The Vlog Brothers

The Vlog Brothers, Hank and John Green, have recently become some of my favorites after Hank did the Hobbit Drinking Medley with Peter Hollens (who I mentioned here). After watching the medley, I clicked to Accio Deathly Hollows, the song that made the Vlog Brothers famous. They have another Harry Potter song, called This Isn’t Hogwarts, that also became a favorite of mine.

They also do a lot of science songs, like The Universe Is Weird, and The Fermi Paradox. And then there is the song We’re All Going To Die, which I’m not sure how to categorize, but it’s hilarious.

The Vlog Brothers also have another channel called Crash Course, where you can take Computer Science, World History, Sociology, Mythology, and more. I look forward to trying all of them.

Hank was also in Titansgrave, a show about a role-playing game GM’d by Wil Wheaton.

Update: I also just found out that Hank is in a YouTube science show called Eons from PBS.

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Funway

Funway is an arcade/bowling ally/mini-golf putting green/go-kart track/bumper cars arena/bumper boats arena/cafeteria/one-on-one basketball/baseball/soccer/skating rink near us.

Funway - mini-golf and giant PacManFirst off, I’d like to state the obvious: they have a huge variety of options. We went for the mini-golf, but their arcade was pretty impressive, too. They had a very large Pac-Man game (it was about 10′ tall, by my estimation), as well as 3 different types of foosball.

I would note that most likely you want to do their outdoor mini-golf, not their indoor. Despite being the same price, the outdoor mini-golf has 16 holes, whereas the indoor only has 9. This isn’t to say that the indoor wasn’t fun, just that the outdoor gave you more for your money.

You could spend a whole day just playing at Funway. Between all of their games, there is more than enough for everyone to do. I especially want to try their bumper boats.

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Let’s build a Treehouse!

Treehouse is another Pyramid Arcade game from Looney Labs. In Treehouse, you have one trio of pyramids each. You also have one in the center. Over the course of the game, you are trying to change your trio to match the trio in the center (or, occasionally, vice versa).Treehouse

I love how simple this game is. There are rules for how you are allowed to move the pieces, but, on principle, the actual gameplay is quick and easy.

That saying, it does take a little while to get acquainted with the movement rules. They are, however, very similar to the other Pyramid Arcade rules.

Because of the many colors of pyramids, we played with light blue trees. This can be amusing, to say that you had ice trees, or trees on fire.

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Peter Hollens

Peter Hollens is a cappella cover artist on YouTube. I was first introduced to his work through a collaboration he did with one of my other favorite YouTubers, Whitney Avalon. As I sifted through his channel, I came across another collaboration he had done: a medley of Hobbit and Lord of the Rings drinking songs, with Hank Green. Not only am I a huge Lord of the Rings fan, but I have also seen Hank as a guest in several videos online. He was also a developer for Wizard School.

Once I saw the Hobbit Drinking Medley, I subscribed to Peter, then spent the next couple hours watching and re-watching his other Lord of the Rings and Hobbit covers. It’s safe to say I was addicted. It’s also reasonably safe to say I still am.

After hours and hours of re-watching his videos (seriously, I have to resist the urge to skip everything else I have cached on YouTube just to listen to his work) I came across his blog and Patreon page. After reading his most recent blog post, I realized just how much of a role-model he had become for me. One line in particular hit home for me: “I would argue that for any business, its not about how many supporters you have; its about how deeply you connect with each one of them.”

I have also, after those hours of re-watching his videos, determined my five favorites (because you can never ask me to pick one favorite of anything): In Dreams, Song of the Lonely Mountain, I See Fire, Epic Disney Villains Medley, and Hobbit Drinking Medley. I hope you enjoy his work as much as I do!

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You need a Ticket to Ride

Ticket to Ride is a train game, and the particular one I bring you today is in North America. You get tickets, showing you what route to make, then attempt to match train cards of the same color* and build tracks.

Ticket to RideI think this game is a good geography lesson. You get to see where the cities are in the grand scheme of things. It’s also a good lesson in building off of what you have, since you only have a limited amount of train tracks. Thus you reuse tracks a lot. I did get lucky, my three initial tickets were New York to Atlanta, New York to Dallas, and New York to Los Angeles.

At the end of the game I also unintentionally got New York to Seattle. I had 2 train cars left, which would signal the end of the game, but we each got one last turn. I had a track from New York to Los Angeles, and, because of other tickets, I also had a track from Las Vegas to Seattle. Not because I realized I could get the ticket, but because I wanted to have one large train line.

* For those who are color-blind, each color of train card also has a symbol and a different style of train car.

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Royal Toad

Royal Toad is a card game by SimplyFun. In it, the whole deck is dealt out to the players. You are, throughout the game, removing any duplicate characters you have in your hand. You get these when you draw a card from the person next to you. You win by being the last person with any cards, and that card has to be the Royal Toad.

I like how simple the game is. It has smooth, simple mechanics, but at the same time you can choose exactly which card you want to take. Thus makes it a strategy game as well as chance.Royal Toad

You cannot play this well with two people. If you do, you will always know who has the Toad, making it less fun.

Its really fun to try and figure out who has the toad. It’s kind of a bluffing game, since you’re trying not to give away the fact that you have the toad.

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World War 5

Yep, that’s right. We’re skipping 3 and 4 (we know 3 is the Giant Cockroaches from Chrononauts – same creators) and heading straight into World War 5, at which point the 6 main continents have all been divided into 3 equal parts. Each continent is a nation-state in the war, and you are trying to wipe out the other nations. You wipe them out by a) actually destroying all of their pieces or b) leaving their continent uninhabited by any of their pieces. You can’t fight a war if you don’t even have a base anymore!World War 5

This is one of the Pyramid Arcade games. Thus all of the pieces used in the game are pyramids. Each continent is a different color. I suggest strategically picking your continent, instead of picking by color. We played one game where my cousin picked Africa for the red, and my other cousin and I picked South America and Australia. That wasn’t smart for any of us because any two of us could have teamed up on the other one, but luckily for me my cousin on South America agreed to let me win if we took out her brother together.

I really appreciate that they have connectors attaching the Americas to Asia and Australia, because I know there are games where you have to go West across Africa and Europe to get to the Americas when you could logically just go East.

Once you get the hang of it, World War 5 is a great game to play whenever you have a little bit of time. It generally takes about a half hour to play, but that half hour is jam-packed with invasion, invading the invaders that are in your nation, invading your opponent’s nation while they invade yours, making obscure plans, making alliances, stabbing your allies in the back (I have a very Munchkin strategy for this game), and chasing enemy pyramids around in circles because you didn’t block off their escape route.

Or, in simpler terms, its a half hour of sheer amusement.

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Max

Max is a cooperative kids board game where you are trying to get the little critters (Chipmunk, Mouse and Bird) to the tree before Max (the cat) catches up to them. It was one of my first games and my first cooperative board game.Max

I like the aspect of choice. A lot of kids’ games, you just pick up the card and hope it goes in your favor. In Max, you get to choose which critter to move on a given turn.

I think, if you put your mind to it, it’s pretty hard to lose. I wouldn’t know, because recently my goal has been to make the cat win. Meanwhile the other player (my cousin) has been trying to get the animals to the tree. Thus, it can also be a competitive game. In the picture above, my cousin had successfully gotten the chipmunk to safety when I rolled double black, so Max ate the other two.

I think the treats and trails are cute. There are four cat treats, so if Max gets too close to the critters for your comfort, you can call him back to his starting point. There are also trails, one for each critter. When they land on their trail, they take the trail to wherever it ends. They’re effectively shortcuts. Unfortunately, Max, if he lands on it, will also take the trails.

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Build-A-Bear Workshop

I believe this post is long overdue. What kid doesn’t like stuffed animals, right? For me, I always loved Build-A-Bears. I have more than 60 of them currently. In Build-A-Bear, you choose which type of stuffed animal you want, then take it to the stuffer. They will stuff it to your choosing, and then you can add scents or sounds. You give it a heart, and then they sew it shut.

The next order of business is to pick out any clothes you may want to buy your bear. They also have little cars, tents, and more. Once you’ve chosen accessories (which you can then give to your other Build-A-Bears, also), you fill out their birth certificate, and purchase.

I like the way they let you decide on its stuffing. They stuff it, then have you hug it. They will then either add stuffing, remove stuffing, or, if you are satisfied, they will have you choose a heart for it.

They have a lot of bears, and a good amount of cats, dogs and rabbits. What I would really like to see are more exotic creatures. The only place I have seen these was the St. Louis Zoo Build-A-Bear Workshop, where I got a toucan. I think they should bring some of those to the stores near me. They also have special plush, like Chewbacca and Rocket Raccoon. I have an Ewok.

I think the clothes are cool. The nice thing is, you can take the outfits on and off, meaning that no bear is stuck wearing the same outfit for eternity. You can dress them by the holiday or just by what you think is cute. I bought a Build-A-Bear wardrobe for mine, which is convenient depending on the quantity of outfits you have.

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Zoodoku

Zooduku is the alternative game in Sudoku Challenge. It is pretty much Sudoku with animals… and a couple new rules.Sudoku Challenge

I love that people have made an animal version of Sudoku. I think it’s adorable. What’s funny is that this isn’t the first Zoodoku I’ve played. I used to play Zoodoku with stickers on little cards. So what makes this unique?

Simple: it has a point system. It takes a lot of creativity to take a solo game like Sudoku and turn it into a multi-player competitive game with points.

I do find it strange that Zoodoku is 6 boxes of 6, not 9 boxes of 9 like Sudoku. It certainly simplifies things, though. I have been told that it is meant for younger children, and that is why it is smaller.

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