BOARD GAME REVIEW: KINGDOMINO

So Kingdomino is a game by Blue Orange. After Photosynthesis, a game I enjoy immensely, does this game continue its tradition.  The answer is yes and no. 

Kingdomino uses domino style mechanics. On your turn, you draft tiles. The tricks are that you want big areas and also crowns, as these are points multipliers. However I said plural, because the better your tile, the worse position you are in turn order next round. 

Kingdomino definitely is in the filler category of games. It has a couple of rules, plays quickly, and you can easily play several quick games in a row. It also has enough choices and depth to make it fell fulfilling, like Splendor or similar games. 

The main reason that it fails is that there is not enough depth after repeat plays. After a few games, you are left feeling like each game play similar. I am not sure about Queendomino, but maybe something like goal cards or a global rule change (similar to Sagrada or Kokodo) would work well to keep the game a bit fresher. 

So there it is. It is a good game. However, it could’ve been a great game with a bit more in box variety. Blue Orange have a hit, but it falls a bit below those evergreen games that are available at the moment. 

3.5 out of 5 falling waffles. 

BOARD GAME REVIEW: ROLL PLAYER AND EXPANSION

Roll Player is a really intriguing game. It is a Dice allocation game, where you are trying to build up a Dungeons and Dragons character. You are filling out their backstory, weapons and feats. The expansion also adds monsters that you can hunt (or to keep with the theme, I like to think of them as monsters you have hunted in your past). 

It is an intriguing game. There is a constant push-pull about what you want to do, the risks you want to take, and what you want to go for. The expansion really brings this out, as hunting monsters really adds something else you can focus on. 

This is a game where simple mechanics give you choices. You have only limited number of rounds (around 10, dependent on player count) to do your stuff. Here, you have to balance your income. In addition to this, the expansion means you also have to collect trophies and experience to get bonuses against the final monster, which can also be a good source of points. 

It isn’t perfect. There is some luck involved. Sometimes your set collections don’t come out  or come out the one time you don’t have money. Similarly, the final boss is based on luck (for the expansion). However, this is an intriguing game that gives plenty of options and is definitely worth trying. 

4.5 out of 5 rolling waffles. 

MOVIE REVIEW: REVOLT (2017)

Revolt is a 2017 film about an alien invasion. However, similar to some other films, it instead focuses on the aftermath rather than the initial invasion. Well kind-of-sort-of at least. Instead, it feels like a dull movie moving through some set-pieces.

It starts off as an alien invasion happens. Then, you are following ex-soldier turned amnesiac and a foreign aid doctor as they move through the Kenyan wilderness. While following this, they are accosted by poachers, gangs, aliens, etc. 

It seems as if the director just wanted to move through certain set-pieces rather than putting together a well-told story. It is slow paced so that it doesn't feel like a binge-watch guilty pleasure. The biggest part this comes to the forefront is when a photographer gets introduced only to be spouting exposition-filled dialogue.

And that is its problem. It just keeps seeming to jump across set pieces and exposition. The pace is way off for a B-movie binge, and the movie isn't good enough to say anything particularly compelling. This movie is a hard miss.

1 out of 5 revolting waffles.

MOVIE REVIEW: SHAOLIN SOCCER (2001)

Shaolin Soccer is a movie that sounds exactly like the title suggests. What would happen if you combine some Shaolin kung-fu, a sports story, and treat it all irreverantly and with a comedy-like wrapping. The result is a movie called Shaolin Soccer.

Shaolin Soccer follows the story of a down-and-out former player. Here, he joins forces with a bunch of former monks in order to compete in the soccer league. Their goal is to win the soccer tournament for money, recognition, and some revenge.

The movie is a comedy movie. The monks all have super-powers, the villain is cartoonishly evil, and the outcome is pretty predictable. However, this is a comedy and in this it succeeds. Taking its premise of super-powers in normal sports to its conclusion, the film is entertaining throughout.

There are also other side plots going on through-out the movie that tie together well. The movie never forgets that it is a comedy at heart. With this, it keeps a lighthearted tone right up until the end. Allot of comedies eventually take themselves too seriously, but Shaolin Soccer manages to avoid this pitfall.

This isn't to say you don't care about the characters. Or more accurately the team. One of the weak points of the movie is that, while you feel the monks should all be deep characters, only 1 or 2 of them are given any real fleshing out. The rest are just there to sort of fill in the super power numbers.

The other weak point is that if you don't like the semi-slapstick style of comedy in the movie, it is likely to fall flat. This type of comedy is often an acquired taste, but you can get a good feel of it by the trailers. This may limit the individual appeal of the movie. However, I found that the comedy hit and that the movie was very enjoyable.

4 out of 5 Shaolin Waffles.

ANIME REVIEW: ASSASSINATION CLASSROOM (10 EPISODES)

Assassination Classroom is an interesting show. The premise of the show is that an alien comes to earth. He destroys the moon, and then will destroy the earth in one year. In that time, he teaches a class of delegates idiots who also have the opportunity to assasinate him. This is some initial thoughts based on the first 10 anime episodes. 

The show starts off with allot of humour. It hen continues with the offbeat humour and weird situations that the class find themselves in. Although the plot in he first 10 episodes is pretty predictable, I am looking forward to seeing how it ends. There are also a couple of mysteries in it that I am looking forward to being resolved. 

One of the weak points of the show is the consistency in its rules. For example, it says that the alien won’t hurt the students. However this also appears to extend to everyone trying to hurt it. Also, the minor student characters tend to blend together after their lesson of the week. 

Despite this, the anime is intriguing and I am liking it. I am looking forward to seeing how it all ends up playing out. 

4 out of 5 student waffles. 

MOVIE REVIEW: WILD CARD

Wild Card is a Jason Statham action movie. That should tell you all you need to know about the movie right there. Set in Las Vegas, this follows Jason Statham as a brute for hire throughout a little adventure.

In this movie, Jason Statham is a hard-nosed bodyguard. It starts by spending far too long on a scene where he pretends to be beaten up so a guy can impress his lady. It then jumps around to him being hired as a bodyguard for a rich boy hitting Vegas, but then goes on a tangent where he takes revenge for his friend being raped.

There are allot of plot threads competing here. Unfortunately, the movie wastes allot of time on pointless threads with no payoff. The man impressing his wife, the man needing a guard in Vegas- both contribute nothing to the plot.

Add to this that the main storyline seems to end in a wimper rather than any sort of meaningful showdown, the movie ends up feeling flat. It almost feels like it was a pilot for a television series about a bodyguards adventures with the high rollers and lowlife of Vegas. The movie feels incomplete as a standalone movie.

So this is a typical Jason Statham movie without any of the big payoffs movies like Transporter have. It ends up feeling like a disappointing movie that has far too many loose plot threads and pointless diversions. Maybe it was trying to make a meta-point about Vegas.

1.5 out of 5 Wild Waffles.