Movie Review: Flight

Imagine, for a minute, that you are an alcoholic, and a drug addict, and you have to lie about everything in your life to protect your career. Ask yourself a question: Just how low can your life go before it all falls apart?

Synopsis:

In Flight, Denzel Washington plays a gifted airline pilot (Captain William Witaker) who, averted a catastrophic airline disaster with his superior piloting skills. He received praises from the public, everyone hailed him as a hero. But deep down, he is not at peace. Why? Because he has a secret. On the day when he piloted that aircraft, he was under the influence of alcohol and heroine. The implication is, if people find out the truth of his alcoholic and drug addiction tendencies, he will definitely loose his job, and might even be locked up in the jail for causing the crash (which was not his fault).

In this movie, Captain Witaker's personal life was crumbling apart. Not only is he struggling with the problem of substance abuse/addiction, but his family life is also disintegrated because of these problems. He has a son who doesn't even want to talk to him, and a wife who avoids him as if avoiding the worst plague in the world. After the aircraft incident, the investigators found high content of alcohol and heroine in his blood. To avoid being accused of causing the crash, and also to protect his professional career. Witakers lied about everything, but just how much lie can he spit out, and just how low can one's life reach before it finally all breaks loose? Flight, is a very good movie exploring the theme of substance abuse, addiction, and the value of truth.

What I think about the movie:

Flight is an excellent movie. The director Robert Zemeckis masterfully told a story, imbued with thought provoking moral messages: The consequences of substance abuse and telling lies. From the Christian perspective, one can easily observe, from this fictional story, how the sin of idolatry can utterly ruin a person's life. Personally, I think Denzel Washington accurately portrayed the life of an alcoholic and drug addict realistically. On substance abuse and addiction, I have had the experience to witness a few cases in my own life. When I was about 7 years old, my family used to live next door to a family whose husband was an alcoholic. There were a lot of domestic violence in our neighbor's family, and I remember his wife used to bring their children to our house for refuge whenever her husband became drunk. Needless to say that it was not a pretty picture. And here is another story from me, one of my uncles was a drug addict, he was arrested many times for selling drugs, my grandmother disowned him and chased him out of the family when he was 18. My uncle spent almost his entire life as a drug addict, and more than half of his life in the prison. He finally died because of his drug addiction.. and the last story; when I was a PhD student, I used to live in a pub hotel, many of my neighbors had problems with substance abuse. During that time, I have seen many, many young men ruining their lives by getting drunk and stoned on nightly basis, and have come to know even more broken, old men who have lost everything in their lives (including their family) because of their alcohol and drug problems. Out of all these cases I have witnessed, some say they want to stop, but there is a common pattern, and that pattern is, these people are unwilling to confess that they have a problem and need help, and this is why, they are unable to stop, and continuously sliding along the downward spiral of no return.

From the Christian perspective, the problem runs much deeper. It is a problem that manifest from the sinful status of human kind. It is known as a sin known as "idolatry". It is a profound, and very simple truth, a problem residing in our hearts. Furthermore, I wonder if a simple reflection on the classical case of substance abuse can reveal something about the (human caused) evil, suffering and destruction in this world. Could it be, when we worship a creation (i.e. that is, something other than the true God), then we are essentially, corrupting and using it for a purpose that is not good? I mean, alcohol is good if it is consumed with responsibility; heroine is good, if it is prescribed by a doctor to be used for medical purposes. The book of Genesis stated humankind were made in the image of (in the capacity as) God. Doesn't this mean, we are supposed to subdue and rule over creations on earth as faithful, loving, upright and responsible stewards, but remember God is the only king?

I implore the use of good sense: Does it make sense for an appointed steward of a kingdom, to refuse to acknowledge and exalt the rightful king, but instead exalt the subjects in the kingdom (such as a rock, putting it to the highest place)? Isn't such a steward utterly foolish? Surely, such a way of stewardship is a recipe for disaster!

This means, when we idolize creations, therefore abusing it, putting it above God, then we also putting God's good creation to perverted use, causing destructions. With our own doings, we cause evil and suffering, harming those around us with our idolatry, no matter what kind of idolatry it is.

But all is not lost, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is alive and true. If we repent and believe, then we are no longer slaves to sin, we will be dead to sin, but alive in Christ (Roman 6). This way, we can live an upright life intended by God's will, inspiring hope, love and peace for others to further the kingdom of God, instead of being bringers of death, suffering and destruction.

Warning: Flight is a great movie with good contents. However, there are 5 minutes of full nudity scenes at the beginning of the movie. Secondly, throughout the movie, there are also constant usages of crude language. So watch the movie at your own discretion.

  

Board game expansion review: Dunwich Horror Expansion

Year of release: 2006
Publisher: Fantasy Flight Games
Number of players: 1-8
Suitable for: Age 12+ to adults

Arkham Horror is a beast of a board game. Inspired by H.P Lovecraft's "Cthulhu mythos", this is one of the most thematic board games on the market. Until 2012, the publisher has released 4 big box expansions, and 5 small box expansions. Dunwich Horror, is one of the big box expansions.

Description:
Inspired by H.P Lovecraft's classical horror story, "The Dunwich Horror", this board game expansion add another section of play area, the village of Dunwich, to the game. This expansion also introduced many new features to the base game, promising to add more replay value while increasing the difficulty. Let's have a look at this expansion in detail.

Game Components:

This expansion comes in a box that's the same size as the original Arkham Horror board game. It is a fairly large box. Inside the box, there is a new expansion board representing the village of Dunwich, 8 new investigator sheets and makers, a rule book, 152 investigator cards, 4 new ancient one sheets, new Arkham location cards, Dunwich location cards, 28 new monster tokens, and many other tokens.

Artworks on the cards and tokens are inline with artworks from the base game, beautiful and appropriate to the theme of Cthulhu mythos. The village of Dunwich is represented by an expansion board (to be added to the board from the base game). The basic game play uses the same rules as the base game, with a few new features. Luckily, the new features do not make the game more complicated, which is a good thing because the rules for Arkham Horror (the base game) are already complicated and heady.

Gameplay:

The layout of the board is pretty ordinary, but it is highly functional. To travel to the village of Dunwich, players have to travel to the Train station on the board of the base game, and spend $1 to travel to Dunwich. One of the most interesting aspects of this expansion, is the introduction of a new "mini" boss. The infamous Dunwich Horror from Lovecraft's original story. This is how it works: On the board, there are "vortexes". Whenever a monster moves into the vortex, players need to add a "Dunwich horror token" onto the track. When the track is filled, the Dunwich Horror awakes and appears. The Dunwich Horror monster is a very tough monster to defeat, and can only be defeated in a single combat with a single investigator. Another thing is, when The Dunwich Horror enter the game, whenever it activates it has the chance to add to the doom token on the ancient one's sheet. In other words, when you play this expansion, the game becomes a lot harder because there are more areas to cover, and Dunwich Horror makes the ancient one wakes up really quickly if you don't keep the number of monsters in Dunwich under control. This means, not only do the pace of the entire game is a lot faster than the base game, but also give players a very good reason to visit the Dunwich village, to keep the number of monsters in the village under control. Adding a lot of dynamics to the game.

This expansion also adds 8 new investigators. These investigators are welcoming additions to the game, requiring players to use different tactics to approach the game. However, some investigators are definitely stronger than others. Fortunately, there are no power creeps in these investigators and they are quite balanced.

Another new feature included in this expansion, is the introduction of madness and injury cards. In the base game, whenever an investigator looses all of his/her sanity, or stamina points. He/she has to discard half of his/her possessions, and move to the hospital or the asylum for recovery. In Dunwich Horror, a new feature is added. From now on, when an investigator looses all of his/her sanity or stamina, he/she can draw a madness card or an injury card instead of loosing half of his/her possessions and moving to the hospital/asylum. However, the madness and injury card also prescribe permanent, negative impact to an investigator. And if  a player draws the same card for the second time, his/her investigator is devoured and the player will be out of the game for good.

Dunwich Horror expansion also added a lot of new item cards to the deck. Some of these items are very powerful, and they are interesting additions to the base game. My only complain is, after you incorporate the expansion into the base game, every card deck is a handful. Not only that, the number of components used in the game is increased dramatically. This means the set-up and pack up time is extended to at least 40+ minutes in total. This propels the total play time required for Arkham Horror, to almost 3 hours on average!

What I think about the game:

Learning curve: (8.5/10) - New features are introduced in this expansion, requiring a few new rules. Fortunately, they are few new rules, and they are also very easy to learn. I only had to spend 10 minutes to read through the rule book to understand how the expansion is incorporated into the base game.

Components/Production quality (7.5/10) - Artworks on the components are beautiful, and very fitting to the theme. Like other board games released by Fantasy Flight Games, the quality of the components are very good. The add-on board of Dunwich village does not look spectacular and its layout do not appear to be particularly intriguing , but the game play makes up for the flat looking layout design.

Game play: (8/10) - The introduction of Dunwich Horror as a "mini boss" is an excellent feature to the game play. It certainly speeds up the pace of the game by a noticeable amount. Arkham Horror's trademark is the vibe of "impending doom", and this expansion just furthers this vibe! The introduction of madness and injury cards are interesting, I think they are great additions to the game but personally I do not find them to be essential components to the game. New investigators added more replay values and offer a variety of tactics to play this game. The new ancient ones and new monsters are fairly hard to beat (a lot tougher compared to the base game). Overall, I like the game play in this expansion, because this expansion injects a variety of dynamics into Arkham Horror.

Replayability: (8.5/10) - With new monsters, ancient ones, investigators, and all those new items and location cards, if you incorporate this expansion into the base game, the replayability of Arkham Horror will be increased by a sizable amount. 

Thematic factor: (8.5/10) - This expansion is highly thematic, players are immersed into the world of Lovecraftian horror, and will constantly feel the sense of urgency thriving on waves of impending dooms, keeping them on the edge of their seats.  

Overall: (8.2/10) - Dunwich Horror expansion is a very good addition to Arkham Horror board game. It added new game elements that sped up the pace, and increased the dynamic of the game. I own 3 Arkham Horror expansions (the other two are Kingsport Horror and Innsmouth Horror). If you are looking to acquire a big box expansion to expand your Arkham Horror board game, I would recommend getting Dunwich Horror expansion first.

Board game review: The Legend of Drizzt board game

Year of release: 2011
Publisher: Wizard of the Coast
Number of player: 1-5
Suitable for: Age 8+ to adults

Wizard of the Coast released "The Legend of Drizzt" board game in 2011. The game is based on New York Times Best Seller, R.A Salvatore's Drizzt novels.

I am a fan of Salvatore's Drizzt novels. They are good stories full of adventures, fun and excitements. If you have never read Drizzt novels, I highly recommend that you pick them up and give it a go. Today I am not here to talk about Drizzt novels, I am here to talk about a board game based on Drizzt novels.

Description:

This is a fantasy themed, dungeon crawl, co-operative adventure board game, where up to 5 players can control characters from Drizzt novels, and play as a team to beat adventure scenarios. This game is very thematic, and is set in the fantasy world of Dungeons and Dragons. Personally, I have never played any Dungeons and Dragons game before, but this game is not really a Dungeons and Dragons RPG. Legend of Drizzt, is an adventure board game using streamlined rules from Dungeons and Dragons franchise. For example, in The Legend of Drizzt, rules are modified so you don't need the dungeon master, and all players can in play co-operative mode as a team. This also means this game can be played by 1 player (solo adventure). In other words, Legend of Drizzt, is a Dungeon and Dragon board game designed for "everyone" and the game length is not very long unlike a traditional Dungeons and Dragons game.

Game components:

The Legend of Drizzt board game comes in a big and sturdy box. The box is packed full with components!  In terms of miniatures, there are 9 hero miniatures, 5 villain miniatures, and 26 monster miniatures. There are 40 cards for heroes and monsters, 200 encounter cards and treasure cards, 32 sheets of dungeon tiles, 22 sheets of edge cavern tiles, a lot of tokens, a rule book, a scenario book, and finally, the famous D20 die.

The quality of the plastic miniatures is pretty good. The miniatures are made of flexible plastics, so they won't break easily. 

There are 8 heroes to choose from. All these heroes are from Drizzt novels, and each character has his/her unique abilities. Some characters are more powerful than others, but the skills of these characters complement each other, and players have to work as a team to achieve victory.

Each hero has unique a skill set and abilities, and their presentations in this game are very faithful to Drizzt novels. This means everytime you use a different character to play the game, your entire tactic will also have to change according to the character you are using. One really feels like he/she is playing the game as one of the Icewind Dale heroes from Salvatore's novels.

The game board is modular, it has 33 sheets of tiles and 22 sheets of cavern edge tiles. Depending on the size of the scenario you are playing, the size of the dungeon may vary accordingly.





In every turn, the player will likely draw a new tile and connect to the existing tile. From the gameplay point of view, this means the layout of a dungeon will always be different every time you play, adding replayability to this board game.

Each hero has unique powers, and his/her respective weapons. These are dictated by hero cards. Some of these powers can only be used once, while some powers have unlimited use. As a player adventures, he/she will also collect treasure cards when he/she defeats monsters.

 
The scenario booklet contains 13 scenarios. Most scenarios are events from Drizzt novels, so if you are a Drizzt fan, you will definitely love these scenarios because they will allow you to play through some of your favorite events from Drizzt novels. Such as the battle against the dragon Shimmergloom, or the epic battle from Siege of Darkness.

Gameplay:

After players have chosen a scenario and picked the hero he/she want to use, the game starts. The core game mechanics of this game is very simple and easy to learn. During the player's turn, he/she will perform 3 steps before passing the turn to the next player:

1) The Exploration phase:

During this phase, the player can move his/her hero, or attack monsters. When the player moves his/her hero to the edge of the tile, a new tile is drawn and connected to the existing tile. After the tile is put down, a new monster card is drawn, and a new monster appears on the new tile.

Combat is played out by rolling the dice. When the player targets a monster, he/she can choose which weapon (or power) to attack the monster with. Then by adding the attacking rating shown on the weapon card to the number rolled on the dice. The player then compares this number to the monster's armor class rating. If the attack rating exceeds (or equal to) the monster's armor class rating, then it is considered a successful hit. For example, a player using Drizzt can attack a hunting drake (armor class 14) using his weapon, Icingdeath, which has attack rating of 6. If the player rolls 9 on the dice, than the total attack rating is 6+9 =15, which is greater than the hunting drake's armor class rating. The player successfully hit the hunting drake and killed it.

When the player defeats a monster, he/she can take the monster card and accumulate the experience, which can be used to level up the hero, or to be used to discard the encounter card. Simultaneously, when the player defeats a monster, he/she can also draw a treasure card, often provides aid to player in his/her adventure.

2) Encounter phase:

If, during the exploration phase, the player draws a tile with a black arrow, or if the player did not draw a new tile, then the player has to draw an encounter card. Most of the time, bad things happen when an encounter card is drawn. These encounter cards make this a very difficult game to play, I've had many experiences when my entire party is heavily damaged because I've drawn some bad encounter cards. For new beginners to this game, the encounter cards can be a bit overwhelming and might put off new players.

3) The Villain phase:

In the villain phase, monsters (or boss) on the board activates, moves and attacks a hero. Monster attack is the same as hero attack. The player rolls the dice (for the monster), and add the number shown on the dice to the monster's attack rating. If the total rating exceeds (or equal to) the armor class of the hero, then the hero looses health point. When a hero's health point reaches 0, the hero is knocked out and can only be restored by a healing surge token.

After a player performs these 3 phases, the next player's turn starts.

Condition for loss:
Depending on the scenario, the condition for loss varies. Most of the time, the players loose the game if one of the hero in the team is knocked out but the team has no healing surge tokens left. When this happens, all players loose the game collectively.

Condition for victory:
Depending on the scenario, the condition for victory varies. Most of the time, the victory condition requires players to defeat the final boss appearing in the scenario in play. The boss battle is usually very challenging but fun.

What I think about the game:

Learning curve: (8/10) - The Legend of Drizzt board game is very easy to learn. This is because the core mechanic is quite simple. Essentially, each player performs 3 phases during his/her turn. The rules are not complex, and the rule book provides very good explanations on how to play the game. I was able to master the rules after only 2 play sessions.

Components/Production quality: (8.5/10) - The quality of components in this game is very good. The miniatures are highly detailed, and made of flexible material. The modular tiles/game board is also made of very thick cardboards, this is especially good since you will likely to be connecting/disconnecting the tiles very often every time you play the game. My only complain, is that hero sheets and hero cards could benefit from more color schemes.

Gameplay: (8/10) - The game play flows smoothly, and rules are highly intuitive  Being a co-operative game also means this game can be played by 1 player only. I really like the way the game brings out the theme from Drizzt novels.  As a fan of Drizzt novels, I absolutely enjoy the game, I enjoy playing as Icewind Dale heroes in many of key moments from Drizzt novels. I wish to congratulate the game developer for making a board game that is fun to play, thematic, and very faithful to the original material. The only thing I don't like about the gameplay, is that encounter cards seem to make game difficulty a bit overwhelming at times. If you happen to be unlucky and drew bad encounter cards consecutively, chances are you are likely to take some heavy damages without even battling against hordes of monsters. The encounter cards could possibly intimate new comers to this game, and put them off.

Replayability: (7.5/10) -  The modular game board increases the replayability, because everytime you play, the dungeon you are in is always going to be different. On top of these 13 scenarios provided in the scenario booklet, there are also additional scenarios, free to download from the internet, opening windows of opportunity to explore new missions. However, the replayability of this game is also dictated by the number of scenarios available, so not every game you play is not always going to be an unique experience (especially if you play this game a lot).

There is another thing worth knowing about this game. This game can be joined with other D&D board games as such Castle of Ravenloft, and Wrath of Ashardolon, making it an even more expansive experience.

Thematic factor: (8.5/10) - This game is quite thematic. The hero abilities and powers, as well as the game play really brings the flavor of Drizzt saga alive.

Overall: (8.3/10) - The legend of Drizzt board game, is a fun game. Its theme is very truthful to Drizzt novels, the gameplay is very smooth, rules are simple and easy to learn. The difficulty might be a bit high, but the challenge seems to add to replayability. I think even if you are not a fan of Drizzt, you will still like the game. However, if you are a fan of Drizzt, then you will definitely enjoy this game a lot. The Legend of Drizzt board game, is highly recommended for those who like fantasy themed, co-operative, adventure/dungeon crawl styled board game.

Tribute article: The top 7 horror stories by H.P. Lovecraft

People like horror stories. Just take a look at all those horror movies and books on the market. The world is essentially filled with fictional books and movies about the supernatural, and unexplained phenomena. Why is horror such a popular genre? Perhaps, it is because human beings are eternally fearful of, and fascinated by the unknowns. The genre of horror fiction, appeals to our imagination, allowing us to briefly encounter the supernatural, exposing us to the full extent of its wonders and fears which haunt our minds.

There have been many practitioners in the genre of horror fiction, such as Edgar Allan Poe, Clark Ashton Smith, and Stephen King. These authors,  crafted horror stories out of "spiritual horrors": vampires, ghosts, werewolves, aliens, demons, zombies and mysterious entities of all sorts and kinds. However, there was one horror author in 1920s, whose horror stories were inspired by his atheistic ideology. This author, is none other than H.P Lovecraft.

Lovecraft is most renowned by his Cthulhu mythos. He is often regarded as one of the masters of horror fictions. Almost 90 years after his death, his works are still gaining popularity. Lovecraft did not write about "spiritual horrors". The uniqueness of Lovecraftian horror is, these stories are often centered around the idea of "coming to term with our insignificant and meaningless existence in a cruel universe". This is referred to as "Cosmic Horror". It is not difficult to observe that Lovecraftian horror originated from atheism. In many ways, perhaps HP Lovecraft was one of the earliest person to introduce neo-atheism to a greater audience, by writing horror stories revolving around neo-atheistic ideas.

I often find it strange, within the Christian community, not many people have ever heard of H.P Lovecraft. Even less Christians have read his works. But it is not surprising, since the Christian community often shun away from horror fictions anyway. It is a shame, because reading Lovecraft's stories is one of the easiest ways to understand the origin, and the background worldview of neo-atheism. Furthermore, Lovecraft is a marvelous writer, and his horror stories are nothing short of being compelling and spine chilling.

Perhaps it is just me, but I find it thought provoking, in Lovecraftian/cosmic horror, people should find the idea of "coming to term with existence" horrifying. Is it because such an idea eradicates all human hope for a meaningful existence in the universe? Why would such an idea bring terror and despair? Perhaps "human hope and meaning" are more than just a coping mechanism and a product of evolution? Maybe asking such a question, is merely scratching the tip of the iceberg leading to a more profound, underlying reality.

I am somewhat a fan of H.P Lovecraft. I enjoy his atmospheric horror stories, I also take great pleasures in thinking through the ideologies he embedded in his stories. I have picked 7 of my favorite horror stories by H.P Lovecraft as a recommendation for those who might be interested:

7) At the Mountain of Madness (Published in Feburary 1931)

At the Mountain of Madness, is perhaps the earliest fiction story to use the ancient astronaut theory. This story also inspired John Carpenter's famous movie, The Thing (1982). Apparently, director Guillermo Del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth) is currently working on a movie adaptation of this story. This story forms a part of Lovecraft's "Cthulhu mythos". The plot revolves around a research team, and their exploration at the Antarctica  The exploration took the most unexpected turn when researchers discovered an ancient grave, containing bodies of unidentified specimens. The finding led the researchers to discover forgotten and shocking cyclopean horrors, concealed within the frosty mountains of madness.

6) The Case of Charles Dexter Ward (Published in 1927)

The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, is probably the longest horror story written by Lovecraft. The pace at the beginning of the story is a bit slow, but gradually quickens to a dramatic, twisting finale. The story recounts the life of a young man, Charles Dexter Ward, and his obsession with studying his family history. Ward's obsessive study of his family genealogy eventually led him down a path of no return, therefore sealing his own doom. In this story, Lovecraft masterfully weaved a web of atmosphere full of mystery, suspense and dread. It is a truly creepy tale and a real page turner.

5) The Music of Erich Zann (Published in March 1922)

  In this short story, Lovecraft successfully created an absolutely demented terror by using the abstract. In The Music of Erich Zann, a young man moved into a rundown apartment complex. Where he met a socially withdrawn violin player named Erich Zann. Very soon, he discovered the sinister horror lying under Erich Zann's bizarre and attractive music is something out of this world.

The crux of the story, its climax and its style of horror, is almost inconceivable in its abstractness. Its terrifying, formless definition is a real marvel to behold. Let's just say, after reading this short story, I was afraid to look out of my window for a few nights.

4) The Shadow Over Innsmouth (Published in April 1936)

In this moody, suspenseful story, Lovecraft told a story about a young man's tour at a certain degenerated, rundown port town called "Innsmouth".  Upon his arrival, this young man discovered a certain peculiar trait about the local residents at Innsmouth... it's in their looks. But soon, he realized the horrible reality about the town of Innsmouth and its folks, is more than just the "Innsmouth look". It goes back in history, way back in time... A maddening truth to be revealed, and this young man's life would never be the same again.

3) The Color out of Space (Published in March 1927)

At the final frontier of your imagination, can you conceive the color of fear and decay? In The Color out of Space, the story narrates the events of a meteorite falling down from the sky, landing on a farm in a remote country town. The family residing at the farm soon discovered the meteorite is more than just a rock. Their lives were impacted by this mysterious meteor. As a series of tragic, horrendous events struck at the lives of ordinary country folks, none can avoid the abominable fate weaved by the glowing meteorite, forever glowing with an unimaginable color, the color out of space.

Lovecraft said, The Color out of Space is his personal favorite. It is not a surprise, because this story rightfully belongs to the hall of fame in the horror fiction genre.

2) The Dunwich Horror (Published in April 1929)

The Dunwich Horror is an atmospheric horror story. The story took place in a shadowy country town, where locals have always been haunted by strange creatures. The shroud of mystery thickened, when a local farmer's daughter mysteriously gave birth to a baby boy. The boy grew up at abnormal rate, and eventually seek to gain access to an ancient, forbidden knowledge shunned by all that is good.

This story is rich in atmosphere, and the plot is full of suspense  It is also different to other Lovecraft stories, in that it features a final showdown between heroes and the villain, this is something that doesn't occurs in Lovecraft's stories very often.

1) The Call of Cthulhu (Published in summer 1926)

Some 18 months ago, on a cold night, I read this story. Later that night, during my sleep, I had the most vivid nightmare, where the concentration of chaos and fear was at the highest order. Indeed, the most famous and terrifying Lovecraftian horror story, is none other than his quintessential master piece: The Call of Cthulhu. A story showcasing the idea of "cosmic horror", written with unparalleled atmosphere of suspense, dread, and detailed descriptions on the occult knowledge.

This story has inspired many books, movies, games, and even songs. It has one of the most thought provoking opening paragraphs, reflecting Lovecraft's message of "coming to term with existence". An idea eagerly promoted by neo-atheism.

So here you have it, my top 7 horror stories written by H.P Lovecraft. I would like to use this opportunity to say, it is such a shame to see atheistic ideology being popularized through successful horror fictions (a very popular genre), while Christian authors (for the past 90 years) remain silent on the front of writing horror fictions. Perhaps what we need, is Christian authors to join the game, and start writing horror stories. Not the kind of horror inspiring fear, despair and hopelessness; but the kind of horror that will provoke people to realize, that in a seemingly meaningless universe which terrorizes us all, beyond vistas of black infinities where death is the end, hope and meaning can be found in God.

Board game review: Arkham Horror

Publisher: Fantasy Flight Games
The year of publication: 2005
Number of players: 1-8
Suitable for: 13 years to adult





 Lightning crashes in the dark expanse of the night sky. The bitter wind whispers lightly in the shadow, carrying an inconceivable dread as it sweeps into your living room. Its approach promises a demented, terrifying revelation almost too horrifying for the bearing of a fragile, mortal mind. Trembling with fear, your shaky hand reaches for yonder cards on the table... it's time for the next turn, the fate of Arkham city hangs on the balance, all existence in danger of being devoured by those twisted, awesomely powerful cosmic mysteries; in which forgotten legends alone have but caught a fleeting glimpse into maddening realities of all sorts and kinds...

Description:

Welcome to Arkham Horror, a horror themed, co-operative board game based on HP Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos. Released in 2005, played with over 700 components and supporting from 1 to 8 players, Arkham Horror is a truly epic board game. Due to its overwhelming popularity, the publisher of this game has since released 8 expansion sets. These expansion sets enhance the replayability even further, by adding enormous amount of new features and game elements. 8 years after its original publication, Arkham Horror is still a widely played game, highly regarded by board game enthusiasts.

Game Components:

As I mentioned earlier, there are over 700 pieces of components in this game. Arkham Horror does not have the best looking game board, but the layout of the map and locations are very clear and highly functional. The game board is also fairly large, and lots of cards and tokens are used for the game. As a result, this game requires a sizable space for setup and play.

The art works on the components are beautifully drawn, very fitting to the theme and the atmosphere in the traditional Lovecraftian horror fictions. This game also requires a fair amount of reading from the cards. The texts on the cards are well written, immersing players into the ever presence of spookiness and stress. Overall, the theme of horror oozes in this game partly because of the component.

Lots of rules are required to play a gigantic game such as this. Luckily, the game comes with a 25+ page rulebook which is quite easy to read. The rulebook is often a good reference to resolve confusing situations. However, sometimes even this rulebook falls short, when it comes to helping players resolve ambiguous situations. Fortunately, lots of fans providing useful information which can be easily found on the internet.

Gameplay:

The background of the game, is set in the roaring year of 1926. In the town of Arkham in Massachusetts (a fictional town from Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos), strange phenomena are happening all over Arkham. Inter-dimensional gates are opening, releasing other-worldly entities into the town, terrorizing the local denizens from peace and safety. The players each take on the role as an investigator, travelling to various locales on the map to close these inter-dimensional gates before the Ancient One wakes up from its slumber to devour all lives on earth.

Basic setup:

Investigators:

To start the game, each player choose to play the role of an investigator. 16 investigators are available in this game to choose from. Each investigator has his/her own unique abilities, background stories, skills and endurance level. Every investigator has 2 categories to measure their endurance: Sanity and Stamina. When either of these are reduced to zero, the investigator must travel to the hospital or the mental asylum to recover, simultaneously loosing half of his/her possessions. Throughout the game, the players can buy items, spells, skills and recruit allies to aid his/her struggle against the evil force threatening to destroy Arkham. Players perform skill checks such as: combat, evasion, luck, and will check by throwing dice.

The Ancient One:

Next, the player randomly draw an Ancient One card. There are 8 different Ancient Ones in this game to choose from. The chosen Ancient One is essentially the "boss" for the rest of the game. Every Ancient One is different and have unique abilities, and different number of "doom tracks". Doom tracks serve for 2 purposes in this game: 1) It indicates how much further until the Ancient One awakens. In Arkham Horror, doom tracks are increased whenever an inter-dimensional gate is opened on the map, and can only be decreased if the gate is sealed. When the doom track is full, the Ancient One wakes up immediately and the players have to engage in the Final Battle against the Ancient One. 2) In the Final Battle, the doom track serves as the "life" of the Ancient One, to beat an Ancient One in the Final Battle, one must reduce the doom track to 0, by performing skill checks as prescribed on the Ancient One card.

 The abilities of these Ancient Ones also dedicate the difficulty of the game, and sometimes introduce permanent effects into the gameplay.

 Once the investigators and the Ancient One have been chosen, the game starts. Arkham Horror is essentially played in 3 phases: Movement phase, Encounter phase, and Mythos phase. Each player must perform all 3 phases in his/her turn before passing to the next player.

Actions per player turn:

In the movement phase, based on movement points, the player can move to different locales on the map to collect clue tokens. The locales can be a location (e.g. a bank), or on a street where the players might have to fight monsters (if present), or be drawn into the "outer world" through the inter-dimensional gate (if present).

In the encounter phase, when the player is ends his/her movement at a location, then he/she must draw an encounter card corresponding to the location where he/she is at. The encounter cards, often represent events that must take place, and require the player to perform certain actions to pass. Failure will prescribe negative outcomes. As a result, players can never be sure what will happen at the encounter phase, or whether if he/she will walk away from the encounter safely.

In the mythos phase, a mythos card is drawn from the deck. This is when new clues appear and a new inter-dimensional gate might open, releasing monsters into the town, while adding doom tracks to the Ancient One card. Simultaneously, sometimes there are rumors, events or headlines on the mythos card that can either introduce global benefit or disadvantages to the game.

In summary, when you play Arkham Horror, the encounter phase and mythos phase will really make you live in constant fear and stress over what might happen next. And this makes the game extremely fun and exciting to play.

Other features:

Items:

Players can purchase items at shops in the town of Arkham, to aid them on their quest to stop the Ancient One and its minions. There are 3 categories of items in Arkham Horror: Common items, unique items, and spells. These items can be either combat focused weapons/spells, maps, or items that helps to restore the investigator's sanity/stamina. Weapons can be either one handed or two handed. This means an investigator can dual wield. For example, an investigator can be equipped with a .38 revolver and an axe in his/her fight against a monster, or, alternatively use a 2 handed shot gun in a fight.  But as we all know, firing a puny .38 revolver at a titanic, cosmic monster such as Cthulhu don't do much in Lovecraft's stories, and neither is the case in this game. Some investigators have pre-determined items with them at the start of the game. For example, one of the investigators from the expansion starts the game with; a shotgun, a bottle of whiskey, and a motorcycle, you get the idea....

Monsters:

In Arkham Horror, whenever a gate opens up at a location. A monster comes through the gate from another dimension to terrorize the denizens of Arkham, making your life as an investigator harder. Monsters can travel into the streets, and have different toughness bonuses, horror bonuses, as well as special skills, introducing a variety of challenges into the game.

When a player encounters a monster, he/she can try to sneak pass a monster by passing an evade check (by throwing dice). But sooner or later, the player will have to battle a monster. This is because if the number of monsters on the map exceeds the limit, the terror level in Arkham will rise. When the terror level reach certain points, several locations (such as shops) will close down. In a fight against a monster, the player first have to pass a horror check (by throwing dice) or loose sanity points. After the horror check, the actual combat commence. The player has to pass the combat check (by throwing dice) to beat a monster. Some monsters are easy to beat, while some monsters can be real headaches. The rules for monster encounters in Arkham Horror, is another factor that makes the game oozing with theme. I mean, where else can you play a board game, when you shoot at a Fire Vampire with a tommy gun, and emerge from the battle victorious but almost gone insane? Only in Arkham Horror I say!

Gates:

As mentioned earlier, when a gate opens up, the doom track tokens on the Ancient One sheet is increased, and a new monster enters Arkham, making your life harder. The "gate" mechanism in this game, is one of the core mechanics of the game. Winning or loosing both depend on the number of gates present on the map. When the player arrives at a gate, he/she is drawn into the outer world. In the outer world, the player will have 2 encounters, then return to Arkham, where he/she will have the chance to either close or seal the gate.


Allies:

As the players struggle against the Ancient One and its minions for dear life, he/she might come across allies who can aid them in their noble courses. These allies often bring enhancements to the investigators' skills. It is worth mentioning that, these allies are mostly characters from Lovecraft's stories. For example, during the adventure, you might cross path and have characters such as Herbert West join you. After all, a helping hand never hurts, especially when you are going up against these terrifying, demented monsters, whose existence was only suggested in the abhorred grimoire of Necronomicon, written by the mad Arab Abdul Alhazred!






The Final Battle:

When the doom track on the Ancient One sheet is filled, the Ancient One awakens and enters the town of Arkham. All players are immediately drawn into a final battle with the Ancient One. The final battle is really awesome, but it is also extremely hard to win! Chances of survival is practically less than 40%! Why? imagine trying to attack a 60 feet tall cosmic monster with a knife? Or shoot at it with a tiny revolver, get the picture? My suggestion is to try your best to close all gates before the Ancient One wakes up. Prevention is better than cure, especially in Arkham Horror.

There are so many features and elements in this board game. In a review article such as this, it is neither fitting nor possible to describe the gameplay and rules in its entirety. Indeed, there are lots of rules in this game. Yet, in my opinion, the rules and the complex game mechanics are designed to ensure a rewarding, and fun board game experience.

What I think about this game:

Learning curve: (6/10) - Arkham Horror is epic! The game rules are also epic, both in numbers and its scale. A new comer to this game might be overwhelmed by the amount of rules, and the complex game mechanics prescribed in the rule book. The rules are mostly intuitive, but some rules (such as rules for monster fights) are difficult to grasp at first. This means, Arkham Horror, is one of those games when you really have to play for a few times before you can fully grasp the rules. If you are new to this game and wish to try it out, I suggest that you play with at least one person who knows this game, to smooth the steep learning curve.

Component/Production Quality: (7/10) - The art works in this board game are stunning, and showcases the atmosphere of Lovecraftian horror very well. However, in regard to the components, I have 2 complains about its production quality: 1) The game board is quite fragile. On my 4th play, the board broke at the joint area. I wonder if Fantasy Flight Games should choose a better manufacturer? 2) The bottom edge of the investigator tokens can be damaged easily, when placed into the clips of the stands. The resolution for this problem is, to purchase the pre-painted miniatures, but the price for the entire set of pre-painted investigator miniatures are simply too expensive.

Gameplay (9/10): Arkham Horror is a fun game. It is a horror themed board game, while it is spooky, but it is not scary. Some elements in the game can be very dark; on the other hand, playing this game requires a lot of reading from cards. By combining these factors, I think Arkham Horror is more suitable for older users, age 14+. The gameplay in Arkham Horror really manages to deliver a fun and exciting experience while immerse the players in a constant atmosphere of dread. It is fully co-operative, meaning you can play this game with a group, as a team, or you can play by yourself. I wouldn't recommend playing this game with more than 5 players, simply because I can forsee a lot of downtime when more than 5 players are involved. However, with a small group (3-4 people), Arkham Horror will truly provide hours of entertainment. A word of warning, Arkham Horror is also well known for its length, a single game can take between 1 to 4 hours. So if you are playing Arkham Horror, be prepared to sit down with your friends for a couple of hours.

Replayability (9/10): Arkham Horror is highly replayable. This is attributed to the game's high level of difficulty, and the element of randomness in its game mechanics. In addition, the 8 Ancient Ones and the 16 investigators included in this game also add a lot of replayability. Using different investigators, or fighting a different Ancient One, require players to approach the game with different strategies. This game also has 8 expansion sets, adding up to some 48 investigators, 3 additional maps, 20+ Ancient Ones, and hundreds of monsters. If you purchase all 8 expansion sets and play all of them at once, you will be playing a board game with almost 2000 components which might last more than 6 hours, a true beast of a board game! But expansion sets and their components are highly modular, meaning they can be used individually. Personally, I think if you purchase and like Arkham Horror and all 8 expansions, chances are you will probably never have to play another board game again.

Thematic factor (9/10): What can I say? The art works and the gameplay work together as a unison to make Arkham Horror a highly thematic game. Players will be breathing the theme of Lovecraftian horror as they play, quite a way to spend quality time with your friends or by yourself either way.

Overall (8.8/10): Arkham Horror is a master piece of a board game. It delivers on its promised horror theme, based on HP Lovecraft's classic literary invention. At the same time, it is a fun and exciting game, guaranteed to provide hours and entertainment and group bonding time.

Tribute article: The top 7 stories of Conan The Cimmerian by Robert E. Howard

"Hither came Conan, the Cimmerian, black haired, sullen eyed, sword in hand, a thief,  a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jewelled thrones of the earth under his sandaled feet.."

I have read many fantasy books and stories, some are better than the others, but I can honestly say,  no other books or stories are as re-readable, entertaining and exciting as Robert E. Howard's Conan stories. I am grateful to have discovered Robert E. Howard among the sea of authors. With a touch of magic, stories of Conan the Cimmerian, has made my career as a reader so much more fun and exciting. There are good reasons, almost 80 years after Robert Howard's death, the name Conan, has become an immortal cultural icon as enduring as Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan, and James Bond. In recent years, the demand for reprints of Robert Howard's original Conan stories is always increasing. Thankfully, as more and more people are re-introduced to these original Conan stories, their impressions of Conan are gradually steering away from comic books and Arnold movies.

Conan, the legendary barbarian's chronicle, has charmed me with fantastic tales of ice and fire, actions and intrigues. These stories are told through Robert Howard's dynamic, vibrant and energetic writings, in the unique style of poetical lyricism. From the first minute I opened the page, to the last second I close it, every time I read a Conan story, I am transported to a realm of infinite possibilities, populated with larger than life characters, packed with high adventures..a whole new world.

This article is a tribute to Robert E. Howard's Conan, I have had intentions to write an article of this nature for a while, and finally got around to do so. Howard wrote 21 Conan stories in his life time, and I have picked 7 of my favorite Conan stories, as a recommendation to those who might be interested.

Without further delay, let me tell of of the days of high adventures!

7. Rogues in the House (Published in January 1934)

Rogues in the House, is a story with all elements constituting towards a good tale: a political power struggle, betrayals, mystery, dungeon crawling adventures, thought provoking antagonists, and solid, heart pounding action scenes.

There is a very interesting theme in this story, the theme of "hypocrisy". The plot revolves around the power struggle between two governmental leaders. Both leaders were corrupt in their own ways (one manipulates the king, the other sells government secret to the enemy kingdom). They both use their personal influence and power to gain status and reputation in the city. However, when they stumble upon each other during Conan's quest (who was previously arrested and imprisoned on the charge of murder), they realized they are equally as corrupt, while Conan seems to be the most honest one in contrast, because Conan doesn't try to conceal his criminal nature.

6. The People of the Black Circle (Published in September 1934)

The People of the Black Circle, is often considered as a classic among the Conan chronicles. Howard gave a story an atypical "Indian" spin. The story took place in the land of Vendhya (pre-historical India). In the story, by accident, Conan was  drawn into a political conspiracy and an assassination plot.

 This story has a full cast of intriguing characters. The most notable ones include the princess whom Conan is protecting, whose character comically contrasting the character of Conan, making them a very odd couple. The other interesting characters include the lively portrayal of the antagonist, an apprentice wizard who defied his master for the girl that he loves. The People of the Black Circle, is a spectacular story with a tinge of magic vibrating through its core.


5. Red Nails (Published in July 1936)

Red Nails is the last Conan story by Robert Howard  before his tragic death. One of the prevailing theme in Howard's Conan saga, is the theme of the degeneration of civilizations and the tendency towards barbarism, lying dormant in the human nature. In Red Nails, Conan and a sword woman, discovered an ancient, ruined city in the wilderness. Upon their exploration of the ruined city, they discovered inhabitants in the city, who were remnants of a once mighty and powerful civilization. However, power struggles, greed and political ambitions prompted years of civil wars, and the population of the city was reduced to a few tormented souls, who were completely detached from the outside world.

Many have accredited Red Nails as one of the best stories in the Conan saga, and I heartily agree with such an assessment.



4. Queen of the Black Coast (Published in May 1934)

Queen of the Black Coast, is an atypical Conan story. It is atypical not only because its scope is epic, but also because it is a very rare Conan story revolving around romance.

In this story, Conan became an infamous pirate, plundering and raiding along side a head strong femme fatale, Belit. The plot then takes an unexpected twist and finished off with a bitter sweet ending.

Queen of the Black Coast, is widely acknowledged as the most famous Conan stories, and certainly an undisputed classics in the world of sword and sorcery fiction.








3. Tower of the Elephant (Published in March 1933)

Tower of the Elephant, is a fascinating blend of the science fiction and sword and sorcery genres. The result? A massively entertaining and curiously bizarre master piece! Published in 1933, Tower of the Elephant is often regarded by Howard scholars as one of the best Conan stories.

The story starts with Conan as a young thief, unfamiliar with the ways of the civilized world. A whim of chance presents Conan at a tavern. After Conan heard a story about a sorcerer, a fabled jewel and the mysterious Elephant tower, Conan braved rumors of death and horror in the Elephant tower to steal the precious Jewel. Little did Conan know that he was about to have an encounter with the elder world, and was given a glimpse into the past through the lurk worm of space and time..




2. The Hour of the Dragon (Published in 1935-1936)

The Hour of the Dragon is the longest Conan story. It is a story about political conspiracy, betrayals, loyalty, military conquests, a evil wizard, and revenge.

The Hour of the Dragon, tells the story of a middle aged Conan as the King of Aquilonia. Conspirators under Conan's reign seek to overthrow the Cimmerian and rule in his stead. They raised an evil necromancer of the elder world from the dead. Dreaming of kingship and conquest, the conspirators seek to manipulate the necromancer and the power he possess. They almost succeeded in putting Conan out of the way with the aid from the necromancer's black magic. Although betrayed and imprisoned, Conan is not the kind of person to be trampled easily. Since birth, the Cimmerian's fortitude was hardened by the tough lifestyle on the vistas of somber hills in Cimmera whence he came. Conan will fight back as a wounded lion, to take back the throne which was his.



1. Beyond the Black River (Published in 1935)

"Barbarism vs. civilization", is a prevailing theme underlining all of Howard's Conan stories. Howard observed, history has shown that civilizations has the tendency towards corruption, and hence the weaver of its own doom through over-indulgence and degenerative lifestyles. When the level of corruption reaches the peak of its degeneracy, barbarism will arise to overthrow the civilization, establishing a new era.. then the pattern repeats.

In "Beyond the Black River", a medium length, action packed Conan story. Howard fully explores his worldview on barbarism vs. civilization, by telling a story that took place in a frontier setting. Conan is drawn into the struggle of an empire and its savage, primitive neighbors at the imperial border. Conan became the first hand witness of the clash between civilization and barbarism, and its effects on the lives of all  who were involved.

 Beyond the Black River, in my opinion, is the best original Conan stories in the lot. Howard departed from his normative Conan settings such as ancient ruins or populated cities, and instead chose to tell a refreshing Conan yarn in the frontier setting, while fully explored the cause and effect on the clash between barbarism and civilization.  A tale imbued with element fury, and told at neck-breaking pace, Beyond the Black River, not only is a brilliant Conan story, but it is also a genre breaking story among the fantasy fiction galore, hacking and slashing its way into the hall of fame with blood and thunder.

That's it folks! If you are interested, I am sure you will find these stories providing hours of good reading.

Stay tuned for next time, when I will write a special article on "The top 7 horror stories by H.P Lovecraft".

Book Review: Legend of Drizzt - The Icewind Dale Trilogy

The Icewind Dale trilogy, is the second set of books in R.A Salvatore's Drizzt saga. The story continues from the end of Dark Elf trilogy, with Drizzt's arrival to Icewind Dale, a frozen tundra populated by outlaws and exiles from all corners of the world.

Unlike Dark Elf trilogy, focusing on the story of Drizzt. Icewind Dale trilogy tells the story of Drizzt and his four friends, which later became known as "Companions of the Hall". Let me provide a brief synopsis for each of the books in this trilogy:





Synopsis:

The Crystal Shard:

After Drizzt arrived at Icewind Dale, he befriended a leader of an dwarven clan in exile, Bruenor Battlehammer. The dwarf has an adopted human daughter, Catti Brie. Drizzt became a very close friend with the dwarf and his adopted daughter. However, the icy wasteland of Icewind Dale is a dangerous place. The barbarian horde invaded the town. During the invasion, a young barbarian boy, Wulfgar, was captured while attempting to attack Bruenor and Drizzt.

The dwarf and the dark elf decided to raise Wulfgar, and taught him the way of civilized manners, as well as training him in the skill of arms. Wulgar became an adopted son to Bruenor, and grew up to be a fine young man. Together with their halfling friend Regis, the 5 friends were living a happy life in Icewind Dale. One day, a mad wizard came to Icewind Dale with a strange, magical crystal. This wizard's mad ambition and twisted ploy threatens all who lives in Icewind Dale. Drizzt and his friends embarked a quest to unite the people of Icewind Dale against the mad scheme of the ill intent wizard..


Streams of Silver:

Following the events in The Crystal Shard, Drizzt and his friends were hailed as heroes of Icewind Dale. Drizzt also received some form of recognition from the people of Icewind Dale, somehow overcoming the stereotypes against him because of his racial origin. One day, Bruenor discovered traces, leading to the once mighty dwarven stronghold of Mithral Hall.

The companions set out to help Bruenor rediscover his dwarven ancestral home. Yet, dangers lurk in the dark corners unseen. Artemis Entrei, a deadly human assassin was hired by a infamous and powerful criminal overlord to hunt down Drizzt's friend, the halfling Regis, for a ruby pendant that was stolen from him.

With threats and dangers facing the companions,  Drizzt and his friends only have each other in their difficult quest, in the dark corners of the mythical dwarven ruin, the companions will face not only the deadly assassin Artemis, but also a more ancient, and terrible foe yet to be revealed.


The Halfling's Gem:

The dwarven ancestral home has been rediscovered in the previous book. In Halfling's gem, the deadly assassin Artemis Entrei finally got hold of Regis the halfling. The assassin took Regis to the city of Calimport, to collect the bounty.

Realizing their halfling friend's dire situation. The campanions set out once again, facing impossible odds and dangers to travel to Calimport, in attempt to rescue Regis the hafling from the clutch of the dangerous criminal overlord, Pasha Pook. It is here, where Drizzt will face the deadly assassin Artemis Entrei, whose skills rival Drizzt's own, yet with a polar opposite character to Drizzt.








What I think about these books:

Icewind Dale trilogy, contains the same charms found in Dark Elf trilogy. The introspective Drizzt has some very interesting things to say as he character grows and matures in these stories. The character developments in these stories are good. This trilogy also introduces a very fascinating antagonist, Artemis Entrei, whose skills and prowess are parallel to that of Drizzt's own. Yet, the character of Artemis is everything that Drizzt is not. This conflict makes a wonderful contrast between Drizzt and Artemis as the duo go toe to toe into their conflict. It seems Artemis, a human generally accepted by the society, whose soul and actions in fact are more akin to Drows. While Drizzt, a Drow generally shunned by the society because of racial stereotypes, in fact has a soul and character more akin the noble nature of humans. Through all the moments leading up their final confrontation, among the exchange of words, thoughts, sword thrusts, cut and parries, as well as Drizzt's insightful reflection, where Salvatore masterfully written these stories, challenging the readers about some thought provoking questions, such as self identity, true friendships, stereotypes and the dangers of judging people from their appearances.

With 2 thumbs up, I recommend The Icewind Dale trilogy. If you have read Dark Elf trilogy, then be sure to include this into your reading list. If you haven't read Dark Elf trilogy yet, go and pick up both trilogies. Inside these pages you will find heart warming adventures about friendships and loyalty, told through stories full of lovable, impressionable characters.