![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Games and Books
Dec. 16th, 2025 01:22 pmOver the weekend, I played two games that were new to me:
Castle Combo:
In this game, you purchase cards from a display in the middle and add them to your three by three grid. Each card has an immediate effect (usually providing you with money or keys) and an end-game effect (usually amassing points according to specific criteria). As with a lot of games, it's all about balancing obtaining resources during the game and racking up points for the end of the game. Most of the points relate to where the cards are positioned in your grid, so there's some careful planning involved. It's exactly the kind of game I like, with lots of criteria to fulfil across the course of the game, and I really enjoyed it.
Phantom Ink:
In this game, there are two teams, each of which have a 'ghost' giving them clues to identify a specific word. The teams have cards with questions on them, which they can give their ghost to answer, and the ghost then writes the answer one letter at a time, until the team tells them to stop. The questions gradually build up on both sides, until one team guesses the correct word. It's a bit different to other games like this that I've played, because both teams are trying to guess the same word, which adds layers to the strategy.
I usually prefer to be the clue-giver rather than guessing in these types of games, but I actually really enjoyed both in this one.
I also finished my second Netgalley ARC - Loon Point by Carrie Classon:
In this book, we follow Norry, who runs a holiday resort in rural Minnesota; Lizzie, an 8-year-old whose mother is struggling with drug addiction; and Wendell, an elderly man who thinks his life is terrible.
Over the course of the book, they all come together in various ways, and build connections with each other over the period of a year. All three perspectives are extremely well written, with distinctive narrative voices that match their age and lifestage. I wasn't all that keen on Wendell to begin with, but he had the best arc of all of them by the end.
It's a much quieter story than I was expecting, but I really enjoyed it. It's a bit repetitive in places, but that fits with the nature of the story being told and it didn't bother me that much.
I do like a female protagonist in her mid-40s, and Norry's attitudes and responses to things felt authentic.
I liked the romance aspect a lot, but was glad it didn't overpower the other parts of the story.
There were some logistical issues that weren't quite thought through (particularly in relation to hospital bills) but that didn't really detract from the emotional impact of the book, which was very good.
Castle Combo:
In this game, you purchase cards from a display in the middle and add them to your three by three grid. Each card has an immediate effect (usually providing you with money or keys) and an end-game effect (usually amassing points according to specific criteria). As with a lot of games, it's all about balancing obtaining resources during the game and racking up points for the end of the game. Most of the points relate to where the cards are positioned in your grid, so there's some careful planning involved. It's exactly the kind of game I like, with lots of criteria to fulfil across the course of the game, and I really enjoyed it.
Phantom Ink:
In this game, there are two teams, each of which have a 'ghost' giving them clues to identify a specific word. The teams have cards with questions on them, which they can give their ghost to answer, and the ghost then writes the answer one letter at a time, until the team tells them to stop. The questions gradually build up on both sides, until one team guesses the correct word. It's a bit different to other games like this that I've played, because both teams are trying to guess the same word, which adds layers to the strategy.
I usually prefer to be the clue-giver rather than guessing in these types of games, but I actually really enjoyed both in this one.
I also finished my second Netgalley ARC - Loon Point by Carrie Classon:
In this book, we follow Norry, who runs a holiday resort in rural Minnesota; Lizzie, an 8-year-old whose mother is struggling with drug addiction; and Wendell, an elderly man who thinks his life is terrible.
Over the course of the book, they all come together in various ways, and build connections with each other over the period of a year. All three perspectives are extremely well written, with distinctive narrative voices that match their age and lifestage. I wasn't all that keen on Wendell to begin with, but he had the best arc of all of them by the end.
It's a much quieter story than I was expecting, but I really enjoyed it. It's a bit repetitive in places, but that fits with the nature of the story being told and it didn't bother me that much.
I do like a female protagonist in her mid-40s, and Norry's attitudes and responses to things felt authentic.
I liked the romance aspect a lot, but was glad it didn't overpower the other parts of the story.
There were some logistical issues that weren't quite thought through (particularly in relation to hospital bills) but that didn't really detract from the emotional impact of the book, which was very good.
