Thunderstone, by Mike Elliott of AEG, is basically the hack and slash version of Dominion. Both Dominion and Thunderstone revolve around starting with a small deck of weak cards, using those cards to add better cards to your deck, and gradually improving your deck until you can start collecting victory points. While Dominion took this idea and made a game with very tight mechanics and a very loose theme, Thunderstone... well, they went a different direction. It would be easy to go down the line and compare every aspect of Thunderstone to Dominion, but that wouldn't be entirely fair. More importantly, it would be kind of boring, so I'll try to resist.Sunday, January 31, 2010
Boardgame review: Thunderstone
Thunderstone, by Mike Elliott of AEG, is basically the hack and slash version of Dominion. Both Dominion and Thunderstone revolve around starting with a small deck of weak cards, using those cards to add better cards to your deck, and gradually improving your deck until you can start collecting victory points. While Dominion took this idea and made a game with very tight mechanics and a very loose theme, Thunderstone... well, they went a different direction. It would be easy to go down the line and compare every aspect of Thunderstone to Dominion, but that wouldn't be entirely fair. More importantly, it would be kind of boring, so I'll try to resist.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Boardgame review: Dungeon Lords
I've got some more webcomics to point out soon, but I haven't worked out exactly what I want to say about them yet. So meanwhile, here's something completely different.
Dungeon Lords is the newest game by Czech game designer Vlaada Chvátil. I'm already a fan of his earlier games, especially Galaxy Truckers and Space Alert, so when I saw that he had a new game coming out about making a dungeon and staffing it with imps to work it and monsters to fight off invading heroes, the part of me that so fondly remembers Dungeon Keeper got very excited.
So, of course, the actual publication of the game got delayed.
But I did finally get ahold of it, and tricked a couple of friends into learning it with me, and we had a go of it.
Dungeon Lords is the newest game by Czech game designer Vlaada Chvátil. I'm already a fan of his earlier games, especially Galaxy Truckers and Space Alert, so when I saw that he had a new game coming out about making a dungeon and staffing it with imps to work it and monsters to fight off invading heroes, the part of me that so fondly remembers Dungeon Keeper got very excited.
So, of course, the actual publication of the game got delayed.
But I did finally get ahold of it, and tricked a couple of friends into learning it with me, and we had a go of it.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Why I Read This: Kevin and Kell/Sinfest
Most webcomics are amateur affairs, and it shows. I'm not even talking about quality issues; some amateur works can be amazing and the pro stuff can be terrible. I'm just talking about things like sporadic updates, working without a buffer, and inconsistent art quality.
Kevin & Kell and Sinfest are proof that professionalism can have a place on the web, too.
Kevin & Kell and Sinfest are proof that professionalism can have a place on the web, too.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Why I Read This: Gunnerkrigg Court
OK, Technical difficulties are sorted out, so let's get started.
Gunnerkrigg Court by Tom Siddell is a pretty big part of why I started this blog. When I try to get my friends to read a webcomic other than Sluggy Freelance or Penny Arcade, this is the one I point them at.
Superficially, Gunnerkrigg Court seems like a Harry Potter style story, about a young girl named Antimony Carver who is enrolled in a mysterious boarding school. In fact, the basic premise really does have a lot of similarities with Harry Potter, except inverted. Where Harry is a basically normal boy enrolled in a school that's a bastion of magic surrounded by a mundane world, Antimony is a strange girl enrolled in a school that's a bastion of science (sort of) surrounded by a magical world.
Gunnerkrigg Court by Tom Siddell is a pretty big part of why I started this blog. When I try to get my friends to read a webcomic other than Sluggy Freelance or Penny Arcade, this is the one I point them at.
Superficially, Gunnerkrigg Court seems like a Harry Potter style story, about a young girl named Antimony Carver who is enrolled in a mysterious boarding school. In fact, the basic premise really does have a lot of similarities with Harry Potter, except inverted. Where Harry is a basically normal boy enrolled in a school that's a bastion of magic surrounded by a mundane world, Antimony is a strange girl enrolled in a school that's a bastion of science (sort of) surrounded by a magical world.
Friday, December 25, 2009
An auspicious beginning
Just as I'm getting ready to get things started, my laptop undergoes a catastrophic failure. Dead, dead, dead. With any luck, I'll be able to extract my bookmarks and get back on track soon. Meanwhile, Merry Christmas, internet.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Why I Read This #0: Introduction
There are a lot of comics on my daily reading list. A lot. And to be honest, there's more than a few on that list that I have no idea why I keep reading every day. Sometimes it's just because the few seconds I waste looking at it in Google Reader are less important to me than the effort it takes to take it off my reading list. Also, I'm really just a huge geek and a voracious reader, so just because something is mediocre isn't a dealbreaker for me.
On the other hand, for some of the comics on my list I could tell you in a few short words exactly why I read it and keep reading it. The internet may be the purest incarnation of Sturgeon's Law, but oh that 10%.
In any case, there are plenty of places out there where you can read why webcomics suck and you shouldn't read them. I thought I'd try something a little different, and work through my list, justifying why things are on my daily read.
Of course, this is all just an excuse for me to dive into the archives and reread things from the beginning, so this isn't exactly going to go quickly.
On the other hand, for some of the comics on my list I could tell you in a few short words exactly why I read it and keep reading it. The internet may be the purest incarnation of Sturgeon's Law, but oh that 10%.
In any case, there are plenty of places out there where you can read why webcomics suck and you shouldn't read them. I thought I'd try something a little different, and work through my list, justifying why things are on my daily read.
Of course, this is all just an excuse for me to dive into the archives and reread things from the beginning, so this isn't exactly going to go quickly.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Welcome
Everyone needs a place to put their opinions on the internet, and this place is mine. While I mostly intend this blog to be a showcase of sorts of the webcomics that I read on a regular basis, I'm chock full of opinions on all sorts of things. In particular, boardgames will probably sneak onto her more than a few times. We'll see how that goes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)