Approaches To Grieving (Ffvii Spoiler)

I have recently been replaying ffvii in preparation for the remake.

One feature I had failed to notice previously is the manner in which each of the party members react to the death of Aeris.

It is a really beautiful moment in which we see something of the depth of characterisation in the party members expressed as well as it could be given the playstation's graphical limitations.

Take a look at the video and see for yourself.

FF7 - All Character Reactions To Aeris' Death

I particularly like Yuffi's scene which I think shows her offering some prayers for Aeris, she then tries to hold herself together before collapsing upon Cloud in tears. What I liked about this was 1) It disclosed her commitment to the religion of her ancestor's 'the dragon gods' of which we hear almost nothing about it the game, 2) it shows her deep affection and perhaps even crush towards Cloud (note how of all the dating scenes Yuffi is the only girl who actually chooses to kiss Cloud for herself) 3) It shows the softness of Yuffi and even the sensitivity underneath her tough exterior.

I could probably offer a similar analysis for each of the other characters in their specific manner of mourning the tragic death of Aeris, but I will leave you to do that.

What I will add is that the different reactions also parallel some of the common responses I often see towards death in my work as hospital chaplain. The game is pretty true to life in the different responses death can bring out in people. 

In fact I actually like Cait Sith's ultra weird response- for me this response is actually genuine and common, the person who tries to cheer up the situation in some way or is ridiculously jolly as their loved one is passing, but this is really just a mask for the underlying gnawing sense of grief. I think in Cait Sith's position that also is particularly appropriate given that his betrayal of the party can easily be seen as a cause in bringing about the death of Aeris through the handing over of the keystone... perhaps... I'm not so sure about that now, ... all the same laughter is often a cloak for tears deep down.

In this month of November, the month for remembering the Holy Souls in Purgatory it is salutary to call to mind the eternal truths- death, judgement, heaven and hell. Each one of us will die, each one of us will be judged... perhaps some will mourn our deaths for a little while, but then, ultimately we will all be forgotten. Our souls however will continue, either in heaven, or for the vast majority, in hell. 

Stay on the narrow road, in the One True Catholic Church and go to confession regularly.

Buds, Blooms, And Thorns - A New Board Game Review Series From GJJ Games For 2020!

If you've been following GJJ Games for a while you may have noticed that over the past few years I've slowed down drastically in the number of game reviews I've posted.  My older sons have gotten more involved in a lot of other activities, my youngest is now a whirlwind of attention devouring cuteness, and life has just gotten a lot busier in general.  This means I have somewhat less time for games, particularly in what used to constitute my free time when I used to write reviews.  I have a review queue that hasn't gotten any smaller in the last two years, not because I haven't played most of the games, but because I haven't had the time or energy to write up the reviews.

In 2020 I want to rectify that situation.  I started GJJ Games in part because I wanted to provide honest, critical, and constructive reviews of games I played and liked (or didn't like).  This new series of reviews is my attempt at getting back to my roots.

Buds, Blooms, and Thorns will take a concept for feedback and evaluation that I learned about through my leadership training in Scouts BSA.  I've adapted the concept a bit to fit my idea of game reviews, but I think it still applies.

My intent for this series is to provide a brief overview of things I liked, didn't like, and want to explore more about each game.  I'm dropping my long overview of how to play games (there are other places to look for rules explanations) that I've included in my reviews so far.  I also won't be following a set rubric like I did with my Full Reviews.  These reviews will be more about my impressions of the games after the first few plays (sometimes just one, sometimes several).  I think first impressions are very important in modern hobby games.  With so many great games coming out every week, a game really has to be special, and make that known right away, to succeed.  If a game can't grab your attention on the first play it'll be that much easier to ignore it and move on to the next shiny thing.

The format for these reviews will be very consistent and shorter, which means it'll be easier for me to write them.  Reviews will be divided into eight sections:

• Vitals: This will show the game name, designer, publisher, MSRP, and gameplay stats (player count, time, and age).
• Introduction: This will be a single paragraph giving a very quick overview of the game.  Depending on how pressed for time I am, I may just copy the publisher's description of the game (which will be noted if I do).
• Blooms: This will be a bullet list of stand-out features of the game; things I particularly liked or that the game does exceptionally well.
• Buds: This will be a bullet list of things I think are interesting about the game and I'd like to explore more.  They may not have wowed me initially, but are areas of the game I'd like to pay attention to in repeated playthroughs.
• Thorns: This will be a bullet list of things I didn't like about the game, or any issues I feel are noteworthy.  This could range from something as simple as an odd choice of artwork or as major as a mechanic I feel is broken or poorly designed.
• Final Thoughts: This will be a paragraph with my overall impression of the game.  I may choose to expound on points above if I feel additional explanation is warranted.
• Buds, Blooms, and Thorns Rating: Each game will receive a rating of Thorn, Bud, or Bloom.  This roughly corresponds to my Full and Quick Review ratings of 5/54 or less for Thorns, 5.5/55 to 7.5/75 for Buds, and 7.5/75 or higher for Blooms.  A graphic with the rating will be shown here.
• Pictures: If I took any pictures of the game I'll include them here.  I won't be taking dozens of component and gameplay pictures like in previous reviews, but I'll try to include a few gameplay photos so people can see the games in action.

I've also updated my brief description of GJJ Games Reviews that is at the bottom of every review.  This is at the bottom of this post and will be on every review I do going forward.  

Look for my first Buds, Blooms, and Thorns review coming later today!  I'm looking forward to getting caught up on my review queue and finally delivering on my promise to review these games.  Let me know what you think!

Bloom!  This game is great and worth
adding to your collection!  It should be
on just about every gamer's shelf. 

Bud!  This game definitely has some
great moments.  It's good for several plays
and should appeal to most gamers, especially
if you enjoy other games like this.

Thorn!  I can't quite recommend this game,
although you may enjoy it if you like games
like this.  I feel this game has some flaws and
there are areas that it could improve in the
experience it provides.

GJJ Games Reviews are independent, unpaid reviews of games I, George Jaros, have played with my family and friends.  Some of these games I own, some are owned by friends, some are borrowed, and some were provided by a publisher or designer for my honest feedback and evaluation.  I make every attempt to be both honest and constructively critical in my reviews, and they are all my opinions.  There are four types of reviews on GJJ Games: Full Reviews feature critical reviews based on a rubric and games receive a rating from 0 to 100.  Quick Reviews and Kickstarter Previews are either shorter reviews of published games or detailed preview reviews of crowdfunding games that will receive a rating from 0 to 10 based on my impressions of the game.  Buds, Blooms,and Thorns reviews are shorter reviews of either published or upcoming games that highlight three aspects of a game: Buds are parts of a game I look forward to exploring more, Blooms are outstanding features of a game, and Thorns are shortcomings of a game.  Each BBT review game will receive an overall rating of Thorn, Bud, or Bloom.

Christmas 2018

Thank you all so much for everything this year. It means so much to me that you are all enjoying and contributing to the show. Sarah and I wish you all the best holiday season ever.

Paul Rickards Pen Plotter site
Puerto Rican Christmas music from Eugenio
More from Eugenio
A little bit more from Eugenio 
Pixel Advocate Podcast
Waveback Podcast
Gal Walks Into A Comic Shop Podcast 
Bill's The Escapist website

(106 MB) Download Hitman 3 Contracts Game Highly Compressed For Pc

Download Hitman 3 Contracts Game Highly Compressed For Pc

Screenshot

System Requirements of Hitman Contracts PC Game

Before you start Hitman Contracts Free Download make sure your PC meets minimum system requirements

• Operating System: Windows XP/ Windows Vista/ Windows 7/ Windows 8 and 8.1
• CPU:Pentium 4 1.6 GHz
• RAM: 256 MB
• Setup Size: 106 MB

Suzy Cube Update: March 23, 2018

#SuzyCube #gamedev #indiedev #madewithunity @NoodlecakeGames 

A very late and very short update...

Read more »

Louard's game design sounding board and home of the Pro's and Con's reviews.

Complex But Not Complicated

To me, the best games are the ones with rules that provide a structure for making moves towards victory, then get out of the way and let you play. I don't like games where an encyclopedic knowledge of the rules gives an advantage, and I can't stand games where it's possible to win on a technicality. The advantage should come with the ability to understand the consequences of making a particular play, like thinking several moves ahead in chess.

Twilight Struggle is a good game for that reason. It gives players a relatively simple set of options on their turn, primarily by playing cards for one of two purposes: either to spread their influence on the board, or to enact a more specific game effect that targets a particular location or gives some other in-game advantage. Simple options, but a lot to think about and try to plan for.

In Twilight Struggle, two players vie for control of the world during the Cold War of 1945-1989. The board represents a map of the world, with players placing competing levels on influence in the various countries depicted with an eye towards controlling particular regions. Scoring cards are played at various points in the game, so the goal is to set up your influence to take advantage of the scoring cards you have, but also to anticipate what your opponent is trying to do based on where they are placing their influence.

Another option each turn is to spend cards to progress with the Space Race. Achieving space-based advances does give an advantage, especially to whichever player gets to each milestone first, so (much like in the real world at the time) it's something that can't just be ignored. I'm not sure if it's intentional or not, but in all of our plays we've found the space race to be an annoying distraction due to the amount of time a player needs to spend on it and the random, hard to predict results. I wonder if the military commanders of the time felt the same way?

There is also a Military Operations track which requires both players to engage in roughly the same amount of aggressive military action each turn, an interesting balancing mechanic that slyly represents the sabre-rattling and chest-thumping that often occurs between world powers. However, too much military action will advance the DefCon marker, and if it gets pushed too far nuclear war breaks out and the game immediately ends. This is where the real brilliance of this game lies, and where it perfectly reflects the world it takes place in, as the two players constantly need to look at how far they can push things without going too far.

Like the best strategy games, Twilight Struggle gives you a lot to think about during play, without bogging you down in complicated rules that need to constantly be referred to. The strategy and maneuvering

It's a great game design for what it is trying to do, and you could even argue that it's educational, sparking the imagination about this unique period in world history. Unfortunately the game's presentation is more textbook than Hollywood blockbuster, and the game's graphic design is very...utilitarian, which is what I think has held this game back from gaining a wider spotlight. On the other hand, it has been in print continuously for 15 years, so I suppose it's finding its audience.

Rating 4 (out of 5): It's a 2-player game that takes a while to play so it doesn't come out that often, but we always enjoy it in spite of its somewhat dry presentation.

• Twilight Struggle official website
• Twilight Struggle on BoardGameGeek

People Behind The Meeples - Episode 206: Charley Cross

Welcome to People Behind the Meeples, a series of interviews with indie game designers.  Here you'll find out more than you ever wanted to know about the people who make the best games that you may or may not have heard of before.  If you'd like to be featured, head over to http://gjjgames.blogspot.com/p/game-designer-interview-questionnaire.html and fill out the questionnaire! You can find all the interviews here: People Behind the Meeples. Support me on Patreon!

---

Name:	Charley Cross
Email:	charleycross@arboartsllc.com
Location:	Springfield, IL
Day Job:	Work at an elementary school part time, carpenter part time, game designer full time.
Designing:	Over ten years!
Facebook:	Arbo Arts LLC
YouTube:	R'Bow
Other:	Not yet.
Find my games at:	Just direct right now.

Today's Interview is with:

Charley Cross
Interviewed on: 8/16/2019

This week we get to meet Charley Cross, a designer from Springfield, Illinois who likes to make casual, family style card games. You can currently buy a copy of R'Bow, a light color matching, card shedding game with similarities to classics like Uno and Skip-Bo from Arbo Arts, LLC. He's also working on a game called QUEUE and others! Read on to learn more about Charley and his other projects.

Some Basics
Tell me a bit about yourself.

How long have you been designing tabletop games?
Over ten years!

Why did you start designing tabletop games?
I realized that I have a talent for creating really good family style games.

What game or games are you currently working on?
R'Bow, Queue, and several others not yet ready to discuss.

Have you designed any games that have been published?
R'Bow

What is your day job?
Work at an elementary school part time, carpenter part time, game designer full time.

Your Gaming Tastes
My readers would like to know more about you as a gamer.

Where do you prefer to play games?
Home, Parties

Who do you normally game with?
Friends and family

If you were to invite a few friends together for game night tonight, what games would you play?
They really like Queue. R'Bow, and sometimes Spades.

And what snacks would you eat?
Chips, Dip, Hummus

Do you like to have music playing while you play games? If so, what kind?
Not really, like the conversation.

What's your favorite FLGS?
Titan, Springfield, IL

What is your current favorite game? Least favorite that you still enjoy? Worst game you ever played?
Favorite QUEUE. Least but enjoy, Trivial Pursuit. Worst: Old Commodore Game: Docking a Space Shuttle.

What is your favorite game mechanic? How about your least favorite?
Favorite is shedding or collecting. Least is wagering.

What's your favorite game that you just can't ever seem to get to the table?
A lot of people do not want to play Monopoly, but they rarely play it by the actual rules, so it goes on forever. I understand, but if you play it by the exact rules it is a real challenge and doesn't usually take that long.

What styles of games do you play?
I like to play Card Games

Do you design different styles of games than what you play?
I like to design Board Games, Card Games, Other Games?

OK, here's a pretty polarizing game. Do you like and play Cards Against Humanity?
No

You as a Designer
OK, now the bit that sets you apart from the typical gamer. Let's find out about you as a game designer.

When you design games, do you come up with a theme first and build the mechanics around that? Or do you come up with mechanics and then add a theme? Or something else?
My games are all modifications of a specific theme.

Have you ever entered or won a game design competition?
no

Do you have a current favorite game designer or idol?
no

Where or when or how do you get your inspiration or come up with your best ideas?
I start with a basic structure and keep adding and subtracting options.

How do you go about playtesting your games?
Family and friends.

Do you like to work alone or as part of a team? Co-designers, artists, etc.?
Alone mostly, and with my husband.

What do you feel is your biggest challenge as a game designer?
I have already conquered several. The biggest one now is exposure.

If you could design a game within any IP, what would it be?
One of the family favorites like UNO, Rook, Phase 10 etc.

What do you wish someone had told you a long time ago about designing games?
Cover all your bases before you spend any money.

What advice would you like to share about designing games?
Seek advice, be self critical, and believe in your project.

Would you like to tell my readers what games you're working on and how far along they are?
Published games, I have: R'Bow Have a few thousand, will sell these to see how well people like them.
Games that will soon be published are: Queue: Will hopefully publish this year or early next year
I'm planning to crowdfund: Hope to approach Kickstarter as soon as I build more of an online presence.
Games I feel are in the final development and tweaking stage are: We are ready to go.
Games that I'm playtesting are: We are ready to go.

Are you a member of any Facebook or other design groups? (Game Maker's Lab, Card and Board Game Developers Guild, etc.)
no.

And the oddly personal, but harmless stuff…
OK, enough of the game stuff, let's find out what really makes you tick! These are the questions that I'm sure are on everyone's minds!

Star Trek or Star Wars? Coke or Pepsi? VHS or Betamax?
Star Trek, No High Fructose Corn Syrup!!! VHS

What hobbies do you have besides tabletop games?
carpentry, music, opera, theatre, cooking, gardening.

What is something you learned in the last week?
My adult daughter is dating someone.

Favorite type of music? Books? Movies?
blues, motown, mozart, books, sci fi and historical fiction, action

What was the last book you read?
Les Miserables

Do you play any musical instruments?
no

Tell us something about yourself that you think might surprise people.
I have lived in over thirty places.

Tell us about something crazy that you once did.
rope swing on cliff above creek, couldn't reach it from the ground so I jumped off the cliff (low one) to catch the rope in mid air. I missed.

Biggest accident that turned out awesome?
Speeded up my car and used a driveway as a ramp to avoid a collision and landed straddling a ditch, saving myself and my coworker.

Who is your idol?
Bernie Sanders

What would you do if you had a time machine?
Break it into very small bits before I destroyed the world with it.

Are you an extrovert or introvert?
extrovert

If you could be any superhero, which one would you be?
I am actually Superman.

Have any pets?
Not in a long time.

When the next asteroid hits Earth, causing the Yellowstone caldera to explode, California to fall into the ocean, the sea levels to rise, and the next ice age to set in, what current games or other pastimes do you think (or hope) will survive into the next era of human civilization? What do you hope is underneath that asteroid to be wiped out of the human consciousness forever?
QUEUE. Racism just has to go.

If you'd like to send a shout out to anyone, anyone at all, here's your chance (I can't guarantee they'll read this though):
Everybody. Play QUEUE. It really is the best card game since someone took a game played with two decks of playing cards, dressed it up, and became the most successful game since King's Reverse.

Just a Bit More
Thanks for answering all my crazy questions! Is there anything else you'd like to tell my readers?

Email me, I will answer.

---

Thank you for reading this People Behind the Meeples indie game designer interview! You can find all the interviews here: People Behind the Meeples and if you'd like to be featured yourself, you can fill out the questionnaire here: http://gjjgames.blogspot.com/p/game-designer-interview-questionnaire.html

Did you like this interview?  Please show your support: Support me on Patreon! Or click the heart at Board Game Links , like GJJ Games on Facebook , or follow on Twitter .  And be sure to check out my games on  Tabletop Generation.

Riders Of The Pony Express - Map Board Thoughts

I originally tried to use a thematic prototype board for Riders of the Pony Express:

(I had drawn routes on this image)

But while iterating on the design, I quickly switched to a more schematic type of board:

A few iterations later, and that schematic turned into a bigger, more grid-like schematic:

I had originally wanted the routs to be asymmetric, so the board geography would be more interesting, but then I realized that that's what the hazard tiles are for! So I made the symmetric board shown above, with the "shortest" routes being the north-south and east-west ones, and the longest routes being the diagonal ones. The "cost" of the routes is supposed to represent the distance and danger of taking the route, and you pay it by advancing that number of spaces on the time track. At the end of the round, you collect a bonus based on your position on the time track - the farther you have gone, the less money (points) you receive as a bonus.

Hazard tiles will be placed in each of those red squares along the routes, which will add anywhere from +0 (tumbleweed) to +5 (mountain) to the route. These randomly placed hazards serve to make the board asymmetric, and to make certain towns easier to get to than others, or certain routes more expensive than others. This way, the board itself can be a simple grid, but the routes can be dynamic and interesting.

That's all well and good for testing a prototype, but when it comes to getting serious about the design, it would be great to figure out how to represent this schematic board in a more thematic way. In addition, the game is currently a bit fiddly to set up due to having to draw a bunch of hazard and items tiles, place them on the board, and then return some of them to the bag. One of my testers had the great idea of combining a few of the hazards onto single, bigger tiles, so that setup is easier, quicker, and less fiddly.

I wasn't sure how to do that at first, and I'd prefer to also make the board look less like a grid and more like an organic map. However, so far I've only managed to come up with this tessellation, which I think will work just like the schematic above, but with the hazards printed on them. Some of those hazard spaces could be empty, to be filled in later rounds as normal:

 This could work out OK, but I don't know if it attracts me as much as an organic-seeming geography. In any case, it could be a step in the right direction.

If the board were made up of tessellated tiles like this, then it might be good to keep the name of the towns fixed. To facilitate that, I was thinking that each tile could have a hole in it,  so the town would show through the holes. This could hep keep it both thematically more accurate, and also easier or players to remember which town is where!

So what do you think? Should I stick with this tessellated tile idea? Or find another way to improve the board for the game?

Brave Browser the Best privacy-focused product of 2020

Out of all the privacy-focused products and apps available on the market, Brave has been voted the best. Other winners of Product Hunt's Golden Kitty awards showed that there was a huge interest in privacy-enhancing products and apps such as chats, maps, and other collaboration tools.

An extremely productive year for Brave

Last year has been a pivotal one for the crypto industry, but few companies managed to see the kind of success Brave did. Almost every day of the year has been packed witch action, as the company managed to officially launch its browser, get its Basic Attention Token out, and onboard hundreds of thousands of verified publishers on its rewards platform.

Luckily, the effort Brave has been putting into its product hasn't gone unnoticed.

The company's revolutionary browser has been voted the best privacy-focused product of 2019, for which it received a Golden Kitty award. The awards, hosted by Product Hunt, were given to the most popular products across 23 different product categories.

Ryan Hoover, the founder of Product Hunt said:

"Our annual Golden Kitty awards celebrate all the great products that makers have launched throughout the year"

Brave's win is important for the company—with this year seeing the most user votes ever, it's a clear indicator of the browser's rapidly rising popularity.

Privacy and blockchain are the strongest forces in tech right now

If reaching 10 million monthly active users in December was Brave's crown achievement, then the Product Hunt award was the cherry on top.

The recognition Brave got from Product Hunt users shows that a market for privacy-focused apps is thriving. All of the apps and products that got a Golden Kitty award from Product Hunt users focused heavily on data protection. Everything from automatic investment apps and remote collaboration tools to smart home products emphasized their privacy.

AI and machine learning rose as another note-worthy trend, but blockchain seemed to be the most dominating force in app development. Blockchain-based messaging apps and maps were hugely popular with Product Hunt users, who seem to value innovation and security.

For those users, Brave is a perfect platform. The company's research and development team has recently debuted its privacy-preserving distributed VPN, which could potentially bring even more security to the user than its already existing Tor extension.

Brave's effort to revolutionize the advertising industry has also been recognized by some of the biggest names in publishing—major publications such as The Washington Post, The Guardian, NDTV, NPR, and Qz have all joined the platform. Some of the highest-ranking websites in the world, including Wikipedia, WikiHow, Vimeo, Internet Archive, and DuckDuckGo, are also among Brave's 390,000 verified publishers.

Earn Basic Attention Token (BAT) with Brave Web Browser

Try Brave Browser

Get $5 in free BAT to donate to the websites of your choice.