Let's Make a Bus Route is a game from Saashi and Saashi that has been released in a time where Roll and Write games seem to be one of the hot board game mechanisms. But here, it is flipping a card instead of rolling, and you are all writing on a shared board.
Sharing a board isn't the only cool trick that this game pulls off. However, it is probably the most interesting. In this game, you are working to, over the course of 12 cards, build a route for your bus to take. You are aiming to pick up people, drop them off to their destinations, and earn points for this.
There are two things that the shared board gives. The first is traffic. You are aiming to avoid where other bus routes are going to avoid negative points for traffic. The second is related to global objective cards, in that it is effectively a race to earn 5 elder commuters first.
Apart from this, the scoring is as good as, say, Ganz Schon Clever. Each commuter scores differently, with some providing bonuses to others. However, you also have to watch your route to make sure you can deliver them to their destinations otherwise you earn no points for all that effort. Add to that your private objective and public objectives pulling you towards different directions and you have a very fascinating game.
My only criticism is that everything is double sides, with English/Japanese language sides. However, I feel that they missed an opportunity to make these sides alternative boards/routes (say an English and Japanese city and bus company) that makes things play out differently. I am a bit concerned if this game has much legs. However, this issue hasn't come up yet.
4.5 out of 5 commuting waffles.
Tuesday 23 October 2018
Saturday 20 October 2018
MOVIE REVIEW: PARASYTE (2014)
Parasyte is a two-part Japanese science-fiction/body-horror movie. The movie comes in 2 parts and is about parasites, who have come to earth and are taking over members of the population. Their main source of nutrition is, of course, eating people.
Parasyte is kind-of a horror movie. However, it is done in a very campy manner. The aliens aren't aiming to be gruesome, horror-inducing aliens. However, the aliens still manage to bring some elements of body horror more for their psychology and what they are able to accomplish. There are also a few gruesome dismemberment scenes.
Overall, both parts of this movie are good to watch. I can't really say much more without spoiling the movie, but it manages to mostly hit the right notes in terms of timing its comedy against its more darker aspects. The actors are also very good and accomplish their roles. The CGI is also serviceable, despite the green screen being very visible with how they implements things.
Overall, this is a movie I would definitely recommend checking out. Its flaws are minor but annoying, but are overshadowed by their positives. Fans of science-fiction horror will enjoy this movie.
4 out of 5 parasitic waffles.
Parasyte is kind-of a horror movie. However, it is done in a very campy manner. The aliens aren't aiming to be gruesome, horror-inducing aliens. However, the aliens still manage to bring some elements of body horror more for their psychology and what they are able to accomplish. There are also a few gruesome dismemberment scenes.
Overall, both parts of this movie are good to watch. I can't really say much more without spoiling the movie, but it manages to mostly hit the right notes in terms of timing its comedy against its more darker aspects. The actors are also very good and accomplish their roles. The CGI is also serviceable, despite the green screen being very visible with how they implements things.
Overall, this is a movie I would definitely recommend checking out. Its flaws are minor but annoying, but are overshadowed by their positives. Fans of science-fiction horror will enjoy this movie.
4 out of 5 parasitic waffles.
Saturday 13 October 2018
BOARD GAME REVIEW: KOKORO- AVENUE OF THE KODAMA
Kokoro- Avenue of the Kodama is a game by Indie Board and Card Games that came out about a year ago. It was just ahead of a big wave of Roll and Write-style games (well, more Flip and Fill in this case).
The game is played on a players white board of which a grid map is drawn. Every turn, you have to flip a card and fill in a pathway on the board to try to connect huts to butterfly and caterpillars features. Every round, the hut changes. The trick is, however, that each time you score must be greater than your previous score, otherwise you score negative points.
This is an entertaining filler-style game. The game plays quickly, has a lack of downtime, and can accommodate between one and eight players quite easily. It also has a few neat tricks, such as the scoring and the end game scoring. In addition, you can flip the boards to introduce some random set-ups or play with a random special rule to keep it fresh.
Unfortunately, there is one thing that holds it back. That thing stems from one of the clever things it does, which also unfortunately limits a players options. The long and the short of it is that the best way to win is to make the longest continuous pathway to make sure your score keeps going up. That means that players often put down very similar pathways for a big portion of the game and stymies the creativity into just trying to make the longest path.
And that is unfortunate. In some ways, the game either didn't go far enough in limiting scoring the same features multiple times or went too far in restricting the scoring to be ever increasing. It is even more unfortunate because this could also lead to a runaway leader (although the game is pretty short to not be a problem). In the end, the game is okay but is unfortunately held back by limiting a players options.
3 out of 5 flipping waffles.
The game is played on a players white board of which a grid map is drawn. Every turn, you have to flip a card and fill in a pathway on the board to try to connect huts to butterfly and caterpillars features. Every round, the hut changes. The trick is, however, that each time you score must be greater than your previous score, otherwise you score negative points.
This is an entertaining filler-style game. The game plays quickly, has a lack of downtime, and can accommodate between one and eight players quite easily. It also has a few neat tricks, such as the scoring and the end game scoring. In addition, you can flip the boards to introduce some random set-ups or play with a random special rule to keep it fresh.
Unfortunately, there is one thing that holds it back. That thing stems from one of the clever things it does, which also unfortunately limits a players options. The long and the short of it is that the best way to win is to make the longest continuous pathway to make sure your score keeps going up. That means that players often put down very similar pathways for a big portion of the game and stymies the creativity into just trying to make the longest path.
And that is unfortunate. In some ways, the game either didn't go far enough in limiting scoring the same features multiple times or went too far in restricting the scoring to be ever increasing. It is even more unfortunate because this could also lead to a runaway leader (although the game is pretty short to not be a problem). In the end, the game is okay but is unfortunately held back by limiting a players options.
3 out of 5 flipping waffles.
Tuesday 2 October 2018
BOARD GAME REVIEWS: MANSIONS OF MADNESS 2nd EDITION
Mansions of Madness Second Edition is a story-based game. It is a sort-of sequel, sort-of re-implementation of the First Edition, but makes one major change that makes the game its own thing. That is by including an app.
The big change is the app. This takes care of all the upkeep, randomisations of monsters. But more importantly, it changes the game from a one-versus-all game to a co-operative game by taking care of all the monster and story telling elements.
The game is a dungeon crawl. It has mainly dice-based resolution based on character traits, with each character having a special ability. The game is pretty standard in this regard. The only wrinkle is that the you also track your sanity, with you getting a secret insane goal that may put your at odds with the rest of the team.
However, having an app handle all the storytelling and book-keeping really makes this game shine. The fact it is co-operative and the app automatically randomises and adjusts the scenarios is great. At its heart, it is a story-telling game and the app is great for this.
The one downsides are that the dice mechanics are really generic. The components are also very ordinary for the price, particularly the miniature bases. For a storytelling game, these actually actively detract from the overall atmosphere. For the cost of the game, these really should've been better.
4 out of 5 Mad Waffles.
The big change is the app. This takes care of all the upkeep, randomisations of monsters. But more importantly, it changes the game from a one-versus-all game to a co-operative game by taking care of all the monster and story telling elements.
The game is a dungeon crawl. It has mainly dice-based resolution based on character traits, with each character having a special ability. The game is pretty standard in this regard. The only wrinkle is that the you also track your sanity, with you getting a secret insane goal that may put your at odds with the rest of the team.
However, having an app handle all the storytelling and book-keeping really makes this game shine. The fact it is co-operative and the app automatically randomises and adjusts the scenarios is great. At its heart, it is a story-telling game and the app is great for this.
The one downsides are that the dice mechanics are really generic. The components are also very ordinary for the price, particularly the miniature bases. For a storytelling game, these actually actively detract from the overall atmosphere. For the cost of the game, these really should've been better.
4 out of 5 Mad Waffles.
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