BOARD GAMES – Three Reasons to Play “Terror in Meeple City” (previously called “Rampage”) a Review
Terror in Meeple City is a board game where you play a monster who destroys a city, fights other monsters, and eats people. Very much like the old Midway video game Rampage.
In fact it was called Rampage until it was sued by Midway for causing brand confusion. People actually thought the board game was based on the video game.
That said, if the theme sounds like fun to you, you’re definitely going to like this game.
I bought this for my five year old son as a reward for behaving himself in school. Since then, I’ve played it with him, my seven year old daughter, and my three year old son. Besides the fact that the game is really fun to play, today I’ll be giving you three reasons to play Terror in Meeple City.
Let’s get started.
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Great Components
Photo courtesy of Boardgamegeek.com
If you happened to be walking by a group of people playing Terror in Meeple City, you’d probably stop and stare wondering what game was being played. The game looks like no other game. Not only that but they’ll stop to wonder why you’re destroying the game.
You basically build a little city out “Meeples” (the pawns in the game) and some really chunky board tiles. Once you’re done doing that, you then destroy it with your monster.
The artwork on the board is great and every other component that isn’t a board or a card, from the bystanders to the monsters are made out of wood. This is great considering how much abuse these components take throughout the game.
Simple to Learn
Photo courtesy of Boardgamegeek.com
Terror in Meeple City is very easy to learn. On your turn you can do two of four things. Move, destroy a building, throw a car, or use “super Breath.”
This is a dexterity game so that means you’re actually doing physical things to the board. When you want to try to destroy a building, you literally drop, a monster onto the building to knock it down.
If you want to move, you flick a disk that represents your feet. Where that disk lands is where you’re monster moves.
To throw a car you put the car piece on your monster and flick it off to where you want it to go.
And to use your “super breath,” you put your chin on your monster’s head and blow on what you want to blow on.
You earn points on how much you destroy, how many people you “eat,” how many other monsters you beat up and if you accomplish some of the goals in the special cards you get at the beginning of the game.
The game is very simple to understand.
So simple in fact that, as I’ve said above, I’ve played it with my three year old. That said, we don’t play with the secret cards when I play with him because he can’t read thereby making his “secret card” not so secret if I had to tell him what it did.
But the game plays just as good without it. It’s still fun and we have a good time.
Great Replay Value
Photo courtesy of Boardgamegeek.com
At first when you start playing the game, it seems pretty straight forward. There doesn’t seem to be much to it. I’ve found as I’ve played it more and more that this isn’t exactly the case.
The more you play it the more little nuances you begin to find. Different way to use your actions. Little strategies you start picking up. And the Secret power and objective cards really make a difference in how you play as well.
There’s more to this game than you might originally think. That and the fact that it’s fun and simple gives this game a lot of value.
I highly recommend it.
Looking for Good Monster Fun
I really like this game. When my kids ask me to play, I happily agree to do so. It’s just fun and I don’t have to hold back. It’s a dexterity game. It’s very trick as it is.
Everyone is a pretty much on equal footing when you play. You just have to try to figure out the best way to destroy stuff.
This is a great game for kids or adults. I highly recommend it.
COMIC BOOKS – Four Reasons to read Brian Michael Bendis’ First Five Year Run on Avengers.
I’m going to give you the four reasons you should check out the first five year run of Brian Michael Bendis’ Avengers. As well as a list, in order, to read them. Along with an explanation of why you ought to, without spoiling anything.
Why am I focusing only on the first five years of Bendis’ Avengers run? Well, mostly because I didn’t read the later part of his run. Not yet anyway. So I really can’t talk about them in.
Alright so let’s get Started…
He Made the Avengers Cool
I’m sorry but, as a kid, there was pretty much NOTHING that made me interested in reading the Avengers. I used to look at them and wonder, “Who are these losers?” They looked like a poor man’s Justice League.
I used to read Spider-Man comics mostly, and some X-Men comics. That was pretty much it.
Captain America seemed like a joke to me. Ironman wasn’t techy enough for me to like. If he had looked more like an Anime mecha, I would have been all over it.
Thor talked funny and it was hard to understand what he was saying. His universe was too weird and he wasn’t very “Norse.” Scarlett Witch and The Vision where “C” list characters that seemed to be there to fill in the roster.
Antman and Wasp? Lame.
There was nothing about the group that I found intriguing. Then I read Bendis’ House of M
I’ll write more about that below in my recommendations, but I will say this, it was the book that made the Scarlett Witch interesting to me.
This led directly to the Avengers Disassembled storyline which ended up being a great introduction to the Avengers.
I liked them, A LOT. Especially Captain America. Turned out, he was totally awesome.
The story was so brutal and dramatic that it really made you empathize with them. You wanted to follow up on who they were and what they did next.
But then they reintroduced the Avengers in New Avengers: Breakout doing something with the group that they should have done a long time ago. Instead of the “poor man’s Justice League,” Avengers became truly the Marvel Universe’s Justice League.
They took the most popular Marvel Characters in the Marvel U and one or two who weren’t, added a made new superhero that was effectively Superman, and made them the Avengers. Captain America, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Ironman, Spider-Woman, Luke Cage, and The Sentry.
And they were COOL. I mean, how could you not read this book? From that point on, you get hooked.
The Characters
The stories told with these characters were exciting but what really set these books apart are the characters themselves.
The two characters in the team that where considered “C” list characters, Spider-Woman and Luke Cage, became the break out stars of the team.
But over all, it was an all-star cast. You WANTED to see these characters interact and go on adventures. And the new character The Sentry, was a fascinating new superhero.
With “the power of ten exploding suns” he pretty much is one of the two Supermen of the Marvel Universe. The other one being a little used character called Blue Marvel.
But since this is the Marvel Universe, The Sentry had all kinds of horrible, psychological issues. This of course made him fun to read.
In general, it was tough not to like this group of characters and it’s so much fun to read about how they interact with one another.
It’s Addicting
It was so much fun to read about them in fact, that I couldn’t get enough. I started picking up every tradepaper back of their adventures I could get my hands on.
The stories are fun, exciting and addicting. They’re real page turners and you really end up involved emotionally with these characters.
This is exactly what superhero comics is all about. The way these books read are the reason we read superhero comics in the first place.
It’s Epic
The stories that Bendis tells with this team is pretty epic. Things don’t stay the same for too long. The team changes splits up and comes back together in different ways through out the five year run.
Epic storylines like, House of M, Avenger Disassembled, Civil War, to it’s even more epic aftermath, The Ultron Initiative, The Venom Bomb, the Secret Invasion, the Dark Avengers and finally The Siege. It’s an over the top insane epic ride.
Through it all, the stories stay really personal and character based while sill being grand in scope. It’s pretty amazing.
Where to Start
So if all this sounds right up your alley, I made a list with links to where you can purchase the books either in print on digitally. I’ll also give you some small spoiler free thoughts on each book.
Just to be clear, the blue header links and the picture are links to the print book on Amazon and they’re affiliate links (thanks for your support). The links under “Digital Comics Link” are links to Comixology (they are not affiliate links):
This is where it all kinda starts. The events in this story set up the events in the New Avengers books. That means, even though it’s not about the Avengers, it’s still a really good story, and it’s good to know what happens in it.
This is the ultimate, “get me started” volume. It contains about 40+ comics. From Avenger: Disassembledto New Avengers #31 and more. It’s the most hassle free and cheapest way to get caught up.
This is the only non Bendis book on the list. I didn’t read the Avengers tie ins to this story either. That said, you need to read this because the events set up Avengers stories in New Avengers and Mighty Avengers.
After Civil War, certain things change in the Avengers universe. There’s two Avengers teams. These are the stories that occur under Ironman’s Avengers.
The last of the stories featuring the other Avengers team. These stories directly set up the invasion that occurs next.
The version I won compiles Vol. 7 – 10 in three volumes. I couldn’t find a link to those versions of the books. Seems like they’re now out of print, so instead I’m linking to the individual trade paperbacks.
The grand finale of this long Avengers Saga that began with House of M. To be honest, it was a bit weaker than I would have liked for a finale, but the journey was great and worth taking.
SUPERHEROES/ROLE PLAYING GAMES – Six of the Best Superhero Tabletop Role Playing Games
There’s a TON of Superhero Tabletop Role Playing Games (RPGs) out there. I own quite a few. I thought I’d point out six that are worth taking a closer look at.
These are by no means the only ones worth looking at. Just a few of the good ones.
If you’ve read my blog enough, you know I love the superhero genre and I also like tabletop RPGs.
I also, occasionally run games. When a person does this, they are usually called a “Game Master” or GM for short.
Some tabletop RPGs are “crunchier” than other. Which is to say, they have more complicated rules. Others are not so bad. Some take more effort to GM, others take less because of the rules and resources available. Some are even easy to improvise.
Some games allow a lot of versatility in character creation and gameplay. Others are more restrictive.
Champions is the granddaddy of the superhero tabletop RPG genre…well…sort of. I should say, it’s the granddaddy of the versatile, character generating, superhero Tabletop RPG genre.
ChampionsComplete is the latest 6th edition of the HERO system rules in one books.
Versatility
When it comes to character creation you can create anything you can imagine. The sky’s the limit. The HERO system is especially designed to be the most versatile rpg out there. Its deep.
As far as versatility of superhero play and how well is simulates comics, it’s good but not great. You can’t get too creative with your powers. If you want to do a crazy stunt that fudges the boundaries of your powers, you pretty much can’t do it. If you didn’t buy the ability, it’s off limits.
Crunch – Very High
This system is deep, the basics of the system is actually very simple, but it’s very granular. It can make for some slow deep fights.
The character creation can be a huge burden. Lot’s of math, lots of looking stuff up. We’re talking hours per character.
It’s best to buy the computer program that helps you generate characters, if you’re going to be using this system a lot.
GM Friendliness
As I said before, the gameplay system is deep. It will take a lot of work to really learn it so that it plays fast. Character creation is just too much work. Which means inventing characters on the fly is out. Hours of prep work will be needed.
However, the Champions source book is an encyclopedia of superhero ideas and resources worth owning even if you’re not planning to run this system.
Mutants and Masterminds (M&M) might as well be called “Son of Champions.” It’s a slightly less math intensive version of the HERO System. Although the M&M is a superhero system, only.
It’s based on a slightly streamline version of the D20 system.
Versatility
M&M is just as versatile as Champions. Any superhero and power you can think to create you can create. The sky’s the limit.
As to the versatility of play in how it captures the comic book feel, it’s quite good. Players get “Hero points” which can be spent on “stunts” that allow them an occasional, one time only, extra power or rules brake when the story or moment calls for it.
This makes the M&M game feel more superheroic .
Crunch – High
The game play system is simple in theory. However there’s a lot of small crunchy rules to keep track of.
It’s much easier to make supers in M&M. However, it’s still not fast. Character creation takes quite a bit of time and there’s still a bit of math and looking up powers involved.
GM Friendliness
Again, because of the time it takes to make characters, it’s difficult to make characters on the fly. However, the best thing about M&M is that it had the DC Universe license and you can get the DC Adventures Heroes Handbook with stats of the DC heroes in them. In fact, this is the version I own and I love it.
Source books for running different superhero genres in M&M are great too.
Like HERO System, Savage Worlds is meant to be a complete and versatile system. It’s also meant to be a faster and simpler playing game.
The Superheroes Companion is a source book for Savage Worlds that helps you play superheroes in the system.
Versatility
In order to cut down on complexity, the versatility of the types of characters and power that can be created using the Superheroes Companion isn’t as robust as in Champions and M&M. That said, it’s not bad at all.
However, it does capture the heroics of superhero play very well. Players get points called “Beanies” that are awarded to the player by the GM or other players which can be used to do superheroic stuff and break rules.
Also, the inclusion of “exploding dice” just takes it over the top. “Exploding dice” is when you roll the highest number on a die and when you do, you get to roll it again and add the extra number to the roll.
Crunch – Medium
Character creation can take about 30 minutes or less in the system. Almost no math required.
Fighting is fast, furious and fun. Everything is very straight forward. Super easy system to learn.
It’s one of my personal favorite systems.
GM Friendliness
One of the few systems, that I know of, which require almost no prep time. You can easily make characters up on the spot.
Fights are really fast. The system is super easy to learn. It’s really a great system to GM.
BASH! was especially designed for kids and for education. It was designed to be simple enough for almost anyone to pick up and play.
Versatility
It’s not quite as robust as Champions and M&M but it’s quite good. Character creation is quick and easy.
As some other games above, BASH! has what it calls a “Hero Point” which every character is given at the beginning a session. It allows rules breaking to simulate heroic action. It also includes type of “exploding dice” that occurs when doubles are rolled.
Crunch – Medium
The game play system is simple but it’s very math heavy, requiring multiplication. The reasoning for this is to teach math calculations to kids as the game is played.
It’s not as bad as it sounds. I kinda found myself looking forward to the math. It’s very helpful.
Character creation is very simple and fast.
GM Friendliness
Very easy to improvise. Characters can be created on the spot.
Resources for the game are a bit limited, but a lot of them are free.
Not as many resources in the system to help a GM come up with story ideas.
A simpler superhero game from the designer of Mutants and Masterminds. This is the pick up and play superheroes game based on the FATE system.
Versatility
This game is not meant to have a versatile character creation system. It’s simply supposed to be fast.
You randomly roll up a character, and in about fifteen minutes, you’re ready to play. There is an optional point buy system but it’s not as fun as rolling up a character. The powers here are limited.
However, the gameplay is VERY open. It’s a very versatile system in that it allows players to really play out their powers in a very limitless way.
Crunch –Lite
The game is based on the FATE system. It’s really a very lite system. Easy to pick up. Easy to understand.
GM Friendliness
This is a very easy and fun system. It’s unique and expressive. You can play this game without prep time. Characters can be created on the spot.
Resources for story and adventure creation aren’t very robust.
Still, this is a great system. Especially if you just want to get a game up and running fast.
Prowlers & Paragons (P&P) is the game I just recently became aware of. The art for the game really caught my eye. It’s the best things about the books.
That said, it’s also a pretty good system.
Versatility
Like Champions and M&M, character creation in P&P is very robust. You can make anything you can think to make and you can do it relatively quick.
This systems emphasizes, storytelling over rules. This makes it very easy to simulate superheroic situations you might find in comics.
It has a points systems called “Resolve” that is awarded to players many different ways. The “Resolve” points can be use do to, many things that play up the heroic aspects of characters in play.
It also has an “exploding dice” system, that only make the game that much cooler.
Crunch – Lite
P&P is very rules lite. It’s meant to be more about the story than the mechanics. The mechanics are there mostly to enforce creativity.
It’s easy to learn, and easy to play.
Character creation is simple. Almost no math required…almost.
GM Friendliness
When the players are inputting as much story into the game as the GM, it can only make the game easier to run. This is much more a collaborative storytelling session than it is the GM having to come up with everything.
Characters can be improvised on the fly. There’s plenty of resources and idea generators in the book to help create adventures.
Great superhero game system.
What’s Your Favorite System
Do you play superhero tabletop RPGs? What’s you’re favorite? Let me know in the comments below.
Want Me to Draw Your RPG Superhero Character?
I’m currently experimenting and I’m curious about maybe drawing some superhero characters that you may have made up. I’ll do them from free (for a limited time.) I’d just like your permission to make a video of me drawing it.
Let me know if you’re interested by commenting below.
SUPERHEROES/TV SHOWS – What to Watch if you Like the ARROW TV Show.
The TV show Arrow has introduced Green Arrow to a larger audience than the comics have. If it’s made you a fan of the character and makes you crave a bit more of him, I’ll show you where to get more.
Besides the comics, which I recommend, there are other shows Green Arrow makes an appearance in that you might be interested in. So I’ve made a list.
While picking up Black Canary at the airport, Count Vertigo and the Merlin show up and are up to no good.
If you’re curious about how different the Arrow TV show is to the Green Arrow character as he’s originally been written in the comics, this is a great way to find out.
In JLU, you will get much deeper into the character of Green Arrow than you do in the animated short above. You especially, get to see how well he interacts with other superheroes like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.
He’s a very entertaining guy on his own but when he meets Black Canary in the show, it gets even more fun.
If you’re interested, here are the episodes of the shows where he is most prominently featured:
My favorite animated superhero cartoon also features Green Arrow, although, not a lot. He only make a substantial appearance in two episodes in season 2 of the show, and one is very dramatic. Those episodes are:
“Salvage”
“Satisfaction”
The thing that makes Green Arrow worth watching in the show is his relationship with Roy Harker, his protégé. Roy in Young Justice reminds me a lot of the Roy in the Arrow TV show.
I think, as a fan of Arrow, you might find this version of Roy fascinating. Especially when you discover what happens to him in season 2.
If you’re more interested in a live action version of Green Arrow, you can always give the Green Arrow of Smallville a try.
This version of the character was played by Justin Heartley and is no where near as dark and brooding as the Oliver in Arrow Still, he’s very much the antihero of the show.
That said, he’s no less interesting and heroic. He’s also quite a bit wittier and much more humorous.
Green Arrow made his appearance beginning is season 6 of Smallville and he stayed on till the show’s end. His role in the show is pretty significant .
I recommend giving this Green Arrow a try as well.
What Did I Miss?
Did I miss anything? Let me know on the comments below.
Otherwise, what do you think? Have you watched any of the things above? What do you think of my suggestions? Comment below.
Today I’m writing about the best computer generated animated movies that have come out in recent years.
This type of animated film is relatively new, but it’s really taken animated storytelling and managed to broaden it greatly. Especially in the eyes of mainstream audiences.
You’d think this list would be dominated only by Pixar and Dreamworks films. Well, you’d almost be right, but I decided to clump some of the Pixar and Dreamworks CG films into series. This frees up the list to allow other great CG films to get put on the list.
So let’s get started.
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There have been many directors who have attempted to make motion capture movies that look right. Beowulf,Polar Express, A Christmas Carol, all have gone into the “uncanny valley” territory, that happens when the you rely too heavily on the computer to do all the work.
This has made these movies, not only ugly, but not worth watching.
Along came Tin Tin. A motion capture CG movie done right.
Tin Tin does away with the attempt of making it’s characters super realistic. Also, when watching Tin Tin, it becomes obvious that the animators enhanced and touched up the motion capture until it looked just right.
I’m pretty sure they added and took away from the performances to make it all work. THIS is how motion capture is done well. When motion capture and animators work together in harmony to make something animate look right.
On top of that, the movie was directed by none other than Steven Spielberg. The movie comes across like an adventure movie in the same vain as his best Indiana Jones movies. It’s so much fun.
More animated movies should be in this genre. I’m looking forward to the sequel.
Rango was a unexpected surprise. A great western told with animals.
The unique look and feel of this movie was fascinating. It was odd, quirky, and fun.
Watching Rango, I wasn’t expecting much of anything, but it was a great surprise. Fun story, interesting characters, a unique genre. It really blew me away.
It became one of my favorite CG movies. A must watch for anyone who’s a fan of CG animated movies and westerns.
I have to admit, I’m a little bias about this one. I went to Sony animation studio to visit a friend when this movie was in development. I had lunch with the concept artists and I was blown away by the concept art for this movie.
This movie is totally fun and completely underrated. Mostly because it has been overshadowed another movie with singing and dancing penguins, whose name we will not mention.
Surf’s Up is nothing like that other movie.
So much of the dialogue is improvised by the actors. It’s funny, and that art direction is beautiful. The character designs are fantastic, the animation acting it awesome.
Also the water effects are pretty spectacular.
This movie is great. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it.
Oh boy, this movie rocks. One of the funniest CG animated movies ever.
It also doesn’t actually look like a typical CG movie. It actually looks like the movie was animated using Legos
It’s a surprisingly deeper movie than it seems at first.
It was written and directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the guys who brought us Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. A movie that also belongs on this list (only if it was on this list Tin Tin would be knocked off so I’m mentioning it here.)
This movie is super awesome. It’s about Legos and who doesn’t love Legos?
I had to put at least one Disney movie in this list. Tangled made my list for a few reasons. It’s a typical Disney formula princes movie that actually works well.
The art direction is beautiful. I love the colors.
I like the character designs of the protagonists a lot.
And it’s the last Disney movie Glen Keane worked on before he left Disney.
If you were to watch a CG Disney movie, this is the one I’d recommend. Yes, I like it more than Frozen.
Again, I’m clumping all the movies together here for the same reason I clumped the Toy Story movies.
I love Kung Fu, and I love animated action movies. These movies combine the things I love and makes them work really well in an action comedy environment.
These movies where a great idea, well executed.
Great action, great story, great designs, fantastic animated acting. You can’t go wrong.
It’s tough for a CG movie to beat this movie for me. It has superheroes in it, great look, a great setting, fantastic characters, amazing action, and exciting and moving story, and it’s so relateable.
The acting is amazing, it’s funny…it’s got a great director…I mean, it’s just so good.
It’s absolutely the best CG movie made so far. It’s a tough movie to beat.
What are Your Thoughts?
Did I miss your favorite? Have you seen all these movies? Do you think I’m missing anything?