5 comments about Magical Unicorn Oracle Cards.

1. I have Doreen Virtue's other deck of Magical Mermaids and Dolphins. I bought this one, thinking it was the same. I was disappointed at the sameness of the cards, and the messages. The cards are nicely drawn and do invite imagining. However, it is a little heavy on white horses, and does not have enough variety.



2. This deck gets five stars for several reasons. First of all, the cards are very beautiful. The cards are gilded on the sides, the back of the cards depict a unicorn with long flowing hair, and the layout for the front of the cards is very appealing. Each card depicts a unicorn on it, of course, though some are with humans, animals, water, clouds, etc.
   
   This is a very fluffy card deck, so to say. There are no dark cards in here as the goal of it is positivity. Also, while this deck is fine for adults, it is also perfect for children. In fact, out of all of Doreen Virtue's Oracle Card Decks, this one is the best for children as there aren't any themes that are specifically for adults (such as issues involving careers, etc) and there are many pictures that depict unicorns in a cute way, such as the "Curiosity" card which depicts a kitten rapidly interested in the unicorn's shining horn. If you are someone who is trying to introduce a child into the realm of reading Tarot/Oracle cards, this deck is wonderful as a starter.
   
   While this deck is excellent for children, it also works very well for adults as well. For anyone seeking cards that will give a good source of inspiration, these cards work very well. Also, the themes of the cards are more broad, therefore making these cards great for beginners.
   
   I have always received accurate readings from using these cards and the only reason why I don't use them that often for readings is because I always get so distracted by how beautiful the pictures are. So even of you are not into reading cards, this deck makes a great collector's item.



3. I use Oracle Cards for professional readings and I love this deck. The cards are beautiful to look at and suitable as gifts for children. The accompanying guide book is easy to read and filled with positive and uplifting messages. If you like the idea of magical enchantment and are in sync with your own Inner Child, you will instantly form a connection with this deck.



4. I am a fan of Doreen Virtue and possess almost all of her oracle decks... they are all unique with great, uplifting messages, and the art work is simply wonderful. This deck does not disappoint.



5. I bought this because: 1) I like Doreen Virtue's material 2) I used to think about unicorns a lot as a young child. I think I might have either played with them or imagined that I did. 3) These card decks are fun. They give the child within you a chance to play, and 4) "Toys" like this can provide insite. 5) They certainly provide positive experiences.
   
   As a child I absolutely LOVED unicorns and Pegasis, the winged horse. Both the unicorns and Pegasis were always all white. Even now, I have a poster size picture of Pegasis in my office. He is running in the sand and along the beach, while the ocean waves are breaking on the shore. Wings are up and open and she's ready to fly. And there's a place for me, on her back.
   
   This is a 44-card deck and guidebook. The guidebook gives you the steps: 1) Prepare the deck, by holding the cards and tapping away the old energy 2) shuffle them 3) ask a question 4) lay out cards and read them.
   
   Let's say you are guided to pick out 3 cards, and they are:
   1) "One Step at a Time"--"Lots of little steps make big dreams come true"
   2)"Decide"--"It's Time to clearly make a decision about what you want"
   3)"Talk About Your Feelings"--"Tell a friend how you feel"
   
   OK, so now you go to the book and look up each of these cards for additional guidance. #2, above "Decision" talks about being at a time of crossroads in your life, where you could go in a few different directions and you need to make a decision. Then it suggests how you might ask friends, ask angels for help, etc.
   
   By the way, the art work on both sides of each card is very pretty. A standard picture of a white unicorn is on all cards. The other side contains an individual picture with the words as shown above.
   
   Of course, you have to decide if there is an "answer" which means something to you. Then you have to decide how that "answer" relates to you and what you are or are not doing in your life.

1 comments about Beat the Clock Kakuro: 214 Easy to Hard Puzzles with Target Time Limits (Kakuro).

1. I have gone through a few other kakuro books before trying this one. The other books never even came close to the difficulty of these puzzles. It took me a while to get into the spirit, but now I'm totally in love with this book. These are puzzles you can really sink your teeth into.

5 comments about Sit & Solve Travel Cryptic Crosswords (Sit & Solve Series).

1. This is a little memo-pad-sized booklet containing 39 small vanilla cryptics, some of them recycled from Hook's _Mighty Mini Cryptics_. On the plus side, the author is Henry Hook, the booklet has a sewn binding(!), and it's inexpensive.
   
   It's fine, and I guess I'm glad I bought it, but if you have any experience with cryptics don't get your hopes up that this will provide you with a lot of puzzling challenge.



2. This little book is shaped a bit oddly and it only measures about 3 inches by 6 inches. I found it easy to stash in an already full briefcase on a recent trip. Airports are so annoying -- hurry up and wait, people yakking on their cell phones, etc. I just bury my nose in a puzzle book and tune them out. I've done about 10 of the 45 puzzles and find them to be just about right for me: not so easy that I burn them up in 10 minutes per puzzle, but not so hard that I pile more frustration on top of the frustrations of flying in America in 2007. I've been doing cryptics for about 10 years. These puzzles might be a bit hard for a beginner.



3. My wife and I love cryptic crossword puzzles. While Henry Hook's puzzles are smaller, they are more challenging than other cryptics and the smaller book makes it easy to take on trips. We hope Henry is writing more cryptic crosswords as we write this review.



4. Not for the person looking for easy solving. These are small challenging puzzles on a small table that is easy to use in your car.



5. I bought this inexpensive book for the same price as a single Games magazine. I've been doing the cryptics in Games for many years and like them a lot, so I jumped at the chance to get a small book full of them. I figured this is exactly what the doctor ordered for those long international flights.
   
   I'm finding some of the knowledge needed is just too obscure to complete the puzzles, certainly beyond my reach. To solve Puzzle 1, for example, you'll need to know: i) the letter `p' means `quietly' in piano music, ii) Roman Polanski movies, iii) the Greek orator Demosthenes, and iv) the classical conductor Zubin Mehta. If you can summon such tidbits of information from your accumulated knowledge base, you earn my congratulations and this book.
   
   I've made it through the first 10 puzzles, but needed outside assistance for about every 5th clue. I used Google to help me with the ridiculously hard ones and that's not something I'll have access to while cruising at 30,000 feet. So I'm raising the white flag of surrender on this book and will go back to buying Games magazine at the airport newsstand.

3 comments about Generous Jumble.

1. My parents are glad they came across Jumbles, which are word-unscrambling puzzles. They were dissatisfied with crosswords becaue these often reference cultural icons or authors outside their scope of interest. Jumbles involve less retained knowledge than they do very basic problem-solving skills. They are a bit like Sudoku in that way, and in our experience, have appealed to people across various levels of education. The cartoons included are pretty funny groaner puns with a mid-century sensibility. They beat today's buffet of cynical and unfunny comic fare hands down.



2. The big letters & squares in the book are perfect for my older parents. I gave it to them at Christmas. They both need glasses to help them see. It also will be a good pastime for them since they like doing the daily Jumbo puzzle in the paper.



3. Received this book-it's OK, not as much fun as the smaller(180) jumble books. Answers to jumbles seem kind of weird and don't make much sense. After I solve some of the puzzles(I'm just in the beginner's section), I'm scratching my head to understand some of the answers. It's OK, however, don't think I will purchase another book of this size.

4 comments about Precision Pool, 2nd Edition.

1. As a chef and pool fanatic, I have, over the years, built an extensive pool and cookbook library. While the culinary arts have mastered the recipe for successful publishing, it's about time pool authors and publishers released a FULL COLOR edition of a pool instruction book. This book has awesome color diagrams, photos and brilliant content. If you are even remotely serious about playing pool, or know someone that is, for less than $20, Precision Pool is a must! Don't hesitate to order this book. If this can't help your game, give up - nothing can!



2. Just what I've been waiting for! I'm a total pool novice but have always wanted to cue up! You know how you watch ESPN and WISH it was you up there? Picked up PRECISION POOL, and now I feel like I'm ready, set for action. Love the color pictures and diagrams. It's all so easy to understand. Plus it's lots of fun to read. You can tell the authors love this game and want us to love it, too. Thanks!



3. A few years back, my husband introduced me to pub nights and the game of pool. Even though my play was sporadic at best, I immediately loved the game and took on the challenge of getting better. Now, I play whenever I can and am looking to join a league.
   
   Since I've learned to play pool mostly through trial and error and by watching other people, I always wondered what bad habits I had picked up while trying to improve my game. When I saw the book Precision Pool, I had to have it.
   
   I would highly recommend Precision Pool to anyone wanting to improve their game. This book starts with the basics: everything from the stance and creating a proper bridge (an area I needed some guidance in) to finding the right cue for the job at hand and understanding the construction of a pool table. The majority of the book, however, focuses on how to succeed at key shots and set up for the next shot.
   
   For best success, you can practice these shots by replicating the full color illustrations and instructions given for each set of angles, strategies, and trick shots. I read the book, went off to the pub to play a few games. I was surprised at how much I retained and was able to use during actual play. Even though I'm still getting used to the new bridge, I can already see a drastic improvement in my game. My husband even wants to borrow the book now.



4. At last, a book on pool that EXPLAINS what you are trying to do and doesn't assume you are related to Willie Mosconi. You gain a better understanding of the reactions of the cue ball and an accurate insight of where the target ball will go. Well written, beautifully illustrated, and logically laid out, this book has already shown improvement in my game and will do the same for yours.

1 comments about Fantastic Locations: The Frostfell Rift (Dungeons & Dragons Supplement).

1. I have all the "fantastic locations" maps, this one surprised me with a two storied building. The module is not that great but it works just fine with inexperienced players and a little modifications in the plot would make it great for those game groups looking for a visual description of the setting, but If you're looking for a good module, I don't think this is good for you, only if your interest is to bring more maps to your miniature battles.

5 comments about God of War II Limited Edition Strategy Guide (Bradygames Strategy Guides) (Bradygames Strategy Guides).

1. The book is a great help to the gamer and the images are just breath taking. The concept art book is also great.



2. This book is great,also I bought the book for the previous game,however the book has become unglue.I am still happy with it.



3. It is great. The graphics go way beyond the first God of War. The Book gives you complete information & insight into the game. The walkthrough is awsome compared to other walkthrough's that I have seen. I would remand this Guide to any gamer that is looking for strategy not cheating!



4. Strategy Guide arrived in excellent condition and quality. Strategy Guide arrived in a very timely fashion.



5. The Strategy Guide, which includes a very stylish art cover only available in this edition, may be useful to finish the game, but the real trinket of this limited edition is the exclusive Art Book.
   
   I hope -at least when God of War III is released- that there will be a big hardcover 'Art of'-Book for the ingenious trilogy. Actually each installment of the series would be worthy of a hardcover Art Book.
   
   I can only recommend this edition!

2 comments about Sudoku Sums Book 5.

1. This is a great book and very challenging for the Suduko fan! Highly recommended.



2. I bought the Sumdoku book for my Dad's birthday. He just turned eighty and loves Sudoku and Sumdoku. The Sumdoku has a little more challenge to it.

5 comments about The Red Hand of Doom (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying Adventure).

1. I, as a DM, thought this adventure was amazing. Epic, well-done and well-put together, with a really interesting storyline and a good variety of monsters and battles. The climax and conclusion were amazing---they have such good mechanics for doing a battle for an entire town, and the concluding dungeon crawl was appropriately awesome for the high-level characters that have come out of this module by that time.
   
   However, my players had a few issues that they brought up with me. First, they thought the free-form nature was too much. Let me explain... they felt that there definitely was a "right way to go," but that they were left on their own to find it, so they had to rely on NPC hooks and (in one player's words) "being led around by the nose by the DM." I strongly suggest giving the players a patron who directs their actions, making them more of a special task force than a bunch of adventurers who happen to wander into the middle of an invasion and just so happen to run off in the direction necessary to stop the invasion four or five times in a row.
   
   And on that last note, you really have to integrate this adventure into your campaign, otherwise the players will not care about the vale that they're saving at all. One of them suggested just leaving and letting the goblins take over the vale; now, this isn't practical because then there would be a nation of bloodthirsty hobgoblins with demonic support ready to march on the _world_, but that is not clear at all from the first 2/3 of the adventure. Especially since the players really didn't care if this town fell or not, it was a bit of a problem.
   
   A final problem is that goblins and all their associated monstrous foes just aren't very exciting enemies. You kill goblins at first level, so a goblin army---while certainly a problem---doesn't _feel_ like it should be a big deal for even 5th-level characters. Now replace them with aberrations with mind flayer leaders, or some kind of psionic threat, or perhaps an army of awakened constructs, or... then it might be cool. But the PCs really didn't get much out of taking on an army composed mainly of CR 1/3 baddies, and that seems quite understandable.
   
   All this can be fixed with some work on the DMs part, and I do suggest doing that since the whole adventure is a really well-done framework. I am considering using this in an Eberron campaign I'm running now (a new group), with the following changes:
   * The goblin threat is replaced by the Lord of Blades, who has achieved the ability to create a warforged army that is seeking to destroy all of human civilization and replace it with a warforged-supremacist state.
   * The PCs are special agents of House Cannith, which understandably feels responsible.
   * Dragons (who are the rare, high-level baddies of the horde to supplement the goblins) get replaced by abberations being summoned from Xoriat, or perhaps demons/high-level undead/a psionic threat like the quori.
   * The war becomes part of an even larger context in which the Mark of Death is returning, with the Blood of Vol having forged an uneasy alliance of convenience with the Lord of Blades to use the warforged's kills as undead-creation material.
   * Many of the characters' favorite locations are destroyed or seriously threatened---I'm thinking of starting the campaign out with a large, well-coordinated warforged terrorist attack on Sharn that leads to the imposition of martial law and concentration camps for warforged.
   
   So with changes like these (adapt for Forgotten Realms or your own campaign setting) I think you can use the RHoD's very good core framework and plot sequence, while fixing the problems that my players had.



2. I haven't yet had a chance to run the adventure, though I look forward to doing so. I love the usage of Victory Points, and the rules are clear enough as put forward in the adventure to not require Heroes of Battle. I found the plot comprehensive and believable, the presentationw as excellent. All in all, I very much like the adventure, and I can't wait to run some PCs through it.



3. From the begining of this adventure the heroes are running to save the realms from an invading horde the likes that haven't been seen since the fall of the gods.It is one of the best and most harrowing adventures I've been through in a long time.



4. The Red Hand of Doom is one of the better campaigns wizards has released. It is very long and drawn out and the new "Big Battle" system displayed in the heroes of battle book is used. The new encounter layout is kinda there but not really. Statistics for each encounter is in the back of the book but there is no info on Tactics with them or map layouts. The Artwork for the book is fantastic. The overall Quest is based around the son of a dragon and his army attacking some frontier lands in order to...well no real spoilers here so buy the book and run the campaign. It can be placed in any of the 3 campaign worlds wizards offers and there is info inside telling you how to do it. It can also be slipped into any campaign with ease. The outlying areas are fleshed out and the maps as well as statistic blocks can be downloaded from wizards web site. Do yourself a favor if your a dm looking for a good campaign and buy a copy of "The Red Hand of Doom," especially now that it can be had for really cheap used. There's no excuse not to own this instant classic.



5. While this can be considered a campaign (it took my crew a year to complete it, but we started off at 1st level and worked up to the main plot) this adventure is simply the best I have ever run. I loved the open concept, epic battles and interesting characters and villains. My players did not feel railroaded at any time but neither did they feel it was a cakewalk. My only suggestions are firstly, that DM's let their players know they will not have a lot of downtime to create items so avoid those feats until after the campaign. Secondly, DM's need to prepare and understand the tactics and intelligence of the main characters. Many of the villains escaped and came back as secondary foes later on in my game. If your party kills a dragon the first time they see it...they were super lucky or you as a DM screwed up.
   Finally, there are countless plot hooks that you can use at a later date. Many of the opponents were defeated but not killed in my game and alliances between the good PC's and evil villains were an interesting roleplaying aspect.
   In the end, we relied heavily on miniatures to help visualize battles and I scanned and enlarged the many maps provided into full sized (to scale) battle maps that the players were in awe of. This is truly an A+ adventure and I would run it again, anytime. Enjoy this book!!!

5 comments about The Complete Book of Solitaire and Patience Games.

1. I find this book to be very helpful in learning different solitaire games. Some games don't include layout diagrams but the instructions are well done. I highly recommend it for a beginner solitaire player.



2. I bought this book so I could learn different ways to play solitaire. It has pictures and plenty of instructions. I do wish it had a few more pictures so I could see how they were saying to lay them out but all in all it is pretty good.



3. Detailed instructions, illustrations, terminology, time requirements, and odds in winning of over 225 of the most challenging and fascinating card games ever invented from the famous Canfield Solitaire to Napoleon's Forty Theives. It's here -- everything you need to know about Solitaire and Patience games.



4. If According to Hoyle by Moorehead was card-game bible when I was a child, this book was certainly a new testament.

   I really didn't fit in well with other kids, so I had nothing much to do. So, I studies solitaires. But I had 150 ways to play solitaire, and all that book did was confuse me.

   When I found this book at KayBee many years ago, I was most impressed. It's the clearest book on cardgames that I have ever read. They're even thoughtful enough to create two games, Joker Klondike and Joker Canfield.

   This book will clarify almost any game, and I still pull it down from the shelf. In fact, I think I'll pull it out right after I've finished posting.




5. I like the way this book explains the games. They are concise and the preface of the box gives a good description of the terms used to describe the games. This is nice to give you something to refer back to. Also, the illustrations of each layout is very nice.