Well my lovely readers!
It’s been a fun 3 years, but I am retiring NerdAtlas for the time being. This was a blog primarily built on the idea of having fun, but due to some extenuating circumstances I have decided to shut it down.
That being said, my Tumblr followers should keep an eye out for a new fun project I’m getting involved with on Tumblr.
Thanks for reading.
– E.B.
The Shirt: Happy holidays from Hoth ye fledgling padawans!
Payment: Sold by Redbubble, who accepts all major credit cards.
Styles: Available in adult sizes S-XL.
So, it’s happened to you. Christmas is next week and you have yet to do any of your Christmas shopping. Well, thanks to a little thing called Amazon, here’s a list of nerdy items that will arrive at your door in time for the holidays!
For The Gamer Nerd: Logitech G502 Proteus Core Gaming Mouse
This is the perfect mouse for any serious PC gamer. It’s fully customizable and fairly affordable!
$80.00
For The Internet Junkie: Grumpy Cat Plush
Everyone’s favorite meme cat, to have and to hold and to scare you late at night.
$22.00
For The Otaku: A Geek in Japan
Hector Garcia’s book is perfect for Japanophiles of any type – covering everything from the nation’s popular culture to tradition and history. A great pick for any otaku.
$20.00
For The Creative Nerd: Ball of Whacks
This “ball” is comprised of 30 magnetic pyramid shaped pieces that act as building blocks. This quirky toy comes in several different designs and is perfect for fiddling with at the office or in class.
$35.00
For the Cold Nerd: “Grown Up” Snuggies
From Harry Potter house robes to Batman, Amazon offers a long list of adult sized snuggies for nerds of any type. Not only are they comfortable, but they are sure to guarantee a good laugh.
$20.00 – $30.00
Good luck out there!
– E.B.
This week’s featured art(ist) is Aurora Wienhold.
Based out of Germany, Wienhold gets a lot of attention for her tutorials, speed drawings and portraiture work. It’s really impressive to watch the process of creating the artwork through the animated gifs and videos she posts. Here are a few examples:
Her mediums are varied, from pencils to digital painting, ink to watercolor, this woman does it all. She’s only been working as a freelancer since 2011, so her skill is impressive. Not only is she a talented artist but her materials are a great resource for aspiring creators of all kinds.
– E.B.
This week’s featured review is all about Sheriff of Nottingham, a great board game released in 2014.
Described by the makers as “a social game of bluffing, bribery and negotiation” – I can attest to the fact this game requires you to lie, often. The results are often hysterical, especially when playing with the table rule of mandatory British cockney accents.
The game play is pretty straight forward. Each player is trying to transport their goods through Sherwood forest to market. Each round, a different player in the group acts as the Sheriff, whose job it is to inspect the goods being transported. You receive goods by drawing them from either the stack o’ goods or from the discard pile. Then, each round, you place goods in a small felt pouch and toss it in the center, declaring what you’re transporting across the border.
The deception comes in the fact players can only transport one type of good at a time. If the Sheriff decides to open and inspect your pouch, and you lied about its contents, you pay penalty fees. If you were honest, the Sheriff pays you a penalty fee. For example, if you decide to transport three cheese cards across the border, you would say “Three cheese.” If the Sheriff inspects your goods and finds the three cheese, he pays you a penalty per cheese. However, if you say “Three cheese” and really put two cheese and an apple card, you would pay the Sheriff a fee for the apples.
The game also has contraband cards, which are ALWAYS illegal to declare/transport. They have higher fines if caught, but they are worth the most gold.
You can bribe the Sheriff with gold, goods you’ve already transported to market, in-game favors or what may be in the pouch. If you make a promise that can be immediately resolved (ex: giving the Sheriff three gold and two wheels of cheese you sold at market) you must follow through. If you promise something in the future (ex: they get a specific type of good that may/may not be in the pouch or you won’t inspect them when you’re Sheriff) you are not required to honor the deal.
After every player has acted as Sheriff twice, the game is over. There are bonus gold rewards for transporting the most chickens, bread, apples and cheese across the board. Count up your total wealth between your gold and any goods successfully sold at market, including contraband – richest player wins.
The wheeling and dealing is dynamic fun, and the game play is fast. The moment that the Sheriff is holding a mystery bundle, evaluating whether or not to inspect the goods is fraught with tension. I love this game and if you’ve got a particularly good humored play group, it’s screamingly funny.
Maybe not the best game for some gamers who take a very long time to make the most analytical decisions possible… but for someone who loves to have a raucous time with friends? PERFECT.
– E.B.
This week’s featured cosplay is Amir (aka Mr. Blueberry) as Oberyn Martell from Game of Thrones.
Oberyn is one of my favorite characters in the Game of Thrones series. A serious womanizer (well, realistically, a everyone-izer) and deft combatant, there’s a fierceness to the man known as “The Red Viper.” In the television show, Oberyn’s clothing is very different from the majority of the others at King’s Landing. Amir did a great job capturing this character’s flair in his cosplay design.
Also, let’s talk about that spear. Dang, that weapon is gorgeous. It looks just like the television show’s design and Amir wields it like a total boss.
Another quality find from the Game of Thrones universe. Seriously, this fandom has some of the BEST cosplayers.
– E.B.
The Shirt: Because every T-Rex loves a delicious holiday meal, om nom nom.
Payment: Sold by Crazy Dog T-Shirts, who accepts all major credit cards.
Styles: Available in adult sizes S-XL.
Board games are a ton of fun, providing unplugged entertainment for any age or demographic. They are particularly wonderful around the holidays, serving as great bonding time with the family that doesn’t require awkward small talk.
I have linked all of the games to their Amazon link, and the prices is the original cost without discounts. Amazon has a lot of sales going on right now, so you can pick up some of these titles for as much as 50% off!
For two players: Android Netrunner: The Card Game
This is a “living card game” that allows you to buy cards and construct decks to face off against your opponent. By playing as the hacker “runner” or the “corp” defender, two use card powers and resources to score seven points the fastest. It’s complex, meaty and a good challenge to sink your teeth into. Start out by purchasing a Core Box set to have everything you need to play!
$40 – http://tinyurl.com/pnkn2sd
For three players: Suburbia
This is a tile placement and resource management game. Buy your buildings and services, harvest your resources and exercise your inner city planner. The game has serious depth, but it’s fairly straightforward to learn.
$60 – http://tinyurl.com/mplr96o
For four players: Ascension
This is one of my favorite deck building card games. Filled with fantasy flavor, you purchase your heroes and constructs and create vicious combinations to steal the victory. Any Ascension box set can be played as a standalone game – my recommendation is the Realms Unraveled edition.
$40 – http://tinyurl.com/mzjo6yc
For five players: Dixit
This is a game of storytelling and wagers. Players guess what image the “storyteller” placed in an anonymous lineup and score points based on the most popular answers. Simple, beautiful and a ton of fun to play with people you know well.
$35 – http://tinyurl.com/pwmelrp
For six players: Shadows Over Camelot
As the loyal knights of King Arthur’s Round Table, complete quests and fight off Picts/Saxons to win the war over evil. Careful though, as one amongst you might be a traitor who can usurp the entire party. A great blend of social deception, co-op and tactics.
$60 – http://tinyurl.com/lpsfz2p
More than six: Coup
This is a game of social deception and elimination at its finest. Everyone has two identities, permitting them special powers. By deceiving others, stealing money, committing coups and catching others in their lies, players lose their identities. The last player left with a living persona wins. Fast paced and very very fun. One of my all time favorites.
$15 – http://tinyurl.com/qe5zpyd
For non-gamers: Quirkle
Match either six of a color or six of a shape to score a Quirkle! Create combinations to rack up as many points as possible. Essentially a visual variation of Scrabble, this game is easy to learn and quick to play. There’s also great potential to get competitive over placing tiles and upsetting someone’s best laid plans – perfect for family time!
$35 – http://tinyurl.com/llr5uvv
Happy shopping and gaming!
– E.B.
This week’s featured artist is Danar Worya.
Worya is a (mostly) digital artist based out of the Netherlands. The majority of his online portfolio is fan art, but it is very obvious that he’s a professional – his fan art beats a lot of “official” concept/design art I’ve seen over the years.
Not only is his portraiture game pretty ace, but Worya has a great talent for scenic design as well. The piece below was inspired by the world of The Last of Us – the colors and lighting are really lovely.
Follow him on Facebook for more updates!
– E.B.
This week’s featured cosplay stars Meagan Marie and her Lady Two Face ensemble!
Meagan Marie is a professional cosplayer and community manager, not mention she’s pretty dang famous on the internet. I’ve featured her Wonder Woman cosplay before but I figure it has been a while, so I can feature her again! I know, such a fangirl…
Anyways, this is one of the more make-up heavy cosplays I’ve featured. The knack with doing any good Two-Face cosplay lies in the make-up and a stark contrast in design. Meagan Marie has this great, crisp line of contrast across her whole ensemble, which lends itself well to the animated series’ character design.
The make-up was done by San Diego make-up artist Hydred Makabali – and wow. That mouth looks painful, terrifying and about as real as a acid burned comic character can get.
I also love the suit in this cosplay. The design is well tailored and the contrasting black and white symmetry looks marvelous. In the small details of the button colors and pocket scarf play into the duality.
What can I say, Meagan Marie is one of the best!
– E.B.
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