Superfight

Superfight: aka the strangest argument you’ve ever been a party to! Where the group discussion isn’t what toppings should be on the pizza, but whether one hundred Genghis Khans with a battleship would be able to defeat a steel, fire-breathing dinosaur skeleton*.Superfight

In Superfight you are drawing three objects (mostly people), like MacGyver or Ghandi, and three descriptions, like “has a puppy gun” or “can remain invisible as long as they hold their breath”. You take the character of your choice as well as two descriptions, one of your preference and one random.

Everybody reveals their strange, deadly combinations, and then the argument commences! It’s best to play this game with somebody sitting on the side as the Judge, because otherwise you may never reach a consensus. The debate is about which one would be best able to defeat the others, and it can get pretty silly! For instance, my fire-breathing Hulk with a portal gun managed to defeat my mother’s acid-spitting, neurotoxin-emitting demon because I just summoned the Bifrost** or something similar and teleported her away!

On occasion, the card turns up where there are multiple interpretations thereof. For instance, my cousin insisted that his “can control all animals” card included humans, since we are animals, and when I played the character “Mr. Rogers”, I insisted that it was Mr. Steve Rogers, aka Captain America (played by Chris Evans in the MCU).

In the end, it’s not about who wins, but who can claim and defend the title of the craziest, silliest, most overpowered being in the history of Superfight***!

 

*Yes, this was a real scenario.

**Thor can handle an acid-spitting, neurotoxin-emitting demon, right?

***There is no documented record of the actual craziest, silliest, and most overpowered combination that has been drawn.

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Happy Holidays!

Alright, we’re taking a new twist this week. Instead of me rambling incessantly over some game, person or event, I want you to leave me a comment telling me about one of your favorite things. It could be anything: a game, book, toy, person, group of people, or a memorable event. I’d love to hear what you all have to say!

Happy Holidays and may the force be with you!

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Crazy Ates

Yes, you read that right. Crazy Ates, not Crazy Eights. Most of you know the original, Crazy Eights, with the boring numbers, but Crazy Ates steps it up a level: each number has a food allocated to it!Crazy Ates

Possibly my favorite is 10, the banana split. But what’s really fun is when you add the colors. You know how in Crazy Eights, there are colors as well as numbers to match? Hopefully, you know what I’m talking about. Anyways, something my cousins and I like to do is think of a food of that color and add it to the dish of that number. For example, a blue number 3 could be the blue cheese burger. Or a purple 9 could be an eggplant quiche. It adds just a little more flavor to the original play.

8 stands as the wild card, depicted by a steak with ice cream on top (please don’t ask). If you don’t have a matching number or color to the card in play as of your turn, you can play your favorite dead cow topped with dairy to get you out of drawing! The goal of the game is to be the first person without any cards left.

Both the Crazy Eights and Crazy Ates are simple and good for little kids while not being brain-numbingly boring for the adults. There’s still a level of strategy involved, even if it is pretty small.

 

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Terraforming Mars

One of those things that we all love to fantasize about. Or at least, I do. Because honestly, who doesn’t want to imagine turning a desolate, uninhabitable planet into a technological wonder?Terraforming Mars

In Terraforming Mars, each player represents a corporation that is helping in the terraforming process. They are competing to help the most (tracked as points) in order to gain more government funding.

The terraforming process itself has three necessities. Oxygen, heat and water. To make these, you play cards out of your hand that increase your steel, titanium, plant, energy, heat and money productions. You use the money to do this, which is why you (of course) want as much money as possible.

Some cards just require money, but some require specific things that you have to discard or simply have in front of you.  This is where you have to be really careful and smart about how you play (Munchkin skills help with that). Other cards can only be played when the conditions are right. For instance, some cards (Livestock, I believe) can only be played when there is at least 7% oxygen. The game ends when the planet is technically habitable, or -if you’re playing alone- when you hit a certain amount of generations (turns).

If there was one thing I could change about this game, it would be to add a cooperative version. As fun as it is to be competing corporations, I would like to believe that in the event of a terraforming mission we would work together.

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HEX!

Have you ever wanted to take Hogwarts classes online? I spent a couple of years sifting through, trying to find the right game, but I could never find a realistic replica. That is, until HEX.

I found HEX by complete accident. One day I was scrolling through Facebook and bam, there was an ad for Hogwarts Extreme. Just like Ecosia, this was a day when I was feeling kind of bored, so I went to investigate. What I found was a huge, free world of role-play and fun. Excited, I went to get sorted only to realize that I hadn’t gotten my confirmation email yet.

I waited like an anxious puppy for probably about an hour, bouncing between my email and another game in excited anticipation. Finally, I got the email and opened it. I sorted into Ravenclaw, which doesn’t surprise me, though I was just a little anyways, since on Pottermore I tested into Slytherin. Ah well, I guess that means I’m a Slytherclaw.

Blood Type is randomly selected. I got Pureblood. If I actually cared enough about either, I could’ve donated $10 to the website in order to change the selections. As is, I determined that it was fine and went to explore.

HEX is a world of wonder, where you can get pets, send owls, create dorms, grow Dirigible Plums and yes, take classes. When the options appeared for what to sign up for as a first year*, I went ahead and clicked everything, so now I have classes ranging from the traditional Potions and Transfiguration to Wizarding Necessities (aka Guide to HEX) and Cooking with Magic. Who knew that there was an official “Omelet Charm” that will perfectly cook your eggs for you? I sure didn’t!

Like every simulation, HEX has it’s limits. It can’t recreate everything, but it does certainly try. If you always wanted to go to Hogwarts, I would suggest trying out the classes, which are quite amusing. They are articles that you read and then answer questions on. I have to say, the questions are a bit easy, but the reading itself is highly enjoyable!

*Technically, if I had gone to the real Hogwarts I would be a second year, but I couldn’t find a way to get to London on such short notice after receiving my letter, since classes started about a month after my birthday. I tried contacting McGonagall but I couldn’t find her email address.

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