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When is a toy not a toy? Maybe when it can serve some educational or artistic purpose.
Does a Tiny Little Lion qualify as a Furbaby or not?
Continuing with its "I Love" theme, Tiny Little Lion has come up with I Love Finding Furbabies Collector's Edition. This title combines Hidden Object game play with a variety of mini game puzzles plus a number of bonus items. Allowing different people to play the game, profiles can be created to store their performance and progress. Separate volume levels can be set for background music, sound effects and ambience.
Writing this at the start of September but this product being small and easy to post is an ideal present that auntie or uncle can send to their niece or nephew without exorbitant extra charges. I don’t get the chance to see too many items aimed at younger children. But to my knowledge this is the first item of this type that I have knowledge of.
The product consists of a wipe clean ‘Mini Mat’ which has outlines of 13 wild animals and three felt pens (wipe clean). The mat is 30x20cm and has 13 different outlines of animals to colour and each has a capital letter beside them which can also be coloured in. Once the mat has been coloured in it can be wiped clean ready to be used again on another day. The three Hey Doodle felt pens have clip on lids in the colour of the ink while the rest of the pen is white.
Adding a matching colour requirement to Match 3 game play is a feature found in a game from Itera Labs.
A few months ago I took a look at a new title from Itera Labs. This was a Match 3 game entitled StarL that relied more on challenging game play than a backing story. At the time I was undecided as to the reason for the game's title and I am no wiser as Itera Labs has now released a follow-up title which you will not be surprised to hear goes by the name of StarL 2.
While your computer might appear safe and secure on your work space, how well is it content protected?
Since it was founded in 1992, ESET, a Slovakian based company, has built up a well-established reputation for developing solutions to protect computers and their users from unwanted outside criminal influences. Recently I have been checking out the company's Smart Security Premium product as the basis for this review. In common with other Internet security packages, the prefers to be installed in an environment that does not contain any other anti-virus solution.
Evolution has a lot to answer for as our planet's residents involve in different ways and still continue to do so.
Are you looking for a new occupation? If so then you might be interested to discover that Animal Globe magazine has an opening for a photographer to work on a special project. To learn more about this job, and the special project it involves, you will need to check out The Red Book. This is a Hidden Object game developed by Jet Dogs Studio to judge your aptitude for the skills the work requires.
While I have previously looked at many scanners, I think this is my first A3 scanner. I have looked at several A3 units that were ‘All In One’. So while any A3 unit is somewhat larger than an A4 unit this seems not to be that much larger. So if you have need to scan items of A3 size rather than using A4 and joining the two images together this is for you.
The measures 41x33x46cm with the input and output trays open; it is 41x23x11cm with them closed. The power input and the USB connection – lead provided - are side by side back left corner, the controls on the unit are on the right side of the top in a vertical line. The exception is a slider on the front edge when you choose U-turn or Straight as the image path.
Rather than limit the player to a single visit to each Hidden Object scene, this next title encourages multiple visits to the different scenes.
Point 8 Games has released a follow-up title to its Amazing World 2 excursion into the genre of Hidden Object challenges. Not surprisingly this follow-up is entitled Adventure Trip - Amazing World 3. Your virtual trip will cover an area that spreads from London's Big Ben tourist attraction to the Fort Amber in India. The game takes you on a voyage covering 20 different locations that each require multiple visits to gather all the necessary items.
They say "Size matters!" and in this case it is more of a matter that "the smaller the better".
Product designers and manufacturers are constantly on the lookout for ways to make their offerings stand out from the pack. JLab, a San Diego company that produces personal technology products, has opted to take the size route as a means of distinguishing its latest product. This is the JBuds Mini. Befitting its title, this product has been designed to provide the Best Fit for Smaller-Sized Ears. Available now the JBuds Mini comes with a price ticket of £39.99.
Put your puzzle solving skills to the test as you check out Greece and Turkey.
Tiny Little Lion has expanded the range and reach of its vacation offerings. Following on from Ireland, which was its starting point, this gaming software development company then move on to Japan as the focus of its puzzle based view of its virtual travel agency. Now the company has taken a look at the dual pairing of Greece and Turkey as the source area for its collection of puzzle type challenges which is entitled Vacation Puzzles - Greece and Turkey.
While headphones both over and on ear have their place there are also times when what you need are ear buds and this latest offering from Creative come in a case that is only the size of a medium sized pebble.
The case is 5x4.5x2cm and weighs only 33 grams with the buds inside. Unlike all earbuds I have previously seen there are no gels so the bud itself fits into the ear, they are 1.5cm from top to bottom and less than 1cm wide at the base, there is a 2cm long arm at the base that balances what is in your ear without excessive plugging. The back of the case has a USB ‘C’ socket and a short USB to USB ‘C’ cable is supplied to let you charge your buds.
e-Funsoft's Gaslamp Cases series has now reached number 7 with this latest release.
This particular episode in the company's Match 3 Victorian detective drama is entitled The Faith of Rasputin. In this game are trio of unlikely heroes, consisting of Morgan, Jack and Eleanor, are charged with the task of investigating the appearance of an illicit drug which is spreading like wildfire through parts of London. The drug is causing all manner of aggression and violence amongst its users.
When a game character complains of being bored then you know things will start to get busy.
Ignoring the possibility that Two for Solitaire might be considered an oxymoron, Strange Investigations - Two for Solitaire Collector's Edition is a Hidden Object Adventure game. Developed by Big Fish Games, and indicated by the CE designation, this product comes with a number of bonus items to enhance the main game.
Usually a map can be used to reveal the location of treasure but in this case the map finds itself replaced by numbers.
When I came across this next game in my review schedule I thought its title gave an indication that this was another entry in the Nanogram genre of game play. It was an easy mistake to make as Treasure by Numbers evoked a scenario of creating mosaics in a grid like structure by following numeric clues but I was clearly mistaken.
Do you have hard water from your tap? It is especially hard in the area I live in. So being able to filter the water you drink is important. The filter removes lots of different items that arrive in your cup/glass if you drink direct from the tap.
The unit is 26cm tall, 25cm from front to back and 11cm wide. It can hold up to 5 pints (2.8 litres) of water. When you open the box you have the main unit, the top, the lid and the filter. There is a ‘Quick Guide’ but the assembly guide could be better and I tried – unsuccessfully – to put the top in the wrong way but this would mean that water would take many hours to get into the unit instead of a few minutes.
The Empress may have issued the challenge but are your playing skills up to the task in this next offering?
Offering to give you some practice in honing your gaming ability 8 Floor Games has produced The Empress of Mah-jong game. This cornucopia of mah-jong levels spreads itself over six graded location that are made up of 20 individual levels. You need to prove you are good enough to advance through the levels and location in order to achieve success and a reward from the Empress. The games gives you the usual collection of options for setting up the gaming environment.
The "Bridge to Another World" series of games, from Friendly Fox, currently stands at 10 titles covering various enchanting realms where anything could happen.
Occupying my current game playing time is "Bridge to Another World - Endless Game Collector's Edition. Along with the main Hidden Object Adventure game, this title comes with a collection of bonus items adding extra value to the package. These bonus offerings contain the usual mixture of items with some available immediate and others that require you to have already encountered them in the main game.
Organising a wedding is difficult enough but adding ghosts as wedding guests to the mix can only add to the complexity.
Developed by Elephant Games, this next title is part of a series covering twenty separate games that are based on a hotel that is haunted. This game is entitled Haunted Hotel - A Past Redeemed Collectors Edition. It is a Hidden Object Adventure game based on events surrounding the wedding of James and Rebecca at the Hotel del Pasado. As usual with games released in CE format, several bonus items come bundled with the main game.
Acronis is a piece of software that I have used for years, even if a virus or worse gets through a complete reinstall is possible and you are even protected – although not without cost – from a hard disc failure and this latter event happened to me a few months ago.
Any disc over time will eventually fail and a few months ago my hard disc failed to boot, sometimes the reinstall of this section of the hard disk can then rewrite this important section but not on this occasion. So instead of a new hard disc I purchased a SSD drive and then proceeded to transfer my complete ‘C’ drive to it and once done I had a PC full of life, booting instead of taking up to around five minutes was complete and ready to work in less than 20 seconds.
A Cruise Director's work involves numerous tasks as you will discover with this next title from Casual Arts.
It is Vacation Adventures time again. This time you are engaged in the role of Cruise Director 8 as you tackle the Collector's Edition of this Casual Arts title. Due to its CE classification, Cruise Director 8 comes with a number of bonus items made up of Wallpaper, Music tracks, bonus levels and various puzzles. While the main game features numerous Hidden Object type levels, this form of puzzle is absent from the bonus puzzles mentioned earlier.
News has reached me of a product designed to keep your portable devices up-and-running when their battery runs low.
As we tend to rely more and more on the functionality and easy accessibility of our portable devices, it does increase the difficulty of ensuring there is a source of power available when it is needed. Offering to supply a solution to this type of problem is the launch of UGREEN's MagSafe 10,000 mAh Battery Pack.
When things go bump in the night, it is time to put your Match 3 skills to the test and destroy any unwanted guests.
Judging by the multitude of evidence delivered via numerous offerings, the virtual gaming environment is home to a vast array of evil spirits and their ghostly companions. While often more than happy to wander freely about their particular domain, these dangerous entities do need a residence in which to recharge their batteries as they digest the evil they have collected from their latest excursions into our worlds.
Maybe Grandma does not know best but she can certainly set an intriguing problem as seen in this next title.
When distributed, secrets can often be communicated in whispers which leads nicely onto this next review of Whispered Secrets - Tying the Knot Collector's Edition. Developed by the intriguingly-named Grandma, this is a Hidden Object Adventure game that places you in the role of a detective who is quickly drawn into action as a young bride is attacked by a mysterious stranger during her wedding service. As the product's CE badge indicates, this offering comes with a number of bonus items.
This mid-range offering from Honor is the latest to cross my desk. Based on the recent Honor 90 it’s a bang up to date offering for those whom a full priced unit is out of reach.
The measures 16.55x7.3x.7cm apart from the area back top left where the cameras are which is 1.2cm, the unit weighs 180 grams. Going around the outside has the volume rocker and on/off buttons on the right. The speaker and microphone are on the base split by the USB ‘C’ connection which is not only for charging but also allows easy access to remove photos and videos. The left side has SIM entry point. .
Have you ever lost an important piece of a Jigsaw? It should not happen with this next product.
The guys occupying 8 Floor Games continue to wave the flag for Jigsaw puzzle gaming. The developer's latest offering in this respect is entitled 1001 Jigsaw Legends of Mystery 4. As usual with titles in this 1001 series, you can disregard the 1001 element but can still look forward to tackling 500 Jigsaw puzzles spread over five books of images depicting Legends of Magic and Mystery with a selection of witches, potions, heroes and the like who inhabit this particular world.
Get your mop, bucket, duster and vacuum ready as you set about a massive spring clean.
Describing itself as a Hidden Object game, Cleaning Queens - Crystal Clean Home Collector's Edition has been developed by Brave Giant. Before delving into the game and its content, there are a couple of points mentioned in my first sentence that might need cleaning up (no apology for the forced pun). While the game does have some aspects of Hidden Object type action, you will also be required to select from various tools to perform different tasks.
One of the advantages of a curved display is you see more screen from a smaller width here its 60cm to see 27 inches. So while the display shows QHD 2560x1440 it takes up a little less desk space. It has both HDMI and DisplayPort connections as well as a USB hub.
The screen is 60x36.5cm and its inverted ‘V’ shaped stand is 28cm from back to front and at its widest point it is 46cm. Unlike a lot of stands it allows side to side movement. The stand can raise the screen by between 3cm and up to 16cm from your desk. The connections are in a line under a slight overhang on the back. 3.
In your role as a Mystery Agency detective you are set the task of discovering who is stealing magic devices.
Crossroad of Worlds - Mystery Agency Collector's Edition is a Hidden Object game from the Domini Games stable. As usual with titles from this source, the game opens with Domini Games regular collection of set-up options. These settings include creating profiles for different players, adjusting volume levels for music, sound effects, environment and voice plus adjusting the brightness level.
Adding to the popular Bridge to Another World series is a Hidden Object Adventure led by a Fox.
The Friendly Fox invites you to visit Celesis. This environment consists of a magical city on a floating island that is home to talking animals and lush scenery. In order to accept this invitation, you will need to take a Bridge to Another World and encounter the Cursed Clouds. This game is available in Collector's Edition format that comes with bonus items to enhance the main game play.
Whether indoors or outdoors, you can take the Woodland with you to deliver music to all around.
Under the banner of "Joyful Listening", in the form of a DAB+/FM radio that has Bluetooth 5.1 connectivity. This unit has been designed to feel equally at home when used either in an indoor location or for alfresco events that are organised to take advantage of the summer weather. With its dark green fabric covering, that is easy to wipe clean should it prove necessary, the Woodland has a sort of squashed cylinder appearance.
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