A Board Game Filled April │ Monthly Reset #9

Hey Bookworm friends! I’m a bit behind on my April recap but better late than never. I’m getting over a cold so I have a lot of couch time in which to hopefully catch up on blog stuff. April was a busy month and what I lacked in reading numbers I certainly made up in time spent playing board games! Here’s a look back at what I did in April.

April Highlights

• The second half of the month was non-stop brimming with action. First Easter celebrations, and we got to see a family friend from out of town that we hadn’t seen in a long time! We also did a bit of cat sitting for a friend.
  
• Then in the last week of April, we went to Ottawa for a week. My husband had to attend a conference one of the days, but the rest of the time we spent visiting old high school friends. We did an escape room, went to a 90’s style arcade, a board game cafe, and walked around everywhere! I really enjoy visiting Ottawa, because aside from the friends that live there, everything we want to do is within a 20-ish minute walk. We even spent half a day reading at the park because it was the first truly summery-feeling day this year and it was gorgeous☺️.

What I Watched In April

The short selection I watched in April is pretty random. We’ve been devoting most of our evenings to continuing Babylon 5 and we’re on season 4 now. The story is so good and I love that it’s making me feel visceral emotions. It’s a veritable roller-coaster of emotions that’s forced me to go back and forth on how I feel about certain characters. You can tell that it was written as a complete story because the pieces fit perfectly and I love seeing earlier details cleverly paying off seasons later!

Every once in a while I love to use Hoopla to check out courses on The Great Courses video library collection. I started one about The History of Ancient Egypt which I’ve been enjoying slowly. There’s like 40-something lessons so it’ll take me a while to finish but it’s perfect for when I’m in the mood to watch something more academic.

The only movie I watched in April is Empire Waist which is a coming-of-age comedy/drama and I absolutely loved it. As an insecure teen with a talent for sewing meets a confident plus-sized classmate, she is pushed outside of her comfort zone by entering a fashion design contest. The female friendship in this movie is everything and it had me in tears multiple times. It was funny and heartwarming with themes of body positivity and acceptance. Younger me would have loved it and I could see this becoming a comfort re-watch.

Games I Played

• Roll For The Galaxy – One of our favourites, I enjoy it every time! You roll lots of dice to build a galaxy with planets and technologies. (Owned)
  
• Evergreen – Grow trees in different biomes by placing them where the sunlight can reach them. First time playing and loved it. (Board Game Cafe)
  
• Disney Villanous – Each person plays as a different Villain and tries to complete their goal before their opponents. Not my favourite but my husband really likes it. (Owned)
  
• Camel Up – A crowd favourite whenever we introduce it to friends. Race camels and bet on which one will win but dice decide the outcome of the race. (Board Game Cafe)
  
• Menara – A cooperative dexterity game that’s the opposite of jenga. It’s really fun and has three difficulty levels! (Board Game Cafe)
  
• Jaipur – A Two-player game where you play as merchants in Jaipur trading and selling goods. This small game is perfect for when you want a quick game. (Board Game Cafe)
  
• Bunny Kingdom – Draft cards to build a kingdom on a grid. Your bunnies need to collect resources and make big cities to gain points. I would love to own this game. (Board Game Cafe)
  
• Coffee Rush – A Korean game about running a coffee shop and it comes with super cute components. Tried it once and I’d love to play again as it’s harder than it looks but super engaging. (Board Game Cafe)
  
• Okey Dokey – A co-op game where you try to play all the right cards with limited communication. Got it at a board game swap it was cute but with very little replay value. (Owned)
  
• Forbidden Sky – A cooperative game of exploration and survival. It’s fun but really challenging, not one I’d want to play often. (Board Game Cafe)
  
• Grumpf – A real-time game where you compete to collect various strange critters (grumpfs). I hated it because it’s too fast-paced, chaotic, and involves having to do fast math. You won’t catch me playing it again. (Board Game Cafe)
  
• Tapeworm – A tiny, silly game from the creator of The Binding of Isaac. The goal is to be the first to get rid of all your cards by connecting and growing the wriggling masses of different colored worm bodies. It’s easy to play and addictive, I really like this one! (Board Game Cafe)
  
• Lords of Waterdeep – A D&D worker placement game. I always enjoy this game but we realized it’s not well balanced for two players, even with the expansions. I still love it but would prefer it to play with more friends going forward. (Owned)
  
• Knit Wit – A word game where you place spools and thread to create categories to give answers to. We played it once and it was not very exciting; it’s probably better with more players.

Around The Blogosphere

Reviews:

• Book Review: The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson (Charlotte @ Bewitching Books, Ravenous Reads)
• On the Horizon – murder by memory (Olivia Waite) & last chance to save the world (Beth Revis) – Two Novellas! (The Captain @ Captain’s Quarters)

Misc:

• Fun for Monday: The Game Night Book Tag (Mayri @ bookforager)
• Q1 2025 Reading Stats (Nic @ Dragon Rambles)
• Spring Equinox Celebrations Book Tag (ORIGINAL) (Laura @ The Corner of Laura)
• Could Your Local Library Lose Access to Interlibrary Loan and Other Crucial Services? (Pages Unbound)
• Author Spotlight ~ Stephanie Burgis (Nicole @ BookWyrm Knits)

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• Bluesky