Writing tip: Judging a book by its cover!

 Has anyone else noticed that the tradition of the image on a book's cover having nothing to do with the contents is spreading to other types of media? I have tried several of the games that have been teased on social media and have found that the style of gameplay advertised does not appear to be present in the game itself. A deceptive cover is disappointing no matter where you find it. As writers we can fight back and stand up for our readers. When we have our covers made or design our own covers, we must make certain that the cover matches what is in the book. Together we can make the book world a better place!

Light Spec Gamer: Gems of War takes shortages in stride!

 If 2021 has taught us anything, it is that the word shortage can be attached to almost any product. Among the lower tech items that are in limited supply, comics and trading/ game cards are toward the top of the list. Thanks to our current computers and tablets we can easily remove stress from the supply chain by purchasing E-books and digital comics. Whew! Glad that problem has been solved. Now we need to tackle the next part of the problem. How do we embrace our desire to play collectable card games in a world that is obsessed with social distancing and where the cards themselves are in short supply.

Gems of War by 505 Games is a combination puzzle game/ RPG/ and Collectable Card Game. The combination of genres may sound strange, but it makes for a solid game. People who are turned off by the complicated nature of games like Magic the Gathering, will find that Gems of War has simplified the process. Match the "elemental manna" gems to unleash the power of the cards that make up your army. As you play the game you will unlock new cards to add to your virtual deck. Gems of War is a free to play game that runs on iOS, Android, Switch, XBOX One, PS4, Steam, and Amazon. Micro transactions are easily avoided and do not affect gameplay.  Gems of War runs well on my older A7 powered iPad Air and PVP allows you to play your friends. Skip the line, price gouging scalpers, and frantically searching for available stock. Gems of War delivers a unique game.

Writing tip: Use your words!

 When writing dialogue, don't be afraid to grow your vocabulary. When I see an interesting word in a book I am reading I will often write it down, look it up later, and then add it to a list of vocabulary that I am going to use in one of my book series. Amazon has a number of awesome reference books like Scots-English, Hiberno-English, and many other dialects.  Don't be afraid to venture onto dictionary.com either. Use all of your tools and take your dialogue to the next level.

Game Review: Eurogaming ventures onto the farm in Farmassone.

 I am a big fan of the game Carcassone, it is a fantastic game that transitioned to touch screens very well. I enjoy playing it on my iPad. Carcassone opened my eyes to the world of the tile placement game. While I was researching this genre I stumbled upon Farmassone, a tile placement game that plays very much like the game that made the genre famous.  Unlike Carcassone which weighs in at $4.99, Farmassone weighs in at the staggering price of free. Farmasone appears to be ad supported and while my feelings toward "free to play games" are mixed, viewing an ad that pops up is far less annoying than a game that tries to nickel and dime you with in game purchases.

Farmassone plays well and runs well on a 1st gen iPad Air and the Lenovo Tab3. After playing the games back to back on both tablets, the iPad seems to handle it discernibly smoother.  The biggest difference in gameplay boils down to screen size. If you have a 9" or 10" screen you are going to have a much more enjoyable gaming experience with a digital board game. This is not a slight against the game or smaller screened tablets. I have had the same problem playing Settlers of Catan on the screen built into my Nintendo Switch. The larger screen on my iPad just feels less cramped. Time is not wasted swiping around the screen in order to see what your opponent has done. Online play works well with the exception of waiting to populate your virtual table with players. That is always awkward, no matter the game.  The game also offers solo and pass and play options too.

When it comes to theming the developers decided on a theme and stuck with it. From music to tiles and game pieces, they stayed with the farm theme. They even replaced the generic meeples that you would expect with farmers and tractors. All in all Farmassone is a solid and approachable game that makes a welcome addition to a board gamers digital library.