First Time Playing: Discworld: Ankh-Morpork

Discworld: Ankh-Morpork is a game that caught my eye at my table top group a while ago, and I've wanted to try it out for ages, because with such a crazy world like Discworld, how can a game based on it not be a ton of fun, right? However, it just took forever before the game finally became a suggestion, and even then we got really close to not picking it. Such is life sometimes in a gaming group. But thankfully things went my way in the end, and I was finally given the opportunity to try this game out.

Why Amazon just lost a customer (and should lose more)

I'll have to admit, the first time I ever heard about the issue of pirated books, I scratched my head in confusion. I didn't understand how that was even a thing, because the way I saw it books have always been a non-restricted medium (no shipping restrictions, no customs charge), and I saw no reason why e-books should be any different - if any, they should only improve the situation as you could read the book instantly after purchase. The only restriction I could foresee was that not all books would make it to the e-book format, but then again, those books wouldn't be available to pirate either - so I saw no issue. Until I had a lovely chat with Kindle Customer Support about why a recently published book was not appearing in my Kindle store...

First Time Playing: "Mascarade" & "Jamaica"

I got introduced to two games the same evening in my table top group, but since the first one was just a quick one, I've decided to do another double feature (despite the games not really having anything in common). The first game is a quick trickster game, where your agenda is to confuse the other players while also trying to make enough money to win the game. The other game I was introduced to is my first ever introduction to a racing game, which just happens to have fun pirate theme attached to it.

First Time Playing: Space Cadets

I was introduced to co-operative games some months ago, and I've enjoyed having the occasional game where either everyone wins or no one does. This game definitely gave a twist on the mechanic, for better and for worse. Because Space Cadets is a game where no one can ride along for free. You play as a crew of a space ship, and each crew member have tasks that have to be completed simultaneously. Each part of a given round is timed very specifically with an hourglass. It's not a game for people who get easily stressed, but for those who can handle it, it can actually be a lot of fun.

When the verification process just gets ridiculous

I get the idea behind account verification, and the idea is good, but can quickly get annoying if you're not being given a choice. Lately, I've been feeling that with Microsoft. Not too long ago they were pestering me to up the security on my e-mail account, which was irritating enough, but I got through it. But the process I had to go through today is nothing short of plain ridiculous...

First Time Playing: Lords of Waterdeep

Lords of Waterdeep is a game that I've wanted to try out ever since I saw it played on Table Top, and I finally got the chance last weekend. Not because I'm a Dungeons and Dragons fan. To be honest, I have yet to try a single role playing game. But it's a worker placement game, which is a genre that I really, really enjoy, and it looked like a lot of fun. And I can attest to that it is. Each player has a hidden role, which each have different agendas, you summon different type of characters to send them off on quests, and you can also try and sabotage for other players by giving them mandatory low-scoring quests or make them give up resources.

Why I HATE region-locking!

It's all around us, this artificial blockage of entertainment. We have region-specific releases. There's region-locking on game discs and cartridges, DVD's and blu-rays. While friends of mine in other countries may purchase episodes of television shows through their iTunes, mine only allows me to purchase apps and music. I pay around twice as much for my Netflix account than my American friends, yet I only receive a fraction of the shows and movies that they do. I actually consider myself lucky if a television show I follow is only four months behind the American schedule. It's an out-dated, artificially created system, and it's downright pissing me off.