I was really excited to get this case. I just purchased my Nintendo 3DS and I would have liked to have protected my investment. This “case” is just odd. I don’t see myself ever using it. Here are the reasons why:

1.) It is huge! I need a carrying bag just to carry the case. I think I am more likely to drop my 3DS, or put it down somewhere and forget it with this monster of a case. Something this big really needs a carrying strap or at least a handle.
2.) Only room for 3 games. Seriously? As I said, this thing is a monster and they only put 3 game slots in it?
3.) You have to take the DS completely out to play. Another opportunity to lose something.

The only upside is that this thing does what it says: it protects the 3DS. The way the inside is rigged, if you strap down your DS like your supposed to, even a fall of a few feet isn’t going to affect your DS.

That said, I am still looking for a convenient way to carry and protect my 3DS. It would be nice, but not necessarily required, for it to carry a few of my games as well. This case just does not fit the bill.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

It is hard to find a game that my entire family can sit down with and enjoy. Either game is aimed at the younger members or our family, or it is better for the older members. Usually the grown ups have to give in to the kids. But now we have Hedbanz and we all have a great time playing it.

The rules are simple: ask questions of the other players until you guess “what you are”. Older players will tend to ask better questions, but younger players will have much sillier questions and answers that can really throw the adults off track!

Of course, it is hard not to be silly when you have a card strapped to your forehead by a bright blue plastic band. We all had a blast! Sometimes it pays to be only 7 ask simple questions that lead you right to the answer. At other times, an adult can get themselves way off track. It was a ton of fun and this is our new game night favorite.

We do have one complaint though: it only comes with 75 cards. You’ll probably only go through 20 or so cards in a 4 person game, but this still means that you will start seeing the same cards after your 3rd game. No such a big problem for kids, but if you have 2 adults playing the games could start to get repetitive after a while.

Overall, I highly recommend this game for a family or group with a broad age range. Everyone will have fun and can play at their own skill level.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

When people talk of creating a Guild in and MMO they often talk about the types. So people talk about hardcore versus casual. Other people talk about PvP or PvE. This guide is for anyone that thinks that the two major categories of guilds are 1.) Those that get things done and 2.) Those that don’t. If you follow this guide you’ll be well on your way to creating a guild that not only gets things done, but has a lot of fun doing it!

This book treats guild creation and maintenance very seriously. In a lot of ways, it mimics several books that I’ve read on starting your own business. Well, in many ways, you are. You’ll have a Guild Leader (CEO), Guild Officers (V.P.s), Veterans (Middle Management), and then your general membership (employees). In order to get anything done (creating a product) you’ll have to keep the guild productive and drama at a minimum.

This book starts out simply. It asks one question: What kind of guild do you want to make? It defines many different types of guilds. It then moves on to the best ways to get people into your guild (and also lays out several ways NOT to get people into your guild).From there the topics range from guild events, alliances with other guilds, how to deal with drama in your guild, and even taking the guild out of the game and into the real world for face-to-face encounters.

There are only two things that I think detract from the book:

1.) It takes itself too seriously.
2.) It’s all text.

A little humor included in the reading or a cartoon here and there giving a humorous glimpse into the subject matter would have been welcome.

These too shortcomings aside, I think this is a great read. It should be considered required reading for anyone considering starting a guild (and for many of the Guild Leaders already out there!) Thank you Mr. Andrews for a great read and wonderful incite into the world of Guild Management.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I recently was looking for something for my 9 year old to do. With summer upon us he is cut off from the normal social activities that revolve around school. We went to a local games shop in Austin and we saw a group of teenagers engaged in Arcane Legions. My son was instantly interested and the kids were very nice and explained the basics to him. I was a little nervous at first. My husband played Warhammer 40k for years and literally has hundreds of dollars sunk into that hobby. But then I saw the prices. Comparing Warhammer figures to a similar number of Arcane Legions figures I’d say the cost is about 1/10 to 1/4!

Now my husband and son are both playing Arcane Legions. Here is a breakdown of how we see the game:

1.) The cost: As stated above its about 1/10 to 1/4 the total cost. The 2-player kit alone comes with enough figures for 12 units (4 per player).
2.) The figures: The figures are nicely detailed. You do have to paint most of them yourself. Some assembly is required. Additionally, all figures are plastic. There as no metal models that we have seen yet. The pre-painted models are very nice!
3.) The rules: The rules are pretty simple however leave a lot of room for different scenarios and levels of strategy.
4.) The community: While we cannot speak for the community at broad, the local community is very nice and not nearly as cutthroat and competitive as in similar games.
5.) Games go fast: The longest game I’ve played so far was 90 minutes and that was with 4 players. Most 2 player games go about 1/2 that.

What you will need to play:

While you can play some fun and fast games with the starter pack, you’ll want to get some additional packs if you are going to play competitively at your local hobby shop. Here is what I recommend:

1 Infantry set (comes in the starter box as well)
1 Calvary set
1 or more “Boosters” (special figures and units)

For less than [...] you can have 1 full 8000 point or more army ready to go!

Downsides:

1.) Custom Units: The game is touted as “Open Source” because you can use their online unit creator to customize your army. Sounds great, right? Except our local shops don’t allow custom unit cards. I suggest you ask your local coordinator before building an army around custom units.
2.) Bases: You figures must be attached to either a “Formation Base” or “Sortie Base” before they can be put into play. The 2-player starter kit could actually be a 3-player starter kit if they would just have provided a few more Formation Bases. This would have greatly improved the value. I also find that we are almost always short a formation base or two to truly create the army we want.
3.) Painting: While it is perfectly acceptable to play with unpainted figures, be aware that most people will at least put a basic paint job on their models. I suggest buying a can of appropriate colored spray on primer and at least one basic color to get the player started.

Final Words:

I highly recommend this game for the following:

Miniature gamers that want a fun secondary game.
Teenagers that want to get into miniatures but can’t afford games like Warhammer or Lord of the Rings.
Adults that want a fun, low cost diversion that they can share with their kids.

This is a great game and I can’t wait to see the community grow.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars