Excited about the upcoming Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk live action series coming to the Disney+ streaming service, my daughter and I had some game night fun this weekend with these new leading ladies of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Carnage is on a rampage in New York City and it is up to Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk to foil the villain's master plan in this game of MARVEL UNITED. It won't be easy as this alien symbiote has a number of offspring to battle before you can go head to head with him. Plus he is continuously transforming more people around the City into dangerous clones of himself that speed up the time frame of his master plan coming to fruition.
Why is Carnage trying to infiltrate the labs of Stark Industries and Oscorp while flooding New York City with an army of monstrous Symbiotic clones? Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk leap into action to battle this evil threat! They don't have much time though ... if Carnage completes ten turns he WINS and that timeline speeds up as he assimilates innocent bystanders as hosts for the Symbiote organisms that make up his alien army. There is no time to waste in stopping Carnage!
Carnage belongs to a race of amorphous extraterrestrial organisms known as Symbiotes, which form a symbiotic bond with their hosts and give them super-human abilities. Carnage has no regard for life and a desire to promote total chaos. Yet he can be methodological and meticulous in his plots to become the dominate lifeform on the planet.
Ms. Marvel is a leading character in Marvel's development of a diverse lineup of superheroes appealing and relatable to new generations of young fans. This Pakistani-American hero has the power to shapeshift being able to transform her body to do feats such as elongating her limbs or enlarging her fists. Ms. Marvel often teams up with Squirrel Girl and America Chavez to create an amazing trio of girl power that can give any bad guy a run for their money!
After getting a blood transfusion from her cousin Bruce Banner, Jennifer Walters gained all the powers of the Hulk without losing her personal consciousness or sense of conscious in fighting for justice as the She-Hulk. She is a combination of brains and brawn! In addition to her solo crime fighting endeavors, She-Hulk has also been a part of the Avengers and Fantastic Four superhero teams.
Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk have a lot to take on in a limited amount of time. Before the can even tackle Carnage head on, this super duo must clear threats from four locations and either defeat nine Symbiotes or rescue nine bystanders. Plus, in this MARVEL UNITED game scenario the heroes must also defeat three of Carnage's henchmen in combat before unlocking the big boss char acter for a final showdown.
We focused on the tackling the henchmen and clearing location threats as our first priority. She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel tore through the henchmen and unlocked three of the four locals trying to move forward to battle one-on-one with Carnage. Unfortunately, Carnage was able to capture numerous people off of New York's streets adding them to his alien army and speeding up the completion of his master plan by giving him some extra jumps ahead on the Spawn Track further reducing the number of turns She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel had to work with. BAM! The villain was victorious this game night.
Doah! Unfortunately, you can't win every game; but it is fun trying! Win or lose it is always a good time playing MARVEL UNITED during a family game night. Looking forward to a rematch against Carnage and watching the Disney+ Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk tv shows.
This post has affiliate links, which means this blog could earn advertising money if you buy something. This doesn't cost you anything extra, ageekdaddy.com just has to give you the heads up for legal reasons. Click away!
Dodino Island needs a new ruler! In order to be crowned a perch on the Dodosaurus Egg-throne your Dodo Bird must team up with a dinosaur and win a grueling race around the island. Compete with your choice of twelve Dodo/Dino teams for the chance to be the next ruler of Dodino Island in this board game from Detestable Games and Draco Studios.
Race through exotic locations in this tabletop game with either meeples or minis while throwing bananas, rolling logs, flicking eggs and hurling meteors at your rivals. Dodos Riding Dinos combines strategic card play and the luck of rolling dice for an entertaining game experience. Plus, the physical interactions of having a meteorite crash into the racecourse, a dino tripping over a banana peel, getting your face full of splattered egg or the tickle of a feather causing one of these mighty dinosaur steads to crash are fun elements to the game that add extra excitement and heckling into the fray.
There are twelve plastic minis of the dinosaur and dodo bird teams that come with the game. Each mini comes in a different color or you can paint them to customize the look of each. If you don't want to have a painted mini damaged by being battered by the wood-based bananas, eggs, feathers, logs and meteorites tossed by players on the game board, then there are also wooden meeples of each dino that can be placed upon the race track instead.
There are four tracks to choose from each on a sturdy cardboard base:
DODINO ISLAND
The place where Dodos and Dinos live in peace ... but when the island's leader is crushed by a meteor it is now a race to claim the throne of leadership.
BOREAL SKY
Dodinos Island has curious magnetic effects due to its proximity with Polaria. This causes the appearance of large Auroras Borealis that almost touch the ground in clear night skies. Dinos have discovered they can jump in and run across these light bridges in the night sky.
IGNIS VOLCANO
Your Dodo has fallen into Dodino Island's volcano and you must jump into the crater to rescue them. Keep running and avoid burning your legs with the hot volcanic terrain.
POLARIA ICEBERG
During the winter, it is common to see icebergs near Dodino Island. The strong icy winds make bridges that Dinos sometimes cross to explore these cold lands.
Play each board separately or combine them to make one large competition for the Dodosaurus Egg-throne. Beware that some boards have special hexes to add challenging aspects to the game. For example, beware dangerous shortcuts and deep snow on the Polaria Iceberg! Flame hexes in the Ignis Volcano are difficult to enter but provide some opportunities to burn other players you are racing against.
Each dinosaur comes with a Racer Card that has a cartoonish illustration of the dino. Each card includes a Dodo Bird name based upon a paleontologist and a Dino nick name based upon a dinosaur's name or trivia. It also includes special attributes for each dino. For example, Lio the Liopleurodon can take one card from the deck of an opposing player whenever you are passed plus advance one space. There are also Speed Value Modifiers to provide an artificial intelligence factor when some racers become NPC during Solo or 2-player games.
My family loves dinosaurs so Dodos Riding Dinos was a game night hit in our house. It has rules that are easy to grasp, incorporated dexterity and player interaction into the play, and just provided an overall fun time. It incorporates strategy in the use of card decks but also the luck of the roll of the die or the toss of one of the hazard items also adds some entertaining randomness to a game's outcome. Dodos Riding Dinos absolutely earns a Geek Daddy nod of approval for being a great selection for a family game night.
I purchased Dodos Riding Dinos through investing in a Kickstarter campaign using commissions earned from affiliate links in posts on this blog. Opinions expressed are honest and my own. This post has affiliate links, which means this blog could earn advertising money if you buy something. This doesn't cost you anything extra, ageekdaddy.com just has to give you the heads up for legal reasons. Click away knowing any revenue raised is reinvested into new content like this post to review and share with you.
Who else enjoys playing ZOO GUARDIANS? This game for Apple and Android mobile devices lets players build their own zoos with some guidance from the Smithsonian National Zoo. Become a Zoo Guardian of endangered animals as you learn about conservation and fun facts about the creatures you are carrying for. My kids and I love visiting zoos and our whole family has been geeked about this game that lets us design our own zoological parks.
During Howl-oween you can be a BOO Guardian. Enjoy this exclusive promo code Boo2021 which will let you unlock some cool Zoo animals. The code is only valid until November 7, 2021 so don't wait around to take advantage of it.
For more information or to download the game, head over to zooguardians.com
Avengers Assemble! Roleplay as Earth's Mightiest Heroes in MARVEL UNITED, a hybrid card game that incorporates fantastic tabletop miniatures, which lets players team up as their favorite Avengers. Have yourself a super family game night attempting to stop the dastardly master plans of dangerous villains.
Two to four players each take on the role of one of seven Avengers characters (Ant Man, Black Widow, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Hulk, Iron Man or Wasp) in this cooperative game co-created by CMON and Spin Master Games. MARVEL UNITED is a mashup of plots and characters from both the Marvel comics and cinematic universe with the artwork and figure models in a unique chibi style to be appealing to tweens and teenagers based upon the current popularity of anime and manga. The game has been specifically designed to be easy to learn yet challenging enough to be entertaining to play to maximize its playability with a wide range of ages making MARVEL UNITED an ideal selection for a family game night.
One of the reasons I picked up MARVEL UNITED was that it isn't too complicated for my twelve year old twins to enjoy but is comprehensive enough to keep me interested in playing it too. I also appreciate the cooperative nature of the game where we would all be working together to win the game. This game has the potential for a lot or repeat playability and I liked how it can provide us quality family time immersing ourselves in the fantasy world of Marvel super heroes and villains.
The core box of MARVEL UNITED focusses on the Avengers with a team that is pretty consistent with the makeup of the characters as portrayed in the Marvel cinematic universe. You can pick from one of three villains (Red Skull, Ultron or Taskmaster) for your team of Avengers to tackle in an adventure. Players only go head to head against one of these villains per game. Each villain and hero gets their own deck of cards which are utilized in turns throughout the game.
Rising to power during World War II, the Red Skull was one of the planet's most dangerous threats and Captain America's greatest enemy during the conflict. Exposed to an experimental gas near the end of the war he remained in suspended animation for decades. He emerged in modern times to continue his desire for world domination as the leader of a terrorist organization known as Hydra.
Has photographic reflexes that allow him to replicate any super hero fighting move he sees. He is a mercenary who trains super villains in combat techniques and engages in covert missions. Taskmaster utilizes his martial arts skills and special ability for a wide range of criminal enterprises from assassinations to high priced heists. He doesn't have loyalty to any particular creed beyond the accumulation of wealth.
A science experiment gone wrong, Ultron is a sentient robot that hates and seeks to destroy humanity. Ultron’s abilities include superhuman strength, flight, and various weapons such as concussion blasters, radiation emitters and his “encephalo-ray,” which plunges its victims into a deathlike coma. As a mechanical being Ultron can transfer his consciousness from robotic body to body making him nearly indestructible.
In MARVEL UNITED an actual storyline is created by drawing villain cards that imperil the heroes and move the master plan forward. Players build a hand of cards from drawing blindly from their individual hero decks during the game. Hero cards allow players to take certain actions such as moving to different locations, clearing threats, fighting thugs, rescuing civilians, inflicting damage on the villains and their henchmen or utilizing a unique power.
Don't rush into making a decision in your turn because your decision also impacts your team mates. Heroes can unite their powers so your move can impact what someone may or may not be able to turn the next turn. Remember no one wins the game unless your team prevents the villain from enacting their master plan.
While the Avengers strategize and leap into action, the villain will roam around six locations in the game (ranging from the grounds of New York City's Central Park to the airborne deck of a S.H.I.E.L.D. helocarrier hovering over Manhattan) creating chaos. They could be deploying minions to terrorize the city, kidnapping civilians and more. Oh and while there is only one primary villain (represented by a game board figure piece) they do have some powerful henchmen that the Avengers will have to battle one on one too.
Plus just to make things a little more tricky ... you can't battle the main villain until you do two of three things. Before you can inflict damage on the villain your heroes must defeat nine minion thugs, rescue nine civilians or do a combination of defeating powerful henchmen and clearing threat scenarios. And once you get close to getting to the big bad guy the villains cards start to be drawn after every two hero turns instead of at the conclusion of an entire Avengers' team. Are you up to the challenge?!
For our first family game night playing MARVEL UNITED, we took on Red Skull. While the Avengers we played as resembled the heroes portrayed on the silver screen, the Red Skull and his henchmen were closer to characters from the pages of Marvel comic books. As I said earlier, the Red Skull wasn't just backed by nameless thugs. We also had to combat Crossbones, Madame Hydra, and Bob (Agent of Hydra) before we can go after Red Skull. And while we can't engage right away with the main villain, Red Skull and his henchmen can inflict damage on each of our heroes from the get go. We have to make quick work of the henchmen and thugs or our heroes could get KO'd. Game over!
BAM! BAM! BAM! Red Skull and his henchmen were hitting us hard doing a ton of damage to our heroes as the Avengers started off the game clearing out locations of minor thugs and rescuing civilians in danger. Things started to swing our way though starting with Bob being a bit of a pushover and Madame Hydra falling next. Crossbones was more of a challenge but Captain America and Iron Man combined their abilities to take him down. With Hydra's thugs and henchmen out of the way this opened up an opportunity for The Incredible Hulk to smash Red Skull for an Avengers victory in our first time playing MARVEL UNITED.
This game has been available for retailers since the 2020 holiday season, but we just received it now because I purchased it through a Kickstarter pledge which took awhile to arrive because it included some exclusive items. One of those items is the wonderful game mat with a neoprene non-skid backing shown in our pictures playing the game. This game mat really enhanced the game play.
Also I received a box of additional hero and villain miniatures with their own card decks. While the core box focus is on the Avengers this Kickstarter exclusive expansion pack brings into play a variety of characters from the comic books, television shows, and movies. These range from heroes such as Daredevil, Squirrel Girl, and Howard the Duck to villains that include M.O.D.O.K. and Kingpin.
With these Kickstarter exclusives there is so much re-playability with MARVEL UNITED. We're going to be having a lot of family game night fun with this game. MARVEL UNITED absolutely gets a Geek Daddy nod of approval.
Anyone who has ever hoarded Halloween candy as a kid will love a new card game created by cartoonist Alex Clark. Studio71 Games ( the producer of Half Truth, Shady Agents, Pet Evil and Tape Worm ) sent us a prototype deck to try out of their newest game SUGAR HEIST which they've launched on Kickstarter. If you want to be one of the first people to get your hands on this game don't delay in making a pledge on Kickstarter as the campaign wraps up on July 1, 2020! A madcap game of childish hijinks this game provides a sugar rush of excitement as you battle friends and family to be the "kid" who has the most candy.
SUGAR HEIST utilizes the artistic and comedic talents that have made Alex Clark a YouTube sensation to craft an energetic family-friendly game which will get players acting like sugar-hyped babies in a battle royal over candy. It can get ultra competitive but also provides a rush of goofy fun so you are sure to have a sweet time playing it!
Players are trying to stash away 5 types of candy (Fruity Booty, Power Sours, Lucky Sucky, Nutty Butty, and Gum Yum) into vaults. You can put candy into a vault once you've obtained a matching pair of the same type of cards and once you've achieved the lock number on a particular type of sweet it is secured from being stolen from other players. Until then though other players can steal your candy from you!
The game ends when all 5 flavors of candy have been locked away in vaults. Then players count who has hoarded the most candy to see who the winner is. Plus you can earn some love from Grandma to get some extra bonus points. That just might make the difference if you win or lose in SUGAR HEIST.
Candy Cards can be obtained in a variety of ways. You pull two cards each round from the Candy Card deck so that you can have up to six pieces of candy in your hand. If you get a pair put them in a vault. You can only put one flavor of candy though in a vault though with each player starting off with two vaults. If you need more vaults players can buy another vault by discarding one piece of candy into a discard deck.
You can also sell candy cards by discarding them to purchase Battle Cards. There are a variety of battle card options you may randomly pull from this deck. The main one is the Attack move. This allows a player to either STEAL 2 candy cards from an opponent's vaults or pull a HEIST to take 6 cards away from someone else's vaults. An attack card can be used right when it is pulled or players can hold onto it to use in a later round of the game.
In heist mode, two players randomly pull a card from the battle card deck one at a time. The first person to obtain 2 attack cards win. If it is the person who started the battle that player gets six cards from the person they targeted the heist against. But if the person who is defending their candy wins, then they don't lose anything.
Battle Card decks in addition to Attack Cards also include Action Cards, Defense Cards, and Event Cards. The most powerful defense is the Mom Card. Players can stash this away and if someone tries to swipe or heist their candy can have Mom step in to stop the other kid. Another defense is the Grandma Card. This gives you bonus points at the end of the game so that you can makeup for candy that may have been swiped or heisted from you during the game.
Action cards are meant to create chaos in the game. For example a "Night Raid" card allows someone to steal an entire unlocked vault with all the candy inside it. This can be used immediately when someone purchases a battle card and pulls it from a deck or it can be held onto and used at a more strategic time later in the game.
Event cards can also be randomly pulled from the Battle Card deck. These are like action cards but MUST be used immediately. For example, if you pull the "Bad Dog" event card from the battle deck it goes into play right away. When it comes to this card, a bad dog steals everyone's candy! The player declares a type of candy and anyone who has that type in their hand must place it in the central discard stack which is where people also put the candy they use to buy vaults and battle cards. Candy that is in locked or unlocked vaults though is safe from a bad dog.
Plus you can also play nice with other players from time to time and swap candy from each others hands trading for what each other needs. So you can find candy cards by pulling them from a main deck each round, trade with other players from what they have in their hands, or steal, swipe or heist candy from other players hands or vaults. Lock up as much candy as you can as quickly as possible any way you can to ultimately win the game.
Looking for a game that is out of the ordinary which will be fun for all ages to play together? SUGAR HEIST is something new and different to play that is sure to provide a fun time. This dad blogger and his family have had a good time playing it around the house. It can be played with 2 - 4 players. So we've had the whole family play with my wife and I having a family game night with our kids. Plus my son and daughter have battled it out against one another on the living room floor and out on the backyard patio table. This game absolutely gets a Geek Daddy nod of approval!
Click here to see more products available from Studio71 Games
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray for this Blog Post. The opinions I share are my own.
Duty calls again, and our hero dog Max returns to action in MAX 2:
White House Hero. His new assignment brings him to Washington, D.C. to
serve on the U.S. president's Secret Service detail. When a foreign
leader arrives with his precocious daughter Alex (Francesca Capaldi),
tensions arise between both countries. First Son TJ (Zane Austin),
along with Max and Alex, uncover a dangerous plot that puts both kids
and both nations in jeopardy. A highly-sensitive mission will push Max’s
specialized skills, intelligence and loyalty to the test.
MAX 2: White House Hero is out now on home video from Warner Bros Home Entertainment and A GEEK DADDY has a Blu-ray+DVD+Digital HD movie prize pack to giveaway. For a chance to win this family-friendly canine adventure, follow @Geekdad248 on Twitter and retweet the embedded tweet below by
11:59 pm ET on May 31, 2017 for a chance to win. Must be a US resident
over 18 years old to participate.
Follow @Geekdad248 & RT before 6/1/17 for a chance to win MAX 2: WHITE HOUSE HERO on home video for a fun family movie night #ad (US only) pic.twitter.com/qd05Ete1ta
While waiting to see if you've won this perfect movie for a family movie night, have some fun playing our MAX 2: White House Hero RUN Game. Can you help Max save TJ and Alex?! Jump over obstacles and strive to get your best time on the game screen below.Post your best score in the comments below to compare how you ranked versus other A GEEK DADDY readers.
For more information about the movie, please visit max-themovie.com
Disclaimer & Contest Rules: A Geek Daddy has not been
financially compensated for this endorsement or hosting the giveaway but
was provided the same items being provided as a prize for personal use.
The prize is provided by Warner Bros Home Entertainment and A
Geek Daddy is hosting the promotion as a benefit to our readers. Must be
a US resident over the age of 18 to participate. Entries limited to one
household and winner will be randomly selected from all eligible
entries. If you have already won this prize through another blog
participating in this promotion, your entry will be disqualified if that
prize has already been awarded by Warner Bros Home Entertainment. By participating in this promotion you waive any
liability of any kind against the publisher of this blog. Winner is
subject to eligibility verification. No P.O. Boxes allowed for delivery
of the prize. Must reply to notification message within 48 hours by
providing requested contact information or else the prize will be
forfeited and a new winner randomly selected. Warner Bros Home Entertainment will be responsible for shipping the prize to the selected
winner. Twitter is not a sponsor and has no relationship with this promotion.
** A Geek Daddy received the featured product for free to review **
The nice folks at Future of Play were very kind in sending A Geek Daddy their new TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLE - MUTAGEN MAYHEM Battlesnap game to preview before it arrives at stores in August. Battlesnap provides a fun new twist to the classic Rock, Paper, Scissors game featuring the heroes and villains from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. My kids and I enjoyed a nice summer evening playing a few rounds of the game on our back deck.
You start of your Battlesnap competition by selecting a character. My daughter was the evil Shredder and my son choose to be one of the Ninja Turtles. Players place their character within a plastic case called a "card." Flip over the panel holding the character so that the top of the card is flat. The flipping action will cause a small dial located next to the figure to spin. This spinning action will allow the dial to randomly display one of three symbols - pizza, weapons or mutagen - which is not disclosed to your opponent. You can also manually steer the dial with your finger if you want more control and less randomness in your game play.
Each player loads their cards onto the Mutagen Mayhem rail. Ready, Set, GO! Both players push their cards toward one another. As the cards collide the characters spring out revealing each player's symbol.
PIZZA beats WEAPONS
WEAPONS beat MUTAGEN
MUTAGEN beats PIZZA
If you tie no one wins the battle. Each time someone wins a battle, they collect a slice of pizza. The first player to collect 4 slices of pizza (a whole pie) is the winner of the round. There are no preset number of rounds for the game. Players can determine how many bouts they want to have before someone is determined the champion or can just informally play until they've decided they've had enough.
My daughter faced off against my son in the first round of our competition and won four slices to two. She then only earned one slice in a loss to him. I then took on my son losing three slices to four. Battling against my daughter I won four slices to two. My daughter took on my son again with him pulling out a narrow come from behind victory winning four slices to three. With my son's three victories, compared to one each for my daughter and I, we declared him Champion of Mutagen Mayhem.
The TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLE - MUTAGEN MAYHEM Battlesnap game from Future of Play is a nice diversion to relax and enjoy spending time with family or friends. We had a really nice time playing it ourselves. It is simple to do yet provides for some competitive fun whether it is kids taking on kids or parents taking on their children. A perfect game to pass the time on a rainy afternoon or uneventful evening. Light weight and fairly compact it is easily stored around the house to pull out when the kids are whining they are bored or convenient to take along when you need help keeping the kids amused during a long family trip. Recommended for children over 3 years old because of small pieces, this game is suitable for children from preschool age through elementary school.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator and James and the Giant Peach were three of my favorite books to read in grade school and I read each of them multiple times during my youth. So I'm excited the story by their author that was his favorite published work, "The BFG" has been made into a motion picture by Walt Disney Studios directed by Steven Spielberg. "The BFG" tells the tale of a ten-year-old orphan and her encounter with a big friendly giant and their battle with his brutish brothers in Giant Country. To share my excitement about The BFG arriving at theaters across the USA on July 1, 2016 here are some fun activity sheets and fun facts related to the movie.
FUN FACTS
Roald Dahl's "The BFG" was first published in 1982, the same year as Steven Spielberg's own story about an unusual and transformative friendship, "ET: The Extra-Terrestrial," captured the hearts and imaginations of children and adults. Melissa Mathison wrote the screenplays for both films.
The BFG is 24 feet tall. The biggest giant in Giant Country is Fleshlumpeater who is twice as big as the BFG. If NBA basketball player Lebron James, a forward for the Cleveland Cavaliers who is 6 feet 8 inches tall was standing next to Fleshlumpeater, he would come up to his ankle.
Roald Dahl was exceptionally tall himself, measuring 6 feet, 6 inches in height. 2016 marks the 100th anniversary of Dahl's birth. "The BFG" was Roald Dahl's favorite of all his stories and was originally created as a bedtime story for his grandchildren. The character Sophie was named after his granddaughter and based upon his daughter Olivia who died at 7 years old from the measles.
Production on "The BFG" was a combination of live action and performance capture (the performance capture techniques were used to bring the story's fantastical characters to life). Director Steven Spielberg filmed individuals in their performance capture suits acting on the same set with the film's totally human characters as he wanted to see the interaction between them.
ACTIVITY SHEETS
The BFG is rated PG and has a run time of 117 minutes. It began playing at movie
theaters across the United States on July 1, 2016. For more information
on the movie, visit movies.disney.com/the-bfg.
