Four Gardens - Board Game Review!

Along with the game play itself, board games that have beautiful game pieces tend to draw me in when I am searching for new games for my family & I to play. I was recently asked by Arcane Wonders if I wanted to receive a review copy of a game called Four Gardens. Once I looked over the game description, it felt like it would be a good game to fit in with the type of games we typically like to play. Over the course of the game, you will work towards the goal of building beautiful gardens to gain points and win the game. This game is for 2-4 players ages 10+ and it is played over the course of 45 minutes. Four Gardens makes a great game to play together as a family & an easier starter game for younger kids wanting to get into board games with their friends and parents. 

The garden cards in this game are quite lovely, I like looking at all of the different garden pieces. During the game you will be able to build one of several gardens, based off the color that is on the garden card you select. Each garden can only have a certain amount of cards in them & this will also be shown on the cards to help prevent you from having too many cards or duplicates in your garden. Every garden color has a different number of pieces that may be played, for example the red garden only allows two cards. The end of the game is determined by how many people are playing, the guide book will show you how many garden pieces need to be completed for your number of players to trigger the end of the game. 

This game can be pretty fast paced if everyone pre-plans out their next moves, it is a lot of fun to race to see who finishes the game first & who is able to collect the most points. You'll collect game pieces, play cards, build gardens and gain bonus tiles that allow you different rewards in the game. We enjoy playing this together, it is quick to set up and easy to put away which is always a big plus especially when everything fits back into the box properly. 

I like the game pieces that are included in this box & the large pagoda tower that is used to determine which game pieces you will collect during your turn. This game normally cost $39.99 but is currently on sale for $34.99 on the Arcane Wonders website. Along with this game they have a great collection of family friendly board games. 

If you want to find more great board games like Planetfall head over to check out my Board Game Reviews section.

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Arcane Wonders for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

April Beauty & The Book Giveaway!

 

April showers, bring May flowers, but it also brings the April Beauty & The Book Giveaway! This month's giveaway is pretty close to being half skincare and half beauty products, with one or two other goodies thrown in. March went by quickly, but it was a good month. I have some more fun posts coming your way that I am looking forward to sharing. I do not really have any big updates to share with you this month so let's dive into what is included in this month's giveaway.

💜 What's Included in this month's Giveaway; 💜

★ A paperback copy of "Sunshield"
★ Violet Voss Eyeshadow
★ ELF Mini eyeshadow palette
★ Wet n Wild mini eyeshadow palette
★ Patchology undereye mask
★ Face Mask x3
★ Hand Mask
★ Foot Mask
★ L.A Colors metallic liquid eyeliner
★ NYX Sample
★ Mini beauty blenders
★ Mini stress ball that says "Take a deep breath"
★ Bath Bomb
★ Mineral Blush
★ Face serum
★ Lip stick x2
★ False eyelashes
★ Mascara
★ Black Eyeliner
★ Small blue claw clip
★ Adorable spa headband

This is open Worldwide! Please remember if you DO NOT leave a comment on this blog post as your mandatory entry into the giveaway then all of your entries will be void. Doing the Daily entries will increase your chance of winning. Winners have 72 hours to respond to the notification email! This giveaway is hosted by ME.

This giveaway ends on 05/11/2024

Giveaway entry question: Leave a comment answering at least one of these questions.

Which item in this bundle are you most excited about?

Do you have any fun upcoming plans?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It is easiest if you log onto Rafflecopter using the Name/Email Address option. 

You can complete as many entries as you want, there are several one-time activities and daily activities that can earn you more entries into the giveaway. Be sure to keep an eye on my site & social media pages for more giveaways headed your way. 

Escapology Tempe Review!

 

My kids have both done at home Escape "rooms" with us in the past & have been wanting to do a in person Escape room for quite sometime, so I set out to look for one that is family friendly. I found a spot in Tempe that not only offers regular escape rooms, but if you are looking for a birthday party idea they also have rooms specifically designed for kids to escape together as a group. The room we selected isn't specifically geared towards children, however it was a moderate challenge room & our children who are ten and fifteen felt confident they would do just fine. Escapology Tempe was kind enough to have the four of us out to test out one of their escape rooms & write a review for them. Escapology Tempe offers seven different rooms, plus they have a kids mode as well. Rooms at Escapology are private so you will not need to worry about another party joining in with you. 

The room we selected was Batman: The Dark Knight Challenge.The theme for this room was is that you & your group are part of a training course who is sent out on a mission by Batman to stop a disaster from happening in Gotham. You have sixty minutes to find & solve clues that will help you complete your mission, save Gotham City & escape the room. If you get stuck your game master will be able to help provide some clues to help you progress. So, were we able to beat the clock and save Gotham City? Keep reading to find out. 

This challenge consisted of three rooms full of puzzles that need to be solved & completed before the clock runs out. You start off your adventure in the Batcave being given instructions by Batman, once he is finished giving you a run down of what your mission is the first step is to find your way out of the Batcave. I enjoyed how they had everything set up in the Batcave, you did feel like you are in a real room set up by Batman for briefings and training. This is also the area where you'll find a screen which will hold any clues you ask for along with a basket to hold any belongings you do not wish to carry the entire time. I honestly wasn't keeping a close eye on the clock so I can not say how long it took to get out of the first room.

The second room was well thought out as well with how everything was decorated and made to feel as though it was part of the Gotham City world & that you are actually in Arkham looking for clues as to how you will stop the disaster in the city. This room had a lot more physical things that were able to be found, moved and completed which was a lot of fun & I felt like we all did a great job contributing to certain aspects of different puzzles to figure it out as a team. 

Entering the last room we had just under sixteen minutes left to complete the final steps. We were able to do one of the puzzles & collect a piece we needed for the final puzzle however one of the puzzles that needed to be completed in this room stopped us in our tracks. I do not want to go into complete detail of what the puzzles was as that would ruin the fun for anyone else wanting to do this game. I will note though that when the screen dinged after we spent quite a while on the puzzle, the clue that was on the screen already matched what we had figured out & what was written down on our little notepad. We had tried the combination forwards, backwards and with a combination of signs as well but nothing seemed to work. We did sadly end up losing! When our host came in after, I asked her if she could show us what the answer was along with showing her on our notepad our list of the order + the different ways I tried to punch them in. She went to hit the same buttons I had & said it should have done something so I honestly have no clue if it was something we had done wrong or if this particular puzzle wasn't working properly. She had let us know she would tell her manager about it as she seemed slightly puzzled as well. My husband & kids felt slightly robbed with that puzzle, but it happens! 

Even without escaping we did have a lot of fun & it was great seeing the kids in action figuring out puzzles and helping with clues. My husband and I think they did a fantastic job and we are looking forward to taking them to do another escape room in the future. We went on Easter, so Escapology actually had some Easter eggs hidden around their lobby area which was a cute way to decorate for the holiday. I had thought it was just the lobby eggs were hidden, but during our escape game my son actually found an egg hidden in one of the rooms! It had candy and a little note to take it to a staff member to redeem for a free game in the future. I thought that was a nice touch to add for guests coming in on a holiday. Escape rooms are always fun to do with friends or with family! If you are looking for something exciting to do, why not try out an escape room? Stop by their website to see the different themes they offer and book a escape challenge today. Prices for the rooms range from $36 per player for the kids mode up to $44 per player for certain rooms. 

Disclaimer- The experience mentioned above was provided by  Escapology Tempe for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

CREATE at Arizona Science Center Review!

 

If you've ever been to the Arizona Science Center, you might have noticed the building right next door that says CREATE at Arizona Science Center and wondered what it was. This is their space that is specifically designed to be a makers space with everything you need to complete hands on projects along with taking beginners classes for skills such as 3D printing or using a laser to etch wood, etc. They offer a variety of projects and classes for different ages, even adults can join in on a class if you are looking to learn about a new skill or hobby. My children and I were recently able to participate in their 3D printing skills studio. The 3D skills studio is for ages 8+ and cost $35 per person, children ages 8-13 will need a parent to accompany them. Each skills studio runs for about sixty minutes, at the end of the class you will have completed a small print that you are able to take home. You will need to pre-register for a class in order to participate. 

The lab area they have you take the course in will have everything you need from laptops to printers and filament, so you will not need to bring anything to the class with you. We were lucky & there were only two other people in the class with us which allowed more one on one time to ask questions or troubleshoot anything that happened to pop up. Our skills shop host was friendly & very knowledgeable of not just the specific programs and machines they use in the CREATE space, but he was also able to tell us about some other helpful websites and programs. My son received a 3D printer for Christmas, so this is a class we wanted to take so we could learn a bit more about the creating process. 

During our class we talked about a few of the different slicing programs you need to take a print file & convert it to the correct size and file for the printer to create your project. We were shown how to upload a project onto the Prusaslicer, how to resize the project along with how to change the infill, temperature of the print, and how to add in stops or pauses to be able to switch out the filament color. Once everything was completed & loaded up onto a memory card we were able to then plug that into the 3D printers to start our projects. 

We were all assigned our own printer to use & were shown how to remove the old remaining filament from the previous use and add the color we wanted for our project. While our projects were printing, we were able to watch them to ensure everything was running smoothly and went over how to remove the project after the printing was complete. It also gave us a little extra time to ask any additional questions and take a look at some of the finished printing projects they had on display. 

We all enjoyed the class & the information has been helpful in getting everything set up with our printer at home. I feel like everything was set up in a way that was easy to understand and follow along with the class, this is perfect for anyone who is a hands on learner vs just watching a how to video on youtube. If you do not already own a 3D printer it also gives you a chance to take a look at some different models in person to help you figure out which printer you'd like to purchase. If you prefer not to purchase your own printer, they offer what is called a LaterLab, where you can come in & use the equipment they have to freely create your own projects and ask for help if needed. 

As previously mentioned aside from the skill studios, they offer mini maker sessions where you can create a wooden project. Projects & prices for the projects vary depending on what you are wanting to build. The mini makers projects you do not need to pre-register for, they have drop in hours from 11am until 2:45pm so you can swing in either before or after you visit the Science Center. This is a great spot to visit to beat the heat during the summer while allowing your child to complete a fun project. Stop by their website to learn more about one of the fun projects or classes you can complete! 

🔬 If you were to register for a skills studio would you prefer to do woodworking 101, Laser cutting, 3D printing or Sewing? 

Disclaimer- The skills studio mentioned above was provided by The Arizona Science Center / CREATE for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Upcoming Arizona Events!

 

This post is for all of my local readers! There are several upcoming events that I think you would be interested in, so I will share all of them here. Some of the events are free & others require you to buy a ticket, I will include that information in the little snippet I include for each event. Drop a comment letting me know which event you are most interested in. If you end up visiting any of the events, let me know how it went. 

The Bao & Dumpling Festival + The Arizona Rice Fest. 

This two-day food festival will feature local food trucks & vendors along with a artist alley where you can purchase a variety of goodies. Tickets to this event range it is $5 for Happy Hour admission (after 3pm), $15 for general admission or $20 for early entry. I've featured the Bao & Dumpling festival in the past, my family and I love visiting this event. It is family friendly, kids under the age of 12 are FREE and it is a great event for foodies. Click on the name of the festival above to be taken to the event page for more info. 

Maricopa Home & Garden Show. 

This is the third Maricopa Home show this year & it is sure to be just as fun as the last two. Stop by this event to shop local small businesses, purchase plants, find companies to make home repairs or sit in on a seminar/workshop. Tickets are $8 for everyone over the age of thirteen, children twelve and under are free. You can score tickets for $2 if you visit between 2pm-5pm on Friday or Sunday. Parking at the event location will be $10. Click on the name of the event above to be taken to their website for more information and to purchase tickets. 

Heroes & Villains Show. 

This is a family friendly comic & anime pop up! The event takes place in the parking lot of a shopping center directly in front of Ready Player 1 Games. There will be dozens of local vendors to browse plus head inside Ready Player 1 to play some arcade games or check out the comic book shop, board game shop or trading card shop. There will be a cosplay contest at this event so feel free to dress up. This event is FREE to enter. 

Tubby Todd x StyleFitFatty 

This is an event being put on by the brand Tubby Todd along side a local influencer StyleFitFatty. This is being hosted at a park in Mesa, Arizona. The event is FREE but you MUST register on their website ahead of time to have your name put on the attendance list. There will be goodie bags for the first 500 families who registered and show up, plus there will be bounce houses, bubbles and more. Click on the name of the event above to be taken to the information + registration page.

Easter Eggstravaganza

The city of Mesa is putting on an Easter event in downtown Mesa. This event is for children ages 9 & under who will be split into two groups depending on their age to participate in an Easter Egg Hunt. There will also be a photo opportunity with the Easter Bunny + food and snacks for sale. Along with the egg hunt being put on by the city there is a list of participating business close to where the event is taking place that will also be hanging out eggs if you visit their business. More information on that can be found on the event website which you can visit by clicking on the event name above. This is a FREE event. 

Water Lantern Festival 

The water lantern festival is returning to Surprise, Arizona on April 6th. This is a fun family friendly event where you will decorate a lantern & let it go into the lake. There will also be local vendors set up to shop from & food trucks. Your lantern is included in the cost of admission, no need to worry about fetching your lantern from the lake at the end of the event - they have a clean up crew who will make sure the park is cleaned up after the event. Tickets are $36 until 3/29, they will go up to $46 after the 29th and day of will be $56 so it is best to buy your tickets early. Visit the event page by clicking the name of the event above. 

Arizona Renaissance Festival 

There are only two weekends left to enjoy the Arizona Ren Fest until it is gone again until next year. Tickets are $34 per adult and $22 for children under the age of 12. However if you visit on the last weekend March 30th-31st children will receive FREE entry with the donation of three non-perishable food items. Visit the event page by clicking the name of the event above. 

Libertalia Winds of Galecrest Board Game Review!

If you've ever found a board game that you wanted to add to your collection, then learned it is no longer in print, it can be a bummer! Libertalia is a board game that originally released in 2012 & has since been added to the "Out of Print" category. However one Libertalia enthusiast loved sharing that game with his online followers & after many comments about fans wishing it was still in print, he reached out to the original publisher, then the designer. He was able to get the rights & work along side the original designer to create a newer updated version of the game. The man who was able to accomplish that is Jamey Stonemaier who owns & runs Stonemaier Games. The newest version of this game is called Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest. It is recommended for ages 14+, however this is a fairly easy game to understand & if you are a family that plays board games together kids under the recommended age shouldn't have an issue playing this. You can play this as a solo player with it's own set of rules or you can play with up to six people total, games last 45-60 minutes. 

When you pick up this game box it is quite hefty which may lead some to believe the game is too complex, but the game only gets the weight from the high-quality materials the game pieces are made from & the fact that there are seven character card stacks. One of the stacks is for a solo game & the other six are for the players. I love the little loot tiles that come with this game, they are fun to shake around in the loot bag and I appreciate that they aren't flimsy pieces of cardboard. I also really like the art on the character cards, there are forty different characters & each one is unique. All of the character cards have a pirate theme to them & are all animals, one of my favorites is the Gunner which is an adorable pirate sloth! 

This game is played over the course of three rounds & each round has a different number of turns. The first round will consist of four turns, the second round has five turns and the final round will have six turns. You will also start each round with a different number of character cards to play, this may vary from the other competing players depending on which cards you play each round. To start off the game, one person will shuffle their character deck & select six random character cards. The other players will pull out the same character cards from their deck & this will be the hand you will play with during the first round. Everyone will be on the same playing field, but what will set you apart is the order you play your cards in and how much reputation you have on the board. 

Once per turn, you will select one character card to play & at the end of your turn if your card is still on the board it can be moved to your ship. Every character card has it's own ability that will be used to play the game, some cards allow you to add additional character cards to your ship without playing them, some remove other players characters from the game & more. The order of who goes each turn is determined by the number at the top of the character cards, it starts from the lowest number to the highest in how they are placed out onto the board. So what happens if there is a tied number? There is a reputation track that helps determine the winner during a tie, the lower reputation will be placed out first. At the start of the second & third rounds, you will do the same character card selection mentioned above and add them to any cards you have left over from the previous round. 

Your main goal is to collect characters in your ship who will help add doubloons to your treasure chest, you will also want to collect loot that helps add doubloons as well. At the end of the game the winner is the pirate who was able to find & collect the most doubloons. It can be a pretty fast paced & also cut throat game as you work to build your loot while also stopping your competitors in their tracks. It can be a lot of fun to see how everyone plays out their cards, even when someone plays a card that boots one of your characters, it is still all fun and games. We enjoy playing this together, it is an easy game to set up, game play is fun + quick and it is fast to put away as well. This has made a wonderful addition to our growing board game collection.

Does this sound like a board game you would enjoy playing? What is your favorite feature of this game?

If you want to find more great board games like Libertalia head over to check out my Board Game Reviews section.

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Stone Maier Games for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

The Court of Miracles Board Game Review!

 

Having board games that are easy to set up & quick to play is a must in our house. We love playing board games, but sometimes one of us is busy or doesn't want to play something too long so having a fun, quick & easy game to play is our go to. I recently received a copy of a game called "The Court of Miracles" and it fits that category perfectly. The game itself takes less than five minutes to put together & depending on how well you strategize your movements, this game can go by pretty quickly. It is also easy to learn & there isn't a lot of rules to remember. The Court of Miracles is recommended for ages 10+ & it is set up for two to five players. The box states it generally takes forty minutes a game, however as I mentioned if you have a clear game plan & everyone else does as well a games can be shorter than that. This game retails for $40 on the Lucky Duck Website. 

Each player gets their own factions of "beggars" looking to earn the most coin in order to conquer neighborhoods by placing out all six of their Renwon tokens onto the board. You'll start the game with four player tokens + four rouge tokens along with a plot card and a set amount of coins. The game is set in 16th century Paris, the deck of plot cards feature a wide range of characters from Jesters to Knights. Plot cards can help push a game into your favor & they can also help you stop a competitor in their tracks. The rouge tokens have a face side which features a number & picture that each represent a score, these scores will be used to fight in duels on the board. 

We've had a lot of fun playing this game together as a family. I think it would also make a fun game for a game night with friends as it would be easy to teach so you aren't wasting time explaining a wide range of rules. Everything in this game is pretty straight forward, collect items you need to get your Renown pieces onto the board and battle to take control of each neighborhood onto the board. The first person to put all six of their Renown pieces onto the board is the winner. 

Does this sound like a board game you would enjoy playing? What is your favorite feature of this game?

If you want to find more great board games like The Court of Miracles head over to check out my Board Game Reviews section.

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Lucky Duck Games for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.