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Okay. A last call is due, in remembrance of my old 21" monitor. It was roughly 7 yrs old, a present from my husband who acquired it used when his company wanted to throw it away. It has served me in good stead, lo these many years, only to fall prey to age and quit unexpectedly yesterday. It was flickering and popping for a while beforehand, and I had been hoping it could hold on until after my husband got a job and a paycheck, when I could afford to replace the whole thing. Alas, poor girl, she gave all she had, but she just couldn't do it. So, one quick trip to Wal-mart later, I've dropped $120 on a 17" flat screen monitor. Not a flat panel, which would be sweet, but the flat screen is awfully nice. It's the first really new video component we've had in ages and ages. I'm just grateful I had a bit of money to do it with.
In other news, two cool new games my children acquired:
The first is Kids of Catan, which I found on sale for $12.50 at Hastings in the clearance pile. $12.50! It's a $50 game normally! And no one was buying it! I truly live in a barbaric wilderness when german board games get marked down because they can't find anyone to take them home. As to gameplay, it's amazing. It's fun, no one gets bored, everyone always has something to do, and the rules are really, really simple. We were playing a full game the first time out, and even my youngest had no problems understanding it. I cannot recommend this highly enough as a first game for younger children. It's colorful, has great pieces, and actually worthwhile gameplay, reminiscent of Catan without being too complex for the little ones. Two thumbs way, way up.
The second was a bargain, picked up at Toys R Us for $3.00. $3.00, people. They had bunches. It's called Dragon Strike, and it's a very fun, simple little game. The players are thieves stealing into a dragon's den. You roll a d6 and move, always using all your movement. Most of the time you have to land directly on a square to make use of it, but you can move back and forth on the board to work it out. It has little clear colored crystals for gems, and gold dragon eggs. When you get on a spot, you pick up the gems and put them on top of your game piece, then try to carry them out. Oh, and did I mention the dragon? The thing comes with a big plastic battery-operated dragon, with a long sectioned neck and head. On a 3 or a 5, you push one of the dragon's scales and the neck whips around back and forth across the board, just at the height where the crystals get knocked off. If the dragon knocks down your gems, you have to find a way to get back to that spot to pick it up, using all your movement each time. Oh, and other players can take it too, or even take it from you if they can land on your space. The dragon is cute, it works well, and the kids have a blast with it. The dragon takes what would be a pretty boring Candyland level game and turns it into something even adults can enjoy. Again, Two thumbs up. Of the two, I have to say that I prefer Kids of Catan, but you can't beat $3.00 for a dragon. Damn.
In other news, two cool new games my children acquired:
The first is Kids of Catan, which I found on sale for $12.50 at Hastings in the clearance pile. $12.50! It's a $50 game normally! And no one was buying it! I truly live in a barbaric wilderness when german board games get marked down because they can't find anyone to take them home. As to gameplay, it's amazing. It's fun, no one gets bored, everyone always has something to do, and the rules are really, really simple. We were playing a full game the first time out, and even my youngest had no problems understanding it. I cannot recommend this highly enough as a first game for younger children. It's colorful, has great pieces, and actually worthwhile gameplay, reminiscent of Catan without being too complex for the little ones. Two thumbs way, way up.
The second was a bargain, picked up at Toys R Us for $3.00. $3.00, people. They had bunches. It's called Dragon Strike, and it's a very fun, simple little game. The players are thieves stealing into a dragon's den. You roll a d6 and move, always using all your movement. Most of the time you have to land directly on a square to make use of it, but you can move back and forth on the board to work it out. It has little clear colored crystals for gems, and gold dragon eggs. When you get on a spot, you pick up the gems and put them on top of your game piece, then try to carry them out. Oh, and did I mention the dragon? The thing comes with a big plastic battery-operated dragon, with a long sectioned neck and head. On a 3 or a 5, you push one of the dragon's scales and the neck whips around back and forth across the board, just at the height where the crystals get knocked off. If the dragon knocks down your gems, you have to find a way to get back to that spot to pick it up, using all your movement each time. Oh, and other players can take it too, or even take it from you if they can land on your space. The dragon is cute, it works well, and the kids have a blast with it. The dragon takes what would be a pretty boring Candyland level game and turns it into something even adults can enjoy. Again, Two thumbs up. Of the two, I have to say that I prefer Kids of Catan, but you can't beat $3.00 for a dragon. Damn.
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Date: 2004-04-28 09:13 pm (UTC)From:Words to live by. :)