May your holidays be full of cheer and drama-free! And of course, hopefully you get all the games you wished for hehe

🎄 💚🎄

My family's doin' a Secret Santa this year, mostly because I can't afford gifts for 14 people 😕 Got my cousin the hardcover versions for one of her favorite book series; she can be difficult sometimes, but I think I nailed it! Also bought some "Monster Balls" from our merch store: a Haunter for me, an Eevee for my aforementioned cousin, a Lucario for her little sister, and Mega Charizard X for my sister.

What are your plans for the holidays? Get anything cool for Christmas/Insert Holiday Here? Let us know in the comments below!

What are you up to this month? Have any games in mind for the future? Let us know in the comments below!

I bought nothing from the Steam Autumn Sale, which is a good thing. That said, I've been a bad girl and continue to buy stuff I shouldn't with funds I barely have, like board games and stuff D: Next up on the docket is Marvel Rivals, which I assume will cost money: they did a survey and the players overwhelmingly voted for all present and future characters to remain free and open access, so naturally they've got to get the $$$ somewhere lol.

Beyond that, I'm gonna try and make a better effort to clear out my backlog and conserve my funds; first up is Baldur's Gate III, Round 3. Mods should hopefully help spice up the experience and keep me engaged long enough to actually finish it this time!

Share your pack openings for the latest expansion and tell us your plans for your new cards.

Out of Games doesn't need to be specifically about video games! haha. Tell me about some of your favorite board games, or tabletop experiences like Dungeons & Dragons, Shadowrun, etc. I'm always in the market for more!

My family has a game night we do each Friday: there are five of us, and it's a struggle to find ones that can successfully field five players. Four appears to be the magic number, much to our dismay. Still, we've found some, like Talisman, Settlers of Catan, and Wingspan. We've even adapted some games that could theoretically run with more than four without trouble, like the Firefly board game. We also have a fair number of cooperative games, to curb our bloodlus...I mean "competitive natures". We had to stop playing certain games like Munchkin because people get too upset :/

Unfortunately, when a game lacks an expansion or setup for a fifth player, we lose out on what could be a fun experience. The Horizon: Zero Dawn board game has really nice, detailed miniatures of the robots...but all the expansions add more robots, not more players. I went out of my way to buy the Kickstarter pieces to the "Borderlands: Mr. Torgue's Arena of Badassery" game on Ebay - because I absolutely love Borderlands - and despite now having like 25 playable characters, the rules are still only balanced for four people. It all sits in a tote in my room, collecting dust alongside my Bunkers & Badasses tabletop stuff :(

Segueing into tabletop games, I really enjoy playing Dungeons & Dragons with my dad and his friends...but it doesn't like me lol. I am terrible at rolling favorably, and I don't care to roleplay my characters that much. We're there to play a game, not be actors! I bought a Bunkers & Badasses set - the Borderlands equivalent - but I don't have anyone to play that with, so I guess my campaign idea will remain just a Word document forever. My dad is currently creating his own tabletop rulebook/setting with the intent to publish it, so that's cool.

Hey, folks! The Game Awards are about to start, and we have a bingo board for you to have some fun during the presentation.

Check out our coverage of the announcement.

Welcome one, welcome all. To the first reality cooking show on Azeroth hosted by Gallywix and produced by Mayor Noggenfogger. Please enjoy all the food created by our chef contestants. But beware, the dirty show business will have an impact on the show.

Expansion Features:

Pre Release Legendary

Food Critic Baz'hial would be the Pre Release Legendary. Her effect allow for skillful plays that would delay the effect of a game changing Legendary that would be released this expansion.

Dual Class cards return

Our chef contestant each will team up with each other to create dual classes cards! Each class will receive 8 dual class cards, 4 each from another pairing including a Legendary spell called Signature Dish of each chef pairing.

The Dual Class pairing of this expansions are: Mage <=> Priest <=> Rogue <=> Paladin => Shaman => Warrior => Hunter <=> Death Knight <=> Warlock <=> Demon Hunter <=> Druid <=> Mage

Signature Dishes

As stated in the Dual class section, each class will get 2 Signature Dishes - Legendary dual class spells with big impact. They will NOT be able to generated by random generation that do not specifically list them on the card text. In exchange, these Signature Dishes will get their own support

Gordon Trampsay's Responses:

New Keywords - Ingredient and Recipe:

Now onto the meat (pun very much intended) of this competition. The two new keywords Recipe and Ingredient. Recipe are food spell cards that have middling effect at base but they will gain bonus each time you play a card with the listed keyword Ingredient this game. Ingredient as a keyword do not do anything on their own but it will upgrade your Recipe cards. There will be cards in the set to generate and draw your Recipe and Ingredients.

Returning Keywords: Manathirst

With all the food laying around, the audience attending and watching the cooking show must be hungry. Manathirst make a return to reflect that flavor of eating and drinking all the delicious food shown.

Card Cycle: Diners

With the food and eating themes, each class will receive 2 Diners, one from each Dual class pairing. Diners are Epic dual class minion with effect that activate after you play a Recipe and Ingredient, as well as a Manathirst effect.

Card Cycle: Recipe Books

Of course, being a cooking competition, our chef contestants cannot go  without their trusty recipe books. Certain classes in the expansion will receive a Recipe Books, 0/3 weapons that go well with one or both of their Signature Dishes.

Dual Class cards themes:

Inspirations:

All the Signature Dishes, Ingredients and Recipes cards all are based on Warcraft Food items, with specific Recipes and the crafting ingredients required.

Dual Class Cards:

Druid / Mage:

Mage / Priest:

Priest / Rogue:

Rogue / Paladin:

Paladin / Shaman

Shaman / Warrior

Warrior / Hunter

Hunter / Death Knight:

Death Knight / Warlock

Warlock / Demon Hunter:

Demon Hunter / Druid:

Non Dual Class Class cards:

Death Knight:

Demon Hunter:

Druid:

Hunter

Mage:

Paladin:

Priest:

Rogue:

Shaman:

Warlock:

Warrior:

Neutral Cards:

Commons:

Rare:

Epic:

Legendary:

FAQ:

• What is "original cost"?
  • "Original cost" in this case prefer to the card original mana cost, before any discount apply

What are you up to this month? Have any games in mind for the future? Let us know in the comments below!

At present, I am done playing Marvel Snap again (again). I've transitioned over to Pokemon TCG Pocket - while this game has packs that muddy your ability to chase things, it still feels less predatory than Snap does if you want to make specific decks. The ability to craft a particular card always helps. Snap remained fun, but it's just too expensive.

Beyond that, I'm probably gonna start Dragon Age: The Veilguard sometime today. Haven't decided on a class yet - Warrior has a fun looking dropkick attack and can become a Reaper, a necromantic combatant different than the normal Paladin/Barbarian/Fighter experience one usually gets offered in RPGs. Mage is always a fun one, too, and Rogue might be as well; too many appealing choices! I haven't forgotten about Black Myth: Wukong, but maybe if I step away and focus on something else, I can return to the monkey with a healthier/happier mindset.

Regarding November at large, I'm not sure if anything major comes out this month that I want. December is Marvel Rivals, Indiana Jones, The Spirit of the Samurai, etc.; but this month is weirdly dry for my interests. I'm okay with that, honestly: the amount of money I can devote to video games shrinks with each passing day it seems :/

Just watch 20 minutes of Hearthstone, Warcraft and Rumble streams on Twitch consecutively.

A long long time ago, in a website far far away called hearthpwn, Demonxz95 and I collabed to create an expansion called Once Upon A Time In Azeroth as a part of the Year Creation Competition. You can check the old version of the expansion on Hearthpwn: 

https://www.hearthpwn.com/forums/hearthstone-general/fan-creations/220323-timestream-tracking-year-creation-competition-1?comment=9

The expansion receive good attention to the point of advancing to the next round. Since then, many things have changed. The power level of the game has increased, the creation of a rotating Core set, two new classes were added and spell schools are added. With that in mind, I have decided to return and reboot this expansion with the intention of updating the expansion for the current power level as well as finishing it as a full expansion with Demon Hunter and Death Knight cards added. Demonxz95 doesn't participate in this project but he gave me his blessing. 

Mechanic & Keyword:

 

• Legacy effects can be fulfilled and activated multiple times per turn.
• Cards with Legacy effect in the other sets will have their wording modified to include these keywords. For example:

 

Stories cards: Stories are powerful Legendary spells. All of them have powerful Start of Game effects as well as a separate, weaker effect when played. Each class will have a Story that will tied to the theme of their set. They are heavily build-around cards that demand a specific playstyle or cards to be effective. As per tradition of the recent expansions, each players will receive a  Story of the class they chose when you first log in:

  

   

• Slumber of Azeroth and The Great Flood are two examples of the Story spells this expansion. While the other Stories won't necessary be that Control-oriented, these two are a pretty good example of these spells since they required clever deck building to take advantage of their extremely powerful reward or consistently have time to finish the Story in the first place.

Pre Release Legendary:

Death Knight

Story Card:

Archetype: Deathrattle "Egg" (Canopic Jars) Death Knight, with Triple Blood and Triple Unholy DK mixed in

Inspiration: Egyptian Mythology, especially the story about the resurrection of Osiris (Ra, who is the inspiration of Rajh, is Osiris's son) 

The rest of the set:

Show Spoiler

Demon Hunter

Story card:

Archetype: Big Demon Demon Hunter

Inspiration: Chinese Mythology, especially myths and stories about Demons

The rest of the set:

Show Spoiler

Druid

Story cards:

  

Archetype: Late game / Control druid, "Choose One" Druid

Inspiration: Greek mythology, especially the myth of Persephone, Hades and Demeter

The rest of the set:

Show Spoiler

Tokens:

  (Choose One option of Demeter's Sorrow)

 (Choose One option of Maiden of Harvest)

  (Choose One option of Persepholes)

(Choose One options of Life or Death?)

(choose one option for Underworld Courtship)

Hunter 

Story cards:

  

Archetype: Mid / Late Game Beast Hunter

Inspiration: Biblical myth of Noah's Ark, the fairy tale Goldilocks and Three Little Pigs

The rest of the set:

Show Spoiler

Tokens:

     (created by Three Little Pigs)

(Created by Goldilock, Mama Bear)

(created by Cold Soup)

Mage

Story Cards: 

   

Archetype: Control / Freeze Mage

Inspiration: The fairy tale Snow White and the Snow Queen

The rest of the set:

Show Spoiler

  

Token:

(created by Sinister Snowman)

Paladin

Story Cards:

  

King Arthur cards:

Arthur,

Archetype: Control Paladin, Silver Hand Paladin

Inspiration: Arthurian myths,  Wise Consort is based on Guinevere from Arthurian legend, Enlightened Paladin is based on Shanzang from Journey to the West.

The rest of the set:

Show Spoiler

Priest

 Story Cards:

Inspiration: The fairy tale Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, Echoing Dryad is based on the Greek mythological nymph Echo, The Frog Prince

Archetype: Overheal Zoo Priest, Combo Shadow Priest

The rest of the set:

Show Spoiler

Tokens:

(Created by Cursed Spindle and Poisoned Apple)

• Note that the True Love's Kiss spell does NOT interact with the other dormant cards like the Story tokens or The Darkness

Rogue

Story cards:

With the Arabian theme, the Rogue will also include the Wish cycle: A 3 cards cycle that are 3 mana that will cast itself again at Legacy (3), representing the 3 wishes of the One Thousand and One Night fairy tales.

Archetype: Heavy cycle control Rogue / Coin Rogue

Inspiration: One Thousand and One Night fairy tale collection

The rest of the set:

Show Spoiler

 

The Treasures discovered by Sinbad are the treasures Discovered by Eudora. If you at any point discover both pieces of Quel'dalas, the Quel'dalas sword will appear.

Shaman

 Story Card:

  

Archetype: Menagerie Mid Range / Control Shaman

Inspiration: Greek mythology, tooth fairy folklore,  Hawaiian mythology, Japanese Mythology, especially the Momotaro myth

The rest of the set:

Show Spoiler

 

Token:

(created by Pele)(created by Go Slay the Orge)

Warlock

 Story:

 

Archetype: Control / Combo Warlock

Inspiration: Witchcraft mythology, Baba Yaga myth

The rest of the cards:

Show Spoiler

Warrior

 Story cards:

Archetype: Control Armor Warrior:

Inspiration: Norse mythology, Greek mythology

The rest of the set:

Show Spoiler

 

Token:

(created by Disciple of Khaz'goroth

Neutral

Legendary (5 cards)

Inspiration: Echidna is based on the monster Echidna from Greek mythology, The Monkey King is based on Son Wukong from Chinese folk tales.

Show Spoiler

 

Zeus the Successor's Favors:

Epic (5 cards)

Inspiration: Frosty Rival is based on the legendary rivalry of Pele and Poli'ahu, Greedy Enchantress is based on Morgan le Fay from Arthurian legend, Deceived Siren is based on the fairy tale the Little Mermaid.

Show Spoiler

Tokens:

(Created by Deceived Siren)

Rare (5 cards)

Show Spoiler

Token:

(Created by Lovelorn Prince)(created by Damsel in Distress)

Common (20 cards)

Inspiration:

Show Spoiler

• Unfriendly Amalgam is based on the character the Beast from Beauty and the Beast,
• Princess of Silence is based on the Turkey fairy tale the Silent Princess,
• Gluttonous Felboar and Corrupted Sand Elemental are based on the character Zhu Bajie / Pigsy and Sha Wujing from Journey to the West,
• Grizzled Mage is based on the character Merlin from Arthurian Legend,
• Bloody Spirit is based on the legend of Bloody Mary.
• The "Merry" cards and Despot Sheriff are based on Robin Hood legend (Merry Maiden - Maid Marian, Merry Friar - Friar Tuck, Merry Lieutenant - Little John, Despot Sheriff - Sheriff of Nottingham

Show Spoiler

Token:

(created by Golden Straw Spinner)(created by Ugly Duckling)

I may have quit playing the game earlier this year, but I still want to hear about your amazing pack openings! Share what you got, what you're hunting for, etc.

What are you up to this month? Have any games in mind for the future? Let us know in the comments below!

My plans to complete Black Myth: Wukong in a timely fashion have backfired, with various other things vying for my time instead. Was gonna knuckle down and finish it this week, but between the latest Steam Fest and me having to be away from my computer for six days starting tomorrow, it just won't happen at this time. I've got Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom to consider, too, and Diablo IV's Vessel of Hatred expansion starting next Monday. Kinda annoyed, but I only have myself to blame: the opportunities were there if I wanted to take them.

In addition, I need to consider if I care enough about Dragon Age: The Veilguard to pick that up later this month. I played Origins ages ago, and I really enjoyed the game, but that's as far as I've gone in the series. It might be a major title in regards to reviewing, or it might flame out spectacularly; I'll play it by ear and figure it out another day.

Title says it all:  post a screenshot of your best card packs, so we can gaze upon your luckiness and despair! I'll start with this ridiculous Pikachu pack I opened a few minutes ago :D

It's a "Rare Pack", with the .05% chance of occurrence. Even then, having five EX Pokemon inside was still a craaaazzy hit!

Hey guys and gals, I figured it might be cool to talk about our favorite books, recommend each other hidden gems and keep up to date with promising releases.

For starters, I'd like to let you know that I'm rooting for Science Fiction and Fantasy (big surprise) and everything in between since I've been given the Lord of the Rings as a present on my 10th birthday. Here are some of the titles I'd like to recommend to anyone with a similar taste:

Dan Simmons: The Hyperion Cantos (4 books)
My favorite Sci-Fi books. Don't be fooled by the first book, it's  primarily a set up for the main story which takes place in books 2-4. There's space craft, there's AI, there's an epic love story and if you feel rather sceptic about religion, this is a great book for you.

Eliezer Yudkowsky a.k.a Less Wrong: Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality
Yes, this is a fan fiction. But please hear me out: This is probably the best book I've ever read. The basic question of the book is what Harry Potter would have acted like if he was a (very) intelligent, grown up, modern person. At times it's hillarious, all of it is exciting, and last but not least: it's free. You can read or download the book at www.hpmor.com - I actually went to the lenghts of taking this to a copy shop and having it bound for 80 € because it is so, so great.

David Mack - Dark Arts series (currently 3 books)
This is another series about magicians, but with an interesting twist to the usual pattern: the magicians are yoking demons to perform magic for them. The storys of the first and the second book are taking place during the Second Wolrd War with magic users on both sides. It's way darker than HP in all kind of ways. A good example is the yoking of demons which is mentally exhausting to the point that all major magic users are addicted to alcohol, cocaine or other drugs because they'd lose their mind otherwise.

Terry Goodkind - The Sword of Truth series (main plot ends after book 11)
One of my favorite fantasy series, The Sword of Truth is a great story about ethics and morale, set in a world full of magic and magical creatures. It has its lengths but never lost its relevance for me, since it colorfully describes what happens if narrowminded, intolerant people gain the upper hand with the help of a very powerful leader. This is adult material as well - there's quite some cruelty and while the sex scenes themselves are scarce and not detailed at all, the teasing which leads to them certainly isn't.
[In my personal opinion, you should start with "Wizard's first rule" and most importantly stop after "Confessor". All the other sequels were just an attempt to milk the cow to death.]

I have chosen to showcase those 4 because my other favorites are rather well known and don't need to be promoted very much imho. Among them are the "Foundation" series by Asimov, the "Ender" series by Orson Scott Card, "The Forever War" by Haldeman and "The Parafaith War" by Modesitt Jr.

High places on my next to read list are taken by "To sleep in a sea of stars" by Paolini and "The Name of the Wind" by Rothfuss (if he ever manages to finish book 3 of the series). I am entertaining the thought to try Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series for a third (or fourth?) time. I've never managed to get past book 4 because he's all about character development and I prefer faster plots.

What are your favorites? Is there anything you'd like to advertice in particular? Something you're looking forward to? Please tell!

Xbox Wire Article

Xbox Wire Article

Xbox Wire Article

Xbox Wire Article