Board Game Review: Dominion

This isn't strictly a board game review, because it's not really a board game. It's a card game, but the cards are arranged in a very novel fashion, so it's more like a board game than most.

We'll start with the ratings:

Strategy: 3

Randomness: 3

Complexity: 3

Humour: None.

Attractiveness: Useful

Expected Length of Game Play: 30 minutes to an hour

Board Game Review: The Three Musketeers

I know it's been ages again. Life has been so amazingly busy and stressful. Hopefully, in a month or two more, things will settle down and I can resume my usual every-week-or-two posting schedule.

In the meantime, I would like to review for you the board game The Three Musketeers: The Queen's Pendants. I stumbled across this game in my local game shop and decided it would make a perfect birthday present for my wife. She is, after all, a major fan of Alexander Dumas. So, without further ado, the ratings.:

Strategy: 4

Randomness: 3

Complexity: 3

Humour: None.

Attractiveness: Average

Expected Length of Game Play: 30 minutes to an hour

Kingdoms of the Kithain

Ok, I know I'm three months overdue for an update (for which I apologise). The last update was supposed to be a map of the continent, but I'm having trouble getting that finished. Maybe I'll accomplish that task one day, but for now, I think it's best to move on to other topics.

So I would like some input on an issue that has bugged me in the past. I was looking through the old image files I created to develop a complete set of maps for the kingdoms in Changeling: the Dreaming. And I remembered a point of contention; the four kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula.

Here's the only thing that it says in any canonical release from White Wolf Studios:

Spain and Portugal -- Sometimes the allies of Neustria, four kingdoms comprise these lands of the Iberian Peninsula: Navarre along the Pyrennees, Aragon in the east, Leone in the Northeast, and Castille in the central and southern regions. Commoners, whether in service to a noble or not, are always welcomed; eshu and boggans are an integral part of the society.

Eiru: Part 5 - Setting

We're nearing the end of the Eiru series. This post will introduce the general setting of Eiru: magic and technology. The previous four posts will be useful in understanding the information below.

This being designed for GURPS 4th edition, it will of course describe everything in GURPS terms. Thus, the GURPS Basic Set will be useful in deciphering the gibberish below, as well as the 4th edition version of GURPS Magic. And of course, the disclaimer:

The material presented here is my original creation, intended for use with the GURPS system from Steve Jackson Games. This material is not official and is not endorsed by Steve Jackson Games.

Technology in Eiru

Eiru is a TL 2 world, but their technology is retarded in the areas of construction and warfare. With the exception of the Fir Bolg, who know how to create any of the items crafted by the other races but simply choose not to do so in most cases, all the people in Eiru have the same weapons, buildings, farming techniques, and so forth.

Eiru: Part 4 - Fir Bolg

We conclude the series of races in Eiru with our last entry: the Fir Bolg.

Again, for safety's sake, we include the disclaimer.

The material presented here is my original creation, intended for use with the GURPS system from Steve Jackson Games. This material is not official and is not endorsed by Steve Jackson Games.

The Fir Bolg are a race of humanoids, smaller than humans (around 4 feet tall), with a thin covering of fur. Although they are slightly more bestial than the other races in Eiru, they are not animals. They have a true culture and possess technology just as the other races do. They are not fully bipedal, having a stooped posture. But they speak the same languages as the other races (in fact, they have more languages than even the humans do).

Eiru: Part 3 - Fomors

As we continue to examine the land of Eiru, we come now to the third race: the Fomors.

Let's stay safe: here's the disclaimer again.

The material presented here is my original creation, intended for use with the GURPS system from Steve Jackson Games. This material is not official and is not endorsed by Steve Jackson Games.

A Fomor is an amphibious humanoid. They generally look quite similar to humans; however, they all have black hair and black eyes, except for specific individuals who are the offspring of one Fomor parent and one Human or Danu parent, who may have blonde or brown hair, and can have brown or blue eyes. They live near coastlines and seldom venture more than a mile or so inland, unless they have good reason to, and even then, they prefer to stay near rivers or other large sources of water.

Eiru: Part 2 - Danu

Continuing my description of the new fantasy world I've created, we now look at the second race, the Danu. (Danu, by the way, is both the singular and plural form).

Again, to be safe, we shall have the official disclaimer:

The material presented here is my original creation, intended for use with the GURPS system from Steve Jackson Games. This material is not official and is not endorsed by Steve Jackson Games.

The Danu are giants, standing around 9 feet tall, but otherwise, they look like muscular humans. They live underground; specifically, they live in communities called 'sheehers' which translates roughly to 'hollow hills.' They find a hill, dig a passage down to the centre of the hill, and then tunnel a massive underground city off of that first passage. In essence, they build massive underground settlements vaguely similar to anthills, but they always have a single entrance/exit, which must be bored into the side of a hill.