DungeonQuest

Today's review is of the 2014 release, DungeonQuest (revised edition). For 1-4 players, it takes 60 minutes.

Overview

You are exploring Dragonfire Dungeon. You'll encounter monsters, treasure, traps, and maybe a dragon, but most importantly- treasure. Can you get the most loot- and get out alive- to win?

This is a tile-laying game with many small decks, each labeled appropriately ("dungeon deck," "trap deck," "search deck," "treasure deck," "catacomb deck," etc.). Each player chooses a hero miniature (with unique abilities, laid out on their accompanying stat card) and places them in one corner of the map (which is blank to start). On your turn, you'll activate any abilities, then perform one action: move, search, or go into the catacombs (an area beneath the dungeon). 

• Move: move your hero into an existing adjacent tile OR randomly choose a new dungeon tile, then placing it in a legal adjacent space and moving the hero into it. Do anything the new tile indicates (one common action is drawing a card from the dungeon deck and doing what it says). 
• Search: if your hero is on a tile with a search icon, you can draw a card from the search deck and do what it says- it may be a trap or monster, but could also yield loot!
• Go into the catacombs: if you're on a tile with a catacomb entrance, you can go into the catacombs (draw a card from the catacomb deck and do what it says). On each subsequent turn, you draw an additional catacomb card until/unless you can escape the catacombs and return to the dungeon- often in a completely different location.

game in progress; image from here

After each play has had one turn, the sun will advance and a new round begins. To win, a player must 1) escape the dungeon before the sun advances too far and the dragon awakes, and 2) have the highest total value of loot. Can you survive?

Review

DungeonQuest is a straightforward game. The cards in various decks will tell you what to do- which can include drawing a card in another deck and following its instructions. You may encounter monsters and other hazards- or nothing at all- as laid out in the cards. This game is easy to learn but hard to master- it is easy to die quickly here.

While the game's different dungeon tiles and decks are a neat twist and way to inject randomness or variation, this game ultimately fell flat for me. There are plenty of choices- but there are few informed options. To be good, games must include meaningful choices. Here, it's all random. Moving, searching, or catacombs are your choices, but they all involve random tile laying or card drawing, so this is really "choose your random outcome."  Every choice was like rolling the dice- no skill involved. This is the revised edition- the original came out in 1985. This game definitely has that "legacy" vibe to it; gaming mechanics have come a long way since then. So while there's some good here, it will go on my stack to sell.

Rating: C+

Ten Years Later

"Man Writing" by Oliver Ray

Happy blogiversary! Ten years ago, I made my first blog post. Today, I recount the journey.

It started with books. We lived in England at the time; with young children and poor weather, I suspected lots of time indoors. (I was right.) I thus committed myself to rekindle an old flame- a love of reading. But I have a bad memory, so I wanted a way to remember what I read. I hit on blogging- doing book reviews as a way to improve what I retained and look back on the works I had enjoyed. Little did I know what it would become.

I soon expanded the blog to travel recaps and movie reviews. I also added overviews of my favorite subjects to share interests, document reading lists, and serve as a reference (for myself and others). I dabbled in poetry and humor. I talked about our years in Europe and the struggles we had re-adjusting to America. I had a game post or two (those posts began in earnest in 2017). I reflected on life and personal struggles like materialism. At the end of the year, I looked back. At the beginning of the next, I looked ahead. The blog became a way to document hobbies, experiences, and goals.

Though most technical elements were there near the beginning, I refined things as time went on. I started adding graphics to each post, then went back and retroactively did so for my earliest entries (one big advantage of the medium). I started adding tags. I changed the URL in 2016 (it was initially "overlord musings," an inside joke). I added pages (accessible across the top of the main site) to focus and organize my main interests. I learned how to embed videos, hyperlinks in pictures, and more. I even started a second blog in 2020 focusing on Magic:the Gathering.

Ten years later, here we are. I looked at why I write back in 2014, and those reasons are still the driving force. Blogging for me is a chance to share, organize my thoughts, document progress, and practice writing. Here are the stats so far:

Posts: 1,397 (counting this one)

Views: Over 88,000 total- 57,893 (for this URL) plus ~30,800 (for the original URL)

Most common labels* (with number of posts so labeled):

• books (689) 
• movies (205) 
• games (178) 
• religion (155) 
• reflections (153) 
• Europe (131) 
• superhero (122) 
• Star Wars (119)
• history (116)
• travels (114)
• graphic novel (100) 

It's been a great ten years. Here's to many more.

*note: many posts have more than one label

Crusaders: Thy Will Be Done

Today's review is of the 2018 release, Crusaders: Thy Will Be Done. For 2-4 players, it takes 40-60 minutes.

Overview

You are the head of a militaristic order in Medieval Europe. Your goal is to have the most influence by building (banks, farms, castles, and churches) and crusading (against Prussians, Slavs, and Saracens). To do those, you'll have to muster troops, move your knights, and manage your resources strategically. Once all the orders get too powerful, King Philip will shut them all down. Will you be on top when he does?

game in progress; image from here

In Crusaders, your turn is simple:

- do an action

- upgrade a wedge (turn it over, which gives you two possible actions instead of one in a future turn)

You have a wheel that dictates how many of which action(s) you can take during your turn. The actions- travel, muster, build, crusade, and influence- are each shown on wedges. Each wedge starts with the 'one action' side up and two action tokens. On your turn, you choose one wedge, implement the action(s) based on the number of action tokens on it [so two action tokens on a 'travel' wedge would enable you to travel two spaces], and move those tokens one at a time (in clockwise order) on the following wedges in the wheel. Over time, you'll find some wedges accruing many tokens, while others are empty. So choose actions wisely, as what you do now affects what you can do in the future.

As players build or muster, they'll unlock bonuses to different actions. Building a bank, for example, gives a player one extra build bonus. If they have two tokens on a build wedge, they could then build something that costs three (using the two wedge tokens plus the aforementioned build bonus). Each build, muster, crusade, or influence action also grants influence points. There are a limited number of those (200 for a three-player game), and once they're gone, the game is over once all players have had the same number of turns. Highest influence wins!

Review

Hooray! I finally got to play this! I was gifted it before the pandemic, and then life shut down for in-person gaming. I really like this game. The action wheel (called a rondel) was fun. Turns moved rapidly. The rules are clear and straightforward. Each military order has different abilities and the board has 'modular' components to mix things up. This is a bit of a 'points salad'-type game, meaning most things you do will earn you points in some way, but you need to manage your turns efficiently to be successful. A few times, I found myself pinned into unwanted actions based on how my action tokens were distributed on the rondel. Though I don't yet understand the game well enough to discern a winning strategy, there is a lot of good here. Recommended.

Rating: A

Encanto

Years ago, the Madrigal family suffered tragedy- the husband sacrificed himself to save his wife, their triplets, and the community. But out of it call came a miracle- an enchanted candle & house that has bestowed a special gift to everyone in the family. Everyone except Mirabel Madrigal. The gifts enable them to serve their community, earning them respect and honor. But when the house starts to crack, candle flicker, and gifts wane, the matriarch panics. Is Mirabel the solution- or the problem?

This movie was pretty good. The themes are excellent- the idea of gifts (and purpose of them) and the difficulty of not knowing yours takes center stage. But it goes deeper, looking at how one can

• idolize the gifts themselves and start to worship them (vs. focusing on loving others), 
• idolize the status of being a gifted one and doing anything to keep up appearances,
• find your worth in the gifts you have (vs. having inherent worth based on being human).

It gets high marks for exploring these themes. I ding it for the music (okay, not great) and overall difficulty I had following some of the dialogue- it was so fast. 

Rating: A-

Batman Arkham: Scarecrow

Scarecrow collects 12 comic book issues about this Batman villain told over the decades ('40s, '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, '00s, '10s). Here, we learn of Scarecrow's origin as a gangly, awkward, bookish child who would be incessantly teased into adulthood. Constantly fearful, he becomes obsessed with the study of it, eventually becoming Professor of Psychology at Gotham University. But his unorthodox and dangerous teaching style eventually gets him fired . . . and he becomes the Scarecrow, using the power of fear (through his fear toxin) to subject others to what he has endured for so long.

As with the Mr. Freeze and Clayface collections, I really like the concept of this series- seeing how both villains (and art, and storytelling) have evolved over the decades is fun and interesting. But with the others, as the art and storytelling evolves, most scarecrow stories have the same content: he seeks revenge on those who have wronged him by making them fear, and Batman arrives to stop him and return him to Arkham. I enjoyed this, but ultimately, my favorite Scarecrow depiction is in Batman Begins.

Rating: B+

The Book of Boba Fett: Season 1

The bounty hunter Boba Fett fell into the Sarlacc pit and was left for dead in Return of the Jedi. But we learned that he survived (and eventually took over Jabba's Palace) in the second season of The Mandalorian. The Book of Boba Fett delves into his tale- both how Boba survived and what happens immediately after he takes Jabba's place. Determined to establish control and restore order, Boba takes on a deadly crime syndicate on Tatooine. But the cost may be too high as he encounters familiar faces- friend and foe. Can he hope to prevail on such a corrupt planet?

Episodes 1-4 were okay- some good story elements, but poorly delivered. And Fett's character was unconvincing- he takes over a crime lord's palace and operation, then refuses to be a crime lord? And would he really abandon his former life so readily? Episodes 5-6 were really good, and Episode 7 decent . . . but those were more like The Mandalorian Season 3 than the Boba Fett show. Overall, it held promise, but left me wanting more.

Rating: B-

Root

Today's review is of the 2018 release, Root. For 2-4 players, it takes 60-90 minutes.

Overview

In Root, four factions vie for control of the woodland. Will you play as the:

• Cats, who have siezed control and seek to keep it,
• Eyrie, who seek to reclaim their holdings,
• Woodland Alliance, commonfolk who need to band together and generate sympathy, or
• Vagabond, who wants to complete quests by aiding- or hurting- the others?

An asymmetric game, each faction has starkly different abilities and turn actions. But different paths lead to the same goal: the first to 30 victory points wins, or you can choose to play a dominance card, creating a different win condition for you only.

game in progress; image from here

Review

I like this game. The asymmetry means there is a lot to learn, but it's not so bad once you play a turn or two. I did feel like one play-through wasn't enough- it would require multiple sessions trying different factions to fully explore each one, as the asymmetry makes each faction feel like learning a different game, in a sense. But that's part of the fun. The game is well-designed and the components are of top quality. Overall, recommended. 

Rating: A

Ballcaps

I have done many posts concerning materialism over the years, and my struggles with the desire to own more than is healthy. It helps me to post about such things to 'enjoy them from afar.' My most recent struggle is baseball caps, or 'ballcaps.'

I've always enjoyed ballcaps, but they've become increasingly important as I go bald. Pale-complected balding men should wear hats outside. For sustained sun exposure, I defer to a wide-brimmed hat, but for typical days, the ballcap works just fine.

I don't normally pay much attention to fashion, but I am oddly drawn to make sure the ballcap I'm wearing matches my outfit. As such, I own a handful today in different colors. Generally, I defer to caps that depict logos from my favorite teams (Eagles, Penn State, Orioles, Flames, Spurs). But sometimes I choose a cap based on logo or color- I own a Flyers hat, for example, because it is bright orange and good for visibility in my treks through the local forests. 

At this point, I own enough hats. I have one for each favorite team except the Spurs (I'd like one, but I'm waiting for one with a design I like). But there are a number of other hats that I have my eye on, and I post about them here to enjoy them without owning them. Here are a few, organized by league:

Minor League Baseball

I like Teddy Roosevelt and S'mores, and believe it or not, there are minor league teams with these as mascots. The Frisco Roughriders and Rocky Mountain Vibes:

There are other amusing Minor League logos, to include a strip of bacon. My favorite hat brand, 47, has a number for sale on their website. 

Major League Baseball

Since (to my knowledge) the MLB is where the ballcap style originated, I enjoy many MLB caps. (I blogged about some favorite logos here.) In addition to what I posted there, there are others I enjoy. Like the San Diego Padres (I like their brown & yellow color scheme), the Milwaukee Brewers (logo is classic; I have a version with a yellow front panel that I love), the Detroit Tigers (classic cap- too bad they're in Detroit), and an old version of the Seattle Mariners (I've never once seen them wear this, but the trident looks cool).

47 Brand has a ton of variant MLB caps, like their Cooperstown collection.

National Basketball Association

I'm still searching for that 'perfect' Spurs cap, but I like other NBA teams, too. I enjoy logos that combine concepts- the Philadelphia 76ers cap, for example, is a great nod to both the team and our country. The Phoenix Suns hat looks like an advertisement for basketball in general, and it's purple to boot. The Milwaukee Bucks cap appears suited for hunters. The Spurs cap below is okay but still not what I'm looking for. Finally, The Utah Jazz is fun as it combines music with sport.

National Football League

I own three Eagles hats. I don't need more. But there are some fun NFL logos and colors, especially when you explore the legacy logos on 47's website. The old logos for the Buccaneers, Oilers [now the Titans], and Dolphins certainly were interesting. Finally, I once saw a "FD NY PD" hat, with the NY in the style of the New York Giants, shortly after 9/11. I couldn't find a picture of a ballcap with that on it, but saw a beanie with the same concept. That was a nice nod to the police and firefighters.

Military

I'll conclude with a cap based on the US military WWII roundel:

Nice! 

There are many cool hats out there, but I have only one head, so I don't need them all. It's fun to enjoy them from afar.

Wings of Fire: The Dragonet Prophecy (Tui Sutherland)

Six years ago, five dragon eggs were taken from the various kingdoms of Pyrrhia. Raised in a cave, they are believed to be the fulfillment of prophecy- the ones who will end the long-standing war between three sisters for control of the SandWing throne. But one day, the young dragons escape the cave. Their newfound freedom is thrilling but short-lived; they soon find themselves caught in a tangled web of war and deception. Are they truly special? Or were the prophecies wrong?

Meh. This was okay. It was geared towards the same age range as Percy Jackson, but this one felt more juvenile (less enjoyable for adults). The number of dragons and tribes was hard for me to track (perhaps because the dragon's names were nouns), and the first book wasn't self-contained- it felt more like the first chapter of a much larger story. That said, the epilogue made things interesting . . . and I'm glad my son really likes these.

Rating: B-

Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief (Rick Riordan)

Percy Jackson has a rough life. A new school every year, struggling with ADHD and dyslexia, a bum stepfather, and now monsters from Greek mythology are after him. Because Percy, you see, is a demigod- a son of Poseidon- and war is brewing. Someone stole Zeus's lightning bolt, and he thinks Poseidon did it. Percy and his friends have until the summer solstice- about a week- to find it or the gods will start World War III on earth. But powerful forces are determined to see Percy fail . . . how can a boy possibly prevail?

This is a fun book. It weaves the world of Greek mythology into modern times in amusing ways (in the vein of Dave Barry-style humor). For young adults and the first of a pentalogy, I wouldn't mind reading the rest. It is very similar in style to Riordan's Magnus Chase series, which looks at Norse mythology. I read volume one of that years ago.

Rating: A