Dangling Conversations

Colour commentary on the world we live in

Puzzle 1 - From Brazil

Posted 21 Apr, 2006 at 11:11 by blue in /Games | Permanent link

I can't take credit for creating this puzzle, and can not give credit as the person who told it to me only said that it came from Brazil. None the less, it is a clever little puzzle and I think those of you who read the site will enjoy it.

If you get it, let me know in the comments. I'll post the solution there in a week or so if no one else has solved it by then.

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Mystic Ball

Posted 12 Apr, 2006 at 08:12 by blue in /Games | Permanent link

I'll jump on board the 'awesome things' bandwagon with one of my own recent finds.

This link is to a short segment related to the documentary film called Mystic Ball. Think of it as hacky sack with a half sized soccer ball.

It is showing as part of the Hot Doc's festival here in Toronto. You can get the showtimes here.

I think it looks very cool. What about you?

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MMRWGs

Posted 27 Mar, 2006 at 10:49 by kael in /Games | Permanent link

This might provoke some discussion about MMORPGs.

Shamelessly ninja'd off of here. I especially liked the ganking bit for some reason.

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Posted 14 Mar, 2006 at 14:47 by blue in /Games | Permanent link

For those of you who, like me, constantly like to see what the latest little web games are (but get tired of poorly made side scrollers and FPS's... here is a nice little word puzzle you can enjoy. Word Sandwich is a clever little game that tests your vocabulary, or at least... your 5-letter word vocabulary.

Post some of your scores so I have an idea how I rank at around 10,000 each time I play.

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Spore

Posted 07 Mar, 2006 at 07:47 by blue in /Games | Permanent link

Here is a little video highlighting a new game... personally... I think this game looks fantastic. Most of my favorite games of the past wrapped up into one.

> >

What do you think?

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Puzzler?

Posted 28 Feb, 2006 at 15:51 by blue in /Games | Permanent link

Here is a link to a nice little puzzler.

Gameplay is fairly easy to figure out, though it will likely take you a couple of tries to win it (by the theory that it took me two tries to win, and everyone is like me... right?) Okay maybe not, but it's probably worth a minute or two if you're looking for something as a brain break.

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Yet another free MMORPG...

Posted 28 Feb, 2006 at 08:17 by blue in /Games | Permanent link

Actually, I was reviewing several recently, but figured I'd share one of te cuter ones here... Dofus.

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Games... Of the Olympic Variety

Posted 21 Feb, 2006 at 14:44 by brent in /Games | Permanent link

Random question popped into my head after popping out the inside of the cap from my diet Pepsi (tm, r, or whatever). I was wondering what sort of promotions occur in other countries regarding the Olympics (and I didn't feel like logging in to www.pepsi.ca to see if I won getting my picture taken with Wayne so I thought I'd write about it instead).

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I have a dirty, dirty mind

Posted 15 Feb, 2006 at 13:07 by brent in /Games | Permanent link

This was so much fun to do I thought I'd share it with you all. Do the following with Lord Vader with the object "Porn Star". Sith Sense.

Enjoy!

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The History Of Gaming

Posted 02 Feb, 2006 at 08:11 by blue in /Games | Permanent link

For those who have been long time gamers... here is an amusing set of games that take you through the history of gaming.

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Civ 4 Issues Persist

Posted 02 Dec, 2005 at 12:12 by brent in /Games | Permanent link

I'm in the midst of the 1800's and playing the Indians (Brenti for those of you at home). I just really like those fast workers. I've managed to found all religions, circumnavigate the globe, and every single other civ either hates me or loves me. I've decided that religion is critical to initial productivity in the game. Time to set personal biases aside for the sake of gameplay there. Call me a convert if you will. I typically go for Buddhism first and then Hinduism, then Judaism, pick up a couple of science to improve land yield or defenses, then back to getting religions (Confucianism, Christianity, Taoism, then Islam, in that order). The best part is the other civs take so much longer then to get a religion of their own, slowing them down.

Unfortunately the downside is the game is crashing every 10 to 15 turns again. Now it is indicating it is attempting to access address zero instead of silently dying.

I am going to waiting for the next patch (I'm running 1.09 now) before I continue playing again.

Some other notes: Combat is quite a bit more messy. It really looks like you have to totally destroy the other person's infrastructure/land improvements to be effective at taking them out. I happen to like retaining infrastructure so it is less work when I take over enemy cities, but I guess there is no helping for it. Otherwise I'm expending too many resources building units to throw against enemy walls.

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Clash of Civilizations

Posted 30 Nov, 2005 at 12:40 by matt in /Games | Permanent link

Much like last year, Brent and I spent a goodly portion of my visit to his world last week playing Civ: in this case, the newly-released Civ 4. (Well, newly-released for his platform, albeit not mine... yet.) Each Civ game has been deeper/more complex than its predecessor, and so it is with this one; while I still find it absorbing, in a lot of ways this new release has reminded me exactly how/why I'm not a (computer) gamer.

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Gamercards

Posted 29 Oct, 2005 at 16:12 by brent in /Games | Permanent link

Let's see how well this turns out...

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Nintendo Revolution

Posted 19 Sep, 2005 at 10:01 by blue in /Games | Permanent link

Now I realized that several people may be partial to other gaming systems... but having been raised on Nintendo, I've always had a soft spot for them and always hoped that they would get their proverbial heads out of their asses and resume some level of decency in the gaming world.

Their latest invention, coming soon, certainly looks interesting and unique. I'd have to see/try it before I'd be satisfied that the 'coolness' factor and playability were there... but even so... nice to picture fighting with real sword motions. I'm a huge fan of video games making you more 'active'.

Check out the Revolution for yourself.

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Slither Link

Posted 14 Sep, 2005 at 13:17 by blue in /Games | Permanent link

It's been a while since I posted a game up here... so here is a nice little implementation of a more classic pencil and paper puzzler.

It's called Slither Links, but as you'll see, it's one of several types of puzzles on this Japanese site.

Enjoy!

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Fire Around Corners

Posted 14 Sep, 2005 at 07:32 by blue in /Games | Permanent link

For those who like paintball... here is the gun for you... it can literally shoot around corners. Almost seems unfair eh?

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Mao Bot

Posted 04 Aug, 2005 at 08:02 by blue in /Games | Permanent link

Mao is bad enough... this is worse.

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A good article

Posted 26 Jul, 2005 at 11:10 by blue in /Games | Permanent link

On the stupidity of the uproar over the sex scene in GTA. You can read it here.

I have to say I largely agree with the author... I mean... I'm much happier to see kids running around looking at sex scenes, than getting hyped on gun-play, violence and so on. But hey... I'm a lover not a fighter so maybe it's just me. ;)

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Throw Rocks At Boys

Posted 25 Jul, 2005 at 09:36 by blue in /Games | Permanent link

This link is really aimed at one person in particular... but I'm sure she knows who she is.

(some of the rest of you may waste a moment or two playing as well)

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Catan Online

Posted 12 Jul, 2005 at 20:17 by blue in /Games | Permanent link

So, outside of just being an addictive game... Microsoft's online version of the Settlers Of Catan also allows you to play rated games against other players.

Have any of you tried it? It will eventually be a subscription based game, but for now it is free to the public.

You can find it at http://zone.msn.com/en/catanonline/

If you do try it... let me know what your rating is... cause in 2 months of playing, I have yet to face anyone with a higher rating than myself... (which makes it a real pain when you lose cause you lose so many points and have to win several games to make it back).

It's not so much that I care what my rating is... I'm just playing for fun and will keep on playing... but I'd like to know if I'm actually that good at the game now, or the rest of the world is just that bad ;)

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Hows & Whys
Who we are

Blue has been known to toss a disc around a field from time to time, and thinks that you should as well. He lives either on the Internet or in Toronto, depending on your perspective. Ask him no questions and there's a good chance he'll tell you no lies. [Site]

Brent hosts the box from which we dangle our conversations, for which we are all eternally grateful. Gratitude is most easily expressed in small bills. Formerly a pawn of the Evil Empire (or maybe a Knight), he has gone over the wall and now toils at a small computer game company in Alberta that no one except for ten million gamers has ever heard of. [Site]

Kael occasionally gets called "Mike"; mostly by people who don't know him. He cooks, he cleans, he maintains Unix servers... what else could you ask for? Currently a slave to the Man, by which we mean retail sales. He has secret plans, but we can't tell you about them. In fact, we've already said too much. [Site]

Lisa is a recreational therapist without a cause. She entertains dreams of ruling over an empire of scrapbooking. Has a well-deserved reputation for enthusiasm, common sense, and tiredness. Ask her about her teapots, but don't touch them.

Matt is just this guy, you know? A mathematician by training and a layabout by inclination; he currently has an Urban Commuter Campus in the American Midwest convinced that they should pay him for plying these trades. The designer and administrator of this site, which means in a sense this is all his fault. [Site | E-mail]

Sky is a salesman during the day. At night he doesn't bother: his words are like unto those of a god, and you can agree or you can be wrong. Lives in the World of Warcraft, with a sattelite office in Toronto. Known to play games on occasion.

Wendy has never run away to join the circus, but pursuing graduate work in medical imaging is perhaps just as good. She didn't choose her current abode on the basis of proximity to a Toronto Public Library branch, but we wouldn't put it past her. Married to one of the other authors here, but you'll have to read the archives to find out which one. [Site]

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