If you haven't already, please fill out this form to finish signing up for Season 14. If you don't fill out the form, you won't be counted!
The Character Scramble is a writing prompt tournament where people compete to write the best story they can. At the beginning, everyone submits characters that meet specified guidelines. Then, the submitted characters are randomized and distributed evenly to all participants. After each participant receives their team, the participants are slotted into a single-elimination bracket. Writing prompts are assigned and participants write a story that features their team fighting against their opponent's team. Afterward, everyone votes for whichever story they prefer, and the participant of each match with the most votes moves on to the next round. The pattern continues until only one participant remains: the new Character Scramble champion! The champion chooses the theme, tier, and rules of the next Character Scramble. They also receive a temporary custom flair as their reward. Click here to join the email list. If you join the email list, you'll receive an email for every Scramble post that is made. Join the official Discord channel if you want to be part of a large, vibrant community of Scramble participants, or if you just want a quick analysis of your characters and tips for competing. The majority of Scramble discussion takes place on the Discord and we also make announcements and post links there first, so it's the best way to keep up to date on what's going on in Scramble.
Sign-ups will be from Friday, January 8 to Friday, January 29.
PLEASE NOTE: Signups will close at 7pm PST on January 29, and Tribunal will go up. Anyone who isn’t done when Tribunal goes up will have their incomplete submissions removed or will be DQed if they don’t have enough submissions after removal. GET YOUR STUFF DONE WELL BEFORE THE DEADLINE!
Each user who wishes to participate must submit THREE (3) characters that adhere to the rules listed in the Submission Rules section.
Users may also submit up to TWO (2) back-up characters that adhere to the same set of rules.
Users must specify in the submission that the character is a back-up.
If a main submission is deemed out-of-tier in Tribunal, the submission will be replaced by an entry from the back-up pool.
Users must also submit ONE (1) Devil Fruit as specified in the FAQ and may submit an additional backup Devil Fruit if they so desire.
Each character must be submitted in their own parent comment in this thread. Don't reply to your own submission comment with another submission; make a separate comment thread for each individual submission.
After you complete your submission posts for all of your main submissions and any back-up submissions, fill out and submit the submission form linked at the very top of this post.
If you need to make a change, just resubmit the submission form with the same name and new info. We'll use whichever version is newest.
DO NOT resubmit after Tribunal; we'll account for any Tribunal changes to rosters.
After Sign-ups is the Tribunal, a community-regulated place for users to point out characters they feel are over- or underpowered.
Please keep an open mind when receiving criticism; it is encouraged for you to comment on the characters of other participants as well.
Characters with issues that are not amicably resolved may be replaced by a back-up character at the discretion of the GMs and a panel of selected judges.
After Tribunal, the characters are scrambled so that every participant receives three characters.
In Season 14, each participant is guaranteed to receive one of their own submissions, but they will not receive more than one.
Participants also have the option to opt out of NSFW submissions and veto ONE submission out of the list of total submissions. (Users cannot veto their own submission.)
Links to a form for opt-out and veto will be provided after Tribunal ends and before the scrambling happens.
Every round, a prompt is posted. Players are expected to write about how their characters would defeat their opponents based on the prompt.
At the end of the round, the thread is locked and the voting thread is posted. Voting is done using Google forms.
Voting is mandatory; failing to vote in any round will result in disqualification.
If you cannot vote due to time constraints, message u/FreestyleKneepad and we can work around that.
After results are posted, the brackets are updated and the next round begins.
Theme & Tier / Submission Rules
The theme of Scramble 14 is One Piece, based on the manga/anime series about the Golden Age of Piracy. Your team will set sail on a globe-spanning adventure, from island to island, searching for the greatest treasure of all time. For more info, check out the Hype Post. The tier benchmark for this season is Luke Cage (616), using a modified RT we have built specifically for this season's tier.Your submissions must score between a Likely and an Unlikely Victory versus Luke. For more information about what that means, check the FAQ. The tier benchmark for Devil Fruit submissions is the following: Scramble Luke Cage (as defined above) with the abilities granted by your Devil Fruit must be able to achieve a Draw or Likely Victory against Scramble Luke Cage with the Punch-Punch Fruit, meaning he can launch fist-sized shockwaves at bullet speed that are equal in power to his own punches. For more details on the Devil Fruit submission process, check the FAQ. You get ONE (1) major change for any character submissions and NO major changes for Devil Fruit submissions. However, we’ll allow you to remove a bunch of out-of-tier powers from a Devil Fruit submission without counting so many changes as a major change like we typically would, so don’t worry about that. Refer to the FAQ for more info.
If you aren’t competing and only submitting backups, you may submit 3 backup characters and 2 backup Devil Fruits. You must do the writing prompt for all character submissions.
Additionally, please adhere to the following guidelines:
Characters must be in tier.
Characters must be researchable.
The show, video game, movie, or other media from which your character originates must be accessible in some way, ideally online.
Your character must have a functional Respect Thread, so that people can understand your character's stats and abilities at a glance. It is preferable that your character's Respect Thread is hosted on the Respect Threads subreddit, but CharacteTeam of the Week posts or any real repository of cited feats are acceptable.
If your character does not have a Respect Thread of any kind, please at the minimum include a Mini-RT in the sign-up post with at least five combat-related feats that completely cover the character's stats and abilities.
VSBattlesWiki pages or similar sources are not acceptable Respect Threads.
You cannot submit characters that you have created, helped to create, or in any way developed.
If the GMs believe you have asked someone else to submit a character you created, we might ban that as well.
You cannot submit a character with feats based on a previous Scramble story. This rule prevents Scramble writers from tailoring characters to be submitted to future tiers.
You cannot submit controversial real life figures. No Trump, no Putin, no Kanye, none of that. The GMs reserve the right to decide what qualifies as "controversial."
While you can submit characters from NSFW series with risqué material (such as an ecchi anime), you cannot submit characters from actual pornography.
The GMs reserve the right to veto specific submissions under the "Dude, come on" reasoning. This clause may sound extremely abusable, but honestly we'll only use it for submissions we feel violate the spirit of the above guidelines or are otherwise deemed unusable, like "disaster movie lava" or "a swarm of bees with the consciousness of Steve Buscemi."
Characters from ongoing series remain at the balance level from when they were submitted.
If you get Goku on your team and Goku unlocks Super Saiyan Ultra Mega Deluxe with Curly Fries in the anime after the Scramble season starts, you don't get to add that power to your character. This rule applies to new feats, new weapons, new powers, and so on.
Not exactly rules, but some suggestions:
Because you are guaranteed to receive one of your own submissions at random, submit characters you actually want to write yourself.
Ask yourself: Will your hilarious meme submission idea actually be hilarious over the course of an entire writing contest, or will the joke get old immediately?
If you're only submitting a character because the act of submitting them is funny, don't submit them.
Along these lines, while some less controversial personalities like Jerma or Adam Sandler might be submittable, we’d just like to mention that these typically aren’t well-received submissions, as they tend to require deep-diving a Youtuber’s video library or actor’s interviews and movies, which balloons research by a lot.
If you don't have any ideas for submissions, it's recommended that you try submitting one of the many back-ups we're likely to have.
Sometimes people like different things, and that's okay. Don't hate on a submission just because you personally don't like the character or the series. And on the other end, you don't have to withdraw a submission just because someone else doesn't like them.
You are allowed to make changes to a character for the purpose of making sure they're in tier or otherwise clarifying what gear they have available.
There are limits to the number and magnitude of changes you can make; check the FAQ for more information.
In general, avoid submissions with changes that radically change the character, such as "Ferris Bueller with Iron Man's armor" or "Goku with the stats of Captain America."
Duplicate submissions aren't prohibited, but try to avoid submitting the fifth Spider-Man submission this Scramble. Check to see if someone else has already submitted your character before you.
Listen to feedback. You don't have to follow it, but if a lot of people are saying the same thing, at least humor the idea that they have a point.
Submission Forms
To submit a character, fill out the following form in a comment to this thread. Include either the writing or non-writing prompt. As long as all of the below information is included, you can reformat your submission post however you want for maximum aesthetic. All three of your main submissions MUST use the writing prompt to count. Back-up submissions may use the non-writing prompt. If you're not competing and only submitting one or more back-ups, you must use the writing prompt. The form has changed since last Scramble, so be sure to actually read it.
Character Submissions
Name: The character's name. Series: The name of the piece of media your character is from. You can add specifications necessary. Biography: A quick summary of your character. Who are they? What can they do? Where are they from? What are they like? It doesn't need to be a novel, but a good paragraph of information is appreciated. Research: A link to your RT or RT-substitute, as well as any other links that might help someone understand your character quickly. You may also suggest how much of the series someone needs to read/watch to get a good idea of the character. Justification: Briefly outline why you think your character is in tier, and where in the tier they fall (Unlikely Victory, Draw, or Likely Victory—See the FAQ for more information). The non-writing prompt already covers some of this information, but to expedite the Tribunal process, at least give a sentence or two. Motivation: Why has your character set sail for adventure? What great desire calls them to the sea and beyond? This is where you describe what your character is fighting for. Are they a pirate seeking might, fame, or riches? Do they have a deeper desire they seek to fulfill somewhere out there in the world? Perhaps, they don’t call themselves a pirate at all. Basically, why are they here? Major Changes: Check the FAQ for what to put here. You only get one! Minor Changes: Check the FAQ for what to put here. You get as many of these as you need, but don't go overboard.
Devil Fruit Submissions
Devil Fruit Name: The name of your fruit. Typical naming scheme is a repeating phrase (1-2 syllables) and then “Fruit” or “no mi”, depending on whether you're naming it in English or Japanese. Zoan-type fruits may have a broader classification, then have “Model: [Species]” at the end. Examples: Gum Gum Fruit, Mera Mera no mi, Ushi Ushi no mi, Model: Giraffe. Devil Fruit Type: Paramecia? Logia? Zoan? Refer to the FAQ for an explanation of each. The actual function of the fruit only changes if you pick Zoan, which comes with specific parameters as well. Character Name: The name of the character these powers are derived from. Series: The name of the media this character is from. You can add specifications as necessary. Description: What abilities does this Devil Fruit give? Outline them here. If this is a Zoan type, describe what is unique about this new form. Research: A link to your RT or RT-substitute, as well as any other links that might help someone understand these powers quickly. Please specify which sections of the RT are being drawn from, and if it is not clear, please organize the feats in a comment below. You may also suggest how much of the series someone needs to read/watch to get a good idea of the powers, or what parts they can specifically watch. Minor Changes: Check the FAQ for what to put here. You get as many of these as you need, but don't go overboard. Remember, you get NO major changes! Analysis Versus Punch-Punch Luke Cage: What advantages does your fruit offer that can turn the tides in their favour? How does the tiersetting battle play out? What strategies can be used by someone with this fruit in battle? Delve into multiple outcomes, and different ways the powers can be applied. This section should be used as a space to demonstrate what your Devil Fruit can do in a combat setting. Other Uses: There’s a lot more to life than just fighting. In the broader scope, how might this ability be used while not directly in combat? Perhaps it’s good for espionage, or surveillance, or maybe it’s just useful to turn into a dragon every once in a while. Be creative! Best Case Scenario: What kind of character would benefit most by getting the powers of this fruit? Would it best benefit a tough bruiser with no ranged attacks of their own, or a flimsy spellcaster who could use the help protecting themselves? This might be helpful for the recipient to decide who to give the fruit to.
Prompts
All of your main character submissions MUST use the writing prompt to count. Back-up submissions may use the non-writing prompt. If you're not competing and only submitting a back-up, you must use the writing prompt.
Character Writing Prompt
Your character’s journey has begun, but there’s a slight issue with this whole thing: Navigation is really hard. Thus, they find themselves stopped in the quaint village of Orange Town, and in order to safely get anywhere else, they’ll need some help. Luckily for them, if they can find a Log Pose, they won’t have to worry about this issue ever again! These babies make navigation a breeze by just pointing in the direction of nearby islands. How convenient! The only issue is that the only Log Pose on this island is in the possession of a fearsome pirate, and he doesn’t plan on giving it up without a fight. Your character comes face-to-face with Captain Luke Cage, who’s just like Luke Cage but a pirate and mean and his feats are REALLY specific for some reason. If they want this Log Pose, they’re not going to be able to get it without a fight. Whether they lay down the challenge themselves or Cage decides he wants to make an example out of them, eventually the area clears out of any bystanders. You square off, and it’s time for the showdown. After finally achieving their victory, your character is free to take the Log Pose for themselves and set off once again. Onwards, to another adventure! Prompt Rules:
I’m Gonna Be King Of The Pirates!: There is no bad ending to this tale. For the purposes of Scramble, your story should always have your team or characters on the winning side. Let your story show how your victory is achieved! Even if the chances are slim to none, demonstrate how your crew is able to come out on top.
Cage Match With Captain Luke Cage (Cage Not Included): This fight is going to happen. Your character can’t talk their way out of it, or hightail it out of there before anything even goes down. No matter what your character is feeling about this whole thing, they better put up their dukes, or they’re gonna get rocked right into next Scramble. And they might not even be in tier for that one!
Luke Cage, More Like ColossusThe ThingPower Man Mike Tyson of Mike Tyson Mysteries!: Maybe you wanna spice things up a little bit, hey, I feel ya. You can swap out someone for Luke Cage if you’d rather write them, but note that this change is purely cosmetic. The character will still have all of Cage’s stats and abilities.
Where’s Everybody Going? Bingo?: Sure, there may be other people on the island, but you’ll notice it said the area cleared out. For the purposes of tiering and simplicity, the only two around these parts are your character and ole’ Luke. Feel free to get wild; there’s no one else around to hurt.
Character Non-Writing Prompt
Analysis Versus Luke Cage: Go deeper into how your character fares against the benchmark. How their abilities match the tier's, how their stats counteract each other, specific instances that are likely to happen in a fight between them, and so on. Because this analysis serves as a replacement for a narrative, you need to communicate how your character fights (for instance, whether they rush in headlong or approach tactically and exploit weaknesses) and what that means for them fighting other characters. Biggest Strength and Weakness: Discuss the best thing your character brings to the table in a fight (a tactical mind, unorthodox abilities, good stats, et cetera), and also what detriments or drawbacks they might have (a specific stat that's lower than the others, lack of ranged options, inability to work with others, et cetera.) Character in Setting/with Team: Analyze the flavor of your submission. How does your character deal with other submissions? How does your character deal with the setting? Are they inclined to thrive in a world of piracy, or are their sensibilities suited to something else? How does your character deal with just being in a Scramble? Are they good at working on any kind of team, or will they just be a pain in the ass the whole way? Role on Ship: This is just for fun, we're not separating the submissions by roles or anything, nor do you need to give a solid title or job to any character. That being said, what skills might your character bring to the table for their fellow crewmates? Are they a natural-born leader who gets the captain's hat, or do they just steer the damn boat? Are they doing that marksman thing? Maybe cooking? Perhaps even doctoring? Ya yo ya yo? You tell us.
- Are the endless memes on MkeBucks not enough for you? Do you want to see/post them again/and/or post low-effort trash that wouldn’t fly on MkeBucks? I know—we all do—but how could an amazing place for that possibly exist? Miraculously, one does: MkeBucksMemes!
- To keep the sub user friendly, game reactions/hot takes should go in this thread or the upcoming postgame thread (if you post something during or shortly after the game and it is removed, this is probably why).
⚠ This is a challenge ONLY for the 12 contestants of The Great Internet Race. The overall winner at the end of the series will win 10,000 coins and a 10xTB flair. All contestants will receive consolation prizes at the end of the race. If you aren't in the race but still want to win, see the "Fan Giveaway" section below.
If you are not on this list, you are not in the race. However, you can still win in the Fan Giveaway (see below). Contestants with an ❌ next to their name have been eliminated from the Race and are not eligible to compete in any challenges or win the grand prize (yet).
Removed contestants are NOT eligible for re-entry challenges and will not be receiving consolation prizes. They will also be banned from future TGIR-related challenges.
Challenge: Internet BINGO
🔴 This challenge is MANDATORY for contestants that are still in the Race. Failure to complete this challenge will result in permanent elimination. Score the most points by finding unique Reddit posts that meet the requirements on the BINGO card.
The Reddit posts MUST be from 2020, and cannot be posted by you.
Bingo Card: Quarantine Edition
B
I
N
G
O
1: Picture of a GameStop
2:GoForGold challenge with over 50,000 coins awarded
3: How to improve your posture
4: Survey about the impact of COVID-19
5: Link to live animal/zoo cameras
6: Book recommendation list
7: Picture of a tree
8: TV show recommendation list
9: Innovations for solving global warming
10: Link to an Google Arts/Culture exhibit
11: Work from home tips
12: Quarantine activities list
13: 18xTB challenge [Basically a free space]
14: COVID Stress relief tips
15: Any of my 1/2 off challenges [FREEBIE if you act fast enough]
16: Fall Guys
17: Animal Crossing: New Horizons
18: How to host a virtual party
19: A post with more than 250 awards
20: Movie recommendation list
21: Smart home accessories
22: Any of MY Deal or No Deal challenges [FREEBIE if you act fast enough]
23: Among Us
24: Positives of quarantine
25: Best travel destinations during COVID
Posts are first-come, first-served
NO DUPLICATE POSTS. Please use different posts than people who have submitted before you. The tricky part is not finding these things, that's pretty easy. It's finding something nobody else has found yet that's more difficult.
There's no way I am going to check every single link for duplicates, but I will be doing random spot-checks for some links. If you are found to be using a duplicate link, you will incur a 10-point penalty.
Scoring
Each post you find is worth 1 POINT. Each row you make (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally) is worth 3 BONUS POINTS.
The maximum possible score is 61 points, since 25 posts + 12 rows x 3 points each = 61 points.
In the event of a tie, the person who submitted first wins.
Submissions
Please include in your comment a NUMBERED LIST of your links, and your total score. Make your comment as a direct reply in the SUBMISSIONS thread for either the Main Race or Race to Comeback. Example: I scored points.
60 🏅 + 🛡 Keep your whole team safe at the next elimination (02/17)
🥈 2nd Place
30 🏅
🥉 3rd Place
15 🏅
Main Race: Elimination
🛡 🍣 Team Sushi is safe and cannot be eliminated. The last-place contestant (who is not safe) will be eliminated instantly and move to Challenge 3 of Race to Comeback. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Race to Comeback
⏪ Race to Comeback contestants will be playing the SAME challenge. All rules apply for RTC contestants as well, including the duplicate links rule.
What is Race To Comeback?
The first 5 eliminated contestants from The Great Internet Race will compete in a series of 4 1v1 challenge duels, the winner of each one moving on to the next, and the loser being out of the race for good. u/chuttiekang and u/bookie_thefangirl will compete this ComebackChallenge. The winner will face the next eliminated contestant, that winner will face the next eliminated contestant, and so on. The winner of the 4th and final Comeback Challenge wins a second chance at the 10,000 coin prize. Contestants who are permanently eliminated for breaking rules or failing to complete a mandatory challenge are not eligible to compete in Race To Comeback.
Whoever scores the most points on the Internet Bingo challenge between u/chuttiekang and u/bookie_thefangirl will win this challenge and move on to Challenge 3. Read the rules above.
Race to Comeback: Prizes
🥇 The winner of this duel earns a spot in the nextComeback Challengeand will move one step closer to getting back intoThe Great Internet Raceand competing for 10,000 coins. 🥈 The loser will be eliminated from the race for good. They will receive a Starstruck award as a consolation prize for competing in the race. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Challenge End
This challenge ends at 7:00 PM PST on 02/13/2021 for both Race to Comeback and the main Race. A 15-minute grace period has been added to this challenge.
Fan Giveaway
THREE (3) vanities are up for grabs during this post's Fan Giveaway. And don't forget, winning a vanity enters you to win a Timeless Beauty award during our 10xTB Fan Finale Giveaway on March 10! Simply make a direct reply to the "FAN GIVEAWAY" thread below to enter. You can enter whether or not you are competing in the race. Comments will be randomly selected at 7 PM PST on Saturday, Feb 13, 2021. The winners will each win a Starstruck award and be entered to win 1 of 10 Timeless Beauty awards on March 10, 2021 on our FINALE post.Limit ONE direct reply per user.
To participate in UDecide votes and chat with other fans, keep up with Race news, learn about the rules, format and schedule, as well as to be notified when new posts go live, join our Discord server here. You can also read about the rules and format of the Race on my Reddit profile here.
The fight for WorldBox, or how a game you worked on for 8 years may be stolen from you without you even knowing it
My name is Maxim and I’m an independent game developer ( indie dev ). That means that I create a lot of games on my own, and so far self-publish them without the help of bigger firms. All of my income comes from the games I create - it’s my livelihood. This is my story on how a game I’ve been working on for over 8 years has been nearly stolen from me without my knowledge. And how I’m not the only one.
When you spit out your coffee
The story begins with me working on the latest WorldBox update - the community has been waiting for it for a few months already. Boats are all the rage, and everybody is going wild with anticipation. When a message hits me on the community discord. "Somebody copied the game - it looks just like yours". You don't think much of it. There are many copy-cats out there of successful titles. If a new indie is trying to have their shot at a different populous type of game - have a go at it! It's harder than you think - but no problems there. "They called it worldbox in the app id". Aham, why would somebody do that? You assume negligence over maliciousness at first. Believe in the good of the people. "And they filed a trademark for WorldBox". Ok. The boats update will have to wait now for a bit longer.
Prelude
I've been working on WorldBox since 2012, with the first prototype released on newgrounds and kongregate. In between other games, I continued work on it, and finally released a mobile version in 2018. It grew a lovely and highly active community since then - and I've kept it updated as much as possible. With millions of downloads it is definitely my most successful game so far, and that’s thanks to a very active fan base which I’m very grateful to have. Growing a community for a single developer is not easy - it can be quite challenging. A lot of work behind the scenes is involved - and next to the reddit and discord I also attend game conferences from time to time for this purpose.
The conference
Worldbox at DevGamm conference in Minsk in 2019 One of which was DevGamm in November 2019. It was a big trip, which me and my brother took - and apart from an exploding laptop charger it was very positive. Or so we thought. It's really cool to see people play the game in front of your eyes. You see them explore and discover new powers - you hear invaluable feedback. You connect with really cool people! At least most of them. For other people attending dev conferences is about discovering new games, new developers - or just plain and simple hanging out with like-minded people. And then there are others. Let's say, the wolves in sheep clothes. Or in this case "the only 🕴️ suit at an indie game conference". They approach you - see the buzz your game is making, and involve you in a friendly chat. They speak highly of their own business skills. They present solutions to company formations, taxation, business models. They talk about "how to be successful in the game business". They are already very successful and proud of their own "product" - run and developed by a company of 30+ people. It sounds impressive of course.
The offer
Then they say that they like your "product", and want to buy it right away. For some very big amount, right now. Now let's take a step back - it's not the first time it happened. You politely listen, make internal notes and evaluate the offer later on. And that's what you're here for, right? Expand the community, expand the business horizons. Stay friendly, create new connections. You evaluate behavior - are they passionate gamers? Or rather cold business people. Do they understand the joy that games can bring, or do they see them solely as products that make money? I’m sure you can guess what I was thinking. You check out their game - it looks like a copy of a popular game you know. It seems to make a lot of money as well. It’s in the top #5-#9 on the Apple Appstore in the "Adventures" category - that's a lot of $! Enough to run a company of 30+ people and then some. The main hook seems to be a free trial for 3 days, after which you pay $9.99 per week(!) to play the game. Something smelled sus.
The answer
So as with many other people who offered to buy the game - you politely decline. It's not the right time. Not only did I not feel like this was the right partner for me at that point - but I also felt like I haven't achieved the full vision of the game yet. Selling would focus too much on making money. Changing the code so other developers would understand it, etc. I want to focus on making it fun. Take my time to polish it. Bring updates to existing players. They asked again 3-4 more times, over the messages and calls, over the following months. You stay polite, stay in touch. But they... behind the scenes... are already preparing how to take advantage of what you created.
Connecting the dots
"Maxim, somebody filed a trademark for WorldBox" You check out the company, it doesn't ring a bell. It was just registered a few months ago. You look up the business owners - they also don't ring a bell. You cross-check other companies they are involved in... bingo. They are in other companies owned by the "🕴️suit". You even find his email address mentioned in the formation documents. Main culprit: found. Then you check their other products... a minecraft mod for which you pay $9.99 per week. Rings a bell? Mhm. Business model: match. Then you check their website, their privacy policy - same structure as the other few companies you already connected to the 🕴️suit. They even have the same mistakes in the shared privacy policies - copy/paste errors. Marketing materials: match. So while they were still "negotiating" with you, they already created a new company in February with the purpose of launching a competing copy-cat game. And steal your trademark from under your nose. Does that sound like trust-worthy business partners? You could say I dodged a bullet there…
Their main money maker
If we look at their "product" which he was very proud about - let's analyze it. It's called "Raft Survival : Ocean Nomad". The surprising thing about it is that it uses the name "Raft" in the title. But it's not affiliated with the popular Steam game "Raft" that was launched in 2017. How come? How come a copycat can use the name of the original game? You guessed it... trademarks. Around the time the first Raft steam trailer was released, somebody filed for a trademark for the name "Raft". Used exclusively for mobile games. Most likely the main developers didn't notice it - I mean who checks these things constantly? They were focusing on the desktop version - it takes all your attention. And who filed for the trademark? None other than our dear Mr. 🕴️Suit : https://uspto.report/TM/87605582 We found a pattern. They look out for interesting and simple game ideas to copy, and then they blindside the ( often inexperienced ) indie developers by making a publishing a very simple copy-cat version, and then quietly filing a trademark for that name. That way they can use the wording in advertisements, on the app stores, etc. They could even take down the original games based on this! So they are taking advantage of a good name you build up with your sweat and tears, and they’ll just blatantly use it to destroy the joy of gamers who expected to play your game. Instead they get a really bad copy and are tricked out of their money. https://preview.redd.it/ukaaffuy58x51.png?width=946&format=png&auto=webp&s=113bbc4b9787ead6d18dd2e9a3a5a454b7fc9638
Since I was first informed about this they filed even more trademarks for WorldBox. In the EU, in Australia, Canada, S.Korea and other countries. There are many filed trademarks pending in many jurisdictions. They are also filing for even more trademarks in other jurisdictions for the “Raft” trademark - at the same time.
Community response
It was great to see how the community dug up all of this, and went decidedly against the copycat. While I couldn’t talk with people - since I’m talking with lawyers currently - people took things into their own hands. They did research, they even examined the copy’s game assets. They rated the game based on their feelings. https://preview.redd.it/akq3p5o768x51.png?width=1360&format=png&auto=webp&s=3d6de49df400614dbe29160f7e1a5168561021af And it has been important. It still is. With over 5 trademarks being filed by the copycats the future is uncertain. The community based #saveworldbox was the right reaction - I'm really proud of the community here for having found these things out and started a process against it! It seems so far these guys have been getting away with it because nobody really cared that they are behaving unethically. For me the battle is far from over and I appreciate all of the support we can get. Be it videos or posts, or spreading awareness. It’s not ok to attempt to steal somebody’s hard work like this.
My goals
What is my goal in all of this?
Protect WorldBox
Protect WorldBox, since it’s my life’s work. I’ve been working for over 8 years on this, and if a copy cat wants to make a game - they can make their own name and work on that; instead of trying to mislead users that want to play the real WorldBox.
Warn other indie devs
Put attention on these business practices, so other indie developers understand how important filing a trademark early on is. It’s actually relatively cheap as well.
Highlight app store abuse
Showcase a net of malicious firms that abuse the Apple Appstore and Google Play store in many ways. Show how they are connected, and how they circumvent the rules and TOS that count for other developers. https://preview.redd.it/aaksa0u868x51.png?width=700&format=png&auto=webp&s=73fb717e2605893261865bf90e61752188e33165 Hopefully get the app stores to put a stop to these malicious actors, and stop their bad business practices. These apps are deceiving to app store customers and leave everybody with a bad experience.
Next steps
In our case I’ve sat down with my lawyers, and we have started a process to protect WorldBox. It’s time intensive, and my biggest worry is that it affects future updates. But I trust in the talented lawyer teams to create a case against these firms and to protect WorldBox at all costs. That involves a lot of things, even speaking to people who were previously involved with these firms, etc. It’s going to take some time. This post is also a big warning to other aspiring indie devs, and what to watch out for. This has been a very time consuming October, and already now the next patch has been delayed due to this - for this I have to apologize to the community. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to finishing boats, sigh.
Appendix: A web of companies
Who are all these people and companies? ( all this is information is public knowledge, that you can research yourself )
The main firm ( JustMoby ) is owned by 🕴️ Alexander Novikov. That was the man I met at the games conference. His business card mentions that he’s an “investor”. Another owner of JustMoby is 🇷🇺 Egor Agafonov - he is also in the company registry one of the owners of STAVRIO LTD. The company behind the worldbox copycat. And finally 🇧🇾 Eugene Kluchinski is also an owner of most of the firms. He’s listed on LinkedIn as CEO of JustMoby LTD. Companies house attributes him a majority of shares in terms of voting rights. Most of the firms have one of these 3 people directly involved. They have a lot of shell companies registered - most of the firms seem to have a holding firm in 🇪🇪 Estonia, and a LTD in the 🇬🇧 UK. Some are listed at the same address as STAVRIO LTD. https://preview.redd.it/9gukmxnb68x51.png?width=400&format=png&auto=webp&s=226458685c611e03e0e33cee9a3837a40f7f4b1a Most of the estonian companies share the same registration email, have been filed with the same lawyer firm, but only differ in who the registered director is. It’s important to understand that a company registration doesn’t require people to be present in the office. So you can easily have a dev team in Russia under one company, and then you can just open up 10 different companies at some PO box in the UK or Estonia to publish them. So if Apple’s AppStore team decides to take down your app or account because too many customers had a bad experience and complained ( e.g. if they unknowingly get charged $9.99 per week for some copycat game ), then now they can ( although it’s against apple TOS ) move their app to some other firm you registered, and republish there under a slightly different name. And the cycle of fake reviews and scammed customers begins again. Let’s just say that a net of shell companies is normally not required if you look at the most successful game developers. And it reeks of very dubious business practices.
Hostile work environment?
Many ex-employeesmentionedpublicly that the company seems to prefer copyright infringements, dubious pricing practices and is used to having their accounts taken down from app-stores due to many policy violations. The reviews in Russian, but you can use google translate to understand it. To one of reviews A.Novikov replied directly. From the reviews we can see that the sad part seems to be that the development team seems to have talented and underpaid members; which seem to detest the owners/managers. But ultimately it’s the leadership - the owners - of these companies that count here.
Tip of the ice-berg
After reading the reviews from past employees, it becomes more clear why there is a big net of company registrations which re-publish the same apps. It seems they simply create more and more firms to re-publish the apps again and again; or to mitigate the risk when one of them gets taken down. Because for example Redbeet Interactive ( the makers of the original Raft game ) would sue them, then they just have to close a subsidiary. If we also would sue them successfully, they’d also just have to close a subsidiary. At least that’s most likely their thinking. But the main hustle would still be on - they’d just pop up a few more companies and publish clones there again. And keep continuing with their trial and error approach until one of them gets enough downloads / subscriptions. Unless Apple and Google step in and identify that all of them are connected, and take them down at the same time. Also it seems that they have established a practice where they automatically give their apps fake reviews over time. It’s interesting that neither Google Play nor the Appstore have detected this and flagged them for this. Redbeat Interactive developers aware of Ocean Nomad and has been dealing with them for a while now. Even received rude emails from Ocean Nomad team.
JUSTMOBY LTD (UK) and JUSTMOBY OÜ (Estonia) 🕴️ Alexander Novikov, 🇷🇺 Egor Agafonov, 🇧🇾 Eugene Kluchinski Main developer team, owned by 🕴️Aleksander Novikov Lists games that are listed by other companies. E.g. “Ocean Nomad - Raft Survival” ( TREASTONE ), https://vk.com/puzzleitru is the official page for https://puzzleit.ru which lists JUSTMOBY as the copyright holder. https://vk.com/justmoby.games - official vk group of justmoby The same VK admin as that group, has also created copycat “worldbox” pages on vk.ru which are linked from the copycat game.
# STAVRIO
STAVRIO LTD (UK) and STAVRIO OÜ 🇷🇺 Egor Agafonov, 🇪🇪 Zerar Goren, 🇧🇾 Eugene Kluchinski Main WorldBox copycat firm ( Google Play account ) Estonian firm lists 🕴️A.Novikov’s email address in registration papers. Play Store, AppStore
# TREASTONE
TREASTONE LTD (UK) and TREADSTONE OÜ 🇷🇺 Egor Agafonov, 🇱🇻 Anatolijs Belavskis, 🇧🇾 Eugene Kluchinski Raft copycat firm for the mobile versions Has 🕴️A.Novikov email in registered emails. Play Store, AppStore
# MUSHTRIP
MUSHTRIP LTD (UK) and MUSHTRIP s.r.o. 🇷🇺 Egor Agafonov, 🇪🇪 Zerar Goren, 🇷🇺 Sergei Grishin Has a “SpeedTest” app where you pay $19.99 per month to check your internet speed… JustMoby tried to trademark “SpeedTest” in the EU unsuccessfully. Play Store, AppStore
# SONAKAI
SONAKAI ( СОНАКАЙ ) and Adeco Systems 🇷🇺 Andrey Zenchuk “CEO of Adeco Systems” ( LinkedIn ) works in “UniSoftGames”. They list on their website the name as JustMoby. Ex-employee reviews make it look like this was also the dev house. Possibly before JustMoby was formed.
# UniSoftGames
UniSoftGames s.r.o 🇷🇺 Aleksandr Matveev Raft copycat firm Steam release. Same games listed on the website as Treastone games.Also lists "Day 13 - Zombie Survival" which seems to have been taken down everywhere. Previously published by “PlayHotGames” for which the website doesn’t work any more.
🇷🇺 Egor Agafonov, 🇺🇦 Liana Roi, 🇱🇻 Vladimirs Tanukevics Official email for the justmoby estonian firm points here. Also Feoni is listed as creator of Ocean Nomad facebook page Registered for “real estate activities Play Store
🇷🇺 DZHIGSO PAZLS, OOO ( phonetic version of “Jigsaw Puzzles” / Джигсо Паззлс ) 🕴️ A.Novikov 90%, 🇷🇺 A.Novikova 10% Russian legal company for puzzleit.ru and other puzzle games. One of the real companies with office in Russia and internet known as JustMoby 10% owned by A.Novikova ( HR manager at JustMoby ) Also has 100 Doors Horror game on app store - same as MakSton Play Play Store, AppStore
# Sweet Games Box
Denis Sonin, 🇱🇻 Sweet Games Box Linked to 🇱🇻 “Feoni SIA” Publishes the Jigsaw Puzzles game on apple app store.Previously the games were published under “Sweet Games Box”. But that account doesn’t exist anymore. Now they are published by an individual account. AppStore, AmazonStore
# Vategue
Vategue OÜ 🇧🇾 Eugene Kluchinski Registered around the same time as the other 3. Registered email points to 🕴️ A.Novikov
Our usual advice in such situations is to register trademarks once your app starts getting popular and register it in all main jurisdictions where most users or money come from. With a trademark it's easier to ban "clone games" and bring cases to courts, but if you register only the name of the game, this may not guarantee characters and gameplay won’t be copied and used, but under a different name. But it is possible and necessary to act by a combination of legal and non-legal methods. Track all activity of the clone app, find it in all app markets, all social networks and all marketing materials. Begin actively filing complaints asking you to remove controversial content with a link to your copyright. This can work, especially given the stringency of US copyright laws (specifically the DMCA). In the case of the Worldbox game, the similarity of the gameplay is obvious, I think, to everyone. Therefore, marketplaces are likely to side with the original game. In this case, a competitor registers trademarks to use the Worldbox name in the main jurisdictions. But in almost all countries there is an opposition and objection procedure, and by attaching proof of the originality of the application and the date of its creation, much ahead of the appearance of a new game, there is every chance to cancel these applications and register your own. By the way, the very fact that a competitor registers exactly the word Worldbox is already suspicious: why register the name of someone else's game when yours is called "God Simulator"? Alina Davletshina, senior associate at Versus.legal
#saveworldbox
This post is exclusively to inform people about JUSTMOBY LTD, "ООО Джигсо Паззлс", puzzleit.ru, Treastone LTD, STAVRIO LTD, Adeco Systems, Gamesunisoft / Unisoft Games, FEONI LTD, MUSHTRIP LTD, FURTABAS LTD, JUSTMOBY OÜ, STAVRIO OÜ, TREASTONE OÜ, FURTABAS OÜ, VATEGUE OÜ, Feoni Holding OÜ companies and main people that behind them (Alexander Novikov, Egor Agafonov and Eugene Kluchinski). Please always stay polite, don’t use offensive language in comments, social media or any other correspondence. Thank you for being part of a great community of world builders! I do appreciate all the help I can get - all your posts and videos really make a difference. Thank you for your on-going support!
Fuck it. This isn’t about money anymore. It’s about principle. I’m holding until I die.
I got into this thing looking to make some easy tendies and prevent a couple of greedy hedge funds from destroying a beloved company from my childhood that was struggling during a global pandemic. I have fond memories of reselling my used games for 2% of their value. Also, it was fun and I like the stock. GameStop’s financials were pretty decent, and the latest console cycle would give them more juice to transform their business model. Then enters Ryan Cohen: a guy whose balls are so big he got the insane idea to recreate Pets.com — a company so terrible it became synonymous with the dot-com bubble — and he fucking outperformed Amazon. I start learning about this guy and find out he’s pretty smart and bold enough to make it work. Maybe he can hit a second hole in one and turn another “terrible” company, “the blockbuster of video games,” into one that outperforms Amazon too. I also learn he’s had his struggles recently, and the reason why he sold Chewy.com was because his father was passing away. He sounds like a good person with that crazy/genius quality who deserves a chance, just like GameStop. So I enter this position, realizing that hedge funds have royally fucked themselves by taking an extremely risky bet while trying to destroy one of the few good things I had to distract myself from the shittiness of the world (before I found this subreddit). Because this trade was not just potentially profitable, but also morally important, I decided to sell the other stocks in my account and even deposited my rent money for the month. I’ll just pay the late fee and tank my credit score, nbd. And like the genius dumb ass I am, I bought right at the top: 14 shares for $4,340. I knew the hedge funds were going to lose this game. They got caught with their paints down while peeing into the wind. They were checkmated. And what did they do? They went and fucking changed the rules of the game. Oh hell no. That’s when this shit got real. That’s the moment when everything changed. It wasn’t about money anymore. It wasn’t about profit or loss. It was about principle. No — it was about the soul of the market. You don’t get to write the rules of the game and rewrite those rules when you lose at your own game. They should’ve just taken the L, but they decided to play dirty — real dirty. Now I start thinking things are getting real fucky. I can 💎 🙌 and keep holding, but I’m going to need to sell at some point... won’t I? Everyone else is going to sell at some point... won’t they? At what point...? Game-theory kicks in and I’m tryna figure out when everyone is going to sell so I can make off with some profit. What’s my exit strategy? What’s everyone else’s exit strategy? And then those hallowed words of Saint Value came back to me: “What’s an exit strategy?” Bingo! Exactly! That’s it! There is no exit strategy! The answer is: there is no answer. The only way to win an unwinnable game is to not play the game. G A M E — S TO P Incredible. This is where the game ends. I’ve been thinking too much like a hedge fund manager who puts profit above principle and can only think in terms of entry strategies and exit strategies. This is market logic. But we are no longer playing the game of market logic. The rules of the game have changed. The game is now about the rules of the game itself. This is a fucking meta-game. 4D Chess. And guess what? I’m not playing your game anymore. You’re playing mine. GameStop shares no longer represent ownership in a company. It’s no longer just something to exchange at market value. The shares represent our values themselves. Will I think in terms of profit and when to sell my shares? Or will I think in terms of my principles? Can I put a price tag on my values? What is a hedge fund willing to pay for my beliefs? And what market price would my values sell for? How much money could I make selling my soul? It’s true that I don’t have as much skin in the game as others. But I put in whatever I could. And I would never judge someone for needing to feed their family or finally being able to turn their life around and escape this rigged game—this prisoner’s dilemma that we call our economy. But GameStop shares no longer represent something a price could be put on. GameStop shares now represent something priceless. In fact, they may hold infinite value. They represent the infinite nature of value itself. The funny thing is, I can live without money. I’ve done it my whole life. But ironically, it’s the hedge fund managers who own all the money in the world that can’t live without it. If that isn’t a better representation of evil, I don’t know what is. Their greed is infinite, and they would break every rule in the world to satisfy that infinite greed. But I will choose to operate by a different kind of logic. I will play a game of my choosing. I entered this position because I saw a way to beat the GameMasters at their own game. And they proved to me what I’ve known all long: that the game is, in fact, unwinnable. It is a game designed for me to lose. It’s a casino-prison where only the lucky get to escape. So, you want my shares? Well, you don’t get my shares. EVER. They’re mine now, and mine forever. I’m holding onto these shares. Because when this game is all over and the years have passed, and we’ve all forgotten about this amazing moment in history.... every time I open my account I can look back and remember that time I fought the good fight. I can remember the wild, insane, hilarious, anonymous, beautiful, ragtag idiots I had beside me in that shining moment of glory — that moment we had the audacity to try and win an unwinnable game, and almost did. These shares don’t hold money. They hold sacred memories that will never be taken from me.... Everyone has to make their own choices in life. Everyone must choose which game they will play. But for the first time ever, the game is finally in your hands. What game will you choose? Will you continue to play the game? Or will the game stop? In my world, the game stops. I choose to sacrifice my 💎 🙌 Instead, my hands will go galactic 🌌 🙌 After all... YOLO
Bingo 2020 Complete + Mini-Reviews Part 2: digging into newer books OR r/Fantasy made me read it
After almost ten years of not being able to pick up or finish books, when reading used to be my life when I was younger, I finally got back into reading during the summer of 2019. Discovering Fantasy and bingo in mid-2020 helped motivate me to finish almost all of the SFF books I had bought but hadn’t been able to read, along with pushing me to get some new ones to bring me closer to catching up to modern fantasy. In my first post I reviewed the books I had sitting around unread for years, as well as revisiting a few series/authors I had already read. In this second post, I’m reviewing books either from my Goodreads TBR or from more recent fantasy that almost everyone here has already read, but I’m just catching up on! This sub gives great recommendations and there’s always more to add to the TBR. Bingo card with covers! Note: all of these are the actual covers I had/have for the books, except for The Terrorists of Irustan and Lyonesse, whose covers of mine are fairly ugly and therefore got replaced to serve the aesthetic needs of my bingo card.
Colour in the Title (HM): Priory of the Orange Tree - Samantha Shannon (2019)
Also fits: Politics, Book Club, Chapter Epigraphs In the West, Inys is ruled by Queen Sabran, whose country has had female queens for centuries. Ead is a foreigner at her court, with ties to a society of mages that she must keep hidden while also protecting the queen. In the East, Tané has trained to be a dragonrider her whole life, but a chance encounter the night before the ceremony where she can finally achieve her dreams threatens to interfere. Meanwhile, an evil that has been dormant for a thousand years is rising again. I really enjoyed this book, and even though most of the lands are clearly based on our countries in Western Europe, Northern Africa, and East Asia, I still found quite a few of the worldbuilding choices to be fresh, including the depth of mythology and history within the nations the story focuses on. The main two point of view characters are written well and with depth. The two other point of view characters, however, are either too shallow or too unsympathetic and not developed enough for me to care about them, which keeps this from being 5 stars. 4/5
Canadian Author: Seraphina - Rachel Hartman (2012)
In the kingdom of Goredd, there have been forty years of peace between humans and dragons. Dragons have learned to take human form and walk among their human neighbours, but it hasn’t been long enough to erase the prejudice between the two races. Seraphina has to hide her true self, for she is the byproduct of a dragon mother and a human father. Truly an enjoyable twist on dragons, something we haven’t seen before - they are almost like Vulcans in Seraphina’s world, being rational and mathematical, finding human emotions baffling and confusing. The writing is gorgeous and powerful, leading to moments of genuine emotion as Seraphina navigates her heritage and her relationships. This book is sometimes labeled YA, but there is only one element that I would say could fit as a common YA trope, and it’s fairly minor in the end. It’s best to treat this as a standalone because almost no one likes the sequel. 4/5 Note on the author: Rachel Hartman was born American, but moved to Canada in 2003 and has since become Canadian.
Ace/Aro (HM): Through Wolf’s Eyes - Jane Lindskold (2001)
Also fits: Politics, Magical Pet (HM) Firekeeper is a woman who was raised among Royal Wolves, who are intelligent and larger than their Cousins, and has no conscious memory of her life before the wolves. When an expedition crosses the mountain range bordering her pack’s territory, she meets and interacts with humans for the first time, eventually deciding to go back to Hawk Haven with them, accompanied by her wolf companion Blind Seer. The Duke leading the group believes she is the long lost granddaughter of the King of Hawk Haven, and Firekeeper ends up caught in political games as the King has to decide who his heir will be. I’ve read four books in this series now, and on the surface, these books seem like fairly typical fantasy with their magical animals and initially, pseudo medieval European countries. The characters and the mysteries of the world slowly grow on you however, and the writing flows perfectly with the right balance of detail and efficiency. There is also a wonderful undercurrent of optimism, where our main point of view characters are good while still being complex, and the characters we think might end up as antagonists develop into allies to the protagonists. Not a series for those who prefer fast-paced, plot-focused books. 4/5
Ghost (HM): Haunted - Kelley Armstrong (2005)
Also fits: Necromancy, Canadian Author Eve Levine is a witch who died trying to get her daughter to freedom after they were both captured by a rich human looking to research supernatural beings. Now, she’s a ghost “living” in the afterlife, watching over her daughter, wishing she could be there for her. The Fates have a job in mind for Eve, however, which involves hunting down a demonic spirit that escaped one of their hells a while ago and has been murdering people. I don’t always read urban fantasy, but when I do, it’s because it’s about werewolves! I had Bitten, book one in this Otherworld series, on my TBR forever, and finally picked it up this year. I enjoyed book one and two, and after that the series opens to follow other supernatural characters, including Eve in Haunted, who was introduced briefly in book two. This was a fun book, a good mix of crime solving and the supernatural, and an interesting take on the afterlife in Armstrong’s Otherworld and all who inhabit it. 4/5
Also fits: School/University (#1, HM), Feminist (#2, #4), Optimistic (HM) The series is set in the world of Earthsea, an archipelago of many islands surrounded by a vast ocean, where magic is a talent that can be developed and practiced by Wizards. We follow Ged, who begins as a young student of magic on the island of Gont, and then we shift to Tenar in the second book, a priestess on a northeastern island. In time, their perspectives converge and they continue their stories together. I am so sad I didn’t read these when I was younger, but at the same time I am very glad to have been able to experience them for the first time with the eyes of an adult. The first book is wonderfully evocative and sets the stage for the world and the series, but it’s clear Wizard is an early book of Le Guin’s in terms of writing, despite being of course influential and profound regardless. To me, her writing became perfection itself with The Tombs of Atuan, and I was glad to see a female protagonist. What can I add to the praise of Earthsea that hasn’t already been said? What amazingly beautiful stories. 5/5 Note: technically only the first three count for exploration.
Self-published: Sword of Kaigen - M.L. Wang (2019)
Also fits: Optimistic (HM), Snow/Cold/Ice (HM minus a few flashbacks, so in spirit, imo) In the Kaiganese Empire, warriors fight with both swords and elemental magic. The Sword of Kaigen follows Matsuda, the eldest son in the Matsuda family and already a warrior with great potential, and his mother Misaki, who has more skills and knowledge than a Kaiganese housewife should. What will happen when war comes to their shores? I loved this book, and it absolutely made me cry at least twice. I had a few issues with certain writing choices towards the beginning, and I wished the author hadn’t written in any modern elements, but they were minor enough for me to just ignore and take in the beautiful writing and emotional core of the story, along with admiring the masterfully drawn battle scenes. 5/5
Book Club (HM): Curse of Chalion - Lois McMaster Bujold (2001)
Also fits: Ghost, Optimistic (HM), Politics After years of suffering in war and in life, Cazaril returns to the noble household he once served as a page when he was younger. He is appointed to tutor the noble daughter Istelle, and when they end up at the royal court of Chalion they become embroiled in the plots and politics surrounding the curse on the royal family. Robin Hobb’s Farseer books are my absolute favourites, and Fantasy often recommends Bujold to fans looking for something similar. I could easily see the resemblance early on, with the style of writing, the focus on character work, and the older, broken protagonist. I had some issues with the age gap romance, but in the end it was a background plot and I very much enjoyed Bujold’s writing and worldbuilding. I’ve already bought the other two full-length books in the World of the Five Gods, and having read Paladin of Souls I can say Bujold continues making excellent reads. 4/5
Snow, Ice, or Cold (HM): Red Sister - Mark Lawrence (2017)
Also fits: Politics, Climate (HM), Colour in the Title, School/University (HM) The Book of the Ancestor trilogy takes place on a frozen planet where only a strip around the equator is habitable. Nona Gray, a girl with a shrouded background who narrowly escapes being hanged, is brought to live at the Convent of Sweet Mercy. She and the other girls will learn to fight and wield magic under the direction of Abbess Glass and the other nuns, as the plots and politics of the Empire brew inside and outside the convent. A series about fighting nuns, starring only female characters? I had to read it, and devour the trilogy I did! I enjoyed the writing, the setting and the magic were excellent, and the characters were well written. Not quite as much depth as I might generally like, but super fun books regardless. The second book dragged a bit through most of it, but the first and third books (that ending!) were more than enough to make up for it. 4/5 for the trilogy.
Feminist (HM): The Fifth Season - N.K. Jemisin (2015)
Also fits: Climate, Book Club, Number in the Title Essun is living an ordinary life in a small town when she comes home to find her husband has murdered their young son and kidnapped their daughter. At the heart of the continent, a rift has been torn into the earth, setting off a long Fifth Season of hardship, deprivation, and decaying civilization. What can I say about this book that hasn’t been said so skillfully by so many reviewers? Suffice it to say I truly enjoyed and admire this series, including the world Jemisin built and all it had to say. The whole trilogy is absolutely worth reading. 4/5
Magical Pet (HM): His Majesty’s Dragon - Naomi Novik (2006)
During the Napoleonic Wars, when Captain Laurence captures an unhatched dragon egg from an enemy French ship, his life changes as he becomes the rider of Temeraire and part of England’s Aerial Corps. I wish I’d read this when I was younger because it’s right up my alley - I distinctly recall seeing the cover on the shelves, but just never picked it up for some reason. Regardless, His Majesty’s Dragon delighted me now as an adult, with so many elements of fantasy I love all thrown together - dragons and dragonriding in a fantasy of manners-esque setting with stiff upper lip British-ishms. What more do I need, really? I devoured it and immediately bought the next five books in the series. 4/5
I got my FIFTH Bingo Line on the R/Fantasy Bingo Challenge, and I'm here to review 4 more books!
Hello again /Fantasy , It's been 3 months since my last bingo line review. This line took forever because I took a break to get into comic books for the first time in my life, and I'll talk about that in the reviews. Also, my newborn baby is now almost 4 months old and reading has taken a backseat to raising a child, which has it's own set of joys. I do miss the moment I had at the beginning of the bingo year, but I'm hoping to finish 4 more books in the next two months so that I can complete the whole bingo sheet before the next one comes out (I'll probably sit out of the next one since I want to read other stuff). This line is the horizontal bottom line, so let's get started! 1. Novel with a number in the title: Six of Crows - Leigh Bardugo - This was a really fun heist book. It's a bit simpler than the gentleman bastards books, but no less enjoyable. The characters are fun and engaging, and the mark seems almost impossible, which creates some intense moments. I would recommend this book as light reading material and just a fun story. One thing I liked about it is that the story moves along at a very fast pace so there is no time to be bored. There isn't too much exposition, which suits me recently, and the dialogue is fun to read, as some of the characters are very cool. looking forward to reading the sequel next year! 2. Romantic Fantasy/Paranormal Romance: Polaris Rising - Jessie Mihalik - It took me a long time to land on this book for this square as I was really not interested in a romance book. I actually shopped around to try and find a book that looked fun but also was a bit short. So, I decided to go for Polaris Rising, and I'm glad I did. It was a fun pulp style book about a woman from a very rich family that is trying to go her own way and ends up in some trouble. There were just a few romance scenes that were easily skippable to get back into the story, and the story was a very basic escape story with some twists along the way. Overall I wouldn't recommend this book, but if you are in the mood for a Sci-Fi romance pulp light read, this is the one to go for. 3. Novel With a Magical Pet: Mort - Terry Pratchett - I reviewed this book in my first bingo line review, but just to give a quick review. It's Pratchett, who is great, and the book is a very fun book to read. The magical pet was a horse, which created some controversy on weather or not a horse equals a pet or a vehicle or tool or whatever. But in the end, it was my bingo so it was my decision and I decided I wanted to read a Pratchett book. Highly Recommended! 4. Graphic Novel: Infinity Countdown - Various Marvel authors/illustrators - Ok so before we get into the review let's talk about comic books vs graphic novels. When I was first shopping around for a good graphic novel I typed things into google like 'best fantasy graphic novels' and what I found was a list of ongoing series like Saga, Monstress, Lucifer, and the list goes on. What I realized was that there wasn't a huge difference between the two. I read a lot of Saga and Monstress, but then I thought that his square was a good opportunity to do something I have never done before in my 36 years of being a dork, and that is read some comic books. I decided to sign up for a Marvel Unlimited account and dove right in. Where do I start? Well, there was a handy guide online about where to start if you were new to Marvel Marvel Fresh Start Reading Order. There are hundreds of books to read, but it all starts with the Infinity Countdown series, which I read. So let's get into the review: Comic books kinda suck. lol. I had a really hard time understanding what the hell was going on half the time. I guess not having read like 100,000 comic books of backstory on these characters didn't help the situation, but comic books try to pack way too much story/action into just 27 pages. Marvel comics do not just stop and slow down and build an atmosphere, they try to tell an epic story very quickly and just jump from one insane story beat to the next. The characters are cool, the voice bubbles are sometimes fun to read or interesting, and the illustrations are amazing, but overall I am not really enjoying this as much as I was enjoying Saga or Monstress. It seems like Image comics or single story comics tell a much better story and take time to build an atmosphere. I'll continue with the fresh start reading order for marvel because I have a year subscription to the app, but I would say that single story graphic novels are much better. 5. Novel Featuring Politics: Lord of Emperors - Guy Gavriel Kay - Welp, one rule I made at the beginning of this bingo game for me was to read all different authors, but I caved when it came to Guy Gavriel Kay, because he is just so damn good. In a previous bingo line I read Sailing to Sarantium, which is part 1 of the 2 book series, and I just had to read part 2. The book fits this square perfectly as most of the book is about politics. Holy shit this book is amazing. Everything about this book is wonderful. I'm so sad I won't get to read about these characters anymore. I'm now a big fan of Kay, and I'll continue reading his other books. The story is set in a fake Byzantine Empire and follows the story of a Mosaicist who is tasked with making a mosaic on top of the biggest dome ever created in Sarantium, which is basically Constantinople. The mosaicist isn't the only character though, as the story jumps around POVs to different important, and less important characters around Sarantium, and how they effect the city and story they live in. The characters are so deep and full of life that you feel as if you know them deeply. The events in the book captivated me from start to finish and this is my #1 pick from the whole bingo list so far (both books of course). Here is my ranking from this line:
Lord of Emperors
Mort
Six of Crows
Infinity Countdown
Polaris Rising
And there you have it, thanks for reading, and feel free to review any of these if you have read them in the comments below. Next line is the horizontal top, and my next book is going to be The Last Wish by Sapkowski. Only 4 more books to go until I clear the whole bingo card! This has been an amazing experience and I'm really glad I got to expand my interests. I also bought a couple kids books from the Richard Scary collection to read with my daughter, and we are both really enjoying those books as well. Until a month or two from now, thanks for reading!
Nightmare Fuel - invincible glitched bear hunts me like in The Revanant
The following happened last night in survival mode on stalker difficulty on ash canyon. The bear spawn in the far northeast, north of miner's folly produced a bear who defied all rules of the game. I was intentionally hunting this bear for it's pelt. I had one drying in the angler's den already, and I wanted to make a bedroll. I had the flare gun from Timberwolf mountain with six rounds, a rifle with roughly 20 rounds, great clothing protection, 105% condition, and plenty of accelerant. I've hunted bears many times. There shouldn't have been anything different about it this time. I walked into the den at dawn. If you're not familiar, it's an atypical den with a separate entrance and exit, one in the northwest, one in the south. I came via the cave in the northwest. It was hiding behind a corner. Then without roaring, it began to charge me. I already had the distress pistol ready, and I shot it, aiming for the head. In the shadow of the cave at dawn, I wasn't certain if it were a head of chest shot, but the bear ran whimpering and bleeding rather than dying instantly, as it always does with a distress pistol head shot. So it must have been a chest shot. That means a one hour bleed out time, so I ran back to the cave to sleep for one hour, and returned. This time, the bear was waiting for me, much closer to my cave then before. This is unusual because usual this bears range is to the south of it's den. I've never seen it go northwest because the pathing is (I assumed) too narrow and tricky for it. It ambushed me before I could fire a shot, mauling my condition about 50% and ravaging my pristine clothing. After I stopped the bleeding, I fired another flare gun shot, hitting it in the hind/legs. It whimpered, bled, and ran from me. This hit carries a roughly 2 your bleed time. So I step back into the cave, sleep to recover condition and come back out. This time, the bear has vanished, so I assume it wandered south and bled to death, but no. I find it near the miner's folly cabins, alive, and not bleeding at all. It growls at me and I shoot it in the face from 30 paces with my rifle. It bleeds, turns, and it runs off. Again, I can't believe I'm going to do this a third time and just trust it, but I head to the miner's cabin to sleep for one hour (rifle headshot bleed time). My condition is now back to 105%. I am walk north and find the bear, walking and bleeding, at the southern end of it's den. It's acting in a way I've never seen a bear. It's moaning constantly, like it's on death's door. I feel sorry for him. He's been reduced to something beneath the monster he was. I score a chest shot from 50 paces, and he charges me. I score a hear shot from 25 paces, and he runs away and whimpers. I've never seen a bear do this - run from gunfire other than the distress pistol. But he sure did. He ran back to the southern end of his den I followed him from a distance on foot - considering whether or not I should continue expending precious ammo on this glitched bear. I'd put enough ammo into him to kill 3 or 4 bears by now. But then I saw him fall over and moan one last time. I'd won, but at what cost? Theories: It's a glitch: bingo. I saw multiple bears: impossible. If you know anything about the geography of ash canyon, you know it's full of plateaus gated off by caves and rope climbs. This is one such area. There are only two ways down to the main area - a rope climb and the wet cave I came in through (which also involves a rope climb, but the bear can't cross transitions anyway so...). And there is only one bear spawn on the plateau. I missed: misses don't cause bleeding. There is such a thing as a glancing blow, with the weapons other than the distress pistol, which causes a hit marker and a blood splatter, but no death by bleeding. The problem is that I tracked the bear by it's blood trail repeatedly, and glancing blows don't cause extended blood trails, just a one off splat of blood. Bleeding doesn't always kill bears if you pass time or sleep while they bleed. They can glitch and heal: I've heard this anecdotally but there's nothing on the game's wiki and no video proof or statement by the devs like that. As for why I don't have a video: there's two reasons. It started as a normal bear encounter so I didn't bother. And second, I was so scared and mind-blown about the whole thing that I was focused on not dying rather than recording a phenomenon I didn't even realize was happening at the time. If you have an answer to what happened, I'd love to hear it. In the meantime, I'm glad this ordeal happened. It was the best, most immersive experience I've had in the game. If this is a glitch, I hope it never gets fixed. Edit: I play on Xbox Game Pass for PC and I use no mods.
The handy-dandy Cliff Notes version to what’s been happening in our sub recently! (a collaborative effort from your moderator team, we hope you enjoy!)
The more I focus on my actual fitness/health and becoming a better runner, having better endurance in my dance classes, and building strength, the less I care about the number on the scale.
And she has another great quote that sums up things going wrong but never give up! Let it inspire you too if you are going through some rough times.
Life is kind of a crap and stress sandwich with a side of insanity right now, but I will prevail!
I just had a moment of "Oh snap I better drink my coffee before it goes cold" only to realize I hadn't actually made coffee yet today.
u/gillyyak on the power of community during a fasting event
Once again, the power of doing things as a group shines through, thanks again, my friends!
Hot Topics:
u/lk3c talks about Lack of Deprivation on a keto diet. It is a great read, check it out and it may help motivate you to use this line of thinking too. A snippet to share:
I mentally slapped myself and said, no. "You are not a garbage can". Throw that crap away.
Fasting February! Many of you are partaking in this. Thanks u/cutercottage for making a thread here to help you plan it out and encourages weekly check-in posts. A helpful tip from u/fonzico:
Busyness is SO key for fasting! The proper distractions can make hours go by without even thinking about it.
u/pm-me-seinfeldquotes asks a great question in the daily here with lots of great suggestions for those of you with meat-holes!
How long do you consider meat that is stored in the freezer good for?
Biggest Disappointments:
u/jbclbd01 finds out she may be more sensitive to cow’s milk! Now she gets to figure out if things like HWC and butter are a tread-carefully staple.
I took one of those online food sensitivity tests (not allergy!) where you drip blood on a card and mail it into a lab, and I got my results this weekend. Thankfully, I am not highly reactive to any foods. I came up as "moderately" reactive to....cow's milk. Womp womp.
u/2-22-15 had an unfortunate mail delivery when her box from Etsy was crushed and her “expensive-as-hell new Turkish teapots, which are both exceptionally beautiful and exceptionally chipped.”
NSVs:u/misstatements has a bikini cut pantie win, u/natalicious-keto finds that her before and after jeans from 2019 still fit even if the scale would tell her otherwise, u/metal_herbalist shares that she can pull down her bibs without undoing the side buttons and has been able to fit into some of her favorite clothes in her closet,
Exercise Wins:u/gillyyak makes it to the gym multiple times, u/jemtred reaches her daily gym routine goals,
Health Wins:u/getreadytogrumble shares that manpanion is going to join her with keto this February and she pointed him in the right direction to get started, u/kotce9 has a mental health win after have a big talk with her dude but now feels at peace and calm with some positive direction to go, u/shakatay29 can count down the days to her bisalp on Monday!
Random Hugs Required: Big hugs for u/mistakesmishapes who has been going through a ton of shit but is staying strong, hugs for u/ninasafiri who has a double combo winter and pandemic blues hitting her hard, hugs for u/2boredtocare who has been playing ER Bingo or at least felt like she was, hugs for u/metal_herbalist who is dealing with a lot of shit and lots of tears, hugs to u/smilingaudibly who’s sister lost her baby at 16 weeks pregnant,
Kickstarter Roundup: Dec 20, 2020 | 15+ Ending Soon (including: Steven Rhodes Games) & 20+ New This Week (including: Field Guide to Memory)
What this is:
This is a weekly, curated listing of Kickstarter board game projects that are either:
newly posted in the past 7 days, or
ending in the next 7 days (starting Dec 21) and have at least a fighting chance of being funded.
All board game projects meeting those criteria will automatically be included, no need to ask. (The occasional non-board game project may also sneak in!) Expect new lists each Sunday sometime between midnight and noon PST.
Ending Soon
Project Info
Players
Backers
Min / Avg Pledge
Ends
Comments
Opera House A tabletop Roleplaying game and theatre sourcebook set in the surreal Royal Grand Opera House // Has raised £5,267 of £3,000 so far. (~176%) ☑
Twinkle A fast-paced strategic family dice game for 2-4 stellar creators. Decorate the night sky using colorful dice as stars and Twinkle! // Has raised €13,850 of €10,000 so far. (~138%) ☑
HITSTER: The digitally integrated music card game! Listen to over 100 years of hits and take turns guessing when the songs were released, artist names and song titles. // Has raised €4,051 of €2,500 so far. (~162%) ☑
The Battle of Armageddon A 2 to 6 player apocalyptic game depicting the World's armies Final Battle for control of Earth. // Has raised $4,117 of $2,500 so far. (~165%) ☑
Alhambra Big Box 2nd Edition All new artwork, all 6 expansions, 2 Queenies and Tile Dispenser Tower! // Has raised $139,453 of $5,000 so far. (~2789%) ☑
Tombpunk: Lo-Fi Roleplaying by Alan Bahr Welcome to Tombpunk, a high-octane, high-action system with a rules-light approach. Jump into your adventure and brave a gritty world! // Has raised $3,769 of $300 so far. (~1256%) ☑
Momiji A poetic card game about autumn colors and stunning landscapes in Ancient Japan. Play it solo or up to four players. // Has raised €45,762 of €10,000 so far. (~458%) ☑
Steven Rhodes Games A 3-Pack of games featuring Steven Rhodes' unique style of nostalgia with a twist of darkness // Has raised $213,784 of $25,000 so far. (~855%) ☑
Fantasy Tabletop Maps - 4K - printable & digital use -150 pz Mega pack of maps for use in tabletop rpg & wargames, printable and for digital use in virtual simulators. 150 files jpg - pdf -board. // Has raised MX$16,519 of MX$8,500 so far. (~194%) ☑
Naramata: A Game of Wine & Tourism Explore Naramata wine country and satisfy tourists over three days in this new board game by Dias Ex Machina // Has raised C$22386 of C$24200 so far. (~93%)
THE BOYS: This Is Going To Hurt The Board Game THE BOYS: This Is Going To Hurt is a tabletop board game based on the hit-series THE BOYS from Dynamite Entertainment. // Has raised $71,360 of $50,000 so far. (~143%) ☑
New York Crisis (Relaunch) An adventure cooperative game set in NYC. Enjoy the most exciting family trip of your lives! // Has raised €9,700 of €8,000 so far. (~121%) ☑
Blacks & Whites: 50th Anniversary Edition A tabletop game about privilege and racial inequity in real estate and American society. A modern take on the original game from 1970. // Has raised $6,448 of $11,226 so far. (~57%)
Call of Katulhu An easy to learn 2-player game that scales to the complexity level of the players involved! // Has raised $765 of $6,000 so far. (~13%)
2
53
$5 / $14
Jan 18
Career Bingo A fun game that includes everybody irrespective of gender, ethnicity or impairment // Has raised €31 of €4,000 so far. (~1%)
Field Guide to Memory A narrative journalling game about a cryptid researcher who goes missing in the field. How will you, her protégé, carry on her legacy? // Has raised $41,812 of $18,000 so far. (~232%) ☑
1
942
$12 / $44
Jan 07
Forces of Nature Command the Wild – battle for survival in this new card game using animals, forces, and the power of nature itself. // Has raised $1,776 of $5,000 so far. (~36%)
2 - 4
28
$45 / $63
Jan 15
Gamer's Chest All-in-One Tabletop Game Organizer // Has raised $60,845 of $5,000 so far. (~1217%) ☑
List Battle Royale A new and fun game designed to get any party excited! // Has raised $101 of $1,000 so far. (~10%)
?
2
$30 / $51
Feb 12
#lolwut
Mathemagical World - Addition & Subtraction Board Game For kids ages 5+, perfect for homeschooling, pre-k, kindergarten and first grade. It teaches kids math in a fun and exciting way! // Has raised $499 of $25,000 so far. (~2%)
2 - 4
13
$25 / $38
Jan 11
Meeple Creeple Changeable Meeples for any game situation. // Has raised £385 of £250 so far. (~154%) ☑
New York Crisis (Relaunch) An adventure cooperative game set in NYC. Enjoy the most exciting family trip of your lives! // Has raised €9,700 of €8,000 so far. (~121%) ☑
Ophelia: Histories Collide Reforge history for your chosen heroes as the multiverse collapses around you! // Has raised A$3,884 of A$5,000 so far. (~78%)
2 - ?
32
$39 / A$121
Jan 09
OTTO Game Over: the most abstract game Ever The new abstract game that will surprise you!Intuitive and strategic, with an out of this world design. // Has raised €14,775 of €8,000 so far. (~185%) ☑
2 - 4
396
$30 / €37
Jan 16
Raven Twin Miniatures: Secrets of the Ages! Raven Twin Miniatures is proud to present our first crowdfunding campaign: SECRETS OF THE AGES!!We wish you like it! // Has raised €7,499 of €500 so far. (~1500%) ☑
-
154
$8 / €49
Jan 10
#minis
ROCKS OFF The Trivia Game about Rock and Metal with 800 questions! // Has raised €305 of €4,500 so far. (~7%)
2+
13
$25 / €23
Jan 07
Standing Stones: a Roll and Write Revolution Game A tactical, domino driven 1-4 player game of bidding on and managing resources to best build your ancient Scottish village. // Has raised $335 of $100 so far. (~335%) ☑
1 - 4
96
$3 / $3
Jan 04
Super Loteria (Classic Video Game Theme) A classic video game themed version of the classic loteria game enjoyed by people all over the world. // Has raised $284 of $6,200 so far. (~5%)
Tombpunk: Lo-Fi Roleplaying by Alan Bahr Welcome to Tombpunk, a high-octane, high-action system with a rules-light approach. Jump into your adventure and brave a gritty world! // Has raised $3,769 of $300 so far. (~1256%) ☑
?
402
$5 / $9
Dec 23
#rpg
Valda - Rise of the Giants and Ragnarok Expansions to the succesful strategy tabletop game Valda. Explore more of the beautiful viking world. // Has raised €29,669 of €20,000 so far. (~148%) ☑
Wasted Wizards: A Party Game for Your Inner Nerd A board game that combines luck of the dice with classic drinking games. Get your friends together to have fun and slay the dragon. // Has raised $1,977 of $6,000 so far. (~33%)
Ladies and gents, it is that time again. I hope you guys are as excited for the end of the regular season and the playoffs as I am (a lot of you probably more so). I have to say, bingo the last two weeks has been a lot of fun for me and hopefully for you as well. As always, click on this link https://bingobaker.com/#3d1bfc137b69a043, click "generate" and then copy that url and paste in the comment section below. For example, this is my card: https://bingobaker.com/#856122b0eef2e14d. Your link and card should look similar to this. I will moderate and keep track of what is checked off as we go along. This week's options are:
After reading through some of the posts I thought it might be nice to have a listing of all of the games and their corresponding solutions. I put in both the in-show solutions as well as some alternative ways the game may have been solved. Game: Dead or Alive Difficulty: 3 of Clubs Rule: Select the correct door within the stipulated time. Starting time: 2 Minutes. Each subsequent room 10 seconds less. Clear Condition: Leave the building within the time limit Game Over: Select the wrong door, or remain in room beyond time limit Possible Solutions: Correct Solution- The building is a square measuring 20mX20m. The floor is divided into 10 rooms, with 8 of the rooms being the same square proportions, one being slightly smaller, and the other a narrow passageway at the end leading to Game Clear. The markings on the doors of “Live” and “Die” are arbitrary, the players must guide themselves around the exterior of the floor to the exit. In-show solving. Arisu notices the size and shape of the building based on a car parked out front, the escape map by the elevator, and measuring the square tiles on the floor. He then draws a map expecting to find a 9x9 floor and concludes that the exit must be on the back-left side of the building because the sides touch neighboring buildings and they entered from the elevator in the back-right. The players determine that the middle is to be avoided based on the death of the schoolgirl who enters the room at the beginning and dies. Upon reaching what they expect to be the exit they find the expected wall blank, and through viewing the footage shot at the beginning by Chota they notice that the room the schoolgirl entered had a blank wall where a door should be, denoting the presence of a hidden room. They enter the location of the hidden room and find the passageway to the exit, which is towards the back of the building marked by the poster for “Die” despite the “Live” door having an exit sign above it. Game: “A Game of Tag” Difficulty: 5 of Spades Rule: Run away from the tagger[s]. Clear Condition: Find the Safe Room hidden in one of the building rooms within the time limit. [Un-stated condition, two members must press buttons simultaneously in the room] Game Over: Shot by tagger. 20 minute time limit elapses without entering safe room and hitting buttons Possible Solutions: Considering danger of taggers and cooperation: Chishaya places himself upon the top-corner of the building at the start of the game to get a vantage point of all floors. If working cooperatively he could inform all other players of the movement of the tagger and allow searches to take place. This could be done through the usage of the walkie-talkies that we find out later Aguni and his beach accomplice carry. Upon discovering the room the players can enter and overpower the second tagger hidden there similar to the playout of the show. In-show solving: To eliminate the Tagger Aguni, Karube, and an unnamed Beach member conspire to lure and attack the Tagger allowing the other players to search for the door freely. Both Arisu and Cheshiya notice that the Tagger had fired a large number of rounds at Tatta from a distance and angle when he approached what was the Safe-Zone door. The door itself shows no sign of damage from the spray while the walls on both side show multiple bullet holes. Both players realize that the Tagger was protecting the door by keeping watch of who may be approaching it even while hunting down the players. Upon entering the Safe-Zone Arisu and Cheshiya are attacked by a second Tagger who has hidden inside of the room as an insurance policy for players discovering the room. It is explained that the presence of the second Tagger is why the primary tagger did not simply wait near the Safe Zone door and shoot down any who approached. Arisu discovers that there needs to be two players to press separate buttons for Game Cleared. Conversation piece: Technically according to the stated rules both the second tagger and need for a second player to press the buttons goes against the rules of the game? The game declared a Tagger, not Taggers, and said that entry to the safe room was the Clear Condition. Game: Hide-and-Seek Difficulty: 7 of Hearts Rule: One person will be the wolf, and the other three will be the lambs. The one found by the wolf will become the next wolf. Hide well so that the wolf does not discover you. Clear Condition: Whoever is the wolf at the end of the game wins. Game Over: After 15 minutes the collars around all the lambs will explode. Solution: Be the wolf at 15 minutes This game has the most discussion about “possible solutions” and “ways for everyone not to die”. The basis for this is largely based on Arisu’s statement in EP 8 where he states that the 10 of Hearts game was designed to create a bloodbath, but that no additional deaths were needed. Possible Solution- The only feasible solutions presented relate to the idea of the wolf’s collar being disarmed means it could potentially be removed (which Arisu tries to do in the mirror) and that if all four players calmly worked together to remove the wolf’s collar, the wolf could then pass their status onto the next player and proceed until all four players have their collars removed. The hearts part coming into the fact that the players must work together and the wolf has to sacrifice guaranteed survival for this goal. Arisu’s inability to remove the collar himself does not mean it cannot be done, but it does seem that the design of the game is certainly meant for all three lambs to die. Game: Distance Difficulty: 4 of Clubs Rule: Endure the trial and reach the goal within the time limit. Clear condition: Reach the goal safely Game Over: Attacked by panther or drown in flood Solution: The bus at the start of the game is graffitied with the phrase “Goal”. The players must be in the bus at the end of the time (120 minutes) for Clear Condition. Game: Beast Hunter Difficulty: Unknown Rule: Using this scoreboard as reference, please cooperate and defeat the beasts in the area together. Clear Condition: Reach unknown amount of points Game Over: Points total not reached in time limit? Unstated Solution: The militants use their stockpiled firepower to kill the animals. Points listed: Tiger- 100 Panther- 80 Wild Boar- 50 Eagle- 30 Crow- 1 Game: Hunting Competition Difficulty: Unknown Rule: Unknown Clear Condition: Unknown but the players are looking for something and complain about being unable to find “where it is hiding” Game Over: Fail to find within time limit Game: Human Elevator Difficulty: Unknown Spade Rule: Players must hang from the lift as it ascends. Clear Condition: Reach the top of the building on the ascending lift? Game Over: Release/lose grip from the ascending lift Solution: Other than simply hanging an enduring, without the rules it is unknown if the player is allowed to use other body parts other than their hands to hang for a stronger hold. Game: Bingo in Match Factory Difficulty: Unknown Rule: You only have nine matches. Answer all the numbers you find across the 24 rooms and clear the game by achieving BINGO. Clear Condition: Achieve BINGO using the numbers found in the rooms. Solution: Each player is given 9 matches, based on the fact that when Usagi finds 4D is 9 the board shows 8 other players have died there must be something else at play in the rooms. We also see a dead body in the room prior to 4D when she begins her search. BINGO Board is shown as having a 5x5 Grid labeled A-E across the top and 1-5 across the side leading to a board that has the following values
A B C D E 1 ? 12 63 82 (17?) 2 73 (21?)27 96 28 3 41 8 FREE 54 75 4 56 ? 1 9 84 5 ? 91 68 ? 43
Game: Light Bulb Difficulty: 4 of Diamonds Rule: Question- Which switch tuns on the light bulb?
Only one switch among A, B, and C will turn on the light bulb.
You only have one chance to flip a switch while the door is open. If the door is closed, you can flip the switches as much as you like.
If someone is in the room, or if a switch has been turned on, the door will be locked in place and cannot be moved. You only have one chance to answer as a group
Clear Condition: Answer correctly which switch turns on the light bulb. Game Over: Water level rises and touches the electrical wires. Also making contact with the electrical wires in general. Solution: With the door closed, turn on one of the light switches and wait a short period of time for the electrical current in the light bulb to create heat (if it is the correct choice). Then turn off the switch, open the door and check the light bulb. If the bulb is warm then it is the correct switch. If not flip one of the other two switches, if the light comes on that is the answer, if not the un-flipped switch is. Game: Witch Hunt Difficulty: 10 of Hearts Rule: The evil witch who took the girl’s life is hiding among you. The witch role is not limited to women. You clear the game if you find the witch and burn them in the Fire of Judgement. Clear Condition: Place the witch in the Fire of Judgement within the time limit Game Over: Time limit of two hours passes Solution: Ann uses her background in forensics to discover that the grip on the knife plunged into Momoka’s chest means that she was the one to stab herself. Place Momoka’s body into the Fire of Judgement. Arisu also solves the game by placing himself in the mind of the "game master" and figuring out in what way could the game be created so as to lead to the largest amount of betrayal and death as befitting a 10 of hearts game. The only solution that fits that is for there to be a solution wherein no one had to die, and therefore the witch must be already dead and be Momoka.
Hello fellow captain! With a bit of delay comes my new analysis. All disclaimer still apply, here more so because we heavily dive into Japanese naming, culture, and Buddhism, so take everything with a grain of salt. Please welcome the famous pair, Star-Crossed lover of District 12- wait wrong franchise. Star crossed lover thwarted by the will of the Honkai, the Vixen of the Far East and the Sin Hunter, Kallen and Sakura! _________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yae Sakura
Gyakushinn Miko:
The name Gyakushinn Miko comes from the term Miko, which means “shrine maiden”, and Gyakushinn, possibly meaning either “treachery”, or “treacherous retainer”, depending on which kanji is used, and could also be a synonym for “insurrectionist”. In Chinese (still courtesy of Google Translate), the name would mean Reverse Kamiko. For Kamiko, I found several meanings, either “paper girl”, “little goddess”, or a kanji per kanji analysis “incense” + “beauty” + “子" is a word that comes after a woman's name, child.” I like the “little goddess” because it ties in both her role (of Miko) and her very nature as a person controlled by a Herrscher (Reversed goddess). Her battlesuit is a Miko outfit accompanied by a mask of a fox with a flame on it (in Japanese culture, Kitsunes, fox spirits, are commonly seen generating fire and lightning), and she sports ears of fox (a subspecies of fox with that kind of ears). Unsurprisingly, her skillset is all about Japanese culture, more precisely the art of the blade, and the Sakura. Her leader skill is Heart of Prajna: Prajna means “wisdom”, “knowledge”, “transcendental wisdom” “understanding”. Her special is Combo: Shunmetsu: Metsu would mean “Destruction”, “Ruin” and I have Shun that could possibly mean either “Speed” or “Season”? A passive of her is Punctured Kabuto, a Kabuto is a type of Japanese helmet. Sakura no Haku, a skill she shares with Mei, means “Spirit of Sakura”. Another passive is Iaido, the Iaido is a Japanese martial art which focuses on situational awareness and the art of quick drawing to respond to a sudden attack. Crimson Naraka, her ultimate: a Naraka in Buddhism is closely related to the concept of Hell in Christianity. People are brought to Naraka because of their karma, and they stay for a predetermined time, making it more like purgatory, although there is a lot of suffering involved. Feels like the stigmata world… That’s also probably what Sakura’s enemies feel when they are on the wrong end of her sword when she ults. Her evasion is Shuryu Slash, Shuryu could mean “stream”, so a “stream slash” Zanshin is a state of awareness, of relaxed alertness, in Japanese martial arts. A literal translation of zanshin is "remaining mind". In several martial arts, zanshin refers more narrowly to the body's posture after a technique is executed. Her basic is called Sakuraoti, and apart from having a relation with sakura, I have no idea what the heck oti means, or even if it’s a typo from somewhere. San-Ge could mean “falling as flowers” do or “dying a glorious death” apparently? Gyakushinn Miko comes with four costumes: The first one is Frozen Sakura, a palette swap switching her warm pink and crimson to chilly blue. It’s a reference to some species of Sakura tree that can bloom in winter, which honestly must be some sight to see alongside the snow falling down. The second one is Midnight Marigold, is another palette swap, giving Sakura a dark outfit with golden outlines. The Marigold is yet another flower with a meaning: according to Victorian experts, it is a symbol of grief and despair. It goes along well with the description, a “withered petal burning on the tip of a candle”. In Buddhism,yellow and golden marigolds are strung together and used as offerings and adornments in temples, at altars, and near statues of the Buddha. The third one is Sublime Lotus, a Valentine-themed costume. She wears a white kimono symbol of purity, and usually only worn by priests (which she is), brides (which she technically is for the Valentine Event) and dead bodies, (which she technically is since five hundred years), so combo. The lotus flower is revered in Japan for its ability to rise from the dirty, murky waters to bloom into a beautiful pure flower. Quite fitting after what happened I’d say. The costume description also speaks of atonement after what happened five hundred years ago. Also, lotuses and marigolds were used in conjunction to celebrate Buddha. The last one is Summer Sakura, a summer-themed costume, which consists of a simple pink and white dress, with lots of ribbons, and a single sakura petal delicately left on her bare skin.
Flame Sakitama:
So right from the bat, this meaning is unclear. For Sakitama, I found this website which basically says that there are four “concepts” and that one of them, the Sakitama, represents good luck through a good harvest, which is ironic because if she brought a good harvest, it was because of her sister’s sacrifice. Also, still from the same site, “If we take a modern view, Sakitama and Kushitama can be interpreted as a private soul and a public soul, respectively. It is possible to understand that Sakitama and Kushitama equate to 'Betsutama and Kamitama' (a branch shrine for a deity and amemento).” I think you all guessed why one word is in bold, but that will come later. The Chinese version of Flame Sakitama is apparently “true flame”. She wears a sort of samurai attire with metal plates on her arms and body. She also sports several “mitusdomoe” (the sort of three petals symbol that extends outwards) which have a lot of meanings and symbolism, which are not mutually exclusive:
They are closely associated with Shinto shrines
In Shintoist thinking, the three petals are taken to represent three aspects of the four mitama or 'souls' (the fourth one is rarer)
And some other less relevant but still there. Her skill set is turned toward fire and swordsmanship, with a few references to the color red and also her stigmata here and there. Her leader skill, Eternal cycle, and one of her passive Ancient Dream are probably a reference to how she has been forced to revive her life several times over and over. Asura, in her special category, refers to Buddhist beings. In its Buddhist context, the word is sometimes translated "titan, "demigod", or "antigod". They are a race plagued by passions. Surya in Surya’s Burn is the Sanskrit word for the sun. For Shokudai Kiri, I have Shokudai “candle”, “candlestick” and Kiri “end”. Ryuka Blade, her basic. Ryuka could refer to a form of poetry created in the 17th century, but it doesn’t make sense in context, so probably someone got a better idea. Then, Imperial Tachi, a Tachi is a type of Japanese sword which predated the katana, and after the katana became “mainstream”, the Tachi would still be wielded by high-ranking samurais. The differences between Tachis and katanas are curve, length, and the placement on the hip (specifically the side of the cutting edge). Flame Sakitama comes with a single costume, Dream Raiment, her bridal dress. The dress is white with a slight pinkish hue to accord itself with Sakura’s hair, and several pink gems are present as well. A floral motif is embroidered in the dress.
Goushinnso Memento:
I have ABSOLUTELY no idea what Goushinnso means, however, we can find the name Memento, which was the bolded word in the last section, and which is the counterpart to the Sakitama. A memento is usually an object kept as a reminder of an object or an event. Her Chinese name translated gives the very elegant and short name (yes, that was sarcasm) of “Imperial God Costume - Don’t Forget”. We have the idea of not forgetting, Memento, seems good. Her name can also come from the fact that she’s tied a lot to memories (but that’s a personnel interpretation). She has two apparitions in the game. The first one is in the Chronicles dedicated to the game “Kallen Fantasy VII”, which is one of the NUMEROUS reminders Otto created to remember Kallen, and Sakura by the same occasion, as the enemy that stole Kallen’s heart. I guess beating your love rival while playing the woman you’re simping for is a good way to exteriorise your feelings. The second one is in the main story, in Kevin memories that created a bubble universe. He never forgot her, her being the Previous Era Sakura, a fellow MANTIS that held a powerful power of… was it Ice as well, or just moving super fast? Can’t remember. Being a video game character inside a videogame, she obeys the rule of “the more skin you show, the more you are protected” (only for girls though) although it’s still conservative enough. She wears a kind of translucent T-shirt (by the way, there’s a Japanese sentence on her t-shirt, if someone could translate it, I’m very curious, thanks) with a futuristic-looking dark blue jacket and a pair of headphones. The symbol on her T-shirt also could be a stylized fox head. Her skills are quite ice oriented, and there’s surprisingly very little Japanese, with the exception of Onimusha that apparently means “demon warrior” and is also a video game franchise, and Kansakura, that would mean “Sacred Cherry Tree”. Goushinnso Memento comes with three costumes: Blanc X - Ichijin: a palette swap where the white t-shirt turns black, and the blue jacket turns white (hence Blanc meaning White in French.) Ichijin can also mean either “vanguard” or “gust of wind”. Blooming Maiko is a kimono reminiscent of the Geisha of old. Fitting, for a Maiko would be a Geisha apprentice. It is embroidered with many floral motifs. It’s also a winter costume, which is the reason why the primary color is blue. The last one is Hyoukai Sonata. Apparently, Hyoukai means “block of ice” in Japanese, while the word Sonata in Italian has come to mean "piece of instrumental music," although its literal translation is "sounded" or "played”, because she plays the piano. It is a performance dress, sporting futuristic patterns related to music, with frozen flowers on her neck and body.
Darkbolt Jonin:
Second SP character I’m talking about here, it’s not Sakura, although it is a Sakura but not really Sakura. Sakura? Sakura. Her name comes from Dark Thunderbolt, because of her liberal use of electricity, and jônin (pronounced jounin) is apparently the highest-ranking ninja. That name makes sense. Then, the translation from her Chinese name gives me Ye Yin Zhongxia. First time I get a proper name, and it seems to be her name because when I look it up, I find the beautiful DJ mechanical Keyboard to sale, so that’s that. Her skills seem to be all tied up to Buddhism, and there’s a lot, so let’s go back to a skill by skill analysis: Saha World: In Buddhism, the Saha world is the “mundane world”, anything that hasn’t attained Nirvana. It is also translated as “endurance”, because it designates this world, an impure world where men must endure suffering (gee, Buddhism seems a lot of fun already). Naraka Finisher: See “Crimson Naraka” above. Yaksha Rush: The Yaksha are spirits, usually benevolent, associated with water, trees, wilderness, and others. Raksha AMP: there’s a lot of meaning to be found, but the ones coming back the most often are either a group of five protector goddesses, or beings living in the Ghost path, similar but inferior to the Yaksha, and generally violent. AMP can be the shortened form of Amperes, because of electricity. Sura’s retribution: Sura can either refer to the name of a deity that governs the invisible world and the inner reality of things, or the other name of the Devas, which represent “heavenly perfection”. Eight Dukkha: In Buddhism, Dukkha is the idea of “suffering”. The eight Dukkhas refer to the eight sufferings, namely “Eight kinds of universal suffering. They are the four sufferings of birth, aging, sickness, and death, plus the suffering of having to part from those whom one loves, the suffering of having to meet with those whom one hates, the suffering of being unable to obtain what one desires, and the suffering arising from the five components that constitute one’s body and mind.” and have a nice day with that. Branded for Hate is the 5th dukkha. Undying Love is the 6th Dukkha. Endless Desire is the 7th Dukkha. Raksha’s rage: see above for Raksha Tiryag’s Impulse: Tiryag-yoni domain is the domain in which people are reincarnated into beasts, they are the animals that live in our world. My guess is that means bestial impulse or the like. Ashura’s gift: see Asura above. Raijin’s blink: Raijin is a god of thunder in the Shinto religion, not Buddhism for once, but it is still linked to electricity. Fusuikami’s bliss: no idea for this one, the search doesn’t bring up anything but it’s probably a deity linked to thunder or something. Narukami’s curse: Narukami is another name for Raijin. Wakaikami’s vigor: no idea either. Garyu stance: “Garyu means reclining dragon, from the characters Ga 臥 (lie prostrate) and Ryū 竜 (dragon). In Japanese philosophy, a great man who remains in obscurity is called a Garyu.” Shiden blast: it apparently has three meanings, purple lightning, flash, and swordflash. Sounds accurate. She comes with a single costume, Peach Sanctuary. In Buddhism, peach is a fruit that symbolizes longevity.
Kallen Kaslana:
Ritual Imayoh:
So, Kallen Kaslana, one of the legendary Valkyries of old. Yet the first time we see her… is in a video game? Welcome to “Kallen Fantasy VII”! So, I have no idea what Imayoh means or what it is if it even is something, however, the Ritual part, as well as the fact that she’s part of Schicksal probably means it has to do with religion. Bingo, because her Chinese name roughly translates as either “Sacramental costume”, or “Holy dress”. Well, that and the fact that her shirt sports the inscription “Salvation lies Within”. That quote does not actually come from the Bible, but from the movie “Shawshank Redemption”, where the protagonist escapes from prison. I guess it must be some irony put by Otto to remind him that he could not help Kallen escape without her being willing. Her costume is a reflection of Meme Sakura, having a black T-shirt and a white jacket, with red gloves. She also sports a cross on her t-shirt. Her skills refer mostly to the stars, for some reason, except for two or three which are representations of sins (Sloth and a part of it, Idleness), and three references to Nordic mythology. Sternenphantom means “star ghost”, “ghost of the star” in german. Modgud’s impact, Hela’s geyser and Garm unbound are nordic references. In nordic mythos, Modgud is the guardian of a bridge named Gjallarbru, which links the world of the living and Hel, ruled by Hela, and Garm is a dog or a wolf that is said to be guarding the gates of Hel. He’s also stained by blood most of the time. Good boy. She comes with two costumes, Blanc X - Kata, blanc still means white, and kata is a “system of individual training exercises in karate and other martial arts.” Her cross takes a greenish hue, as well as some part of her armor. The second one is Snow Fairy, which looks like an automobile racing outfit, with lime colors, just like the cross of her precedent costume.
Sündenjäger:
German word meaning “Sin Hunter”, Kallen is ready to hunt any vampire- hmph, excuse me, Kindreds, on her way. Her Chinese name stays on the same name, translating as “Original Sin Hunter”. Her battlesuit is the counterpart to Luna Kindred in the Kindred storyline, hence she keep the primary red colors, and the crosses on her suit. Her skills are based around her links to the Kindreds, the seven deadly sins (Feast of Mammon, Ward of Sloth, Breath of Gluttony, Shades of Envy, Reach of Desire, Erosive Pride, and Heart of Rage) and a bit of holy and divine here and there. She comes with a single costume, the Pumpkin Hunter. In her rage, she has come to see the Pumpkin as a deadly sin and won’t stop before any kids asking for candy during Halloween are dead and bur- what do you mean it’s not that? She sports an orange and black costume with a lot of pumpkins and a cross-shaped knife.
Sixth Serenade:
A mix between Arsene Lupin and Batman, she flies in the night in the guise of the Rogue Extraordinaire… and I have no idea why the number six. The Serenade comes from the Italian “Serenata”, an evening song. However, why six I wonder. Even in Chinese, the translation gives “Sixth Night” which is not really more helpful. The costume is made of a violet and black attire, taken from Otto’s wardrobe labelled “Costume I’d like to see Kallen in” and which is totally not creepy. It is accompanied by a raven mask given by Shakespear when Kallen aided her to escape Schicksal goons during her time in Austria. She sports a purple rose on her neck, which means “love at first sight” in floriography, which is true because it’s Otto giving it to Kallen. She also seems to have a golden key of some sort hidden by her hand in the official art. Her skillset is oriented toward the night, and night-creatures, and there is surprisingly no german word, I thought there would be at least one. Well, actually there is. The “Nachtsicht” gauge. Nachtsicht means “Night vision” in german. Some interesting skills include Knell, which is the sound of the bell during an elegy or a funeral, Coronach which is the third part of an improvised song for a funeral in the Gaelic culture, and Black Moon, which is an astronomical phenomenon when there are two new moons in a single month. She comes with a single costume, Hanami Daimyo. The Hanami is the practice in Japan to watch the Sakura flower when they are in full bloom, and a Daimyo is a type of lord under the Shogun and which means “Large Land Holder.” She sports an autumn colored kimono with stripes, and rising sun motif on the lower part to symbolise Japan. She also has a dead fox head on her shoulder, symbolizing Sakura’s death. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Did I miss anything? Tell me in the comment! I hope you enjoyed the reading. The next time, we'll talk about the hottest thing there is...
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