I use Echo Auto in my car. For the most part it works well enough, with much better voice recognition than Siri on my phone, + you can press the button instead of yelling ALEXA! when the music's loud.
BUT, then there are the times it doesn't.
The times when it:
a) Refuses to connect my phone.
b) Will connect to my phone but then is silent when apparently playing music.
c) "Can't open Spotify, unlock your phone when it is safe to do so!"
d) Insists on playing music on Amazon Music instead of Spotify.
After many journeys swearing at the Amazon and Apple in equal measure I think I've worked out how to "fx" most of them:
1) Open the ALEXA APP before you set off. The device sets up a bluetooth link between it an the Alexa App, if the app isn't running or has been put to sleep by iOS it won't connect until the app is opened.
2) Also open Spotify, Google Maps and any other apps you need. The Alexa App can't open apps resulting in "Can't open Spotify, unlock your phone and open the app when it is safe to do so!"
3) It helps to have Siri/Google enabled as a backup. The phone uses the Echo Auto as a bluetooth speaker so you can still get Siri to play music if Alexa isn't playing ball.
4) Power interruptions really confuse Alexa resulting in non-connections. For example I used to turn my radio & Alexa on before starting the engine, on my car starting the engine means the power drops for a second & Alexa goes down, after that it often won't reconnect necessitating parking up and doing a full device re-pairing! I now just start the engine straight away.
5) "Play X on Spotify" usually makes it use Spotify rather than Amazon Music.
6) BONUS TIP: Setup routines with easy to say names to play your favourite podcasts with long names before you set off. E.g. I set up a routine for "play my star trek podcast" that then "says" to Alexa "play Star Trek Outpost: A Star Trek Fan Production"
Hopefully, these tips will reduce the amount of problems you get with Alexa Auto. If you have any more please add to the thread.

Hello all!
The Tuesday Weekly Meetup is happening again this (and every) Tuesday, May 21st, at Erika & Hilde in Neukolln from 7pm-closing. It's a lovely bar just down the street from our old location. It has separate smoking/non-smoking areas, comfy chairs, and a cozy vibe perfect for our meetup.
This is a social meetup without any particular topic, so feel free to join a table and find a conversation or people you vibe with. We try and be friendly towards newcomers, so feel free to introduce yourself! Whether you're new to the city or have been here a while, it's a good way to meet a different set of people, make new friends, and discover new interests!
We're trying to keep the bar a safer space, so racism, sexism (plus a bunch of other -isms) and homo-/queer- and transphobia are definitely not welcome! Respect boundaries (physical and psychological) and diversity. This is not a place to hit on people or to find a date.
Please don't hesitate to talk to Tom (me) or James if you ever feel harassed or unsafe. We'll take it seriously and find a solution together.
I hope to see you all Tuesday!
Cheers,
Tom
https://maps.app.goo.gl/cnNTLhqPmVwC1Eyy7

Okay, here we go. Big rant incoming. This post is going to be extremely long and a bit whiny, but I would only write something like this because I really do love this game, and I am passionate about the decisions that go into game design & player experience. Feel free to skip to the TLDR. Obviously: SPOILERS
I'll start this off by saying that I have like 1000 hours in Valheim and I absolutely love the core aspects of the game. I also like to think of myself as a pretty skilled player compared to the average/target audience. I've done many Valheim playthroughs over the past few years, including a hardcore playthrough through Yagluth with no deaths, and a no-map/compass only playthrough. Even so, while the Ashlands as a biome felt "off" from even before the release, I generally blamed this on "skill issue", and figured progression would ameliorate some of the issues. After doing basically everything there is to do in the biome, I've come to the conclusion that it does not get better: the Ashlands gameplay loop is fundamentally anti-player experience. Here' why:
Mob density and lava is anti-exploration: Valheim, at its core, is an adventure & exploration game. If you take out the exploration, you're left with a resource collection simulator with awkward movement and basic combat. Like the Mistlands before it, the Ashlands presents immediate barriers to exploration. To even set foot into the biome you need top tier gear from the previous biome and an industrial grade multi-biome farm producing all of the best foods and meads.
However, while the Mistlands progression allows you to eventually overcome its barriers to exploration with the introduction of magic and new mechanical items (like the feather cape), the Ashlands never gets any less hostile. There are no lava-immunity boots, no anti-spawning beacons, no nothing. You just get a pretty okay gear upgrade, and a big fuck you. In fact, because of the unrelenting charred hordes, Valkyries, and marathon-running Asksvins, you're actually punished for exploring too far from your steadfast.
The only reasonable way to map the biome is by sprinting in Fenris armor with an Asksvin cape and Moder, which fundamentally destroys the immersion of the exploration anyways. After all this time in the biome, I've explored less than a half of a single of the Ashlands continents in my world. And why should I? What do I even gain from it? This leads me into my next big problem:
The Ashlands is unrewarding: To invest such tremendous effort into a biome there needs to be an equally tremendous reward. Spoiler: there isn't! You can expect to die a LOT in the biome, meaning your hard-earned skills are going to wither away, making you substantially weaker overall. What are you offered in return for this? Not much! The new heavy armor is the standard upgrade, extremely expensive, and generally slow. The Asksvin hide and magic armor sets are definitely not worse than the previous armor sets, but they don't really feel that much better. A couple of the weapons were interesting... but again, not enough to offset the pain.
The Ashlands really doesn't reward players for dealing with all of its bullshit. It's totally isolated, not very visually appealing, hostile from start to finish, and doesn't really introduce or accelerate any of the out-of-biome mechanics like previous biomes do (farming, sailing, new cooking stations, new crafting stations, fall damage negation, etc). By far the most interesting thing you acquire in the Ashlands is a staff that sacrifices half your health to spawn a charred troll, and they aren't even allowed to be on your team!!!
The whole war-zone aesthetic would be tolerable if the biome just didn't take so damn long to finish. Like seriously, because all of the limited visibility and constant mob clearing it's extremely slow to even locate the things you need to do, never-the-less even do them! At this point, I kind of think of the Ashlands as a chore you must complete to progress beyond it. That is fundamentally not a fun thing to do, and I believe the vast majority of players will not make it to the deep north for this exact reason. Which brings me to the biggest problem.
The Ashlands does not understand what makes difficulty fun: According to the devs, the biome is hard. Really hard, actually. They seemed extremely proud of making a biome that would really give the players a true run for their money! Naturally, I was extremely excited! Unfortunately, the Ashlands is not hard because of new strategic or mechanical learning curves, it is hard because it is clumsy.
Flametal mining is contrived and hostile. The pillars are a pain to climb with the game's terrible collision. Have you ever been crushed between the underside of a sinking flametal vein and your basalt bomb platform? 'Cus I have! Even worse, every time I actually whack a Flametal pillar (which by the way, wants to kill me even more than the monsters do) I'm personally inviting every entity in a 10 mile radius to form a mosh pit right below me.
Grapevine harvesting and planting is too slow. They take forever to find, even longer to grow, and cant even be planted in their natural biome without a shield generator? (What's up with that by the way?) I will admit that I love the way they look and depending on where you land you might get lucky and find them early, in which case this point is pretty moot. In my case, I had fully upgraded gear and had already cleared a fortress before I even found my first Vineberry.
Fortress "sieging", as the devs would like to call it, is kind of... useless? The siege weapons are clumsy and ineffective, and are immediately secondary to the brute force method of building a wooden staircase and bombarding the inside with fireballs until everything in it is dead. By the time you even reach a fortress, the relentless mob clearing just to get there has sucked all the fun out of the would-be battle anyway. (By the way, who though that it would be a good idea to make the only unique fortress mob a necromancer that summons even more of the most annoying mob in the entire biome?? Hurray, yet another swarm of reskinned, stat-boosted greydwarves!)
Honestly, I wouldn't even call the biome "hard". I would just call it painful. Things that are hard are generally things you can get better at. I don't think it particularly fits this category.
Lingering questions: While there are many things I like about the biome as a concept, I don't know if there is a single mechanic in the Ashlands that I actually think is well-designed. Now that I'm basically done with the biome, I look back and ask myself a number of questions about things I encountered. Were these really fun? or were they just tedious. I'll let you decide:

• Why is the only ship you can take through the spires so difficult to steer? If you want it to feel large and heavy, that's fine... but then why do spires spawn so densely that it constantly gets beached?
• Why do basalt bomb platforms only last for like 30 seconds? If you want them to not permanently mark the landscape, why not make them last at least long enough for players to reuse them for approaching and escaping from the pillars? Why make the player interact with the admittedly funky aiming mechanics to throw more platforms as the pillar is sinking?
• Why can the charred and Asksvins go in the lava if you can't? They're not immune to fire damage from a staff, but they can wade through lava? Wouldn't it make more sense to encourage players to use the lava as a risky resting place? Something like, "go out into the lava with basalt bombs to escape the horde briefly, but make sure you don't slip!"? Maybe then, once the player has cleared a fortress and acquired their first set of lava-immunity potions (or boots or whatever), they will have an advantage over the horde in terms of mobility. You know, like in every single other biome?
• Why are there no lava-walking boots?
• Why do tamed Asksvins animals not have a "passive mode", or a "follow" command like wolves, or at least some kind of hitching post? If the idea of asksvins is to be able to ride over lava to pillars, why make them run away from the pillars and to their death the instant the player gets off of them?
• Why are there no lava-walking boots........?
• Why make the step heights on flametal ore pillars only convenient/resonable to climb when wearing the feather cape that is extremely weak to fire? Isn't the idea of the fire weakness to discourage its use in the Ashlands? If you know your movement & collision mechanics feel clunky, why design the pillars in such a way that scaling them is necessary to escape certain death?
• Boots in lava no walking on it why tho........?
• Why make the spawnrate for monsters so uniformly high? The combat is extremely simple, and these monsters do pretty substantial damage in melee. This leads to a boring and frustrating "swarming" experience, where players have to run from monsters, inevitably picking up more monsters on the way. Couldn't you fix this by just have areas of extreme monster density like in every other biome which can be "cleared". Doesn't this work better with the power-up based combat your entire system is based off of? Doesn't this also double as another reason to actually explore in the Ashlands, as when players clear one area, they need to continue on to the next?
• If you want a new paradigm where defeating the horde isn't enough to "clear" an area, wouldn't you at least want to counteract this with some new mechanic that spawn-proofs/suppresses large areas? Or maybe a set of armor that reduces player-made sounds? Why doesn't that exist?
• Why not reward the player with outside-the-biome progression? Why not use this as the reason to go to the Ashlands in the first place? Teleporting metals is an obvious great example, but it feels like it was an afterthought made late in development so that the Ashlands would be even remotely tolerable, given that it's a nightmare to sail to. With an entire community full of dedicated players who love the game proposing extremely popular changes all the time... why not use some of those? (shield generators could also repair builds! Redbeard Dvegrs could offer unique item trading! New cores & metal could somehow accelerate or automate farming! Any of the above...)

TLDR: After finishing the Ashlands I struggle to see why so many design decisions were made that make the biome so relentless, tedious, and anti-exploration. It's like they took all of the experiences and mechanics that people love about the game and replaced them with all of the ones people find painful and annoying. It is extremely disappointing, and will prevent most players from finishing the game, or even the biome itself.

Welcome to the book club New Voices! In this book club we want to highlight books by debut authors and open the stage for under-represented and under-appreciated writers from all walks of life. New voices refers to the authors as well as the protagonists, and the goal is to include viewpoints away from the standard and most common. For more information and a short description of how we plan to run this club and how you can participate, please have a look at the announcement post.
It's time for second chances! I've selected a few books from previous polls, that didn't quite make it and deserve a second chance:

Under Fortunate Stars by Ren Hutchings

Fleeing the final days of the generations-long war with the alien Felen, smuggler Jereth Keeven's freighter the Jonah breaks down in a strange rift in deep space, with little chance of rescue—until they encounter the research vessel Gallion, which claims to be from 152 years in the future. The Gallion's chief engineer Uma Ozakka has always been fascinated with the past, especially the tale of the Fortunate Five, who ended the war with the Felen. When the Gallion rescues a run-down junk freighter, Ozakka is shocked to recognize the Five's legendary ship—and the Five's famed leader, Eldric Leesongronski, among the crew. But nothing else about Leesongronski and his crewmates seems to match up with the historical record. With their ships running out of power in the rift, more than the lives of both crews may be at stake.

Bingo squares: book club

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

The book tells an intergenerational story of a mother and son struggling to relate to each other—the mother an immigrant to the United States who wants to make a home for her family in an unfamiliar country; the son trying to figure out the best way to come out to his parents. Through telling each other fairy tales, they're able to find common ground.

Bingo squares: bookclub

Bacchanal by Veronica Henry

Evil lives in a traveling carnival roaming the Depression-era South. But the carnival’s newest act, a peculiar young woman with latent magical powers, may hold the key to defeating it. Her time has come. Abandoned by her family, alone on the wrong side of the color line with little to call her own, Eliza Meeks is coming to terms with what she does have. It’s a gift for communicating with animals. To some, she’s a magical tender. To others, a she-devil. To a talent prospector, she’s a crowd-drawing oddity. And the Bacchanal Carnival is Eliza’s ticket out of the swamp trap of Baton Rouge. Among fortune-tellers, carnies, barkers, and folks even stranger than herself, Eliza finds a new home. But the Bacchanal is no ordinary carnival. An ancient demon has a home there too. She hides behind an iridescent disguise. She feeds on innocent souls. And she’s met her match in Eliza, who’s only beginning to understand the purpose of her own burgeoning powers. Only then can Eliza save her friends, find her family, and fight the sway of a primordial demon preying upon the human world. Rolling across a consuming dust bowl landscape, Eliza may have found her destiny.

Bingo squares: bookclub

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

Mexican Gothic meets Rebecca in this debut supernatural suspense novel, set in the aftermath of the Mexican War of Independence, about a remote house, a sinister haunting, and the woman pulled into their clutches...
In the overthrow of the Mexican government, Beatriz’s father is executed and her home destroyed. When handsome Don Rodolfo Solórzano proposes, Beatriz ignores the rumors surrounding his first wife’s sudden demise, choosing instead to seize the security his estate in the countryside provides. She will have her own home again, no matter the cost.
But Hacienda San Isidro is not the sanctuary she imagined.
When Rodolfo returns to work in the capital, visions and voices invade Beatriz’s sleep. The weight of invisible eyes follows her every move. Rodolfo’s sister, Juana, scoffs at Beatriz’s fears—but why does she refuse to enter the house at night? Why does the cook burn copal incense at the edge of the kitchen and mark its doorway with strange symbols? What really happened to the first Doña Solórzano?
Beatriz only knows two things for certain: Something is wrong with the hacienda. And no one there will help her.
Desperate for help, she clings to the young priest, Padre Andrés, as an ally. No ordinary priest, Andrés will have to rely on his skills as a witch to fight off the malevolent presence haunting the hacienda and protect the woman for whom he feels a powerful, forbidden attraction. But even he might not be enough to battle the darkness.
Far from a refuge, San Isidro may be Beatriz’s doom.

Bingo squares: bookclub

The Heretic‘s Guide to Homecoming by Sienna Tristen

WINNER OF THE 2019 READERVIEWS AWARD FOR FANTASY! WINNER OF THE 2019 IPPY AWARD FOR FANTASY!
“Life is transformation. You change or you die.”
Ashamed of his past and overwhelmed by his future, Ronoah Genoveffa Elizzi-denna Pilanovani feels too small for his own name. After a graceless exit from his homeland in the Acharrioni desert, his anxiety has sabotaged every attempt at redemption. Asides from a fiery devotion to his godling, the one piece of home he brought with him, he has nothing.
That is, until he meets Reilin. Beguiling, bewildering Reilin, who whisks Ronoah up into a cross-continental pilgrimage to the most sacred place on the planet. The people they encounter on the way—children of the sea, a priestess and her band of storytellers, the lonely ghosts of monsters—are grim and whimsical in equal measure. Each has their part to play in rewriting Ronoah’s personal narrative.
One part fantasy travelogue, one part emotional underworld journey, The Heretic’s Guide to Homecoming is a sumptuous, slow-burning story about stories and the way they shape our lives.

Bingo squares: bookclub
Do you like the selection? Have you already read one of the books and want to recommend it to others? Do you know any additional Bingo squares for any of the books? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Click here to vote

Voting will run until May 27 and the winner will be announced on May 28

Greetings!
We at Honor Games released award winning Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars modification Tiberium Secrets. We are now pursuing our first commercial titles.
We consist of passionate individuals striving to get into the games and entertainment industries, which has resulted in us networking with many developers and executives in the industry.
We're looking for dedicated individuals interested in continuing a new project with us.
You can learn more about us here:
Honorgames.co
~Opening: Lead writer~
We at Honor Games (based in Pacific standard time (GMT-8) are searching for a competent lead writer to take on the hands-on details of implementing world building and character backstories of the IP we create. As of now, we have 1 project in active development (vultures), 1 project in preproduction (charge!), and 1 project waiting for proper personnel support (Equation of Humanity).
As a writer myself, I’ve come to understand that I’m more interested and able to do the big picture writing and act as a “show runner.” I’m less interested in IMPLEMENTING the nitty gritty details myself. I’D SAY I’M GOOD AT DOING “THE BROAD BRUSH”, and I’d like to find a writing candidate to train into lead writer, and eventually narrative director for the company.
I have a psychology background, and I act as CEO an executive producer for the company and projects in question. I’ve also acted as lead writer and PR lead in the past. I’m specifically searching for narrative candidates who are able to run with an existing direction, stay within the limits of said direction, yet also synthesize concepts into a holistic picture in potentially novel ways.
We’re looking for a passionate and strong minded individual, a person who can articulate their position and work alongside other department leads. They will be able to act as a core leadership member and back up their perspective logically. They will be able to hold their ground, and lead a writing department that has yet to be staffed. They will be able to write and proof public relations posts as needed. They will be able to take notes for meetings they attend. They will be able to do effective research. Other duties as assigned.
~The only hard requirement I have, is that you need to have at least one finished and published work OUT IN THE WORLD.~
~PROJECT OVERVIEWS:~
~Vultures~ is a game that combines the elements of an economic and manufacturing simulator such as Factorio and Production Line. The game takes place in real time, with players put in charge of a manufacturing corporate empire. Players are responsible for buying plants and equipment, hiring labor, and buying and selling raw materials and finished goods.
Vultures aims to satirize corporate culture and the manufacturing process. Vultures will keep players engaged, switching between the two simulations to keep either one from becoming stale too quickly.
~Charge!~ is a first-person shooter (FPS) set in the future where there is peace on earth, and this sport is how most people entertain and advance themselves. All weapons are light based. and players will be able to choose different color classes, each with their own unique set of features.
The game is effectively laser tag with mirrors, prisms, and lenses. It can also be thought of as Portal with light-based puzzles.
To advance the first-person shooter (FPS) genre, by adding novel mechanics and unconventional weapons. Returning to the halcyon days of FPS, focusing on deathmatch and the multiplayer experience.
~Equation of Humanity (EoH)~ Is a concept for a real-time strategy (RTS) game in a science fiction setting. Players will take control of one of two armies, building bases, managing resources, and producing and commanding units in order to destroy other players and AI controlled factions on the battlefield. EoH started out as a mod for another RTS game (Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars) named Tiberium Secrets. The mod aimed to add three new armies, each with unique aesthetics and mechanics that separated them both from existing elements within the base game and from each other. Tiberium Secrets had a partial release to good reception, especially considering how old the base game was at the time. However, the limitations of the base game and its license eventually proved insurmountable, and the mod was canceled before a full release. The ASI faction was finalized and shipped, along with minor but fundamental changes to the original factions.
EoH seeks to pick up where Tiberium Secrets left off. Like its predecessor, EoH has plans for three armies with radically different designs. Using the power of the Unreal Engine, EoH will be free of the constraints of a mod and will be commercially available as a standalone product.
The factions come complete with diverse units, structures, mechanics, and lore. Players will take command of a global government faction intent on ensuring the survival of humanity without concern for red tape or ideologies or an artificial intelligence believing itself to be the next evolution of humanity.
This Game’s aim is to create an aesthetically pleasing, diverse and intriguing play-style for each faction, incorporating inspiration from many other works and real-world subjects. We also strive to recreate and surpass the original draw and impact of “Tiberium Secrets”. Striving to present theories of how the world/ universe works and operates.
Requirements:

• Excellent English communication skills (spoken and written).
• Positive influence and leadership skills - Motivates and energizes others
• Critical thinker
• Contract Signature
• Team Player
• Passionate and respectful
• Grit
• Initiative
• Keen attention to detail
• finish at least 1 shipped game / project/ book or equivalent
• Experience with Jira (Bonus)

Benefits:
This position gives the great chance to not only gain experience in your fields, but to also work together with highly motivated individuals in a team. It is required to give and take constructive criticism and simply push the designs to the limits to give the player the best gaming experience possible. In addition, we are focusing on creating high quality across the board, which means that you'll get great video material to publish on your blogs/websites to showcase your work. You can expect a solid foundation and work done in every area of development, since this is not our first project. The team leader may be a reference for future work relationships.
Professional networking and development opportunities are also critical to our success and if you invest in us, we will invest in you, both on a personal and professional level. As long as your committed to our core values and share knowledge and resources.
Required Time:
This position will require 10-15 hours per week. It is very important that you can react to emails and inquiries via smartphone or any other devices. We also have regular team meetings, which are required. Many of us have day jobs in addition to this commitment. You will be responsible for logging and reporting your hours, which will be regularly audited, for the purpose of determining fair Revenue share when the game ships.
We use Google Drive, Jira, Slack, Zoom and Email for the exchange of data and information. Further information can be given upon request.
Interested in working with us?

To Apply

If you’re interested and able Please email me [eric.chou@honorgames.co](mailto:eric.chou@honorgames.co)
Include: 1. Time zone 2. Portfolio/ writing samples 3. Introduction 4. name of your published work, and your biggest lesson learned

The world conspired in the best of ways to bless me with a whole bunch of new games at once and I happened to be able to get in a lot of plays quickly with them.
Always get an idea of who's talking before you take anything away from these reviews/impressions. Maybe we're really different people. I've been in the hobby for 10+ years. I've played a lot of games. I love interactive and mechanically unique games. I worship Reiner Knizia. Some of my favorite games are Tigris and Euphrates, Spirit Island, Race for the Galaxy, Agricola, Battle Line, and Oath. My favorite games of last year were Stationfall, Ra (reprint), and Zoo Vadis.
Okay, let's go!
Cascadito/Cascadero - Is this a Pokemon Red/Blue scenario? No! There's room for both halves of this pair of Knizias in a collection. I think Cascadero is the better game, but Cascadito slides onto our table more easily. I'm a bit of a believer in the Moneyball theory of games (does the game "get on base" (to the table)?) so, that matters!
Cascadero - 4 plays at 2 players - First, the production is perfect. Svelte box that's easy to pack, wooden pieces, great graphic design with built in rules reminders by Ian O'Toole, and a striking cover make this a joy to play. If you enjoy the general waves hands of Irish Gauge, you're going to love how this looks.
Cascadero requires a little patience, but I think I'm starting to see a heart of gold down in there. As a Knizia tile-layer, right away, this game is, unfortunately, going to get compared to some of the greatest games ever made. Games like Through the Desert, Samurai, Babylonia, etc. I say unfortunately, because I don't think you'll love this game on the first play. That's because I think the default/starter side of the board is less interesting. If you're familiar with games, do yourself a favor and flip to the farmer side as soon as possible. Even then, Cascadero is subtle. When played best, it's a quiet maneuvering of cubes up to just the right spots on tracks with pieces on the board in all the right places that build a little lattice of opportunity. Not just one combo ready to score, but a set of circumstances that hedge on an opponent's move. Paths are everywhere, and you're using them in just the right ways to get across a double score gap or to slip into a fold in the track that gives an extra bonus. I feel like the review circuit doesn't usually play games enough times to appreciate this one, and maybe it's subtle to a fault. It isn't great when you hear "it gets good on game 4", but I'm four games in and usually that's the point where I'm bored of most games. With this one I'm excited to play more.
Cascadero is great!
Cascadito - 5 plays at 2 players - Do you like My City? Do you like My City: Roll and Build? I do. I probably wouldn't list them in my favorite games, but they are such great weeknight-with-the-partner games that I appreciate them all the same. Cascadito isn't billed as a campaign game, but rather as four maps. Maybe a 4 game campaign doesn't sound long enough, but I'm busy. 4 games sounds like something I can do. If you've played Cascadero, map 1 is the less interesting version of that game. Stick with it though! Like My City, you get the joy of seeing Knizia riff on an idea. We enjoyed each subsequent map more and more and we could see ourselves replaying #3 and especially #4. In fact, on map 4 we kept looking at each other's sheets during the game - on a roll and write! I like that.
Cascadito is good!
Spectral - 6 plays at 2 players - I'm pretty picky about deduction games, especially as board games. As someone who has put hundreds of hours into Picross and sudoku I need there to be a good reason why I'm using my precious time with my friends on something that is usually so solitary. So far, I've really only liked The Search for Planet X. While it isn't known as a particularly interactive game, my friends and I have played it so competitively that we look for any scrap of information that might give us the edge, and the publishing system cranks up the incentive to take some leaps of faith in a tight race.
When I heard about Spectral I was excited - an interactive, bidding based logic puzzle - cool! Six games later, I haven't really figured out how to interact with my opponent. While The Search for Planet X has clear moments of intention to watch for (publishing papers), it's really hard to tell when your opponent is acting with intention or just exploring in Spectral. You also don't have those little clues like what your opponent is scanning for or researching like in Planet X to build some kind of theory around. The game is a breeze to play, yet barely leaves room to grapple. So maybe the interaction isn't super strong, but how's the logic puzzle?
Boring. Imagine playing sudoku, but the logic restrictions were only for rows and not also columns, or within squares. You can do some deduction with the curse cards, but the treasure cards (12 of the 16) are all essentially equally informative and don't allow for much in the way of chains of deduction. You can do a little bit with probabilities of where treasures are likely to overlap, but it rarely feels worth it to pursue when finding curses provides a much more reliable benefit.
I want to be wrong about this game. Please, someone argue this one with me.
Spectral is okay. If you play it once or twice, I think you'll have a good time, but I don't see it having legs.
Slay the Spire - I've had this game for less than a month and I think I've put in maybe 50 hours at the table with it at this point. I've played with people who have 1000s of hours in Slay the Spire - they have loved it. I've played with people who have never played Slay the Spire - I see them playing Slay the Spire on Steam the next day and asking when they can next come over. People who usually duck out of a game night at 10pm are still at the table at 1am.
I was really worried it would be bad. I wondered, why not just play the digital game? But here I am, holding the box and knowing without a doubt, this object sparks joy. Have you ever experienced a solitary piece of media, obsessed over it, and then gotten a chance to experience it together with other fans? Maybe something like watching Game of Thrones with friends after reading the books. It feels great to share in something you've loved. That's how Slay the Spire has felt. But it's not just that, as evidenced by the friends that have never played the digital game and still loved it. It's just a damn good deck builder, and the whole system of knowing exactly what the enemies are going to do before they do it goes over so well here. It's so apparent that this translation was a labor of love and so much has gone into preserving the spirit of the game. I love it.
Slay the Spire is excellent!
Leviathan Wilds - played the first 3 Leviathans solo and at 2 - I backed this as a Shadow of the Colossus fan, and hoped for the best. I'm honestly blown away by how much this game has exceeded my expectations. First, there's something about this game that feels so complete and efficient. There's no Kickstarter bloat. It's in a very understated, retail sized box. The game just gets so much out of each component. It feels like the people who made it have made a lot of games before (and they have!).
I have trouble finding mid-weight 1-hour co-ops that I like. I love co-ops like The Crew at the short and sweet end and Spirit Island at the epic and heavy end, but the games that hit around the Pandemic range have never appealed to me. There often seems to be too much upkeep and setup, and not enough to keep me interested in sharing a puzzle with other people.
Leviathan Wilds is sooooo easy to set up. Setting up a Leviathan involves opening a spiral bound map book and laying out five cards. Processing the enemy turn involves flipping a card and later doing what it says. I don't play solo games, pretty much ever, but I'm playing this solo because it's so damn easy to run.
The moment to moment gameplay has been a blast. The systems are very open and freeform and the cards are multi-use, so there's often this feeling of scrapping together just the thing you need from odd parts - burning this card, eating this mushroom, falling here, etc. The movement system really leans into the mechanics of Shadow of the Colossus and allows for a creativity and freedom while reinforcing the theme. Every game we've played has been tight and we've failed a few times. I like that. My only complaint was that the enemies will sometimes do "swift" moves that resolve before your turn so you don't have much of a chance to react. I didn't realize until a game or two later that you can still use skills on cards to react instantly which might be an easy rule to miss. I've felt much better about "swift" since learning that. I'll definitely be backing the announced small expansion for the upcoming reprint. What a pleasant surprise.
Leviathan Wilds is excellent!
Harmonies - 6 plays at 2 players - This game has been called a Reef killer, an Azul killer, and a Cascadia killer. I own all those games! So, what's the body count at my table? Well, first off this game is lovely. The art is beautiful, the spatial puzzle is quite satisfying, and the playtime is breezy (especially at 2). It is most comparable to Reef in that you are arranging and stacking pieces in configurations for points, but there's a second layer of tile arrangement, similar to Cascadia's habitats, that's always present, no matter what cards come up. The Azul comparison is probably due to the drafting of tiles from a central market. So, what's the outcome?:

• Reef - Dead. Harmonies gives me a similar spatial puzzle in less time, in a smaller box, with better art, and it feels more thematic (I want to make homes for all my animals!).
• Cascadia - Dead. (although I was tired of it already). I find the game to game strategies in Harmonies to be more diverse and I don't feel like I have an algorithm to follow like in Cascadia (Is there a tile that increases two habitats? Can I fit a fox between my other groups of animals?).
• Azul - Alive. It's a stretch to compare the two games, but the drafting portion is far more interesting in Azul with the combining pools of tiles. Azul sits with Carcassonne in this perfect zone of being a gateway game that starts out gentle and puzzley and more you play it the more cutthroat it becomes. This isn't Harmonies, but...

Harmonies is excellent. I wouldn't be surprised if its the best gateway type game of the year. I do think it could slow down significantly with more players, but I tend to play something more interactive beyond 2.
Dro Polter - Too many plays to count and at all player counts - I think this is Oink's cutest production yet. The chunky wooden ghost, the tiny bells, the little set of treasures you'll hold in your hand. If you like frantic dexterity games, this is great. You can explain the rules in about 2 sentences and it's very non-gamer friendly. The cleverest bit is how you have to hold onto points in the form of tiny bells and if you drop them you lose them. It's an excellent system of handicapping the leader that often turns to laughs. It's mostly a novelty, but if you can introduce it to a few different groups of people, it feels worth it. Great with kids too.
Dro Polter is great!

Hi all,
I'm in the process of trying to get on top of my long term investments and was hoping to sense check a decision please. I'm 40, and my current work pension pot is £95k. I pay in 8% and my employer tops it up with 10% on top. Until now I haven't given it much thought so I've been on the default fund which is with Aviva 'Av MyM My Future Focus Growth S4' and it has a risk level of 4, with 60% in equities.
In addition to my pension I've just set up a stocks & shares ISA and have a small amount in the VWRP fund, and I will be adding money to this every month. I wanted to invest in a global, passive fund that I can set and forget and after doing a lot of research this seemed like a decent option. I also liked the idea of the flexibility I have from having the S&S ISA in addition to my work pension, rather than putting more money into my work pension, and the research I did seemed to suggest that as a good option (once maxed out employer contribution in work pension then set up an S&S ISA next).
From my research it seems I've made a mistake leaving my pension in the default lifestyle fund which auto changes as you age, so I'm thinking of changing it. The risk level is 4 at the moment – I'm happy to have more risk and volatility, and I'm 40 so still have 20+ years before retirement. As with my ISA, I want something simple that doesn't need too much management. I was thinking that due to the above I should look at changing my pension to a 100% equities fund, something globally diverse like the HSBC FTSE All World Index C Acc. And then just keep paying into that fund, and as I approach retirement then start thinking about de-risking with bonds.
I know it's a personal decision, but I just wanted to sense check the above please as I'm still learning a lot about investing/pensions etc. Is changing my current pension pot of £94k from the 'Av MyM My Future Focus Growth S4' fund to something like the 100% equities 'HSBC FTSE All World Index C Acc' a sensible move? Or should there be concerns with that? I know it would be more volatile so could see a big drop in my fund, and I know nobody can time the market but seeing news stories online that market at all time high and could be crash/correction coming etc then would doing something like this right now not be ideal timing?
Also if I I went ahead I would have both my pension and my S&S ISA in passive, global 100% equities funds. As they have the same objective of investing for the long term I don't think this is a bad thing? I watched a Pension Craft video and he mentioned having your ISA and Pension in same fund is fine if for the same goal.
Any other thoughts welcome please!
Many thanks!

T Nagar, a vibrant hub in Chennai, beckons travelers with its bustling textile markets, historical landmarks, and delicious South Indian cuisine. However, for travelers with disabilities, concerns about accessibility can sometimes overshadow the excitement of exploration. The good news is, that many T Nagar hotels are prioritizing inclusivity, offering a range of features in their T Nagar hotel rooms to ensure a comfortable and enjoyable stay for all guests.
Importance of Accessible Hotel Rooms:
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), roughly 15% of the global population experiences some form of disability. In India, this translates to a significant number of people who might hesitate to travel due to accessibility concerns. By incorporating inclusive features in T Nagar hotel rooms, hotels can cater to this large and diverse demographic, promoting equal access to travel experiences.
Inclusive Features in T Nagar Hotel Rooms:
Here's a breakdown of some key features that make T Nagar hotel rooms more accessible:

1. Accessible Entrances and Common Areas: Look for hotels with ramps or elevators with wider doors to ensure smooth entry and navigation within the hotel premises.
   
2. Accessible Guest Rooms: Many T Nagar hotels offer specially designed guest rooms with features like:
   

• Wider Doorways: Wider doorways in the main entrance and bathroom of the room allow for easier maneuvering of wheelchairs or mobility aids.
• Lowered Light Switches and Thermostats: Controls for lights, thermostats, and other amenities should be placed at a convenient height and easily accessible for guests using wheelchairs.
• Grab Bars in Bathrooms: Grab bars strategically placed near the toilet, shower, and bathtub provide additional support and enhance safety in the bathroom.
• Roll-in Showers: Shower stalls with a zero-threshold entry or a ramped entrance allow for easy access for guests using wheelchairs.
• Handheld Shower Wands: Handheld shower wands offer greater flexibility and convenience, especially for guests with limited mobility.
• Accessible Shower Seats: Shower seats provide a safe and comfortable place for guests to bathe while seated.
• Visual Fire Alarms with Bed Shakers: Visual fire alarms with flashing lights and bed shakers alert guests with hearing impairments in case of emergencies.
• Lowered Closet Rods and Shelves: Closets and shelves with lowered rods and accessible storage areas allow guests using wheelchairs to reach belongings easily.

Considerations for Accessible Travel:
Beyond the room itself, some T Nagar hotels offer additional services to enhance the accessibility experience:

1. Accessible Parking: Designated parking spaces closer to the hotel entrance with wider aisles can be a major convenience for guests with disabilities.
   
2. Wheelchair Rentals: Some hotels might offer wheelchair rentals for guests who require them during their stay.
   
3. Accessible Restaurant Seating: Restaurants within the hotel should offer accessible seating arrangements, ensuring comfortable dining experiences.
   
4. Trained Staff: Ideally, hotel staff should be trained to understand and cater to the needs of guests with disabilities, providing a more welcoming and inclusive environment.
   

Finding Accessible T Nagar Hotel Rooms:
Here are some tips for finding T Nagar hotel rooms with the necessary accessibility features:

1. Utilize Search Filters: Many online travel booking platforms allow you to filter hotels based on accessibility features. Look for filters like "accessible room" or "wheelchair accessible."
   
2. Contact the Hotel Directly: Don't hesitate to contact the hotel directly and inquire about specific accessibility features available in their rooms. This ensures you get the most accurate and up-to-date information.
   
3. Read Online Reviews: Travel blogs and online reviews by guests with disabilities can offer valuable insights into the accessibility of specific T Nagar hotels.
   

Benefits of Accessible Rooms for All Guests

1. Universal Design Principles

The concept of universal design is foundational in creating accessible hotel rooms in T Nagar. Universal design goes beyond catering solely to guests with disabilities; it aims to make spaces usable by all people, regardless of their age, size, ability, or disability. This inclusive approach ensures that everyone can enjoy the hotel amenities comfortably.

1. Increased Comfort for Elderly Guests

Accessible features benefit not only individuals with disabilities but also elderly guests who might face mobility challenges. Features like grab bars, non-slip flooring, and accessible showers provide added safety and convenience, allowing older guests to navigate their surroundings with ease and confidence.

1. Enhanced Convenience for Families

Families traveling with young children can also appreciate the spacious and thoughtfully designed accessible rooms. The extra space for manoeuvring strollers, the availability of cribs and baby gear, and the easy-to-use fixtures make family travel more comfortable and less stressful.
Accessibility is not a privilege; it's a necessity. By offering inclusive features in T Nagar hotel rooms, hotels are opening their doors to a wider audience and promoting a more equitable travel experience. For travelers with disabilities, these features can transform a trip from a logistical challenge to a comfortable and enriching experience. So, on your next visit to T Nagar, explore the various hotel options, prioritize accessibility features, and embark on a memorable journey without limitations.

Introduction:
In the ever-evolving landscape of agriculture, the role of modern machinery cannot be overstated. As farmers strive to meet the growing demands of a burgeoning global population, the need for reliable and efficient tractors becomes paramount. Swaraj Tractors, a prominent player in the agricultural machinery market, has been at the forefront of empowering farmers with cutting-edge technology. This blog explores how Swaraj Tractors are contributing to the enhancement of efficiency and productivity on the farm.
The Legacy of Swaraj Tractors:
Swaraj Tractors, a brand under the Mahindra & Mahindra umbrella, has a rich history dating back to the early 1970s. Since its inception, the company has been synonymous with innovation, durability, and a deep understanding of the needs of the Indian farmer. Over the years, Swaraj Tractors has played a pivotal role in transforming the agricultural landscape by introducing state-of-the-art machinery tailored to suit the diverse requirements of farmers across the country.
Advanced Technology for Optimal Performance:
One of the key factors that set Swaraj Tractors apart is their commitment to integrating advanced technology into their products. The tractors are equipped with powerful engines, precision controls, and ergonomic designs, ensuring that farmers can efficiently carry out a wide range of agricultural activities. The incorporation of modern technology not only enhances performance but also minimizes the environmental impact, making Swaraj Tractors a sustainable choice for the conscientious farmer.
Versatility to Meet Varied Needs:
Swaraj Tractors offers a diverse range of models, each designed to cater to specific farming needs. From compact tractors suitable for orchards and vineyards to heavy-duty models for large-scale farming operations, Swaraj Tractors provides a comprehensive solution for every farmer. This versatility allows farmers to choose a tractor that aligns with the size and nature of their agricultural operations, optimizing efficiency and resource utilization.
Fuel Efficiency and Cost-Effectiveness:
In an era where sustainability is a key consideration, Swaraj Tractors stands out for its emphasis on fuel efficiency. The tractors are designed to deliver maximum power with minimal fuel consumption, translating to cost savings for farmers. This not only benefits the farmer's bottom line but also contributes to a more sustainable and eco-friendly farming ecosystem.
After-Sales Support and Training:
Swaraj Tractors understands that the purchase of a tractor is just the beginning of a long-term relationship with the farmer. The company places a strong emphasis on after-sales support, providing timely maintenance services, genuine spare parts, and technical assistance. Additionally, Swaraj Tractors invests in farmer training programs to ensure that users are well-equipped to leverage the full potential of their machinery, further enhancing productivity on the field.
Conclusion:
Swaraj Tractors has emerged as a reliable partner for farmers seeking to enhance efficiency and productivity on their farms. Through a combination of advanced technology, versatility, fuel efficiency, and robust after-sales support, Swaraj Tractors has earned the trust of farmers across India. As agriculture continues to evolve, the role of Swaraj Tractors in shaping the future of farming remains pivotal, as they continue to empower farmers and drive agricultural progress.

Hey y’all!
I’ve been pretty set on attending OSU in their Honors College and studying Chemistry and Theatre for the 24-25 school year, since I got all of my decisions back. However, I just got off of the UCSB waitlist and I’m having second thoughts. I have a week to decide… lol. Here’s my general pro/con list of each campus:
OSU pros:
-Honors college! (Smaller classes so closer with professors, senior thesis opportunity, research opportunities, would be able to be more of a big fish in a small pond, private dorm options)
-More flexible with changing majors (bc who knows what I am going to want to end up doing)
-Good chemistry program!
-I love the look of the campus and Corvallis as a whole
-Good sports, so lots of school spirit
-Lots of events on campus and good amount of things to do
OSU cons:
-Not as big of a name as a UC
-Harder to transfer to a better school if I don’t like it
-Pretty gloomy
-Far from home (would go out of state)
-Theatre program isn’t the best
UCSB pros:
-big name school
-Good for STEM
-lots of research
-Great theatre program, I know the head of the department personally
-Easier to transfer to other good schools
-smaller undergrad population
-As far as I’ve heard - socal and Bay Area hire out of UCSB
-Beach school & great weather
-Lots of stuff going on
-Closer to home & in state
-I think more diverse student population? But I may be wrong
UCSB cons:
-classes are more impacted - might take longer to graduate
-no honors college
-bigger classes means less personal with professors (small fish in a big pond)
-harder to switch majors (I think)
-don’t really love IV or the look of the campus itself
-not many big sports so less school spirit
-super expensive housing post-dorms
Some final notes:
-overall cost will be pretty even, I got some good scholarships to OSU on academics
-some things on this list may not be an accurate representation of what the school/programs are actually like, this is just what I have heard from friends who attend the schools. Feel free to correct me on any misconceptions!
-I hope this formatted okay! On mobile :/
Sorry, that list wasn’t very “condensed”. But anyway, I’d love to hear your guys’ opinions! Thank you so much!! Let me know if you have any further questions :)

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Does anyone OTHER than the perpetually questionable CHPWS make EPS/K plates for the Masada? If not, I'm gonna send my slide to Eleven 71 Design & have him make me a custom EPS plate. It's a 1 man, 1 machine operation based here in my home state of TN. The guy hand makes his plates out of titanium, & BELIEVE me when I tell you there aren't many plates out there that're equal to, let alone better than, Eleven 71. I DO like Calculated Kinetics & have 2 of their plates on my Glocks, but I DID just swap out the EPS full-size from my PDP in favor of a Swampfox Justice 2, & got an RMR plate from Eleven 71 for it. Granted, they're pricey, at around $110 for Glock & $120 for my PDP plate. But the craftsmanship is BEYOND amazing. The guy who owns it charges $140 for a custom plate. All you have to do is send him your slide. So that's what I plan on doing with my Masada. I ONLY open carry, & therefore prefer to have a closed emitter like the EPS, which is the ONLY non-mailbox closed emitter on the market.
For those of you sick of the always questionable QC of CHPWS plates, check this guy out. His plates are worth EVERY PENNY!
https://eleven71design.com/shop/custom