Battle of Hoth

Today's review is of the 2025 release, Battle of Hoth. For 2-4 players, it takes 30 minutes.

Overview

The opening of The Empire Strikes Back is the famous snow battle scene on the ice planet of Hoth. The Battle of Hoth game seeks to re-create that event. Will you be the courageous Rebels or ruthless Empire? Regardless of which side you choose, you will maneuver your units with Command Cards, roll battle dice, and seek to meet your objectives—before your opponent beats you to it. Will you prevail?

game in progress; image from here

The game comes with a rule book, scenario book, and campaign books. For a new game, you select a scenario in that book (probably the first one) and set up the board as shown there (placing terrain and miniatures of the right type in the specified grids). Each player draws a specified number of Command Cards and the game begins (with the first player determined by the scenario). 

Turn Order:

1. Play a Command Card. This tells you how many units you can activate (and in which zone; the board is divided into three).

2. Order. Announce which units you intend to activate (within limits stated by your Command Card).

3. Move the ordered units, one at a time, within their movement restriction.

4. Attack with the ordered units, one at a time, within their combat range constraints. 

5. Draw a new Command Card.

For attacking, roll dice and record hits as indicated. The number of dice you roll here depends (generally) on range: if you are in an adjacent hex from the defending unit, you can roll 3 dice. Hit units are removed from the board (but a given hex can contain several miniatures, and some may survive to perform their own attack).

The goal in a given scenario is to earn a certain number of 'medals' (generally by defeating units). Sometimes you can earn more medals if you defeat a specific type of unit.

And speaking of units, each has different movement ranges, attack ranges, and other abilities. Play continues until one side earns the stated number of medals. They are crowned the victor!

Review

This is a light and fast miniatures game based on the Memoir 44 rules system, a classic WWII game. It also reminded me of a simplified version of Star Wars Miniatures. The Command Card component is the largest element of choice in this game—and can be the most maddening (if your cards don't align with your existing unit placement or desired strategy). But overall, this is enjoyable as the light experience it is intended to be.

Rating: B+

The Way of Kings (Brandon Sanderson)

Roshar is a world subject to fierce tempests called Highstorms. Alethkar, one of the lands therein, is at war against the Parshendi on the Shattered Plains, seeking to avenge their slain king. Against this backdrop . . .

- Kaladin, surgeon-turned-warrior-turned-slave, leads a bridge crew on the Shattered Plains. He wrestles with his blessings and curses, fighting for hope and purpose in a world that seems devoid of both.

- Dalinar, brother to the slain king and uncle to the current, is one of many highprinces fighting the Parshendi. Subject to horrific visions during Highstorms, he fears something is coming . . . and needs to unite his fractious people before it's too late.

- Shallan, ward to the heretic Jasnah in the City of Bells, will stop at nothing to see her family retain its status. But she soon realizes something much bigger is at stake . . .

 

- Szeth-son-son-Vallano is an assassin, beholden to a secret master and unable to disobey or force his own death. Horrified by his lot, he is given one final assignment . . . 

The past is a vapor. The truth is uncertain. Were the Knights Radiant traitors or heroes? Who are the Voidbringers? When is the Last Desolation . . . and can anyone stop it?

So begins The Stormlight Archive, a massive saga (book one was 1250 pages). I had delayed reading this for years because I was daunted by the length; I'm glad I finally picked up this work. I enjoyed the story—it moved along at a good pace, seeming neither complicated nor boring. The characters were excellent. The world was intriguing. There was wisdom, action, suspense, and mystery. As with Tolkien, Sanderson brings the readers into a much larger world and gives us only glimpses. And that's a good thing.

Rating: A

Heart Aflame for God (Matthew Bingham)

"This book is about living the Christian life. And a basic biblical assumption about the Christian life is that it ought to be a growing life." We are to grow "in grace and knowledge" (2 Peter 3:18), "into maturity" (Colossians 1:28), "up into salvation" (1 Peter 2:2), and "in conformity to the image of Christ" (Romans 8:29). "Such growth in Christ is, first and foremost, the work of the Holy Spirit" . . . but "the Bible also makes clear that growth in the Christian life involves our active, intentional effort and energy." How are we to do this? And do we do it today, or is there a 'sanctification gap' in the church, where we do not pursue growth as we ought? 

In A Heart Aflame for God, Matthew Bingham walks through core concepts related to growth (or spiritual formation), using the Puritans as our guide (arguing that "good, biblical solutions" are found there). Highlights follow.

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Part 1: Foundations

The Bible commands us to keep our heart with all vigilance (Proverbs 4:23), which is a holistic charge (encompassing all we say/think do) and involves not only battling sin but also "a positive cultivation, an activate maintenance, and a daily 'fight for joy.'" This book examines the "means or tools" God gives us to do so—to pursue spiritual formation.

Spiritual formation is the conscious process by whiche we week to heighten and satisfy our Spirit-given thirt for God (Psalms 42:1-2) through divinely appointed means and with a view toward "work[ing] out [our] own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12) and becoming "mature in Christ " (Colossians 1:28).

Bingham starts by looking at how the Reformation's Five Solas (see here) shifted our understanding of how we approach our spiritual formation, "distinguishing between God's work for us in justification . . . and God's work in us through sanctification." We pursue growth not to earn salvation but out of love for God and what He has already done in giving it. We both "rest in justification" and "work in sanctification." From that basis, we have a Reformed approach to spiritual formation, which Bingham argues has "three interrelated emphases". It is:

- Word Centered ("God's people are most profoundly shaped and formed by God's Word.")

- Marked by a Biblical Simplicity ("shorn of all extrabiblical accretions")

- Committed to Engaging the Heart via the Mind ("the ordinary God-ordained means for keeping the heart and cultivating God-honoring affections involved setting one's mind on God's truth.")

Part 2: The Reformation Triangle

The Reformers identified three areas from Scripture that are foundational to spiritual formation. They are "three sides of the same basic thing: communion with God" which "reinforce each other and merge into one another. They are Scripture, Meditation, and Prayer.

Scripture (Hearing from God)

• "Scripture is God's appointed means for communing with his people. And it is through communion with the living God that the people of God are conformed more and more to his likeness." In short: read your Bible.
• We must read Scripture "frequently, actively, and expectantly."
• Frequently: "By pursuing daily devotion in the morning and often again at night, early modern Protestanst bookended the day with God, acknowledging themselves to be made in his image, fallen in Adam, redeemed in Christ,a nd renewed daily by the Spirit."
• Actively: we should have "an approach to Bible reading that is strategic, intentional, and thoughtfully designed to maximize . . . one's time in God's word." This could include reading "with pen in hand," ready to take notes on texts that hit home (comfort, convict, confuse, or direct toward Godly living).
• Expectantly: We need to come to the Bible with "a sense of expectation that herein I am meeting with the one who made me and sustains my every breath." That reading is communion with God (which mean we may wrestle with it!).

Meditation (Reflecting on God)

• Meditation can be a loaded term. What the author means by the term is not deliberate "physiological manipulations" but "directing one's attention toward God and his promises as revealed in Scripture with the aim of stirring up God-honoring affections." In short: deliberately dwelling on God to move his truth from our heads into our hearts.
• This "involves taking God's word to heart, chewing it over, pondering it, and working through its implications for every facet of life."
• Meditation transforms "mere thoughts about God and the things of God into heartflet, soul-stirring, life-transforming convictions about the same." "Who we are is revealed by what we give our sustained attention to."
• Meditation forces us to slow down in an increasingly busy world and helps us avoid a dry intellectualism that knows about God but doesn't really know God.
• Five tips on doing this:
• Hold meditation and Scripture closely together
• Distinguish between 'settled' and 'occasional' meditation
• Grab hold of a thought and don't let it go
• Apply God's truth to yourself
• Don't overthink it

Prayer (Responding to God)

• "Prayer is real communication with a God who is actually there and really does listen." It can be done during set and focused times or be short and spontaneous.
• Prayer is essential: "it is the vehicle through which we express praise and thanksgiving to God" and "it is largely in response to our prayers that God has promised to bless us." In it "we express and cultivate our childlike dependence on our 'Father who is in heaven'."
• Prayer must be:
• Thoughtful: consisting of carefully chosen and "coherent, intelligible petitions and praises" 
• Heartfelt: it "must actually reflect one's desire for and interest in God and the things of God"
• Tightly tethered to scripture: "fidelity to God's revealed will was [and is] a key mark of a true and effectual prayer." "God has addressed us through his word, and we respond to him through our prayers." 

Part 3: Widening Our Scope

In this section, Bingham looks at self-examination, the natural world, and Christian relationships, and how each aids in spiritual formation.

Self-Examination (Looking Inward)

"Life contains deep wells of memory, emotion, and meaning, wells that are often unexplored, or are least underexplored," and "part of our spiritual formation is to try and unearth a little bit more of [truth] each day." The Bible calls us to be a "remembering people," which includes both our fallenness and God's goodness. 

We examine ourselves to identify and battle against indwelling sin; through this we "come to better understand [our] characteristic weaknesses and vulnerabilities to [we] can more effectively guard against them." As we look inside, we find "unacknowledged sin" and "a storm of scarcely perceived attitudes, assumptions, and motivations [that] swirls underneath our outward actions."

We also examine ourselves to "think deliberately about one's life as a story that God is writing." We are called to be "a people who never forget and actively call to mind God's redemptive dealings with them," as remembering God's past faithfulness to us is "fuel for present-day strength and hope."

The Natural World (Looking Outward)

Pondering creation "draws our thoughts and affections toward the one who called it into being by the power of his word." "If creation is a theater, or mirror, of God's glory one could do no better than study diligently the splendors God has placed there" (William Dyrness). 

The natural world reflects God's glory, teaches God's truth, and aids in spiritual formation. "God is both invisible to us and yet continuously seen through his creation," and so long as we look at creation in a way that "accords with and flows from God's word," we can use these reflections on the world to "call to mind what I've learned from Scripture, illustrating it, amplifying it, and helping me apply it in fresh and invigorating ways."

Christian Relationships (Looking to One Another)

We all have an "intrinsic need for social connection," and so "Christianity is an inherently corporate endeavor." In community, we use the God-given gifts to build each other up and learn from each other, as "we humans are more quickened and stimulated by example than by instructions and warnings" (Campegius Vitringa).

Friends "coordinate their energies to accomplish common goals," "hold each other accountable," "encourage each other to pursue godliness and run the Christian race with joy," and "pray for one another."

Part 4: Challenges

Bingham concludes by considering the role our physical bodies (and senses) play in spirtual formation, and then looks at "when things go wrong," focusing on the reality of spiritual struggling (it won't always be easy, for a number of reasons).

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I really liked this book. Bingham focuses on how the Reformation and Puritans considered spiritual formation, not because they are to be idolized but because they 1) were thoroughly biblical in their approach, and 2) they represented a shift in the Christian religion's approach to the topic—they offer a "helpful corrective" to our present age.

Rating: A

Daredevil: End of Hell

Continuing from last time . . .

Things are getting to a breaking point in Hell's Kitchen. Cops have been told to stay out. Rival mob bosses are posturing. Something must be done.

Matt and Elektra make a play, stealing from the mob and giving to the poor. Supervillains are called in to extinguish hope . . . Daredevil and unlikely allies are determined to provide it. Who will win the day? And can Matt finally extinguish his demons?

Picking up the story from last August, I was foggy on a few details, but the story remains gripping, and this volume was more satisfying than the prior. There continues to be good art and (mostly) good messages. A winner.

Rating: A-

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows

Last time, Shredder was defeated and imprisoned. But he won't stay down . . . and when he escapes from prison with help from powerful beings (including Krang and scientist Baxter Stockman), the turtles realize more is at stake. Much more. Krang is enlisting Shredder's help to find three pieces needed to build a transdimensional portal and unleash the power of the Technodrome . . . and only the turtles can stop them.

This 2016 sequel was much the same as it predecessor: an over-the-top fast and frenetic visual spectacle that was full of humor and not much else (character development, plot, or message). That said, I enjoyed this more than the first film. The humor was better, and it was fun seeing live-action visualizations of Krang, Rocksteady, and Bebop. The message was little-explored but dealt with teamwork despite differences and seeking acceptance in a world that forced the crew to live in the shadows. It was entertaining as a nostalgic nod to the nineties ninjas cartoon. It could have been more, but it was a fun romp.

Rating: B-

Feed the Kraken

Today's review is of the 2022 release, Feed the Kraken. For 5-11 players, it takes 45-90 minutes.

Overview

You are aboard the Instabil, a ship on the high seas. The crew seems to be of varying goals . . . some (sailors) want to go to a safe harbor. Others (pirates) want to go to a place of ill repute. And still others (cult leader and followers) desire an untimely end at the hands of the kraken. The challenge is . . . you know only what you are. Can you deduce who is on your team, and collectively work to steer the ship to your goal?

game in progress; image from here

To begin, issue secret role cards, randomly assign the captain, and give each player three guns and a unique character. Then play begins. Simplified, a turn looks like this:

- the captain assigns a lieutenant and navigator

- players can choose to mutiny (by secretly choosing a number of guns, revealing them all at once, and mutinying if that number exceeds the stated limit for the number of players you have)

- assuming a mutiny didn't happen (if it did, go back to the first step with the new captain), the captain and lieutenant each draw two navigation cards, secretly choosing one and discarding the other face-down. These are placed in a box and given to the navigator.

- the navigator looks at both cards, chooses one, and executes the command. The ship will move to the next hex to the NW, N, or NE based on the card chosen. And special symbols on the card may introduce other effects (anything from choosing a new captain to having a player secretly learn something about another).

- the lieutenant and navigator are given 'off-duty' signs, and the next turn begins.

Play continues until the ship has reached a stated victory condition. All those on the winning team are victorious—even if a player was thrown overboard during the game!

Review

This is a very highly rated party game, and I see why. It seems like a lot going on, but it is simple enough after a few rounds. It is fun to play and has high replayability. Like any good party game, it encourages fun conversation and provokes lots of laughter. Recommended.

Rating: A

DC Deck-Building Game: Rivals—Batman vs. Joker

Today's review is of the 2014 release, DC Deck-Building Game: Rivals—Batman vs. Joker. For 2 players, it takes 30 minutes.

Overview

This release is in the DC Deck-Building Game family, which has had many releases (I list those here). Since I reviewed the core game previously, see that post for a game overview. In short, this is a deck-building game where you start with a deck of 10 cards, drawing 5 and playing them to generate power. This allows you to buy cards to add to your deck, which grows more powerful over time as discarded cards get shuffled to form a new deck.

game contents; image from here

This variant is a rivals game, meaning it is two-player only and there are no common super-villains to attack. Instead, you attack each other! You each have three versions of your character (Batman or Joker), each with increasingly powerful defense and abilities. On your turn, rather than purchasing cards, you can announce a confrontation and try to generate more power than your opponent's defense. If you do, you win that card and the next is revealed. The first to knock out their opponent's level 3 character (or who has the most victory points when the lineup deck is empty) is the winner! 

Review

My son owns most of this game's expansions, giving me a chance to sample the variation across them. I like the main concept of this one, and the overall play holds true to the core game. As one of the game's earlier releases, there isn't as much interaction on non-confrontation turns (meaning attack or defense cards that can disrupt your opponent). Later releases improve on that facet. That aside, I enjoyed this.

Rating: B+