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Lessons Learned: Education through Animation

joshkingofgeeks
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Lessons Learned: Education through Animation

Saturday morning cartoons, for me, meant that high adventure and action awaited, the weekend visits from the likes of He-Man, Lion O, Inspector Gadget and my all-time favorite M.A.S.K made the school week bearable. Theme music that made you giddy and opening sequences that left you wanting more but more importantly, though unknown to me then, every episode had a lesson at the end. Gone from the cartoons and shows of this generation, children seem to absorb the animation of this decade without learning a thing. As a geeky parent I decided to stop the madness and introduce the action, excitement and in some ways the education. So sit back, grab your popcorn, summon your monsters, scan your files because we’re about to show man and machine, POWER EXTREME!!

Let’s start with the catchiest of the group. To this day, I still believe these 2 cartoon theme songs can get an entire room filled with people to start singing, a theory I will hopefully put into practice one day. Duck Tales and Gummi Bears were Disney’s crowning glory in the late 80’s and early 90’s, I can still remember the frustration in trying to make gummi berry juice. Unbeknownst to me though, these two magical series had lessons in them every episode and its only now, looking back and watching them with my children, that I have caught on. Those all important lessons are: “Family is everything and will always help you out” (Gummi Bears) and “Save your pennyies, live every day to the fullest” (Duck Tales).

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Onto the more hard hitting lessons learned. Now I’m going to drop a name, it’s a big name and don’t feel uncomfortable about it as he is the most powerful man in the universe. He-Man ( you ok, you alright….told you it was a big name) and the Masters of the Universe had a recap after every episode and then a lesson to be learned, usually delivered by He-Man or Man at Arms with a cheeky little wink at the end. My son, who watches He-Man nearly every day, has really taken those lessons to heart. I mean, who would argue with He-Man? The other big name comes from an inspector, an inspector so fearless that grown men cower at the sound of his voice, loved by his niece and Captain, despised by all in a PHD profession. Who is he you ask? Inspector Gadget!

He-Man

Ok ok fearless maybe, clueless definitely but kind hearted and relentless absolutely. Always fighting for good against the evil of Dr. CLAW (see PHD), Gadget, his niece Penny and her faithful pooch Brain foiled every plan and at the end of every episode Gadget and Penny gave us a lesson or a helpful tip, sometimes even lifesaving advice. If I remember correctly, it was Inspector Gadget that taught me to call the Emergency Services if there ever was a need.

”This is the evergreen forest! Quiet, peaceful, serene!” The opening line of The Raccoons, featuring Burt Raccoon and his family and friends.  Geeks of 30 years will probably look back and say The Raccoons and the song “Run With Us” were their fondest memories. Even in the opening narrative of the show you get the lessons straight away, “luckily he has some good friends to help him out”. The show touched on environmental problems and deforestation and the lessons were mainly “look after nature” and “teamwork”.

Now, before I get to a unique group, I’ve looked over and watched some children’s cartoons and shows and so far found not one decent lesson taught to children like the animation of my yesteryears and it’s become a worry, I feel if we had a channel dedicated to classic cartoons (I know we have Boomerang but that’s mainly Hannah Barbera and Looney Toons) then we could introduce all children to the brilliance of what we experienced.  Now, that unique group!

MASK

M.A.S.K, “Mobile Armored Strike Kommand” if you’re not down with acronyms, featured Matt Trakker and his son, Scott, alongside a team of highly skilled operatives and their amazing vehicles, battling the V.E.N.O.M organization (more acronyms sorry, it stands for “Vicious Evil Network Of Mayhem”). Now, even though this came with a lesson at the end of every episode, it was the way it was delivered that sticks in the back of my mind. While the previously mentioned lessons were done by the hero in a recap kind of way, M.A.S.K did it in a subtle but strong way, a father teaching his son. Now, like with He-Man, my son is a huge fan of M.A.S.K, to the point I’ve started to buy him the classic toy line. Matter of fact, it seems he listens to Matt Trakker more than he listens to me. He’s even started to quote Trakker when “I” do something wrong. And isn’t that the kind of impact you want from a kid’s show? That’s the effect I want and would like from children’s TV. These titles are available to buy on DVD now; other titles with lessons in them include Pole Position, Ulysses 21, Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, Centurions and Get Along Gang and can be found on Amazon or eBay.

If, like me, you’re a geeky parent and have yet to introduce your offspring to these shows? Now would be the time. More information can be found on www.RETROJUNK.com

Marvel comics’ characters that have appeared in popular video games

Matt Geary
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Marvel comics’ characters that have appeared in popular video games

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Marvel Comics was founded in 1939 as Timely Comics and was called the Golden Age of comic books. This era saw great comics such as the Human Torch, The Angel and Namor McKenzie. By the early 1950s, the comic book company become known as Atlas Comics, the publisher of a plethora of children’s and teen humour titles.

These golden years saw the birth of Homer, the Happy Ghost, Homer Hooper, Melvin the Monster and Sergeant Barney Barker. The modern incarnation by Marvel dates from 1961, where the company launched The Fantastic Four, which contributed to usher in a contemporary level of realism in the medium. This was an unexpected success for the company and also the beginning of many other popular titles.

After the release of series, video games were the new Marvel craze in the year 1980s. Spider-Man made its debut as an action video game in 1982 by Parker Brothers for the Atari 2600. This game, that involved guiding Spider-Man, was the first featuring the character and also Marvel’s first Comic based video game. The aim of Spidey was to scale a building using his web shooters to defuse the bombs planted by the Green Goblin.

The Hulk was released a couple of years later, making it the second Marvel Comic based video game. The large green humanoid was part of Questprobe, which is a trilogy of graphical adventure computer games. All Marvel characters that were once seen in magazines came to life, such as Howard the Duck, Captain America in: The Doom Tube of Dr. Megalomann and many more.

The son of Asgard; Thor video game recently appeared in 2011 though he first appeared in the Journey of Mystery in 1962, which was initially a horror comics anthology. Sega and Marvel Games are the first to release the games called Thor: God of Thunder and Thor: Son of Asgard on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, Wii, Nintendo 3DS and IOS. Thor’s persona and powerfulness has also led game providers to design slot machines revolving around him. Two such great examples are Thunderstruck and Thunderstruck II, both of which are available at Magical Vegas slots. The first release of the slot machine themed after the powerful god has regrouped many aspects of the Norse mythology, which you may see as symbols. With a wild multiplier, free spins, scatter pays and a gamble feature, you can be sure of having a thunderous experience!

The second release with the Norse God, which character Chris Hemsworth has so well mastered, comes with even better graphics and game features. This game is the Bifröst to Asgard with features such as wild multiplier, Wildstorm feature and the Great Hall of Spins. Other famous characters have been put onto the game such as Valkyrie, Loki and Odin.

Some of the most awaited Marvel Video games this year are Age of Ultron, She-Hulk, and March to Axis, Magneto in Action, Rogue, The Unstoppable Juggernaut, Nova and many more!

Alice’s Nightmare in Wonderland

Peter Ray Allison
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Alice’s Nightmare in Wonderland

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Read Lewis Carroll’s Alice stories? Like Steampunk? Enjoyed Fighting Fantasy gamebooks? Then this kickstarter just might be for you…

If you’ve ever wondered what would have happened if Alice hadn’t drunk from the bottle labelled ‘Drink Me’, or if she hadn’t joined the Mad Hatter for tea, Jonathon Green invites you to find out. In Alice’s Nightmare in Wonderland, rather than following the story of Alice, you will be able to guide Alice through the fluctuating dream world, deciding which route she should take, which perils to risk, and which of Wonderland’s strange denizens to fight.

Set several years after Alice Through the Looking Glass, Alice will once again find herself back in Wonderland to save the realm from the increasingly deranged Queen of Hearts. But all will not be as it first appears in Alice’s Nightmare in Wonderland, and Alice will soon be battling to save herself from the nightmare that is rapidly overtaking Wonderland…

Thanks to the flexible rules system that will be developed especially for this gamebook Alice’s Nightmare in Wonderland can be played in three different ways. You can play through the adventure as you would in traditional gamebooks, by rolling dice to determine the outcome of battles and events. You can also replace the dice for a more apt deck of playing cards. Or you can simply enjoy reading through the story, however success will still not be definite.

Alice will have five different attributes to keep track of during the adventure – Agility, Logic, Insanity, Combat and Endurance (forming the acronym of A.L.I.C.E.). Rather than being determined randomly, readers will decide where our heroine’s strengths and weaknesses should lie.

Alice’s Nightmare in Wonderland will be illustrated by Kev Crossley, an artist best known for providing the gruesome images of zombies in Ian Livingstone’s 30th anniversary Fighting Fantasy gamebook Blood of the Zombies.

Alice’s Nightmare in Wonderland will be available in four different formats: ebook, paperback, hardback, and a deluxe collector’s cloth-bound edition hardback.

Each book will contain an introduction, all the rules you need to play the game, the adventure itself, a host of illustrations (depending on how successful the Kickstarter is), and Adventure Sheets for recording your stats through the story.

The deluxe signed collector’s edition will also include artists’ sketches, designer’s notes, and a brief history of Lewis Carroll’s Alice, not to mention decorative endpapers and a ribbon bookmark.

For more information, as well as how to back this gamebook, visit Alice’ Nightmare in Wonderland on Kickstarter.

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Bond is Back in Action: New SPECTRE Trailer Released

Becca Harper
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Bond is Back in Action: New SPECTRE Trailer Released

Bond is back in SPECTRE and a new action packed trailer has been released. Naturally, James is getting himself in all kinds of trouble car chases, explosions, seductions and general espionage, with Mexico City and Rome being just some of  the stunning locations. He gets a little smoochy with Lucia Sciarra (Monica Bellucci) and infiltrates SPECTRE’s secret meeting coming face to face with the malevolent Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz) but one of the highlights has to be the classic rear flame-thrower. See for yourself, it’s awesome.

The 24th film incarnation of 007 is to be directed by Sam Mendes and stars Bond veterans Daniel Craig, Ralph Fiennes (M),Ben Whishaw (Q), Naomie Harris (Moneypenny) and Rory Kinnear, with the additional cast Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux,Monica Bellucci, David Bautista and Andrew Scott. Due for release in the UK on the 26th October 2015 and 6th November in the US.

My First Con: London Film and Comic Con 2015

Callum Tyndall
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My First Con: London Film and Comic Con 2015

Hot, cramped and achy. If we’re going purely physical, that’s my off the bat response to the convention. The weekend saw the London Olympia heaving with what I assume to be thousands. It reminded me of music festivals I’ve been to, becoming just one in a swell of people that seem near impossible to navigate through. Unlike those festivals though, the indoor nature of LFCC means that the crowds felt like they were generating more heat than the sun. Also, it seems that my feet just suck at their job. In fact, my entire lower body didn’t stand up too well to the task of long days moving around the con. I guess what I’m really saying is that I kind of get where Jesse Eisenberg was coming from when he described his recent experience at San Diego Comic Con. He was obviously being hyperbolic, as he himself admitted, but there is a serious physical response to that amount of people in that amount of space that sort of goes beyond rationalisation. All that said, and somewhat whined, it’s certainly one hell of an experience.

From gleefully staring at how normal the Game of Thrones stars are outside of the show (seeing Carice van Houten, aka Melisandre, just totally normal and in reading glasses gave me a particularly odd amount of pleasure) to getting in on Syfy’s fairly awesome 360 camera, LFCC had a ton of stuff to see and certainly got the crowds in to do so. Merchandise stalls were all over and covered in temptation. Honestly, if I had the money, I would’ve required a forklift to carry all the stuff I wanted out of there. As it was, I settled for a few comics from the rather wonderful Rachael Smith (interview to come, check out her website here) as we worked our way through a few interviews with the comic artists/writers on the Sunday. Speaking of which, pretty much everyone we dealt with was truly awesome. It’s not exactly that you think they won’t be, it’s just that there’s sort of that apprehension about people becoming stars and then not really caring about their fans. “Never meet your heroes” and all that. So it was a true pleasure to see how cool all of the guests we met there were.

And speaking of cool guests, I sat in front of Sigourney Weaver. Seeing the Back to the Future cast was cool but seriously, Sigourney Goddamn Weaver. It still seems surreal to think I was only a few metres from Ripley. We were lucky to just happen to wander up to check out the third floor just as the Aliens panel was starting (check out our highlights coverage here) and what followed was truly joyous. I mean, that’s really what I took away from all of the guest interactions. That there is something weirdly joyous about seeing these people humanised and brought to the level of just being normal, goofing around with each other and their fans. It’s nice to see that the people you look up to as stars can be just as cool in real life. Also, Kristian Nairn, aka Hodor, really is that huge. I mean, seriously. Real nice guy but damn. And we randomly bumped into Filch (David Bradley) on the way out of a lift which was a bit of a double take moment. It’s a sort of unique convention magic to spend half your time suddenly twitching your head back to confirm that really was the Prince of Flowers cruising past.

There’s no real way to dilute the entire convention down into a few paragraphs. The visual experience alone warrants too much with the bevy of cosplay craziness that occurred (though all respect to the full scale Korn Beserker, as impractical as that was it was also damn impressive). The experience was certainly an interesting one and one that was really made by the great team, if I do say so myself, that I was part of. LFCC put on quite the show and it was great to be a part of it. Over the next week or so, we’ll be putting out a load more coverage so keep your eyes peeled for more of what we got up to at this year’s London Film and Comic Con.

LFCC 2015: The Aliens Panel Highlights

Callum Tyndall
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LFCC 2015: The Aliens Panel Highlights

So this year’s LFCC came to a close yesterday. Among the many, many things that occurred, one of the highlights was the Aliens panel in which stars Bill Paxton (Private William Hudson), Carrie Henn (Newt) and Sigourney Weaver (Ripley. Obviously. Oh my god I sat right in front of Ripley.) Having wandered into finding it by happy coincidence on the morning of Saturday, what follows are the highlights of the panel.

  • The “acting masterclass” gag. Having been prepped in advance by the moderator before the guests’ entrance, the entire crowd was cued to shout out “get away from her you bitch!” following a question to Sigourney. I’m not entirely sure if she was more surprised or amused
  • Paxton tells his audition story. Having to jump around, pretending a cardboard tube is a rifle is essential to working out the character apparently.
  • The cast reveal some of the more horrible aspects of the Aliens shoot with a story about filming at a power station. “Asbestos rain” is a phrase you don’t hear too often and not one that’s  particularly comforting. Carrie Fenn told a story about the cocoon, being terrified of moving because they couldn’t shoot more than once due to the fragility of the setup. Sigourney apparently shredded her hands on the cocoon despite James Cameron assuring her it was nothing to worry about, it was just “candy glass”

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  • Paxton would often sit with Carrie during downtime on the set, used to “make forts” with her and make stuff. The pair realise how weird this now sounds. Ah, the innocence of youth
  • When asked about stunt work and difficult moments to film, the Queen’s chamber is brought up. Sigourney had to come in with a flamethrower, a bazooka and a machine gun. The crew had trust her to use the weapons in the right order as she had to flame alien dummies, machine gun blanks at stuntmen and then fire the bazooka. Getting the order of the flamethrower and the machine gun wrong would have ended in nothing good.
  • The drop ship set was revealed to also be problematic. James Cameron got hit by a piece of set on the head and, according to Paxton, the injury “looked like a geyser”. The flamethrower scene in drop ship didn’t exactly go to plan either, following the flaming the cast couldn’t breathe. Paxton initially thought the other actor was ad libbing at first, was impressed with her improv when she choked out that “I can’t breathe”. Then he tried to breathe himself and found out that there was no air left. The cast had to be pulled out rather quickly
  • Paxton got to do his own graffiti for his armour. His wife’s name, Louise, is on the chestplate but he only realised afterwards that it actually looks more like Louis
  • Sigourney wanted to die in Alien 3 because she didn’t want to get sucked into Alien vs Predator.  The um, distaste, for Alien vs Predator turned out to be somewhat of a theme amongst the originators of the series. She also thinks it ridiculous that the Alien didn’t win.
  • We then came to one of the most iconic scenes in the original film, Alien and the Sigourney was asked about whether or not it was true that the cast didn’t know that the chestburster was going to come out of John Hurt as Hurt had, in a previous interview, said that of course they knew, they’d read the script. Sigourney revealed that while they did know something was going to come out of John Hurt, they weren’t prepared for how it was actually going to look. Apparently there’s a big difference between reading that something comes out of his chest on a script page and seeing the monstrosity actually tear its way free, supposedly accompanied by the gleeful giggles of special effects crew members
  • The scene was so notable though that, during Alien, Sigourney had t shirts made up of John Hurts’ line in the chest burster scene. “Oh my gouaaahh”

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  • There was some rather obvious curiosity about the recently announced Alien 5. And while Sigourney was very cagey with details, for obvious and no doubt legal reasons, she seemed extremely positive about the direction that director Neil Blomkamp is taking this new installment in. “This is 100% happening”
  • Paxton also chimed in on the new film. “Can you put in a good word for me?” And when it’s brought up that he would have to be brought back. “There must be something of me they can claim.”
  • Oh, and in case you wondered about the Newt scream, turns out that it was incredibly real and Carrie Henn actually used to win bets on doing said scream. She then saw if she could still do it. My ears are still recovering
  • Sigourney got Paxton to do the elevator straight to hell line. After a bit of initial fumbling, it was joyfully delivered. It then turned out that the line was originally improved in early work pre-full filming that Cameron remembered and had Paxton do later on
  • “Game over man!” was semi improv. Cameron just told the cast to riff on the scene
  • When asked for more behind the scenes stories, it turned out that Lance Henriksen, the actor who played Bishop, got pulled over in customs carrying a load of knives. Apparently he used to practice the knife trick a lot and at one point caught the tip of Paxton’s finger in a way that would be most accurately described as very painful
  • Sigourney’s favourite memories are of the scenes between Ripley and Newt. Moments where the movie got to almost take a break, work in bits of hope and light around the underwear-ruining terror
  • Paxton’s most memorable moment of the film’s process was working in London.  They used to go to work in the dark and come out in the light. There also followed a Paxton anecdote, who told the story of how, while out drunk, he ended up in a lift and looked over to the man beside him. “Hey, you’re boy George.” “Yes I am.” Simple yet rather wonderful
  • Remember how I said Alien vs Predator distaste was a bit of a theme? James Cameron called Alien vs Predator like doing Alien vs the Wolfman
  • And finally, it turns out that Alien 3 was originally going to have James Cameron produce and Ridley Scott direct. The pair dropped out when they found out about Alien vs Predator and wanted to stay away from it. Moral of the story seems to be that the alien OGs really, really don’t like Alien vs Predator

 

Why Aren’t You… Watching Bojack Horseman?

SeanPWallace
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Why Aren’t You… Watching Bojack Horseman?

And no, not having Neflix isn’t a good enough answer. Besides, who doesn’t have Netflix?

Comedy is a very personal thing. What one person finds hilarious, another hates like it’s deep-fried tampons. At least, this what I tell myself when I see certain shows’ popularity (*cough* Miranda *cough*). At its heart, comedy is about finding something to surprise you with, a hilarious incongruity between what is expected and what happens, so recommending something as funny to another person is hard enough if you know them, let alone if they are as relatively-anonymous as you, dear reader, are to me.

That said, you should really be watching Bojack Horseman. Like, right now.

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The premise of Bojack Horsemen is nothing brilliantly unique: the titular character was famous in the 80s and 90s for starring in a saccharin sweet Sit Com called Horsing Around, but his career has taken a plunge since the show was cancelled. Though still wealthy from all the money he earned, he is unknown and unemployed, something his ego can’t handle. So his agent suggests that he write an autobiography, and brings a writer, Diane Nguyen, on to write his story.

So far, so ordinary, right? Except that Bojack is literally a Horseman: he is an anthropomorphic horse. And his agent, and ex, Princess Caroline is a cat. Diane and his permanent house guest Todd – voiced by Aaron Paul of Breaking Bad fame – are both humans, as are many of the characters, but many more are these strange hybrids with human personalities and animal tendencies. This does allow for some obvious, and very subtle, jokes, but is not the main crux of the show.

This would be a non-subtle joke.
This would be a non-subtle joke.

More than this, Bojack Horseman has the smart writing of any modern TV classic, with every character, even the most ridiculous, being believably handled and rendered. Bojack himself is a fantastic character study of someone with a horrendous childhood suddenly gaining the fame and adoration he’s always desired, and then having that pulled out from him just as rapidly. The comedy is tempered with genuine drama and heart-wrenching writing, which allows a sharp contract to the ridiculous scenarios around these moments.

And boy is the series ridiculous. From Bojack stealing part of the Hollywood sign – and everyone just calling it ‘Hollywoo’ from then on – to Todd putting on a Rock Opera and Bojack publicly arguing with a veteran over some muffins, there are bizarre situations which keep the hilarity going in every episode. Even with the more believable scenarios, such as attending a funeral or visiting a dying friend, the writers do a brilliant job of balancing the mundane with the fantastical.

Speaking of the writers, these people have obviously grown up on comedy like Airplane and Naked Gun as they adore putting little background jokes into almost every scene. For Pete’s sake, Buzzfeed have done a 136 Hidden Jokes You Probably Missed on Bojack Horseman and it doesn’t even come close to covering every little detail. Watching the second season, I’ve had to pause or rewind scenes because I wasn’t listening to the dialogue and was instead reading background jokes. I’m looking at you, Brocus Pocus, the all-male remake of Hocus Pocus…

And the humour is dark as well as silly, attempting to cater to a complex range of senses of humour. Whether it’s truly thinking about the differences between the chickens people eat and the chickens people talk to, or wondering why Sarah Lynn knows what bear fur tastes like solely because her step-dad was a bear, there are evil and dark jokes woven alongside the daft ones, such as a bloodhound policeman or the airline Panda-Am.

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Mostly, though, what makes the show stand out is the honesty which comes from the characters, particularly Bojack. The intelligent but lovable curmudgeon is a tried and tested idea, but the person who is fundamentally broken and tries to reconcile that as a functioning adult is not. The writers display in Bojack weakness and vulnerability which we don’t often see from television characters, genuine character flaws which don’t endear them to you but merely exist. We’ve all seen the washout do good, or turn things around, but we haven’t often seen the washout who actively sabotages themselves and everyone around them, and who doesn’t quite know how to change to prevent it from happening again. Complex characteristics which we know exist in one another, but don’t often see, show up in a daft cartoon where birds will replace airplanes for aerial advertising.

Bojack Horseman is the sort of genuine comedy hit which doesn’t come along very often. I can’t think of anything else like it. I’ve been shocked, felt awful, and laughed so hard it hurt, sometimes in the same episode. So, I ask you, why aren’t you watching it?

7 Wonders – Great Pyramids of Gameplay

Tom Sorsby
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7 Wonders – Great Pyramids of Gameplay

I’ve been into strategy PC games since I was a wee nipper. I didn’t go for the likes of gunplay focused Duke Nukem and the fast paced Crash Bandicoot that the rest of the kids were into – I preferred the slower pace, the longer game, the careful strategy; games like Civilization and Heroes of Might & Magic. Weird, I know. But it should then come as no surprise that in my boardgames, I have similar tastes. I like a game with a lot of angles, a lot of ways to win. This is one of the reasons why 7 Wonders is now my new favourite game.

Released in 2010 by award winning designer Antoine Bauza, 7 Wonders sees you take on the leadership of a Classical era city-state centred around one of the eponymous seven wonders of the age, including the well-known Colossus of Rhodes and Great Pyramids of Giza. So far, you might be wondering why I’m not actually reviewing the most recent Civilization boardgame, also brought out in 2010. My answer is twofold. Firstly, that game looks perhaps a little too complex at first glance, and secondly, my girlfriend and I recently read through this list on Paste Magazine. We want more people for our gaming groups, and 7 Wonders apparently fits the bill for getting people into the hobby.

The 7 Wonders: for more info, check the Civilopedia.

Once you’ve been dealt or chosen your Wonder, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the winner of the game would be the first one to build the three stages of their Classical monument. Rather, the at the end of the three “Ages” which divide the game, being six turns each, the player with the most assembled Victory Points is the winner. So while building your Wonder will secure you ten VPs – more if you’ve got the Great Pyramids, or a special ability if you don’t – they’re not the only way to get points.

As the rounds of each Age of the game go by, players pass decks of shuffled building cards around the table, unique to each Age. Some cards produce a resource, some need a resource of be produced before they can be built. During the first age, players generally build up their resource production – though it is possible to trade with other cities to your left and right, and given the free-market nature of the trades, the other player can’t oppose you, but still gets the money you must pay them for their goods. These goods aren’t depleted for the other player either, meaning you can’t just keep buying next door’s stone so they can never finish their Wonder.

However, these resources will help you to build your own Wonder, strengthen your economy, or grow your military power, with the mightiest cities gaining victories or suffering defeats at the end of every age, based on the number of military points they have. These military victories get more important as the game goes on, with winning your final battles against your two closest neighbours in the third age getting you ten VPs – as much as most Wonders – the trade-off being you could have had a marketplace for cheaper resource buying, or an academy for more scientific VPs, instead of that siege workshop.

Boxart taken from Boardgamegeek.com – where 7 Wonders is rated as the best Family game ever.

Because of this, 7 Wonders hits the cross-platform gaming sweet spot that I keep mentioning – easy to learn, hard to master; a game that’s simple enough to get your teeth into on your very first play through, but goes deep enough that you’ll want to take bit after bite. The more players that are in the game, the more cards are shuffled into the buildings decks, some of the cards only coming into the game when there are higher numbers of players.

The only criticism I can really level at 7 Wonders is that despite having rules for a two-player game, that one-on-one actually requires the two players to take turns controlling a third city. Obviously this means dumping less useful cards into the third city to strengthen your own, or having two chances to remove a card you know the other player needs. At least, in theory. In our first two player game, we ended up giving the third city all the science cards, not realising VPs from science weren’t just counted up – they were squared. So the card graveyard of Rhodes actually nearly won. Awkward.

But it is in the bigger games that 7 Wonders really comes alive, games where you’ve got to watch the player to the left doesn’t grow a larger military than you, while keeping your eye on how much money you’re giving to the right in exchange for their materials; meanwhile across the table you know they’re waiting on some more green cards – do you take that card out of play to build up your Wonder, develop your own sciences, or let them have it and upgrade your Victory Point buildings? Guaranteed, you won’t know the right call until the points are counted at the end.

Freaks, geeks and one hell of a week — The SDCC Report.

TinkerTonks
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Freaks, geeks and one hell of a week — The SDCC Report.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always had a trip to San Diego Comic Con on my geektastic bucket list. It’s just one of those places you kind of need to go – like a geeky nirvana full of untold treasures and wonders that you can’t really experience anywhere else on Earth. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’ve been to conventions before and had a great time, but nothing else on this planet will ever prepare you for the experience that is SDCC.

I always knew it was big, it ‘s full of several thousand people, it’s hardly a small affair, but I think it’s one of those places that you can’t really appreciate the scale of until you set foot inside. It’s more than just a convention center, but rather a way of life as for the best part of a week, the entire Gaslamp District finds itself utterly consumed by some of the most undeniably geektastic shenanigans you could ever dream of.

It’s funny how quickly time goes by when you’re surrounded by such like minded people and I really do want to hammer home the community spirit that I found at SDCC. There was no elitism, no lines of division or derision, just easy going, laid back mischief. I’ve made some lasting friendship simply by embracing the joy of queuing and I found out some great snippets about what make other geeks tick and from certain convention veterans where to check out and what to do while waiting for signings or panels to take place.

Quentin Tarantino & Kurt Russell promoting new feature The Hateful Eight.
Quentin Tarantino & Kurt Russell promoting new feature The Hateful Eight.

Granted, I did only begin to scrape the surface and I would sell my right arm right about now for possession of a time turner to go back and manage to be in ten places at once and experience everything – but even the small number of things I did manage to get up to, were well worth the 16 hour excruciatingly long flight merely to cross it off my list!

So what did I get up to? Unlike a great deal of my fellow con goers, I didn’t actually brave Hall H for the plethora of panels on some of the cinematic hard-hitters this year. But as you’ve already sussed, the likes of Deadpool, Suicide Squad, X-men and Crimson Peak have been fairly widely well documented without me chiming in like a broken record!

Instead I opted for the lesser known side of Comic Con, the snippets of amazing secrecy tucked away neatly beneath the surface that don’t always get quite so much recognition. For starters, there was an Orphan Black meet-up that I have to say gave me chills. Clone Club represent! And the indomitable Mr.Wesley Snipes who I managed to chat to regarding his upcoming project The Player.

There was also a sneaky trip to the Power Rangers lounge, which brought with it so much nostalgia and optimism for the latest incarnation of Rangers. It was a bit like being six years old again and staring wide eyed at the sheer volume of merchandise that I know I shouldn’t buy but secretly wanted to covet anyway!

The latest incarnation of Power Rangers were out in force.
The latest incarnation of Power Rangers were out in force.

And the cosplay! Oh! How I adored the cosplay. There’s something spectacularly awe inspiring about the sheer level of skill and commitment that goes into these artisan costumes and I can’t speak highly enough of just how nice the people are behind each outfit. I think it’s safe to say that the boys over at Sneaky Zebra managed to capture some of the best in their SDCC video, so I’d highly suggest checking that out if you want a taste of just how much variety there was this year.

Beyond that, there were press lines for Crimson Peak and Pride & Prejudice and Zombies, a photocall for The Hateful Eight and just oodles of likeminded wonderful people that really did help to encapsulate the spirit of what comic con means. Granted, okay, I did also fangirl slightly more than I should about being on a press line next to Lizo Mzimba (Newsround, c’mon? Who didn’t love that show?!) but there’s something about the buzz of an SDCC press line that beats red carpets everywhere.

Guillermo del Toro talks Crimson Peak
Guillermo del Toro talks Crimson Peak

After a hard day of journalistic work however (and yes, it is hard work rubbing shoulders with your idols and geeking out over comics!) it was time to retreat to somewhere for a little breathing room and what better place to check out than Syfy’s Expanse Café! Taking over the Hard Rock Café, it was a chance to experience some themed offerings and get a brilliant insight into what the new show has to offer.

If none of this happened to float your boat however, there was also the Nerd HQ to fall back on and the Nerdist Conival to take the edge off a hard day of con-going. You can read more about these in Jason’s article here, for the badge-less comic fans amongst us!

That said however, I have to give a big ol’ thumbs up to SDCC for bringing so much joy and uniqueness to this geek girl’s life. I have never been anywhere quite like it and I doubt I will ever find anything to top it – but we’ll just have to see if next year brings as much promise with it!

 

SDCC returns  21st – 24th July 2016, hope to see you there! 

Wales Comic Con: another reason to visit Wales

Peter Ray Allison
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Wales Comic Con: another reason to visit Wales

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Wales is swiftly becoming a cultural centre for geeks: As Wales Comic Con stands alongside the Sci-Fi Weekender and others in the annals of conventions that sci-fi fans need to attend.

Unlike other conventions, which have become overly-commercialised, Wales Comic Con manages to blend its diverse selection of traders whilst retaining the strong sense of community that typified earlier events. The atmosphere is what makes this event stand out from other single-day conventions, as it feels less exploitive and more of a celebration of shared interests.

Wales Comic Con includes autograph signing sessions, photo opportunities, panels, workshops, displays and gaming arenas.

A variety of actors, voice-over artists, writers, illustrators and professional cosplayers will also be appearing at the Wales Comic Con. A (small) selection of choice members from this number include:
Sylvester McCoy (The Seventh Doctor and Radagast the Brown in The Hobbit)
Graham McTavish (Dwalin in The Hobbit)
Guy Siner (Lt. Gruber from Allo Allo)
Neil Rutland (Rex Buckland in Charmed)
Peter Mckeirnon (author)
Andrew Wildman (artist for Transformers and Thundercats)
Lee Bradley (artist for Star Wars and Spiderman)
Larry Kennery (voice of Lion-O from Thundercats)
Doug Cockle (voice of Geralt from The Witcher)
Laura Sindall (professional cosplayer)

This diverse selection of special guests and events makes Wales Comic Con a convention that fans not just want to go to, but need to.

Wales Comic Con will be held on Sunday 29th November and tickets can be bought in advance here.

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