Space Inavders Dice & Kickstarter

A couple weeks ago, I got an email from Miniature Market about their latest clearance sale. I always browse the sales but rarely buy anything. But when I saw this on sale for less than $10 I figured why not check it out.

Note: the invader does not come with the game, he just showed up for the photo shoot.

What you get in the box are a bunch of dice, a pad of score sheets, and a rule book. I have to say, the rule book could have been written better. This isn't a terribly complex game yet I couldn't find answers to a couple questions I had while playing. Thank the Internet gods there is BoardGameGeek.com! There I was able to find better clarification on the rules.

You get one UFO die, 3 fire dice, 8 attack dice, and a pad of score sheets (see below).

 One fan on Board Game Geek made up this sweet custom playing sheet.

I was going to break down how the game plays but decided I'd basically just be posting the rule book and most people don't want to read that. I am not most people. I, for some reason, really enjoy reading game rules and exploring their mechanics.

Here's a quick 4 minute video that covers how to play.

Despite have a couple questions that the rule book couldn't quite answer, I had a lot of fun when I played. I don't know if I'd say a surprising amount but it was definitely more fun that I was thinking it would be. I didn't get as high of a score as Matt here in the video but I did almost clear the board.

The box says the game is for 1-4 players and the rules offer up some options for "multiplayer" but I really think the game will play best solo. In fact, I think this would be a pretty great mobile game to kill some time. That will likely never happen as the company that made this game, Turn One Gaming Supplies, has vanished into the virtual ether. Their former web address now brings you a sketchy site that wants to install something on your PC.

As of this post, Miniature Market still has the game on sale for $7 and I think it's totally worth it at that price if you're a Space Invader fan. They also have a set 6 regular dice with Space Invader graphics replacing the pips for just $3.

If you're looking for something a little meatier for your game night adventures, zip over to Kickstarter and check out the just launched campaign for Space Invaders - The Board Game.

It looks like it could be a good time! And if you've got an extra grand burning a hole in your pocket you can get a limited collectible art piece that is absolutely beautiful.

Dungeon Thief Figure (Spy Monkey Creations)

Spy Monkey Creations dropped a new wave of Battle Tribes a couple weeks ago. While they're pretty darn cool, I usually resist the urge to get one from every wave but this drop had a figure I couldn't pass up, the Dungeon Thief.

As usual, the figure comes with multiple heads and an assortment of equipment, like this punch knife and dagger. This one also comes with a belt which is a separate piece that can be removed. I call this head helmet dwarf. Original, right?

This here is mohawk dwarf with warhammer and spiky shield. I'm not a big fan of the shield piece. Because of the bulky design (more below) they never look like the character is holding it quite right. But where they are pretty genius in their design is the other way you can use them. A quick peg swap in the back of the shield...

And it becomes armor plating for your dino warrior dude!

I love this dino head! I'm no dinosaur-ologist but it reminds me of an Ankylosaurus which is one of my favorite extinct lizards. Note without a beard and the belt, you can see more of the torso graphics.

If you've been reading along and had something nagging at the back of your brain that something is familiar about this figure, you're not wrong.

This is what sold me on the figure. It's very much inspired by the classic LJN Dungeons & Dragons assassin figure Zarak!

They done this head before but I don't think it's ever had such a maniacal look. He's just itchin to get in some trouble!

The Dungeon Thief is still available at Spy Monkey's site along with many other Battle Tribes figures. And if you're a fan of the classic D&D figures, there's one based on the Dwarf. 

If you haven't dipped into the world of Battle Tribes yet, it's never too late. The figures really are a lot of fun because all the figure parts are interchangeable.

Monthly Movie Recap - April 2019

Here we are folks, we made it to Endgame! 

Don't worry if you haven't seen it, no spoilers here.

Shazam (2019, IMAX)
When the trailer came out, I thought DC might be over correcting for their previous Snyder-ness but this was actually the right amount of fun. It's got plenty of humor and heart and there's one unexpected scene that might scare the pants off very young kids. The animated end credits sequence is one of the best things DC has put on film.

Rating: 7/10

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009, Prime)
I'm no hardcore fan but I watched the cartoon and collected the comics and a few toys. That amount of fandom is why I'm having a hard time figuring out how I feel about this flick. If I had no clue about GI Joe going into this, it would have been good enough to get me interested. But knowing what I do, they did so many things wrong. Why does Snake Eyes' mask need a mouth?! It's a fun enough action flick with a dash of sci-tech that could probably be improved by removing a flashback or two or somehow writing them better into the flow.

Rating: 6.5/10, I just can't bring myself to a 7

Eighth Grade (2018, Prime)
No matter who we are, I think we were all Kayla at one point in our lives. There was no internet/social media when I was her age but I can only imagine it just makes figuring out who you are even more difficult. This movie completely embraces the awkwardness of being a young teen and that's what really gives it its heart. Even at my age now, it's still comforting to know everyone else was going through similar things. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I ended up liking this movie. Give it a watch and I can almost guarantee you'll want to be Kayla's BFF.

Rating: 8/10

The Silence (2019, Netflix)
The novel this is based on was released a few years before A Quiet Place so naturally most people will think this is just a knock-off movie. Well, joke's on them because this movie is not great. Kiernan Shipka (Netflix's Sabrina) is the best part of this. The movie seems to take place over a couple weeks at the most and in that time things around them escalates to a weird place. If the movie isn't entertaining me enough where I start asking myself questions about the logic, you've done something wrong.

Rating: 4/10

Don't Knock Twice (2016, Netflix)
I initially passed by this on Netflix because the summary didn't grab me and then someone recommended it so I checked it out. It's a good horror flick with some genuinely creepy moments. I feel like it might want to be The Babadook but there's never that foreboding dread. Not to say that's bad because I really like the lore/urban legend aspect of the Big Bad and the fact that it's something a bit different than your standard horror movie.

Rating: 7/10

*Avengers: Infinity War (2018, Netflix)
Pre-game preparation.

Avengers: Endgame (2019, IMAX 3D)
It's impossible to objectively rate this. It's not a movie you can just watch without having invested a good chunk of time into watching what came before it. That said, it blew me away. There are just so many great moments that put it over the top. It made me laugh and cheer out loud, it might have even got me a little choked up. I was actually tense during the final fight because I didn't know what was going to happen.
On the other (gauntleted) hand, I'm a little mad at them for giving me a good reason for doing things the way they were and then making a mess anyway. All in all, it's a comic book movie, "logic" be damned! I think it's a perfect end to the first 10 years of the MCU. They could stop here and I'd be okay with it.

Rating: 9/10

As always, let me know what you've seen recently that was good, or bad! But please refrain from posting any Endgame spoilers to preserve it for those that haven't seen it yet. Everyone should get to enjoy it as much as I did going in.

Month
New: 6  Rewatch: 1

Year to Date

New: 27  Rewatch: 2