Board Game Review - "Lego Games' Pirate Plank"!

I wanna start by saying I have been calling for a Lego board game series for like six years now. ALL TOYS should be made out of Legos, it should just work that way. A full on fantasy pen-and-paper Lego RPG would CHANGE THE WORLD.

ANYWAY, about a year ago, Lego premiered a line of very creative and high quality family board games, one of the latest of which is the very clever Pirate Plank. It's rated for 7 yrs. and up, 2-4 players, and takes about 10-20 minutes. Basically, you play as a pirate, rolling the die to move your fellow pirates closer and closer to their sharky doom, while avoiding your own imminent demise.

Die, you say? LEGO DIE? Yes, a build-it-yourself Lego die! All these new Lego games have one, and if you're into unique Lego elements, the die is worth the price of admission all by itself. But that's not all - have you seen the MICROFIGS?! Wee Lego pirates in giant hats, it just keeps getting better! I am first and foremost a total Lego whore, and as a $15 building set, it's worth every penny.


But, Andrew - it's a game, right? Umm, oh yeah! The idea is each player has a pool of movement tokens, and on your turn you roll the die, placing enemy movement tokens on the empty faces. Then, whenever someone rolls your movement token, they can force you forward, and eventually off the plank. It's a simple, but well executed idea that leads to a very fast-paced game. I'd suggest playing with 3-4 players; with two, maybe have each player control two pirates. As is, it's a great time for family game night, but the JOY of playing a Lego game comes from building your own rules; the rulebook even suggests variants to spice up the gameplay.

So, final thoughts - it's obviously meant for the younger audience, but if you are looking for a great game that you can play with the young ones, but still actually enjoy yourself, this, like so many of the other Lego games, is a great, very affordable choice. Highly recommended!


(Thanks a bundle to Brenda for the wonderful pictures!)

Music Review - "No Direction Home: The Soundtrack"

The idea here - by the way, thanks for coming - the idea here is that I and my fellow contributors will post periodically - that is Andrew (me), as well as Scott, Brenda, and Darren - every so often we'll post reviews and news and whatnot - you know, editorial style - reviews of whatever pop media strikes our fancy as it occurs to us, but that we either haven't the time for, or else simply doesn't bear mentioning on the weekly show.

We at the Order of the Mighty Goose remain committed to broadening your horizons, Dear Reader, and so to that end I present the first of many installments of Hey! Guess What CD I Just Bought?! - "No Direction Home: The Soundtrack":

No Direction Home is the soundtrack to the 2005 Martin Scorsese-directed television documentary of the same name, and the seventh installment in the Bob Dylan Bootleg series. Like the documentary, this two disc set spans Bob Dylan's early years, from 1959 to 1966.

However, it's an odd soundtrack in that it doesn't feature the actual music from the film. Instead, No Direction Home is a compilation almost entirely composed of unreleased track dug up during the making of the film. From one of his earliest known recordings of an original song, to some of his most controversial live performances, this collection mirrors the story of the documentary while shedding even more light on Bob Dylan's transformation from folkie to bona fide rocker.

But, it's not a hodgepodge of unlistenable home recordings and sub-par outtakes. In fact, this album features some really stellar tracks, such as a visionary performance of This Land is Your Land, and an alternate take of It's All Over Now, Baby Blue which I even prefer over the original release. Other highlights include a rockin' Maggie's Farm, recorded at the infamous Newport Folk Festival, and the first full take of Tambourine Man, supposedly the one The Byrd's were given as the basis for their hit single.

Every track is a solid example of Bob Dylan at his best, and this set serves as as good a Greatest Hits you'll ever find, a perfect introduction for new listeners, and a definite must-have for fans.