No comments about Caves of Carnage: Dungeon Tiles Set DU3 (D&D Accessory).

2 comments about Vanity Plate Puzzles: A Puzzle Book Where You Solve the Vanity Plates.

1. What a fun book! The puzzles are creative and challenging. Great for the entire family.



2. My kids and I had so much fun trying to figure out the puzzles. My daughter is still trying to create a new one that isn't in the book. It really got their minds going.

5 comments about Wizards Presents: Worlds and Monsters (D&D Supplement).

1. Tell me one other industry that charges the end user for promotional material. It's a ludicrous notion and I encourage all gamers to think about just how ridiculous it is for WOTC to ask the gamers to buy a piece of promotional marketing. This should be free and readily downloadable.
   
   Sometimes I wonder if their marketing department's goal is to royally p*** off their base to the point that they have driven droves of hard core gamers to other more reasonable products from manufacturers that consider their gamers.



2. This is a nice preview of a really bad upcoming product. The upcoming 4th edition (4e) revision of D&D is nowhere near as refined or as mechanically balanced as 3rd edition (3.5). What 4e has going for it is that it is as close as Hasbro (owner & parent company of Wizards of the Coast (WotC)) can make to World of Warcraft (WOW) on the tabletop. Essentially the game gives players very little to think through and has so much of a 'power-gaming' theme that a full 1/3 of the new experience level spread is devoted to god-like powered characters (literally - read the information on experience levels in "Races and Classes" - the other "Wizards of the Coast presents" 4e preview book).
   
   Save your money and look for a good 3.5 edition book instead.



3. These booklets are for the most part just explanations into the decision making process behind 4thEd - Though interesting, these books are NOT worth the money. Perhaps had they all been wrapped up into one tome I would have considered getting them, but this sort of writing belongs on the internet. I read through this one at the book store and found it to be just another attempt by WotC to make a buck since they have lost much of their cash inflow with the announcement of the new edition.



4. I thought this was the real 4.0 monsters manual but it really was just a preview of 4.0. however I was very satisfied with it because it has opened my eyes to what D&D 4.0 is all about. If you want to learn more about D&D 4.0 with fully committing to buying the core books then check this book out. Of course they are going to make 4.0 seem like the best thing ever, but when you have that in mind you can make your own judgments on what you liked, and see what new and what has changed.



5. Most of the negative reviews don't seem to be about the product itself, but rather what they wish Wizards of the Coast would have done instead.
   
   Like the other 4th Edition preview book, Worlds & Monsters does exactly what it promises: It gives a snapshot of what's to come in the new edition of Dungeons & Dragons, but from the vantage point of September 2007. This time, instead of hearing about various classes and races, we get a glimpse into the assumed setting of the game world. In previous editions, there were these assumed settings as well, but rarely were explicitly articulated.
   
   Even moreso than its predecessor, there's a lot of great pieces of art in this book, very evocative of mysterious lands and ominous vistas. The writing also paints a picture of a world where darkness threatens to swallow the remaining light and where heroes are all that prevents evil from triumphing. Like all the best game books, it makes me want to play and now.
   
   This sort of book has a built-in shelf life, however, and if you don't want to pluck down the bucks on a book that will mostly be obsoleted in a matter of weeks, pass it by. If your budget has the room, however, it's a beautiful and evocative little preview.

5 comments about Bridge: 25 Steps to learning 2/1.

1. Paul Thurston takes you to learning 2/1 in 25 steps.
   
   His choice of conventions to use is good, but some of them are not really related to 2/1 (New Minor Forcing, FSF, while excellent conventions, are both things that are fairly independent of 2/1 for instance), so one wonders about including them in this book -- likely he just needed to fill "25 steps".
   
   Also, he has a strange choice of hand evaluation, and really he need not place that in this book. Generally, someone that buys this book will already have some basic form of hand evaluation, and this bould would do better just let each player use his/her own system without imposing "HCP" as the standard (and explicitly telling readers not to do things like count points for long suits, etc.) for seemingly every bid. This is probably my biggest criticism with the book.
   
   My second biggest complaint is that he places Bergen raises in the book so early that someone reading this book is forced to learn Bergen while learning 2/1. This is not necessary. This chapter belongs later in the book -- placing the chapter so early on just results in a needless delay of getting to the point where you can start playing 2/1 at the table.
   
   On the plus side, it does get you to the point where you are functional in 2/1, and the quizzes are well designed (just having them is a plus). He also does a respectible job warning the reader of potential sticky spots.



2. I've read Mike Lawrence's and Max Hardy's books on 2/1 (several times actually) and found them hard to comprehend because their organization was not structured so that my engineering mind could follow them easily. This book, "25 Steps to Learning 2/1", is certainly simplistic compared to the others, but I found that I could understand the "system" as presented here. The detail is certainly sufficient for the beginning 2/1 bidder. It is well organized and flows well from the basic system to the necessary additional conventions. I have purchased about 10 copies of this book for bridge playing friends and they all have found it very understandable.



3. This book continues in the excellent tradition of the "25 xxxs" by striking the right level in teaching effectively without overburdening the subject with detail.
   
   I've bought and read thru all three Max Hardy books but just didn't want to uproot my hard earned bridge knowledge to essentially start over. Thurston's book showed me that the Two Over One system is not that much different from what I've spent the last two years learning. It's not much different than learning several new conventions at the same time.
   
   My teacher swears by the precision of the Two Over One system. I'm not far enough along to testify to that but it was clear during the learning that many of the thorny problems I've encountered are much better handled with 2ov1 . Of course, there are those in-between hands that require the experience and judgement that I can only hope to achieve some day but there are far fewer of them.
   
   Yes, the inclusion of some conventions does seem like a gimmick to flesh out to the number 25 but they are useful conventions that were not included in the Seagram & Smith book, "25 Conventions You Should Learn".
   
   And yes, the quizzes are excellent and really help in the learning process. All in all, this book is certainly worth the money and time if your partnership is considering moving to Two Over One.



4. I thought this book was an excellent way to learn 2/1. It started with the very basic- point count - which was a good refresher for the bridge player who has not played in a while. You can easily skip it. You learn constructive, limit, invitational, and preemptive raises. It explained the simple conventions - Bergen, Jacoby transfer, and splinter. These are routinely used in bridge auctions. It covers major and minor bids and responses. It stops short of NT opening bid, strong 2 clubs, weak two-bids. Does not cover slam bidding. But, for someone who really wants to learn the basics, it is excellent. There are plenty of exercises with explanations for each bid. Also, there are flow charts of a sort that you can easily refer to when doing the exercises.



5. This is one of the best introduction book to 2/1. Each chapter has an explanation of concepts and good examples and quiz at the end of the chapter. Very easy to read for new players at this system.

2 comments about New York Post Extra Hot Su Doku: The Official Utterly Addictive Number-Placing Puzzle.

1. Once again another winner by Mr. Gould... Same paper and format as the other New York Post books. These puzzles are at the hard end of the scale... not quite as fiendish as those in the Fiendish Book... but they could make you sweat.



2. What a pleasure! Wayne Gould has put together an immensely satisfying collection of puzzles that range from difficult to fiendish using all of the available tricks - naked and hidden doubles, triples and quadruples, x-wings, swordfish, sometimes required singly and sometimes in combination to crack a single code!
   
   When I reviewed his previous best seller "Extreme Su Doku 1", I criticized the book physically because the paper quality was only a small leap up from coarse newsprint and simply didn't tolerate erasure. Et voilà, "Su Doku Extra Hot" is on good quality low gloss paper that will tolerate multiple erasurers just fine, thank you very much (Yes ... sadly, I still have to rub out my work from time to time)!
   
   The binding is also strong enough to allow the book to be held wide open to allow easy access to the puzzle on the left hand side of the page.
   
   Two thumbs up and highly recommended for all you Sudoku addicts like me.
   
   Paul Weiss

No comments about Video Game Careers (Prima Official Game Guides).

1 comments about Large Print Crosswords #6 (Large Print Crosswords).

1. These crosswords are perfect for my eldery mother who has poor eyesight. She is in a nursing home, and these puzzles keep her busy and also help her mind to stay sharp. So far, I have gotten books 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 for her. I still have to find #3!
   
   Highly recommend!

3 comments about GURPS For Dummies (For Dummies (Sports & Hobbies)).

1. After having read the lackluster reviews of D&D for Dummies, I was a bit hesitant to purchase this title sans any exisiting reviews, however, I took the leap anyway, and was not dissapointed.
   
   The first thing you notice when you open the book is the great three-panel double sided pullout cheat sheet containing a ton of information that is invaluable to have at your fingertips during play! This alone is worth almost the cost of the book, and for new players gives them their options in a succint little package.
   
   The book basically appeals to two audiences: Players and Game Masters and the six sections of the book are divided amongst the two.
   
   PART ONE introduces GURPS and gives a player tips on how to come up with the foundation of a character, that is the concept and role the character will play in the story. This information is applicable to any role playing game, and the advice is clear and uncomplicated. This section continues on to describe how to use the GURPS rules as the building blocks of the character, not by teaching the rules or by repeating the rules (you need the GURPS books for that) but by telling you how the different elements work in the game and interact together. In other words, they tell you how to use the game mechanics to recreate what is in your imagination. Its almost like having an experienced player actually helping you through the process step by step, explaining what each thing in the rulebook REALLY MEANS and how it will REALLY WORK (or not work). You are told how high is high, and how low is low.
   
   PART TWO builds on Part One by going into more detail on magic, powers, technology, and non-humans. This section is basically a much deeper exploration of all the different ways the elements of the game (advantages, perks, talents, skills, etc) can be put together, and how each one works. The authors also provide insight on how to use the different game mechanics to achieve the vision you have for your character, and the possible ways to get there (as there is usually more than one).
   
   PART THREE gives solid advice on role playing, again, relevant to any RPG. Combat is explained, with very detailed information given to how different elements works together in combat and how combat flows in GURPS (which can be much different than other RPG's). I would have liked to have seen more information regarding the various reach ranges, because they can have a major affect on swords and sorcery type games. The combat chapter teaches you how to choose armor, what choices there are in combat and more importantly, why you would want to choose certain options, when and how to defend yourself, and how to make wise weapon choices. In fact, there is an excellent chart describing what the solid weapopn choices are for each character strength level. This is perfect for those countless times I have heard players say "What weapon should I choose?". There is a great section on how to solve common combat problems (too many opponents, can't penetrate armor, etc) and a section on how best to use healing magic. This section also describes good ways to keep track of all the information used in GURPS.
   
   PART FOUR is where the Game Mastering (GMing) section begins. This section and the next should be read by every GM, no matter what the game they run. I've been GMing and playing for almost 30 years, and I found the advice in this section and the next to be invaluable. Part Four describes how to be a GM, gives an EXCELLENT chapter on how to design an adventure with an example of how that would play out.
   
   PART FIVE describes how to build the campaign, that is the world, or epic, or whatever that will be the focus of why the story is, what the story is, and why are the players even creating characters to begin with. The advice is once again solid, and while there are references on how to use GURPS, as in Part Four, the information is applicable to any Role Playing Game/GM.
   
   PART SIX are three short chapters containing the authors' preferences for spending points, their top ten favorite advantages, and top ten favorite disadvantages. There was to be a chapter on the "10 skills no PC should be without" but it was apparently cut. Seeing the chapter released in electronic format would be a great addition to the book.
   
   Overall, this book is a "must have" for anyone even contemplating playing or running a GURPS game. New players will find the answers and help they need to bring their imagination to life, and old veterans will find an angle they hadn't thought of. The GMing section really could have been "Game Mastering for Dummies", because the tips and advice here go beyond what do do in GURPS. I wish I had seen this advice when I first started GMing oh-so-long-ago. This book should be considered the third of the core books (Characters and Campaigns being the first two) and is a book no gaming library should be without.



2. It's a great view of role playing in general. GURPS is already an easy system, and GURPS For Dummies makes it idiot proof. A must for folks playing or running GURPS games.



3. GURPS is already a great system, but the massive volume of data can easily overwhelm someone, especially if this is their first RPG. GURPS for Dummies provides the perspective needed to digest and begin taking advantage of this great system. Be aware that several important source books have been released since the publication of GURPS for Dummies, but the consistency of the GURPS rules don't significantly impact its effectiveness.

5 comments about i am 8-bit: Art Inspired by Classic Videogames of the '80s.

1. Where do I start? I found this gem listed under books from Chuck Klosterman, who I think speaks for an entire generation of 30-somethings raised on bad rock bands and crappy John Hughes movies. I gave it a shot, and wasn't disappointed!
   
   In typical Chuck fashion, he analyzes video games and why they had an indelible affect on the childhoods of guys like me who spent about $3 million in quarters on Yie Ar Kung Fu (and why, 20 years later, guys i tell this to completely understand). For Klosterman fans, this is worth half the price right here.
   
   But that's just 2% of the book! The rest is filled with totally awesome art that's hard to describe because I've never really seen anything like it--it's not advertising art, or game screenshots, or concept art from games. I guess it's just like the sub-title says, artwork inspired by what the artists played as kids in the 80's, but it's still hard to understand until you actually see it.
   
   And what's really cool are the pieces that have quotes from the artists explaining their inspirations, why they used a particular game, or just random game memories--really funny stuff!
   
   My favorites are:
   
   1) Excitebike: Cool blocky render of a classic. Made me remember how I'd build my own track and line up all those turbo things.
   
   2) Mega Man: I recognize this artist, Tim Biskup, from Juxtapoz and Super 7 magazines. Cool!
   
   3) Don't Be a 2nd Player Hater (Luigi for Sheezy): Luigi pimped out like Snoop. Hilarious, yo!
   
   4) Pac-Man in Hospice: This gives me nightmares. Especially the Frogger frog.
   
   5) Record Dug Digger: Cross between skateboard art (in a good way) and NY graffiti. Trust me, it's awesome!
   
   Other games I recognized include more mainstream stuff like Joust and Space Invaders to games that are a little more esoteric, like Contra, 720, Kid Icarus, and that weird robot thing that came with the NES. If you're a fan of the classics, I highly recommend it!



2. First and foremost, this book makes a wonderful inexpensive gift for anyone who grew up in the '80s playing the 'ole 8-bit video systems and still has a bit of nostalgia for those simpler times. It's also pretty neat as a bound exhibit of how pop culture can be transformed into art that's actually quite captivating. About 70 artists contributed works, and the medium of choice is definitely oil and acrylic paint, with a fair number of mixed media pieces thrown in. The styles vary wildly, with influences ranging from surrealism to manga to skateboard art to graffiti to crafting to abstract to pixelation and on and on. It's actually a pretty decent overview of modern pop art sensibilities.
   
   In terms of subject matter, far and away the most prevalent "inspirations" are from the Donkey Kong/Mario Bros. franchise, with Pac Man coming in next, and Frogger, Zelda, and Dig Dug also getting much play. However, some of the best pieces are from less popular games, like Tim Tomkinson's "Duck Hunter S. Thompson" mashup of a portrait of the gonzo journalist with the Sega "Duck Hunter" graphics, Jim Rugg's faux poster for a pro wrestling event featuring characters from the Nintendo wrestling game, or Jason Sho Green's pen and ink "Tantric Tetris". On the whole it's a very fun, well-designed book, nicely produced, and sure to bring a smile to many 30somethings. It's worth noting that I like Chuck Klosterman too, but his foreword is pretty slim, maybe 500 words, so don't buy it for that!



3. this book is a great collection of established and up and coming artists interpreting classic video games. what more could you want?



4. "I AM 8-BIT" is a must have for those old school fanatics who long for another golden era... one of the best books ever made. Buy it now!!!



5. Coffee table or bookcase, this book is for the most artistic of videogame fans, as well as those that appreciate mixed media with their pop culture. Joust, Mario Bros, Donkey Kong, Pac Man, Q-Bert and more are all displayed like you've never seen them by talented artists. The nostalgia is thick and sweet smelling; a feeling that few will appreciate to it's fullest. Highly recommended for artists and nerds alike. Also check out Arcade Fever and Supercade for the history behind our favorite up up down down history.

5 comments about The Colossal Book of Mathematics: Classic Puzzles, Paradoxes, and Problems.

1. I haven't read nearly enough Martin Gardner.
   This book tickled the math centers of my brain, which only get partially used in my work as a software engineer.

   If graph theory, game theory, topology, and numbers don't entirely scare you away, you'll find something vaguely interesting at any page you flip to in this book, and after a few more pages will have prob learned something, AND found yourself using a part of your brain that might otherwise go unused during any given day.




2. This book is certainly not a "Colossal Book of Mathematics", and if you are looking for a book full of "Classic Puzzles, Paradoxes, and Problems", this book is not it. In short, the title is wrong and deliberatly misleading. That should be enough for one not to buy this book at all, for why should one, when the author tries a con-artist trick with the title itself?
   
   A lot of the book is full of information about stuff that is tangential to mathematics at best, like Escher drawings and other art. Escher is fine, but devoting so many pages to the symmetry drawings of a certain Mr. Kim is way out of line with what a reader might expect of this book. The "fake" chapter is also in bad taste for a book of this nature. Obviously "once bitten twice shy" is not something Gardner believes in.
   
   Also an absence of adequate proofreading is evident. For example, the author claims that N is symmetrical about a horizontal axis. Also wrong (or incomplete) is Gardner's proof about why the second player can never guarantee a win in generalized tictactoe (the "proof" actually proves that the second player can't guarantee a win without looking at the first player's first move).
   
   I however liked some parts of the book, for example an argument against the parallel universe theory is almost literature (it is not Gardner's but somebody else's whose name I've forgotten). Other interesting bits and pieces exist, too numerous to describe here, but scarcely enough to warrant a purchase. On the other hand, if your local library has a copy of this book, it's not a bad one to borrow.



3. This book covers a wide variety of subjects. It is not a puzzle book in the strict sense of solving little teasers, but it is a book that starts one thinking in broader terms. Some paradoxes and concepts addressed in this book, that great thinkers spent time debating and questioning, are fun for us more common thinkers to consider as well.



4. Martin Gardner is the grand old man of popular mathematics. He especially likes the math behind puzzles, riddles and logical conundrums. Logic and mathematics is the source of his thinking on the Skepticism he professes in his writings on pseudoscience, religion, the paranormal, UFO's, and other outlands of science and rational thinking.

   This book is a collection of his best columns from Scientific American magazine. It was of the good reasons to read the magazine. Like many other things in the last few years, that publication jumped the shark at some point. Gardner was one of the reasons to still read it for a while there.

   Gardner, however, is not just interested in the mathematics. The men, and history of the questions is also important to him. That is because it forms a context to the questions and the discovery of the answers. Context is very important to the author. Without it, you really don't know where you are.

   If you like the writing of such good folks like Douglas Hofstadter, Jeremy Bernstein, Eli Maor, John Allen Paulos, Richard Feynman, Stephen Jay Gould, Isaac Asimov, Carl Sagan, Arthur C. Clarke or Ed Regis, than you will probably like the writing of Gardner.

   Mathematics is something that people don't read a lot. At least not recreationally. Normally because they don't understand that it forms the basis of real logical thought. A real understanding of the modern world requires one of the understand science. And science that isn't, at least in part, based on mathematics isn't real science. It is something more of our leaders should take a real interest in. How can we expect our leaders to make good decisions on cloning or when-life-begins if they have no real understanding of science and mathematics?

   Which is why Martin Gardner should be considered a national treasure.




5. I have never read any books on "recreational mathematics" so didn't know quite what to expect from this book--in general I found it entertaining and interesting, with a broad range of topics, including physics, statistics, logical paradoxes, higher dimensions, etc. You don't really have to be a math person to enjoy this book; almost anyone interested in stimulating topics should find at least parts of it interesting.
   
   The book consists of numerous short articles with bibliographies for each. If one article bores you, move on to the next... I found the articles on statistics, logical paradoxes, a 2D Universe (Planiverse) and others very interesting and enjoyable. It is important to understand that this book is not a puzzle book per se; although almost every articles includes some task for hard-core readers to perform ("Prove that...", or "How many..."), it is really intended as reading material.
   
   A few negatives: the articles almost all seem to have been written in the 1950s or 1960s (!); each article has an addendum which attempts to bring it up to date. Although this didn't matter that much to me, since I have never read anything on recreational mathematics, I doubt that much of the material would be new for anyone that reads the topic regularly. Similarly, it would have been more interesting to discover what topics are currently "hot" in this field. Also, the author spends too much time for my taste on trivial mathematical games such as folding paper into different shapes rather than on really thought-provoking mathematical topics (purely a personal preference, I suppose).