From the Pi Prime pizza oven I reviewed last month to the Bonfire 2.0 smokeless fire pit I covered last fall, Solo Stove has some great outdoor solutions for cooking and keeping warm. And now, thankfully, they have a way to store all your fuel and accessories when you’re not using them! Solo Stove recently sent me a Station, which is a log rack and storage solution for your fire pit, accessories, and firewood. The Station retails for $549.99, but as of this writing, it’s on sale at Solo Stove’s website for only $249.99. The Station is also available on Amazon. The Station has the followi ..read more

Being a mom is hard. Being a mom trying to raise a son who can overcome toxic masculinity is harder. If you ask movie star Zoe Saldana, she’ll remind you that “for many centuries, the domestic role for a woman was never even acknowledged as labor. When, in reality, it is the most important role in a family household.” As two moms raising boys, Ms. Saldana and I spent some time chatting about inhabiting characters, gaming with our kids, and finding ways to raise the next—and hopefully better—generation of men.  Choose Your Avatar! Inhabiting a fictional character as an actress means under ..read more

Whiskey and D&D. They pair up great (for those over 21, of course). Find Familiar Spirits, the super-premium spirits company founded by celebrity actor/gaming entrepeneur Matthew Lillard and screenwriter Justin Ware, along with Blue Run Spirits co-founder Tim Sparapani advising, began their Quest’s End series of whiskeys last year with the release of Quest’s End: Paladin. That continued with Quest’s End: Rogue, which I reviewed last month. And now comes a surprise announcement: Find Familiar Spirits has teamed up with Critical Role to create Sandkheg’s Hide, an in-world limited-edition su ..read more

A few years ago, I was able to attend a Dark Sky Party sponsored by the telescope manufacturer where my son worked. Out in an open field, a number of amateur as well as professional astronomers set up their telescopes to view the wonders of the universe. Just with the naked eye I could view the expanse of the Milky Way galaxy of which our solar system is a part. As I gazed through telescopes at distant stars and galaxies, I was amazed at how the multitudes of celestial bodies. However terrestrial telescopes are hindered by having to view the skies through the Earth’s atmosphere. When the Hubb ..read more

What do you know, it’s time for another roundup of tabletop projects! I’ve got several games that I’m reviewing this month already (see my reviews of Tiny Epic Game of Thrones and One-Hit Heroes as a start), but it seems it’s the season for lots of projects again—every week there are several games that I’ve heard about or wanted to check out. As a reminder, these are games I haven’t gotten to play myself, so caveat emptor: they just caught my attention! New to Kickstarter? Check out our crowdfunding primer. Power Vacuum from Keen Bean Studio Alas, I wasn’t able to secure a prototype of ..read more

Your team of powerful heroes is up against some deadly enemies that can knock you out in one hit! Can you work together to take down bigger and badder bosses? What Is One-Hit Heroes? One-Hit Heroes is a cooperative game for 1 to 4 players, ages 10 and up, and takes about 45 minutes to play. It’s currently seeking funding on Kickstarter, with a pledge level of $67CAD (about $49USD) for a copy of the game; there are additional tiers if you want to include the Epilogue episode or the big bundle that also includes all of Wiggles 3D’s other titles (5-Minute Dungeon and 5-Minute Mystery). The game ..read more

Last year I reviewed Sebastien De Castell’s Malevolent Seven and very much enjoyed it. This was a standalone novel but I knew De Castell had also written at least two acclaimed series. Court of Shadows is a new series set in the same world as his Greatcoat novels. De Castell’s UK publisher, Arcadia, kindly sent me the first book, Play of Shadows to review. It promised intrigue, skulduggery, and wise-cracking theatrics. Boy did it deliver!  What Is Play of Shadows? I’m not at all familiar with the Greatcoats universe and I made a deliberate choice not to investigate before ..read more

Superman #13 cover, via DC Comics. Superman #13 – Joshua Williamson, Writer; Rafa Sandoval, Artist; Alejandro Sanchesz, Colorist Ray – 9.5/10 Ray: It’s the second part of House of Brainiac, and in last week’s oversized kickoff we saw Brainiac invade Earth, bottle almost every member of the Super-family save the man himself, and abscond while Earth was battling against an army of Czarnian warriors. That naturally sends Superman on the trail of the man he thinks must be involved—Lobo—and a brawl immediately ensues. But after Lobo is just as shocked to see other Czarnians around, the two old enem ..read more

Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #26 cover, via DC Comics. Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #26 – Mark Waid, Writer; Dan Mora, Artist; Tamra Bonvillain, Colorist Ray – 9/10 Ray: It’s time for a new arc as Dan Mora returns to this title, and Mark Waid’s love for the strange and unique elements of the DCU is a perfect match for the subject of this arc—the imps of the fifth dimension. Mxy and Bat-Mite are easily Superman and Batman’s oddest frenemies, but their stories are usually among the most lighthearted in the titles. But not this time, as the infamous pranksters have made their way to this di ..read more

Green Lantern: War Journal #8 cover, via DC Comics. Green Lantern: War Journal #8 – Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Writer; Montos, Artist; Adriano Lucas, Colorist Ray – 9/10 Ray: The two main characters of this series have been split—in the most dramatic way possible, as they now exist in different dimensions. John Stewart has been plunged into the world of the Radiant Dead, finding a thriving civilization filled with refugees from countless dimensions all up against cosmic forces. While John has been taking a break from superheroes, he wastes no time slipping back into the role of a leader and take ..read more