Hive Pocket

Today's review is of the 2010 release, Hive Pocket. For two players, it takes 20 minutes.

Overview

Hive Pocket is similar to chess, but where there is no board to start (it is created over time as pieces are placed). You and your opponent each have 13 hex pieces. Each piece has a bug; each bug (queen bee, ant, beetle, mosquito, ladybug, grasshopper, or spider) has different movement abilities. Surround your opponent's queen (before they do so to yours) and you win!

The first player places a piece onto the table, starting the game. The other player places a piece (which much touch one of the sides of the first piece). Then, players take turns. On your turn, you either place or move one of your pieces.

- place: you must place a piece adjacent to one of your own pieces (it cannot touch an opponent's piece after the first turn); you must also place your queen within the first four turns of the game.

- move: you must move a piece in accordance with the movement rules associated with its printed bug. Those are outlined in the rules.

game in progress; image from here

Review

Like chess, there is all choice and no chance involved in Hive Pocket. You learn the piece's movement abilities and must carefully plot your moves (and counter your opponent's) to win. Some will love that; I appreciated the mechanics and strategic depth, but don't care for games with no chance elements. It makes it all about skill (which, for me, is a notable disadvantage). So this is a good game, but not one I would play often due to personal tastes (aside: I explore the game theory of chance and choice in this post). Recommended for the chess player in your life who would enjoy a twist on a classic.

Rating: B

Mindbug: First Contact

Today's review is of the 2022 release, Mindbug: First Contact. For two players, it takes 15-25 minutes.

Overview

In Mindbug, you will play and attack with bizarre and hilarious creatures. Your opponent will do the same . . . but beware! Each player has two mindbug cards that can be used during the game to take control of opponent's creatures . . . so what you play and when matters greatly. 

Mindbug is simple to set up and play. Each player starts with three life, two mindbug cards (on the table), and a deck of 10 creature cards (dealt from a common deck). Each player draws five of their cards and play begins. 

On your turn, you either play a single card or attack with a single creature.

- play a single card: you choose and play a creature from your hand. Each creature has a power, name, and may have unique abilities. Whenever you play a card, your opponent may choose to use one of their mindbug cards (turning it facedown to indicate use) to take control of it . . . so plan carefully.

- attack with a single creature: you choose a creature you control and attack with it. Your opponent may choose to block. If they do, the creature with higher power wins (and loser is discarded). If they do not, they lose one life.

It is just that simple! Play continues until one player's life is at zero or one player cannot do either of the above actions on their turn.

You can see pictures of the game and download the rules on the boardgamegeek site.

Review

This game is light, fast, fun, and features a pleasing mix of chance and choice (luck and strategy). The mindbug cards plus other abilities on the creature cards results in a lot of strategic depth—but there are times you simply won't be able to win based on the cards you've been dealt (or choices made earlier in the game). The cards themselves are amusing, delivering a light-hearted experience. Recommended.

Rating: B+

The Practice of the Presence of God (Brother Lawrence)

Brother Lawrence was a monk living near Paris in the seventeenth century. This book captures some of his conversations, letters, and maxims, largely focused on practicing God's presence. The basic point of the book is that we should be continually talking with God throughout our day, always aware of his presence and delighting in it through constant discourse.

"The most holy and necessary practice in our spiritual life is the presence of God. That means finding constant pleasure in His divine company, speakin humbly and lovingly with Him in all seasons, at every moment, without limiting the conversation in any way."

- "In order to know God, we must think about Him often. Once we get to know Him, we will think about Him even more often, because where our treasure is, there also is our heart!"

- "There is no sweeter manner of living in the world than continuous communion with God."

- "We are often content with too little. God has infinite treasures to give us, he ways. Why should we be satisfied with a brief moment of worship?"

- We need to keep Him in mind always. In chores great and small, "we should offer our work to Him before we begin and thank Him afterward for the privilege of having done it for His sake."

- "Even suffering will be easier when we are with Him, but without Him, even the greatest pleasures will be joyless."

This is a short and simple book with a powerful and humbling reminder. I first read this in college and have tried to practice it since; I agree with the brother that it is profoundly important and helpful.

Rating: A

Legacy at Sea

Today's review is of the 2025 release, Legacy at Sea. For 1-4 players, it takes 90-120 minutes.

Overview

You are a pirate of the Caribbean, racing to secure goods and glory before fate intervenes. Have the most victory points when the first fate card is drawn and you win!

Setting up the game involves shuffling the Story cards (for 1716, 1717, and 1718, respectively, then stacked on top of each other) as indicated in the rules, with two fate cards shuffled into the 1718 pile. Ocean and Encounter cards for those respective years are also shuffled, with the 1716 cards being put on (or next to) the board, and 3 Ocean cards revealed to start. Prospect cards are shuffled and placed next to the board (revealing 4 to start). Finally, players choose their captains, ships, color, place their ships on the corresponding home port, grab their initial cannon, crew, and goods (as indicated on the captain's card), and play begins.

game in progress

One round of Legacy at Sea proceeds as follows:

• reveal a Story card and perform its effects (generally placing tokens on locations to indicate higher-priced goods or nationality changes)
• the first player takes their turn, sailing their ship by moving it up to one space (two if they spend a food). Then they take actions based of if they are at sea or in port:
• At sea: 
• target one of the three merchant ships [ocean cards] shown
• draw and resolve an Encounter card
• attempt to plunder the chosen merchant ship by rolling dice based on an aspect of your ship (cannon, crew, or maneuverability) and comparing the total pirate flags rolled with the corresponding value on the defending ship. If you exceed that, you plunder the ship and get the stated gold and goods (and get the card, which you can use to buy skills). You also roll one fate die that could make you take damage.
• In port:
• pay bribes if needed (whenever you defeat a ship, the affiliated nation gets angry with you)
• optional: buy and sell goods, gamble for gold, repair your ship, drop off things (at your home port)
• complete prospect cards if applicable
• play proceeds to the next player in clockwise order
• when all players have gone, go back to the start (and reveal a new story card)

Once a new year occurs on the Story cards, remove all the current year cards from the Ocean and Encounter areas, replacing them with the new decks. Play continues until the first Fate card is drawn (sometime in 1718). Then the victory points are tallied and highest wins!

Review

This is a pirate game that bills itself as historically accurate, so you'll spend your time plundering others or profiting/supplying in port—no searches for buried treasure here! There is a fair amount going on, but the rules are easy enough after a turn or two (the rulebook is not the best . . . you'll do much better to check out the how to setup and how to play videos on the official site, then use the rulebook as a reference). There is no hidden information, but the board state keeps changing, and that (plus the shuffled and varied decks) makes for plenty of replayability. Space on-board is limited, so you'll have to balance accumulation with spending (or storing), and damage may force you to lose goods, gold, crew, or cannon. There is a decent luck component that you minimize (but do not eliminate) through wise choices. I enjoyed this with two players; I'm curious how three or four would go (potentially, with lots of downtime). Overall, recommended.

Rating: B+

Finding the Right Hills to Die On (Gavin Ortlund)

Doctrine matters. So does unity. What happens when the two collide? What if people don't agree? In Finding the Right Hills to Die On, Gavin Ortlund argues that we should conduct a 'theological triage' to determine whether or not an issue is big enough to divide over. 

Ortlund starts by looking at two dangers—doctrinal sectarianism (where we needlessly divide) and doctrinal minimalism (where we ignore or downplay important matters). He argues that we should make doctrinal distinctions, but as some doctrines are more important than others (compare 1 Corinthians 15:3 and Romans 14), not everything is a hill to die on. Indeed, 

The character of the gospel is complex. It contains both truth and grace, both conviction and comfort, both hard edges of logic and deep caverns of mystery. It is at one moment as bracing as a cold breeze and the next as nourshing as a warm meal. Faithfulness to the gospel, therefore, requires more than one virtue. We must at times boldly contend and at other times gently probe.

So how do we decide? He offers a four-tier structure:

• First-rank doctrines are essential to the gospel itself.
• Second-rank doctrines are urgent for the health and practice of the church such that they frequently cause Christians to separate at the level of local church, denomination, and/or ministry.
• Third-rank doctrines are important to Christian theology, but not enough to justify separation or division among Christians.
• Fourth-rank doctrines are unimportant [or indifferent] to our gospel witness and ministry collaboration.

How do we decide what to put in each tier? He suggests different elements should play a part, including Biblical clarity, frequency, and significance, relevance to the character of God (or essence of the Gospel), and effect on other doctrines to name a few.

Navigating these topics can be complex—doctrines fall on a spectrum and not in neat categories. But as we do think through where things should fall, he argues the appropriate mentality for each category is:

• first-rank: courage and conviction
• second-rank: wisdom and balance
• third-rank: circumspection and restraint

He then focuses on a few doctrines in each category and uses them as examples on why he puts them in the tiers he does. 

------------

This is an accessible and helpful book on a critical topic. In a world that seems increasingly divisive (and really bad at arguing/handling disagreement), it is good to think through what matters most and what doesn't. When is a given doctrinal dispute worth a fight? Highly recommended.

Rating: A

A Middle-Earth Traveller (John Howe)

A Middle-Earth Traveller is predominantly a sketchbook, presenting selections from John Howe's work during his time on the sets of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies—though Howe includes sketches of events and places covered in other Tolkien works, too (from the First and Second Age).

One of two principle artists on set*, I love Howe's art. He does a good job of immersing the viewer in an enchanted tale. This is a nice collection of his work, though it felt too short (I would have loved more). There are colored prints sprinkled throughout, but the vast majority are sketches (makes sense given the frantic pace at which artists work on set). The accompanying text didn't explain the art (or movie-making details) so much as provide select snippets of Middle-Earth lore. If you like Middle-Earth and John Howe, you'll like this.

Rating: A

*the other, Alan Lee, has also produced sketchbooks for LOTR and The Hobbit, respectively

The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth

Today's review is of the 2012 release, The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth. For 2-4 players, it takes 20 minutes.

Overview

You and your friends  are competing to create fellowships and send them to battle against the forces of Sauron. Accumulate the most victory points (gained through defeating enemies) and you win!

This simple game has two common decks: the enemy deck (with enemies of Middle-Earth) and the ring deck (which contains fellowship and Mordor cards). To set up, each player draws three cards from the ring deck [before the Mordor cards are shuffled in], displays the top three enemies, and play begins. 

On your turn, you either:

- draw a card from the ring deck (if a Mordor card, place in the Mordor row and draw again), or

- play a card from your hand to the table to an existing (or new) fellowship and (if desired) attack one or more creatures in the enemy row. 

Once all the enemies are defeated, players tally their respective victory points and highest wins.

game in progress

Four key concepts:

 - A fellowship is a grouping of one or more cards that will attack as one unit; you can have as many fellowships as you wish, but you cannot rearrange the groups once chosen.

- Each fellowship (and enemy) character has one or more colored symbols on it. For a given fellowship to attack an enemy, it must have all the matching colored symbols. You can attack multiple enemies simultaneously if you have enough symbols for them all. Once you make an attack, collect the enemy card(s) into your victory pile and put the fellowship cards involved in the ring discard pile. Replenish the enemy row.

- Once the Mordor row is full, it triggers a counterattack; do the effect listed on the right-most Mordor card (generally causing players to lose cards in hand, on the table, or enemies in the enemy row). Then place the right-most Mordor card in the enemy discard pile [important nuance], place the other two Mordor cards in the ring discard pile, place the right-most enemy in the enemy discard pile, replenish the enemy row, and play continues.

- Some fellowship characters have special abilities (explained in more detail in the rulebook). These can be critical to success, to pay attention!

Review

This is a simple, light, and fast game with some fun twists suitable for the family. The theme is pasted on (but the artwork is nice nonetheless). There aren't a lot of meaningful decisions, but the board state can alter unexpectedly and leave the outcome unpredictable. The fellowship character abilities can shake things up, too. Overall, I enjoyed this more than I expected.

Rating: B-