BGG Spring Con "Buy" list

Here's what I played and what I ended up buying once it was all said and done!

 Thought the game was fun but not worth the price they're asking.

 Garbage game. One of my least favorite that we played at the con. I don't know why this gets so much love from folks. Extremely boring game. None of us enjoyed it.

 I can see why folks like this dice drafting game but the problem is, they've made better ones since this came out so I'm passing on it.

 Another horribly boring game. There were only 5 games I didn't enjoy playing at the Con, this was one of them.

 Great game. Bought it online once we left the con. Beautiful looking game.

 Looks nice, has good mechanics but fell flat ultimately, so I'm going to pass on picking it up.

 Great game but the end just happens and it's over with no further moves (or tiles) left to play. Due to the disappointing ending to the game I'm not buying it. Shame though, if the end of the game wasn't so bad I'd have bought it.

 Another big bummer on the list. The game looks great, the game play looks fun but it's broken because it allows players to hoard goods with no penalty. So all you have to do to win is corner the market on all goods and wait for the prices to go up to sell. Hated it was broken. Can't buy this one either.

 Fun game but not worth $60. If it ever drops to $30 I'll consider it.

Good game. Got it for $10. My nephews love it more than me but since I got a deal, I don't mind keeping it in my collection.

 Had to talk myself out of buying this one. Super great game but too similar to others I already have in my collection, so I'm not picking it up.

 Loved it. Bought it. Can't wait for it to come in.

 Same as the last game. It's coming in the same order as Rajas of the Ganges.

 Another good game I ordered. The website looked sketch but they did take paypal and I have received a confirmation email as well as a shipping email so we'll see what happens. I am excited to get the game.

 Another fun game but it's not for sell online or second hand, so I guess I'm not getting it.

 Bought it for $10. Love this game. Well worth every penny!

 Another good one that I picked up for $10. I think this is one I'll enjoy more the more it comes to the table!

 Nice dice chucking game but I'm not picking it up due to the lack of choices you have at the end of your turn.

 Bought for $10. Megan loves elephants and this pick up and deliver game is actually pretty good!

Dice placement game with interesting mechanic but not interesting enough to purchase. Have to pass on this one.

 Simple worker placement game with a fun theme. Bought.

 Children's game. Kind of fun but I found something better we loved playing and got that instead.

 Another big disappointment for me. I thought this game would be more fun, it wasn't. Not adding it to my list.

 Really wonderful game. I had to think about it since its a little expensive to get but I found it for a good deal and pulled the trigger. Don't regret it either. It's a fun game!

 I get the hype for this game but "Long Shot" does a better job and I already have that so I won't need this.

 Fun live bidding game that I'm going to have to pass on because their are better bidding games out there to play.

 Horrible game. Only got it because my nephews wanted to play it. Not worth your time or anyone's to play.

 Quite fun! But not worth getting. Though I would play it again if I go back next year.

 I won this game and I'm glad because it's such a fun game, I've decided to keep it in my collection.

Another game I won and another game I really enjoyed playing! Win-win!

 Really beautiful game. This was the "hotness" at the con. I got a copy but decided to give it to a friend of mine since Megan isn't interested in playing it and neither were my nephews.

 SO much fun! I'm not buying it though because there are better games out there to own. But this is another game I wouldn't mind playing again at BGG Spring Con next year.

 Didn't think I'd enjoy this one that much but ended up loving it so I picked up a copy for my own.

 Great game but at $500 a copy I can't afford it.

 Best game of the con. Bought a copy.

Simple fun but not as good as everyone claims it to be. Too expensive online which is another reason I won't be getting it.

I also bought another game that wasn't there but I wanted to play it so bad I decided to get it anyway. "Surf's Up Dude!" is a surfing game that looks really good. I only paid $10 for it so we'll see how it goes when it comes in any day now.

See ya later folks!

OIG Report

Wow.

Just wow.

Who knew Trump was correct when he said their was "collusion in the FBI" this report was UN-believable.

Not only do they conclude that there was bias for Clinton and against Trump but that it was THAT bad is shocking!

Don't believe me? Check out the entire report here.

Wow.

Starjammers (Review)

Marvel re-boots another title that should have stayed dead.

Starjammers sounds like an 80's rock band. Unfortunately it's not that cool.

The story sucks, the characters are lame and the villain (at least for the first 6 issues I had) were tree aliens. The writing is terrible too. There's nothing good to say about this series except I'm done and don't need to mention this comic ever again.

Have a good weekend folks!

Attack the Fans

Looks like Star Wars Author Paul S Kemp decided to piss off Star Wars fans even more with a tweet from earlier this week:

I don’t want to have even indirect contact.

Run back to your fellow neckbeards/incels or whoever it is you hang out with. Just stay clear of me.
Thanks.
And f*** you.
— Paul S. Kemp (@Paulskemp) June 11, 2018

I had to edit that last sentence for the kiddies. It's amazing to me how they think this is a good idea. I'm really shocked as to why no one at Lucasfilm has asked them to stop as they themselves are working to contain this disaster that may end up putting them all on the street!

Meanwhile, fans are turning away from Star Wars by the millions....

George Lucas Episodes 7-9

Ah George, I feel like the children of Israel after they asked for a King to provide for them. How I miss the days when all I could complain about was how you lived in a fantasy world surrounded by "Yes Men". Hard to imagine I'd be wishing for those days back!

In a recent interview George explained how his sequel trilogy would've happened. Here's what he said:

[My sequel trilogy] was going to get into the microbiotic world. But there's this world of creatures that operate differently than we do. I call them the Whills. And the Whills are the one who actually control the universe. They feed off the Force .... Of course, a lot of the fans would have hated it, just like they did Phantom Menace and everything, but at least the whole story from beginning to end would be told.

Actually, George might be right. Fans would have been upset with the idea that the story doesn't focus on Luke, Han and Leia but once again Mr Lucas is proving that he has a fresh new perspective on where to take the story.

As a lot of you already know, "Journal of the Whills" is mentioned in the novel for A New Hope so I think this idea would've been interesting.

But alas, we'll never get a chance to see it (not that we ever would, even if George still owned the franchise) but it's nice to see SOMEBODY thinking of new ideas for Star Wars instead of rehashing things that've already been done. 

Warlock (Review)

I never really knew this character other than his name but I think the story I have is introduction to the "New" Warlock.

The story wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It wasn't great, but I'm glad I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. There's a little twist at the end I didn't see coming which was nice. Thinking about it now, that may be the reason I didn't think it was so bad.

I can't recommend the comic but it was (at least) worth my time.

...and then there's this.

The "Down with Disney's Treatment of Franchises and...." whatever, has taken credit for just about everything in the world....and it's one of the smallest "fan" pages on Facebook.

But EVERY news article I see believes it.

I'm sorry, but I can't see this page (which looks fake) being the reason that Solo bombed, Kelly Marie Tran left Twitter, the Amazon Jungle disappearing, World Hunger and Global Warming. (those last few the page hasn't taken credit for....yet)

I do admit it's impressive for such a small site to take credit for things this massive and everyone believe them.

It's like me proclaiming my YouTube channel is the reason the sun rises in the East every morning. I mean, seriously folks?!

But as the days go by I see more and more people giving this page credit and acknowledging them as a real threat.

Wow.  How stupid are we that we'll believe anything these days.

BTW- I'm the reason 4th of July became a holiday in the US. 

You Suck

I just read another hilarious article titled "Star Wars Fans Don't Understand Star Wars" They should have just titled it "You Suck: The Media's ongoing war against Star Wars fans who didn't go see Solo"

I've never seen so much hate thrown on fandom before. It's wild. Why journalist should be upset with fans not going to see a movie, or hating Last Jedi is beyond me. I'm guessing they don't receive a kick back from Disney if the movie bombs?! There's really no explanation.

Yet all of this is only adding fuel to the fan fire they've created. If Episode 9 under-performs at the Box Office next year what are they going to say? How does bashing the fans earn their loyalty to the franchise?!

Every other studio in the industry must cringe at what's happening with Lucasfilm right now. I can't imagine why they or the media insist on putting down the fans at every turn.

And the ditch keeps getting deeper.....

Apocalypse vs Dracula (Review)

The next mini-series I tackled pitted two villains against each other in an epic battle. In this story, Apocalypse killed Dracula on the battle field, creating the vampire he eventually became.

Years later, Apocalypse is made aware or this and goes on a mission to take him out. The legendary Van Helsing team's up with Apocalypse to go up against Dracula and end him for good!

As hokey as the story sounds it wasn't that bad of a read! Not the best thing I've read so far but I didn't feel it was a waste of time like some of the other titles I've read.

Next review coming up tomorrow!

Ron Howard Article

Just in case someone got "offended" from my earlier post on the website, I've removed this one as well and posted it here:

In a Recent Twitter post, Director Ron Howard expressed how badly he feels that fans aren't going to see his new movie Solo. He doesn't blame the fans, throw them under the bus, mock or even accuses them of being "white male racist" or bigots. 

He just feels bad it's not doing well in theaters.

This is how you speak to the fans, without anger, blame or vicious attacks.  And this is the opposite of the way Lucasfilm has been treating their fans for the past 6 months.

There are countless quotes and video clips on the interest where people, such as Kathleen Kennedy, Dave Filoni, Rian Johnson (to name a few) have laughed, mocked and ridiculed the fans. Like a bully taunting a small child, the way Lucasfilm has treated its fans has been nothing short of embarrassing for a company as large as them.

But Lucasfilm's spite for the fandom has finally bitten back.

Toy sales for The Last Jedi were so bad, companies pulled their orders on the second shipments. Hundreds of unpurchased merchandise still litters the aisles. At the bankrupt company Toys R Us, Last Jedi toys are 50% off and have remained on the shelves with little of no interest from the scavengers.  What was once a highly collectable hobby is now packaged junk.

DVD sales for the Last Jedi re tanking as well. Losing over $40 million in sales compared to the previous movie releases.  All this and the embarrassing Box Office numbers for Solo are surely the topic of discussion  around the water cooler at Disney HQ.

Star Wars is dying.

Though far from dead, the best way Lucasfilm can right the franchise is start with on apology to its fan. Not for the content they've produced, but for the spiteful attitude they projected towards fans since the "New Era" began. And they don't have to look any farther than to Ron Howard for an example.

Stop. Trashing. Fans. Simple as that.

In Howard's Tweet there's no mention are residual anger the fans had for the Last Jedi effecting his movie, though it's obvious to everyone except the journalist who laughingly try to blame it on "Star Wars Fatigue" due to the movie coming out 5 months after the last.

The huge problem with that notion is that Thor 3, Black Panther and Avengers 3 all came out within 3 months each of each other and made BILLIONS, but no one wants to acknowledge it's the fans disinterest because that would be admitting the truth. And the truth (in this case) sucks.

We've been calling "Legends" novels for years. We raised money for a billboard right outside Lucasfilm's headquarters. And what did they do? Nothing. Ignored it and moved on.

What they could have done instead is acknowledge those fans with a tweet or social media post  and perhaps later tested the idea of continuing the "Legends" story by releasing a new novel to see how it performs in the market. 

If sales were high they could continue limited releases of novels with Del Rey but if sales were low they could point to that as evidence to the fans that "Legends" is dead AND (as EU fans) we would be the ones to blame.

Just like disappointed fans who hated Last Jedi are to blame for the Box Office decline of Solo.

But until the folks at Lucasfilm film learn how to properly address fans, the franchise is headed for a rocky ride. Hopefully that ride doesn't come crashing around them like pieces of the Death Star over Endor.

Ben Shapiro Has it right

Had to take this post down from theexpandeduniverse.com because Ben Shapiro was deemed "too offensive" for the website I co-created....go figure.

So screw the snow flakes, I'm posting it here:

Love him or hate him, Ben Shapiro just knocked a homerun out of the park in his response to the main stream media's biased view on Star Wars fans. Here's what he had to say about them and Kathleen Kennedy:

“Calling your audience a bunch of deplorables didn’t work well for Hillary Clinton; it’s not going to work well for Disney, either,” Mr. Shapirowrote. “But that didn’t stop Bernardin from laying all the blame for ‘Star Wars” failures not at the feet of studio head Kathleen Kennedy but at the feet of the ‘toxic fandom.’”

I have to "ditto" his words that this insane treatment of Star Wars fans is the real reason the Star Wars franchise is sinking and here's the kicker, I DON'T want it to sink!

I'm not among the minority of fans who delight and rejoice in the downfall of the franchise. I don't cheer their failures, I only face palm and shake my head at the sheer stupidity of how they treat their fans. 

Abusing fans won't make them loyal, it turns them away. And that's exactly what we're seeing in the fandom today.

It's my sincerest hope that Lucasfilm will silence those who insist on causing strife and negativity towards the fans and start focusing on rebuilding their content and making it something that all fans can enjoy.

If you saw Solo and liked it, I'm happy for you. I'm not against anyone who wants to enjoy the new cannon of stories. I believe Star Wars fans don't have to love every aspect of the franchise to be considered a "true" fan.

This website is dedicated to the old canon and celebrates everything we love about the Expanded Universe. I'd like to remind everyone to keep Ben's quote in mind when we discuss Star Wars with other fans. Whatever their likes or dislikes, everyone should be treated with respect.

I hope Lucasfilm learns that lesson before it's too late.

What If... (Review)

This comic has been around for decades. I've read a few on and off in the past. In this collection I bought, I have a few issues from the mid-2000's so I decided to read them next.

I like some of the ideas presented in the series but in the end they never really payoff. Meaning, none of it happened anyway so why bother to explain it?

I guess that's true for each issue and I also guess this is what comic fans discuss all day among themselves so I can see why this title's still going after all these years, but for me it's not worth it in the long run.

Powerless (Review)

It seems I'm doing a lot of these now a days on the blog but it's because the box I'm going through at the moment is full of partial or whole mini-series, so it's easier to make it through these faster.

That being said, the last series I read was about an alternate universe where Super Heroes didn't have powers. I'm not sure what the point of it was, I didn't have more than 6 issues and it hadn't ended by then. In fact, I was confused entirely by the protagonist completely. I have no idea what his story arc was or why I should care about it.

In a box full of booms and bust, this one was definitely a bust!

Holy cow! I remember seeing this on TV when I was a kid!

Ugh....Mets

What a total disaster to watch.

In April we were the hottest team in baseball, then it all fell apart. Our pitching started slipping, batting averages went down and injuries starting plaguing our roster once again. 

To top it all off, I have to watch us GIVE games away to the Yankees. The #*!@#& YANKEES!!!

I LOVE baseball, but it's aggravating to watch my Mets fall apart. After a handful of good seasons, it's hard to get back to "normal" for my team.

Let's go Mets.....please.

BGG Spring Con trip

Just a few pics from my trip to BGG Spring Con I thought I'd show off today:

 Bucky the Beaver getting fresh with me.

 Never owe him any money.

 Demo version of Fireball Island

 It looked great but we didn't get a chance to play it because seats were always taken by the time one game ended and the next began. I can't wait to get my copy!

I

 Me with Chaz Marler!

 Me with Rodney Smith

Me playing the giant version of Rhino Hero.

Civil War (Review)

I saw this one in my collection when I first bought the boxes of comics but have been saving it until now. I don't really have to tell you the plot since there's a movie about it now that everyone knows. But the comic does a good job as well and focuses on several more characters than the movie had the rights (or time) for.

My favorite issue was She-Hulks because she poked at a key plot hole in the entire run! How is blowing up a school (which is how everything got started in the first place) worse then ANYTHING that's happened in the comics before?! There are countless examples of mass destruction in the Marvel's history that far outweigh the instance they give in the book.

Though it is a good story, its hard to ignore the fact that everyone in the Marvel universe plays the role of the hypocrite one way or the other.

Don't get me wrong, this was a good comic and I do recommend it but you have to overlook that to truly enjoy it.

Have a good weekend folks!

Secret War (Review)

Never heard of this one before but when I saw Bendis on the cover I knew it would be good! The story revolves around Nick Fury as he recruits a team of super heroes to help in on a mission....but a year later, these heroes have no memory of what happened or that they were even on the mission in the first place!

That's when things start to unravel....and the story is kind of a dud.

I hate to say it, but it really wasn't that good. I was a little bummed to be honest. I expected more of Mr Bendis. Oh well! Guess you can't bat 1000 even as a comic book writer!

Moon Knight (Review)

I've always wanted to read Moon Knight. I found his character interesting. Like Batman mixed with Dr Strange, he has a dark and mystical background.

His costume looks cool and though I didn't really understand the Egyptian mystic connection, I was all for reading this comic.

The art work is excellent....the story....confusing. Not really sure it works for a super hero. Moon Knight likes taking down the "small time" crooks. But they try to make his Egyptian mystic side sound like one of the most important things in the entire universe. It seems to contradict what he's all about.

Anyway, I only had a few issues and that was plenty for me to see that this comic is NOT for me.

NEXT!

She Hulk (Review)

I saw this title in my collection and moved it to the bottom of my stack. When I finally got around to it I thought; "This was the best comic series I've read so far!"

Seriously, it's better than Deadpool! I was shocked. Here's a few examples:

 

In this series from the early 2000's, She Hulk is working as a lawyer for Super Heroes and it's hilarious! Just about every issue was a fun read. This has been one of the biggest surprises in the box! I can't believe this, but I recommend this comic for anyone interested!

Contest of Champions (Review)

The next mini-series I read was all out hot garbage.

This series pitifully put hero against hero and one of the the stupidest convoluted story lines I've ever read. I found out it was a comic where fans could go online and vote for their favorite character to win. But just like Marvel vs DC, some of the "contest" lasted only one panel and they moved on.

Really sucky stuff. But when Iron Man single handily takes out every member of X-Force, you have to question why they even bothered with this.

And now that I think of it, I don't know why I bothered reading it either.

June Movie Preview

Ok, so we actually have a few here to talk about this month, let's do it!

Action Point

Practically another Jackass movie in the vein of what Bad Grandpa was....and Megan and I LOVED Bad Grandpa so this movie gets a "thumbs up" at the box office for us! The trailer looks good to. Can't believe I'm looking forward to this!

Incredibles 2

I liked the first one, but I didn't LOVE it like everyone else did when it came out. Now that it's been years since the first movie came out, can this one be any good or will it end up like Cars 2? I may wait on this one for Redbox unless Megan forces my hand.

Jurassic World: Forbidden Kingdom

Each time a sequel comes out, it's a step down than the previous. Will this one be able to buck that trend or will we continue to see this franchise spiral into the dirt? Megan's going to want to see this the moment it comes out so there's no way I can avoid this. If Jeff Goldblum has a co-starring role it'll be bearable. But me feels his cameo in the trailer is all we'll see from this beloved actor in the film.

Ocean's 8

Horror of horrors! This looks TERRIBLE! I will be avoiding it at all costs! First Ghostbusters now this? What's next? An all-male cast for a "Brothers of the Traveling Ya-ya Pants" movie?!

MAKE IT STOP!!