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By Thistle, on July 23rd, 2010
After collecting a bit of information from and about Kingdom of Adventure, we’re confident we’ve a few suggestions that can help to grow the business without jeopardising the existing customer base. They’re offered informally and presented as ‘zero cost’ options, so it’s up to the owner, or any other FLGS owner, to make [...]
By Thistle, on April 22nd, 2010
The BBC report on further evidence that Brain Training software is of very limited value is here. This may sound like bad news for encouraging the use of games in homes, schools and libraries. It is to some extent, because the headlines may be remembered and held up as evidence against any use [...]
By Thistle, on April 16th, 2010
The Harry Potter books have to be commended and congratulated for getting so many kids interested in reading and fantasy books. However, they’re far from the only ‘Wizard School’ books suitable for kids of roughly 7-13.
The following titles offer much the same boarding school formula as Harry Potter but without serving [...]
By Thistle, on February 25th, 2010
The Settlers of Catan boardgame is an excellent example of a tabletop game that allows players to use a deceptively straightforward rule set to enjoy a great variety of gameplay. Players may start the game with relatively few resources but those who think ahead, and adapt to changing circumstances, soon create plenty of [...]
By Thistle, on February 23rd, 2010
Any kind of games design, blogging or web design relies on working quickly and easily with a range of graphics software. Professional software like Photoshop and Illustrator are expensive and often contain features which go beyond those needed for most jobs. We use a variety of free software which is either very easy [...]
By Thistle, on February 3rd, 2010
Between us we get through several graphic novels a month. Some of them probably merit a post but don’t make the cut. That’s mainly because sticking to ‘the best of the best’ helps to showcase the entertainment (and skills) delivered by good graphic novels. Another reason is to avoid disappointing fans of graphic [...]
By Thistle, on January 30th, 2010
To our surprise Apple’s iPad delivers most of the features on our touch tablet ‘wish list’. It’s light, thin, has a 9.7” screen, offers 10 hours of battery life and comes with WiFi as standard. The pricing is equally impressive, as a £310/ $499 entry point for a device that brings together personal, [...]
By Thistle, on January 20th, 2010
Nintendo recently released statements about being in no rush to produce an upgraded Wii console and a policy of delaying hardware releases until software support is in place. It was also suggested that the next versions of Zelda and Metroid Prime for the Wii would not be arriving any time soon.
With [...]
By Thistle, on January 16th, 2010
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition
Like original D&D, AD&D 4e often involves going down dungeons, beating up monsters and taking their treasure. However, 4e is a ‘rules heavy’ game that works differently from original D&D. It uses a ‘battle game’ model where the exact positioning of units, tactical expertise in applying [...]
By Thistle, on January 11th, 2010
Our young playtesters were let loose on Sims Animals 2 (Wii), Sims 3: World Adventures (PC) and MySims: Agents (Wii). All three titles were played at length and the kids enjoyed most of what they came across.
There was, however, a clear difference between the children’s reactions to the games. Sims Animals [...]
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