Review Archives - Page 5 of 16

A Bloggess Book Pre-Review

June 11, 2012 TechyDad Books, Review

On Saturday, a package arrived from Amazon. There were a few items in it that I knew of (some crafting supplies), but B was very secretive of one of them. She told the boys to give me my early Father’s Day present: Let’s Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) by Jenny Lawson aka The Bloggess.

Now, this isn’t a book review. For this to be a book review, I would have had to have read the whole book. No, I’ve only finished 3 of the book’s 33 chapters. (And, no, I’m not counting the Introduction or Epilogue in either of those because they don’t count. They’re no real chapters just like Pluto’s not a real planet. And, yes, I realize that this parenthetical is way too long.)

At one time, I would have locked myself in a room with the book, shut out the world, and finished it in a day. Maybe two. However, nowadays, I can’t do this for various reasons. Kids tend to get cranky when Dad’s been reading a book for hours instead of feeding them. They get really cranky when Dad chooses reading a book over attending their birthday party. (As do relatives visiting from out-of-town.)

So this is not a full book review. Instead, consider it a book pre-review. I’ve read enough to form an initial opinion. And that opinion is: I’m hooked.

You might know that I’ve been through some stressful times recently. I’ve come to rely on video games for stress relief. Jenny’s book has now been added to my stress relief quiver. Nothing cures stress like laughing and a few minutes with Jenny’s book had me giggling like Anderson Cooper.

Normally, I don’t giggle as high-pitched as Anderson does, but Jenny’s hilarious stories totally triggered fits of giggles in me. After a mere five minutes of reading, I felt my stress melt away and I began joking with everyone. I felt in a better mood than I had felt in some time. Jenny’s book is filled with funny stories of her experiences growing up. Experiences that made my own life look downright boring. From what I’ve read of it, I’d definitely recommend Let’s Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) by Jenny Lawson.

Review: Angry Birds Card Game

April 12, 2012 TechyDad Games, Review

My boys are Angry Birds addicts. Whether playing the original Angry Birds, or the latest Angry Birds: Space, they love flinging those feathered fighters to pummel some pigs. So when we saw the Angry Birds Card Game in a local store, we had to buy it for them.

After the second Seder, we gave it to them for finding the Afikomen. (Quick explanation for those not in the know: During the Passover Seders, a matzo is broken in half. Half of it is hidden and kids get to hunt it down. The one who finds it gets a prize.) The next day, we sat down to play some Angry Birds cards.

The play is very simple. There are five different kinds of birds (Red, Yellow, Blue, Black, and White). Each of the structure cards (the equivalent of the buildings that the pigs are usually positioned upon) have either one of the birds on them or a "X2". (The latter require two matching birds.) There are also special cards with actions like blocking someone’s turn, allowing yourself a re-roll or making them draw another structure card. There’s a six sided die with one bird on each face, plus one "Wild Bird" face featuring all of the birds. There’s also a King Pig to stand in the center.

Each player is dealt 6 structure cards and places them in a line from them to King Pig. The players also get 2 special cards, but keep these secret. The first person rolls and uses any birds they can to remove structure cards. Then, the next player does the same. At various times, players can also use special cards to affect the gameplay. When a player has removed all of their structure cards, they get the chance to knock down King Pig by flicking a die at him. The first to knock over King Pig wins.

We found this game highly entertaining. JSL only played one game with us, but he’s on the low end of the age range. NHL, who is firmly in the age range, loved it and kept begging to play "just one more game."

Overall, I only had two problems with the game. First of all, it went by a bit too quickly. The 6 structure cards were gone pretty fast and the 2 special cards were used up way too rapidly. Secondly, flicking a die at a pig might simulate the Angry Birds computer game, but it can lead to die flying out in unintended directions.

We solved the first problem by expanding to 10 structure cards (2 towers of 5 since we had no room for a tower of 10) and 5 special cards. We also changed how King Pig gets bumped off in the end: Players now had to roll a Wild Bird to get to knock him over.

This is definitely a game that we will be playing over and over. I really liked how the game went by quickly so that you could play multiple games in a single gaming session. This meant that more than one player got the chance to win. (NHL beat me quite a few times.) Our expanded towers also meant more dramatic come from behind victories as special cards or lucky rolls eliminated multiple structural cards on each turn.

Given how portable this is, we will be packing this to take with us on our upcoming Disney trip. While it won’t make for a good airplane game (those tray tables are just too small), it will be perfect for the hotel room.

Brother P-Touch Followup

March 15, 2012 TechyDad Review

Over the past few months, I’ve tested how durable the Brother P-Touch labels are and used them to organize our play room. So how have they held up? Quite well, as a matter of fact. The labels have shown no sign of wear and tear.

However, as the weeks went on, I realized that the play room wasn’t a great durability test. Sure, the kids can be rough, but they tend to be rough with their toys, rarely with the containers the toys are stored in.

Meanwhile, we had a little problem. You see, to help the environment, and save money, we use reusable water bottles. We drink out of them daily, take them on trips, and send them to school with the boys. For the school water bottles, we like to make sure that the bottles have our name on them in case they get misplaced. Our usual method of putting the name on involved permanent markers. These worked well until a couple dishwasher cycles wore off the ink.

Enter the Brother P-Touch. I printed off a few labels and affixed them to the water bottles. Then, they got sent to school, coated with the usual mess of smeared lunch products that the kids always get on their water bottles, and tossed in the dishwasher at the end of the week. This was repeated at least eight times (most likely more — I lost count). The labels show no sign of wear at all.

To me, dishwashers seem like a fantastic durability test. They combine jets of hot water and detergents to peel away stuck on materials. Combine these with kids handling the labeled bottles for a week with food-tainted fingers and it’s amazing that the labels have shown virtually no signs of wear and tear.

Since they’ve proven both their durability and usefulness, I’m going to have to find more items to label in the house.

Disclaimer: I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Brother P-Touch and received a product and gift card to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Review: Lego Harry Potter: Years 5 – 7 DS

January 31, 2012 TechyDad Nintendo DS, Review, Video Games

Yesterday, I went over the boys’ addiction with Legos. Today, I need to confess my own addiction. It began awhile back when I needed something to do while sitting with the boys as they went to bed on Friday nights. I stay off the computer these nights, so that option was out. Reading wouldn’t work after the lights were turned out. Then, I saw the DS.

I had previously played Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 and Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga on the DS and was a big fan of the series. They take everything that is great about the fictional world and place their own fun spin on it.

I was interested to see how they would handle Years 5 – 7. Anyone who has read the books or watched the movies knows that this is when things turn really, really dark. Harry can’t just be a kid anymore. Voldemort is back and will go to any lengths to kill all who oppose him. People die. People Harry cares about.

The previous DS game took an easy route out of the main non-villain death. When Cedric Diggory dies in the game, he breaks into pieces. His grieving dad weeps over his boy’s pile of parts until is handed a blueprint for a Lego minifig. The implication is that all Amos Diggory needs to do is plus Cedric pieces back into place and he’ll be ok.

This DS game picks up with Year 5, aka The Order of the Phoenix. The Ministry of Magic, not believing that Voldemort is back and suspicious of Dumbledore, installs Delores Umbridge into Hogwarts. While the movie focused on Umbridge’s efforts to instill her brand of order, the game uses Order of the Phoenix as an introduction to the various spells and concepts that you will be employing in later games.

As you progress, you’ll use Reducto, Expecto Patronum, Aguamenti, Wingardium Leviosa, Lumos, and more to battle bad guys, avoid obstacles, and collect studs. For those who are not familiar, those little bumps on Legos that allow them to interlock are called studs. Studs are used like money to buy new characters and abilities.

Of course, given that nearly everything in the world is made from Legos, you can destroy many of the items that constitute the scenery. Flowers, rocks, tables, and chairs can all be destroyed for studs. Sometimes, in fact, destroying these unlocks something special.

All in all, this is a fantastic game. The humor and gameplay are perfect for kids and adults.

Disclaimer: We purchased this game with our own money and the opinions expressed above are my own.

Review: A Magical Time with Melissa and Doug’s Deluxe Magic Set

December 15, 2011 TechyDad NHL, Play, Review

Ever since NHL, JSL and B saw a magician during the summer, NHL has been intrigued by magic. He wanted to try doing magic himself right away. Of course, he didn’t quite understand how to do magic. He decided he really wanted a magic kit. A cheap ($1) magic kit from Michaels didn’t seem to quench NHL’s thirst. He wanted more.

Luckily, when Uncle I, Aunt M, Cousin S, and Cousin B came to visit, we exchanged Chanukah presents early. Guess what NHL got.

Yes, that is a Melissa and Doug magic set. NHL begged to open it up. At first, I was reluctant. After all, Cousin B is only one and a half and there were some small pieces. I soon relented, though. Even I was intrigued by what was in the package.

I opened the packaging up and took out a few of the tricks. NHL excitedly looked at each and every piece, wondering what they did. We were having difficulty figuring it all out until I got to the very last (and arguably most important) piece: the instruction manual.

As you can see, it was sealed shut to prevent any non-magicians from learning the valuable secrets contained within. I got to work looking over the magic tricks. Finally, I found an easy one. The disappearing scarves trick.

How did I do it? Well, a magician never reveals his secrets.

NHL also quickly mastered the disappearing/reappearing ball trick and the magic number prediction trick.

All in all, there are about 10 tricks for him to practice. The entire set comes in a magic box that is used in one of the tricks and doubles as a storage case.

The pieces feel very sturdy and are of very high quality (as Melissa and Doug products have a reputation for being). About my only gripe would be the lack of some kind of latch on the magic box to prevent it from opening once closed. Without a closing mechanism, the filled, closed box easily opens, spilling its contents all over.

Still, this is a minor complaint in an otherwise wonderful magic set. I’m sure that NHL will have plenty of fun playing with it and learning the tricks (and, let’s face it, so will I).

Disclaimer: NHL got this toy as a gift from relatives. We weren’t compensated for this review in any way. I just wanted to share what I thought about it.

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