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queertazsecretsanta · 4 years

Photo

[ID: an image of a mountain peak against a sky streaked pink, white, and blue. The foreground is a thick pine forest, and there is a patch of clearing at the front left showing a blurry green-grey shape that looks like the stone door to Sylvain. Across the image in a curling font are the words “Remember when our mountain” and underneath that is another line in a larger, squared-off font are the words “HAD A TOP”. At the bottom of the image there is a grey line of text that reads “The sky is TRANS” Photography by Duck Newton. The image has a white border and the proportions of a postcard. END ID]

A gift for @one-true-houselight, created by @shethecat!

Happy holidays @one-true-houselight ! I hope you enjoy this and have a fantastic holiday season! (as soon as I saw trans duck in your requests I knew I wanted to do that, and I’ve taken a similar picture to this while shouting the title haha. I nearly did a pokemon thing just because I have a sylveon called Duck Newton because of that good good color scheme (and unexpected badassery yanno). <3 <3 <3

The Sky is TRANS (and so am I)

“I didn’t know you did photography, Duck?” Aubrey lifted an eyebrow at her friend, before breaking out in a grin and studying the shiny postcard more closely, “What’s the bit down- is that-?”

“Yeah, I guess I dabble,” Duck rubbed the back of his head, “An’ it beats me how, but it sure does look like it.”

Ned draped his arms over them as he peered down at the image and snorted, “Sure, and they blame me for-”

Two meaningful looks -and a cleared throat from Barclay, who was examining a tray of rings -looking for a suitably durable black one- turned the end of his sentence into his patented I-am-appalled-and-insulted grumbling.

The new Kepler gift shop had been primarily a draw for tourists- but in the way of small towns, it had already been a topic of conversation for several weeks even before it opened. Juno had told Duck about some interesting pendants and laughed about terrible pun-based tee-shirt, which Aubrey -mid-hunt for a gift for Dani- had overheard because someone butt-dials an atrocious amount when in the ranger station, and Ned had then declared that he needed to check out the competition. (Barclay just wanted to check out the rings- options were limited in Kepler, and he was particular about the things he wore- mail-order was risky.)

(Duck had not told anyone about taking photographs, let alone selling them, let alone postcards in the gift shop bearing them. Duck had not told anyone about a lot of things.)

Aubrey frowned and squinted at the glossy card, with its clean colours and the single line of tiny script denoting the photographer and title of the image. It definitely appeared to show a fuzzy, indistinct stone gate. There was even a disconcerting glimmer of light within the gate, although at best it was sunset in the image and therefore shouldn’t have the moonlight to awaken the pathway. (Not that Aubrey needed moonlight either, but Aubrey was one of the few who had permission to see the dang thing.)

Ned had pulled a pair of spectacles from somewhere and was studying it as well, although he lifted his head to give Duck a disconcerting grin and spread his arms wide, “Duckminster! This is art! Y’know, we do sell artistic postcards in the Cryptonomica-“

“Yeah, yeah, Ned, I seen ‘em-“

“-be great to branch out into photography, and that blurry bit has such panache-“

“-bad edits of mothman and blurry Bigfoot, sounds great, Ned-“

Still discussing (arguing without teeth), the whole group of them stumbled out into the street with several copies of the postcard (one to show Mama), an ace ring, something soft and hand-knitted in pure wool tucked under Aubrey’s arm for Dani, four fridge magnets (one a Bigfoot), a snow-globe, a cleverly carved wooden chopping board, and a felted beanie in a dark forest green.

They paused upon seeing Hollis in the parking lot about to leave. Tension vibrated for a moment between them and Aubrey, before they shifted their gaze to Duck.

They flicked a look down at the postcards in his hand, and then the briefest smile flickered over their face. Hollis tapped two fingers to their shoulder and saluted Duck, who returned the gesture. They then spun to show off the hornet embroidered on the back on their jacket- custom-done in black, purple, white and yellow-, snapped the stand of their bike back, and popped a wheelie as they peeled out of the gift shop’s parking lot.

“Stop lookin’ at me, Ned. I might not agree with all of their shenanigans, but I’m not an asshole. It’s solidarity, c'mon.”

“Naw,” Ned said gruffly, scratching his beard, “’s just nice to see.”

***

“Ned would love it.”

“We’re gonna add a ‘limited edition’ sticker to them, seems his kinda thing.”

Duck and Aubrey stared down at the pile of glossy postcards, while Kirby gave them a smile still broken at the edges and pointed out the new display stand just for them, the old image of the mountain with its new, bold sentiment.

REMEMBER WHEN OUR MOUNTAIN STILL HAD A TOP

#one-true-houselight #shethecat #queercandlenights #taz #the adventure zone #duck #art #fic #submission

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sunsetofdoom · 5 years

Note

2 and 15 for Thirteen?

2: What’s your character’s aesthetic (things associated with your character)?

Thirteen cultivates a very deliberate aesthetic of things that make her happy, but her job and her past creep in, however inadvertently.

Bouquets of wilting flowers, halter dresses with floral prints, colorful skirts that swirl around when she twirls, imported tea, antique tea sets with arsenic in the sugar bowl, slightly unsure ukulele playing, clockwork dolls with jerky movements and too-big overly detailed painted eyes, prettily carved throwing knives, silk lingerie with bloodstains that aren’t hers, her rifle cleaned and put away piece by piece in its carved wooden case, music boxes in the minor key, lace lingerie with bloodstains that are hers, antique lockets with no pictures in them, a cobwebbed pastel-pink canopy over a dusty stained twin bed, scratchy records of ballet music, lacy garter belts with knife sheaths cleverly hidden.

15: What’s one thought, idea, goal, dream, or desire that your character is most ashamed of having?

Thirteen hopes that in her life before the memory wipe, she was a political dissident or protester. Something that would justify imprisonment and a memory wipe... but still has a panache, a certain rebellion to it. She thinks idly about having had a family, or friends, or comrades. People who maybe miss her.

Obviously, as an operative of the Ascendancy and the Empire, she can’t afford to think like this. Obviously, outspoken rebels should be removed from society. But it’s the only real option that she can think of where she was cared for and wanted in her old life.

And then after the memories start to come back... she wishes that she could have another wipe done. She knows it would likely cause brain damage and make her unable to work, she knows it’s not feasible. But she just wants the constant dread, the nightmares, the seizures, and the memory snippets to go away.

#oc: agent thirteen #swtor #swtor ocs #damn you this made me want to make like #a moodboard for thirteen #her aesthetic tries to be very 'minimalist instagram hoe'#and instead it lands square in the 'alice madness returns' crazy hole #she is Doing Her Best #and i'm really mad that i'm committed to NOT spoilering anything about thirteen's past #because 'desire that she is ashamed of having' could be so much... worse #after the wipe breaks down and her past comes back #i guess i'll just have to WRITE IT #like some kind of BARBARIAN #comraderex

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starwarsnonsense · 6 years

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Top 10 Best Films of 2017 - End of Year List

I did a mid-year ‘best of’ list, so it was only fitting that I returned to the format at the end of the year to run down my top 10 favourite films of the year. Only three films from my mid-year list remain here, which is a testament to what an incredible year it has been for film. As far as I’m concerned, 2017 has been a real banner year for cinema and it has seen the release of several all-time greats that I look forward to enjoying for many years to come.

Since I’m based in the UK there will be several notable omissions here (I still eagerly await films like Phantom Thread, I, Tonya and The Post), purely by dint of the fact that they have yet to be released in this country. Do look out for them in my forthcoming most-anticipated of 2018 list!

Honourable mentions: Custody, Brimstone, The Disaster Artist, Professor Marston & the Wonder Women, Call Me By Your Name

1. Star Wars: The Last Jedi, dir. Rian Johnson

While the placement of this film on my list may be resoundingly predictable (check out the total lack of bias signalled by my username!), the thrilling thing is that the film itself is anything but. The Last Jedi shatters the Star Wars mould to entertain new forms of storytelling and question long-held assumptions. It’s a shockingly meta story in how it questions the conventions of Star Wars - particularly those concerning lineage and its implications - but it is never meta in an ironic sense. There are no wink, wink moments, and while the past is investigated and questioned it is never mocked. Instead of descending into irreverence, The Last Jedi is meta in a way that feels absolutely necessary and justified if Star Wars is to remain fresh and vital as it moves forward. Bloodline and history do not have to dictate destiny in this new version of Star Wars - the heroes are those who understand this, and the villains are the ones who fail to grasp the same lesson. It’s a beautiful and intellectually rigorous movie, and I’m thrilled by how it elevates and re-contextualises the stories that came before it while pushing the characters and their relationships forward. I have no idea of where Episode IX will take this story, and that is incredibly exciting to me. Bring it on.

2. Blade Runner 2049, dir. Denis Villeneuve

There are a million and one reasons why this movie shouldn’t have worked, but Villeneueve proved his genius by making a sublime sci-fi picture that actually surpasses its predecessor. I have always admired the original Blade Runner more than I’ve enjoyed it, and that’s because I have always found it emotionally distant. Deckard struck me as a mumbling arse and his romance with Rachael always felt obligatory, not organic. The genius of Blade Runner 2049 lies in how it made me care - it made me care about the love between Deckard and Rachael (which was something of a miracle in itself), and it made me care about the love between K and his holographic girlfriend Joi. With these emotional hooks in place, everything worked as a thrilling symphony. The cinematography is easily the best of any film in 2017 (sorry, Dunkirk - I still love you) and this film has an astonishing number of scenes that still linger in my mind after many months - the very modern threesome, the shootout in the gaudy pleasure palace, the fight in the rain, the father seeing his child for the first time. It’s a breathtaking film and I couldn’t be more excited to see what Villeneuve does next.

3. Dunkirk, dir. Christopher Nolan

Dunkirk is such a striking and effective piece of cinema that it actually made me overcome my innate bias against war movies (I blame too many tedious Sunday afternoons wasted on mandatory viewings of The Great Escape at my grandparents’ house). With Dunkirk, Nolan has probably made his most accomplished and sophisticated movie - it starts off unbearably tense and doesn’t release its grip on your pulse until the final scene, when its hero finally drops off to the blessed peace of sleep. Nolan employs a tricksy converging structure with multiple plot strands to ramp up the tension and provide different perspectives on the evacuation, masterfully playing them off each other to assemble the big picture. While criticised by some for its apparent lack of character, I can’t really agree with that assessment - Dunkirk is probably the most powerfully humanistic war film I’ve ever seen, and by stripping its characters down to their rawest selves it reveals some uncomfortable yet powerful truths about all of us. The characters are somewhat distant from us - we never hear them pine for lovers or miss their mothers - but the removal of these storytelling shorthands leaves us with soldiers who behave exactly as you would expect frightened, stranded children to. And there’s something terrifyingly poignant about that.

4. mother!, dir. Darren Aronofsky

mother! is the work of a madman with no fucks to give, and it is what I choose to refer to as ‘peak Aronofsky’. He made what is clearly an allegory, and while he had his own intentions with said allegory (which he has been very loud about declaring) the film is so cleverly constructed that it can simultaneously be about the entire history of the world and the plight of the tortured artist’s muse - either reading is perfectly correct and supported by the text. mother! is a piece of art that has provoked a lively and frequently heated debate, and while it needs to be read as an allegory to make any kind of sense as a narrative I also don’t want to undersell this movie as an emotional experience. If you go into mother! willing to be challenged and content to be swept up in a bold artistic vision, it has the potential to be a really absorbing and engrossing film - it is anchored by Jennifer Lawrence’s remarkably brave and unrestrained performance. She is not playing a grounded character, but her performance is palpably real and frequently painful to witness - she portrays the whole spectrum of emotions, from mild bemusement to shrieking horror, and the whole film soars on the strength of her efforts. This is a uniquely strength and esoteric film, and I am incredibly happy that it exists.

5. Get Out, dir. Jordan Peele

This film really knocked me for six, to such an extent that I simply had to see it twice in the cinema. It got even better upon a re-watch, when I was able to watch it with full knowledge of the characters’ underlying motives and the things to come. It’s a terrifying concept (the racism of an all-white suburb is taken to a horrifying extreme) executed with incredible panache, and you feel every emotion that Chris goes through thanks to Daniel Kaluuya’s excellent performance. Get Out also represents one of the most brilliantly communal experiences I’ve ever had at the cinema - I won’t spoil it, but let’s just say that the audience erupted into spontaneous applause at a key moment in the climax. Simply fantastic.

6. The Handmaiden, dir. Park Chan-wook

This film is exquisite - it’s first and foremost a beautiful boundary-smashing love story, and an absolutely marvellous tale of female defiance. It transplants Sarah Waters’ novel Fingersmith to 1930s Korea, and the story is effortlessly adapted to become intrinsically interwoven with its new setting. Sookee is a talented pickpocket plucked from a thieves den and sent as a handmaiden to trick a rich heiress into falling for a conman. To say any more would spoil the twists, but this film is just a masterwork of suspense, keeping you guessing throughout a series of interlocking pieces that take their time to reveal their secrets. I’ve seen the theatrical cut and the extended version, and they’re both great - you’re in for a treat with either.

7. The Florida Project, dir. Sean Baker

This is one of the best screen depictions of childhood I’ve ever seen. Our hero here is Moonee, a smart-tongued and cheeky six-year-old. Moonee lives in a motel room with her abrasive but loving mother, but since she’s a child she doesn’t mope or lament her poverty - she takes her surroundings for granted and makes the tacky shops and hotels that form her world her very own theme park. The Florida Project is firmly committed to adopting a child’s eye perspective, and while it can feel a bit meandering to begin with it gradually accumulates pace and purpose, building to an utterly heartbreaking and unforgettable climax. The performances here are extraordinary, and Brooklynn Prince is so palpably real as Moonee that she’ll own your heart by the end of the movie (having squeezed it to bursting point on several occasions).

8. The Shape of Water, dir. Guillermo del Toro

I’ve long been a huge del Toro cheerleader, and this movie is perhaps best described as ‘peak del Toro’ - it has the mannered, detail-oriented set design, the charming quirkiness, the subverted horror, and the woozily strange romance that he has employed again and again in his films. This story, however, is unusual for del Toro in that it is ultimately optimistic and hopeful - it’s the daddy of all supernatural romances in that it is a full-blown love story between a mute human woman and a fishman, and it is characterised by total commitment and self-belief. Think Creature from the Black Lagoon done with the creature as the romantic hero. The Shape of Water has a certain playfulness that means it never feels ponderous or silly, but it affords its characters real respect and dignity and makes you care for them deeply. This movie makes me excited to see where genre filmmaking can go next (hint: I hope it only gets weirder).

9. Thelma, dir. Joachim Trier

Who knew something like this could come out of Norway? This was probably my biggest pleasant surprise of 2017 in terms of film - I went in with no expectations at all, and came out wowed. This is an intensely strange and effective supernatural horror that follows a girl with strange repressed powers that manifest whenever she experiences desire. It could be a hackneyed or exploitative premise in the hands of a lesser filmmaker, but Trier shows a deft hand and a remarkable talent for building tension and creating a sense of heightened reality. There is one scene set to ‘Mountaineers’ by Susanne Sundfor that is one of the most transporting experiences I have ever had in the cinema - the combination of the ethereal music and the mounting suspense makes for real film magic. This was a great reminder of how important it is to take chances and try out films outside your comfort zone.

10. Jackie, dir. Pablo Larrain

This is a film that soars on the strength of Natalie Portman’s incredible performance, which is complemented by Mica Levi’s haunting score. Portman’s performance is painfully vivid, with her agony and wretchedness coming through so intensely that it’s often uncomfortable to watch. Jackie is probably the best portrait of grief I’ve ever seen, and it sucks you into a famous historic event by providing an incredibly intimate perspective on it. This is great cinema, but be prepared for suffering.

#best of the year #film #cinema #the last jedi #blade runner 2049 #dunkirk #mother!#get out #the handmaiden #the florida project #the shape of water #thelma #jackie

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romymdxcontexualstudiesfirstyear · 3 years

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Photo Essay

A photograph of a photograph

In the ever-growing world to outdo and grab the attention of people, we have found creative ways to do so. One way to do this is taking a photograph of a photograph because it makes us ‘cool’ and ‘edgy’, it is effective and gets you the likes you want. But it is so much more than just the likes or being different, you can capture memories and creature new moments. I’m interested in this type of photography; the next 5 photographs will speak more to this.

Figure1.

Selfie? This is a photograph taken on a SX-70 Polaroid camera (see figure 1) on Wednesday 2nd May 1979 by filmmaker and photographer Jamie Livingston. (Livingston, 1979) Although this image doesn’t have an official title, I think a fitting name could be “early selfie”, cleverly the photographer has let his friend use the camera to take what we would call, a ‘selfie’ using the reflection of his sunglasses. This is a fun way to begin the subject of photographs in photographs, obviously because this is exactly that. The first recorded self-portrait was actually in 1839, so the photograph is behind the times but still a very cool image. Being a polaroid, the photograph has an almost grainy texture, visible scratches giving the image a candid feel. The warm umber tones really creature a inviting an almost relatable image. Polaroids in general give off a nostalgic energy, all of Livingstons collection of over 6,000 photographs are polaroid’s, (1979-1997) this gives him that endearing quality that some photographers will never be able to obtain. Livingston is the perfect example of picture within pictures, he uses it a lot in his work, especially the ‘Photo of the day’ collection. (This photo included)

Figure 2.

This a just a small cluster of polaroid’s from the ‘Photo of the day’ collection by Jamie Livingston. (See Figure 2) (Livingston 1979-1997) Once again falling into the pictures within pictures territory, all of these photographs were taken on the SX-70 polaroid camera, even the picture of all of these pictures was taken on the same camera. Picture-ception! The year this polaroid was taken was 1980, by this time Livingston had accumulated around 500 photographs apart of this collection. In Susan Sontag ‘On Photography’ she says photographs are evidence, to prove we’ve done something to people who we think might not believe us. (Sontag, 2005) Even if Livingston didn’t mean to do this intentionally, his many images of his images give off that he was trying to show people his polaroid’s because when you hear the title ‘Man takes photo everyday for 18 years’ you would think “no way!” “that sounds too farfetched” so Sontag is right, we use photos as evidence to prove what we’ve done with our lives, not only to boast but to look back on it ourselves and remember what we’ve achieved, the memories we created. It’s a twisted sort of reason to take the photos, but were all culprits of it.

Figure 3.

Speaking of memories, this next image is one of my own. (See Figure 3.) I decided to pay homage to Jamie Livingston photography project ‘Photo of the day’ (Livingston, 1979-1997) I started posting a photo every day on Instagram, using a polaroid app. The image itself is actually a screen-shot of my Instagram photos, so again photographs within photographs. I chose these images in particular because there all really different from each other, but have their hidden meaning behind them that only I know about. I’m currently on day 13 of posting and it’s a little more difficult than I thought. Livingston brings up the subject of ‘photo pressure’ in one of his polaroid’s, I definitely felt this pressure, I was thinking to myself “I don’t have anything interesting to post?” but over time I realised that it doesn’t really matter an the reason I want to post these phonographs is because I want to look back on the memories of that day, that’s the reason we take photos so we can remember moments in time. I was discouraged in the beginning because I didn’t get that many likes but then I realised that I don’t really care about the likes, I just enjoy having a project without pressure.

Figure 4.

Pressure to preform and outdo yourself is always a nightmare, but it pushes us to do great things. This is another of Livingstons (Livingston, 1986) polaroid’s from the ‘Photo of the day’ collection. (See Figure 4.) The image is of an exhibition of some kind, I couldn’t find specifics but It speaks to the pressure to creature the perfect photograph, but as Livingston has stated before “The photo doesn’t have to be nice”, that’s a motto we could all adapt in our lives, not just for photography but for allowing ourselves to create art without hurting ourselves to get this unrealistic standard of photography. I chose this image because it captures the feeling of most art exhibitions, and of course it has more pictures within pictures. photography has such a special ability to be work and art, some people will go crazy trying to get the perfect shot, some will pay millions to acquire these photos, but some of the most special photographs are one we take in our everyday life, the ones of pets, friends and family. They have that candid feel to them that is so easy to recognise but so hard to re-create.

Figure 5.

The last photo speaks more to the power of a photograph. (See Figure 5.) This polaroid is from Livingston ‘Photo of the day’ collection (Livingston, 1997) sadly the year of his passing away, actually most of his photos from 1997 are of his friends and family, I can only assume because he knew he was dying and wanted to remember those special to him. It has a very homely feel to it, just some good friends in the kitchen (it looks like) enjoying their company together. Although this isn’t a picture within a picture, it is because I have now shared the picture with the readers. When you think about it most of the pictures we share, physical or online are now pictures within pictures. Its an amazing ability that photography holds, we all care so much about the pictures we take nowadays that we make people change the way they appear so that our photo looks ‘better’ so we can get some likes? We should stop caring so much and just take pictures when it feels right and not spend so much times living behind a screen. Be present in the moment with the ones we love.

Bibliography:

The Economic Times. 2018. World Selfie Day: Who took the first-ever selfie? [online] Available at: <https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/world-selfie-day-who-took-the-first-ever-selfie/articleshow/64676143.cms> [Accessed 10 March 2021].

Sontag, S., 2005. On Photography. Arrangement with Farrar, Straus and Giroux, p.12.

Jaruseviciute, G., 2018. This Man Took A Polaroid Every Day For 18 Years Until The Day He Died, And It’ll Break Your Heart. [online] Bored Panda. Available at: <https://www.boredpanda.com/polaroid-photo-every-day-jamie-livingston/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic> [Accessed 10 March 2021].

Crawford, H., n.d. Jamie Livingston: some photos of that day. [online] Photooftheday.hughcrawford.com. Available at: <https://photooftheday.hughcrawford.com/> [Accessed 10 March 2021].

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healthywaywealthyway-blog · 5 years

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When traditional meets modern

What is a distinguished national dish?

There may be a few that come to mind, but nothing specific truly represents Malaysia as a whole amongst the ethnically diverse and now, hybridised recipe attempts to perhaps disrupt the discourse of authentic Malaysian cuisine.

At ATAS Modern Malaysian Eatery, the shift to modern Malaysian cuisine suggests new interpretations of the familiar and distinctive flavours presented alongside with contemporary panache, where guests will discover a newfound appreciation for the ubiquitous and indigenous produce found throughout the Malay Peninsula.

The restaurant at the newly opened The RuMa Hotel and Residences, ATAS showcases its novel approach towards redefining Malaysian cuisine without losing its integrity through the eyes of one man.

Helmed by molecular gastronomy executive chef Tyson Gee, he borrows the loved or lost culinary cultures of Malaysia to inspire a cuisine unlike any other in unusual and creative ways.

Originally from Vancouver, Canada, Chef Gee’s life-long passion for exploring new cuisines and his culinary adventures across Southeast Asia has taught him to value fresh produce and local flavours, as a result, ATAS’ menu is ever evolving through the year.

Being in the industry for over 14 years, he shares: “It’s hard to frame the definition of modern Malaysian cuisine because I don’t think there’s any specifically.

“However, my goal isn’t to deconstruct classical or traditional Malaysian dishes but to reinterpret local ingredients and flavour profiles into something uniquely Malaysian.

“It focuses on the taste composition in a way that complements each other while incorporating contemporary cooking techniques.”

Driven by curiosity and admiration for fresh produce, Chef Gee focuses on what’s best available each season to cleverly develop a menu that unearths the bold flavours of locally grown produce and heirloom ingredients; a menu that is filled with robust aromas, original pairings and innovative methods.

“I don’t overly trick up my food, in fact, they are rather simple but with big and bold flavours using robust ingredients to have the food speaks for itself.”

It might be dubious to have a Canadian chef present us Malaysian cuisine we know so well of.

He says: “I guess we can all agree that Malaysians are very welcoming and educated in the sense of food.

“As we push the boundaries of the possibilities of Malaysian cuisine, it’s encouraging to see the comments we’ve been receiving to see it being done in a different manner.”

So how should one enjoy the dining experience at ATAS?

“The idea is for people to come in and order something from every section of the menu.

“Starting off from the snacks for small curated bites, followed by the entrée and a main course, or several to share among individuals,” shares the chef.

Right off the bat, this festive season Chef Gee’s fresh approach to the quintessential Lunar New Year tradition and food - yee sang celebrates the same cultural revival of ATAS with unexpected surprises and a refreshing local twist using pucuk paku, betel leaf, fried chicken skin and sweet tamarind plum as dressing is refreshing to witness and hands down the best yee sang I ever tasted.

After an enthusiastic toss to good fortune, while saying auspicious wishes, the culinary journey at ATAS continues with servings of tantalising appetizers to set the mood for the anticipated culinary offerings.

Smoked eel panisse piped with calamansi aioli and bits of salmon roe on top burst upon first bite adding savoury surprises; blue tiger prawn served on a herbaceous betel leaf with charred coconut as garnish perfectly balances the bitter and peppery taste.

Moving on to the starters, heirloom tomatoes are skinned, served with whipped tofu and basil while soaking in salted plum dressing to evoke unexpected taste combinations; cured ocean trout served with crispy puffed tapioca blends both of its contrasting textures in addition to the sambal dressing makes each bite even more memorable than before.

Then comes the prized main courses prepared using the restaurant’s charcoal oven to slowly grill its tender juicy meat to acquire a distinctive roast aroma and flavour.

The craft was seen evidently in Chef Gee’s succulent wagyu sirloin with an exceptional marble score of seven-plus giving it melt-in-your-mouth textures without being overly greasy.

The steak served alongside with sour leaves, Chinese kale (kai lan) and the tangy sauce of sambal assam blends with its understated spiciness.

Other mains include roast squid served with wing bean, belimbing and green sambal; and the dry-aged duck breast served with choy sum, ambarella (kedongdong) and the complex flavours of five spice.

Its side dishes are simplistic yet have proved themselves to be equally good, such as the jasmine rice salad made of fragrant jasmine rice, chicken skin, spring onions and sesame; and charred baby corn served with coconut cream and a generous amount of grated Pecorino cheese.

Modern Malaysian cuisine is what you make of it. Regardless, ATAS’ sensible interpretations elevated with farm-fresh ingredients of classic local produce are culinary revelations not just as a craft, but to the taste buds as well.

from Style Life http://bit.ly/2taD6ef from Blogger http://bit.ly/2TzVHMv

#Health #fitness

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waynekelton · 4 years

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The Best iPhone & Android Puzzle Games

There’s perhaps no genre more synonymous with mobile platforms - especially iPhone or Android devices - than puzzle games. Low intensity inputs are good for a device with no buttons, and the pace of these games plays well with the low session time, start-and-stop nature of mobile gaming. Puzzle games also take so many unique forms nowadays that a top list in the genre can produce completely different looking games.

As you'll see below, we have our own menagerie of titles that we feel represent the best Puzzle games have to offer across iPhone, iPad and Android devices.

What are the best Puzzle Games for iPhone & Android?

Maze Machina

Powernode

Divide by Sheep

ELOH

Where Shadows Slumber

Infinite West

Lara Croft GO

The Room Three

Framed 2

Mini Metro

Beglitched

Cosmic Express

Maze Machina

Developer: TinyTouchTales Platforms: iOS & Android Price: $1.99

Even though premium mobile games aren't turning out as lucrative for the people at TTT as they used to be, we're pleased to see they're still willing to apply their excellent skills towards making mobile games. Their most recent puzzle outing, Maze Machina once again proves they are masters of their craft.

You should read our Maze Machina review for more, but suffice to say this is an exacellent take on the concept of the maze, and offers a lot of challenge, a respectable amount of levels, and is replayable without feeling like a grind. It might not technically be their best game, but it's still pretty good.

Powernode

Developer: Opal Games Platforms: iOS & Android Price: $1.99

With a visual aesthetic that reminds us of the rather excellent Mini Metro, Powernode is a fun and challenging puzzler that has you connecting power generators to nodes to stop them from disappearing. Cables are permanent, and you have more nodes requiring attention than you have power crystals, so planning is key. New nodes spawn as you complete existing ones however, throwing an ever complex range of spanners into you intricate power network.

It's got a few niggles, but this is an excellent, thoughtful puzzle game and perfect for anyone looking for a challenge that involves numbers and planning. Read our Powernode review for more!

Mini Metro

Developer: Dinosaur Polo Club Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $4.99

Logistics makes the world go around. These often break down into math and logic puzzles, even to the point that we have fields dedicated to studying the topology of knots. But maybe none of this matters and you just need to get to work. Well, Mini Metro folds all of this and makes for an amusing, minimalistic puzzle about ordering and sequencing the right trains in the right time to complete the right route. So, programming motion to meet specific goals, and tinkering towards that end. Some puzzles rely unduly on shifts in perspective or tricks of the light to interpret what happens next; not so with Mini Metro.

The needs and requirements of the puzzles are always clear, the demand is upfront: all the player has to supply is the way forward, that vital connection which will close the gap and make everything come together. Don't forget to check out our Mini Metro review. If you subscribe to Apple Arcade, this game's spiritual sequel Mini Motorways is one of our favourite puzzle games available via the subscription services

ELOH

Developer: Broken Rules Platforms: iOS Universal, Android Price: $2.99

A cheap & cheerful puzzler that's especially great on phones, ELOH is a kinetic game that's colourful, challenging, and possess some great attention to detail. The basic challenge is to position blocks in the right positions to bounce balls into the the correct holes. There's a light rhythmic element to this, and as things get more complicated the blocks take on more creative forms. Some will move along specific axis, for example.

None of the puzzles should take longer than a few minutes to bounce your way through, but there's over eighty of them, so you're looking at a few good hours of gameplay for your minimal upfront investment, and no IAPs to boot! Read our ELOH review for more.

Where Shadows Slumber

Developer: Game Revenant Platforms: iOS Universal, Android Price: $4.99

This is an excellent pick for fans of both Monument Valley and Square's GO games. It lacks the variety and the degree of 'cleverness' that those other game's possess, but there's an ingenuity to its design that still does a great job at scratching that itch. The use of light and dark to change the scene in front of you is especially creative.

This is a maze-based puzzle game with intuitive controls and a satisfying gameplay loop. Atmospheric and imaginative, Where Shadows Slumber is a worthy new addition to our 'best of' roster and you read our full review for more details.

Infinite West

Developer: APE-X Games Platforms: iOS, Android Price: Free with IAPs

Infinite West is a puzzler that resembles more boardgame than match-3. It’s difficult to find which had a bigger influence on it, the sombre motif of the Ed Porter/Sergio Leone style western or Square Enix Montreal’s critically acclaimed GO series. What’s easy to see is that developers APE-X have a clear reverence of both and have done their best to highlight what makes both strong while adapting it to a unique vision. Achievement hunting and score chasing in Infinite West can throw you in that fervent, 'just one more map' loop because of the solid core concept, and the presence of IAPs is by no means a deal-breaker as you get given a modest amount of freebies anyway. We offer a more detailed overview of all this in our Infinite West review.

Lara Croft GO

Developer: Square Enix Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $7.49, $4.99

Its' focused treasure hunts will keep the best minds, most any mind, really, engaged. (There’s even a maddening hidden-object sidegame to unlock cosmetic goodies if either of those are your wont) Its solutions were exclusive and in many cases immune to the kind of brute-force, mindlessly-spam-moves approach to puzzling, and the whole adventure felt like just that. Read our Lara Croft Go review for more.

Cosmic Express

Developer: Draknek Limited Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $4.99

Cute little aliens harumph and squidge themselves into unlikely spherical compartments as they commute to their destinations in outer space. In Cosmic Express, the puzzles are pickup-and-deliver, drawing train paths for a route that allows for no cross-overs or doubling-back. The game includes a ton of levels and gets surprisingly difficult (or rather: uncompromising, since difficulty is always a relative, judgmental term) sooner rather than later.

Every level feels crystal clear in the post-solved hindsight; nothing is superfluous. Cosmic Express winds its way through the galaxy and wends its way into your heart. Check out our full Cosmic Express review if you want to know more about it.

Beglitched

Developer: Alec Thompson Platforms: iOS Price: $3.99

Beglitched is the story of the Glitch Witch’s sudden disappearance from a computer OS and the player character’s sudden quest to train and replace her. You’ll open ‘files’ to find items, other avatars and programs, and enemies. The game is split between overland mode, which utilizes a minesweeper-like method of divining connecting spaces, and the match-three battle mode. The tone is light and idiosyncratic, and the level design is inspired and gimmicky in a good way. Constraints, properly applied, stimulate creativity. (Or else we’d be without the phrase ‘thinking outside of the box’). Beglitched was released without much fanfare and then subsequently ported to mobile, where it shines even more because of its screen-within-a-screen schtick.

Framed 2

Developer: Loveshack Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $4.99

The search for the story is the story in Framed 2. Cleverly partitioning and recombining what made the original so great, the follow-up refines and refreshes the initial conceit. Comic book action meets stealth in a cheesy noirish setting. One could even say it...re-frames...what made the original great. Yes, it is probably the shortest and most easily exhausted member of this list but it still has a little extra panache that merits some special attention. There are games to play for months or years, trying to crack their mysteries or refine skills.

Then there are those games to consume in an afternoon, letting the whole experience become a unified and unbroken memory. Framed 2 belongs to the latter category, a class of brief puzzlers definitely worth playing. We've got a review of Framed 2 if you want to know more about what we thought about it.

The Room Three

Developer: Fireproof Games Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $3.99

What can be said about The Room series that hasn’t been said before? Its excellent value and construction, or the heaps of critical awards? Not to mention the host of mistaken-identity jokes based on the so-bad-it-is-a-phenomenon film of the same name. Puzzle boxes are a unique tactile treat which shrink a world into a single object and then propel one to open it based on nothing more than curiosity and the hint that something might wait inside. The Room has digitized this experience as well as it could have been, all while making the experience portable and affordable and just a skosh mysterious.

Check our our The Room Three review if you want to know more about what we thought.

Divide by Sheep

Developer: tinybuild LLC Platforms: iOS Price: $2.99

This gem was released way back in 2015, but it was brought to our attention earlier this year simply because I was asked to review a game we hadn't reviewed before and picked this one. (Because reasons?-ED) Regardless, this is a vibrant and friendly educational puzzle game that uses maths, and is an excellent example of hay-day app store design practices. It's a bit lighter than your usual fair, and some of the puzzles can be brute-forced, but if you're looking for something different and accessible to fill your puzzle needs, then you could do worse than this four year old diamond in the rough.

Please note that while this game is available on Android, apparently it doesn't work with the newer OS versions.

Apple Arcade Puzzle Games

Apple Arcade seems awash with puzzle games amongst its 100+ game line-up. We've looked at and reviewed a handful of them in our coverage so far, and here's a quick round-up of our favourite puzzle games available via Apple's new subscription service:

Mini Motorways

Grindstone

The Bradwell Conspiracy

The Enchanted World

More Puzzle Game Recommendations

A mixture of past greats and reader recommendations - we like to rotate games in and out of the list, so anything worthy not listed above ends up here:

Evergarden

Marching Order

Donut County

One More Button

Alphabear 2

Hadean Lands

The Witness

Monument Valley

Monument Valley 2

Death Coming

What would your list of the best puzzle games look like? Let us know in the comments!

The Best iPhone & Android Puzzle Games published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

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londontheatre · 6 years

Link

Ashley Gerlach and Charlotte Melia – Heather at the Bush Theatre

I know it’s incredibly presumptive of me but I think that Thomas Eccleshare has the three scenes in his thought-provoking play Heather in the wrong order.

Scene 3 has the two characters acting out the film version of character B’s not-so-spell-binding sub-Harry Potter kiddy-magic fantasy story that involves the Pen of the Necromancer (don’t ask) in some kind of fight to the death-force absorption or something… blah blah blah. If this was scene 1 – as a flash forward – the panache and relish with which actors Ashley Gerlach (A) and Charlotte Melia (B) engage us here and the humorous suspension of disbelief would give the audience a good laugh and set the scene nicely, but as it is, coming at the end, any suspension of disbelief, or belief, or reality is totally negated by what we have learnt in scene 2: the secret is out; it’s not a pleasant secret and it’s not big and it’s not clever. And it’s definitely not funny.

So scene 3 is killed stone dead by what we have learnt before. I think this is a shame. Eccleshare has an interesting idea here and he’s trying to let it out. Scene 1 is the set-up – very clever in its construction – if a little on the long side. Scene 2 is the Awful Truth – intriguingly staged – if a little on the long side. Scene 3 is irrelevant – apart from the last couple of lines – and more than a little on the long side. Once we know the Awful Truth, put across with extraordinarily uncomfortable sterilised emotion by Gerlach and Melia, then we are, frankly, no longer interested in magicians and necromancers and pens and what-have-you. Apart from those last couple of lines that could still end the show much more effectively.

Gerlach is character A, an editor who thinks he’s found the new JKR. His email correspondence with “Heather”, the spell-casting writer character B (Melia) is cleverly staged with both actors speaking into microphones and chucking away a page of emails after each conversation. This is done well by director Valentina Ceschi but the use of microphones inevitably brings its own problems with glottal-attack clicking a constant distraction, particularly with Gerlach. The actors need to be further away from the mikes – and do they need to be turned on in the small Bush Studio – the visual effect is surely enough?

This scene is original, compelling and often funny. Gerlach is patient and gently probing – trying to arrange a meeting with his new writer and Melia has an excellent range of subtle responses mixed in with humorous asides. Which renders scene 2 all the more compelling. I’m loathe, here to be a spoiler-monkey so suffice to say that we have a complete change in both characters, unrecognisable from scene one. This is high-quality acting by a pair of performers who have an intuitive rapport and the convincing ability to engage in an entirely altered perspective with an astonishing contrast in the characters they are now playing. From that point of view, this is a challenging script that Gerlach and Melia, with clever probing from Ceschi, handle adeptly.

Designer Lily Arnold’s clinical set is just right (notwithstanding the sacrilegious white-painting of microphone stands – I trust that Sound Designer Iain Armstrong put in the appropriate objections) and Armstrong’s soundscape and specially composed music enhanced the at times electric atmosphere. Joe Price’s Lighting ranged from sinister-cool to funtime-frolicks and I particularly liked the detachable strip-lights.

Heather is definitely a show well-worth seeing and no doubt some people will have a different standpoint to me but I do think a realignment of the scenes might well help Eccleshare to get across the very serious point he is making more powerfully.

Review by Peter Yates

A reclusive children’s writer becomes wildly successful. Her books are treasured across the country. But when a troubling narrative starts to unfold, we find ourselves asking; what matters more, the storyteller or the story? Brilliantly imaginative and theatrically original, Heather is a short, sharp play about language, prejudice and the power of stories.

In three acts, the play explores the two character’s relationships to the books and to each other, forcing them to question their own responsibility and motivation. Each act takes the performers into a different mode of communication, forcing the audience to engage with the different ways in which the text is manipulated, mediated and interpreted.

In a world of fake news, now is the perfect time to question, challenge and interrogate the idea of authorship, objectivity and whether a text can exist in isolation.

Dancing Brick and Paul Jellis in association with Tobacco Factory Theatres and the Bush Theatre presents HEATHER by Thomas Eccleshare directed by Valentina Ceschi designed by Lily Arnold Cast includes – Ashley Gerlach and Charlotte Melia.

Bush Theatre 31 Oct – 18 Nov 2017 Press Night 2 Nov at 7pm http://ift.tt/10Aefjh

http://ift.tt/2h1mKyJ London Theatre 1

#IFTTT #London Theatre 1

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midlifechic · 7 years

Text

So, as you will already know if you follow me on Instagram, last week I was invited to celebrate relaunch of Issa at House of Fraser. The venue was Kensington Palace which, of course, is where William, Kate and Harry all live. It was an especially auspicious time to go there because it was the day that Kate’s third pregnancy was announced. Our event was in the Orangery but I couldn’t help looking across at the Palace and feeling sorry for her. She’s obviously suffering again and despite the help she has at hand, it isn’t easy when you have pre-schoolers who want their mum regardless of their royal standing. However I digress…

Why does the relaunch of Issa at House of Fraser matter?

Issa was the label of the noughties. Known for its supremely flattering cut, its customer list included Madonna (who apparently bought in bulk), Kylie, Jennifer Lopez, Scarlett Johanssen and Keira Knightly. The high point of course (and the connection with Kensington Palace) was when Kate Middleton wore that blue Issa dress for the royal engagement announcement in 2010.

You’d think that this would have been the answer to every brand’s prayer but, demand was suddenly so high that a small label like Issa couldn’t finance the production which meant that ultimately, it imploded. Until now that is. House of Fraser has come to the rescue, acquiring the brand as well as an archive of designs.

The dresses have been relaunched in a slightly more affordable jersey blend than the originals. However it still retains the silky drape that makes it feel a few steps up from ordinary jersey. I would say that the prices are reasonable – they sit within the Boden tier. And, good news for non-UK readers, Issa is available for international delivery at a very reasonable price (details here).

An evening at Kensington Palace

So, as I have already said, last Monday night was the official launch. Most of the guests were fashion journalists and bloggers so as you can imagine, it was a glam event. Fortunately quite a few of us had been sent Issa dresses to wear which overcame the dress code headache. I had three to choose from but I decided on this green one for two reasons – it’s a colour that I don’t usually wear and also, it was the least heavy of the three which made it easier to carry around London with me.

I styled it with black accessories and added asymmetric earrings for a touch of evening glamour (if I don’t look quite myself it’s because I went to a Charlotte Tilbury store to have my make-up done and they gave me quite a heavy look).

Issa plain side detail dress; Earrings ; Shoes (past season); Clutch coming soon to Midlifechic (photo credit ALifeToStyle)

To my joy, Avril from ALifeToStyle was also invited so we met up beforehand to take some quick photos. Here we are together and I must remember not to have my photo taken with her again. She makes me look ‘big boned’ as my grandma would have said!

The reason that we were keen to be quick was because we could see these three chaps bearing glasses of chilled champagne.

It was a good idea to have so many people wearing Issa because it showcased just how versatile the dresses are, regardless of your age, style or size…

Dresses L – R: Eden midi dress; Georgia cold shoulder dress

Dresses L-R: Sophia ruffle dress; others currently sold out

I just wanted to show you how beautiful the table looked with a rainbow of colour down the centre.

And here we are having dinner. I look terribly serious but I can assure you that Lucinda from TheLondonMummy and I were having a really interesting conversation!

So, that was Kensington Palace. As good things do, it went in a whirl and when it finished, Avril and I sashayed back to the bar at my hotel for a bit of a wine-soaked chat. When I urged you to follow her last time, a few of you got in touch to say her RSS feed wasn’t working. She’s fixed it now so do follow her blog. As I said before, if you like mine, you’ll like hers. We have a lot in common.

My interpretation of Issa

As you’ve seen from the pictures of different people wearing it, Issa can be different things to different women. I veered away from pattern towards the solid colours and it seems a shame not to show you all three dresses. Sadly there are no more invitations to the Palace pending so I had to recreate the surroundings at a local castle.

Wearing Issa for daytime

The first thing I want to point out is that you can easily wear the simple Kate style dresses for work or a daytime event. So here’s the green dress again but this time I’m wearing it as I would for a meeting.

Issa plain side detail dress; Shoes; Bag (available to order soon from Midlifechic)

One of the things I like about it is that it skims rather than clings…

Issa plain side detail dress; Shoes; Bag (available to order soon from Midlifechic)

… and the drapes are kind to your midriff. There is also sufficient fabric so that it doesn’t ride up your thigh when you sit down – a particular bugbear of mine with anything fitted as you know.

Issa plain side detail dress; Shoes; Bag (available to order soon from Midlifechic)

The Issa LBD

This little black dress has a defined waist with a wraparound belt which gives it a point of difference but also cleverly disguises any less toned areas. It is also available in lime.

Kate dress; Shoes; Clutch (coming soon to Midlifechic); Earrings

It is called the Kate and is a similar style to her engagement dress but it has a more fitted skirt which I prefer.

Kate dress; Shoes; Clutch (coming soon to Midlifechic); Earrings

It passes my sitting down test too. It’s the sort of dress that you have in your wardrobe for years and years, pulling it out for dinners, weddings (I like the contrast of black at a wedding), meetings with the accountant, or, of course funerals. You will always look polished wearing a dress like this.

How to ensure that classic dresses stand the test of time

The important thing to remember with classic dresses is to keep your accessories updated. Whereas last year I might have worn this dress with a block heel, this year I’ve chosen embellished satin stilettos.

Kate dress; Shoes; Clutch (coming soon to Midlifechic); Earrings

I’ve added an accent of one of the season’s key colours, yellow gold, at three different sight lines: my earrings, clutch and shoes. By updating your accessories you are, of course, benefitting from the ‘cost per wear’ theory because you can use them to update everything else in your wardrobe too.

Kate dress; Shoes; Clutch (coming soon to Midlifechic); Earrings

A completely different evening look

So here I am feeling like a true chatelaine (either that or a blue version of the dancing emoji 💃)! I always find party dresses difficult to track down, especially because my dressed up events tend to be more corporate than social. So often dresses are too short, too tight, too low cut or a mix of all three. This one is much kinder, just revealing arms and a hint of leg when you move.

Bella ruffle front dress; Jewelled shoes; Clutch (coming soon to Midlifechic)

It is weighted so that as you turn, it swirls around your legs. This means that it only exposes the full height of the slit when you twirl like this…

Bella ruffle front dress; Jewelled shoes; Clutch (coming soon to Midlifechic)

…the rest of the time it cascades softly. For added panache, there is keyhole detailing at the back.

Bella ruffle front dress; Jewelled shoes; Clutch (coming soon to Midlifechic)

It really does look as though we’re shooting in Provence doesn’t it. In fact it was chilly Cumbria and I was sitting here sheltering from the rain. Plus ça change…

Bella ruffle front dress; Jewelled shoes; Clutch (coming soon to Midlifechic)

So – there you have it – Issa. The new first port of call for dresses I would say. The best thing is to order them and try them on, you’ll be surprised at what they do for you. They have had so much press attention that quite a few styles have sold out. However new designs are arriving – here are two new favourites that I’ve just spotted:

If you like my blue ruffle dress but prefer your legs and arms to have a little more coverage, this one’s for you. With this season’s midi trend you could wear this for daytime as well as evening:

Isabella satin dip hem dress

And if you’re a pear, the sleeves on this one will balance you out, whilst still revealing a tantalising glimpse of flesh at the shoulders (also available in black).

Sophia ruffle dress

Issa Accessories

There’s a wide range of Issa clutch bags to go with the dresses that would work well for a ‘jeans and heels’ outfit too. They’re reasonably priced and have the option of a chain strap inside if you prefer to carry them on your shoulder.

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L – R Lip print clutch; Mono print clutch; Citrine clutch

Thoughts about House of Fraser

It’s great that House of Fraser has rescued Issa. In my view, they are a department store to watch. As you may know, they were bought by new owners in 2014 after a decade of neglect. A masterplan has been developed for the group which focuses on putting the excitement back into shopping – ‘shopping as theatre’ as we used to call it at Selfridges.

Now that online shopping accounts for so many sales, it seems more than ever to be the right direction for bricks and mortar department stores to take. This, along with significant investment in some long overdue store refurbishments, work on the website and the new brands should mean that we will soon notice a difference.

They certainly seem to have defined their target customer who, in a nutshell, is most of us. The time-pressed woman over 40 who is looking for unique brands and wants shopping to be more of an engaging experience than just a trudge round the shops. It’s interesting to see that in addition to their in-house brands such as Issa and Biba, House of Fraser also have some unusual Scandi and Parisian boutique brands in their “Brand Spotlight” department. Amongst them are Samsoe & Samsoe, Sessun and Maison Scotch.

I’m hoping that House of Fraser will carve a unique position for itself on the UK high street – as a store that brings back the glitz and glamour of the department stores of old. Time will tell – but with the rescue of Issa they certainly seem to be off to a good start.

Disclosure: the ‘relaunch of Issa at House of Fraser’ was commissioned by House of Fraser who wanted to introduce Issa to Midlifechic readers. However they had no input into what was included or the angle I would take on the post. As always, the words and interpretations are my own.

Spotlight on the relaunch of Issa at House of Fraser So, as you will already know if you follow me on Instagram, last week I was invited to celebrate relaunch of Issa at House of Fraser.

#2017 #accessories #bags #black tie chic #date night chic #dressed up chic #event chic #new season #night out chic #retail review #shoes #wardrobe staples #working wardrobe #workwear chic

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waynekelton · 4 years

Text

The Best iPhone & Android Puzzle Games

As you'll see below, we have our own menagerie of titles that we feel represent the best Puzzle games have to offer across iPhone, iPad and Android devices.

What are the best Puzzle Games for iPhone & Android?

Powernode

Divide by Sheep

ELOH

Where Shadows Slumber

Evergarden

Infinite West

Lara Croft GO

The Room Three

Framed 2

Mini Metro

Beglitched

Cosmic Express

Powernode

Developer: Opal Games Platforms: iOS & Android Price: $1.99

It's got a few niggles, but this is an excellent, thoughtful puzzle game and perfect for anyone looking for a challenge that involves numbers and planning. Read our Powernode review for more!

Mini Metro

Developer: Dinosaur Polo Club Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $4.99

ELOH

Developer: Broken Rules Platforms: iOS Universal, Android Price: $2.99

Where Shadows Slumber

Developer: Game Revenant Platforms: iOS Universal, Android Price: $4.99

Evergarden

Developer: Flippfly Platforms: iOS Universal Price: $4.99

This recent release is an easy inclusion in our best-of collection not only for its accessible nature, but also because it requires a lot of careful thought and planning. It's more of a high-score puzzler than anything else, but the floral theme and impressive nuances make for some entertaining sessions. Evergarden’s developers estimate that the game will take between four to eight hours to fully explore. After this, it is all about breaking into the global high score tables.

Consequently, it is more of a Tetris high score chaser rather than the type of puzzler where you have to pit your wits against increasingly difficult levels. Unlocking all of the game’s secrets does not require particularly high levels of skill, just the persistence to keep playing and adding to your gem collection. Read our Evergarden review for more.

Infinite West

Developer: APE-X Games Platforms: iOS, Android Price: Free with IAPs

Lara Croft GO

Developer: Square Enix Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $7.49, $4.99

Cosmic Express

Developer: Draknek Limited Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $4.99

Beglitched

Developer: Alec Thompson Platforms: iOS Price: $3.99

Framed 2

Developer: Loveshack Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $4.99

The Room Three

Developer: Fireproof Games Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $3.99

Check our our The Room Three review if you want to know more about what we thought.

Divide by Sheep

Developer: tinybuild LLC Platforms: iOS Price: $2.99

Please note that while this game is available on Android, apparently it doesn't work with the newer OS versions.

Apple Arcade Puzzle Games

Mini Motorways

Grindstone

The Bradwell Conspiracy

The Enchanted World

More Puzzle Game Recommendations

A mixture of past greats and reader recommendations - we like to rotate games in and out of the list, so anything worthy not listed above ends up here:

Marching Order

Donut County

One More Button

Alphabear 2

Hadean Lands

The Witness

Monument Valley

Monument Valley 2

Death Coming

What would your list of the best puzzle games look like? Let us know in the comments!

The Best iPhone & Android Puzzle Games published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

0 notes

waynekelton · 4 years

Text

The Best iPhone & Android Puzzle Games 2019

As you'll see below, we have our own menagerie of titles that we feel represent the best Puzzle games have to offer across iPhone, iPad and Android devices.

What are the best iPhone & Android Puzzle Games?

Powernode

Divide by Sheep

ELOH

Where Shadows Slumber

Evergarden

Infinite West

Lara Croft GO

The Room Three

Framed 2

Mini Metro

Beglitched

Cosmic Express

Powernode

Developer: Opal Games Platforms: iOS & Android Price: $1.99

It's got a few niggles, but this is an excellent, thoughtful puzzle game and perfect for anyone looking for a challenge that involves numbers and planning. Read our Powernode review for more!

Mini Metro

Developer: Dinosaur Polo Club Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $4.99

ELOH

Developer: Broken Rules Platforms: iOS Universal, Android Price: $2.99

Where Shadows Slumber

Developer: Game Revenant Platforms: iOS Universal, Android Price: $4.99

Evergarden

Developer: Flippfly Platforms: iOS Universal Price: $4.99

Infinite West

Developer: APE-X Games Platforms: iOS, Android Price: Free with IAPs

Lara Croft GO

Developer: Square Enix Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $7.49, $4.99

Cosmic Express

Developer: Draknek Limited Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $4.99

Beglitched

Developer: Alec Thompson Platforms: iOS Price: $3.99

Framed 2

Developer: Loveshack Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $4.99

The Room Three

Developer: Fireproof Games Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $3.99

Check our our The Room Three review if you want to know more about what we thought.

Divide by Sheep

Developer: tinybuild LLC Platforms: iOS Price: $2.99

Read our for more. Please note that while this game is available on Android, apparently it doesn't work with the newer OS versions.

Other Puzzle Game Recommendations

A mixture of past greats and reader recommendations - we like to rotate games in and out of the list, so those that get retired also end up here:

Marching Order

Donut County

One More Button

Alphabear 2

Hadean Lands

The Witness

Monument Valley

Monument Valley 2

Death Coming

What would your list of the best puzzle games look like? Let us know in the comments!

The Best iPhone & Android Puzzle Games 2019 published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

0 notes

waynekelton · 5 years

Text

Essential Android & iOS Puzzle Games 2019

If you're looking to test your literacy skills, we've got a great collection of Word puzzle games as well!

As you'll see below, we have our own menagerie of titles that we feel represent the best Puzzle games have to offer across iPhone, iPad and Android devices...

Other Recommendations

Not every puzzle release earns a place in our 'Best of' list - so here's a round-up of some recent releases that you can check out, make up your own minds about:

Marching Order

Donut County

One More Button

Alphabear 2

Powernode (Review)

Developer: Opal Games Platforms: iOS & Android Price: $1.99

It's got a few niggles, but this is an excellent, thoughtful puzzle game and perfect for anyone looking for a challenge that involves numbers and planning.

Divide by Sheep (Review)

Developer: tinybuild LLC Platforms: iOS & Android Price: $2.99

ELOH (Review)

Developer: Broken Rules Platforms: iOS Universal, Android Price: $2.99

Where Shadows Slumber (Review)

Developer: Game Revenant Platforms: iOS Universal, Android Price: $4.99

This is a maze-based puzzle game with intuitive controls and a satisfying gameplay loop. Atmospheric and imaginative, Where Shadows Slumber is a worthy new addition to our 'best of' roster.

Evergarden (Review)

Developer: Flippfly Platforms: iOS Universal Price: $4.99

Infinite West (Review)

Developer: APE-X GAmes Platforms: iOS, Android Price: Free with IAPs

Lara Croft GO (Review)

Developer: Square Enix Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $7.49, $4.99

Many a sterling series has seen its reputation dinged by weaker entries. In particular, the sophomore slump, that challenge to recapture what made the original great without slavish repetition. Every member of the GO series has its unique merits and mechanics, but Lara Croft GO stands as the series best. Hitman GO was plagued by odd turn-counter challenges which offer only derivative challenges and pad the playtime without expanding content; Deus Ex GO’s grand plan for daily challenges and community-generated puzzles largely fell flat, but Lara Croft GO along with its two expansions hit the sweet spot of challenge, presentation and pacing. Its focused treasure hunts will keep the best minds, most any mind, really, engaged. (There’s even a maddening hidden-object sidegame to unlock cosmetic goodies if either of those are your wont) Its solutions were exclusive and in many cases immune to the kind of brute-force, mindlessly-spam-moves approach to puzzling, and the whole adventure felt like just that.

Cosmic Express (Review)

Developer: Draknek Limited Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $4.99

Beglitched

Developer: Alec Thompson Platforms: iOS Price: $3.99

Mini Metro (Review)

Developer: Dinosaur Polo Club Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $4.99

Framed 2 (Review)

Developer: Loveshack Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $4.99

The Room Three (Review)

Developer: Fireproof Games Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $3.99

Hall of Fame

As new great puzzle apps get released, we need to rotate our list so that it's kept lean and relevent. Just because a game loses it's spot though, doesn't mean it no longer deserves to be there. Here are some past greats that deserve to be remembered.

Hadean Lands

The Witness

Monument Valley

Monument Valley 2

Death Coming

What would your list of the best puzzle games look like? Let us know in the comments!

Essential Android & iOS Puzzle Games 2019 published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

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waynekelton · 5 years

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The Best Puzzle Games on Android & iOS

There’s perhaps no genre synonymous with mobile platforms - especially iPhone or Android devices - than puzzle games. Low intensity inputs are good for a device with no buttons, and the pace of these games plays well with the low session time, start-and-stop nature of mobile gaming. Puzzle games also take so many unique forms nowadays that a top list in the genre can produce completely different looking games.

If you're looking to test your literacy skills, we've got a great collection of Word puzzle games as well!

As you'll see below, we have our own menagerie of titles that we feel represent the best Puzzle games have to offer across iPhone, iPad and Android devices...

Other Recommendations

Not every puzzle release earns a place in our 'Best of' list - so here's a round-up of some recent releases that you can check out, make up your own minds about:

Marching Order

Donut County

One More Button

Alphabear 2

Powernode (Review)

Developer: Opal Games Platforms: iOS & Android Price: $1.99

It's got a few niggles, but this is an excellent, thoughtful puzzle game and perfect for anyone looking for a challenge that involves numbers and planning.

Divide by Sheep (Review)

Developer: tinybuild LLC Platforms: iOS & Android Price: $2.99

ELOH (Review)

Developer: Broken Rules Platforms: iOS Universal, Android Price: $2.99

Where Shadows Slumber (Review)

Developer: Game Revenant Platforms: iOS Universal, Android Price: $4.99

This is a maze-based puzzle game with intuitive controls and a satisfying gameplay loop. Atmospheric and imaginative, Where Shadows Slumber is a worthy new addition to our 'best of' roster.

Evergarden (Review)

Developer: Flippfly Platforms: iOS Universal Price: $4.99

Infinite West (Review)

Developer: APE-X GAmes Platforms: iOS, Android Price: Free with IAPs

Lara Croft GO (Review)

Developer: Square Enix Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $7.49, $4.99

Cosmic Express (Review)

Developer: Draknek Limited Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $4.99

Beglitched

Developer: Alec Thompson Platforms: iOS Price: $3.99

Mini Metro (Review)

Developer: Dinosaur Polo Club Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $4.99

Framed 2 (Review)

Developer: Loveshack Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $4.99

The Room Three (Review)

Developer: Fireproof Games Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $3.99

Hall of Fame

Hadean Lands

The Witness

Monument Valley

Monument Valley 2

Death Coming

What would your list of the best puzzle games look like? Let us know in the comments!

The Best Puzzle Games on Android & iOS published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

0 notes

waynekelton · 5 years

Text

The Best Puzzle Games on Android & iOS

If you're looking to test your literacy skills, we've got a great collection of Word puzzle games as well!

As you'll see below, we have our own menagerie of titles that we feel represent the best Puzzle games have to offer across iPhone, iPad and Android devices...

Other Recommendations

Not every puzzle release earns a place in our 'Best of' list - so here's a round-up of some recent releases that you can check out, make up your own minds about:

Marching Order

Donut County

One More Button

Alphabear 2

Divide by Sheep (Review)

Developer: tinybuild LLC Platforms: iOS & Android Price: $2.99

ELOH (Review)

Developer: Broken Rules Platforms: iOS Universal, Android Price: $2.99

Where Shadows Slumber (Review)

Developer: Game Revenant Platforms: iOS Universal, Android Price: $4.99

This is a maze-based puzzle game with intuitive controls and a satisfying gameplay loop. Atmospheric and imaginative, Where Shadows Slumber is a worthy new addition to our 'best of' roster.

Evergarden (Review)

Developer: Flippfly Platforms: iOS Universal Price: $4.99

Death Coming (Review)

Developer: SixJoy Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $1.99

Death Coming is a cute pixel game of Where's Wally twisted in with Final Destination. It's a murder simulator with the player taking the role of an omnipresent servant of Death. You are tasked with offing a certain number of people in a detailed pixel-art scene through manipulating the environment towards various horrible accidents and mayhem. The pixel artwork is awesome, reminiscent of a really great Kairosoft game. Everything is clear and distinct even at a distance, although the game is definitely better sized for tablets and larger phones. The characters are cute and expressive in their tiny little animations. It's a shame the devs didn't trust their core gameplay enough to avoid gumming it up with unnecessary frustrations.

Infinite West (Review)

Developer: APE-X GAmes Platforms: iOS, Android Price: Free with IAPs

Lara Croft GO (Review)

Developer: Square Enix Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $7.49, $4.99

Cosmic Express (Review)

Developer: Draknek Limited Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $4.99

Beglitched

Developer: Alec Thompson Platforms: iOS Price: $3.99

Mini Metro (Review)

Developer: Dinosaur Polo Club Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $4.99

Framed 2 (Review)

Developer: Loveshack Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $4.99

The Room Three (Review)

Developer: Fireproof Games Platforms: iOS, Android Price: $3.99

Hall of Fame

Hadean Lands

The Witness

Monument Valley

Monument Valley 2

What would your list of the best puzzle games look like? Let us know in the comments!

The Best Puzzle Games on Android & iOS published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

0 notes