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So, I’m trying out the brand new Age of Mythology: Retold (2024) this week to mixed success. It’s a rerelease of the original Age of Mythology with major upgrades to some of the core mechanics. Basically, it’s the same game but has some new features, mainly to catch it up to today’s technology, I think. And I’m not sure I like it. Or, maybe, I’m just having trouble getting used to the new setup. We’ll see. For literally years, Age of Mythology (2002) from Ensemble Studies & Microsoft has been my all-time favorite game to play on the computer. Seriously, bar none, this is theRead More →

Stardew Valley

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Several years ago my son ran across a game “Let’s Play” on YouTube for Stardew Valley. At the time it was a brand new independently created (by one person) farming simulation game. He was mildly interested in getting it. Eventually. However, when his sister and I saw that video we wanted it immediately. Like, download it now.  And we were right.  It is probably one of the sweetest games out there, in several different ways. It’s a very easy game to play plus it also has a very “sweet” mood. Casual is an understatement when describing Stardew Valley. You can do as little or asRead More →

game controller

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I’ve been dealing with some technical issues this week so haven’t had time to put a regular post together. But because of that headache, though, I decided to look for an alternative to Stardew Valley. I love that game but after playing it through several variations I honestly need something else to explore. Same holds true for Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles. They are both really fun and relaxing but I just don’t want to play them at the moment. But I do want something casual in a farming format. So what else is out there? Well, I did a quick online search and foundRead More →

binge watching

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Yes, zones. Plural. When I’m in the mood to read, romance novels are my favorite pick. I have authors and series that I’ve read so many times I could probably recite some of them. Since this entire site is devoted to that activity, I won’t go into any particulars here. When I’m in the mood to play, my favorite games bounce somewhere between building and adventure quest games. Which is honestly a weird place to be. Put it this way, I love the stories and puzzles of quest type games but can easily spend hours on good building games. Put the two together and I’mRead More →

Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles

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You know, as opposed to having to fight your way through it. Or farm. Well, then I have the game for you. Wow. This is an amazing game. Fair warning, it is addictive. I’ve never seen a game before that you can literally lose yourself in just walking around and exploring. Yeah, there are quests to complete, farms to build and develop and animals to find. But those are not the point of the game . . . unless you want them to be. Here’s a much better explanation. One other thing I will say is that because there is no combat in the game,Read More →

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I do. I think of it as a to-be-read list for the digital age. But more on that in a moment. I’m not sure I’ve read a book or watched a TV series this week. I simply haven’t been in the right mood. At all. So I’ve spent most of my off time catching up on my YouTube watchlist. Which had gotten seriously out of control, let me tell ya. Other than that, I spent some time doing some mental housecleaning. What is my want-to-finish list? First of all, let me be clear that I’m not talking about stuff I’m working on for the website.Read More →

Minecraft Java Edition

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My son has been raving about Minecraft Java Edition (on the computer) lately. So I wanted to check it out. Now I’ve played a version of Minecraft in the past on the WiiU, I think. It was good but it wasn’t necessarily something I’d want to spend hours on. Which is what Minecraft is known for. Namely, getting people hooked on simply being immersed in the experience. Not that they simply spend hours either but we’re talking in terms of years here. Seriously, this game is worldbuilding at it’s most basic. Anyway, he got me set up and I tried Java Edition out. I’m stillRead More →

game controller

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OK, here’s the deal. My gallbladder issue has become a big issue lately. The good news is I’m scheduled for surgery at the end of June. The bad news, at least as far as blogging is concerned, is that I haven’t felt much like working on the site or writing posts. I have been reading, watching and playing a lot of stuff and making notes for the future. Takes my mind off the pain. At least what I keep telling myself.  Anyway, about a week or so ago we bought a Legends of Zelda game we didn’t have, Skyward Sword. And, wow. This is aRead More →

mug & books

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Right after Thanksgiving I completely lost control of my schedule for various reasons. So I haven’t had much time to work on the site lately. While I’m working on untangling my routine I thought I’d do a quick update post.  Last week, I managed to start rereading on of my favorite series – Shelly Laurenston’s Pride Stories. The first book in that series starts at Christmas so I usually get in the mood to revisit the entire thing over the holidays. Yeah, I’m kind of a month early but after the week or so I’ve had I needed the pick-me-up. So there. Oh, and sinceRead More →

12 Labours of Hercules games

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I’m not a hardcore gamer, especially when it comes to computer games. I love Legends of Zelda and various Lego games on other platforms but most of what I play on the computer is very casual stuff and that’s why I love Big Fish Games, a source of lots of casual gaming.  One of my favorite series through Big Fish is the 12 Labours of Hercules, which are basically time management games with varying difficulty levels including casual with no time limits. I did mention the casual part, didn’t I? Since I noticed there was a new game out in the series I thought itRead More →

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I haven’t had a lot of time this week to work on a longer post so I thought I’d do a quick one about one of my pet peeves. Ever noticed how many games for mobile have hidden Match 3 games in them. By hidden I mean that the Match 3 part isn’t even talked about until you get into the game. The flip side of this is that I’ve noticed that a lot of the games that do this are suddenly advertising as being all about repairing stuff… and then it never comes up in the game. Or it’s not until way into theRead More →

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I’ve been stressed out this last week due to an upcoming medical procedure so my mind hasn’t been on posting regularly. So I thought I’d just do a quick update post on what I’ve been reading, watching and playing recently.  I got in the mood a week or so ago to reread the Dana Marie Bell’s Maggie’s Grove supernatural romance series. I love those books. While I was reading (devouring) them again for the umpteenth time, I realized that she had a new one coming out on July 22. Big yahoo! So I”m planning on doing a post on the new book specifically and theRead More →

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In our spare time lately, my daughter and I have been tag-teaming each other replaying this game. Well I think I’m replaying it and she may be playing most of it for the first time. One of us will play and the other will navigate using the walk-through and then we’ll switch up playing and navigating. The strange thing is I don’t remember liking this game all that much when I played it the first time. But I’m really enjoying it this time. Weird. Or maybe it’s just the company.  🙂Read More →

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Over the recent Labor Day weekend, during some down time I was burned out on detective shows, didn’t want to read and finally pulled out this game. Of all the various Zelda games I think this one is the best followed closely by its direct sequel Majora’s Mask. It’s truly amazing how much it holds up considering it came out in 1998.  I’m having a ball playing it in my free time this week but one thing I’d forgotten is how usefull that horse is once you get her. Seriously. Read More →

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I realized I hadn’t yet done a game list and there was only one to start off with. When I want to relax but not read or watch something, computer or video games are what I turn to. And this particular series is one of my all-time favorites. I say one of because I am also quite fond of Lego games on the Wii but I will get to those in another list. But I’ll just say up front that there’s just something very satisfying about smashing stuff that we won’t go into here. 😉 There are two things I love about this series. One,Read More →