Awesome Pack Review (Boxy's Version): March 2015

I am such a fan of Awesome Pack. When I first saw this subscription box, I felt like it was meant for me, but then I worried that it wouldn't work because most of the reviews I saw were from families. We don't have kids and we don't play games, outside of online games, with friends due to distance. So I wasn't sure it would end up working, but every month, Awesome Pack just really seems to understand us. 

Since Crafty signed up for her own month, I was pretty excited, because to get the same subscription in a month and have them be so different clearly shows the customization that goes into these boxes. 

Our primary game was Al Rashid. We haven't had a chance to play anything yet, but this is a complex trading game that sounds really intriguing. Since we loved the Road to Canterbury game so much last month, this seems like a good fit, too. One thing I have to say impresses me about Awesome Pack is the quality of the games they include. We've found that the games are always well over what we pay for the subscription and the value of the box is excellent. In addition, after three months, I feel like it grows even more customized and personal each time. I was very happy with our first box, truly impressed with the second, and this one - our third - feels even more like Awesome Pack knows us. 

Awesome Pack Review from Crafty: March 2015

After months of Boxy telling me that I needed Awesome Pack, I gave in. I wasn't sure I wanted to put out the money, but Mr. Crafty agreed it would be something worth trying for the kids.

A Nongamer Tries Gaming with Gone Home

What is a gamer? To me, my husband is a gamer. Boxy is a gamer. I, however, am not, although both Boxy and my husband are working to change that.

When I was younger I enjoyed Mario Brothers on the NES, Sonic on my Sega GameGear, and a few other games like Tetris. My all-time favorite game growing up was called Dragon Crystal, which I had for my GameGear. I remember refusing to put that game down no matter where we were or what was going on. From what I am told, Dragon Crystal was an RPG (role-playing game). I have no clue; I just know I was addicted and couldn't get enough.

Sadly, that was where my love of video games came to halt. Things like Prodigy message boards (I think I am dating myself now) started to take up my time, and then there was AIM, and eventually leaving the house to hang out at Perkins - a diner - with friends. I just lost interest in gaming. I was almost positive I would never pick up another controller again because what was the point? Right?

Then I met my husband. He played entirely too much EverQuest or, as it became known to many, NeverRest. He also played World Of Warcraft, which actually proved to be a good thing when our first child was born. Since he was still up at 2:30 am for the middle of the night feeding, this meant more time for me to sleep! Thank you, gaming gods!

Life is Strange Episode 2 Review

When I saw the trailer for Life is Strange a long time ago, I had a feeling this would become a favorite game - despite knowing almost nothing about it. It said it was Gone Home meets The Walking Dead, which was already awesome, and there was a definite Twin Peaks feel to it as well, so combining my favorite things is a good start. Then I saw it was being published by Square Enix, and I am still a big Square fan. Finally, I do really enjoy the episodic games because they give me a unique playing experience. Each episode can be played in one sitting over a couple of hours - and then the wait ends up giving me time to process specific events and even to talk to other players about what happened. When you have games where choice affects outcome, too, this is great because you can see what you and a friend do differently and then talk about why.

The first episode was fantastic. I loved it from the opening, because the gameplay is straightforward, the graphics are beautiful, and the music is so fitting for the game. I was incredibly impressed by the storytelling, although I found some of the teen dialogue and slang odd (specifically the overuse of "hella"). In discussions, though, I have come to find out that people on the West Coast are still using that word a lot and so it's even better - because there are clear regionalisms being integrated into the game as well.

It's hard to write a review without spoilers and I am posting this a little late simply because there's no way to avoid spoiling it entirely. I will stay vague with the specifics, but it's still hard to be totally spoiler-free, especially in the second episode.

The Road to Canterbury Board Game Review

I received this game in my recent Awesome Pack and was beyond excited about it. Had I known it existed already, I would have bought it because my husband and I are literature nerds. We especially love British literature and are big Chaucer fans. So this game seemed perfect for us (and really shows the customization of Awesome Pack, as I can't imagine there are tons of people who would be this happy to get a game based on medieval literature).

The Road to Canterbury is a board game that really digs into the heart of medieval culture, while also being fun if you aren't a big scholar. However, even people like us who are super nerdy about things like this can learn something. I know the seven deadly sins well, between my Catholic upbringing, my studies in medieval lit, and teaching The Canterbury Tales. Yet even having a grad school background in this, I didn't know that luxury and lust are interchangeable. The things you learn. :)

Arcade Block Review: February 2015

By the time my Nerd Block, Arcade Block, and Horror Block gets here every month, the next one is about to ship. It's tough because I have known what was in these boxes for weeks before it was here, thanks to Instagram and social media. I do wish that Nerd Block would ship their boxes that need to go through customs a few days before shipping them within Canada, since their 4-6 day window is nowhere near accurate. I could drive to Nerd Block headquarters in about 12 hours and it takes at least 12 days to get here.

Anyway... Arcade Block has not been a hit for us and this was our last month of our subscription. As I mentioned last month, I needed something special to consider continuing. This box was certainly an improvement and I did sign up for March, but I don't think it's going to be something I want long-term. I just find their emphasis is far too kid-focused and I'm not really interested in nostalgically recalling games I played as a child. I would like to celebrate the games I play now.

With that said, this is entirely a personal preference. (I have been attacked for saying this, which is just asinine. I am not saying this is a bad subscription; it's just not one for me.) This box was significantly better than last month's and I am going to get the March box on a month-by-month subscription, but I don't plan on going past that. They have hinted at double shirts and Double Dragon in March, though. I do really like the shirts, but I decided to spend the money I would put into these boxes into just buying shirts instead unless the box itself looks awesome.

Speaking of shirts, this month's was really, really cool. We haven't really used Nintendo since the days of Game Cube, but it's hard to deny the importance of The Legend of Zelda in gaming history.

The Zarfling Conflict Card Game Introduction and Review

I was approached a while back to review The Zarfling Conflict, a card game created by Travis Blair. This is currently a Kickstarter project, so creating prototype decks ended up being a lot more involved but I did recently get my version. There is a lot to like about this game, so let's review the game, Blair's background, and how you can be involved!

Note: All of the photos included here are from the Kickstarter page, as the prototype deck I received was black and white with no images. I was reviewing the game itself, not the images, which are pretty awesome as you will see here. (There are icons as well, for those who are color-blind.)

Love Letter Game Review

I was so excited to get Love Letter this past month from Game Box Monthly because I've heard great things about it. Because it's a fairly easy game to pick up quickly and it doesn't require a lot of rules/setup, my husband and I tried it within a week of receiving it (he's in that part of the school year where he has so little energy to do much of anything and winter isn't helping).

Interview with Brian of Game Box Monthly

We are SO excited to have Brian, the owner of Game Box Monthly, here with us. We set up an exclusive interview, so let's sit down and talk about the subscription box, why he started it, and his goals. We are big fans (Game Box Monthly was in our top five for February and we have a review of our game coming up tomorrow). We also really love to get to know the people behind products. 

As a token of thanks, Brian is also offering readers a discount on a month's subscription! If you want to try it out, enter the code OUTSIDETHEBOX, which will give you $4 off!

Now, to the interview! :)

Awesome Pack Review: February 2015 (with Giveaway)

I love gaming, including tabletop games, and Awesome Pack is such a cool idea. It's a box customized to your family with games and toys sent to you each month. If you have pets, they also get something to play with in the box! Since there are only two of us with two cats, I wasn't sure if Awesome Pack would be geared more towards kids. Last month's was, of course, awesome, though, so I was so excited for this box to arrive! (By the way, Awesome Pack is being awesome and donating a month for a giveaway, so check that out at the end!)

The first item we saw was the Rainbow Cat Charmer - and it works. I don't know what it is, but the second it was out of the box, our fat male cat was rolling around on the floor trying to battle it. Eventually our female cat joined him and that occupied us all for about 30 minutes!

Arcade Block Review: January 2015

Theoretically, Arcade Block should be the perfect subscription box for me. My husband and I are both hardcore gamers and between the two of us, we play a really wide range of games. However, this is the second month we've received Arcade Block and this month is even more disappointing than last (which was one of the biggest disappointments as a whole, but we gave it the benefit of the doubt).

My biggest problem with Arcade Block, besides the fact that I think the value is pretty weak, is that the people putting it together appear to subscribe to the mentality that video games are for kids. That's pretty ignorant, and honestly, it's a stupid philosophy that is insulting to gamers. There has been so much progress in gaming in the last decade, but looking over Arcade Block, you would think we were back in the days of NES with cartoon games for children. With such a rich gaming culture to pull from, including an incredibly diverse and comprehensive indie game culture that could be tapped into for this subscription, this is basically product marketing. Something really amazing has to happen next month or I am definitely canceling this subscription.

Life is Strange: Video Game Review (Episode #1)

Sometimes a game comes out and you just know it's a good fit. As soon as I saw the trailer for this game, I could tell it was something I would enjoy. I'm a big fan of Telltale Games and the episodic format, plus I enjoy storytelling and narrative games, such as Heavy Rain and Gone Home.

Life is Strange is a multi-platform episodic game from Dontnod Entertainment and Square Enix that just came out, and it's beautifully refreshing. This is definitely a different kind of game, relying far more on narrative than action, but it's incredibly immersive in just a few hours.

Game Box Monthly Review: January 2015

Game Box Monthly is a very straightforward subscription box. Each month, you receive a game for those who love strategic deck building and tabletop games. The system in place is that you complete a checklist of all the games you already own, which you update monthly before the orders go out. That way, you won't get something you already have. Otherwise, it's a little up to what is available what you actually get.

We received a message earlier this month with a survey. There were two games under debate for the month. One was a strategic card game that could only be played by three players, and the other was a resource strategy game for 1-6 players. We were asked which we would prefer. Since my husband and I don't have people around us we can game with, I went for the 1-6 so we could both play and we didn't need to worry about forcing someone else to come over to play cards.

New Quarterly Box from Naomi Kyle

Naomi Kyle, host of The Daily Fix, is one of the newest to get a Quarterly box. This box will be focused on video games, pop culture, and art. I subscribed as soon as it was announced, because... awesome. 

Check out Naomi online, on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram - and then head to Quarterly to check out her box!

Arcade Block Review - December 2014/January 2015

I love geeky and nerdy things in general, as does my husband, which is why Loot Crate started this addiction for me. When we decided to get Arcade Block, it only made sense. We're both gamers and here was a box focused only on gaming. Although there were some really great items in this month's block, this was probably my first slight disappointment in a box. However, I think it's also because I have higher standards for this subscription than most of the others. It should be a rare month when there isn't at least one item I love - and this one was one of those months.

The box looks like an NES :)