5 comments about Cityscape (Dungeons & Dragons d20 3.5 Fantasy Roleplaying Supplement).

1. this book is great for guilds and city information allows you to wip up a city in no time.



2. Like Dungeonscape, this book is just about useless. Nothing in it is new save for a few things nobody will use. I haven't used it since I got it the day it came out. A waste of shelf space. Anyone want to buy mine?



3. As mentioned in other reviews, this is a DMs resource. This is not the book to come to if you want more base classes or advice on how to adventure in a city. As with all reviews, choose this based on what you know. If you are inexperienced and need advice on how to run urban campaigns, or if you have run urban campaigns before and merely need more ideas this is the perfect book to come to. It presents new and interesting feats, NPC prestige classes, and tips for running different types of urban settings.
   
   In this book you can find advice for:
   Flying cities
   Race-based cities
   Specific environment based cities
   Different Locales within the city
   ...and much more along those lines
   
   I am preparing for a campaign and this book is exactly what I needed. I have several years of experiance DMing and find that this and Dungeonscape both provide interesting ideas. Keep it up Wizards!



4. This product is a DM resource, despite the description. I didn't need help with rules. I wanted help conjuring up urban details to treat my players to. I wanted lists of buildings, fun encounters, maps, common city locations, business and NPC names--and tips to keep them all straight. The book offered that, but it also offered useless detailed rules, feats, classes and magic.



5. Well, in my personal opinion, DnD is not a urban game, so i don't like this book. The artwork is really good, but the game mechanics are poor, we have a few new feats, prestige classes and spells. The rules for city construction are kinda of complicated and burocratic. With the 4ed. this is a dead supplement, a collector's item only.

5 comments about Card Games For Dummies (For Dummies (Sports & Hobbies)).

1. get this book!!!!! it rules!!!



2. This book covers the basics for understanding simple to hard card games. Having a baptist upbringing and being an only child I've missed out on learning how to play card games. This book is very easy to understand and now when I play card games on the computer like Hearts, I now know how to win. The rules for card games have been updated to what average people now currently play.



3. This book has some fun games! It has popular games like Hearts, Rummy, and Cribbage. It also has games that I have always wanted to learn how to play, like Euchre and Canasta. In all, the book discusses over twenty games.

   The layout of the book is a discussion about games. Even if you have felt confused before in reading through card game rules, this book is an excellent introduction to playing card games. It goes over everything that happens in the game, from the rules, to strategy and tips, to history of the game-a fascinating book.

   Because it goes in-depth into each of the games, you will not find one place in the chapter that has a concise list of the rules. The rules are scattered throughout the discussion of the chapter. I found it useful to check a book of rules from the library to read along with this book.




4. Simply put, this is absolutely one of the worst instructional books I've read. If you know nothing (or next to nothing) about card games -- like I still don't after reading this book twice -- avoid this very confusing book.

   Let's look at an example. The following is taken from the first page of the chapter on Hearts:

   "The game [Hearts] revolves around tricks. In a trick, everyone takes turns playing one card. Whoever plays the highest card in the suit led (the suit of the first card played) picks up all the cards played. The person who wins the trick leads anything he likes from his remaining cards to the next trick, and the process repeats itself until all the cards have been played."

   I simply could not understand this paragraph no matter how many times I read it, until I consulted a friend good at Hearts. This is typical of the arcane writing throughout this book. It's simply not easy for a dummies. In fact my friend was totally lost when he read this paragraph. The way he described it to me was just so much clearer.

   The book does cover a wide range of card games. Unfortunately it does a very poor job at teaching you how to play these games. Often the author discusses strategies without even explaining what things are and what the rules are, leaving you totally clueless and obfuscated.

   I haven't read a book as frustrating as this one in a long time. I highly recommend you stay away from it.




5. This is a great reference book to have in your home. Before I purchased this book, there were many occasions where questions came up about the rules and scoring of card games. I wished I would have had that book then.

5 comments about Marvel: Ultimate Alliance Signature Series Guide (Bradygames Signature Series).

1. I thought that this was a really great guide to beat the game and uncover literally every secret in the game. The maps were detailed and very helpful and the character descriptions were very helpful. DESPITE all the good that it did-for some reason, my copy had the worst binding of any book I have ever bought. I didn't trash the book at all, just through normal wear, it lost its binding and is now broken up into 5 sections in between the covers. Way to go Brady for writing a great book but whoever put that together for you was a moron.



2. This guide is required reading for any gaming fan of Marvel Ultimate Alliance who wishes to find everything but does not wish to invest significant time.



3. The cinematics in this game are fantastic.
   However the characters in the game are to small.
   The camera angles are disapointing. The same way with some of the sports games. Camera angles are important in any game! Camera angles need to be on the ground level with the characters.



4. This is, as always from Bradygames, an excellent strategy guide. From trivia questions to cheat codes, this one has them all. The only thing not included? Which X-Man to kill at the end of Mephisto's Realm (and yes it does matter.) Hint: Don't kill the one who's known to come back from death.



5. This is an excellent game guide book with everything you would need to 100% complete the game. I am disappointed that the pages began pulling away from the binding within a few days of light use. Now, whole sections of pages are falling out as if the binding dried out. I guess I am stuck with it!!

5 comments about My System (Chess Classics).

1. this book is greatness. it is agreed by most that this is the best chess book of all time
   
   
   Nimzowitsch was one of the first hypermodernists (controlling the center without actually putting pieces in the center)but his chess book isnt biased. Nimzowitsch was probably the 3rd best in the world in his time
   
   the wording might be over the head for little kids (it was written in the 30's) but other than that this book is pretty much perfect. it has examples and games and goes over the most important chess principles
   
   You need to re-read it every 200 rating points because there are new things you understand every time you read it.



2. I read this book when I was a teenager. Since then my understanding of chess has increased immensely. Even though at the time of reading I didn't understand a lot of it, I do notice that now later in life I use a lot of strategies in this book, but not neccessarily from reading this book. I am going to buy a new copy and see if I understand it better. This might not be the best book to get if you are a beginner because it is difficult to comprehend. If you are into buying chess books and want to have a nice collection, then you should get this book. For those who want a book that is easy to understand and will see a marketable return then try "How To Reassess Your Chess". "My System" will make you a better player but it might take more work than other books because of the complexities and early 20th Century language.
   
   PawnMoves



3. My son is 10 with a rating about 1300. The chess coach recommended this book for studying at home. My son found the language and the style of the book too difficult, and he gave up rather quickly. He found the companion "Chess Praxis" book easier to follow, and he reads it regularly.
   I am sure it's a great book, but I am not sure it is suitable for young kids...



4. The book is very good - if You have the basics of chess down, read it! The quality is tacky though - in my a little bit humid room the pages curled up mercilessly - just a little inconvenience



5. If you are learning to improve your chess skills, get this book and study it. You will IMPROVE. When I began my chess career, this was one of the few books that allowed me to understand positional play. My ratings shot up tremendously!

5 comments about Okami Official Strategy Guide (Official Strategy Guides (Bradygames)) (Official Strategy Guides (Bradygames)) (Official Strategy Guides (Bradygames)).

1. Brady Games makes horrible strategy guides. They omit things, and make everything confusing. This is the only exception.
   
   The Okami Strategy Guide is succinct, but provides all the information for everything in the game. The guide is almost as beautiful as the game.
   
   It's just a great guide for a great game.



2. I got this for my son and he was very happy with it. He said it helped him out alot in the game, and the product came very qickly..ty



3. This guide helps me out of any jam that the game gets me in
   Love it.



4. I wrote a separate review for the game where I recommended buying this guide as well. Our own copy of the guide has now plenty of dog-ears, the corners are faded, the pages are worn... all because it is so useful. I stopped playing the game early on because I couldnt figure out what all the fuss was about. I mean, the wolf was a goddess, ok and she had special powers and had a mission to fight evil, fine so far. But when I open up the weapons screen I was overwhelmed with the various options it presented. Not being too patient with such complications (Resident Evil 4 Weapons Screen was easy to figure out=) I stopped playing and ordered the guide.
   
   Unfortunately for me, my own elementary school daughter took an interest in the game and pored over the pages of the guide. she reads this anytime she has the chance which is good since she's reading anyway. she managed to finish the game 4 times with the guide's help.
   
   The guide itself is a veritable art collection! Not just the text but the art of the game itself. It is chuck full of information, tips and strategies that in some places the text had to be written in small characters just to fit the data. This is perhaps the only "con" of the guide for me. Still, the amount of information it contains would take a while to figure out if you played it on your own. I believe, we would miss many things in the game without the guide. To give you a perspective, Resident Evil 4 was difficult play but very easy to figure out what to do or where to go, for example. In Okami, you can spend a lot of time roaming around fighting enemies without advancing into the mission, although you will gain treasures defeating enemies.
   
   In Thankfully, everything is illustrated with art straight from the game itself.
   
   Highly recommended!



5. On the whole, this is a great guide. It is beautifully printed, chock full of all kinds of extra tidbits, and it will help you get through the game with all the stray beads and stuff you need to get all of the end of game extras. However, when it comes to the many creatures you will fight, no extra information is really given beyond boss fight strategies. It was useless for me to use the guide when trying to figure out how to deal with tougher regular monsters (like those hideous clay samurai), and I had to turn to the Internet for answers. The guide is also not very well organized. I missed most of the stray beads until the point of no return because many aren't mentioned during the main walkthrough, but only in a quick list at the back of the book. It only vaguely mentions where to find most of the feedable animals (and many are only mentioned in a useless list in the back).
   
   Also, be warned that like many Brady guides, this one is absolutely horrible about spoiling every last moment of the story except for the ending. It describes every scene and every event without warning and the way it is laid out it is almost impossible to avoid missing them.

5 comments about Official Nintendo Power The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Player's Guide.

1. Anyone that has played the game can tell you there are a billion things to find a billion puzzles to solve. And if you miss one little part you are going nowhere for a the next few hours. This books serves as a great safety net for times that you get stuck. It has everything you could possibly want to find and its all very detailed.
   
   If you want to save yourself a few hours of frustration and improve your gaming experience I would suggest this book.



2. After playing Legend of Zelda on Nintendo 64 several years ago, it was a must to play on Nintendo wii as well. Knowing how many hours it'll take to play the the game to the end, this guide was bought.
   
   The guide has been very helpfull on the way so far, and it actually gives me time to enjoy the game.Legend of Zelda: Twilight Wii



3. This is a great guide for help with the game. Although the guide tends to lean toward the wii, it does explain both the wii and the gamecube. One has to remember that some of the items on the gamecube are in the opposite side for the wii... in other words, if something on the wii in the east, it will be in the west on the gamecube.



4. The guide enables you to play knowing what your doing. It makes it more fun for me not having to second guess every move.



5. i bought it because it said it covered the gamecube version no it dosent go figure there two compeletely different games everything is switched right to left so that if theres a room on the right on the map than its on my left on the gamecube version. because most people are right handed they changed link because in previous games he was left handed im not entirely sure how it effects game play, though it takes quite a bit of getting used to, but i could see it being very useful to wii gamers. but if you own the gamecube version buy the specificaly made guide.

1 comments about Mega Picture Puzzles: Challenge Yourself to Spot the Differences.

1. Spotting the differences in the picture puzzle book is challenging. I love to have a challenge, but I found that even with a magnifying glass, I could not find the differences in many of the pictures. First of all, many of the pictures are way too dark - and even if I cheated and looked for the answers, I could not find some of them. Thank you.
   D.P.

5 comments about Beds.

1. An excellent book on bed construction. I built the pencil post bed that Jeff has in his book and the plans and advise were easy to follow. It came out looking great!

   A good book for the beginner to the experienced woodworker. Excellent color pictures and instructions for each type of bed.

   I recommend it highly to anyone who is going to think about building or commissioning a bed project.

   Thanks Jeff if you read this!




2. I am in the process of finishing up the bed shown on the cover of this book. It is the first bed and biggest project I have ever made since I have a samll shop and limited tools. It turns out beautifully that even surprises myself. Jeff Miller gives detailed instructions, design and material list that makes the project a easy task. I happen to have a mortise machine that makes the mortises for the slats much easier and nicer. Also, after I visited a local store, I easily changed dimensions of the bed to suit personal taste. I really enjoyed making this bed.



3. This book gave me the confidence to build a bed. I chose Jeff's most basic design and it went smoothly. I would not say this book is for the complete novice however. I had oversight from an experienced woodworker. Nevertheless, Jeff is a good writer with nice pictures. And opinions. The great thing about Tauton Press books is that they get experts to share their insights and opinions that you simply do not get from people like Time-Life

   The projects range in style, and they are all pleasing.




4. The whole series of these book's (desks, bookcase, tables, beds) is a must for all woodworkers.

   I built the Pencil Post Bed out of this book and will be working on another of the bed projects soon. I like the paperback style easy to read and comfortable to work with. The is a good mix of projects in these books some high end and some fairly basic, good detail on techniques and alternative constructive methods. Pictures are for the most part good. Only drawback in some places I'd like to see a bit more explanation in some places.




5. Have gotten a few here and although I'm just doing basic projects, these books are a great resource and provide tons of helpful information

No comments about Origami, Eleusis, and the Soma Cube: Martin Gardner's Mathematical Diversions (The New Martin Gardner Mathematical Library).

3 comments about The Games of War: A Treasury of Rules for Battles with Toy Soldiers, Ships and Planes.

1. This book is a treasure for those seeking to getting started in wargaming and, for teachers, seeking to bringing gaming into their teaching suite. Covering all known periods of history, these fast, simple rules are a great way to introduce friends and students to gaming while keeping the expense on the ultra-low side.
   
   From ancients to modern, from land battles to sea and air battles, this book has suggestions for quick battles recreating history. While not as detailed as commercially available rule sets, it does cover all aspects of wargaming from morale (how casualties and enemy fire can affect your troopers) to fire potential of different weapons.
   
   After playing a half dozen games of different periods of history, I was impressed as to how these rules catch the flavor of a period. If your a teacher looking to introduce your students to gaming and how the different aspects of war can change history, then I suggest that you pick up this book. It is a treasury as the title implies and one cannot go wrong in using it. Game on!



2. As a longtime miniatures and board wargamer I applaud John Bobek's "Games of War"; he has created a work that belongs on the bookshelf (and more importantly, the gaming table!) of anyone interested in the re-creation of historic battles in miniature. Easy-to-understand but quite comprehensive in it's coverage of the subject, he provides the reader with rules-sets and background information on how to simulate every form of combat from Alexander's campaigns to Vietnam and even the present-day struggles in the Middle East. Additional rules allow the beginning gamer to immerse him/herself in gladitorial combat in the Arena, and even Wild West action.
   Most impressive to this reviewer is the Author's combination of all of this in one complete, exciting, even humorous collection of gaming rules, hints, suggestions for classroom use, and tabletop combat lore.
   In my career at sea (US Navy) I have often faced the question of what types of games to carry aboard with me--limited by storage space and playing time to a few boxed rule-sets and a handful of miniatures. No more! Bobek's book goes a long way toward replacing the numerous rulebooks I used to carry around, and reduces my accessory requirements to a few "minis" and a handful of dice!
   I strongly recommend this book to the beginning and experienced gamer as well!



3. This is a nice flexible book for introducing new, young wargamers to the hobby. It's also a fine addition to any gamer's library. There are many simple rules for skirmishes of all kinds throughout history. Most of the rule sets for the different eras are roughly about 3 to 5 pages (there are 39 sets of rules). The ideas allow you to use any figures in whatever scale you chose. Each era covered also includes a bibliography for further historical reading and there are 'labs' for history or social studies teachers to run wargames in the clasroom. Loose, free spirited, and fun rules. 280 pages. I wish I would have had this book when I was 10!