Sometimes people ask me to review their products. Sometimes they send me their products. My time is limited and my bandwidth for a lot of these things is...even more limited.
Mystery Dice Goblin is a group that sells dice and dice accessories (bags, etc.). Like all gaming nerds, I've purchased plenty of such things over the years, to the point that I'm a bit jaded: if I'm going to buy a dice bag or box, it better be some sort of hand-crafted, artistic nonsense, and better be in a price point that doesn't make me feel like an idiot (or is just so cool that I can't live without it). Usually, I'm a "pass" on most such things.
And dice? I have enough dice.
But they sent me some of their signature product: their "mystery dice" bag: a small, resealable bag with a full set of seven dice. They sent me three such bags, which my kids and I quickly divided up.
And what do you know...the gimmick works! It's kind of cool to rip open a mystery bag and 'oo' and 'ah' over the dice inside. All three of the sets were different, with gemlike finishes and inset, colored numbers. Of the three sets, two of them were nice enough that they might have been worth purchasing even had they been visible (sadly, my set was not to my taste...but two out of three ain't bad).
 |
| Pic is from their web site... |
As a stocking stuffer, or birthday party gift bag or similar, these are great little packets for handing out to kids (or adults) who are into geeky dice games. And the price is good: a six pack of mystery bags is only $40, which is cheaper than a standard $8-10 box. And, as said, the gimmick's fun. Like ripping into a Cracker Jack box to get the prize. Dig it.
All right: Friday commercial done.
In other news: disappointing Seahawks game last night, but we've watched a lot of disappointing Seahawks-Niners match-ups the last couple years. Two dwarf teams in a row (Giants, too)...and dwarves are rough for orks. Especially when the dwarves are GOOD (which is the case with San Francisco, injuries or not). *sigh*
Watched The Spine of Night the other day. Not bad. But not great. The story felt very post-apocalyptic up until the end when it gets all mythical, fallen gods, and blah-blah-blah. Would have preferred fallen space men in a 50th century Earth, but oh well (AND, if one is looking for inspiration for a PA, warring city-state campaign world, the first hour or so is pretty groovy). Some of the (still) art was great. Some of the animation was pretty...mm..."pedestrian." In other words, the movie was a mixed bag and uneven. However, for what is (basically) a 90 minute film that would have been par for Heavy Metal magazine, it wasn't terrible.
And...this ain't the greatest blog post. But it's Friday and I'm busy. Later gators!
Yes, I saw their offerings on Etsy while looking for new math rocks for the other half. Managed to somehow resist the charms of reasonably priced mystery bags...
ReplyDeleteI'm not usually one for "cutesy" stuff. But my kids really dug it. Crusty old grogs like me might not be the target demo.
Delete; )
Hm, The Spine of Night was a bit more my jam, it seems, than yours. I think that the animation is rather good, far superior to, say, Rock & Rule or even Wizards without going down the easy trail and emulating anime.
ReplyDeleteFor anyone wondering if they'll like it, Exordium was the short that was expanded into The Spine of Night. The animation is a little bit more polished in the feature and the voice acting is highly superior. Exordium serves as sort of a prequel to the main movie, and also a "proof of concept".
I like Wizards quite a bit, and I dig rotoscope work like Fire & Ice or LotR. But part of what 'didn't work' for me with the actual animation of Spine was the inconsistency....many times, it felt the animated art was not of the same quality as the still shots. It led to a jarring effect for me...or (perhaps more accurately) it made some of the actual "animation" in the film appear amateurish. Maybe the cleanness and quality of the picture I was watching (different from those older films) made these flaws stand out more.
DeleteIt wasn't bad. I just didn't find it "great."
Oh, I love Wizards (and wish I had picked up the RPG and supplements back in the day). I'm not thrilled with the occasional half-assed rotoscoping involved (and Bakshi did the same thing with his LotR adaptation, too). Fire & Ice, however, was just excellent, at least when James Gurney's and (ugh, but credit where it's due) Thomas Kinkade's amazing backgrounds weren't almost overwhelming the foreground action.
DeleteI am with you on all counts, including wishing I'd picked up the Wizards RPG.
DeleteWe've picked up mysterious dice packs before for my son who loves dice. They were not bad and they give us dice colors we probably wouldn't grab.
ReplyDeleteA few weeks ago my three year old daughter complained she didn't have dice. So we took her to the local game store Lost Star in Gig Harbor to let her pick out a set.
Going from 3 and 0 to 3 and 3 in eleven days sucked. It was always going to be a tough stretch, but ugh. I'm not sure what "sport center moment" hurt more the blocked field goal return by the giants or the 49ers putting up a 80 yard run to ice the game when everyone in the stadium knew they were running.
The game against the Niners was just sloppy. They looked...sloppy. Not nearly tight enough. And this AFTER looking completely unprepared for NY.
DeleteI think the new coaching staff (all new to their jobs) are going through some growing pains. You have to be UP and TIGHT for EVERY SINGLE GAME in the NFL. Because the talent is too good. Carroll's philosophy of treating every game like a "championship week" served to give the team remarkable consistency, despite any talent deficiencies. McDonald & Co. need to bring the same intensity and attention Every Single Week.
I think they'll do better with the next outing. If they don't...oh, boy!