Top Kickstarters I'm looking forward to in 2023!

 Wow! When the year started I only had one kickstarter left to fund. Now I have 4!

So today, I'm counting down the ones I have coming in 2023. 

This was a late pledge but one I'd been going back and fourth on for quite some time. I finally decided to get it after missing out on an opportunity to grab a new cube shelf from Ikea earlier this year, since they were both around the same price. 

It looks like a better "Big City" A game that's been slowly sinking on my list. What makes this one more attractive is the smart decsions you have to make and the timing of when those descions need to be made. 

It looks like a deluxe edition and the box is HUGE but I've heard good things and like what I see in playthroughs online. This one should come in towards the end of the summer. 

Haven't been a fan of the Dice Tower for a while now. Their reviewers are boring and incomplete and their content has really gone downhill over the years as they've become bigger. But I decided to go ahead and support them on Kickstarter because I'm a completist and this is cheapest way I'll ever be able to get these promos. 

Worth it? Maybe, maybe not. I will say this was the only Kickstarter I backed that came with a warning that the creators of the kickstarter are not responsible for producing said rewards. 

Always a confidence builder when I see that. 

Marvel United S3 was an insta-back for me. I've enjoyed the past two so I had to go all in for the 3rd. Although I will admit it's a very weak wave of characters. 

Outside of Galactus, there's hardly a handful of characters I'm interested in. Hopefully this is finally the last one they do and get this kicked off into DC!

Due out 2 years ago, I'm finally getting it this summer (fingers crossed) I want this one the most so I can show the girls the picture of them as Zombies, they posed for when they were 2 years old! 

I'm not too upset about hte delay. Kerrie (the owner) hasn't been the best at putting these together. They always run over on getting these games delivered. Hopefully this is one I'll be playing before the rest of the Kickstarters come in. 

7Up

 I know Pepsi came out with a new lemon lime drink called Starry this year, but I still haven't tried it. Instead, I opted to try 7Up again. I remember loving it as a kid and wanted to know if it holds up.

It does. Much better than Sprite (which I don't like) this has a lighter sweeter taste and you really pick up more of the flavors than in Sprite. 

Not something I'd have all the time but every once in a while, I'll be happy to give it a try!

Survivor South Africa: Champions

 Just finished this season and....they finally got it right. 

This was an excellent season. It had everything! Great characters, great challenges and twists. It felt like old school GOOD ole Survivor!

This season they took 2 retired sports players (popular in South Africa) from Rugby and Soccer and had them lead the 2 teams. They couldn't get voted out, but they weren't contenders for the million either. 

When the team merged the captains took on new roles as they battled privately every day for the "Redemption Cup" that burned one vote at tribal for a member of their choice. 

Good idea but never made a difference at any of the votes so it kind of fell flat. But I liked the general idea. 

As for characters....man they had some good ones! (spoilers ahoy!!!)

Savion was an arrogant beast of the man who gloated over the weaker members on his tribe, telling them to their faces they wouldn't last long.

After the first tribal council the weak formed a stronger reliance and started voting out all his alliance members. Savion did a complete 180 and was nothing but humble for the next 24 days of the game...until he thought he finally had the upper hand again and become his old arrogant self. Telling the 2 remaining weak players in the game goodbye in advance as he gloated over their eventual withdrawal from the game.  

Only to be STUNNED by a hidden immunity idol one of them had (and the producers of the show let the viewers know it) and he was out. Amazing. 

Shivu, a weak kid who dominated the end of the game in the final two challenges and pulled off a HUGE blindside of Savion. The votes were set to go his way but in the end before the jury, he got to high an opinion of the player he was and talked like he DESERVED the million more than anyone on the jury! Literally losing 3 votes and losing the entire game. 

It was such a disaster that someone who outright told him she'd be voting for him (at the beginning of the jury stage) ended up switching her vote after hearing Shivu's pride take over his persona. Unbelievable. 

Shane, the mastermind who had BOTH immunity idols and got voted off even when he suspected a blindside but greedily held on to his idols instead of risk them. 

Shona, who started on the outs but midway through found herself in the most powerful alliance in the game...until she made a STUPID mistake to steal the idol from someone and get busted for it....immediately voted off that night. Brutal. 

Buthle the coattail rider who thought she deserved to win because she won the last challenge....and did nothing else of meaning. She got 2 pity votes and the rest of the jury told her she wasn't getting their vote or attention during the final council. 

Graham, the winner. Who was a jerk, but made the right decisions at the right time. The jury rightfully hated him for it but amazingly he turned most of them around in the end with his speech about how the winner shouldn't win by "pity" vote but by who played the game the best. 

That would never work in America but it worked in South Africa. 

Wonderful season. Looking forward to the next!

Vintage Want List (10)

 Finally is this game that's almost a toy when you look at it. You're sending snow ski figures thru a device and hoping the land on certain areas to collect points in the game. 

Fairly easy to grab a copy and again, if I had money to burn, I'd take a copy for myself. But for now, it sits on my "Want" list. 

That's it for now! If I think of any more later on I'll be sure to post them. 

Vintage Want List (9)

 It's English title is "Devil's Kitchen" and I love the look and play of this game. It's zany theme, great minis and artwork make it worthy of sitting in my collection Sure it's only available in Germany but it's still one I'd like to own someday. 

One more left to go! 

Vintage Want List (8)

 Another incredible looking game with a lot of great pieces and gameplay. I've had my finger on the trigger on and off to purchase this over the years but haven't bought a copy yet. 

This game is worth the price however. It's a big box game that offers a lot. Again, if I had the extra cash I would've bought it years ago but kids....are expensive. : ) 

Vintage Want List (7)

 A game with a unique strategy to get all your men up the top of the ladder without putting too much weight on the step and sending everyone to the bottom. But sometimes that's EXACTLY what you want to do to screw the other players!

Hard to find but available here and there when you look on ebay overseas. Other than that, it's a game I'd love to have in my collection. 

Vintage Want List (6)

 It doesn't look like much but this game (from what I've seen from reviews) is excellent. Simple moves but heavy strategy. 

Really good review on Tabletop Island's YouTube channel if you'd like to check it out. 

Vintage Want List (5)

 This is probably the cheapest game on my list and easy to find. There's not much to it but rotating and move into the maze while trying to thwart your opponents is pretty neat. 

Waddington just made so many great games, it's amazing to me there hasn't been a book chronicling all them. If there were, I'd buy a copy!

Vintage Want List (4)

 This game's dropped in price since the last time I looked. It's got a battery operated creature that sound scary as all get out and is simply a racing game to avoid the swamp monster. 

Looking at these, I may start to put a little money to the side every month and try to get one of these. The charm of a vintage game is something I've always appreciated. 

Vintage Want List (3)

 This was an interesting game that I saw on Mark's "Attic Raiders" channel. You're spinning a car around the board while taking actions. 

Seems incredibly fun and the pieces look nice too. Any of these games are worth checking out if you're in to vintage games as well. 

Have a good weekend folks!

Vintage Want List (2)

 I love me some Waddington games! Back in the day I almost bought this one too. It's for kids but I love the mechanic featured in the game and it's very thematic with the nursery rhyme that it's based on. 

The randomness of where the water balls are dropped could be a problem, but the game's so beautiful, I don't mind it!

Vintage Want List (1)

 Not enough spare cash to pick these up. With 4 kids now my money's tied to all of them. 

But if I had the extra cash, these are the vintage games I'd pick up!

This game is only found in the UK, but I think it's one Megan would love. Though she doesn't play many games with me, she WILL play vintage games so I think this one would be uber popular around the home especially as the girls get over. 

Happy V-Day

 2nd only to Halloween as one of the worst holidays of the year.

My girls get chocolates and I get 50% off chocolates tomorrow. 

February 15th is a much better day to celebrate in my opinion.  

Survivor South Africa: Maldives

 This year I started my journey into watching the Survivor Series from other countries. 

Up first is South Africa's!

Sadly, the first 3 seasons of the show are IMPOSSIBLE to find. I've looked everywhere. So I'll have to start my reviews on Season 4 of the series. 

What to say? 

They had A LOT of different and unique challenges on the show that I'd never seen before. They also had old ones like the auction (which I miss on regular Survivor) and a couple of twists!

The first was that they divided the cast into 10 each but didn't tell them about eachother until the second episode (or 3 days later) They divided those teams of 10 into teams of 5 and let them square off in reward and immunity challenges all without telling them. It was an interesting concept because you got to know half of the opposing tribe prior to separation. 

The second had to do with shell bracelets. It went with the theme of the island and the superstitions that went with it. 

After a challenge to see who was lowest on the totem pole of each tribe, those tribe members had to wear a black bracelet that automatically gave them 1 vote at tribal. (not good) But on the flip side, if they ever got voted off, they could pass it to someone else on the tribe. Making others think twice before voting them out. In addition once (per game) they had the option to switch tribes and give the bracelet away. Though that was a ONCE ONLY option. 

I really liked that. It made for interesting strategic choices to happen. 

When the merger happened, it turned into the white shell bracelet which the bearer could bestow upon another cast mate to cancel one vote on them. Afterwards, that castaway could use it to protect someone else next time. But NEVER could it be used to protect yourself. 

Again, great idea I've never seen in any Survivor. 

There was only one problem with the season...the cast. It was awful. And I mean awful boring. No one really stood out and though one player was marked as the "villain" he never did anything that bad but lie about who he was going to vote for....twice...in the whole game. 

In the end, the guy who played the honest (tell you to your face he's voting for you every night) guy won it all over the coattail rider (which would've been the exact opposite in America) so I liked that too. 

And the last episode they did the Live reunion PRIOR to revealing the winner which I found interesting. They also only had 8 on the jury with the fans being allowed to vote online for the final vote (which I LOVED)

Though the cast of characters was week, I'm still willing to give the show another season due to all the unique and interesting ideas they came up with this season. 

ONWARD TO SEASON 5!

Diet Update

 Started it late (again this year) but in under 3 weeks I've already dropped down a size. AND my regular jeans (which is the 2 month goal) are a tight fit. (little too tight) BUT this is an amazing accelleration for me! I'm shocked the weight's falling off so fast this time around. 

What do I think is the key? 

I'm drinking Apple Cider Vinegar, lemon juice and cinnamon every morning. I plan on watching more closely to ensure that's it but I think it is. 

Either way, I'm plugging away at my diet until the end of June this time around. Slowly expanding my menu as the months go on. 

For example, right now it's hardcore low carb. But at the end of March, all veggies and fruits get added. The next month, Milk and Cheese and the month after that, grains, beans and nuts. Then towards the end of June I can have sugar and sweets again. 

We'll see how it goes. The good thing about the long diet is that it only gets easier the further I more along.

I'll continue to give updates throughout the year as I progress thru the diet. 

Santa Bowl Update II

 It's time once again for another Santa Bowl 2023 update!

10 months from now, we'll be playing the big game. But where will it be?

Today we're happy to announce that it will take place on the old Forsythe soccer field that it almost always been played on in the past. 

Come rain or shine, the game will go on regardless!

See you next month for our next announcement! 

Baseball Highlights 2045

 One board game I've always wanted but never bought was this one. I love baseball and the mechanics of the game seem awesome. 

It also goes on sale every Black Friday for a good deal!

So why have I never picked it up? 

Well for one, it's a 2 player game. Which I rarely play. Megan's never playing this with me either so that alone makes it a no-go for me. 

But the other reason is no one I play with likes baseball. Reviewers have said that you don't need to enjoy baseball to enjoy the game and that might be true but the cove doesn't garner any excitement either I'm afraid, so I doubt (even if I did have a 2nd player) this would get to the table at all. 

Sucks though, it sure looks nice!

Have a good weekend everyone!  

Puss in Boots The Last Wish (Review)

 I'm a fan of Puss in Boots. I watched his last movie as well as his TV series on Netflix. I wanted to see the newest film and finally got a chance to do so. 

It's pretty good. Great action scenes and some good humor too. Worth your time, though my girls weren't the biggest fans, I'm guessing due to the action scenes. 

The Shrek series seems to be slowly dying, this may be the last movie they make since I don't think it did very well in theaters. Either way, it was worth my time. 

Slug coins

 I remember using metal washers or other metal "coins" to try and fool the Coke machines back in the day. I'd heard of it working for other kids but no matter how many times I tried it, it never worked. 

Sucks because that would've been cool to see how it works, but I guess by the late 80's/Early 90's they'd figured out how to stop it from happening. 

Thus my life of crime was never meant to be it seems!

Santa's Workshop update

 They posted a new picture of the updated game. From what I can tell it looks really nice! Colors are lighter and vibrant and I love the 3D sleigh. 

Hopefully we'll get to see more pics as time goes by but from what I can see now, I'm excited!

The Menu (Review)

 Ridiculous at its core when you think about it (especially at the end) but surprisingly a really good movie. I was intrigued the whole time and not bored at all! (which is amazing for me these days) 

The movie keeps you engaged as you're trying to figure out what's going on. And though the ending is a little far fetched, you forgive it because the ride there was so much fun. 

Worth watching if you have the time. 

Survivor 43 review

 I know I'm way late on giving my thoughts about this, but with the new season coming up I thought I'd go ahead and do it. 

It wasn't as bad as the last two seasons, but that's not saying anything because the last 2 seasons were some of the worst ones out ever. 

This past season was the day the doofus won. 

I don't care what those people say, when the time comes to vote for a winner there's nothing "impartial" about it. It's ALL about who hurt who's feeling along the way and that's why they voted. 

Gabler did the best of not stepping on anyone's toes too much and he won....by doing NOTHING. 

I'm not angry about this, this is just how the game is played and it certainly could've ended with a worse winner in the other 2 runner ups so I guess I should be thankful for this. 

Will the next season be better? 

I hope but I'm not holding my breath. I got access to some of the overseas versions of the show so I've decided to start watching them in the meantime. 

Already enjoy them better than the last 3 seasons of the American crap. 

Letterkenny Season 11 Review

 The series is still going strong! My favorite episode has to be the first one "Chips" which is beyond hilarious but I'm already amped for a Season 12. 

The good news is I don't have to wait too long to see more from these geniuses of comedy, I'm sure Shoresy Season 2 will be coming out later this year. 

Can't wait.  

The Culling: A Dog's Life

If you're a dog lover, you'll enjoy this simple family game where you go around town trying to find and bury 3 bones in your yard. 1st to do so, wins. 

The pieces are top quality and the game is easy to play. This was one of my failed attempts at getting Megan into board games and it didn't go well. After one play, she was done. It rarely comes out since. So I had to remove it from my collection. 

I did think about keeping it for when my kids get older, but like I've said in the past, my kids have plenty of BETTER games we could be playing. So this one got cut. 
 

The Culling: Macroscope

 Fun yet simple game where you're trying to guess the image by removing the least amount of holes to gain victory points. almost a party game in a way. Fun but never came out to the table enough to warrant a spot on the shelf so it had to be removed. 

The Culling: Architects of the Colosseum

 Whoops!

Missed a few game I forgot to mention that also left the collection. 

This is a decent game that gets overshadowed by so many other games that it was time for it to leave my collection. 

I like the 3D colosseum you build at the end of the game but that wasn't enough to save it from leaving my collection. 

The Culling: Pirate's Gold

 The game has an interesting mechanism but is WAY too hard when playing with kids who have even the slightest idea of what they're doing. 

It's very hard to score treasure chests and eventually, everyone agree to leave everyone alone just so the game can end. 

This game won't be missed. 

That's all for now, but I'm sure to cull a few more games in the summer if I can. 

My goal is to stay at or below 250 this year and to my calculations at the moment, I have 238. So not bad right? 

Maybe one year I'll attempt to take the collection down to only 200 games, but that's when the paper cut becomes a pin prick and starts to show blood so I'm not quite ready for that yet. 

Have a good weekend folks!

The Culling: Rocky Road A'la Mode

 Fun Ice Cream truck game. A good filler if your collection needs one. 

Problem is, I have too many filler games in my collection and decided to give one of them the cut. 

It's not saving me any shelf space but it wasn't coming to the table that much either so it had to go. 

The Culling: It Happens

 Even the mighty Stefan Feld isn't immune to having his game culled!

This was my least favorite of his games, mainly due to the simplicity of play. I'm sure it was made for kids but I have plenty of other games to play with mine and don't need this one. 

The Culling: Inka

 Stings a little to be cutting a Queen Game from my collection but NO GAME is showed favoritism when it comes to the culling!

This game is fine it just wasn't getting to the table. And for a game that isn't that old in my collection, that was a bad thing, so I had to cut it. 

Nice little puzzle strategy game for anyone interested though. 

The Culling: Hey Taxi!

 I still believe I was roped into buying this lemon. The game SUCKS and I'm happy to finally be rid of it. Hopefully the kid I gave it to, breaks it and trashes it right after his first play. 

Garage game and the last game I had INSTANT buyer's remorse over the moment I played it. 

The Culling: Saved by the Bell

 Time out!

I'm not nostalgic over this tv show. It was fun back in the 90's but outside of that, it's not worth playing a game about it. 

Found someone who loved the show, maybe they'll enjoy it more than me. It's basically  a trivia game anyway. 

The Culling: Wizard of Oz

 A no brainer for me. Megan hated the game and I wasn't a big fan either. No tears to see this leaving my collection. It was only gathering dust in a closet if it stayed any longer with me. 

The Culling: Dice Through Time

 I said in my review that this game surprised me and it did! Good game for anyone who loves the franchise. 

Problem is, I have two games with this IP and don't need but one. So this one had to go. 

Again, if you love all 3 movies, this may be the better game for you. But "Back in Time" in my opinion, is better. 

The Culling: Road Kill Rally

 In my collection for years and now it's finally left. 

I gave it one last play with my buddy who loves it and gifted it to him for Christmas this past year. It's still one of his Top 10 games of mine and I know it'll get more play with him than me. 

Fun zaney racing game, but since I've got to make some cuts to stay at my "250 Games" goal, it had to go. 

More to come this week. 

Deep Sea Adventure: Expansion Die (Mini Review)

 I love the base game and so when I found out about this mini-expansion, I had to have it. 

Thankfully my good friend Josh was able to pick it up for me at GenCon and deliver it over the holidays. 

The special die replaces one of the base die in the game and has 2 special faces on it that increase movement. 

One is a "x3" face, that allows you to move 3 times the number shown on the other die. This can led up to a potential NINE movement in the game!

The other let's you add movement according the number of players that are currently in front of you on your turn. 

It also comes with a nice little wooden tray to roll your dice in. 

I love it.

One of the issues in the game is you have a hard time going down to the bottom and making it back before the air is used up (which is impossible really) This die makes it possible. 

We still play 4 rounds but now we are actually SCORING in the game! 

Game changer. Will never play without it. 

Worth getting if you already have the base game.  

Board Game Purge: Atlandice

 Fun light game that had wonderful pieces to it but it wasn't unique enough to make the cut to stay in my collection. 

I culled a few more games recently to make room for future games to add to my collection. I'll talk about them later. 

Have a good weekend folks!

Board Game Purge: Cover Me

 I LOVED the theme of this game. Running a fashion magazine and trying to get the latest trends on your cover was a smart simple design that I enjoyed. 

Sadly I was the only one. 

My gaming group (as well as Nephews) soured on this one over the years so it was harder and harder to get to the table so I had to let it go. 

Too bad people judged this game...by it's cover. 

Board Game Purge: Cubo

 It hurt. But I had to cut this one from my collection. Wonderful dice chucking game but I always felt like it needed something extra. 

Sadly the queenies for this game are unattainable, so I've given up trying to find them at a decent price. Could they have improved the game? Likely, but I'll never know. 

Games had to be culled last year, so this light one from Queen Games had to go!

Santa Bowl Update I

 

Each month for the entire year, I'll be posting information about our upcoming Santa Bowl!

Today is the obvious announcement....the date. 

11 months from today, we'll be playing the Santa Bowl once again on December 10th!

Mark your calendars folks and stay tuned each month as there's more to come!

Board Game Purge: Blossoms

 

Great 2 player game with beautiful art and a fun theme. Could be played with 3 players if needed but Megan WAS NOT interested and I knew I wouldn't be playing it that much due to the low player count so I had to let it go from the collection last year. 

Ozark (Review)

 Just finished the show a few weeks ago and wow...it's good. 

It's depressing, frustrating and binge-worthy to be sure. 

Lot of death and family drama. 

I know that doesn't sound good to a lot of people but it really was an interesting story to see develop. And though the ending gave closure I felt they didn't "Go Big" with it. 

And with a series that had back-to-back cliff hangers during episodes, that each could've been a season finale, I thought it strange they took to more of a quiet ending. (though big deaths do come in the last episode) 

Overall, worth my time. 

Weezer Album (Review)

 Came out a few days before Xmas and I've been listening to it on and off for the past few weeks. 

Not bad. 

Out of all of them, I believe Autumn was my favorite. Either way, I think it's awesome they did this. I'm sure there's another album coming out this year because Rivers never stops writing. 

But I'm all for what lies ahead in 2023!

Nefuls

 My brother Bray came down for the holidays and recalled these toys from our childhood that I'd totally forgotten about!

He even remembered what they were called! It's crazy how we each remember different aspects of our childhood so well!

They weren't that much fun but I remember when my grandmother bought them for us one year we played with them for hours on end. 

I wouldn't want them today but it's nice that I got to see them again.

The last remaining Kickstarter

 

Once this one delivers (which won't be for a few more months) I won't have ANY outstanding Kickstarters for the first time since I backed the first one in 2012. 

It'll be a weird feeling indeed. Not that I'll ever back another game again, I'm just more picky on what I back these days. 

But it'll be the end of a streak for sure. 

2023 New Year's Resolution

 This year is simple. I only have one.

Spend more time with Mom and Dad.

If 2022 taught me anything, it's that time moves on and as the years go by it's important that we make the time to be with family as they get older every year. 

My grandmother passed away last year. I ceased being someone's grandson at that moment. 

I know as the years go by I'll eventually cease to be someone's son, so before that time comes, I plan to make as much time as I can to be with them. 

Other than that, I have nothing else more important to do for the year. 

Warm Winter!

 75 degrees today. 

THAT'S what I'm talking about!

I won't be upset if it stays that way for the rest of the month. (though I know it won't)

2022 Resolution Review

 

My 2 Resolutions were A) A return to normal (CHECK!) and B) Print "Tales from the Galaxy Vol 4" 

CHECK!

Looks like I did pretty good for last year. I'll give my resolutions for this year tomorrow. 

Stay tuned!

Happy New Year!

 I'm pulling for this one to be the best one yet!