Personal ramblings, nothing book related.
I think I might be really tired.
Normally I’m an idea factory. I generate plots and ideas randomly, sometimes at ridiculous speed or during inappropriate times. 99% of them never see the light of day. I have an entire trilogy plotted about a merchant and a gladiator set in a Conan-like world and I doubt it will ever come to be.
It’s been a week, and my head has been quiet. Silent. Like a tomb. ::making scary ghost noises:: I keep waiting for the brain to restart but nothing is happening.
Instead I found a new game to play. 😀 I present to you the Immortal Life.
Have you ever wanted to run a magical farm in a Chinese-inspired martial arts sect? Do you like Stardew Valley but wish you could also cultivate your inner power and water your crops with a magic gourd that produces rain clouds? Do you suffer from the lack of cute 3-tailed foxes in your life? Despair no more.
Immortal Life is available on Early Access on Steam. It is 99% translated, meaning very occasionally you see some minor marker in Hanzi, but it’s rare. The dialogue, the menus, etc., everything is in English.
It is an excellent farming sim. Unlike the grindy and depressing Harvestella, this is a joy to play. You are invited to a martial arts sect but when you arrive, Something Bad Happens, and you decide to stick around and help to rebuild it. The social aspect of the game is excellent. You really get a sense of community and feel like you are in this together with everyone, doing your best to succeed. I’m probably alone in this, but I came to resent the people of Stardew Valley. First, some of their stories get too sad, and second, they are demanding. Every day had to be scheduled to make sure the right person was talked to or given a gift, etc. I like all of the NPC people in this one.
The combat is great. It’s simple, it’s not twitchy, and it is pretty. I kept expecting that throwing flying swords at salamanders would get old, but it hasn’t yet.
The planting, watering, and harvesting is also fun. The crops are cartoony and huge, and seeing them reach the harvest stage is really satisfying.
Also, fishing. The fishing mini game is probably the best I’ve played since the Song of the Wild. The water has an almost elastic feel. Unlike, again, Harvestella, which is so boring. Like come on, Square Enix, how did you manage to make a completely joyless game?
Another plus in this game’s corner is the absence of deadlines. When I play these types of games, I really like the sense of endlessness. I want to feel like I could just run my little farm/shop however I want and however long it takes me. The fact that Stardew Valley had a grandpa ghost that evaluated your performance and that you are supposed to beat the main storyline in 2 years completely ruined it for me. Yes, I know that you can technically play SV forever, but I simply don’t want to anymore, because it degenerated into a checklist for me.
This game doesn’t seem to have that. Individual quests have deadlines, but they are pretty generous.
I’m trying to think hard about some negatives to point out, but nothing really annoyed me. This game indulges my tendency to putter. It’s the opposite of heart-thumping excitement, and apparently I need a beautiful magic mountain in my life right now. I guess the one negative is that the game isn’t finished yet.
What are you playing? Did you get any cool hobby-related gifts at Christmas?
Cool recs, thanks!
I got more photoshop classes; I’m getting to the point where the advanced classes are easy (yay) and I’m having a blast creating composites. Takes the stress out of the day for me.
Ilona I honestly don’t know how you could not be tired. Good Lord you guys have done so much this year, and that’s only the stuff we know about. It’s good to just chill for a while. Just fish. Thanks for everything guys.
Puzzles. It was suggested rather strongly by my boss and my husband that I take this week off- a complete brain break- not even allowed to dabble in work. So I’m on my third puzzle in five days. I have to say my brain needed it.
Oddly enough the Spanish word for puzzle means break head. Rompecabeza.
I also like playing cozy games when my brain is simply overloaded with information or stress.
At the moment I managed to relax somewhat, so I’m playing Octopath instead. 🙂
That sounds wonderful. I got a lego-like kit (1/4″ blocks) that will one day be a bonsai tree. After I stick all 975 pieces together. LOL
I’m glad that your brain is forcing you to rest 🙂 and that you have the perfect game to help with that.
Don’t fret. You’ll be able to work when you’re ready and the BDH is happy to wait for you.
I just finished playing Wylde Flowers for the second time in a row, so this is perfect timing for a new game rec!
Wylde Flowers is also a Stardew Valley offspring, but on top of the farming, fishing, mining and befriending locals quests- there’s also a mysterious coven in the woods and a secret second village of fairy creatures!
I played it the second time specifically so I could marry the werewolf! ???? ❤️
Yay for marrying the werewolf!! I may have to play! All about the werewolf!
…always marry the werewolf!
Wylde Flowers was so much fun.
Wingspan! We like Wingspan! No Koo-ko, unfortunately.
Seconding Wingspan! It’s a lovely little engine-building card game, with calm music, beautiful artwork, and neat little bird facts.
I am technically in the middle of three farm-sim games. Harvestella (agreed on joyless), Spiritfarer (adorable but heavy at times), and Disney Dreamlight Valley (because Disney is comfort to me). I need to finish at least ONE of these before I purchase another game, but it’s probably going to be Immortal Life unless I’m in dire need of Hack-and-Slash in the new year.
My BDH friend down the road and her sister gave me a throw for Christmas. It is printed with frogs as samurai and sumo wrestlers and Japanese spearmen and quite a few other characters. I love it.
They have been aware of my fondness for frogs for most of the time I’ve known them. However, when I called to thank them and asked: no, I’d never told them that when my first was born, the book I took to the hospital to read was on Japanese swords; and, no, they had no idea I had the entire Dark Horse Comics translation of Lone Wolf and Cub – as well as all 45 issues of a much earlier attempt to translate that saga by a different company,
The sisters were absolutely thrilled that they had managed to get it so exactly right.
Your description of the gifted frog throw made me curious, so I googled it. There were several posted and every one of them was charming. I also found a link to see frogs as samari & sumo on Youtube. It was fun viewing. I hope you have a cozy New Year!
“I kept expecting that throwing flying swords at salamanders would get old, but it hasn’t yet.”
I want to just drop that randomly in conversations.
Thanks for sharing your fun, brain-rest game with us.
Question: is Immortal Life or Wylde Flowers co-op? Part of what I like about Stardew is that I can have a coop farm with friends.
According to Steam, they are both Single Player ????
I’m back to sewing 18 inch doll clothes. One men’s plaid shirt makes 3 pleated and one straight doll skirt. I also made some easy doll P.J.s and nightgowns. They will all go to friends kids, relatives or charity. If I try to sell my stuff then it just isn’t fun. As long as I have a pattern I find sewing relaxing. It also has less calories than baking!
I needed a new game. I’m ready to try.
I am reliving the Mass Effect trilogy until Howarts Legacy finally comes out. I might also play Cyberpunk and I heard a new cool mod for skyrim might be coming out soon. It might be worth it checking it out. And from time to time I also play spiritfarer as you suggested. I am kind of bored. Starting the new Inns book might help. When was the wedding again? ????
Replaying Mass Effect trilogy is my annual Christmas treat! I totally second it as a filler until the next Innkeeper book (because it will probably come out before ME4 ;))
Lego! I’m half way through the Diagon Alley build. It’s a cool one, as it’s 4 separate buildings and you can build it in stages.
Actually, it was a comment here in December 2021 that got me back into Lego. Someone had just bought Assembly Square, and it got me thinking, Hmm, Lego? It’s been a great stress reliever this year to just be able to follow directions and build amazing things. (I’m totally hooked on the modular buildings.)
I am just admiring my “Ripper Cushions” cushion that arrived yesterday. Also Cutting Edge mouse pat. Makes me smile every time.
I gave in and bought Travellers Rest last night. It’s also in early access, and this time, you run an inn. In your spare time you can run around and harvest supplies, (or just buy them) to build up your inn. I’m looking forward to the other fun things I can do, especially once I can get my reputation up enough to hire staff. I am tempted to get my husband to buy the game and play with me. (It is co-op).
December is also the time that my favorite knitting/crochet bagmaker runs 12 days of livesales events where she tries out new products and does limited edition things. I own far too many Erin Lane Bags, but they are amazing. I generally save up all year, since I know I’ll be buying a lot of stuff for her hankmas event.
No hobby stuff this year but a lot of book stuff 2 hardbacks, 2 pre-orders for books coming 1/3 and 2/7. Plus an iTunes card for the ones that I read on iBooks. So mine I guess was a book-festive type Christmas. Plus here in CA we have been getting some much needed rain and snow.
Must be a California readfest.
Lots and lots of rain, fog, and cold. I am not a game player, or world builder. I am taking the next several days and reading. Found what appears to be an excellent potato soup recipe, so that will happen later.
Also I am trying to keep an eye out on the bird feeders, outside. They seem to be emptying at an alarming rate; meaning either a Raider Squirrel or a large migration back to this area is occurring.
Happy new year
Book stuff is the best!
We got the cutest board game from a kickstarter for Christmas. It’s a cozy shop building dragon game called Flamecraft; it’s super cute and the goal is to build up the shopping center of the town and collect the most resources.
We also got a card game called Rant that was really popular, and a handful of switch games (pokemon violet/scarlet, splatoon 3, etc), along with snap circuits kid for the kiddos to play through. No disappointed people here this year.
Have my eye on a couple gorgeous lego sets for 18+; the orchid, the wildflowers, and the bonsai tree are on my wish list. (Kids got little pokemon related lego like sets that were a big hit).
Those botanical Legos are so pretty! ????
We’ve done some 18+ ones, but they’re all geared towards my kid and husband’s interest, so no flowers. ????
I loved the flowers and bought the roses and sunflowers to go in the bunch. There’s a new wildflower set due to come out soon. I wasn’t that impressed with the bonsai tree, tbh—I didn’t like how the tree was constructed.
Another fun botanical is the succulent set.
I’ve got the bonsai lego in my study to keep me company & the orchid is on my kitchen bench. My sis thought it was real, from the photo. Had to tell her it was lego and she was amazed.
I haven’t really gotten gifts – I mean, I got some completely adorable cat bag clips from my landlady. My sister is trying to figure out what to get me, as her planned gift fell through (a cross stitch of my cats! Which was a great idea.) I’ve given my sister at least 1,200 yards of lace weight handspun yarn, so she was mostly covered, but I did bring a bottle of my favorite apple brandy for the house.*
But! My tiny little espinner, the EEW nano 2, that I’d backed on kickstarter, arrived a bit before my trip, and now I can spin just about anywhere. On the plane, for instance. On the sofa. In random cafes. I also brought more of the wool I helped my sister dye a few visits back so I can spin her more lace weight. Eventually, we will figure out how much she needs, and when I can stop spinning %*(^&@)#!!! lace weight. (OTOH, it’s perfect for the espinner, and traveling, because it means I don’t have to carry as much wool, and the itty itty bobbins on the nano mean it actually feels like I’m making progress, unlike on my regular wheel, where I spin, and spin, and still seem to have the same amount of wool, and the amount on the bobbin barely increases…)
* To join their alcohol collection. Both my sister and I are better at buying booze than drinking it, though we enjoy the occasional drink. I’d taken her to the distillery a trip or two ago. And proper apple brandy can be hard to find.
(It’s not that we don’t do gifts, but mostly my sister makes me ceramics or knits me things, and I spin her yarn or grab random cool things I think she’d like – and the timelines sometimes get a little weird. I picked up her partner a monocular for when he’s out biking. She’s made dishes for all my cats with their names on them. Right now she’s at the circus school having a pyjama handstand jam wearing a onesie covered with dinosaurs that I got her last year (or the year before?) And she used to make me socks, but then I moved to North Carolina, and I don’t wear wool socks for half the year the way I used to. I should ask her for a hat.
It’s easier to buy things for the younger folks. Though, it occurs to me that my presents for my nephew and his girlfriend are 1) a damascene fixed blade knife 2 a pretty small knife designed to be worn on a cord around one’s neck 3 a ceramic sharpening rod 4 a hand carved hair fork. But hey, last year it was all stuff for their new apartment.)
We go to a camping supply store for adult family members stocking stuffers. Over the years we have bought pocket sized metal Turtle shaped utility tools, bigger utility tools with pliers, blades and other useful features, a titanium spork, a metal firestarting device, and that handy little hammer with the seatbelt cutting tool. You never quite know what you’ll find! I also looked at the cast iron cookware but stayed with the stocking stuffers. The espinner sounds interesting. Thank-you for sharing!
the kids got kirbys dream buffet and the happy home paradise add on to the animal crossing game. Both games are surprisingly enjoyable for me. I enjoy getting to decorate the little vacation homes. its definitely a well needed brain break for me.
My friend got me sucked into Genshin Impact last year. So that is mainly what I play. We also play Guild Wars 2 off an on. I like that one because you can leave it for ages (like at one point we didn’t play it for 2 years) and come back because it’s not subscription based. The base game is even free now.
Genshin is free (yes there are in game purchasing available, but really, you don’t need to). It is a Chinese game, but you would easily mistake it for Japanese when you play – it is beautiful and the story is fantastic. It can really get your emotions going. We have a lot of fun (plus it’s a social thing for us because he lives on the east coast and I am on the west). 🙂
I love GW2! I have played for 10 years – and stopped playing for 2- and 4-year breaks. My husband and all three of my kids play as well – sometimes it was the only way we could spend family time when they were in college.
I’ve been doing online jigsaw puzzles. Fun, relaxing and take up no space. A friend of mine loaded up my cat with toys. Of course he went straight for the tissue paper!
For New Years celebration I’m going to try a hot chocolate bomb.
Hope you, ModR, and all the BDH have a wonderful 2023.
My sister gave me a microplane grater that measures as you grate spices or zest. She also gave me Ceylon cinnamon sticks.
I got more pottery supplies so I can practice and expand my pottery making skills (and feed my addiction)????
Nope on the gifts. Well.. my son’s family gave me a pet stop gift card, and his in-laws did a bit better with some eggnog bourbon.
Pokémon Scarlet! Open world concept this time and it’s been so much fun. You can run around with your Pokémon next to you, so cute ????. There are objectives, but you can complete them in whatever order you wish and no time limit.
I was challenged by a writer buddy to write something ridiculous. She writes satire, so I sent her two pages of silliness yesterday. We’ve decided to exchange short stories this year that have nothing to do with current projects, just to relax.
If she likes it, I’ll keep writing it.
Currently I am playing Coral Island. It is also Early Access, so not everything is done yet in it. I have happily spent 42 hours playing it so far, and agree with everything you said above. It’s more relaxed than SV. Well, it is as soon as you get out of the first season in the game. Spring 1 has the usual “omg I am out of stamina” to it LOL. It’s pretty and it’s fun. I needed that badly right now.
Added Immortal Life to my Steam wishlist. Thank you so much <3 You play a lot of the same games I do. I'll pick it up when finances aren't post Xmas low.
I don't think you play Valheim, but that one has a lot of combat and dying in it. Every time I play it, I wind up humming "Dumb Ways to Die" 😉 If you don't mind many many corpse runs, you might get a kick outta that one when you want something less relaxing and more kicking ass (plus lots of building your own structures which I LOVE).
i got sucked back into WoW, but I’m trying to break free so I can find Mistlands in Valheim. otherwise, I got an epoxy kit, which will necessitate better weather and a respirator before I try it, and a bunch of anime cookbooks.
I got a new hand woven stitching basket for Christmas in beautiful shades of purple.
Also my things from the merchant store arrived today in perfect condition. They had been very well packed.
Rest your brain playing games and sleeping.
Oh so cool! I am a total newbie to games in general. My speed at learning them is a slow putter. I tried SV but found the exact same thing–it degenerated into a checklist. Went looking for a new game and, as a fan of Chinese and Korean fantasy shows, was attracted to Immortal Life for it’s theme. I only just started playing and am glad to hear it’s going to be low-key. Pottering around on my own time table is exactly what I want!
I’m a knitter, so my Hubby gets that stuff for me. This year he gave me the Lantern Moon full Heirloom set of interchangeable needles. Ooooooo….they are so lovely to knit with, and I love that the cables rotate with the work rather than remaining stationary, eliminating the awkward bend that occurs with stationary cables. Oh and books…he got me books. 🙂
I only play games on my tablet and none of the recommended so far have worked that well. Does anyone play games exclusively on an Android based tablet and have any recommendations? I don’t care for the shoot-em games, but more the build it or find it types.
Hi Kim – I’m a tablet gamer too. I’m really enjoying Seeker’s Notes. It’s a hidden object seek and find game where you search scenes for objects, gaining experience to level up and coins you can use to craft items to help in the search. You are given quests and must acquire 5 items to form collections, which you turn in to gain more experience and advance the main storyline.
I play it totally free and haven’t had a problem although progress is slower than if you pay. I’ve tried a lot of these types of games – including Midnight Castle and Hidden City – and I love the beautiful artwork, unhurried plot and special events that happen every month. There are always new locations to unlock.
You can add friends and join guilds but there are no forced interactions like some games, which I also appreciate. You can gift each other items, which helps a lot. My friend ID is 2getla.
There are also four mini puzzles to play which is fun. The only downside is the flurry of in-game popup ads every time you log on, but it is easy to ignore them with practice.
Hope you find some fun new games!
Very cool!
I received some items to help in my garden, like a new hose attachment. I am focusing on random patches and learning more as I go. As for games, I am still doing mahjongg and Wooduku when not giving my home a real life Home Edit treatment.
Oh i have immortal Life too, but am totally distracted with
My time at Sandrock early access which i love.
It wont come out before next Summer though.
I never played a farming game before My time at Portia
and Sandrock is the follow up to that.
I am fully invested 🙂 to say it with old Morts words:
” I believe in these people, i believe in Sandrock!”
I picked up ‘Ori and the Blind Forest’ and I cannot WAIT to play it!
But, right now, I’m sick and I don’t feel like doing anything
It sounds like you need a vacation just to rest the hat rack.
The only game I play is Best Fiends. I started when I was WFH and needed a brain break. Oh, and my sweet niece gave me watercolor supplies for Christmas. I started taking lessons when I retired last year and while I am amazingly mediocre, I am having fun!
Online, I’ve just discovered Subnautica. It’s a bit depressing, but I like the gameplay so I won’t dwell too much on the fact that I’m the only survivor on a ship large enough to hold the population of Huntsville. The Mistlands also dropped in November, so I’m back into Valheim really hard.
Offline, my kid got me Sushi Go Party and that game is just too fun with a group of friends. If there’s just two, I prefer something like Azul or Sagrada.
You can get a cute fish pet. 🙂 I have put waaaaay too many hours into Subnautica and the sequel.
I have just discovered ‘He who fights with monsters’ so been listening to that on Audible. It’s just like playing an MMORPG but in a book form. And also playing Marchington mansions on my phone for the complete brain break experience 🙂
I got Moorit Magazine -a scottish crotcheting magazine, this issue with astronomy theme.
Have bought LiTLG handdyed yarn from ireland to mix with White alpacca for a shawl.
Have convinced myself to try a simple pattern for my first try with english pattern (used to danish).
After that it will be the gorgeous “fly me to the moon” pattern.
One cannot have to many shawls with the combination of scandinavian winter and energy saving.
Best wishes for BDH and House Andrews In the new year
Nanna
I draw digital illustrations for a living, but it’s not always fun with deadlines and clients involved. To relax after work, I play with watercolors. I just treated myself to a couple of art boxes and some art supplies on Let’s Make Art winter sale. The art boxes come with trial-size paints and step-by-step instructions – a great way to try something new (I’ve never tried liquid watercolors). You can follow along their YouTube tutorials without any purchase (all outlines are available for free download on their website).
Bear and Breakfast is a cute and cozy game where you build and run a hotel as a bear (happy bear noises and silly humor included).
Rimworld is a deceptively simple story generator / colony simulator. You can play it your way – as a war crime lord, a peaceful farmer, or anything in between. It’s quite addictive but helps me relax and recharge after work.
Addicted to Merge Dragons! ☺️ An OCDers dream. Organize, organize, organize.
I purchased a very nice point and shoot camera last year. the company offers free on-line camera classes, beginner, intermediate and advance. I have been enjoying those.
Playing match 3-type puzzle games is my current hobby. When I’m overthinking everything, they help me do something mindless for a while. Currently I’m playing Royal Match because it’s the closest I’ve found to endless plays.
Try Cookie Jam! They give you lots of goodies so you usually can play for a long time. Cute graphics and sound effects too.
I’m playing Valheim every spare moment. Such a beautiful game! Enough of a challenge to be interesting, but it’s also easy to spend hours base building and growing turnips.
thank you for the reccommendation. I too don’t care for Stardew’s deadlines. Enjoy your gaming and let your brain relax. No pressure.
My puzzle for the year is to figure out how to make an afghan for my daughter that will look like dragon scales. She wants three-dimensional 5-inch scales made out of variegated yarn, crocheted in a way that makes each scale a different color. At the moment, I’m working on my 23rd guess at making this work.
Wowza! If you do figure it out, please come back and show us! The result sounds spectacular already!
I tried something similar in crochet. I’m not sure if you’re using a pattern or designing on your own. If you’re designing on your own, have you tried crocheting a few rows up, then doing long stitches to create the scales? What I mean by long stitches is when you have the loop to do the next stitch, you elongate that stitch down however many rows and do either a slip stitch or single crochet to anchor that elongated loop. You can create the loops the same length or shorten them up depending on how many rows you’ve crocheted in the background. When you’re done with the row, crochet more background rows and create the scales again.
It takes more yarn than you would think to create an afghan this way. Yarn yardage also goes up depending on the stitch you use.
Good luck with this! ????
Have you tried “crocodile stitch”? It’s crochet, but I bought a book about it, with instructions and projects.
TBH, I have not done anything w/ said book, but it is set up easy to harder, so it may be the next project (after I finish at least one of the 3 in progress).
It is definitely 3-D – You do a set-up row, then come back and make the scales. The pictures are *beautiful*.
I received from my daughter, a book on how to knit, needles and some yarn to complete a project! I am not a crafty person, so wish me luck! (yes, the book is probably for a much younger person, but, I gotta start somewhere!)
My daughter and I made fifteen different Gnomes to decorate at work. They were fun to make and look super cute!
Got a few books for Xmas.
Always playing The Elder Scrolls Online. Recently came back to World of Warcraft, because of the dragons. ^^;; But only occasionally. The last time I played WoW, I actually burned out on the game, so now I’m taking it really, really slow and easy.
Have also been playing around a *lot* with Midjourney. I love the creative power now available to me. And I’ve been reading up on the pros and cons of it. How it works, how it does what it does, the moral aspects of it. Fascinating conundrum there. I’m sure it will all be worked out, but it will take time. New technology always does.
I started playing Witcher 3 (finally) when I learned they had released a visual update for it. it’s been pretty fun and I’m…maybe halfway or less through the main story
I play World of Warcraft and this reminds me of gardening and fishing in Pandaria. I enjoy that very much, it’s very relaxing!
Still playing The Planet Crafter. Lore update was released about a month ago so I restarted as I like to check out any changes in gameplay.
I am definitely going to check that game out! sounds like it’s right up my alley.
The game I’m playing right now is Century: Age of Ashes it’s available on all platforms and is free to play with none of the pay to win stuff we often see. it’s a first person shooter, except we’re dragon riders and it’s our dragons who do the shooting (fire balls and flame breath) with special abilities for each of the 4 dragon types. I love this game so much it’s inspired me to write my own dragon rider story.
it wasn’t a Christmas gift but my husband bought me a season pass for the game earlier this month.
The “kids” are playing CALL OF DUTY. I am reading ONLY BAD OPTIONS….again. And watching ALCHEMY OF SOULS: season 2. Thank you so much for recommending it. I got my sister watching it as well. Can’t wait for the next episode. Have an enjoyable New Years celebration.
I have 125 games in my steam library but seem to only be able to play 2 with any kind of consistency. I have over 1,500 hours playing Rimworld and only 370ish in the next closest game (Oxygen Not Included). I do have several hundred hours in Skyrim but it is over multiple platforms. Everything else is sub 100 hours. I collect my computer games like I collect my yarn, for some future day when I might have “time”. Thanks for the recommendation, I’m not a Stardew Valley fan – 11 hours before I was fed up with the NPCs – LOL.
554. And I have a healthy GOG library. I have over 400 hours on Astrox. 181.7 on Skyrim, I am playing Snap right now 140+ hours and I got it in November. But most are below 10/20 hours.
I have been binging Harvestella since I got at as a Christmas present! It’s a mix of my two favourite genres: farm sim and Final Fantasy. I agree with you that the fishing is the worst I’ve ever seen, and I have seen a LOT of horrible fishing “mini-games”…
Xbox updated the backwards compatibility for more of their 360 games, so I installed Overlord II and have begun a gnome slaughter. Yes, there are quests. However, there are also gnomes to be slaughtered.
And then tomorrow I’m going to spend time with puppies. Will I come home with one, or simply come home to slaughter more gnomes? Find out next week on “Tea and Coping Mechanisms”
Hobby related gifts: I finally ordered myself a laser cutter for Christmas! Woo! It won’t be here for a few months, but I am now working on texture maps for making textured rollers and texture plates for making pottery. And beating my head against Blender. Slowly but surely getting things figured out (Whhhhy won’t my vector groups work right???)
I just wishlisted a couple of these at Steam. My son bought me Pentiment this week for my birthday. And I bought Stray for myself. Just have to find the time to play them. Year end is no fun when you’re an accountant.
I am playing Strange Horticulture and Potion Craft, both are sort of crafting/catalogue games. SH is great because you can play with Hellebore the cat.
One other kind weird question – is there a recipe for the Passion Cones from Silent Blade anywhere?
Thank you for helping make this year better than the last!
Hubby has watched me make Christmas cards for the last month and a half, so this year he bought me a laser engraver. have just finished watching all the tutorial videos and now can’t wait to try my hand at engraving some of my favourite Kate symbols onto wood. anyone have any good design ideas I could try ????
My partner and I just picked up Escape Simulator to play Co-Op. It’s a lot of fun so far and I love doing puzzle/escape room games together. We recently beat Escape Academy together and that was super fun. The best Co-Op game imo is It Takes Two (although the plot is iffy at times, the gameplay is A+). Amazing Co-Op game that makes me wish there were more games like that out there.
We just started Escape Simulator but it was on sale on Steam and it has several DLC on sale too which we might end up getting. Great fun to play together!
I just bought cotton yarn in three different variegated colors to create crocheted bathroom rugs. Haven’t been doing any sewing lately.
Can’t wait to wear my new t-shirts from the merch store. ????
I woke up at 5:38 thinking, “Oond the Oombole is our fish, if he can’t do it you can wish.” Next came the Princess Bride and the folly of getting involved (a perfectly good word) in a land war with Vampires.
I think I might be over involved with the Inkeeper world.
The other day I was making a cup of mint tea and I thought to myself, “Hey, mint tea, just like vampires drink!”
Then did a mental double take.
I can relate!
Immortal Life sounds incredibly tempting, maybe even enough to bring me back to Steam even though I mostly prefer GOG. I both like/loathe the checklist nature of Stardew Valley. I find it really easy to overfocus on crops in a farming game so it’s good to have distractions; OTOH it irritates the heck out of me if I do want to just focus on planting and harvesting but I feel compelled to visit my neighbours in order to pass a goal.
I’m even antisocial in simulated reality!
Yes! Huckleberry got me a marble Parkour puzzle to make and a mystery to solve:) I am also painting again. Enjoy your soft magical retreat:)
My husband bought me a nintendo switch pre-pandemic so awhile ago. I tried a few games and wasnt interested lol but than he bought me trine and im just playing it now and im so totally hooked its bad. Like its bad lol i love it!
We also just moved in november (canadian) and we moved out of the province i was born and raised in. My girls and i are so so homesick haha. So my addiction to trine may have evolved from that haha. I doubt it tho. Its just that good. Tell me someone does the homesickness ever fade!!!
Not likely in two months. It fades when you start to feel at home. Your timeline is going to be a bit longer.
As someone who has moved countries several times (hence the “trailing wife” nym), my experience is that it is in/after three years that one feels at home in a new place. The first six months to find the absolute necessities, the next six months to find better versions of grocery stores, bank branches, bookstores, gas stations, and bakeries. Year two is for the local yearly cycle of special events — culture, sports, social groups for your hobbies, refining your friends group from “people you met” to “people you really like”.
Year three is a repeat if year two, except now you have favourites to look forward to, a regular pub to hang out in, and the pleasure of being recognized when you go there. At some point during this year you’ll realize you are thinking of that place you lived all your life as a nice place to visit again when you can make time for it, not the place that has all the good things the new one lacks.
And along the way you and your daughters will discover not only that there is more to you than you thought, but more than you could have imagined. Look at Ilona, who came to America from Russia, and became the wondrous co-author we so enjoy today! (Becoming the scientist she originally planned would also have been wonderful, but not at all in the same way.)
As a Canadian you come from immigrant stock. You are evolved from people who thrived from their adventure into the unknown. 🙂
Ah thank you. You made me cry haha. Thanks for the supportive words❤️❤️
I got to see most of my family for the holiday for the first time since 2019. We’ve vacationed together in the summers but both Christmases were attended sparsely if at all, and I chose to stay home. This year 17/20 managed to make it. Bigger gifts go mainly to the small people. The rest of us exchange homemade edible or unique artsy/craftsy stuff. It’s more about hanging out together than the presents.
The game looks really fun. That’s why I must never get into gaming. My brain gets a rest on the trail or in a book. Last weekend the weather was hideous and I didn’t get outside much. Today it hit 60F, not good for the planet, but it felt great in the sun. The dogs got major zoomies after several days spent mainly inside. You can’t watch that and be in a bad mood.
Did you ever try “My Time At Portia”? It’s 300 years after the robot apocalypse and you’ve inherited your father’s workshop, and you help rebuild the community while figuring out who you want to mary, and occassionally dispatch killer robots and sewer monsters.
That game sounds like fun! Still playing Animal crossing. Working on my Swampcore/Voodoo island. The Edge probably influenced it. ????????????
I have been rotting my brain with playing rise of nations and GTA vice city all while looking at pile of stuff that I should tackle. It must be the pre-New Year winter doldrums. The game looks interesting though.
I’m playing New World to relax – I recommend the fishing – and Ark: Survival Evolved when I can focus enough not to get eaten. I now have tamed an argentavis and fly around the map out of reach of the nasty dinos. I’ve had to brush up on my dino recognition so I can tell which ones are the vegi-sauruses. And I now have a tree house way up high in the redwood forest which is fun.
This reminds me of how I reacted to Animal Crossing in 2020. I haven’t logged onto it in awhile but my massive art filled hedge maze construct is still a soothing virtual escape if I go back, and the completed museum in the game is just fantastic.
This year my bestie got me the Lego Starry Night set for Christmas, and it was incredibly satisfying to put together. It delights me every time I walk past it.
Ohhhh! I love the merchant/gladiator idea!!!
I will definitely try your new game! I do Farmarama for years, but its getting tedious because lots of Quests are getting very hard to finish without putting in extra money… The christmas gifts this year were kind of weird this year, because I gave my 19-year-old son a board game to play woth his friends on their „GameNights“ and he gave me two Steam-Keys for online games. I got Warhammer Chaosbane and Pillars Eternity. It was so cute! They were in envelopes signed: „For Mami“ and „Also for Mami“!
Enjoy your new game!
Greets from quite warm Switzerland!
Inga
Sounds like a great break from reality. And one you need! So have some fun!
I rarely play anything beyond a few card games as I tend to get sucked into the rabbit hole and not seen again. Bad enough how little gets done when I indulge in new books hehe.
Hobbies. Hmmmm. I ordered heirloom veg seeds to start. And in Dec I work on Xmas jigsaw puzzles. Still working on a miserably hard 2000 piece one that wilL NOT be finished this weekend drat.
I misread that as ‘cheese inspired martial arts sect’ and thought Here.are.my.people.
Ohh, you ever read ‘Beware of Chicken’? Story on Royal road and now on Kindle of a man from our world’s Canada who suddenly woke up possessing a young martial artist in a Xianxia world who had just been beaten to death. Our young man does the sensible thing, f*cked off and started a farm in a quiet area. Only things can’t stay quiet…
Yes! It was fun and I hope he’s working on a sequel
I have borrowed the book, but only scratched the surface of it (First couple of chapters).
It looks interesting and definitely sounds like a “take” on this game.
I will get it read, but I hate to start a new book before bed – Reading all night does happen to me, but it’s not good for me…
BOC Book 2 is currently scheduled for the end of March. It’s up for preorder on Audible, but hasn’t appeared in ebook preorder yet.
You are deserving of all the rest and relaxation! Thank you for all the wonderful books and extras that you so generously provide the BDH. I cannot wait to revisit Kate in January.
For the record a trilogy about a merchant and a gladiator in a Conan like world sounds delightful.
Wishing you and your family the happiest of New Years!
I enjoy almost any game for a while. I recently started playing backgammon again. sadly, the computer oponent is lacking in cut throat skills. I’ve also returned to cross stitch. it’s satisfying watching the picture appear.
So, about this merchant in the hypothetical trilogy… what do they sell? Are they amassing a fortune or are they struggling to support a family? oh, oh, maybe they are a traveling merchant since this is a Conan style world? do they have a caravan of camels ???? ???? Or a traveling caravan wagon?
It could be a stall at a big bazzar…
I’m going to read through the comments to see what everyone else is imagining now.
I saw a partial let’s play of this and I quite like it ^^ – but I’ve fallen in love with Coral Island in this genre currently (also Early Access) and I now play a 50% speed day most of my evenings just to relax. Coral Island is made by Phillipino developers (mostly) and was Kickstarter funded. I like the music, art design and the storyline focussing on the environment. Has cute dogs and cats and lots of fish and critters ^^
https://www.stairwaygames.com/coral-island
Added Immortal Life to my list! If you are looking for something similar, I recommend Sun Haven. It’s described as “Stardew Valley on fantasy steroids” and it improves on many of the game mechanics. Also in early access but the complete game should be out soon!
I picked up New World on a Holiday Sale. Seems like a decent game. You harvest things. Rocks, trees, ect ect. You are basically a magical lumber jack/minner who needs to save an island. Also there is PVP. Happy New Year BDH!
Happy Birthday!
I’m so grateful you share your stories.
They have enhanced my life, and I have happily used two inspirational quotes in a PowerPoint presentation.
“Life gives us few opportunities to put our best foot forward, so when a chance to shine presented itself, it is best to take it.”
And another longer qoute. (Of course I credit Ilona Andrews)
I’m surprised Potion Permit hasn’t been mentioned yet – adorable little game! No farming, but there is fishing and ingredient gathering, and of course – throwing them into a cauldron, solving tetris-like puzzle and curing the ill! Wytchwood is also really addictive, you are a witch bound by a goat demon to collect evil souls… which you can achieve by gathering sticks and whacking gnomes 😉 They can both be played infinitely but I do admit, they lose a bit of oomph after the plot finale. And for a trifecta – Little Dragon’s Cafe – combination of cooking (rhythm based) and exploring the world with no combat, just hiding behind rocks and watching baddies go poof and transform into pork chops 😉
playing horizon zero dawn. have you played that one? like and of the Zelda’s, but machines instead of monsters. open world and a good plot line, female oriented, the main character is female. if you play on story mode, it’s relatively easy and not scary. enjoy the beautiful visuals and music.
wasn’t meant I be a reply, sorry kei!
playing horizon zero dawn. have you played that one? like and of the Zelda’s, but machines instead of monsters. open world and a good plot line, female oriented, the main character is female. if you play on story mode, it’s relatively easy and not scary. enjoy the beautiful visuals and music.
Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West are masterpieces!! I can’t wait until HFW DLC comes out in April! <3
May we all have a mercifully normal 2023. With many thanks to my friends Bill and Michael for providing the wish.
I would like to have the ‘mercifully’ emphasized, please. We would all like it if ‘normal’ would stop being a bitch.
What is this “normal” of which you speak? I had to let go of that concept decades ago. Life consists of fluctuating levels of chaos. I do of course have a list of things I would rather not see in the coming year, or ever again in fact, not that we will get much choice in the matter.
This isn’t a game but there’s a YouTube channel called Dianxi Xiaoge that is kinda somewhat similar that I love watching with my kids. It’s slice of life / cooking videos in rural Yunnan in China. She goes out with her siblings and harvests crops then takes them home to cook using a big wood fire wok and other traditional cooking methods. There’s a Humungous dog called Dawang (meaning big king). There’s not much talking (what there is is in mandarin) and it’s beautifully filmed. There’s lots of chilli used. It’s mindful and soothing and cozy. Your description of the game reminded me of those videos you might like them too!
(Sigh) No new games found this Christmas. I received a very nice essential oil diffuser, which I may end up regifting later. I have difficulty even walking down the cleaners aisle at the grocery store because I am very sensitive to strong scents.
However, I did find a new author around Thanksgiving (which turned out to be a pen name for a different author that I already liked) and blew the book budget getting the entire back list. Only to find two NEW pen names she is writing under, as she is trying to separate series and genre so readers pretty much know what’s coming in the story, depending on the “author” name.
More happy reading ahead!!
You addicted me to Tapas, and I’ve spent the past 3 months earning ink (vids, app games, clicking advertisements, and signing up as Balls Ballerson with an extra gmail account for random mailing lists and unclaimed assets) & bingeing on their comics…
I just picked up Valheim. Not a farming game per se, but I reached the Bronze Age and have no desire to advance right now. I am alternating between mining, raising boars, farming carrots, and building my base. Combat? Not really interested right now.
ooh! ooh! Adira Kline trilogy (at the least if not a series like KD;) –she’s so powerful! So cool! so decent and wise! She’s such a great character, I’m sure she’d love to tell you all about how she saved the planet from dying and also got a cool side kick sword and found love despite impossible odds (esp when she didn’t think she could do anything great like get a promotion at work). Because she’s pretty amazing:) Did I say this already? hahahahhaaa
I started playing Immortal Life just after Christmas, I love it!! You hit it on the head with your description, I used to play My Time At Portia but there were so many different timed events and having to watch the calendar so much really broke the relaxed vibe I wanted. Immortal Life is a great game for flow. And the visuals are so beautiful!!
Thank you and Gordon for a wonderful year! Sometimes you have to just rest your mind and have fun. Doing something different and fun often stimulates my imagination in other areas. Your books have been such a source of pleasure this year. I have read or listened to them several times but it always makes me happy to drop back into your worlds. I hope you and yours have a happy new year and a great 2023
Have you tried My Time in Portia? It’s more of a building game than farming, but you slowly upgrade your workshop, fulfill orders from NPCs in Portia, then progress in the storyline by building more stuff. I mean it’s amazing how much satisfaction you can have by just building street lights for the city and seeing them light up every night.
I may try this game. I usually only play Civilization, but the newest iterations are a lot of work and often not a lot of fun.
Unfortunately, though I own the older versions, they no longer run on my mac.
My son found me an emulator that lets me run Civ 1 and I’ve been having fun with that. (Sometimes you just want to kick ass and conquer the world!)
As always, your recommendations are excellent and much appreciated.
Rest your brain while you can. Try not to plot anything until you can’t stand it any more and must, absolutely *must* get something out of your imagination so it will *leave you alone!*.
All plot / book ideas are welcome and will be paid for with great glee…
I wanted to end this year by telling you all thank you!
To House Andrews, thank you because I love your books and characters so much…like way too much…haha. I’m equally thankful to get to know a part of you guys through this blog. I find you guys to be amazing people and so wonderful to your fans…like unbelievably generous. Your humor and warmth here is just as great as it is in your books.
Thank you to Mod R who tirelessly watches over all of this and comments so much to let us know she is listening as well. She’s so helpful and has an amazing memory for all things House Andrews. And can’t forget her humor as well!
Last but definitely not least, I’m also thankful for the BDH. I love reading the comments and how almost everyone is so kind, well meaning, and hilarious.
Whatever the new year brings I know I can look forward to your characters and blogs to delight me.
Loving Immortal Life, thanks for the recommendation!
When your merchandise store comes back, see about Ripper Cushion totes. That is what I am waiting for. I have a restrictive no coffee, tea, citrus, carbonation or caffeine diet, so mugs are completely useless to me. I quilt so totes on the other hand are always useful. Here Kitty Kitty totes would work too. The Lion pic was wonderful. If it hadn’t been Christmas time when money is tight I would have gotten myself the ripper cushion journal or pillow but I had too many people besides myself to buy for. Hope more merchandise comes back before next winter.
I’ve spent the week since Christmas in bed with a 101 fever recovering from the flu (in-laws ‘forgot’ to tell us they were recovering from it before we went to their house for the holiday. They were afraid we wouldn’t come.)???? Good news is it was a very relaxing week drinking tea, reading, and listening to music for me!
Now that fever is gone and I’m much better, I’m fussing over my hubby and daughter who are now sick: this means homemade chicken soup, etc. I’m also preparing yummy goodies for our traditional quiet New Years Eve and Day, just the three of us. Nobody feels really horrible, so they’ll enjoy the goodies, and honestly (coughing aside!)it’s quite nice.
Hope everyone (especially Ilona, but also the rest of HA, Mod R, and the BDH)has a lovely and very relaxing New Years. Here’s to an awesome 2023!
Get well everyone!
Happy New Year to everyone! ????????
Ooooh *runs to steam*
Funnily enough, my favorite present this year was a gag gift. My husband put a pouch of about 150 meme stickers in my stocking and I laughed until I cried. I’m an ER nurse and I’ve been handing them out at random times at work. Little morale booster. Only two shifts and they are already quite popular. Gallows humor my friends, because whiskey in our coffee is frowned upon.
Thanks for all you do. I’ve put in many hours in ERs with little brothers, offspring, parents, inlaws etc. over the years (and occasionally on my own account). ER staff rocks.
My hobby is traveling so I got some cool travel gear, like a small Baggallini pouch, and some Fitkicks, which is flexible knit footwear with a rubber bottom, so they are comfy and sturdy and you can wear them on an overseas flight when you have to head to the bathroom. I also got a Nomadic tech organizer that holds all those little chargers and stuff that you need to bring. Also a few odd pouches and travel bags.
Love love love Baggallinis! I have different ones that I use for different kinds of trips. ???? I’m going to check out the Fitkicks. Thanks.
Marvels Snap card game. Tell you a secret, I am not a huge MCU fan. I have enjoyed the first of each story line, Iron Man, Avengers, Dr Strange. But I am a big Hearthstone player so when Marvel stole the creator of Hearthstone for a Marvel based card game I had to try it. It is also primarily a mobile game and I had to wait for the computer version to come out. At 76 I don’t even fool around with dodo on my phone. Snap is a great collectors card game. States it is free to play, but makes no secret about selling stuff. It is not good verses evil. each card is a character from the MCU Universe and you assemble 12 card decks from your collection. each game is 6/7 turns long and it is quick. And Fun, they same to have a fairly non-toxic fan base on facebook that is informative.
You’ve got one book just out, and one book coming out in a couple weeks… All during one of the most stressful times of the year. I’m sure you need a break. Maybe a spa day.
I was playing Atelier Sophie 2. For some reason I’m just meh about it, which is surprising since I loved the first. Might be because they’ve dropped English voices, and I find the Japanese voices too distracting. They tend to be even more over-the-top cutesy/little girl than anime. I do love the alchemy though, and going through the maps harvesting ingredients.
I watched some reviews on youtube about harvestella and decided to pass. Most agreed it gets repetitive fast. I looked at one called My Time in Portia, but I haven’t tried it yet. Reviews were pretty good on that one. I think there’s a new Rune Factory on Switch, but I haven’t played that one since the ps3 era, so I can’t remember if I liked it or not… Pretty sure it’s from the creators of Harvest Moon.
I’m eagerly awaiting Forspoken. I hope it’s as good as it looks. One more month. All the other games I’m looking forward to, like Dead Island 2 and FFXVI won’t release until spring, which means I won’t get to them until next winter.
Sounds like you are in reset mode, I know the feeling, it is like nothing comes when I am trying to figure out how to do something. Usually it is where I am just worn out emotionally and physically. Given all you guys did this year, holding off the BDH, not surprised.
We are starting the New Year out on a bit of a downer. My wife and I had dinner wed night with some friends at an upscale steakhouse and we ended up really sick, we think it was food poisoning because it hit really fast ( I got sick later that evening). We are just now barely starting to function, living on 7 up and crackers.
Was able Friday morning to let the plumber in to fix a burst small pipe that burst in the middle of Christmas dinner. Fortunately I found the cutoff for it so didn’t mean having no water or an emergency plumber. Was an easy job for the kid, might have found a new go to guy ( I have gotten to the age that unless I am good at something, I would rather have it done right).
But it has been a good holiday season, saw our peripatic musician for a few days, helped him with the drama of losing his apartment keys on the train coming home, and it was good.
Happy New Years to the book devouring horde, may your swords be as sharp as your wit. To house Andrews, may the New Years make the creative juices flow, may the writing go smoothly, and may nothing but fortune smile on you and yours.
I have been playing Project:Gorgon lately. it too is still being written, and also found on Steam. I’ve enjoyed it so far. Lots of crafting, which I enjoy. you can start out as a warrior and suddenly decide you would rather play a druid and just change to that without having to either reroll the character or start a totally new character. I am currently playing a priest/fire mage. But I started as a monk/unarmed and something that I don’t remember. There is a fairly good “family” feel. While there is the occassional bad apple, most people are friendly and helpful.
On the crafting front, there are gardeners, florists, artists, leather workers, saddlers, weavers, cooks, fishers. Right now the character selection is limited at the start. however once you’ve gotten you can do quests to become winged fairy, rabbits, spiders, deers, foxes, cows and pigs. And play as those characters.
I always take two weeks off at Christmas to play video games with my son. This year we played Nobody Saves The World. Loved it! He likes missions and boss battles, I love finding things and collecting. This game had both. We finished it then started Minecraft Dungeons. It has both as well.
Neither comes near our favorite though. Terraria is our number one!!
Happy Birthday (a day early). Glad you are enjoying the new game.
I wish you a happy New Year
I’m playing World of Warcraft – Dragonflight and 2 Point Hospital the modern retake on Theme Hospital.
Well, no new video games for Christmas, but I got two new books to read.
Shinanigans the latest Valdemar anthology and Spelunking through Hell the latest book in the Incrypitd Series by Seanan McGuire. I’m also looking forward to Chicks in Tank Tops which comes out Tuesday also an anthology. I also picked the new clue escape Tudor mansion and the new Dragonlance campaign book for D&D.
*laugh* I play Harvestella and I mostly like it. Okay, fishing is stupid, but how many do you really have to catch? Fighting is engaging, i like shadowwalker and samurai.
Some boss fights are mean, but not impossible, once I learned their ways.
???? Happy birthday to Ilona. Happy birthday to you! ???? ????????
(a day early. ????)
Ahh I play this game too, so I hope you can imagine how my heart skipped a beat to see it featured here (!!)
I follow a bunch of streamers who play games of this ilk and yet not one of them seem to have much awareness of or interest in this gem.
I hope your brain kickstarts back into gear in due time. And happy new year!
(Anxiously awaiting the new release c;)
minecraft, no man’s sky, factoria lover…currently deliriously lost in dwarf fortress. pardon phone keyboard grammer.
This might be something I consider. I hate high pressure games. I want a pretty little fantasy kingdom with interesting side quests and no violence. This fighting doesn’t seem traumatizing.
I play Merge Dragons because it is pretty and even though the goals get harder to achieve as one moves up levels they are still achievable. Even if I can’t fully make the goals there are incremental prizes so I can get something nice if I chose to play the side quest. I am a bit overwhelmed with dragon eggs right now because there have to be three or five to merge and I have a lot of twos and fours. Still it is very pretty and the dragons are friendly and my brain gets just enough of a workout and just enough reward that my adhd self hasn’t deleted the game.
Picked up Stray for PS5 at a discount and got about half way through. Bought Cat Quest and Cat Quest 2, which are purrfectly punny. Got about 30 levels in which is about half way through. Friend convinced me to try Genshin, alternating between that and FFXIV.
My brain breaks are doing quests while listening to music.
Both gladly and sadly, all I got to playing over christmas was some spider solitaire and MtG: Arena, since I was spending Christmas with my sister and her family. Thank you for the interesting tip, I am huge fan both of Stardew Valley and Wuxia.
May I have a question on you? What is a correct pronunciation of Wilmos’s Gerwar name? Renee Raudman has pronounced it as “Wilmosh” (like “cash”), while GA pronounces it as “Wilmoss” (like “moss”).
For myself I favor the Wilmosh, since it feels more right, but which one was the intended one?
The GA pronunciation is the author intended one ????. GA always consult with House Andrews and take their feedback very seriously.
As always, pronounce however is more comfortable to you, there is no test at the end and no one minds either way.
There is no sh sound at the end of Wilmos’ name.
Thanks to you all I’m addicted to Graphic Audio now. I got some audiobooks from them and I can’t stop listening. 🙂
I got myself Blacktail on the steam winter sale, and it’s really interesting so far. It’s an action and puzzle based version of the russian tale of baba yaga. It’s really fascinating that you are presented with choices that determine whether yaga stays ‘good’ or goes ‘evil’, and has real effects on the story. The art style is very cool too. The combat I find annoying but mostly because I am uncoordinated at combat. You can play in ‘story’ mode, and then don’t have to deal with as much combat but I was challenging myself lol.
I have now added Immortal Life to my wishlist, and will probably get it when it’s fully released. I love farming sims.
I got a new set of kitchen knives for Christmas. Since my last set was over 25 years old, I found this pretty exciting. Not sure I’d consider it hobby related, or work related, although you could probably argue both, might be a story or two in that…. lol. Happy New Year!
Happy New Year everyone!! House Andrews, thank you for an excellent year of reading and wishing you and the family health, relaxation and happiness.
For anyone looking at a new twist on Stardew Valley, I recommend the mod “Stardew Valley Expanded” on NexusMods. It has new maps, new characters and adds multiple new elements that I’m really enjoying. Does not remove the original characters, but adds a lot more to their stories. I normally focus on farming and building up my character for the first two years, so its a relaxing game for me but I completely understand this play style probably doesn’t work for most. And agree on the character & their stories getting a bit annoying.
Have a safe night everyone!
I got Crusader Kings III for Christmas. I haven’t yet played but I’m looking forward to it because it seems like it will be schemy political intrigue and dynasties which is right up my ally. I look forward to building an empire, nay, a dynasty! I’m hoping there will be some intriguing similarities between this and my favorite thing about Civ VI: the Culture and Faith mechanics. Couple that with Catherine de Medici’s spys that can sabotage and steal cultural treasures while still being buddies with the leader I stole from is bliss.
Smashwords always have a huge end-of-the-year sale that ends January 1st. I spent the last 9 days, intermittently, going through my booklists (from A-Z authors) looking for incomplete series (marked in red ink) in my library. I mainly concentrated on the books which had the 100% coupon discount. All told, I spent $13.00 and ‘purchased’ 231 ebooks. I have found a few rare gems here. I will admit that most times I’m left confused or left cliff-hung after reading most of these books. It’s the gem ones that keeps me coming back to the website to find more of those rare treasures.
My brain stopped working at « an entire trilogy plotted about a merchant and a gladiator set in a Conan-like world ». It sounds awesome !! Pretty please ??
I don’t go techy for a brain break too much, I just go Minecraft on peaceful settings to farm and mine and build. It’s childish and simple but fun. Lately I’m planting mangroves in a Minecraft based game called Rooted Together. It’s about how it changes the environment. Super simple, mind numbing but satisfying.
mostly I play Mahjongg. or sudoku when I need to wake my math brain up.
I’m playing Misty Continent, first time ever doing team gaming. Good people on the team. And I started Strange Horticulture. Diggy is my soothing daily puzzle game, along with Bonza.
I bought myself some unprocessed Alpaca wool at the Alpaca Loom Coffee shop today. I will be crocheting two alpacas and adding the fluffy bits with the wool manually, which is something I haven’t done before so I’m looking forward to it. Hopefully it turns out ok
I mostly play Bloons TD 6. Fun game where monkeys of all skill levels shoot balloons. I love the explosions. Play a lot of Rise of Nations, but that has gotten to complicated for my tired brain this last week.
Happy New Year all! Love the BDH.
You must be reading my mind! I’m still reading my translated asian fantasies, got to the Stardew endgame, and just started Animal Crossing with my little ones, and then along comes this perfect recommendation! Thank you, I will have to get this.
I just bought myself a switch for the Holidays. Been having a blast with all the 2D puzzle games I can’t seem to bring myself to play on the PC, Ori and the Blind Forest, Limbo, etc.
Sometime next week I’m going to delve into the switch as an active tool with just dance and ring fit, and I could not be more excited!!!
Happy holidays and I hope you enjoy your break!
I am so crazy happy and excited that my favorite author recommends a game that I’ve been constantly checking for updates on. I’ve always wanted to play a cultivation/wuxia/xianxia game but there hasn’t been anything as interesting and cute as Immortal Life. I’ve had my eyes on this game since it was still in development. I’ve been waiting for its official release instead of the early access version because the developers have so much planned for the story. The developers also plan to make the full game playable on Nintendo Switch. Makes me super giddy that Ilona recommends the game. Also makes me tempted to just buy the early access and start playing. Ahhh~ happy fan.
(One new game that made me feel like I finally entered the Chinese dramas I’ve watched my whole life — Sword and Fairy 7. There are dramas of these games. This is the latest game that actually got international release.)
My current fave games are Numberzilla and Color Water Sort. Theyre both simple puzzle games. I have no idea why something that requires me to think is what I do when my brain is tired but…
My fave Christmas gift is a food saver vacuum sealer. I purchased a sous vide machine (cause cooking with no pan to wash? yes please!) and Ive been wanting a vacuum sealer ever since. There is something so satisfying watching all the air get pulled out of a bag!
I made quilted hotpads for most of my Christmas presents and I managed to break my oldie (5-10 y/o) and the new cheapie i bought to replace just so I could get the presents done.
And no they are still not all done.
So I’m thinking I may have to spring for a fancy smancy heavy duty sewing machine… *sigh* ????
Ugh just realized I didnt clarify that I broke my oldie _sewing machine_ and the cheapie _sewing machine_ I bought.
????????
Isn’t it wonderful how our brain knows when we need a break and turns off a little bit of itself to have a rest while still functioning for chores and emergencies?
The amazing thing is that the re-energized brain will then kick back in to exceed our wildest dreams!
You go Wonderful brain!
Omg I’m gonna check this out later! Playing the 2018 god of war right now, but I also love farming sims ????
Ooooo, adding that to my steam wishlist, thanks!
My sister got me a Caligraphy starter kit, which is super exciting because I’ve wanted to try it out for a while, now! I also got a Switch game Ive been really looking forward to, but I can’t play it (or most of my PC games because I am currently one – handed thanks to a broken elbow and wrist.
So instead I’ve been playing Starter Orders and watching anime.
I am always thrilled to see you recommend a game, I’ve found such favorites that way, Oxygen Not Included being a huge one. Right now I just started Rune Factory 5. I really loved RF4S, so I’m hoping for good things.
Just for fun. I play, two of my (adult) children play, and also one of my granddaughters.
The game? My Singing Monsters
It’s on Steam and is completely free if you wish. (It just takes longer if you don’t spend anything.) I paid a while $6.99 for a starter pack of stuff, and nothing since.
Lots of fun!
Have you played Animal Crossing on the switch? It’s a very puttery game once you get your island halfway set up. You can fish, collect bugs, swim and collect sea creatures. All of this goes into a muesum for display that you can then chill in. It also has a art and fossil collection and a cafe. It’s a super chill game. The villagers are awesome and you can switch them out all the time. If you buy the dlc then you can design homes for them on and off the island. It’s a lot of fun and very relaxing. A very much go at your own pace game.