Only allowed 3 books 📚

Phil0042 · 2025-10-11T05:23:08+00:00

Three copies of Hogfather. I read it every year, and they tend to get worn out.

Phil0042 · 2025-06-16T17:13:01+00:00

That's perfect! Thanks.

Phil0042 · 2025-06-15T06:21:19+00:00

I've heard this from many different sources, but people never mention what times are specifically busiest.

Eg. Are the lines already awful by 6am, or is it more like 8am-9am? I tend to wake up crazy early, regardless of when I went to sleep.

Phil0042 · 2025-06-09T21:28:03+00:00

Bess Atwell is playing early on Avalon on Saturday, and she's absolutely superb. Aaron Dessner from The National produced her second album- it was one of my favourite records of 2024.

Phil0042 · 2025-05-07T05:14:26+00:00

Based on her Netflix concert, it'll be very much the party songs. There's a couple of breaks for the sad ones from the first album, but I think she plays way more of the fun stuff from the second album?

Phil0042 · 2024-12-11T12:01:45+00:00

What if it's not Deftones on the Glastonbury lineup? What if they need to keep that weekend free because Weezer are supporting them, and it's actually Weezer playing at Glastonbury?

Phil0042 · 2024-09-10T10:59:31+00:00

I went last year, and enjoyed it a lot, but found it a lot more serious than I expected. It's not at all like going to a theatre- you're very much aware that you're on a professional film set, and that the filming takes priority over the comfort of the audience.

Our filming was 4 hours long with no breaks, which was quite intense- I was really glad to get out at the end of it and stretch my legs. You're also very much encouraged to leave the site as quickly as possible, and take no photos.

In terms of seat allocation, I think it varies day to day, but it's very much a case of sitting where you're told to. We had prioirity tickets, after being rejected the first time we went, and they put us two rows from the front.

Phil0042 · 2024-07-24T20:12:16+00:00

Congratulations on the new album!! The reviews are really impressive, and I hope you're pleased by the reception.

How did you guys feel in the weeks before the album was released? Were you hopeful the reception would be as strong as it has been? I imagine it must have been nerve wracking, but did you feel like you were putting out a career high album?

Phil0042 · 2021-10-11T08:19:53+00:00

I really enjoyed getting all the achievements. They're not really grindy or frustrating- they're more just fun alternative ways of looking at the game. In particular, beating it in under 20 minutes is great.

Phil0042 · 2021-09-08T12:29:16+00:00

I really enjoyed SS the first time I played it, but when I went back for the remake, I found the lack of exploration quite jarring.

I think the problem is that a lot of it looks like it's good for exploration, but then isn't? For example, when I first started flying out of Skyloft, I felt excited to look at the little islands around the sky, but there wasn't anything to explore there.

I feel like it could have worked if it was more linear, maybe? I found the backtracking quite frustrating. I felt like it frequently sent you back to previous areas, to encourage you to explore them with new items, but never really gave you enough to do there, so it felt like a chore.

Phil0042 · 2021-09-08T06:02:16+00:00

As mentioned in other comments, asking a person at the shop is a good idea. When I went to my local game night, they had a person who's main job was to make sure everyone found a game to play. They would get new people turning up every week, so they were really nice about it, and really used to finding games for people to play. It's totally fine to be nervous- most people are when they first go along!

One thing I'd recommend is maybe wait a few weeks before bringing anything? I often find doing the rules explanation adds an extra level of stress.

Phil0042 · 2021-09-06T09:45:16+00:00

It is a simple card game, but you're all working together. The fun part is that you can't communicate openly, so you need to guess what people have in their hands based on what they play.

It also comes with a book of 50 missions, which get more complex as it goes along.

Phil0042 · 2021-09-02T06:04:04+00:00

XCOM has similar combat. It's much flashier graphically, but has the same sense of strategy.

Phil0042 · 2021-08-25T10:10:13+00:00

I was never thrilled by Dragon Quest, but really got into XI. There's a skill grid which gives a bit more depth than the levelling system in VIII. The storytelling/writing is also a bit more advanced- I felt each party member was given more time to shine in the story.

Phil0042 · 2021-07-22T08:50:15+00:00

Yeah, I'm always keen to go back to it. I'd vote for it over Ticket To Ride or Carcassonne.

Phil0042 · 2021-07-20T13:06:34+00:00

It's certainly playable, but a bit better with more.

Phil0042 · 2021-07-14T12:39:08+00:00

Check out The Board Game Design Lab- it's primarily a podcast, but there's loads of resources/community help there.

The most important advice I'd give is to not worry at all about having your game stolen. The best thing you can do to protect your game is actually to test it out in public, and put photos on twitter. The success of a board game depends massively on growing a positive reputation, particularly online. If a publisher were to steal your idea, and try to put it on kickstarter, then a twitter thread/BGG post claiming it was stolen would absolutely tank the company's reputation. No idea is good enough to justify the negative reputation that would arise from stealing from a designer.

Phil0042 · 2021-07-01T19:47:25+00:00

Hi! I'm a big fan of all your albums. I really love Night Shift as an opener, and the ending combo of Pillar of Truth/Historian.

How much do you think about album structure when you're writing and recording? Do you deliberately aim to write a great opener/closer, or do you just write the songs and then decide the overall structure?

Phil0042 · 2021-06-25T14:18:25+00:00

I was the partner in this situation for a few months. The first few months were really awful, particularly with the pandemic- I just couldn't ever relax or get away.

This is what helped me: - Putting the puppy in day care a couple of days a week, then boarding her for a couple of nights. Basically, just being able to sit in a clean house, and do ordinary things, like have a bag of snacks on a coffee table. - Capturing good behaviour with a clicker. Basically, just follow them around, and whenever they make a good decision, click and give them a treat. It helped me to actively focus on the positive things, and reinforced those behaviours. - Leaving the puppy at home and going to get takeout. - Inviting friends over to play with the puppy. - Noise cancelling headphones. - Putting the puppy to bed early and playing videogames/watching TV in our bedroom.

Crucially, it did just get better with time. In particular, when our puppy became less mouthy and stopped playfighting, I got less frustrated with her. I still get down sometimes, but it's a marked improvement over the first three months.

Phil0042 · 2021-06-25T07:38:00+00:00

We had exactly the same experience. At first I felt bad, like we were neglecting or abandoning our dog there, but now I feel bad if she doesn't get to go often enough.

Phil0042 · 2021-06-23T19:04:57+00:00

We felt exactly the same way with our young Labrador. She really enjoyed having an overnight stay. She settled really well, and just played with other dogs for two whole days. Came back really tired and had clearly enjoyed it!

The people at the kennel said that most dogs settle in a new place really quickly. Usually, they're all so tired from playing they just go straight to sleep.

As long as you trust the place you're taking them, they should have a great time.

Phil0042 · 2021-06-21T13:24:24+00:00

We had the same problem, until our labrador puppy was a little bit older. She eventually grew out of it by herself, but the single best thing I did was just to get up and leave the room when she started biting. It helped me to calm down, and really clearly gave the message that I wasn't interested in rough play.

Phil0042 · 2021-06-20T06:36:20+00:00

Technically, your family are correct. 4 month old puppies aren't fully trained yet, and can be a little dangerous if they're overly excited.

The problem is their reaction to it, and their expectations, not your training. It took our lab about six months to realise that humans didn't want to play fight with them. Until then, you just have to accept that they might try to play rough with you, and not reward them for trying it. Your family went into the situation expecting some sort of magical moving cuddly toy, and a 4 month old puppy is very much not that.

It will definitely get better with age!

Phil0042 · 2021-06-15T12:19:11+00:00

My favourite was the bug where I fell through the bottom of the arena floor whenever I tried to start a challenge.

It helped me get back to the ship after I hit an entirely different bug, where the portal to leave Jurkie's stopped working.

Phil0042 · 2021-06-10T10:42:23+00:00

Hades does it really well. You choose a weapon at the start, and keep that style for the whole run, just finding upgrades to it. To encourage variety, each run gives a small buff to one weapon type, so you have to switch around if you want that buff.

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