Review: Brix 64166-06 Household Series Aquarium

Let's finish out the "Household Appliances" line from Brix that was released last year.

Box.  MSRP is $4.00, for a $0.06 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts 1.  Plates, Translucent Windscreens, Quarter Circle Plate,

Corrugated Bricks, Brick, Plant Stem w/Stud & 3 Large Leaves

on Sprue, Seaweed, Translucent 1x1x2 Bricks, and 1x1x2 Brick.

Parts 2.  Plates, Corner Plate, Corner Tiles, Doors, Minifig Fish, Round

Bricks, Cones, Ingot, Tiles, Quarter Circle Tile, Round Tile,1x1x

2/3 Brick, Round Plates, Curved Bar w/Antistuds, Cheese Graters,

Grille Tile, Grass Stems, Palm Tree Trunk, and Macaroni Tile.

  

Build.  Station.

The Questions:

Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +20 (A+).  A fair amount of useful pieces.  That is a really dark Dark Brown.

Review: Brix 64166-05 Household Series Cat Tower

This is the second half of the "Household Appliances" line from Brix that was released last year.

Box.  MSRP is $4.00, for a $0.06 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts 1.  Plates, Wedge Plates, Fence, Doorframes, Corner Panels, Bricks

w/Studs on Side, Ladder, Macaroni Axle Connectors, Minifig Cats.

Parts 2.   Tiles, Tiles w/Studs on Edge, Dishes, Round Large Jumpers, Clip Sign,

Plates, Quarter Circle Tile, Round Tile, Panels, Cheese Slope w/Stud, Bricks

w/Stud on Side, Brick w/Studs on Opposite Sides, Round Bricks, Bar, Flick

Missile, Minifig Telephone, 1x1x2 Round Bricks, Doors, and Wedge Tile.

Build.  Frame (2W), and two Stations.

The Questions:

Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +20 (A+).  Having the majority of pieces be Flesh Tone instead of Tan is a little weird but the contrast with the Caramel is pretty nice.

Review: Brix 64166-01 Household Series Water Cooler

This is the second half of the "Household Appliances" line from Brix that was released last year.

Box.  MSRP is $4.00, for a $0.04 Price per Piece.

Instructions & Stickers.

Parts 1.  Translucent Dish, Translucent Round Bricks, Translucent

Wheel 31x15, Curved Slopes w/Cutout, Curved Slopes, Plates,

Tiles, Double Sided Plates, Bricks, and Translucent Bar w/Stop.

Parts 2.  Plates, Corner Plates, Tiles, Jumpers, Clip Plates, Round Plates,

Cheese Slopes, Round Tiles, Stadium Tiles, Translucent Bracket,

Translucent Apollo Stud, Translucent Plate, Translucent Tile, Bar Studs,

Minifig Flower Pots, Bracket, Translucent Half Pin, and Headlight Brick.

Build.  Station, and 1 Hit piece of Cover.

The Questions:

Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +20 (A+).  I like all the Light Aqua and Translucent Light Blue parts .

Review: BLDR 0072 Adopt Me T-Rex & Neanderthal Crib

There are more small Adopt Me sets besides the three I've already reviewed.  The other two are a Dog and a Mouse.  I wasn't sure about the others but this looks like it might have some useful pieces.

Box.  MSRP is $4.99 for a $0.08 Price per Piece.  

Instructions.

Parts 1.  This was loose in the box.  Large Bony Appendage w/Axle.

Parts 2.  Tiles, Wedge Plates, Bar w/Stop. Turntable Base, Turntable Top,

Round Plates, Round Tile w/Pinhole, Bar, Double Curve Slopes w/Stud, Clip

Plate, Tile Clip, Inkwell, Bones, Long Skeleton Legs, and Skeleton Arms.

Parts 3.  Wedge Plates, Wedge Bricks, Bricks, Plates, "T" Plates,

Round Tile, Rounded Plates w/Axle Hole, Feet, Printed Studless

Slope, Printed Brick, Printed Panel, Clip Plates, Jumper, Rounded

Plate, Inverted Studless Slope, Cheese Slope, and Brackets.

Build.  Nano-Kaiju (2W) and 1 Hit piece of Cover.

 

The Questions:

Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +20 (A+).  There are some decent parts here but, all the Wedge pieces are right-hand only and other useful bits are in odd quantities.

Review: BLDR 0236 Space Accessory Pack

BLDR has a new line of polybags, similar to the old Lego Xtra line, as part of their late Summer release.

Bag.  MSRP is $5.99, for a $0.08 Price per Piece.

There are on Instructions.

Parts.  Octagonal Boulder Top, Octagonal Boulder Bottom, Tires, Rims, Plates,

Axle Plates, Centered Brackets, Ball Joint Plates, Slopes, 3L Perpendicular Pin

Connector w/4 Pins, Liftarms, Ball Joint Hooks, Unicorn Horns, Grille Tiles,

Clip Plates, Translucent Plate, Translucent Large Cheese Slopes, Ingot,

Minifig Rotary Saw, Translucent Studless Slope, Bar Tiles, Minifig Dynamite,

Translucent Ski Shoes, Translucent Chainsaw Blades, Translucent 5 Point

Crystals, Translucent 4 Point Crystals, Minifig Wrench, Minifig Shovels,

 Minifig Hand Armor, Minifig Pickaxes, and Plates w/Pins on Bottom.

Build.  Two 1 Hit pieces of Cover, two Frames (2W).

The Questions:

Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)

Score: +20 (A+).  I thought this was going to be a "Frame-in-a-Bag" just looking at the art on the package.  I didn't realize all the other goodies we'd get.

Review: BLDR 0231 Sports Accessory Pack

BLDR has a new line of polybags, similar to the old Lego Xtra line, as part of their late Summer release.

Bag.  MSRP is $5.99, for a $0.09 Price per Piece.

There are no Instructions.

Parts.  Minifig Motorcycle Body, Minifig Motorcycle Fairing, Containers, Minifig Tennis Rackets, Minfig Surfboards, Minifig Snowboards, Fences, Plates, Flags, Slopes, Bars w/Stop, Minifig Skis, Round Plates, Printed Round Tiles, Round Large Jumpers, Bar Plates, Large Cheese Slopes, Rubber Bands, Tiles, Clip Plates, Translucent Round Tiles, Inkwells, Minifig Camera, Minifig Roller Skates, Ball Joints, Minifig Ski Poles, Tires, Bicycle Frame, Bicycle Rims, Motorcycle

Rims, Round Bricks, Minifig Bows, Cones, Pneuma-Ts, and Bicycle Handlebar.

Build.  IO Frigate (2Ras/2B/2W).  Systems are Orange.

The Questions:

Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+0)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)

Score: +15 (A).  Pneuma-Ts!!  Yeah, I built something but it's fragile and looks like crap so I'm not giving it any points in that category.

Review: BLDR 0232 Medieval Accessory Pack

BLDR has a new line of polybags, similar to the old Lego Xtra line, as part of their late Summer release.

Bag.  MSRP is $5.99, for a $0.08 Price per Piece.

There are no Instructions.

Parts. Plates, Round Plates, Corner Slopes, Minifig Halberds, Minifig Battle
Axes, Round Large Jumper, Round Tile w/Pinhole, Tiles w/Studs on

Side, Jumpers, Axle/Pins, Flags, Arch, Bricks, Slopes, Log Bricks, Clip

Bricks, Brick w/Studs on Sides, Cones, Minifig Ice Cream Scoops, Plate

 w/Pinhole, Translucent Teeth Tile, Bars, Cheese Slopes, Bar Clips, Inverted

Cones w/Bar, Flame Pieces, Minifig Crossbows, Minifig Morning Stars,

 Minifig Scimitars, Translucent Axe Heads, Minifig Mallets, Minifig 

Spears, Minifig Swords, Minifig Shields, and Minifig Double Axe Heads.

Build.  Two Stations (Weapon Cache and Drone Controller).

The Questions:

Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)

Score: +20 (A+).  Tons of weapons and Clip Bricks in this one.

Review: BLDR 0233 City Accessory Pack

 BLDR has a new line of polybags, similar to the old Lego Xtra line, as part of their late Summer release.

Bag.  MSRP is $5.99, for a $0.08 Price per Piece.

There are no Instructions.

Parts.  Containers, Container Doors, Minifig Garbage Cans, Hinge Plates, 12L Bars w/1x2 Plate End & 1x1 Round Plate End, Large Jumpers, Plates, Translucent Rounded Inverted Tiles, Printed Clip Signs, Double Slopes, Dishes, Round Plates, Printed Tiles, Minifig Fezes, Swirl Plates, Minifig Brooms, Round Plates w/Flower Edge Translucent Round Tiles, Cheese Slopes, Barrel Hinges, Antenna, and Cones.

Build.  Frame (2Y/2W).  I know it's tall and kind of spindly but I feel like it's a throwback to the Budget Frames of yore.

The Questions:

Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)

Score: +20 (A+).  This polybag has a fair amount of useful parts.  I'll definitely be incorporating some of these pieces into the Owen's Crossing table-setting.

Review: BLDR 0234 Forest Accessory Pack

BLDR has a new line of polybags, similar to the old Lego Xtra line, as part of their late Summer release.

Bag.  MSRP is $5.99, for a $0.07 Price per Piece.

There are no Instructions.

Parts.  Prickly Bushes, Flowers w/Bar, Flower Stems w/Stud,  6x5 Leaves, Plant Stem w/Stud & 3 Large Leaves, Arches, Round Plates w/Flower Edge, Round Plates, Minifig Garbage Cans, Dishes, Round Large Jumpers, 4x3 Leaves, Minifig Brooms, Round Bricks w/3 Leaves, Plant Stems w/3 Leaves, Apollo Studs, Round Plates w/3 Leaves, Round Bricks, and Grass Stems.

Build.  Four 1 Hit pieces of Cover.

The Questions:

Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Cover.  (0)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)

Score: +15 (A).  There's a ton of different colors here and a, relatively, cheap terrain pack is always nice when trying to set up a battlefield.

Review: Block Tech US101-0779 Retro Blocks Television

This seems to be a continuation of the "Gizmo Blocks" line from last year but with a minor variance.  These are all small impulse buy sets that can be found at 5 Below.  They can be found either in the Toy section with the rest of the building block sets, or on a rack by the entrance, or in the aisle to the checkout with other sub $5 items.

Box.  MSRP is $1.00, for a $0.03 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts.  Plates, Tiles, Curved Slopes w/Cutout, Double Sided Plates, Half Circle

Tile, Double Jumpers, Brackets, Round Tiles, Lever Bases, Levers, and Cones.

Build.  Frame (2Rd+d8/1B) or

(1B/2Y).  Systems are Yellow.

The Questions:

Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  No.  (-5)

Score: +10 (A-).  I really like the Medium Blue from this wave.  I really should have bought more.

Review: Block Tech US101-0774 Retro Blocks Record Player

This seems to be a continuation of the "Gizmo Blocks" line from last year but with a minor variance.  These are all small impulse buy sets that can be found at 5 Below.  They can be found either in the Toy section with the rest of the building block sets, or on a rack by the entrance, or in the aisle to the checkout with other sub $5 items.

Box.  MSRP is $1.00, for a $0.02 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts.  Tiles, Tiles w/Studs on Side, Round Tiles, Plates,

Macaroni Tiles, Grille tiles, Inverted Tiles, Jumper, Brackets,

Headlight Bricks, Travis Bricks, Lever Base, and Lever.

Build.  Frame (2W).

The Questions:

Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  No.  (-5)

Score: +10 (A-).  Lookit that 1x1 Grille Tile!  Lots of Caramel pieces too.

Review: Block Tech US101-0768 Retro Blocks Cassette Player

This seems to be a continuation of the "Gizmo Blocks" line from last year but with a minor variance.  These are all small impulse buy sets that can be found at 5 Below.  They can be found either in the Toy section with the rest of the building block sets, or on a rack by the entrance, or in the aisle to the checkout with other sub $5 items.

Box.  MSRP is $1.00, for a $0.03 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts.  Round Large Jumper, Curved Slopes w/Cutout,

Tiles, Plates, Brackets, Double Sided Plates, Bars, Bar

Connectors, Studs w/Bar, Round Tiles, and Bent Bars.

Build.  Micro Frame (2Ra/2W).  System is Grey. 

The Questions:

Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  No.  (-5)

Score: +10 (A-).  There are some really useful parts, and I like the color but, with less than forty pieces and some items as singles, you'll need a few of these for them to be really useful.

Anatomy of a Playtest 5: Power Up!

Last weekend Tom and I got together again to do some more playtesting.  This time we only played a couple of games but they involved more Frames because of the rules we were trying.  The first game was a test of the Power Up Stations rules alone.  The second was Power Up Stations with the Lightning Strike weather rules.

Tom (3 Frames & 12 Systems) = (5 Points per Asset) * (3 assets) = 15 points.
Orange Soldier -- 2Rd/1B/1G/1Y/2W +SSR.
Yellow Soldier -- 2Rd/1B/1G/1Y/2W + SSR.
Blue Soldier -- 2Rd/1B/1G/1Y/2W + SSR.

Me (3 Frames & 12 Systems) = (5 Points per Asset) * (3 assets) = 15 points. (Scissorhands)
Orange Soldier -- 2Rd/1B/1G/1Y/2W +SSR.
Yellow Soldier -- 2Rd/1B/1G/1Y/2W + SSR.
Blue Soldier -- 2Rd/1B/1G/1Y/2W + SSR.

This is what the table looked like at the start of the game.

Events of Round 1 (DDC @ 7): Tom's Blue frame moves East and captures the Red Power Up station.  My Blue Frame moves North and hits Tom's Blue frame for 1.

Tom: 15 points.

Me: 15 points.

Events of Round 2 (DDC @ 5): Tom's Yellow frame Moves Southeast and captures the Yellow Power Up station.  My Blue frame continues moving North and captures the Yellow Power Up station, hits Tom's Yellow frame for 1, then hooks West and captures the Neutral station.  Tom's Blue frame hits my Blue frame for 2 then moves South in front of a small wall.  My Yellow frame hits the small wall in front of Tom's Orange frame for 1, destroying it, then moves up to the Neutral station.

Me: 20 Points.

Tom: 15 points.

Events of Round 3 (DDC @ 3): My Orange frame moves North to the wrecked wall and hits Tom's Blue frame for 2.  Tom's Blue frame shifts West and hits my Yellow frame for 1, and my Blue frame that was covering it for 2.  Tom's Yellow frame moves South to capture the Yellow Power Up station and hits my Blue frame for 2, Station Dance.

Me: 20 Points.

Tom: 15 points.

Events of Round 4 (DDC @ 1): My Blue frame sprints Southwest and captures the Blue Power Up station.  Tom's Yellow frame moves West and hits my Yellow frame for 1.  The Doomsday Clock is ticked to zero.

Me: 20 Points.

Tom: 15 points.

Here are several during and aftermath pictures.

Round 1.

Damage roll, not Melee.

Round 3.

Round 4.

Round 3.

Thoughts & Observations:

• 

  Round 4.

  This was a playtest.
• Since we wanted to observe the new rules over a longer time period we started the Doomsday Clock at 7.
• The Power Up Stations work at the Demo Game level.
• Now we have to see if they work in a full scale game.
• I should have kept a record of when the Power Up tokens were cashed in.
• There is the potential for Power Ups being overpowered, depending on how they are used.
• Spacing the Stations out on the table should help with that.
• Also placing them after the Set-Up phase should help that as well.
• I don't have very many Translucent Blue 1x1 Round Bricks, which is why the Blue Power Up station is shorter than the rest.
• I took notes but not pictures for the second game.
• In the second game the Lightning Strike hit in the second Round.
• It affected half the Frames on the table.
• The only real issue was remembering to check against the Lightning Strike power when rolling dice for activation.
• Apparently there's a 1 in 50,000 chance for the Damage roll in that picture to happen.
• I added in a couple extra walls since there were extra Frames on each squad.
• They haven't seen use since 2016.
• This game actually highlighted an issue with my Scissorhands frame design.
• You can only see the color markings from one direction so I added matching color Plates to the feet after the session was over.
• Flickr page.