Yesterday was quite an intense day for me, so I decided to treat myself to an episode of Blue Bloods (which I'd previously decided to ration due the possibility of there only being a handful of seasons left). As soon as the DVD menu loaded and the theme music started playing, I felt myself immediate...

Happy Birthday to both of you!

Happy Birthday, Arianna!

Happy Birthday, Amaryllis!

One of the things I'm looking forward to this year is playing boardgames more regularly. My usual gaming group generally meets twice a week, though in the past I've only aimed for once a week due to the distance. Between this group, potentially two smaller groups, and a gaming day that the one retai...

Throughout the various books we've read, we've been introduced to a diverse cast of characters. Each has their own distinct personality and interesting skills that enable them to get the job done. Imagine for a moment that characters across literature interacted with each other off the page (perhaps...

Though I enjoy boardgames and video games in and of themselves, lately they've been more than simply just that for me. I've had several rough patches in the last year or so where I couldn't concentrate on much due to illness, and boardgames helped provide some much-needed mental stimulation. Graspin...

Hi everyone, Dario and I are still hard at work bringing a number of core features to HOL, so we'll only be able to start working on other areas like Hogsmeade early next year. In the meantime though, we'd love to hear from you how you envision Hogsmeade working at HOL. It's important to us that we ...

Although the concept of video games having optional downloadable content at extra cost over and above the cost of the base game isn't new, there's still a lot of debate around them. I used to be firmly against this as I had previously felt that the contents (such as extra quests, classes, regions an...

Though my family doesn't always observe Chanukah, I love listening to (and even singing, though only as part of a group) two of the Hebrew songs associated with lighting the candles: Haneirot Halalu (roughly translated as "Those Candles") and Maoz Tzur ("Stronghold of Rock"). In fact, these are some...

Throughout literature, we’ve been exposed to many different gatherings, some lavish like the Netherfield ball in Pride and Prejudice, some celebratory like Bilbo Baggins's 111th birthday party or festive like the Yule Ball held at Hogwarts. This month we’d like you to design an invitation for a gath...

I finished reading The President is Missing this morning and rather enjoyed it. I tend to watch a lot of thrillers, some political, but haven't read one in quite some time. The collaboration between Bill Clinton and James Patterson intrigued me when I first heard about it. I had some issues with the...

I finished playing Mass Effect 2 this morning, and I have to admit, while there were some parts I liked about it, overall I was a bit disappointed. It was refreshing that things weren't as black and white as they first seemed in the original game as regards Cerberus. Some of the gameplay changes too...

When playing video games, do any of you have names that you typically use for your character(s)? I generally draw on some of my favourite books or series for inspiration. The last game I played where I got to name my character was Skyrim, and I borrowed Celaena from Sarah J. Maas's Throne of Glass b...

It's official! Portkey Games released a trailer earlier today for Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. While the trailer is purely promotional and doesn't give an indication of gameplay, I'm looking forward to seeing how it all pans out. I really like the premise behind it: the wizarding world is at risk of...

A friend of mine introduced me to Eternal, an online collectible card game, while I was recovering from surgery. Even a month down the line, I still try get a few games in each day, mostly to try earn prizes from the daily quests (more on that in a bit). There are five factions: Fire (Red), Justice ...

Whether you've tucked in to the Welcoming Feast at Hogwarts's Great Hall or partaken in the Great Redwall Feast, you're bound to have come across some enticing foods. This month we're calling all fictional foodies (that sounded better in my head) and tasking you with illustrating a particularly inte...

After I finally managed to reach the coveted level 30, I was able to breeze through the remaining side quests. I then was able to focus on the remaining main quests, and doing so was bittersweet. I found those to be among my favourite, but I knew it signalled that the end of the game was coming. Vi...

Happy Birthday, Maxim!

Happy Birthday, Sirius!