We all have gifts, but those gifts can require years of nurturing to use them appropriately- with great power comes great responsibility.

Rating: A

Century: Spice Road

Today's game review is of the 2017 release, Century: Spice Road.  For 2-5 players, it takes 45 minutes.

Overview
You are a caravan leader in search of wealth.  Your job is to acquire merchants (purple-backed merchant cards, each granting you a special ability) and use them to acquire spices (yellow, red, green, or brown cubes), which you'll need to pay for (orange-backed) point cards.

All spices are not created equal.  From easiest to obtain (yellow) to hardest (brown), you'll need spices of different colors to pay for point cards, whose value varies based on the quantity and type of spices needed to buy it.  But don't worry; you can use merchant cards to obtain, exchange, or upgrade your spices to get what you need . . . as long as someone else doesn't beat you to it!

the game after set up; image from here

Simplified Gameplay
You begin the game with a few spices and two merchant cards in your hand.  You'll acquire more as the game progresses, giving you more options to use on your turn.  On your turn each round, you do must do 1 of the following actions:

• play a merchant card from your hand, executing its effect and leaving it face-up on the table.  There are three types of effects:
• spice cards- take the number and color of cube(s) shown on the card from the bowls and place them in your caravan
• upgrade cards- upgrade a cube in your caravan 1 level for each upgrade symbol on the card (example: turn a yellow into a red, or a red into a green)
• trade cards- turn in the number and color of cube(s) above the arrow for the number of color of cube(s) below the arrow
• acquire a merchant card from the merchant row 
• paying a cost if necessary by placing one cube of any color on each card to the left of the card you acquire
• rest- take all played cards back into your hand
• claim a point card buy paying the spice(s) indicated on it

If you acquire a merchant card or claim a point card on your turn, shift the cards left to occupy the vacant space and place a new card as needed, making sure there are 5 cards in the point row and 6 cards in the merchant row at all times.

Once a player acquires 5 point cards, the remainder of the round is played, and points are tallied.  Highest total wins!

Review
This is a great game!  It's a deck-building game that's a cross between Splendor and Dominion.  Easy to learn and fast to play, I highly recommend this one.

Rating: A

7 Wonders

Today's game review is of the 2010 release, 7 Wonders.  For 3-7 players, it takes 30 minutes.

Overview
You rule an ancient city and want to see it prosper.  So you'll 'grow your realm' (play cards) to build up your resources, markets, science, and military.  You can also construct your wonder, heightening your prestige.  The person with the most points at the end wins!

Each player starts with a 'wonder board'- a board with one of the seven wonders of the ancient world on it.  The board grants one resource and benefits for each stage (there are 3) you complete of your wonder.  You'll place cards around the wonder during the the three ages of the game- resources, markets, and other things.  If you lack resources, you can pay your neighbor for what they possess.  And don't forget to invest in your military, as there is a conflict at the end of each age.

game components; image from here

Simplified Gameplay
7 Wonders is played over three ages, each with six turns.  In each age, you start with a hand of 7 cards (three piles of cards will be used- one for each age).  On your turn, pick one card and pass the remaining hand to an adjacent player.  Everyone simultaneously plays their card in one of three ways:

1. Build the structure on the card (place it face-up around your board, paying for it if required)
2. Build a stage of your wonder (place it face-down partially under the board)
3. Discard it (face-down) for 3 coins

Then pick up the hand passed to you, repeating the above until the end of the age.  A military conflict happens at the end of each age, with points awarded (or deducted) based on your military strength relative to the adjacent players.

example of game in progress; image from here

At the end of three ages, points are calculated based on each aspect of your city (military, treasury, wonder, civilian structures, commercial structures, guilds, science structures).  The most points wins!  Here is the official rules summary.

Review
It takes a game or two to get the hang of this one.  It's a good game- one of the staples- and I like several things about this civilization builder: games are quick, there are pleasing amounts of decisions, variety, and strategies, and it can handle up to 7 players.  You really have to balance yourself with this one- investing too much (or little) in resources early on can hurt you in the late game.  I withhold a 'great' rating because it gets busy, with so many things to track, which can be overwhelming.  Still, check this out sometime.

Rating: A-

Arthurian Romances (Chretien de Troyes)

Arthurian Romances, penned in the 1170s, were the first extant writings that took this idea of King Arthur out of any semblance of history and put him squarely in romance, where he'd remain and enjoy immense popularity for centuries.  de Troyes tells five tales:

Erec & Enide
Erec, renowned son of a minor king and knight of Arthur's court, encounters and pursues a malicious knight all day, ending up in a town where he spends the evening with a local family and meets Enide.  They fall in love, are quickly married, and enjoy the good life- so much so that Erec is more interested in love than other pursuits.  Offended when his new focus leads some to question his prowess, he undertakes multiple adventures proving his bravery and worth.

Cliges
Alexander, son of the Greek Emperor, goes to King Arthur's court to be knighted and win renown.  There he falls in love and is wed, and they have a son Cliges.  Cliges returns to Greece and falls in love with Fenice, the woman pledged to his uncle (the regent), who himself had vowed never to marry and pass the crown to Cliges upon his death.  Cliges & Fenice hatch a plan to fake her death so they can be together without creating overt scandal.  Will it work?

The Knight of the Cart (Lancelot)
The kingdom adjacent to Arthur's is ruled by King Bademagu.  When his evil son, Meleagant, carries off Guenevere, a mysterious and powerful knight comes to save her.  It's none other than Lancelot of the Lake, determined to defeat Meleagant and free all captives in the land.  In the process he's reunited with his secret love, the queen.

The Knight with the Lion (Yvain)
Yvain defeats a knight guarding a magic well, then marries his widow.  His friend Gawain guilts him into immediately leaving and hanging out with the guys for over a year at tournaments; Yvain's wife gets angry and refuses to see him anymore.  As he sulks roaming the country, he kills a dragon hurting a lion, the latter of whom immediately becomes Yvain's BFF, and they have several magical adventures.  Ultimately, he tricks his wife into taking him back.

The Story of the Grail (Perceval)
Perceval is an uncouth Welsh boy whom Arthur knights when requested.  He immediately sets off and commits many deeds of renown, culminating in his seeing the grail and lance with blood-soaked tip.  Interspersed with his tale is that of Gawain, who has several bizarre adventures (often defeating ill-tempered knights and rescuing beleaguered maidens) of his own.  The tale was left unfinished- Chretien likely died before he could conclude.

Thoughts:
Erec and Enide was a decent story.  Cliges was also okay, as a very romanticized look at deception comparable to Tristan and Isolde.  Lancelot's tale was good, Yvain's amusing, and Perceval's bizarre.  Again and again we see knightly combat, love, hospitality, and virtue glorified, giving insight into the priorities of the day.  There was much talk of love- it seemed overwhelming at times.  de Troyes wrote when supported by a patron, and so the patron's tastes surely influenced the emphasis.

Overall, I enjoyed this.  It surprised me how many elements of these tales would be preserved in later modifications.  Here we hear of Arthur, Guenevere, Excalibur (though it's Gawain's sword here), Camelot, Gawain, Perceval, the Grail, and a few other elements that will be familiar to modern eyes.  This seminal work is a staple of Arthurian literature and recommended for genre enthusiasts.

Rating: B+

Batman: Haunted Knight

Haunted Knight collects three stand-alone tales about Batman, each in some way relating to Halloween:
- Fear: Batman takes on Scarecrow and his fear-inducing gas
- Madness: Mad Hatter kidnaps Jim Gordon's daughter (and other children), and holds a twisted tea party.  Can Batman rescue them all?
- Ghosts: a re-telling of A Christmas Carol, starring Batman villains (Poison Ivy, Penguin, and the Joker)

I've enjoyed previous Loeb/Sale collaborations on Batman, but this one falls short.  The tales were vanilla (or overly reliant on other tales, like Alice in Wonderland or A Christmas Carol).  It's okay to incorporate literature if it's well done (see Batman: Noel), but these are disappointing.  Not recommended.

Rating: C+

Midterm Report

image from here

Wow, we're halfway through 2017 already.  Each year, I set and present my goals for the year in January.  Today I look at how I'm doing.

Use it or lose it
Hmmm. . . I've definitely continued to churn through my collection of games, but I keep buying more, so I haven't made much progress here in my quest to use everything I own.

Grade: B-

Personal Spending & Budgeting
We tracked purchases (not the same as budgeting) for two months, then tapered off.  We have improved some spending habits- especially working on reducing food costs- but we still have a long way to go.  My personal spending is within my budget, but I haven't been pacing myself well at all (I've spent most of it already), and my goal was essentially to not spend anything for the first 6 months.  I failed there.

Grade: C

Fitness
Fitness numbers are on track this year: so far I've run 142 miles in 52 runs (improving my average distance), done 51 weightlifting sessions, and roughly 10 other workouts (bike, yoga, yard work, etc.).  I have stretched more, as was my goal, though still not enough- I need to do more yoga sessions.

Grade: B+

Nutrition
Ouch, this was bad.  Though I've done decently working out, my nutrition hasn't changed.  I eat too many calories (and too many carbs/sweets), and as a result, I'm the same weight now that I was in January.  I really need to focus on this moving out.  15 lbs or bust!

Grade: D

Reading
This has gone well; I'm on track for 52 books this year, and am really enjoying the selections.

Grade: A

Spiritual
Some progress here.  I'm praying more (but need to improve), and we do devotionals as a family occasionally (we started the year strong; I'm impressed how much the kids retained).  Scripture reading is okay but needs more consistency.

Grade: B

Parenting
Hmmmm . . . marginal improvement here, but a long way to go towards being more compassionate with and giving more attention to the kids.

Grade: C+

Other
I'll end on an odd note: this year I stopped using chapstick.  It was annoying for a few weeks, but the body adjusted and I'm happy for it.  One less 'need' in life.

Overall
Some aspects of the year have went well, but I really need to rein in my spending, weight, and improve spiritually and with parenting skills.  "Never stop starting," as a friend says.

Grade: B-