Solo But Not Alone 4 is Live!
plus a free online puzzle game with prizes
Hello, friends! I have done zero work this week on Camp Elementa in the frenzy of seeing off my mom and aunt after their six month stay with me, preceded by countless shopping trips and, more entertainingly, celebrations for my twins’ birthday! Hopefully, I will have much more free time now, especially since I dialed back my day job schedule to a more manageable 3+ books a week instead of 5+. I’m actually on top of my work schedule atm, tho that could change at any time!
If you’re looking for some new RPGs to play in the meantime, I highly recommend the Solo But Not Alone 4 charity bundle organized by Cat McDonald, benefiting Take This, the oldest mental health nonprofit in the gaming community. For only USD10 minimum, you’ll get 125 solo games and tools, with all proceeds going to Take This. It’s a great cause, and a great bargain too.
Speaking of bargains, The Escape Game relaunched their free, online Monthly Mystery game with Off The Rails: Vol I. I don’t think it even took me an hour to complete, tho I did take a peek at the hints system to confirm that I needed to do something I have a natural disinclination to (you’ll understand if you play through it, lol.) Best part is the prizes, which include gift cards to major retailers, as well as a grand prize including flight and accommodation to Nashville to try out their newest in-person escape room game!
In an effort to actually finish some of the games I currently own, I also dove into the Boxed Locks: Garden Party puzzle game, which was a lot of fun. I’ve come to terms with the fact that I should just solo these, as gathering the family together for board games has only grown more challenging as the kids age. They did very much enjoy the little prize I unlocked at the end tho. I believe that Boxed Locks may no longer be in business, but I’ve very much enjoyed all the games they’ve sent out, which have been excellent value even for getting them all the way from the UK, where the company is based.
And while on the subject of the UK, I made a Declan Rice playlist like the complete fangirl that I am. It’s only seven songs so far, featuring music from the best/most entertaining videos I’ve seen him in. It is extremely dorky but also has a few decent cuts in it. Been playing this and versions of the #JungleImAfraid remix on loop: hope you enjoy them as much as I have!
Books-wise, Maud Horton’s Glorious Revenge by Lizzie Pook was a rollicking adventure through Victorian England, from murder-mad London to the frozen Arctic wastes, as our titular heroine seeks to avenge the covered-up death of her younger sister Constance, who’d disguised herself as a boy and run away to sea. Nishita Parekh’s The Night Of The Storm might not be the best isolated manor house mystery you’ve ever read, but her biting observations on the lives of Indian American immigrants are whipsmart and hilarious. Bonus: the heroine grows throughout the book, and the commitment to community justice was refreshing. Also, I finally published my review of Britney Spears’ The Woman In Me, which is just an excellent, excellent autobiography.
Alright, I’m off to write a review I keep forgetting to start but is due tomorrow night. See you in seven!
Currently Playing (Music): Schubert's Symphony #3 in D Major; Islington Radio; Fred again..’s Tiny Desk concert; Britney Spears’ Blackout; Don-E feat Nado’s You Alright Yeah?
Currently Playing (Games): The Light In The Mist puzzletale, Ephemera by Messana, Enigmas by David Kwong & Co, The Wild Beyond The Witchlight, Metazooa by Trainwreck Labs, Garden Party by Boxed Locks.
Currently Reading/Writing (Games): Camp Elementa by me! Ghosts Of Saltmarsh.
Currently Reading or Just Read (Books): Maud Horton’s Glorious Revenge by Lizzie Pook; The Night Of The Storm by Nishita Parekh; City Of Betrayal by Victoria Thompson; Coconut Drop Dead by Olivia Matthews; Children Of The Phoenix Vol 1: The Eye Of The Storm by Oskar Kallner & Karl Johnsson.