A Noob Reviews : Junior Monopoly My Little Pony

Today I thought I'd try something new, which may turn into an occasional series -- if I feel like it!

Husband has become increasingly addicted to board games in the last few months, and to ease me into it as well, he bought me a couple for Christmas. We didn't have time to play them straight away, but our wedding anniversary is in early January, so we had a board games day to celebrate. I thought it would be fun to review them, from a beginner's point of view. The first one I'll be looking at is Junior Monopoly My Little Pony.

The Game:
It's Monopoly, the classic money-making, property-buying board game, but simplified for the kiddies, and with the adorably cute My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic TV show theme.

Features:
Instead of the normal, boring Monopoly tokens, players play with one of four pony figurines. The properties are represented by ponies from the TV show -- I've only seen the first season, so I didn't recognise half of them. But that's not important in order to play the game. When a player purchases a pony/property, they are issued with a property card and they place a Rainbow Token on the space where the houses would go in the adult game. Each player has 8 Rainbow Tokens. Presumably this is to limit the number of properties that any one player can buy, giving everyone a fair chance. (Technically the game is no longer "monopoly" then, but it doesn't really matter!)

Instead of the Treasure Chest, money is placed inside the the Book of Harmony, and instead of Action Cards, there are Cutie Mark Cards. The currency is in Heart Dollars.

Gameplay:
The gameplay is very similar to normal Monopoly, but with modifications to make it simpler and faster. In fact, when played as per the instructions, it only lasted 10 minutes. There is an advanced version with a few extra rules for older players, but this didn't seem to make much difference length-wise. Husband and I made a couple of modifications to make the game go longer and give a more satisfying experience. We gave ourselves 30 Heart Dollars each instead of 18 at the start. Also, we kept finding that when we landed on the Book of Harmony, the book had no money in it. There are two Book of Harmony spaces and two Cutie Mark spaces on the board, so there's an equal chance of landing on either one. We arbitrarily decided that one of the Book of Harmony spaces should be a Cutie Mark space instead. That way, there was more chance of there being money in the Book of Harmony when we landed on the space.

Pluses:
++ The game is simple enough for even young children to understand.
++ It's much faster than the original, so children won't get bored so quickly. (Or adults with short attention spans, for that matter!)
++ The bright, colourful design of the board, cards and Book of Harmony box is fun.
++ The pony figurines are fun and innovative to play with (though see the minus below!).
++ Many elements of the TV show are represented in the game, like the Cutie Marks and the Book of Harmony.

Minuses:
-- One huge Minus that I noticed immediately is that there are only 4 pony figurines. However, there are 6 core characters in the TV show: Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash are missing! And they happen to be my two favourite characters! So I was pretty peeved right from the start.
-- Played as-is, the game only lasts about 10 minutes.
-- The instructions were a little confusing in that you play with ponies (i.e. the player's pieces), but you also buy ponies (i.e. the properties).
-- The Heart Dollars are very boring. They're printed in black and white only, which is at odds with the bright, colourful design of the rest of the game. Not only that, but they only come in 1s. Denominations of 2 and 5 in different colours would have been great. Also, they're made of that clingy paper that's very hard to separate. So counting out 15 or more 1s becomes even more annoying.
-- It's difficult to tell the different-coloured rainbow tokens apart. I also wondered why there are property cards as well as rainbow tokens. The property cards don't have any essential information on them, just a picture of the pony. It would be just as easy to keep track of which player owns what, just from the Rainbow Tokens alone. It seems to be double-handling. But perhaps the cards are still included to get younger players used to the concept for when they play the adult game later.
-- Why is there a jail in a little kids' game?? Even the picture of the jail cell is exactly the same as in the adult version of the game. They could have made it school detention or something more kid-appropriate.


Final Comments:
I know there are a lot of entries under the 'Minus' section in my review! But I do think that, with a few modifications, Junior Monopoly My Little Pony would be a very fun game for both adults and children. Husband suggested getting some better play money to put with it (you could use the money from the Monopoly game if you have it, or any other kind of tokens or even real coins). I would like to try and get Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash figurines to complete the set.
Husband and I both decided that the game is worth playing again, perhaps as the appetiser to start off our next board games day.

Hello 2015

I always have mixed feelings about this time of year. It's bright with newness, with the promise of change. The calendar ticks over and starts again. Soon there will be sweet cakes eaten at Chinese New Year, Autumn Leaves Viewing as the weather gets cooler, the regional eating and drinking fest that is the Eurovision Song Contest, the excitement of planting time in Spring, and finally Mince Pie Season rolling around again. It really doesn't seem that far away, and it's exciting.

On the other hand, this time of year is traditionally the time for New Year's resolutions. Just the thought of them makes me shudder, and yet at the same time I'm fascinated by them. I always check other people's lists with morbid curiosity. Are they sensible or wildly optimistic? Easily measurable or hopelessly vague? Positive about the future, or just an excuse to beat up on the self of the past?

Usually by this point, I've already given in to the urge to make resolutions of my own, and I'm just looking at other peoples' to get some kind of validation. Then I look back on all of my past failures, like the year I resolved to practice piano once a week, and I didn't do it, Even Once. And the year I resolved to learn to throw a pizza -- it sounds like a heap of fun and may probably only take a single afternoon, yet I never did that either!

Then suddenly out of the blue, I remembered the Indian concept of four rooms:

“There is an Indian proverb that says that everyone is a house with four rooms, a physical, a mental, an emotional, and a spiritual . Most of us tend to live in one room most of the time but unless we go into every room every day, even if only to keep it aired, we are not a complete person.” -- Rumer Godden

I definitely tend to spend most of my time in the mental room. This is inevitable at work, and with many of my hobbies -- reading, writing, watching documentaries on TV, designing knitting/crochet patterns, etc. Aiming to spend more time in each of the other rooms and make my life more balanced really appeals to me. So instead of setting concrete goals for myself that I might fail at or become disinterested in, I will just list some things I wouldn't mind concentrating on at some point -- no pressure! Quite a few of the things fall in more than one room, so I've listed them in each place where they seem appropriate.

physical: stretching/yoga; making sure I don't sit too long at work; lunchtime walks; using my cross-trainer; walks/exploring in my neighbourhood; bushwalking; dress in Mori Girl more often; continuing to wear clothes I like and sew more; doing Princess Time when I feel like it; get another tattoo

mental: read more books than last year; design some knitting/crochet patterns; blog more than last year; continue with Ralph (my weekly to-do list)

emotional: processing; fractal flowers; being more honest with my emotions; being my own Big Sister

spiritual: stretching/yoga; processing; bushwalking; dress in Mori Girl more often; get another tattoo

things that could go in 3 or all 4 rooms, really: finish unpacking my house, at least to the point where I can start using my library and hobby room properly; being more mindful; drawing; working in my art journals; visiting places that inspire my creativity; going on some kind of retreat; cooking new recipes; working on craft projects, preferably finishing at least one long-term project

Work is going to be very busy in the next couple of months, so I might not get time to post much. I'll see you when I see you.

2014 in Review

2014 was another whirlwind year. If it weren't for my obsessive need fun hobby of making lists of everything I do, I probably wouldn't remember what happened at all. I also realised that I never did a wrap-up of 2013, but at least I can easily pull most of the statistics from that year to compare.

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2014 Statistics (2013 statistic in brackets)
Books finished: full-length: 9 (22) ; short & manga: 11 (30)
Books currently reading as of today: 9

Craft items started: 9 (7)
Craft items finished: 4 (3)
Craft projects currently in progress as of today: 44

Blog posts: 17 (26)
Pinterest pins pinned (approx.): 15,000 (7,000)

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When I think back on it, 2014 can be characterised by hiding: shrinking, withdrawing, going within to escape. I went out less, I posted less in my blog, I even read less books. The things going on inside my head were too distracting for me to concentrate on my beloved books. Though I'm pleased to see that I did a little more craft.

As for the blog, the majority of what I did post this past year has been about gardening. It's not surprising really, as my garden is my delight and my refuge. (Also a source of heartache, but worth it, as any gardener would agree!) With all of my art and craft supplies still packed from moving house, and most of the rooms filled with boxes (some literally!), gardening was just about the only creative outlet I had.

Eventually I got sick of waiting to be unpacked, and just went out and bought some more craft supplies! I started a new blanket using Bendigo Woollen Mills yarn. It's become my favourite brand as it comes in 200g balls, so it's great for larger projects.

I really hope it takes me less than 20 years to finish this one....

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And, just because I feel like it, the first Annual Apartmentcat Favourites Award:

Favourite Book of the Year: Neil Patrick Harris : Choose Your Own Autobiography (I got it for Christmas, so it only just scraped in!)
......Runner Up: I also enjoyed the short story Head and Shoulders by F. Scott Fitzgerald, as read by B.J. Harrison

Favourite Movie of the Year: I really enjoyed Wreck-It Ralph and Flying Swords of Dragon Gate

Favourite Blog of the Year: Stylebunny (It was a tough one to decide, but I have to love a family where a salami is a perfectly acceptable Christmas present!)

My December; aka Started and Finished

For this month's summary, I think I'll just do a run-down of the craft projects I've been working on lately, as it's been a while.

Firstly, the finished --
I made a bubble cup carrier a few weeks ago. Having decided I needed more bubble cup in my life to make me happier, I located one a couple of blocks from my work. It's not far, but carrying the cup is awkward and, being a warm day, the ice half-melted before I could get it back to work. Solution: make a carrier with handles which hopefully will insulate the tea as well and keep it cold. It works pretty well!

Ever since my Lammily Doll arrived a few weeks ago, I've been a bit doll-oriented. I have a long list of clothes and other items to make for Emmy. I started out simple though -- a handbag:

Er ... the bag was supposed to be finished by now,
but it only needs the ends weaving in and perhaps a button deco,
so I'm calling it finished!
I adapted the pattern from a Barbie doll pattern on Ravelry. Lammily and Barbie are both 1:6 scale dolls, so though their clothes aren't interchangeable, any accessories, furniture, etc should do for both. The same goes for Blythe dolls, and I'm really coveting some of the adorable Blythe satchel bags on Etsy right now!

Now for the not-yet-finished --
Knitting has taken a bit of a back seat to crocheting for me in the last few years, but some items just look and feel better with a knitted texture. Plus I had a strange urge to do basketweave stitch. So I dug out a half-finished ball of fuzzy Caressa and started making a doll blanket for Emmy:

I started making it before she arrived, but if I'd been able to measure it against her, I would have made it a bit wider. Maybe I'll just add a border on each side.

I'm also crocheting a dress for Emmy as it's Summer here and I'd like to see her in something cool and feminine. It's slow going as I'm making it from scratch and writing everything down as I go, in case I want to make it into a pattern later on.

I've really been taxing my brain trying to remember and/or figure out how dolls' clothes are made, the fastenings used and best designs for getting them on and off easily. What have I gotten myself into?

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What I Got For Christmas --
I've already packed away most of my goodies (very out of character for me!) before taking any photos of them. I did though, make a list on my listography, if you're curious enough to see a boring, photoless list.

Doll Things

Even before I received my Lammily doll, I was trawling through online places to source accessories for her. When Emmy arrived, I suddenly remembered that I'd bought this playset from Ikea about a year ago:

Okay, yes, I tend to make impulse purchases, but it always works out in the end! ... Well, in this particular case anyway. Most of my stuff is still packed from moving house, but by happy coincidence, I found the playset a couple of months ago. It was meant to be, I'm sure. So Emmy now has somewhere to sit and relax:

I am interested in making dioramas sometime in the future, and this colourful modern furniture set would look great, I think. Especially with the miniature books and potplants that I've been coveting on Etsy.

As soon as I started playing with Emmy's clothes, taking them off to measure her for the dress I'm making, etc, I realised that I'd like somewhere safe to put them her clothes. A wardrobe or hanging rack. And somewhere for her to sleep as well. Oh, this could get elaborate!

First Edition Lammily Doll -- Unboxing

Here's a little Christmas present I bought for myself. Well ... if it didn't happen to be Christmas, I would have made up another excuse! The Lammily doll has been designed to be the most realistic-looking doll available. The artist who designed Lammily wanted an alternative to the increasingly skinny and unrealistic-looking fashion dolls on the market. Actual data on the average measurements of young women was used to shape every part of the body. I first heard about Lammily in the culture section of my preferred TV news and, thanks to the power of the internet, the purchase was made practically before the end of the next ad break. And now she has finally (i.e. 10 days later) arrived!

What a neat package! It's smaller than I thought it would be. The doll box fits inside the packaging with no room to spare. There's no waste of packing materials. I like that!

The front of the box has a beautiful illustration of Lammily with her suitcase. There's a lovely message to all the crowdfunding supporters on the back of the box. The door opens up to reveal a booklet slipped inside. The booklet tells a lovely story of Lammily's journey throughout the world, doing lots of interesting things, including eating croissants and fixing a bike. I can't imagine certain other dolls doing that!

The flap that the booklet was attached to opens up to finally reveal the Lammily doll. She's dressed in the same denim shorts and shirt from the booklet illustrations (and from all of the pictures I've seen of her online!). I like it much better than the bikini some dolls come in, and the ombre on the shirt gives it a trendy touch. The clothes fasten with velcro. As a kid, I always struggled with press studs, having to slip my fingernail in between them to pry them apart. The fabric they were attached to inevitably got ripped. Then again, I never liked doll clothes with velcro fastenings, either. Just call me fussy. The velcro on Lammily's clothes is softer and less stiff than I remember from my old Barbie dolls, though.

Lammily's shoulders, wrists and ankles are ball-jointed. Her knees and elbows have snap joints. Her hair is extremely soft, lovely to the touch. The expression on her face is friendly and quietly confident.

There's only one slight concern I have with the doll, and that's the feet. I had to be very careful taking the shoes off. The ankle joint moves at the slightest touch -- a couple of times when I was posing her, I suddenly found one of her feet had turned completely backwards, which was vaguely disturbing. A bit like the foot exorcist!

There has been a lot of hype surrounding the Lammily doll, with comparisons between her and certain other dolls on the market. She surely looks different to the dolls I played with as a kid. Yet somehow, she looks familiar. It occurs to me -- she looks more like me. She has the same sturdy, strong legs as I do. Her waist looks more like a person's. Her hair (aside from not having a fringe) is a lot like mine. She doesn't wear crazy, bright blue 80s makeup. ... Well, I've been known to do that on occasion, but not every day! ...

It's hard to say what the effect of playing with unrealistic-looking fashion dolls had on me as a kid. I knew I didn't look like them. I never wanted to look like them. My main interest was making clothes and accessories for them, so I viewed their bodies more as shapes to be decorated, rather than human beings in miniature.

Having said that, when I viewed the video on YouTube showing why Lammily was created, I shed a few tears. So perhaps the effect goes deeper than I realised.

When I grew a little older, I became disillusioned with Barbies, but still remembered the fun I had making outfits for them. I always told myself that if a realistically-proportioned doll was ever produced, I would get one and take up the hobby again. And now here she is. I'm not sure yet what I'll call her though.

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This YouTube video has an unboxing, review and some discussion on Lammily and body image.
This blog post has pictures of Lammily with no clothes on (for the easily embarrassed, don't worry, she has plastic undies embossed on), and shows her full range of movement, and comparisons with other dolls.

My November …

My November has just flown by. Several changes on different fronts will be happening in my life soon, and I've been preparing for them. Apologies for remaining annoyingly vague for now, but I want to see how things work out before talking about them.

What I've been growing ...
At this time of year, the garden changes every day. Ripe oranges are ready to pick from the tree, but right next to them are new baby oranges giving the promise of more later on.

This is the olive tree that Husbandy-One and I planted. Isn't it cute? It's even growing tiny, tiny little flowers. Hopefully that means there'll be tiny little olives. On our walks around the neighbourhood, we've noticed many vigorously-growing olive trees in peoples' front yards, so we figured it would be a fairly safe bet to plant an olive. I have to admit, I think I've become a little bit addicted to planting trees! It was so much fun.

What I've been observing ...
This sunset was so beautiful, I couldn't help attempting to take a photo of it, power poles and all.

Another bad shot ... driving through the country, I saw some cool trees.

What I've been painting ...
Just a quick photo of my painting area. I was doing backgrounds in my art journals.

Since I started art journalling again, I've noticed the same patterns re-appearing that were present last time. I have a lot of fun mixing colours and laying down backgrounds (some so beautiful that I don't want to put anything over the top!). I've also had a lot of fun with glueing in collage elements. But I don't feel like a page is "complete" until there's some kind of drawing or other fine detail work on it. A few days ago, in search of inspiration, I went back over works by some of my favourite artists (this is why Pinterest is tops). By happenstance, I saw that one of my favourite artists, Tascha Parkinson does online drawing classes, but not only that, the first in the series is on sale! I'd like to say that I signed up immediately, but it was bedtime, so I slept on it. Happily, I was still just as enthusiastic the next morning. I'm currently waiting for the invitation to the course to arrive in my inbox.