Monthly Media Recap - January 2026

 Before I jump into anything, I want to take a minute and dedicate this post to Will West. If you read this blog, you probably know who he is and that he had a stroke last week. I don't know him personally but he's one of the bloggers that inspires me. He's got such a great voice online and has a lot to say. I know a lot of us in the blog-o-sphere are pulling for him and hope he recovers soon. There's a GoFundMe out there to help out his wife and two girls and they're getting close to their $40k goal. More than anything, I think he's going to be pissed at having to break his weekly blogging streak.

  

 

Gatchaman Progress

Not only did I forget to log this last month, but I've only watched 5 eps since November.

Current ep: 70 

 

Streaming

 

Stranger Things (S1-5, Netflix)

Usually, when a show comes back after a break, I'll find a 30 minute YouTube recap video but I know how much I loved this show and with it being the final season, I re-watched the first four seasons and am so glad I did! Not only did it make the overall story more cohesive but I got to meet the gang again and be reminded of their interpersonal dynamics. I feel like I need a whole post just to talk about the series but I'm lazy. The first couple eps of season 5 didn't quite click but once it did, I was all in. They managed to stick the landing for me. It was satisfying and emotional. I'm going to miss the Hawkins gang so I'll be diving into some of the books this year.

 

History of the World Part II (Hulu) 

At it's best, it was okay. It probably would have been better as a movie instead of a comedy sketch type show. Does not fill me with hope for Spaceballs 2.

 

Movies 

 

M3GAN 2.0 (2025, Prime)

I see why a lot of people didn't like this. I enjoyed the first one but this is is more like a whole new operating system than an upgrade. It's got a more campy tone, is more violent than I remember the first one being and also somehow feels like a superhero movie? If I saw this by itself, I'd probably like the 90s direct to video feel but as a sequel, it doesn't quite deliver what you liked about the original.

 

Rating: 5/10 

 

 

Igniting the Spark - The Story of Magic: The Gathering (2025, Prime)

I was there at GenCon 1993 when MtG debuted and like everyone else, was instantly hooked. At least for a few years and then I got out. Anyway, this doc starts of with the founding of Wizards of the Coast and then how MtG came to be. If you've ever been into the game, I highly recommend checking this out. If you've never played but are a gamer at heart, I still think its interesting to see how a whole new genre of game was developed.

 

Jurassic World Rebirth (2025, Peacock)

How many freakin islands are there?! Despite the very video game plot (they need to get DNA from a water dino, an air dino, and a land dino), this was a pretty solid monster movie. There's no legacy characters to bog it down and I like the assembled by circumstance adventuring group. It may not really do anything new (other than introduce contractually obligated new dinos) but it's a fun ride that stands on its own.

 

Rating: 7/10

 

 

Killing Mary Sue (2025, Prime)

An action comedy that doesn't quite deliver on either premise. I'm guessing they spent most of the budget on the cast because it sure wasn't on the gunfire effects. This movie wants to be cooler than it really is and that's too bad because it could be fun if handled the right way. I'd recommend Becky and The Wrath of Becky instead of this.

 

Rating: 4/10

 

Black Phone 2 (2025, Peacock)

File this under unexpected sequels I didn't know I needed! But didn't The Grabber die in the first one? Yes, yes he did. Horror fans will not doubt draw comparisons to Freddy here but it all works for me. The psychic dream sequences have a fantastic otherworldly creepiness to them (as they should!) and I really liked how they tied it together with the first one.

 

Rating: 7/10

 

 

Marshmallow (2025, Shudder)

This is one of those where you should go in as blind as possible as it keeps you guessing. The kid actors are pretty good and the counselors play their slasher movie stereotypes well. This should be a good gateway horror flick for young teens that want to dip a toe in the pool...or summer camp lake.

 

Rating: 7/10

 

This Month

New: 6   Rewatch: 0

Year to Date

New: 6   Rewatch: 0

Haul-iday Highlights 2025

 This used to be an annual tradition but it looks like I haven't done one since 2022. At any rate, here's a look at some of the goodies left under my holiday tree by various supernatural beings.

 

 We'll start off with these awesome gift tags that Mrs Dex found. Perfect for me!

 

 Sadly, this art print from Spooky Cat Press isn't a full comic magazine!

 

 Speaking of Krampus, here's a weird plush from the Pinhead Monsters line.

 

 Throwing this in here because it's on theme. This was a gift to myself after we saw the author, Jeff Belanger, do his "The Fright Before Christmas" show. It's just him and some slides talking about the origin of Christmas as a holiday in addition to all the weird dark folklore from different countries. Can't recommend this enough if you want to dive into the darker side of winter traditions.

 

 A great set of figures from Disney's Haunted Mansion. All the most popular characters are here and I found it interesting that they picked the mummy to round out the set.

 

 And to go with them, a Disney Racers Haunted Mansion Hot Rod! Love the details on this: Mdme. Leota's headstone on the front and the pipe organ in the back.

 

 The Indy Temple Trekker is sporting the famous hat and whip. The vehicle is based on the design used for the ride vehicle from the Disneyland attraction.

 

 While we're talking Disney, Mrs Dex got me this very cool Tron: Ares light up popcorn...bucket? container? It's pretty sizeable at just over a foot tall!

 

I was very excited to unwrap this Funko of one of my favorite Muppets: Pepe the King Prawn. There's not enough Pepe merch out there! And he's flocked!

 

 Rounding things out with a pair of Star Wars card games. This Solo Solitaire game comes in a tin that looks like Han in carbonite. It's basic "Patience" solitaire with a themed deck of cards. There's a Jedi Master mode where you add two additional cards: Carbon Freeze which "freezes" the lane when it reveals, preventing you from playing or moving cards there, until you play Save Solo on it to remove it.

 

 Finally is the Stay on Target card game, which I really wanted because it comes in that cool Death Star! Each player takes a squadron color and battles their way through Imperial defenses to take a shot at that exhaust port to score victory points.

Boxtop Pinball: Haunted House

 I picked this up last year and meant to include it in the Countdown but never got to it. It's a fun way to bring a pinball-like experience to your table and the graphics are outstanding.

 

 Instead of a ball, each player has their own colored dice that they flick onto the play field to try and score the most points.

 

 Here's the view from the "launch" platform. I love that they included graphics for the coin slots and plunger. Also on each side are images of flipper buttons.

 

 There are three tiers to the board, each with bonus areas and stand-up targets for extra points. The board design is pretty ingenious. Each level is smaller than the previous to fit inside each other when packed in the box.  

 

There are "bumpers" (stand up panels) you can shoot for to double or triple your die score. On the left, you can see one of the little magnifying glass "clues" scattered around that have random point values hidden on the back.

 

 Each of the monster targets sits in front of a "trap door" where you might lose your die! Once everyone has shot their dice, you reset the board to play a total of three rounds then the points are totaled to find the winner.

 

 In my opinion, the art is what really makes the game stand out for me. It really captures the feel of classic pinball art.

 

Here's a quick overview of how the game is played to give you a better look at it. 

 

 

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The Addams Family Board Game (1974)

Ten years after the last Addams Family games came out, Milton Bradley returned to Cemetery Lane for more fun with the frightful family. But this release was based on the short-lived 1973 animated series, which is available on the Internet Archive!

 

Disclaimer: None of the photos in this post are mine. They were sourced from around the internet including BoardgameGeek.com and the And Everything Else Too blog.

  

From the instruction panel:

This weird family does everything different than most folks and this game follow that concept. The object of this game is to lose, not win, for if you win you lose and it's fun either way.

  

The game is a straightforward spin and move with the exception that you don't want to be the first to the end. If you are, you lose!

 

There are a few spaces on the board with instructions that can help or hinder you. If you're "lucky" you might slip on some rocks back to Start, fall down a waterfall, or have Thing lend a hand (sorry, not sorry) to a shortcut back to the beginning. If you land on another player, you get to move them ahead three spaces. 

 

The player movers that come with the game are the average colored pawns like you'd find in Sorry. It was probably cost prohibitive but it'd be fun to have cardboard standees of the family members.  

 

 The 1964 Ideal game had art based on the TV versions of the family. Since the animated series drew (again, not sorry) inspiration from the original Addams comics, that's what we get here along with their animal companions Ali the alligator, Ocho the octopus and Mr. V the vulture. 

 

Fun fact: a 10 year old Jodie Foster supplied the voice for Pugsley in this series!

 

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The Addams Family Games (1964)

 In 1964, Ideal (who else remembers them?) gave us the first Addams Family board game. Unlike most mass market games of its time, it's not your average roll and move.

 

Disclaimer: None of the photos in this post are mine. I'm not lucky enough to own a copy of the game! They were sourced from around the internet including BoardgameGeek.com and Dan Rosenberg from the BGG Facebook group.

 

 The box art is wonderful. You've got the whole family against a nice rendition of the house, bats flying, and for some reason a skeleton watching TV. Seeing this made me start thinking how fun it might be to have had a live action series with animated elements, a la Roger Rabbit, to allow them to do some crazier things.

 

 The board itself it something that could be framed and hung on a wall. 

 

From the inside box lid:

The moon, half hidden behind dark gray clouds, casts weird shadows around the Addams Family Mansion. It is a perfect night for the Addams Family to go on their annual midnight picnic at the nearby cemetery. The only trouble is that the family is scattered all over the house. You must have them meet in front of the house so that they can all leave together. 

 

 

There should be four tiles for each family member. It's not easy finding a good photo of the complete components for a 61 year old game!

 

Each player takes a set of colored chips (referred to as a "man" in the rules) and a tile of each family member. They place one man on the multi-color start space of each family member. Before a player spins, each person selects three of their seven family member tiles in an attempt to predict who will come up on the spinner.

 

If the spinner lands on a family member that you selected, you get to move them the number of indicated spaces. If you were the one that spun, you can either move your man double the amount on the spinner or move an opponent's man backward that number of spaces. If you land on a space with Thing on it, you draw a Thing card and follow the instructions which include things like go back to start or take another turn.

 

Turns continue until one person gets four family members to the house and wins.

 

Also in 1964, another favorite toy manufacturer, Milton Bradley, released The Addams Family Card Game.

  

 

The game is similar to War. The deck is dealt out to all players and each turn they flip a card and compare them to see who wins. 

 

 It differs from War in that these are the only types of cards in the deck. The cards essentially play Rock-Paper-Scissors with each card having one that it wins against, except for Fester/Lurch who are wild and can take all cards. If there's a tie, they continue flipping cards until only one person flips a card matching their original card.

 

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New Hampshire Trip

 Mrs Dex and I took a two day mini-cation to New Hampshire last week to go on a moose excursion. We stayed in Lincoln and visited a few other interesting places there. It's a small town (pop. 1,631 as of 2020 census!) that gets a lot of skiers going to Loon Mountain. Obviously, July is not ski season.

 

The excursion was a lot of fun. It took a few hours of driving around before seeing a moose but the guides on the tour bus kept us entertained and we even got to see a Bullwinkle cartoon. We only got to see one but it was definitely worth it!

 

Haunted Halloween Board Game

In September 2023, I found a Kickstarter for Haunted Halloween, a board game about trick or treating. It had almost everything I would put in my dream trick or treat game, so I had to back it! 

 

In case you're wondering, the only thing really missing that my dream version would have is a "take that" element where you can play tricks on houses...or other players!

The game arrived just in time for Halloween! Being the Hallo-weirdo that I am, I went in for the Deluxe version of the game which includes a lot of fun extras. 

 

I should take this time to mention that this game is put out by Castle Clark, which is a small family owned and operated business. I've been in touch with them regarding a couple issues with the shipping (not their fault) and they have been super!

The back of the box shows what all is included. The Deluxe version extras include 3D printed player figures, ghost figures, candy corn trays to hold the treats you earn, a 3D printed coffin, and a 3D printed Jack-O-Lantern to hold all the candy pieces.

Let's get a closer look after the break!

Halloween Party Card Game

 You're invited to a Halloween Party!

This Halloween Party is put out by Trick or Treat Studios and features really fun art by Drew Rausch. I collect Halloween themed games anyway but having Rausch's art gracing the cards is an extra bonus!

 

Each player is holding their own party on Halloween night, sure to be filled with spooky monsters of all types. However, some guests are better than others. To win, you must try to guess who is at the door and assemble the most festive group of party-goers!

The party-goers come in "suits" of ghosts, vampires, monsters, skeletons, and pumpkin heads. Looking through the cards, you'll no doubt catch references to some well known pop culture representations.

 

 This game is all about bluffing. You have to play a card every turn by sending them face down to the next player's door. If they let them in, the card joins their party. If they decline, the guest joins your party instead. Most of the guests are worth points and some have special effects that might allow you to steal guests from another party or cause guests to leave a party altogether, costing points.

The rules are pretty simple and fit on a small double-sided sheet. 

You can check those out here.

Here's a brief overview of the game.

Halloween Party is available direct from Trick or Treat Studios and I've spotted it in Barnes & Noble.

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Wednesday The Card Game

Step into the woeful game of Wednesday, where darkness reigns and colors cause allergic reactions. To prevent breaking out in hives and having the flesh peel off you bones, you'll use your innate selfishness and stubborn tendencies to collect Deliciously Dark Cards and repel horrible Putrid Color Cards.

 

Wednesday The Card Game is the first orignal game based on the Addams Family inspired Netflix series. There is another card game called Wednesday: Creatures & Outcasts that will also be releasing soon. Whether it turns out to be good or bad, I can't pass up any game based on the Addams Family!

They did a fangtastic job with the packaging. Fans of the show will instant recognize her dorm window that contrasts her personality with that of her roommate, Enid Sinclair, who is just as much into the colorful as Wednesday is into the drab and dreary. 

 

Star Wars Bounty Hunters Card Game (2024)

 I happened to see someone post about this in a Facebook board game group and pretty much ordered it immediately. Who wouldn't want to play a game where you get to play bounty hunters?

The other reason I ordered it is that I really like the art style they used. Some of the characters have a very manga-esque look to them.

Here's a few of the bounty hunters in the game. All the ones from Empire Strikes Back are in there as well as a couple from The Book of Boba Fett. Below them are some of the droids you can "purchase" to help take down your targets.

And these are the targets and contract cards. To "capture" a target, you have to play hunters and/or droids on them to beat all three color shields. Bounty points (top left) start high but each hunter you play reduces the score. Droids don't have an effect on score but cost credits.

Contract cards are a way to earn more points for your bounties. For example, with the first one, each time you capture Qi'ra or Solo, you get one point. (Yes, you can capture targets more than once, they must be pretty hard to lock up!) If you have them both, you get a total of five points, one for each and three for the pair.

I haven't played yet but did read through the rules. It seems like it could be fun but a little weird that bounty hunters negatively impact scoring. Wouldn't it make more sense to have to pay the bounty hunters credits? That's what they do!

 

Also, the contract cards have odd pairings of characters. But these are minor complaints from someone that wants the game to stick to the lore of Star Wars as much as possible.

You can read a review, and detailed explanation of how to play, over at BoardGameGeek.com.

 

If you want to pick up the game, please use this Amazon affiliate link.

1-Up Dice Sets by Infinite Black

I got into D&D at an early age, which naturally lead me to explore other RPGs over the years. Anyone that's ever participated in tabletop role playing will tell you there's one thing you absolutely need: your own set of dice. Sure, there's books upon books for every game but you can always borrow those from a friend, but dice...dice are sacred to some and aren't to be shared.

 

I can't tell you the last time I picked up a die to make a saving throw or an attack roll so a new set of dice is something not even on my radar but when I saw this Kickstarter awhile back I had to get in on it. Not only did it combine RPGs and video games but the packaging really grabbed me.

As you can see, I liked the sets so much, I got two! It was just too hard to pick only one. And I got a few bonus items: silver and gold d20s and a special d2 coin.

Let's dig into the sets!

 

Haunted Halloween Boardgame

 Fully funded in under 48 hours, Haunted Halloween is a game I'm very excited to see coming!

For a long time, I've had this idea for a tabletop game where you play as kids trick or treating. I thought it might be a card game where you pick another player to "trick or treat" at their house. The treats would have different points from 0 for pennies or a toothbrush to 10 for full size candy bars. They would have to give you a treat from their hand or play something like "Lights Out" or "No One Home".  

 

You'd also have trick cards! Get a low score treat or no treat at all? You can play a trick like "Eggs", "TP", or "Flaming Bag of Poo" to boost your points. (Honestly, I just want to make this game to have a FBoP card.) Of course there would be trick counters like "Door Cam" or "Big Kids".

Anyway, this is as far as my idea has gotten but the fine family at Castle Clark Games are Kickstarting this Haunted Halloween board game which feels like the game in my head made real (minus the trick part).

The campaign ends on October 12th so there's still time to jump in on this. I went in for the deluxe edition because the upgraded parts look great. I'm really hoping they add the standee figures as a stretch goal (they may have by the time this post goes live) because seeing the standee figures really takes me back to playing board games as a kid. And if you can't feel like a kid playing a game about Trick or Treating, when can you?

If you happen to be a game designer and my idea sounds cool, please contact me :)

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Star Wars Rivals by Funko Games

I first heard about Star Wars Rivals during the lead up to this year's May the Fourth "celebration." (May 25th will always be Star Wars Day for me!) From what I saw it was going to be a Walmart exclusive and in conjunction with the Fourth, they were supposed to have events or something to kick off the release. 

 

 Now that I'm actually reading the Funko game site, the starter set was available for pre-release online at Walmart starting 5/4 with wider availability in June. Still doesn't explain why I haven't seen any until a few weeks ago. Update: I stopped in Walmart today (7/27) and they had the starter set next to the action figures but the boosters are still in the game section...two aisles apart!

No Starter Sets to be found, just a lonely, single box of booster packs near the board game section. Luckily, you only need one Light Side and one Dark Side to play the game. 

 

We'll break it open after the...well, break. 

Indiana Jones Role Playing Games

In 1984, TSR acquired the license to produce a role playing game based on Indiana Jones. Seems like it would be a sure fire thing, right? In the mid-80s Satanic Panic was in full swing and you couldn't mention RPGs without people immediately going back to D&D. I don't have any supporting evidence that this was responsible in any way for the poor sales but it probably didn't help.

Like all of TSR's RPGs of the day, they released everything you needed to start playing in a boxed set. It included: the rules, dice, world map, a Referee screen, fold-up paper miniature figures, and character sheets for the heroes. A set of metal miniatures was also released for the game.

The rule book has a short adventure to introduce you to the game mechanics as you read each chapter. It was called the Ikons of Ikammanen and the story was actually taken from the first issue of Marvel's The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones from 1983 (more about those in coming weeks!). One of the Adventure Packs, The Fourth Nail, was also based on a couple comic issues.

Funko's Return of the Headless Horseman Game

 If you're a fan of both Disney and tabletop games, you may have noticed Funko has been cranking out games like crazy. Most of them have been based on park attractions like last year's Haunted Mansion game. They've put out so many in recent years, I'm not sure if this is the first one not inspired by an attraction.

Now, I've only fully seen this one and the Haunted Mansion unboxed but I'm guessing they all have the same great level of art and care put into them.

 

Gallop on after the break!

Retro Gaming - Flipsiders by Milton Bradley

 The title is a little misleading. Usually when you hear retro gaming, people are talking about video games but today I'm talking about a series of pocket sized board games from the 80s called Flipsiders released by good ol' Milton Bradley.

Image from Ebay

The reason I picked this particular thing to talk about is that I found one of my games recently while digging through some boxes of stuff. Flipsiders was a series of games that came in a cassette style housing. Everything you needed to play (except the instructions) was inside the cassette: a spinner, four tiny player movers cleverly stored in a small compartment, and a 3 panel game board.

 

The game I have is Dragon Master where two players race to be the first to fight their way through three dungeon levels and defeat the dragon.