Monster High 348 Cartoon Puzzle
***
It's been a long time since she had a new jigsaw, but she still gets them out occasionally for want of better ideas, so here are nine, or three, or one huge one, depending on how bored you are and how many toys Dad's confiscated.
2006 / Video trivia game / 1-2 players
**
I may not be fast, but I get there in the end. I evidently wasn't especially interested in playing the Red Dwarf DVD trivia game even back when I could play DVDs, but mild curiosity saw me eventually vicariously play along via someone else's much poorer performance on YouTube before getting bored after a few minutes. The new Holly material's a bit cringey and there's little entertainment to be had, but it's at least better than listening to an album by Olivia Newton-John.
2019 / Solo/cooperative dice game expansions / 1-2 players
Another Oniverse game that's heavily reliant on expansions for rounding out the experience, it recaptured the feeling from Onirim of delving to increasingly perilous depths, especially when you pile them on cumulatively. While you're always at the mercy of the dice, there are enough tricks to learn that make it winnable most of the time. It helped that I enjoy playing it so often.
The Flagship ****
A slight but essential complication, keep them coming. Having to finish another ship isn't a notable hassle, and the special abilities are probably overcompensation, but the rulebook recognises this and suggests hard modes for most of these, if that's a problem you're facing.
The Hourglasses ***
Another job to think about, but also lots more handy discard opportunities that again probably makes things easier. One idea across 36 cards isn't that interesting though, and this could have just been part of the base game.
The Stone Clouds ****
Quirkier than the boring Hourglasses, these fiddly tokens and annoying cards only seemed to make things harder at first, with no payoff – until I realised how they fit around the ship tokens and my comprehension similarly unlocked. The challenge is the point, and beating it is a buzz. It's slightly disappointing that each batch of birdies didn't get unique artwork though (see also the next two expansions).
The Piers ***
Getting yourself increasingly into debt for bad investments adds an unhealthy dose of relatable stress to your after-work activity, but like the Stone Clouds, it's extra satisfying to beat.
The Hammer Bird Eggs ***
These stubborn chicks initially just seemed to get in the way until I realised how handy they can be for swapping out dud cards (or trying to, at least). Potentially game-saving when you need a specific card to come up, potentially game-ending if they flood the display, though that hasn't come up yet.
The Hellkite ****
It took a few games of losing to the big bad to realise I should prioritise the offensive to break down the barriers and start getting the sweet rewards, but then some other appendage gets neglected instead. If you're mixing everything in, there are so many combinations and calculations to keep track of every roll that you're bound to miss some optimal actions when they come up, but it's good to have the options.
To the Stars!: Stellarion >
2019 / Solo/cooperative dice/card game / 1-2 players
*****
Surprisingly my favourite in the niche of dice-based Oniverse games, and beating One Deck Dungeon for elaborate Yahtzee, this dice-finagling exercise looked to be one of the less appealing in the series and most likely resales in theory, but it charmed me in play as I literally helped dreams take flight. Then I couldn't put it down for a month.
It's customarily reliant on its expansions to add depth and replayability, at least a couple of which should probably be part of the base game from the start, before things get weird.
Albrecht Altdorfer, The Battle of Alexander at Issus (1529)
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"I like this one. All the people, the message in the sky and the sun and the moon, it's very detailed. It's my favourite one."
Tsuguhara Foujita, Girl in the Park (1957)
"I like this one because it's bright and detailed."
Sam Francis, Around the Blues (1962)
"I don't like that one, it's rubbish."
Agnolo Bronzino, An Allegory of Venus and Cupid (1545)
"This is rude, because they're naked. There's a bottom there, a bottom there, there's even a willy. It's rude. I like it!"
Josef Albers, Homage to the Square (1964)
"The best thing about it is nothing. The worst thing about it is that it's just totally yellow. That's the worst one."
Adventures on a Single Page: The Archmage's Thermal Baths (Adapted)
2020 / Roleplaying game adventure / 2+ players
***
Another substituted quickie, taking out the baddies and ponied up as Flim & Flam's inadequately-researched mountain wellness resort (I was disappointed once again at recurring characters not being included in the Tails of Equestria standees pack in favour of random OCs). I didn't know what we were going to do with the dragon egg we'd be left with at the end, but after incubating in my mind for a few weeks, the ending emerged, which also solved the problem of my own pony character being underdeveloped and boring. Weredragon, bitches!
Adventures on a Single Page: Wizard Tower for Sale (Adapted)
2021 / Roleplaying game adventure / 2+ players
***
Ponied up with no fuss to replace a duller sub-module in our ongoing Changeling campaign, it offered the chance to catch up with the accident-prone unicorn mage from our first outing and was just some fun time-warping craziness generally. The player was in such a hurry to ascend the floors that we missed the overpowered Wand of Silence sitting in a desk that could have been useful in our inevitable forthcoming confrontation. I did try to hint.
2023 / Roleplaying game adventure / 2-6 players
***
A more roleplay-intensive chapter was welcome after the previous one was a bit dicey, but the scenarios themselves could have been more interesting than mostly mundane domestic problems, especially since they're so loosely related to the theme and open to interpretation that they could have been anything. We only worked through a few, replacing the rest with imported modules and improv to advance our personal stories.
She had the most fun in between quests as we returned to Ponyville to demand our share of broth. We don't save the world for free.
2021 / Card game / 2+ players
**
"Top Trumps" in meaningless branding only. This is the least played of her primary-coloured Happy Meal wildlife card games, but she's found a new fascination in the camouflaged stargazer fish.
Cozy Town
2022 / Roleplaying community-building game / 3-4 players (played with 2)
***
I limited the card-based turn-taking activity to one short season to prevent boredom, but the young player continued the extracurricular roleplaying of Sonic Town's milestone Happiness Festival all evening, complete with extracurricular Lego diorama. You had to be there.
Since then, she's just enjoyed coming up with a town but not bothering with the game aspect. Fair enough.
2016 / Solo/cooperative board game expansions / 1-2 players
These voyages on the low-rolling high seas took a little longer to love than some of the other games, but it got there. Here are the essential expansions and optional screwovers.
The Mages ***
More stuff you have to collect, but more time to do it in, and the game gets easier if you do. I thought this was going to be one of the more far-out titles in the series, but it's often just Onirim on tiles.
The Mercenaries *****
Even if I hadn't been aware of this battle expansion in advance, the base game might still have had a nagging feeling of something lacking each time the enemy ships passed without incident. It also makes sense of all those stray harpoons. Thematically essential, if taxing.
The Reefs ****
Environmental obstacles you can work to your advantage, just don't forget all the other stuff you're supposed to be doing simultaneously. Like the Mercenaries, it would be hard to go back to an uncluttered route now. Add in the Mages too and all your crew are pulling dual roles. This is the proper game now.
The Darkhouse ***
The Oniverse isn't normally this wordy. These punishing actions are satisfying to overcome, but there's probably too much to think about at this point, especially if you're also adding in:
Heroic Actions **
Couldn't they have come up with illustrations for these, like in Sylvion? I add them in to be comprehensive, but can't muster enthusiasm for special powers you not only have to discard precious crew for, but are yet another mandatory task for victory. The game becomes too demanding.
Hark!: Aerion >