It’s rare for me to carve an hour into my day to play video games. Being a college student, classes & work always come first. By the time I get done with everything, it’s usually late and that’s when I’m reading a book and slowly drifting off to sleep. I can’t play video games before I go to bed because it appears in my dreams.

A couple weeks ago, me and boyfriend have made it a date night to play the Lego games together. It’s challenging finding two-player split-screen games and most LEGO games fit that description. We started with LEGO Batman 2 because I ended up buying this game and 007 Bloodstone (which I haven’t played yet). I ended up finding this game pretty cheesy and fun and if you want to a cute LEGO game to satisfy your time, I recommend this one.

My only disappointment is that I wish we could play as the other characters earlier in the game. It was really repetitive playing as Batman and Robin for half the game at least. I loved when the Justice League came to the rescue because it was new characters to play as. I really like the Flash and maybe that’s because of the CW TV show, but he was super cute to play in LEGO form. I also really enjoyed Cyborg too.

Beating this game is great in co-op, but most of the achievements are from single-player only which really sucks. I’m not sure if I really want to get all the achievements in single player because it would take forever. I’m excited to play LEGO Star Wars Force Awakens as it comes out in June.

Last Friday/Weekend I was in a weird mood. The boyfriend helped cheer me up when he pulled out Exploding Kittens the card game and suggested we should play it.

Exploding Kittens is a rapid game with each round lasting maybe 10 minutes. The goal of the game is to not get the exploding kitten card and if you do get an exploding kitten, to have a defuse card so you can disarm the kitten. In the beginning, everyone starts out with a defuse card. Each time the exploding kitten card is used, it’s put back into the deck. There are also various cat cards in the deck that once played in pairs let you steal a card from the hands of other players. The best scenario is you swipe the defuse card to have extra protection from the exploding kitten.

For any cat lady, it’s worth it to play the game. I love cats so much as most of you know, so I really enjoyed the game. The cats on the cards are so adorable and I just love them. The game is super short which I enjoy because it doesn’t require my attention for very long. I played two or three rounds and the game kind of gets old after a while, but I still enjoy it.

On New Year’s Eve, I’m always a hermit. I don’t usually have big extravagant plans with a glass of champagne in my hand. This year is no different because I spent it at home playing a board game I received for Christmas called Pandemic. Special thanks to my boyfriend’s parents for buying this game for me for Christmas after seeing my bucket list pinned to the top of this blog. 🙂

The basis behind Pandemic is to prevent a world catastrophe by finding the cure to four deadly diseases. This game is cooperative which brings players together. There are seven pawns that represent characters who are crucial to the success of this game. There’s a researcher and a scientist who have extra benefits to help make the game that much easier.

Losing the game can happen in a couple of ways: there are more than 7 outbreaks globally, no more diseases (diseases are represented by color-coded cubes placed on the board) can be placed on the board and all cards are drawn from the player deck. It may seem like the odds are against you, but with character benefits, it makes for a pretty fair game.

I love how each game is relatively short. I would say no longer than an hour. In terms of difficulty that can be adjusted by the player. Epidemic cards can be added to the main deck resulting in diseases spreading and increasing the infection rate. There are 6 epidemic cards and they recommend adding four if you’re a beginner.

My only problem with this game is how the cards are worded. I realized that I had misread the card and I had been playing the game wrong twice. Oops. That happens sometimes when you start a new board game, but I thought the wording on the instruction cards could have been more clear.

Pandemic is a very fun game for beginners to board games such as myself, but it’s great for longtime fans. I’m going to play it tomorrow again, but it ranks among the top five board games I have played so far. I definitely need to research the expansions for this game because I’m sure they’re fantastic. It’s great to cross another game off my bucket list!

I have gotten busier as the semester goes on with lots of projects and quizzes coming up. Nevertheless, I managed to find an hour of downtime before I work this evening. Since I have been annually going to RiverQuest, I have been able to try two new games: Smash Up and Red7. I also added them to my Board Game Bucket List that’s pinned to the front of my blog. Feel free to check it out and recommend to me some awesome tabletop games!

Smash Up is a game with decks of cards with a theme. To win the game, you earn 15 victory points. Minions are cards in your deck that allow you to rack up points to eventually earn victory points. Each deck has a particular theme that will impact the minions that are played. For example, the first time I ever played this game my first two decks were spies and kitties. So the minion cards in that deck were cute kittens riding on rainbows and spies that referenced the James Bond film series.

So it makes sense that I played with these decks first. Overall, the two decks didn’t work out that well, but it still left me with a good experience with this game.

The next combination I worked with was the Princesses and Cthulhu. This combination actually worked out quite well and I would highly recommend it.

Generally, this game is really easy to learn and is a pretty quick game to play. I highly recommend it if you love board games/card games that are really easy and make fun of pop culture a bit. Each expansion is great too especially Cthulhu and the mythic cards which I won’t go too in-depth with this post. Smash Up is probably one of my all-time favorite board games I have ever played! Play it immediately when you can!

This post will mark my first gaming review posted to the Bizarre Brunette. The last game I finished, Batman: Arkham Origins, I ended up posting that review on Twin Cities Geeks so I didn’t want to retype my thoughts on my personal blog. I can add the link to that review if you’re interested in reading it. Tomb Raider mesmerized me with the visually appealing island, Lara’s new re-invented look, and the fascinating story.

Tomb Raider is a prequel, telling the story of how Lara became as fierce as she is. The story starts with Lara and her archaeological team traveling to the island, Yamatai. Yamatai is located off the coast of Japan and was once ruled by Himiko, a sun queen who was blessed with powers for controlling the weather. Lara’s ship crashes on the island due to a horrific storm and with that experience, Lara starts to suspect that the storm has a magical pretense. She believes that something paranormal is stopping her team from leaving the island. Throughout the game, Lara uncovers the mystery behind Himiko, tries to help save her friends, and leaves the island.

Lara has been reinvented by wearing gray & white tank tops, brown cargo pants, and brown lace combat boots. Even though her french braid is no more, I really like her ponytail that’s loose and side-swept. It’s an accurate and more realistic take on the character.

Additionally, I really enjoy the weapons that Lara has access to. Her bow is the first weapon you gather in the game and after various levels, you can get fire arrows which are even more fun to use. The assault rifle is another definite favorite of mine, especially in huge fight sequences with multiple enemies shooting down at Lara. Weapon upgrades are awesome and I had the rifle fully upgraded first which made the weapon more useful. Lara can also gain skills that will help her throughout her adventure. There are skills that give you more XP to level up quicker, different take-down tactics, and more.

The characters that aid Lara add to the story. Conrad Roth is easily my favorite as he helps Lara through tough times and he gives her the pep talk she needs to be able to survive on the island. He is a crucial character in Lara’s development. Dr. James Whitman on the other hand is so arrogant, narcissistic, and annoying. If you beat the game, you will understand my frustration with Dr. Whitman.

Lara can stumble upon collectibles that enhance the campaign. Lara can find journal entries that reveal the ulterior motives of certain characters, she can discover hidden artifacts and she can uncover hidden tombs. The tombs themselves often have puzzles to solve to help uncover more collectibles. I like the puzzles because they’re really challenging so it’s satisfying to complete each tomb. The collectibles are worth grabbing and that’s the one part of the game I have left to complete.

Tomb Raider was an awesome game and I’m glad I found the time to complete it. It’s a great prequel that really brings Lara back into the next generation of gaming. I am looking forward to the sequel and it’s one reason why I really want to upgrade to the Xbox One.

Here’s the link to my Batman: Arkham Origins video game review http://twincitiesgeek.com/2015/08/arkham-origins-the-batman-prequel-that-didnt-fall-through/

Happy Gaming Everyone! 🙂